Crown of Smoke

Chapter 19

            “Hayden!” She smiled, opening the door and throwing her arms around his shoulders in a warm embrace which both Gwen and Harry were shocked to see Hayden return. “Have you gotten taller? You look like you’ve gotten taller.”

            “It’s these walking boots.” He chuckled, allowing her to examine him. “These are for you, by the way.”

            “Oh, Hayden you do know how to spoil me!” The woman squealed in delight.

            Gwen watched the woman, fascinated to see who she could be that she could make Hayden turn into a softie. She was dressed similarly to Gwen, but she wore a stained apron over her skirt which she wiped her hands on before she began fixing Hayden’s hair. There were smile lines on the edges of her warm brown eyes and the odd fleck of grey lipping through her auburn hair which had been pulled into a ponytail that was falling apart. She had a round face with lips that parted in a wide grin and she was a little plump, but still very pretty.

            Harry didn’t know the woman either, hanging back with Gwen, although he smiled at the interaction as though he was a little more clued in where Gwen stood completely in the dark.

            A man came up behind her. He was tall, with broad shoulders and hair down to his shoulders.

            “Annalise! What are you doing the cold is coming all in and-” he stopped short, gazing between Hayden, Harry and finally lingering on Gwen. “I see our visitors have arrived.” He shook hands with Hayden who moved into the little cottage. The woman whom he had called Annalise followed Hayden into the house, but Gwen and Harry stood outside unsure of what to do. “Planning on sleeping with the cows?” The man asked them, to which they both shook their heads and moved inside.

            It was glorious being in the warmth of the cottage after spending most of the day walking around in the cold. She’d been right about the interior of the cottage, it was small and quaint but perfectly homely. There were two armchairs next to the fire and a series of big pillows all spread out over the rest of the floor. The kitchen was in the back of the house with a round wooden table and four chairs around it. Dishes littered the small sink, as the pair had just finished eating.

Hayden had to duck a little between pots hanging from the ceiling, but nevertheless, he followed Annalise around, making polite conversation with her as they went. The man who must have been her husband closed the door behind them and continued to look Gwen and Harry up and down.

“Not very noble-looking, are you?” He muttered to himself. Gwen felt herself flush and Harry’s arm wrapped protectively around her. She looked up to see if Hayden had heard, but he seemed engrossed in Annalise. Gwen felt a flare of jealousy rise up in her that she pushed down. She was so used to being the center of his attention it hardly even crossed her mind he had other people in his life before he met her.

“Where’s Al?” Hayden asked, a smile crossing his face. It was a gentle smile; one Hayden only wore for very few people.

“Oh, she’ll be out late playing princesses with the girls from her class.” Annalise rolled her eyes affectionately. “You won’t believe how much she’s grown Hayden, really.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Hayden replied. He turned around to see Gwen and Harry still cowering together awkwardly near the entrance way and sharply gestured for them to come over. “I’m sorry Annalise, I’ve been terribly rude.” It took another sharp gesture but Harry and Gwen shuffled forward. “These are my friends Harry and… Guinevere.”

Annalise’s eyes widened and she almost dropped the mug she was holding before dipping to her knees in an awkward curtsey in the tiny space. Gwen looked panicked at Hayden who was trying to hold down his chuckles.

“She really doesn’t require all the formalities, Annalise.” He glanced at Gwen. “Believe me, I’ve tried to get her into the right mindset about it but she’s-“

“It’s lovely to meet you, your Highness.” Annalise smiled at Gwen and Gwen tried to return it but only managed to give her an awkward grimace.  

“Gwen is fine, really.” She said and was glad to see that Annalise’s shoulder’s relaxed. “I’m really…not with the royalty thing just yet.”

Annalise smiled kindly.

“Hayden mentioned you were a baker before this.” She said.

Gwen grinned. “Yes! I’m much more comfortable with breads and pastries than with ballrooms and tiaras.”

Annalise laughed a little and Gwen felt at home immediately. She was still none the wiser as to how Hayden had gotten to know this woman, but Gwen could feel why he trusted her.

            “It’ll be nice to see some royalty who isn’t quite so obsessed with the politics of the ballroom, then.” The man cut in.

