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A long evening at the opera left Josephine humming a tune beneath her breath while Halen simply tried to stay upright on the walk home. He shook out his left arm a bit as they walked through the towering gates and Josephine gave his right a squeeze where she held it with her gloved hand, recognizing the twitch that managed his phantom pain and soothing him in her way. He still struggled to cope with the new ways he found himself exhausted at the end of a long day, but Josephine was endlessly understanding. His wife’s support buoyed Halen, even when the world was ending.
Cobblestones beneath their feet gave way to great marble slabs between the topiary and statues, bordered with exquisite tiles that caught the fading light. The sun had just begun to dip over the spires beyond the tall garden wall as they entered the grounds and it cast deep blue shadows over the courtyard of the grand Antivan estate. The Montilyet’s bountiful gardens had not suffered the same modesty the family had to endure in their extended period of disgrace. It still overflowed with grapes and fruiting trees, the centerpiece of the opulent residence. Halen got the impression that the world could burn around them, run their name to the ground, and the Montilyet’s would be undaunted, sipping wine in their garden at the very heart of Antiva.
As they rounded the corner, a high, familiar voice, called out sharp as a bell. ““Josephine Cherette Montilyet, where in Thedas have you been hiding this man?”
The unmistakable strike of pointed heels on marble echoed from the arched passage along edge of the garden ahead of Yvette Montilet, who strode into the garden as if she were expected.
Josephine stiffened, but called back politely. “Hello Yvette.”
Yvette had always been a bit of a thorn in her side, but Josephine had just barely recovered from her youngest sister’s recent attempted elopement with a pirate captain who opposed the Montilyet fleet, which wrung every ounce of patience from his wife and left Halen very frustrated over the matter himself. As they closed the distance, Halen cleared his throat to attempt to sidestep the situation, for Josephine’s sake as much as his.
“Good evening, Yvette,” Halen greeted her. “A fine night for the opera.”
“I’m sure!” Yvette gushed. “They’ve had enough run time on this production now, they must have ironed out all the mishaps from opening night.” A light giggle sealed her anecdote with a finger to her painted lips.
Halen felt a heavy sigh building up in his chest, but decided to press on and extricate his wife from the conversation. “The orchestra was in especially fine form. Alas, these events always go on into the evening and we have some urgent meetings in the morning…”
Yvette, ignoring the hint, called over her shoulder, “Antoine! Laurien! They’re back!”
Josephine shushed her immediately. “Yvette! Don’t yell in the garden.”
Yvette rolled her big brown eyes at her older sister and flounced back toward the main house shouting again and over-enunciating in a singsong voice. “They came back from the op-er-a!”
Josephine took the bait, pulling Halen reluctantly along with her. He could feel the quiet of the evening slipping away from him with every step. She called after her sister in a firm, insistent voice. “Yvette! We are tired and going to bed.”
This was a mistake that Halen felt her realize the moment the words left her lips. Yvette turned on them like a hawk. “Oh, ‘tired’, is it? Perhaps you just need some alone time with your husband. Or —” Yvette gasped as a thought struck her, “—oh! You’re pregnant!”
Halen’s heart stopped beating for a breath as Josephine’s face went through six layers of emotion from shock to embarrassment to frustration before she was able to school it back to just indignant.
“NO,” Josephine insisted adamantly. “I am not pregnant. Nor do I appreciate any lewd innuendos or speculations. If I were pregnant, you would receive a memo.”
“Ugh — a memo? Of course you would,” Yvette scoffed.
Before Halen had a chance to respond to any of this, two men in fine evening jackets burst into the garden laughing and talking to each other in loud voices, jostling as they came. Halen hadn’t seen his wife’s brothers since the wedding, but he could have recognized them by their silhouettes alone. They had their matching noses and heavy brows in common, but where Antoine was stout and thick with messy curls atop his head, Laurien had wiry limbs and wore his hair slicked up in a pompadour for a little extra height. Josephine sighed as their attention wheeled on the three of them.
“Ah, Josie —” Laurien spoke first, swiftly cut off by his brother.
“Welcome back!” Antoine shouted, unnecessarily at that distance. “What’s this I hear about a baby?”
Josephine’s face flushed. “Just hot air from Yvette as usual.”
“What, you don’t want a baby?” Laurien asked bluntly, with just a hint of a crinkle at the corners of his dark eyes.
“That’s not —” Josephine tried to answer.
