His Redemption, Her Legacy

Part 12

'Here she is, all mine, trying her best to give me all she can. How could I ever hurt her? But I didn’t understand then. That I could hurt somebody so badly she would never recover. That a person can, just by living, damage another human being beyond repair.'

-Haruki Murakami, South of the Border, West of the Sun

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Seaborne Estate;

“Have you ever wielded one?”

Richard gazed fondly at the boy as he turned his large, innocent eyes to him, shaking his head.

It had been easy to decipher the look of wonder in his eyes as he watched him train with his sword every morning.

He beckoned Will to come closer to him, wiping the sweat off his brows.
He was getting old for this.

Will neared him with eager steps. He had lost much of his hesitation and fear around him and Richard took deep pleasure in knowing that he was able to warm him up to his company so fast.

Minerva had cautioned him about his shyness around strange men. They had been apprehensive about his reaction to their decision; but things had turned out really well.

“Would you like to learn how to use a sword? I can get you one of your own.”
Of course, Richard planned to get him a wooden one first, but Will’s wide smile told him that he would be contended with just that.

“Yes, please…My Lord.”

The boy’s tentative tone sent a surge of possessiveness to Richard’s heart. There was nothing he wanted more than to hear the word ‘father’ from his mouth. But he knew that was too soon to expect from him.
He had just become accustomed to the fact the this was his home now.

Richard could still remember the utter confusion on his face when he witnessed their wedding ceremony in the chapel last month. It was a short and private affair, with only a few of his staff in attendance.
He had sensed Minerva’s anxiety as she stood facing him. Though, he could hardly blame her for that. This was by no means a conventional marriage.

However, when he had said his vows, as short as permissible, he found himself oddly comforted. It had taken him little time to get enamoured to the idea of having his own family, when he had long resigned himself to the life of an eternal bachelor.

And now he was proposing to teach him the fine art of swordsmanship- a skill he himself could not boast to have mastered.
But that did not matter; not when he was getting the chance of spending more time bonding with him.
Was this not what all the fathers did?
Teach their sons the necessary fighting skills…

Son.
He really was a father now. The documents lay carefully in the drawers of his study. And he meant to be the best father for this boy.

“Can you teach me right now?”
Will’s gaze was trained on the sword, mesmerised by the glint of the blade.

Richard let out a loud laugh. He had found the way to his son’s heart.

“If you wish, son.”
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Hayworth Estate;