Helena had been right and it did take nearly an hour and a half to work out the contract to the satisfaction of both families. Vanessa had stayed quiet for a lot of it, until Helena brought her right into the conversation when it came to the finances that she would have access to.

“I'm only going to be a concubine.” Vanessa protested. “I shouldn't have access to your family's money.”

Helena laughed. “You have been listening to all of this so far, haven't you?”

“Yes, but...”

“Even though we are only including David's personal fortune at the moment, since we can't officially tie our shared fortunes together until we are married, you get ten percent of it.”

“I want to argue the percentage, except we're offering a substantial dowry for your acceptance of the contract and both amounts should nearly equal out.” Baroness Sellwafer said. “That benefits both of our families, because neither of us will be losing any real money.”

Helena got a wicked gleam in her eye. “Obviously, you haven't checked the actual numbers.” She said and flipped several pages of her own papers she had prepared for the meeting. “On page six, you'll see David's current shared holdings, their worth, and his account balance at the bank.”

“He's a newly minted Lord, I'm sure that it's not that significant.” The Baroness said and flipped to the page. She read the relevant section and almost choked. Her husband kind of blanked out, too.

“Ten percent of that can easily open Vanessa's own account at the bank, which I've already put in place.” Helena said. “As soon as you sign the contract, it goes into trust and the bank will control it until it comes into effect with my marriage and the initiation of the contract's full aspect, in which Vanessa needs to meet her obligations.”

“But... how... this isn't...” The Baroness sputtered and Vanessa's face flushed red as she blushed. I could tell that neither of them suspected just how much money I had been making with the furniture and potion orders.

“Before you say anything else, this is David's own money and I only contributed in selling his products.” Helena said. “By the way, David.”

I turned my head to look at her.

“We have another hundred orders for both cabinets and dressers.”

“There's plenty of the potion in the basement and I'll brew up some more if needed this week while I restock you with healing and general health potions.” I said with a slight smile. “When the workers come back from their time off, let Frank loose on them. You'll have the orders filled in a day, maybe two.”

Helena chuckled. “He really loves your full powered potion. They all do.”

I nodded. “It makes things so much easier and they can do some amazing things with their detailing that they couldn't do with normal woodworking tools.”

“It really is amazing.” Helena said to the Baroness. “You haven't seen anything until you've seen 60 professional men constructing expensive looking furniture while practically laughing their asses off at how easy it is.”

“I would like to see that, actually.” The Baroness said with a smile.

“D-David, this... are you sure...” Vanessa whispered.

“Helena worked out all the details for this, not me.” I said and Vanessa's eyes widened. “She's the one looking out for my safety and to make sure I'm not being taken advantage of.”

“I would never!” Vanessa gasped and then covered her mouth. “I'm sorry!”

Helena reached across me and took Vanessa's hand. “Don't be. I would have said the same thing. My indignation would match yours, you see.”

“Lady Henrietta...” Vanessa whispered.

“No, none of that. Even if we don't sign the contracts after lunch, from now on you are to call me Helena.” Helena said with a welcoming smile. “If you don't sign, I'm going to feel so very sad that you'll have to stop your cuddling in class.”

Vanessa caught her breath and blushed very hard.

“Yes, I know. David doesn't keep things from me.” Helena said and gave her hand a squeeze before letting it go. “It's one of the reasons I've been open to accepting a concubine contract from you.”

“It... it is?” Vanessa asked.

“Yes, when I first met David, we were...” Helena chuckled. “I can't reveal military secrets. Needless to say, I was very excited by the things he showed me and my reaction was quite profound.”

“No comment.” I said, not wanting to reveal that Helena had revealed herself to me.

Helena leaned against me with a laugh. “Just before I left his presence, I whispered to him that actions speak louder than words.”

Vanessa looked from her to me, and back to her. “You did?”

“Yes. I know by your actions that you genuinely care for him and I can't in good conscience not do what I can to ensure that neither of you are taken advantage of.” Helena said, matter of factly.

“I am very glad to hear that.” The Baroness said. “This last stipulation... are you sure this is what you want?”

Helena nodded. “Once the main parts of the contract have been fulfilled, Vanessa can renegotiate on her own terms, rather than that of our families, since both obligations on our behalf will be completed.”

“Vanessa? What do you think?” The Baroness asked her daughter.

“I... I think...”

“It's time we changed for lunch.” I said and nodded at the door just as Hope knocked.

“My lords, my ladies.” Hope said as she opened the door. “Lunch will be served in half an hour.”

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The Baroness looked a little surprised. “We didn't bring...”

“All has been arranged.” Helena said and stood with me on her arm. “Hope, take them to the guest rooms.”

“Yes, my lady.” Hope said. “If you will follow me, you can change to less formal attire and then I'll lead you to the dining room.”

“Of course.” The Baroness said and stood, as did her husband and Vanessa. “Thank you.”

We watched Hope lead the three guests to the rooms and we followed at a good distance, so we wouldn't disturb them. Jill, Sara, and Tabitha were waiting for us and we were quickly stripped to dress in clothing more suited for eating and then we went back down to the dining room. The seating was arranged to put me at the head, Helena on my right and Vanessa on my left. We didn't sit down until the guests came in.

I sat Helena down and then took Vanessa's hand and sat her down, then took the Baroness to sit her beside Helena, putting her higher in social standing than her husband. I then had to decide where to put him.

_______________

You have a choice to make. It will affect your future interactions with the Sellwafer family as a whole.

A) Sit him with Vanessa. B) Sit him with his wife. C) Ask him. D) Ask his wife. E) Ask Helena.