“Of course she wants a baby! Women love babies. You’ll do fine, just keep at it!” Antoine boomed out over her, clapping Halen’s shoulder with his palm in what was apparently supposed to be brotherly encouragement.
Halen didn’t have to respond to that because Laurien took over right away. “Yeah, you’ll make some fine babies! Someone has to or Father is going to die a depressed old man with no grandchildren and we can’t have that.”
“Can’t have that,” Yvette agreed with a titter.
Josephine sighed and opened her hands in a calm gesture, as if she were sitting in a board room with squabbling nobles, and replied in her most even, diplomatic tone. “No one is pregnant. When we have a child you will all be the first to know.”
“Ah, so it’s a sure thing!” Antoine laughed and elbowed his brother for emphasis.
“I want to be a tia!” Yvette interjected, caught up in the excitement.
“I hope they have your height,” Laurien nodded to Halen, who had a decent view over the Montilyet siblings.
“Oh, but Josephine’s nose,” Yvette added.
Josephine cleared her throat sharply, but Antoine jumped in. “Imagine that white hair on a brown little baby!”
“Striking!” Laurien agreed. “Oh, they’ll be gorgeous, whoever they are. Just have them here so they know their uncles right away.”
“And aunties!” Yvette pouted.
Josephine softened at Laurien’s warm tone. “Thank you. Your enthusiasm is noted, but you will have to be patient. We only just married and there are plans to make…”
Halen’s family wasn’t so boisterous; he tended to feel a bit awkward around his wife’s outgoing siblings. But the moment felt particularly welcoming, as if he were part of the family, getting ribbed along with Josephine. “Yes, thank you,” Halen agreed in a soft voice, “it’s lovely to be welcomed back to beautiful Antiva City and get to know you all better.”
“Ah, no need to be so formal — we are brothers!” Antoine all but shouted and threw his arms around Halen and Josephine both, laughing and patting them on the backs.
Josephine protested valiantly, pushing her brother off, but she laughed at his outburst all the same. “Antoine, you never change.”
“That’s a promise!” the stout man chuckled, twisting her words for humor.
Halen tried again for a diplomatic exit. “Perhaps we can reconvene at midday for a meal? Josephine was correct, we do have some important meetings to attend to in the morning. We have quite a bit of business in the city, but I have hardly spent any time here and would love to see some of your favorite places.”
“You must see Alonzo’s Cafe off The Boulevard of the Seas — and the roast is exquisite!” Antoine gushed.
“Ooo, and the Golden Plaza! There’s so many fancy shops in the streets that surround it…” Yvette chimed in.
“Tomorrow,” soothed Josephine, “we have a full fortnight. Plenty of days to see the sights.”
“And plenty of nights?” Antoine hinted with a terrible wink.
“Yes, yes, bedtime it is,” Laurien added in a playfully somber tone, nodding along. “You won’t get pregnant out here — or I should hope not — off you go!”
“We were just —” Josphine tried to reply, but Yvette cut her off again.
“Oh, give it a rest, chérie! Go enjoy your time together.” Yvette gave her sister a playful shove and bounded back inside with her brothers following behind at a lazy pace, joking loudly with each other.
As the familial whirlwind left them spinning towards the entrance to the guest house, Josephine let out a very long, overdue sigh. “Apologies,” she began, “they are relentless.”
“One of your finest qualities as well, my dear,” Halen replied and pressed a kiss to her temple.
Josephine smiled and it wasn’t a mask or a diplomatic gesture, it was just raw happiness and it filled Halen’s heart with pride. His beautiful wife saved her truest smiles for him. He couldn’t help but imagine her with a baby in her arms after the interrogation they’d had, and the image nearly made his eyes water. He would love to start a family. When the time was right, of course.
As they crossed beneath the arch to the guest house, Halen caught Josephine’s gloved hand in his and pulled her into a deep kiss. Her surprise melted into passion as she pressed into his lips with her own and her weight shifted, leaning into his chest as her foot popped up behind her. Halen held her tight as their lips parted and he kissed her forehead to seal the moment.
“What’s on your mind?” Josephine asked, a hint of color in her cheeks and her eyes sparkling up at him.
“Just imagining our future…” Halen trailed off, looking deep into her eyes. The implication hung heavy in the evening air.
Josephine tilted her head, lost in thought for a long moment as she searched his face, then nodded as if a decision had been made. A sultry grin parted her lips before she replied in a low, husky tone. “In that case — let’s make a plan.”
Halen’s grin turned sharp and he bowed to kiss the back of her hand. “My lady, you suggest the most salacious things.”