The carriage rolled northeast along the hard-packed road. Frances placed her hand on Robert’s leg. She loved her dear husband so very much. They had risen before daylight and set out at dawn to maximize their travel time. If the good weather held they would arrive in a few days. Both of them were happily excited for their son and his upcoming nuptials, but Robert was anxious. Frances could sense it clearly. Even his thigh felt tense under her hand.
‘Is it the Binding?’ she asked.
‘No…well, yes, but it’s more than that. Are you going to tell him?’
‘I think it is time, don’t you?’ she said, looking over at him. In the morning light, the lines in his face stood out like a map of their life together. When had he aged so? She moved her unblemished hand to his shoulder. It was difficult, acknowledging the signs of aging; that he moved stiffly in the morning or sighed when he sat. She’d loved him for most of his life, and in her heart, he was still a young man.
‘I suppose he has a right. It will affect his children.’ Robert looked at her.
‘Yes, though it’s hard to tell how. There are so many possible manifestations. You know Coleman’s traits, his resiliency and prowess. It appears that he is able to Travel as well. Who knows what it will mean for his children.’
‘Then his wife —’
‘About that…’
Robert raised his eyebrows. ‘What about her?’
Frances gazed at her husband. ‘He told me her name.’
‘Yes, you mentioned that.’
‘It was…not the name I foresaw.’
Robert’s brows shot even higher. He looked ahead and blew out a long breath. ‘Then, whoever the young woman is, she should be told as well, yes?’
‘Perhaps we should leave that up to him. Would you rather have heard such news from someone besides me?’ She tilted her head.
‘Our situation was quite different. Who would have told me?’
She nodded. ‘True, my husband, very true. Yes, you’re right, we should tell them.’
‘Sometime — after we find who he is to Bind — but before it happens.’ Robert shook his head. ‘Life with you has always been…interesting.’
‘Do you regret it?’
He wrapped an arm around her shoulder. ‘Not for a moment.’
She gazed ahead, seeing not just the road before them, but everything that could go wrong for their son. ‘Neither have I, my love.’