"Lenny!" Margaret exclaimed as soon as the door to his study was opened, and he stood up, keeping himself from grinning as she wrapped her arms around him tightly.
Margaret was his cousin, the only relative left from his mother's side. They shared a pair of great-grandparents, her paternal grandfather was his grandmother's younger brother. Unfortunately, he had been one of those killed by Blackhall later into his regime, when her mother was pregnant. To protect herself and their unborn child, Lady Grey had sneaked out of the country, given her daughter her own name and married again, raising her in France, and he had had the opportunity to meet her on several occasions.
"Margaret," he kissed her forehead. "How are you?"
Margaret was a short redhead who resembled his mother more than anyone else in the world, looking more like her child than Leo ever did or ever would, and it was quite haunting, and it was a bit painful if he was honest. When they were kids, everyone always thought they were siblings.
"Have you settled in?" he asked.
Margaret had moved out of her parents' house and into the castle, assuming the place of his heir, as Leonard didn't have any children so far – he didn't even have a wife, though this was already in the plans – and would be taking the name Marfont in official instances.
"I did," she confirmed. "Apparently, I have seamstresses and jewellery waiting for me anytime I want!"
"You're a princess," he reminded her. "A princess of the Royal House of Marfont, nonetheless. You have to look the part."
She just smiled at him and smoothed her clothes nervously when a shadow passed her eyes.
"Leo, I… I found some old clothes from when aunt Florence was my age," she said slowly. "I thought you should know."
He didn't say anything at first. Margaret has taken the room that had once belonged to his mother, the best chambers after the King and Queen rooms; this was bound to happen. He'd be surprised Blackhall hadn't given the dresses away to his granddaughter, had he not know his treatment of her. Besides, she was much taller than his mother, they would never fit her right.
"Do you like them?" he asked, finally. "Are they still in fashion?"
"I do," she confirmed. "And some of them still are, yes. They are beautiful."
He nodded slowly.
"Then you should keep the ones you like," he decided. "I'm sure you'll look gorgeous in them."
His cousin gave him a soft look.
"Are you sure?" she asked. "I don't want to overstep, I have plenty of good dresses."
"I insist," he confirmed. "Please, have them. It's better than to have them hiding away in a chest."
Margaret nodded, and Leo was quick to change the subject, too uncomfortable in the silence to let it sit.
"So, have you visited the Dunchs?"
He didn't miss how her eyes glimmered in response to his words, and her face changed in excitement.
"Oh, I did," she exclaimed. "Rosamund and Primrose went there with me too and Rosamund absolutely loved the Lady Coraline, they became friends very quickly."
He nodded slowly. That was good. If he had been informed correctly, Lady Coraline didn't have any friends at all.
"So?" he raised his eyebrows. "What do you have for me?"
She breathed in deep.
"Well," his cousin looked for words. "I think she's very lonely, Lenny. She said no one had ever visited her before, she thought we were all there for the Lady Anne, for some reason. Lady Coraline was delighted that we just wanted to be with her. It was almost like seeing a child getting a gift."
Her face just became sad, and Leo waited for more, absorbing the information. Coraline's loneliness wasn't new, it was a given, honestly, but he needed more.
"She's beloved by all of Lord Dunch's employees. The stable boy told my footman they were all hesitant when she first arrived, but she's the sweetest and has an amazing memory, and is good with numbers. She's even teaching the kitchen girl how to read," she told him. "Oh, and she is very skilled with a bow. We actually had a wild hawk she hunted herself for a dinner."
He raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Really?" he asked. "And her morals?"
"Those are hard to catch in a single visit, I'm afraid."
He tapped his fingers against the wall, thinking to himself.
"Thank you, cousin," he said finally. "I wouldn't have known more than her brief fame if it wasn't for you."
Margaret hummed a confirmation and gave him a knowing look.
"You plan to marry her," she said, not in a question, but an affirmation.
He smirked.
"Is it that obvious?"
"Very much so," Margaret confirmed. "You have a face when you talk about her, it's like a boy with a crush."
He felt his face warming up in embarrassment, and she chuckled, taking a long breath and giving his hand a squeeze.
"Don't let people dissuade you of your decision, whatever it is in the end. Most of the men around this country just want to bury the past and forget Blackhall ever existed. I say you shall lean with it, and it'll be much more useful," she instructed him. "But I think you should visit her before anything, and meet her beyond that begging scene that happened last month."
Leonard didn't hide his surprise.
"You know about it?"
"Everyone knows about it, Leonard," his cousin pointed out. "It was very brave of her. I actually wonder if it was calculated."
He frowned. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind, but she was right. Meeting him and begging for her life in a full courtyard before Leo could even decide what he would do with her could be considered quite smart from Coraline if it was, indeed, a calculated move.
"Would it be bad for you if it was?" he asked, cautious.
Margaret didn't hesitate or think before answering.
"No, absolutely not. Where would you rather live, Leo? Alone in this place or in a dungeon, or with your family?"
Leonard remembered his mother and father, and how even in adversities they had been able to raise him to be a good man and – hopefully – a good king. He couldn't imagine who he would be without their – sometimes rough, but always present – love.
"Is it even a question?" he finally asked.
"Exactly," Margaret stepped closer to him, wrapping her hands around his forearms. "Besides, she's loudly grateful to you for letting her stay with her grandparents. I saw the look in her eyes. The Dunch state is her dream come true."
He looked away from her face. If Margaret was right, then he was now faced with a challenge. To take the Lady Coraline back into the castle and marry her would be to take her away from her family, and back into a place that housed her bad memories. But he could build better memories for her if only she gave him the chance. He couldn't let her go without trying. Coraline was the best option for the position of his Queen – and he wanted her.
"I'll go visit her," he decided. "Thank you, Margaret."
"You're welcome. Shall I go?"
"Just a thing," he raised a hand. "Would you help me select some fabrics for dresses? It's for a gift."
She gave him a sly grin.
"Let me guess… It's for the Lady Coraline."
He grinned.
"Guilty."
"I'll find them," she affirmed. "And I'll add some jewellery, she deserves it."
He chuckled and she curtsied to him for a quick moment before stepping back and leaving, and Shamus stepped into the study after his call.
"I want to visit Lord Dunch tomorrow," he told him. "Please, have a messenger sent. I'll be having dinner with them."
His friend confirmed and left, closing the door behind himself, and Leonard finally sat down, breathing in deep and running a hand over his hair.
Well, then. Let's see what will happen.