I nearly laughed at the choices, because it made me realize the importance of getting to choose people's seating at meals. The only one who really knows his worth is his wife, so I choose D.

_______________

I leaned down and whispered a quick question into the ear of the Baroness, which made her laugh out loud. She turned her head and whispered back. Her answer made me smile, then she changed her mind and whispered again.

I nodded and invited her husband to sit on Vanessa's left, which still left him with more respect than he would have gotten by sitting on the far side of his wife. It also would have unbalanced the seating at the table, emphasizing him being ostracized and pretty much demoted in standing, just like I had chosen while attending meals with the Henrietta Family.

The man looked pleased and the meal proceeded with a lot less formality than they were used to, because I could tell they were slightly awkward in their movements and their conversation. I nodded to Helena and she took the hint.

“You are our honored guests, so please relax. We only go full formal for supper.” Helena said and the three guests visibly relaxed, now that they had permission.

The conversation flowed much better after that and I felt Vanessa tap on my left hand.

“Can you explain that?” Vanessa asked and pointed to my damaged right hand.

“I had hoped to save that for after lunch as we unwind in the parlour.” I said and she squinted her eyes at me.

“You better tell her.” Helena said with a soft laugh. “She might not be happy to wait like I was.”

“I'll only talk about that incident and save the lead up for later.” I said and everyone nodded. “Well, I went back to the marsh at the end of last week and had the brilliant idea to check out one of the dragon's nesting areas to see if it had grown back with them dead.”

“No!” Vanessa gasped and gripped my hand. “Don't tell me they came back!”

“Luckily, no. I don't think we'll see any more of them for a while, if ever.” I said and she let out a relieved sigh. “It was a large group of black panthers.”

The Baroness and her daughter took in sharp breaths.

“H-how large?” Vanessa asked.

“Fifteen.” I said and she looked faint. I put my arm over her shoulder to hold her steady. “Maybe I should save it for later like I planned.”

“No, I... I can take it.” Vanessa said, her voice firm. “That was just a shock. I'm fine.”

I glanced at her mother and Helena, who both nodded. “All right. I saw them in the clearing, didn't want anything to do with them at all, and tried to sneak away. That's when the head panther, a larger white one, found me.”

“By the Son's Light.” The Baroness whispered. “I've never even heard of a white variant!”

“It was a size and a half bigger than a normal panther and was a few hundred pounds. At least.” I explained and then I told them about the encounter from beginning to end. When I was done, the three guests sat there silently, completely stunned.

“Amazing, isn't it?” Helena asked. “He has a life and death encounter practically every time he enters that area of the marsh.”

That shook the Baroness out of her shock. “I certainly hope you've banned him from ever going back there!”

“I can't do that, not that I ever would. He owns the marsh.” Helena said and took my damaged hand. “I will ask him with all sincerity to never go back to that specific area again. I don't care if it holds the secrets to magic itself. You've almost died the last two times you've been there and that's more than enough for me to handle.”

I leaned close and kissed her. “I promise to not go there again. I barely escaped as it was.”

“I've already sent a message to the healer you've given those donations to.” Helena said with a smile. “She'll be here tomorrow to check you over and to let you know the options you have for trying to fix it.”

“I better make more potions tonight to bribe her... I mean for her fee.” I said, which almost made her laugh.

“She did mention that you owe her more potions.” Helena's smile grew wide. “I don't think she realizes how much money you've saved her and the healers by giving the potions away.”

“I think she suspects, even if it's not the real cost.” I said and Helena nodded. “How is Eludora?”

Helena took a deep breath and let it out. “I'm sorry to say that you were right. She isn't thinking of you as a friend at all now and is only determined to get better to be worthy of being with you.”

“I was afraid of that.” I said and sighed.

“Well, you were the only person she had ever allowed to touch her like that.” Helena said. “It was bound to cause some unforeseen circumstances.”

“Like obsession.” I said and she nodded. “I told her that I regretted doing that to her, even if it did keep her stabilized and saved her life.”

“She knows that, since both Greta and her sister remind her of that all the time. It's just too bad that you're the only thing she can concentrate on.”

“What about her recovery?” I asked.

“It's actually progressing at a good pace. Those potions you made are working wonders for her.” Helena said. “She's getting stronger every day.”

“At least losing her friendship over this wasn't a total waste.” I said and she nodded. “When is she going to resume her post at the library?”

“They're hoping for the end of the break for the king's birthday. If she gets herself back to her old self enough to continue working, they'll consider it a success and go from there.”

I nodded and we finished off the meal. After that, we went back to the parlour and relaxed as we discussed the finalizing of the contract and filling out the final details, including clauses for termination, injury, loss of life (either theirs or the baby's), and compensation for loss of work during the contract's run and during the pregnancy.

Once we had it all worked out and on paper, I signed it, Helena signed it, the Baroness and her husband signed it, and then it was Vanessa's turn. She stared at Helena for several moments, who nodded enthusiastically, then with a shaky hand signed her name as well. All five of us touched the paper with our fingertips and injected a little bit of magic into the paper to confirm our consent. It glowed gold for ten seconds and then it was done.

Administrator Lannin came in and made several copies of the official document and gave one to Vanessa, her parents, one to us, and had two left for the guild and for the castle. We all stood as the man left and we were all smiling at each other.

Helena was the first to break the silence and let a huge smile appear on her face as she opened her arms. “Congratulations, Vanessa Elizabeth Sellwafer-Henrietta. Welcome to the family.”

Vanessa suddenly burst out crying and dove into her arms to hug her tightly.