Page 1 of Pretense

Chapter One

Her elf looked particularly adorable when doing homework.

Essie leaned against the doorframe of Farrendel’s new workshop, which his siblings Weylind and Jalissa had grown for him on the forest floor beneath the lift for his birthday a month ago.

Farrendel sat cross-legged on top of the wide workbench that filled the whole back wall. Papers and books spread in neat rows around him, a pen resting neatly next to the nearest stack.

Cabinets filled the wall to Essie’s right while, on the left, pegs held gears and tools above the small table with two chairs that stood along the wall. Essie’s breakfast waited for her on the table underneath a glass dish, filling the air with the faint scent of bacon and eggs, courtesy of Miss Merrick, their cook and housekeeper. She and her brother had a newly grown cottage set between Farrendel’s workshop and Estyra, where Captain Merrick could guard Farrendel while they were here in Estyra.

Essie crossed the space and leaned against the workbench. “Good morning.”

“Morning.” Farrendel leaned forward just enough to give her a quick, distracted kiss, his focus never leaving the book spread open before him.

Essie laughed under her breath. Whatever he was reading must be terribly fascinating. She leaned a hand on his knee. “Do you call that a good morning kiss?”

That had him setting aside his book. His mouth tipped in a mischievous smile—the glint in his silver-blue eyes her only warning—before he gripped her waist and pulled her onto his lap.

She couldn’t help a shriek that quickly turned into giggling that she couldn’t seem to stop, even as he kissed her. Giggling and kissing at the same time wasn’t ideal, but she managed.

Farrendel eased back, murmuring as he brushed another kiss across her cheek, “How is that for a good morning kiss?”

Essie leaned into him, still trying to catch her breath and think through the hazy whirl in her head. “I’m going to blush like a tomato the moment your grandmother gives me one of her looks when I arrive for tea. And then she’s going to tease me about great-grandchildren, and I’m going to blush even more.”

Farrendel pulled back even more, his gaze searching her face. “Machasheni will stop, if her teasing bothers you.”

Now that she thought about it, Leyleira didn’t tease Rheva about more great-grandchildren, nor did she tease Jalissa about finding a husband.

“I don’t mind.” It was Leyleira’s way of saying that she shared their hopes and dreams for the future, even if she didn’t come right out and say it. Essie trailed her fingers through Farrendel’s hair. While it wasn’t as long as it had been when she married him, it was nearly there, falling well past his shoulders now. “What are your plans for today?”

“I have magic practice with Weylind and Ryfon while you are at tea.” Farrendel gestured at the papers and books spread across the workbench, keeping his other hand on her waist. “And then I am getting my research organized. After the ball, I will have three full days where I can hide here and see no one.”

He sounded like he relished the thought of spending so many days alone. As if three days of doing nothing but homework was enjoyable.

It probably was enjoyable for him, compared to spending a single evening at a ball interacting with the elven court.

“No one? Not even me?” Essie tipped her head up to better give him a fake glare.

“Of course I will see you. You do not count as people.” He grinned and pressed a light kiss to her temple.

“That would sound insulting if I didn’t know it’s a compliment coming from you.” Essie grinned back. “I, for one, am looking forward to this ball. I can’t wait to wear my new dress. It turned out so well with its mix of human and elven design, and I’m so glad the older style of corset is coming back into style. It is actually comfortable and practical, not the torture devices fashion was turning them into. Seriously, fashion should not be more of a concern than the comfort and needs of the person actually wearing the garment.”

Essie paused to take a breath, and only then did she notice the tilt to Farrendel’s smile. “Right. You’ve heard my tirade on the evils of modern corsets compared to the apparently far more comfortable ones that were worn in times past.”

“I would worry far more if you stopped rambling about random topics.”

“Admit it. Nowadays, you ramble about random topics just as often as I do.” Essie eyed him, trying to suppress her grin.

“True.” Farrendel’s gaze flicked back to his book, his mouth pressing into a line as if he was trying hard not to launch into a long spiel about what he had been reading.

From Farrendel, there was no such thing as too much talking. She would willingly listen to whatever technical topic he wanted to wax eloquent about since it would mean she would see his eyes light up and hear his excitement come through his voice in a way she’d never seen and heard when she’d first married him.

She tapped the book he’d been reading earlier. It still rested on the workbench next to the two of them, open to his spot. “What are you researching now?”

The poor professors at Hanford University had no idea what they were getting themselves into when they offered to provide a few correspondence courses for Farrendel for the rest of the winter. They hadn’t accounted for an elf who not only had too much time on his hands now that the wars were over but also would rather spend his time doing homework than socializing with people.

“Theories of magical inheritance.” Farrendel reached around her to pick up the book and set it on her knees. “I am writing a paper applying human theories on how magic is inherited to elven magic and how the lack of intermarriage between social classes and between elves, humans, and trolls may have caused magic like mine to become rare.”

“Marriage to a human. Oh the horror.” Essie found herself watching Farrendel’s expressions, far more animated than he had been nearly a year ago when she married him. “Anything interesting?”

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