The Marriage Decree

Chapter 79: Books Should Never Be Banned

"As soon as I saw Arche, I knew he was the love of my life but he never thought he deserved me. Of course, I'm very persistent so I asked him to take me for dinner every time he came into my Father's shop until he finally gave in. The rest is, as they say, history." She laughs. "Or at least until the war came. You know I lost my Father in the first war and my husband and three eldest in the second. I pray every night there won't be another. I don't think I could take the loss of any more of my family." She dabs at her watery eyes with a handkerchief.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did Hyperion's wife die?" Hermione asks softly.

"Annabella was in a bus accident." Sarah answers. "It's quite strange, it's been one hundred and thirty years since someone in our family has died of natural causes or old age. There's a little family joke that I'll outlive everyone. I say I bloody hope not. I'm more than ready to see my husband again." She chuckles.

"Is Mum talking your ear off?" Hyperion jokes as he enters the conservatory where the two of them had been chatting.

"Of course not, we've been having a lovely chat." Hermione smiles at Sarah.

"Hermione, we should get going. I was telling Hyperion that we start work on Thursday and will need some early nights beforehand. We also haven't eaten since ten o'clock so I think it's time for dinner." He smiles at her.

"Why didn't you say, I would have made you some sandwiches," Sarah tells them.

"Oh, no, you've been more than hospitable to us, especially since we arrived unannounced." Hermione thanks her as she stands up.

"You're lovely, dear, please come around again," Sarah tells her.

Hyperion leads Hermione and Draco to the front door. She doesn't know what transpired upstairs in Hyperion's office but Draco looks more relaxed and at ease than earlier.

"It was lovely meeting you, Hermione." Hyperion holds his hand out for Hermione to shake, which she does. "And Draco, think about what I said. You'd be more than welcome." He softly smiles, patting his nephew on the back as he opens the front door.

"I will think about it." Draco nods, stepping outside after Hermione. "Do you mind if we disapparate from beside your house and the wall?" He asks.

Hyperion stares for a moment before nodding. "Sure, that's fine." He agrees.

Draco leads Hermione by the hand down the side of Hyperion's house where they disapparate back to the estate.

Back in their living room, Draco flops down onto the couch, both hands covering his face as he groans, "That went better than I expected."

"What did you talk about in his office?" Hermione finally asks since Draco hadn't mentioned anything on the walk through the estate.

She perches beside Draco, pulling his hands away from his face to find a small smile.

"He told me what you said, thank you." He caresses the back of her hand. "He's invited us over for dinner on Saturday night with Alarte, his youngest son. He thinks he'll take the whole thing better than his older children." He explains.

"What do his children know about his childhood?" Hermione asks.

"Nothing. He only told Neville this afternoon that he was abandoned in an orphanage and adopted by Sarah. I assume his other children all think their Grandmother is their Dad's actual mother." Draco says.

"How did Neville take the news?" She asks him.

"Not well, Hyperion explained our kind can be dangerous and Neville doesn't want us near his children." He tells her.