Page 33 of Love Me Forever

“I’m not sure how to raise a little girl.”

Sébastien shifted to look at him in the dim light as Whisper let out a snort from the yard below. “I think most parents figure things out as they go. There’s no rigid set of rules that you need to instantly start following, Remus.”

Perhaps he was overthinking it because it had been so sudden.

“What should I buy her?”

***

Remus left the house the next morning with a list that he’d made with Sébastien. When he’d asked Éloïse if she wantedanything, she’d said she had no money. Sébastien clarified it’d be like a present, and she’d shrugged.

He stopped at the seamstress first and asked if the lady could come by that afternoon after lunch. The woman said she would.

“It’s for a little girl, so think of colors that a little girl would like.”

“A girl?”

“We adopted. Long story.”

Clothes aren’t made in a day, and Éloïse would need at least a couple of other dresses plus shifts. Remus had to try a few secondhand shops to find something that was in good shape and looked like it would fit her. A pair of slippers would do for around the house until they took her to the cobbler for shoes.

The toy shop was a little easier. Every child needs things to play with, and she wouldn’t think he was so bad if he got her dolls, right? Remus didn’t know much about dolls. Any kind should be good. He picked three and noticed the woman behind the counter was giving him an odd look.

“Aren’t you King Remus?”

“Yeah.”

She raised an eyebrow at his armload of dolls.

“These are all for me,” he told her.

“Mmm. Have fun, Your Majesty.” She went back to doodling on a scrap of parchment.

What was better than dolls? A toy sword and shield. Éloïse was five, so it was time to get her used to training. Remus had started training at four, which had mostly consisted of waving around a wooden sword. They’d teach her how to fight, and when she grew up, nobody would ever mess with her. Remus had loved playing with his toy soldiers as a small boy, so he grabbed her a few of those too. Why not? The dolls would need companions.

Chapter Eight

The two men who’d been ready to fight in front of the tavern the day before had ended things without trading blows and causing a ruckus. That didn’t mean no fights took place elsewhere inBelle Âme. After a couple of lengthy and tedious property disputes, a trio was brought in. They had caused damage in a tavern with their drunken brawling the night before, soSébastien fined them and ordered them to pay back the tavern owner for the cost of repairs.

The three men had appeared quite confused about the little girl seated next to him with a bowl of bread mushed into milk with sugar. She’d eaten a bowl of porridge with no problem, so Sébastien figured she was fine to snack if she wanted.

After they were led out, Éloïse tugged on his sleeve. “Are they slaves now? They said they were sorry.”

With surly expressions, like it was Sébastien’s fault they’d gotten drunk and started a fight. “We don’t have slaves anymore. I said it was against the law and made everyone release their slaves.”

“Where do bad people go?”

“Prison. Or they pay a fine if the crime was minor.” She wiped her mouth on her sleeve, and he nudged over a linen napkin. “Use this, not your sleeve.”

“I don’t need it now.”

They’d have to teach her table manners soon. He figured he could let the slurping go for now since no one was around to hear.

“Remus is going to come back with a few things for you,” he said. “A seamstress will make your clothes, and you need morethan one dress to wear in the meantime. Making clothes takes time.”

“I don’t want him to come back,” she stated as he set her empty bowl down. “I’m not going anywhere with him either.”

“Can you tell me why? Does he scare you?”

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