Of the Forest and Sea

Chapter 49

With how curious she had been about where we were going, I was surprised when Maria fell asleep on the journey. She rested on my shoulder until the sounds from the outside world woke her.

She rubbed her eyes and looked around, then asked quietly where we were.

"I'm not entirely sure, but we shouldn't be too far. We'll be there shortly, I'm sure. Do you still have the key?" She reached into a small clutch, pulling out the blackened key, handing it over to me.

"Robin, I - wait... I know that park... My father - he used to take me there when I was a little girl. And that theater! Miss Heliotrope- Mrs. Digweed and I used to go see the opera every Friday!"

I watched as her face lit up, pointing out familiar places from her childhood. The carriage slowed, and I watched her smile falter as the footman helped her out.

"This is..."

"It's ours now, Maria. Do you like it?" If I could have held my breath any longer I might have fainted. The expression on her face when she looked up at me was unreadable, and I wrung my hands slowly.

I passed the key off to the other men unloading the trunks and moving everything inside. She followed them slowly, up the curved steps into the large stone mansion. I watched her carefully, unsure of what she needed. Was it a mistake? Should Benjamin and I have done something else?

I took our smaller items from the carriage and headed inside, watching her inspect every part of the house. As far as I knew, the house fell into the hands of the bank, and no one had made an offer on it. It took quite a bit of my father's money for the bank to even consider selling it, and with Benjamin's name tarnished by his brother, he couldn't have been involved at all to help us with the transaction.

"Maria?" I caught her hand before she walked upstairs to see the bedrooms, squeezing it lightly. "I'm sorry, I thought this was-."

"It's perfect, Robin." She kissed my cheek and walked upstairs, her fingers tracing the banister.

I finally relaxed, smiling to myself. I ran up the stairs after her, noticing all of the empty rooms and covered windows. Finding her in the largest of the rooms.

"This was my father's room, whenever he decided to come home," she said, walking around. "I remember it being much darker than it is now."

"Maria, I... I don't even know what to say. I never meant to... Well, to bring back bad memories, I suppose. I know that Moonacre has been your home for quite some time now, but Benjamin had told me about how much you missed London."

Maria turned to look at me as she listened, fidgeting with her ring slightly. "I do miss it here - more than I'd like to admit, sometimes. But our home is Moonacre. Our place is Moonacre."

"Well, then I'm happy I decided not to make it our permanent residence," I joked. "In all seriousness, your happiness is important to me. If it meant we never went back to Moonacre, or we never came back here. I'm a servant to your happiness, Maria."

I watched her expression shift to a melancholy one, and she rubbed my cheek lightly.

"I'll never take you away from our home, Robin."

I gave her a half smile, a little grateful to hear her say that. Benjamin had continued to tell me how good this would be for her, to be home, and to be somewhere she felt comfortable. I had been worried that if I brought her back she wouldn't want to leave. But Moonacre was our home, just as she had said it was.

"Is there anything you'd like to do before dinner tonight? The men will be here for a while setting things up for us, and I'm not sure you want to be here in the chaos," I asked, toying with her hair.

"I haven't been here in so long; I wouldn't even know where to begin."

I took her hand and pulled her outside, "Pick a direction. I'm sure we'll stumble upon something you want to see."

"And what about you? You've never been here before."

"Yes, I have," I refuted. "The first time I saw you, before you came to Moonacre. As far as I remember, you saw me, too."

She nodded and looked around, pointing to the right, "Let's go that way." She held onto my arm, staying close by my side as we walked. Her eyes scanned the streets, bustling with people and carriages.

"You look distraught. Is everything alright?"

"Distraught?" She stopped walking and looked up at me, her arms loosening from mine a bit. "This is Benjamin's doing, isn't it? The big words, the trip to London, my family home, your attire... he's changed you."

"Is that a good thing? I mean, I still feel like me."

"I miss my Robin. The Robin who used to run through the forest and climb trees and sneak away with me."

"Who says we can't do that anymore? We still have the hideout, and now the vaults, and not to forget the castle. Granted you've seen most of it already, but I'm sure you'll find some new secret place for us." She smiled up at me, nodding.

"You're right," she said, content with my answer. "Maybe I've just been so caught up in everything I haven't had a moment to relax."

I tugged her closer as we walked on, "Well, that's why we're here. On our honeymoon, with no one to disturb us. No duties or rules, just us."

"Whatever will we do with all of our free time?"

"Whatever you want, princess."