Celeste Andaris was a charming woman. There was no doubting it and she could use that charm to the best of her ability. She had, over the last two breaks, done just that. When they arrived at the Inn, the Innkeeper had fussed over her and her obvious state of physical and emotional distress. He had called his wife, who had arranged a room for them, with two separate beds but it meant that Xander would not sleep on a chair. The wife had sat Xander downstairs with a mug of hot, sweet tea which had a shot of whiskey in it, as the young man was obviously in shock himself and sent her husband out to get the tailor. Whatever anti-nobility feeling there might be, Lord Krome was known to these people and, besides, the Innkeepers wife was a fundamentally kind woman who would not see a young woman in such a state.
So, two breaks after they arrived, Xander had been given hot drinks and a quiet conversation from the Innkeeper's wife asking if there was anything more they could do, if Lord Krome was alright. She didn't enquire just who the beautiful young woman with him was, but she wanted to. Celeste had a new blouse and skirt and the top she had been wearing had been taken back for mending, along with the coat which would be returned in the morning, the tailor promised. She'd also purchased a nightgown and the tailor had been very kind and had assured her that her bringing the money tomorrow would be just fine.
When Xander came in to the room, which was clean and more than functional, he would see that there were two beds against opposite walls. On his was a pair of pyjamas, folded neatly. Celeste was sitting on her bed and looked up at him with a smile, albeit a small one. "I thought that you might appreciate a change of clothing for bed. I hope they are sufficient." The bruises on her neck were already starting to show, but the blouse she had bought had a collar which she could do up if she chose to.
Once he had sat down, either on the bed with her or opposite her on his own, she asked. "How are you? I'm sorry, Xander. I feel like I am making too much of a fuss over something which must seem very minor to you." Celeste sighed and, for just a moment, she looked uncertain and vulnerable. Unsure of herself and everything else. "I talk about wanting to be a family, but there are things I have not told you. Secrets and things which I.. " She breathed in and chewed her lip for a moment.
"In my family, we do not talk. We keep secrets which everyone knows and do not speak of things in case it breaks the facade of the great house Andaris." She was trying to change that, she had seen what it did to her parents' marriage and she did not want that for herself or her children. With a moment of clarity she realised that she didn't want it for Xander either. "My parents spent their marriage in conflict. I don't want that for us. But it is difficult to break a long held habit." She wanted to make changes, wanted to do this better but there was a hurdle which she had to overcome first.
"I'm afraid, Xander. Afraid that if I trust you I become vulnerable to you." She looked at him and hoped that he understood her words and the meaning behind them. "And I am afraid that, if I do not then I am dooming us to a life neither of us wants." She sighed again, twisting the handkerchief in her hands. "And I suspect you already have guessed what it is which I have not said." This was difficult and Celeste realised something which really, genuinely surprised her. She was worried that, if she told him even half of what was sitting here between them, then it might cause him to call this off. Why would that worry her? Why would she not see it as an opportunity to escape what she did not want?
Tricky questions. Questions she did not know the answer to in this moment.
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