AFTERWORD
About a month later, Hans and I got married. About eight months later, little Don was born. But that wasn’t the end. A little over a year later, Sira was born. There I was, with two children, a boy and a girl. Of course, I also had my Hans.
He became Master Hans, and I Mistress Elena. Noel took his tenth of land as he had been promised, but I can’t say he never bothered us again. He spent a lot of time traveling, and never actually married. When we heard of his death (eight years after I was married) we took his land back for ourselves. Also, Hans’s Aunt Reda lost both of her daughters, one to death and one to marriage. On her deathbed, she suddenly named Hans the heir of her land, as well. By that point, I had been married ten years and had five children: Don, Sira, Will, Tani, and Garret. With three boys and two girls, I was set to split the land with Hans for five children. With Reda’s, Noel’s, and Hans’s land, we had doubled the amount land of Master Don. Then, my father died in his home in town, where I had grown up. He didn’t leave his home to Daria, who had John’s land, but to me.
Needless to say, we worked carefully on our will. We were worried that one of our children might follow in Noels’ footsteps. But we were worrying needlessly. None of our children had any love for Noel. For that, we are grateful. Hans never forgot his father’s last advice, and passed it on to our sons. All of the children grew up happily in the mansion, with their cousins (Daria’s children) George and Frederic.
However, my life did not center on my children and nephews. My center was Hans. Hans… my life and my love. I lived and died with him. We never stopped loving each other, ever. We lived long together, and retired (ironically) to the guest house on the far side of the river where Noel had lived for some time. Together, we fixed the old house up and built on to it, so that whichever child got it would be pleased and live in it. We did not have more children than five, but together raised the ones that we did have to be proper little ladies and gentlemen. Hans saw to the boys, and I to the girls. And as I watched my daughters grow up, it brought to mind how I, too, had become a lady.
THE END
