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“Vivian is family.”

“She is?!” Mirilla asked, surprised, her eyes flashing up to his briefly before focusing on the floor once more.

“She is. She’s my aunt.”

“I had no idea!”

He could see her forehead bunching in confusion as she tried to figure out how the Sirena could be his aunt, when he looked older than she did.

“She is. There’s not much family left for us, so we make an effort to remain close.”

“I can certainly understand that.”

They stood awkwardly, the things neither of them were saying the loudest thing in the room.

Bart finally broke the ice. “I’ve missed you, Mirilla.”

Finally she looked up at him. “Have you?”

“I have. I wanted to reach out a hundred times.”

“I have been right here.”

“I wasn’t sure how receptive you’d be to me contacting you directly. I can’t believe it’s possible to keep anything that is between us out of view of anyone who cares to notice if I had reached out to you directly.”

“I know how important it was for you to maintain the impression that we were only friends when you were here last.”

He looked at her for a moment realizing she felt slighted. “Whatever steps I took to maintain the appearance of a simple friendship was out of a concern for you and any unpleasant reaction you might have to face as a result.”

Mirilla nodded and flashed him a smile before looking down at the floor again.

“I assure you I didn’t intend to leave you wondering about my intentions.”

“It’s alright. I didn’t.”

“Mirilla, I knew that you were anxious to keep our attentions for one another private. I didn’t know if it would be a threat to your position here or not, so I didn’t follow through on my desire to contact you. Otherwise I would have, many times.”

“I understand. And you were right, it was best to keep everything to ourselves.”

He stood there for a few more awkward moments. “I’m really glad to see you again.”

Mirilla smiled. “I am glad to see you again, too. Will you be visiting long?”

“I’ll be here at least until the baby is born, and perhaps a little longer. I’d like to share some time with you.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“I’m talking about sharing a meal. Perhaps you could take me on a tour of the grounds. Just take a walk, spend some time talking. I love your company. You make me laugh. You make me forget for a while the responsibilities I have hanging over my head.” He stopped speaking, watching her and trying to gauge her reaction. “If it’s better to keep our friendship, relationship, or whatever it is to you a secret, I understand. You can count on me to hold your confidence, for now.”

Mirilla looked up at him and saw the sincerity in his expression. He hadn’t forgotten her, and their rushed whispered words of want and mutual admiration. He’d been protecting her privacy. “So that you know, when speaking with Sovereigna Eula shortly after you left, I did allude to the fact that I’d become fond of you.”

His smile was immediate. “I’m glad.”

“I thought you’d just forgotten me.”

“How could you think I’d just forgotten, Mirilla,” he said, stepping closer and taking both her hands in his.

“I thought that the things you’d said, perhaps you only meant in the moment.”

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