            “Oh, Orson,” Annalise tutted. “Don’t be so bloody harsh on the poor girl she’s only just stepped foot into the house! She doesn’t need any of your interrogations on her foreign policy just yet.” Gwen smiled appreciatively at Annalise and took the seat she offered at the table.

            “It’s not my fault, now that the whole kingdom is buzzing about the royal princess being found these questions are sure to come up.” Orson sighed, sitting on one of the plush chairs in the sitting room.

            Gwen and Harry both looked to Hayden in confusion. He smirked knowingly.

            “I may have spoken to Blaine about a covert way to get the word out amongst the working classes. Also, Milo is working with other middle-class nobles.” He said nonchalantly. Gwen’s mouth gaped open in shock. She could not believe that Hayden had kept from her the fact that her brother was getting involved in this mess of a campaign Hayden had begun. Not to mention the fact that Blaine could have been traveling with them the whole time, possibly being able to ease some of the home-sicknesses that plagued Gwen everywhere she went.

            She knew her face had given away any of her thought by the fact that Harry refused to meet her eyes, meaning that he had known too.

            “There have been a few people spreading the word, Gwen.” He muttered. “Potter, my butler, has had people spreading it around when delivering produced and Milo has been going amongst the middle class too. We would have had Dorothy too, but as you know she wasn’t too fond of the idea.”

            “Were you expecting everyone to jump on board?” Orson laughed darkly. “I don’t doubt you have good intentions, the lot of you, but it doesn’t come so easy.”

            Gwen flushed, but she saw something behind Hayden’s eyes grow stormy, as though challenging Orson to say more on the subject. Annalise gingerly placed a bowl of soup in front of Gwen before doing the same with the two boys. Harry cupped the bowl gratefully and quietly thanked Annalise who smiled kindly at him. Hayden didn’t tear his gaze from Orson. Annalise slid into the seat next to Gwen.

            “It’d taken them four years to get to this point, darling.” Annalise said to her husband, “I doubt that they believe it’s a stroll in the park.”

            Gwen saw the tension leave Orson’s shoulders. He nodded silently.

            No one spoke for a while. Gwen took this as a cue to eat, the deep rumble in her stomach reminding her that she had hardly touched her pie earlier. The soup was tomato and cream and warmed her insides. Hayden was watching her eat, but she remained determined to ignore him which only made him smirk behind his spoon.

            A knock on the door made Gwen jump but Hayden was grinning as Orson got up to answer the door. Orson bent down and picked up a young girl, around five years old with wild hair and a grin spread wide across her cheeks. He whispered something Gwen couldn’t hear into her ear and the girl giggled, wriggling out of his arms and running to her mother, knocking the air out of Annalise as she laughed.

            “Are you not going to say hello to your Uncle Hayden?” Annalise chuckled.

Gwen hadn’t thought her smile could have grown but the young girl’s face lit up even further seeing that it was Hayden sitting at the other end of the table. She launched herself out of her mother’s arms and ran as quickly as her little legs could carry her to Hayden’s arms. Gwen was pleasantly surprised by the warmth she saw pour out of Hayden as he bent down, picking the girl up and embracing her. She gave him a slobbery kiss on his cheek that he gladly returned to her cheek, despite her complaints of his stubble scratching her.

        “In all fairness, you do need a shave.” Gwen smiled.

        The girl looked at Gwen curiously.

        “Is this the girl you’re courting?” she asked Hayden who pulled a face at the question, making her laugh.

        “No Alannah, this is Guinevere.” He replied, giving Gwen a pointed look.

        “Like the princess?” The girl said.

        “Exactly like the princess,” Hayden said, pushing down his laughter.

        “Come on, Al,” Orson said, “let’s get you cleaned up a little before bed.”

        Alannah reluctantly left Hayden’s arms and followed her father into the wash room whilst her mother’s eyes affectionately followed them.

        “She’s growing lovely,” Hayden said to Annalise.

        “Thank you, really.” Annalise smiled. “I think she’ll be a lovely big sister.”

        Hayden’s mouth dropped before breaking into a grin.

        “You know where to come if you need anything.” He told her.

        “Hopefully won’t be an issue this time,” Annalise said. Gwen looked between the pair in confusion, but no explanation came so she turned to Harry who shrugged.

        Hayden and Annalise continued to talk, but Gwen found herself drifting from the conversation, content in the feeling of a family home she had missed so much.