October 19th, 1891 — The Crouch Home, Swallowbury

A month into parenthood saw Melody finally beginning to feel more like herself. Her body had finally grown accustomed to the interrupted sleep and constantly aching chest (at least to the point that she could now think and function normally). The bleeding had finally ceased too, which only helped boost her energy levels. All in all, for the first time since the start of the new year Melody was feeling good.

That her relationship had dramatically improved with Ben certainly helped as well. The pair had gone from almost exclusively avoiding one another to actively seeking time together seemingly overnight. Gone were the long days of loneliness and illness, and in their stead was, shockingly, happiness. Sometimes, Melody thought she died in labor and this was the afterlife. Surely, her life couldn't have changed this much?

Except it had, a fact proven by the first passing thought as she realized her bleeding had ceased: she and Ben could spend the night together if they wished. Obviously, she was still unprepared for intimate relations, but for the first time since their honeymoon he wouldn't have to sneak away like a thief in the night. Melody only had to be bold enough to ask.

It had taken some digging, but she had managed to find the magical card game they'd played in Paris. The deck wasn't nearly as large this time around for she had filtered out any questions that might lead to contention or were overly sexual, but it was a start. Another chance to learn more random details about the other. Hopefully Ben would take to the idea well as her only other ideas involved parties that she was not yet permitted to join.

Once the deck and bottles of whiskey and wine were hidden by a charm in the dining room, Melody had bundled up Nora and went to sit in the garden. There, she cooed and explained the outside world to her daughter until the familar footsteps were heard from behind her. "Hey," Melody greeted cheerfully. "I was just telling Nora about the many thrilling uses of birch trees."

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Ben's work was winding down — he was always busier just before and during the social season, which was now wrapping up — which meant he'd spent most of today daydreaming about his daughter. Once he arrived home, his first task was finding her, and it didn't take long.

"Oh yeah?" he asked with a lopsided grin, as he passed by the chair where Melody was sitting with Nora and dropped onto a nearby bench. Their garden was half patio, with no shortage of seating options. It was a good choice for the pair of them, since neither were particularly interested in gardening and Ben, at least, was much more inclined towards hosting people. Before his marriage he'd been the center of several social spheres, anyway. The circumstances of their elopement meant that their marriage had gotten off to a rather quiet start compared to what it could have been. Melody wasn't really a part of society the way she had been before she'd been disowned. He didn't actually know if they'd ever had people in the back garden, besides family and Art, but maybe once the weather warmed up again they could change that.

"Enlighten me, then. I don't think I've ever seen a birch broom," he mused. "Making wands?"

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"A birch broom would certainly be pretty, don't you think?" Melody laughed. Perhaps they were on to something there, perhaps Mr. Grimstone was missing an entire avenue for business. "Wands, certainly. Furniture, sometimes. We were discussing using the twigs to make a wreath for the door this year." Nearly two years later and Melody still fondly remembered Mr. Grimstone's 'natural' holiday decor.

She stood to hand Nora over to Ben before settling into the open spot on the bench. "She should be falling back to sleep soon ... do you have any events to attend tonight?"

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Ben wasn't sure a birch broom would be very practical — he thought the best brooms typically favored lighter woods with more flexibility and less drag — but he wasn't an expert and neither was Melody, so it didn't much matter. A wreath for the door sounded nice. Had they had one last year? He couldn't recall. He suspected that perhaps Melody hadn't been much in the mood for housemaking in the immediate lead-up to Christmas. December was when they'd had one of their biggest fights, the one where they'd first seriously started talking about divorce. What a world away that was from today, with Melody handing their daughter to him in the serenity of the garden, the sun setting in the distance.

"Not tonight," he said. His attention was focused on Nora as he settled her into his arms, trying to make sure she was warm enough despite how she'd squirmed a bit during the transition. "The season's basically over. There's a few things at the end of October, costume parties, but after that we'll be pretty quiet until New Year."

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A quiet few months would either bless them with the space required to build a solod foundation or leave them to fall back into their distant, hateful patterns. Melody hoped it was the former — she hoped they would carve a small piece of happiness for them both, but she still wasn't naive enough to have full faith. Distantly, she wondered if the doubts and fear would ever leave her, or if they'd ever reach a solid enough state that she could at least confidently ignore the doubts.

"It'll be nice to join you again in the New Year." Melody replied warmly. Truthfully, she couldn't remember the last time they were at a ball together (last Christmas maybe?) and the labyrinth this summer certainly didn't count. Choosing to avoid that particular thought Melody pushed forward, "I asked [cook's name] to make [food] tonight. I was thinking we could try that game from Paris again?"

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Ben nearly replied I love that dish, but realized at the last minute that was probably the point. The way she'd phrased it implied that she might have noticed what foods he liked and asked for it specifically because of that. It was a nice gesture, but made him feel a little guilty. He still didn't know half as much about her as he probably should have, particularly given how long they'd been sharing the same house. And maybe that was the point, too, because he hadn't expected her to bring up the card game ever again. The first time they'd played had been a little rough, but in hindsight he didn't know what he'd been expecting. They were both stressed and highly emotional at that point in their life, which wasn't exactly the ideal time to be laying the groundwork for a relationship. They'd been essentially starting over, too, because their life together was so different from their earlier flirtation that it hardly even counted as history by that point.

"The card game?" he asked, just to make sure he was thinking of the right one (but what other game would she be talking about)? "Uh, sure. After Nora falls asleep?"

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"Yes, the card game." Had it been the wrong thing to suggest? The first time they'd played hadn't gone well, but that was more because the betrayals were still so fresh. Any question involving honesty and trust wouldn't have gone well, for he rightfully didn't feel safe with her. Merlin, perhaps this was the wrong choice.

But then, he suggested playing once Nora was handed off for the night and Melody released a small sigh of relief. She must not have ruined things too terribly then. "Of course, yeah. I wasn't thinking to have her for it." If there was an embarrassed flush on her cheeks Melody would have never admitted to it. "I still have to feed her once more, too."

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Ben noticed the flush on Melody's cheeks, but misinterpreted it. He thought maybe there was some reason she wouldn't have wanted Nora awake during the card game, but it took a second to figure out why. It wasn't as though she was usually loud or boisterous enough to be distracting, and there was nothing that happened in the game except playing cards and talking. Except — oh, maybe it had to do with the content of the cards? He remembered the last time he'd played, with Melody, there were more sexual questions than he'd been prepared for. Was that why she was blushing? Did she expect a conversation that they started in the game to go somewhere? They hadn't been together in that sense since Nora was conceived, and the idea that that might be about to change made his mouth a little dry. The thought that Melody might be planning for it to change made his heart beat faster. That was a good sign, wasn't it? She wasn't just going along with something he'd tentatively brought up, but actively trying to do something for the pair of them herself. That must have been a good sign.

"Okay, yeah," he agreed brightly. "No rush. We've got all night, right?"

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There was no way he knew her bleeding had stopped, none whatsoever. Melody never allowed their housekeeper to handle her sheets or cloths without vanishing any stains first, so it wasn't as though he could have had any hints. Was he hoping to ask her to his room then? They hadn't been happily together long enough for their thoughts to be so synced yet, had they? Left with a million questions and zero answers, Melody nodded and prayed her blush hadn't deepened (it had). "Yeah, there's no rush."

Nora stirred in Ben's arms, allowing Melody the excuse to stop looking at him and turn her attention to their daughter instead. Only, Nora was only burrowing into Ben's warmth than rooting about. "The nurse said she might begin smiling at us soon." Melody said in an attempt to diffuse her sudden embarrassment.

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The atmosphere between the two of them was strange, but not in a negative way, he didn't think. Maybe that was just his own eagerness at whatever was to come coloring things. He saw Melody blush, but rather than making him feel awkward it reminded him a bit of when they'd first met. He'd made her blush plenty during that fateful first summer. She'd been comparatively innocent to the ways of the world, and he'd enjoyed telling her stories from all across the globe to make himself seem worldly and desirable. And then her parents had gotten involved, and he'd gone off to Canada. Still, now that he had enough distance from Canada not to have it negatively color his experience of the whole year, the memories from that summer were happy ones. Being reminded of that was a little exhilarating, as though they had finally found that new start they'd both talked so much about.

"I swear I've seen her do it already," he said of his daughter. He'd let his eyes linger on Melody's face a second longer than he might have usually, but now he looked down at the baby in his arms. "I know the nurse said she can't yet, but I saw it."

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