Alysanne and Tomas continued seeing each other, with the boy growing more and more excited with each date. He admired Alysanne for her Independence and he way she coped with misfortunes and Alysanne grew to genuinely like his puppy-eyed awkwardness and the bright optimism hiding beneath it.
And they were both happy to finally find someone who didn't try to drive them away.

As time passed, they slowly grew more intimate, even Tomas eventually gaining enough self-confidence to push the relationship forward.

Still, it was Alysanne who first opened the question of real committed relationship. She held her breath, a part of her still convinced Tomas was only toying with her and would refuse anything binding. But, despite all her fears, Tomas looked straight into her eyes, took both of her hands in his and nodded seriously, suddenly looking at least five years older.

When winter came, Tomas took it up to himself to provide food for Alysanne. At first she tried to convince him she had some money saved away and would manage, but as he insisted of being the man and take care of her, she eventually stopped arguing. Tomas claimed he could afford it and deep down she was grateful for the help.
And, if nothing else, it proved his dedication and responsible nature. If she wanted a solid, stable marriage, she couldn't wish for anything better.

Days came and went with Thomas playing he part of dutiful lover, but not mentioning marriage at all, and Alysanne begun to feel nervous again. Was he just shy? Or was he having second thoughts, maybe finally realising how bad a match she was with her reputation?
Unable to take the doubts anymore, she asked the question herself.
Tomas froze, remembering who Alysanne's best friend was. "You're not... with a child, are you?" He asked, looking as frightened as Alysanne felt.
"What? No! Not at all!" Alysanne didn't add that there must be two to have a child. "But I... love you and want to stay with you for the rest of my life." She pushed back the thought of Alvin. He was a priest, she needed a husband... and she had not been actually lying. She did like Tomas a lot.

"Yes." Tomas said, breaking her stream of thoughts. "Yes, I will marry you."
For a second she wasn't sure she had heard right, but then she was on her feet, hugging him tight, almost weeping with gratitude and relief.

Still, that night she dreamt about Alvin again and about the things and feelings she was trying hard to forget. She woke up slowly, unable to shake the dream off for a long time.

The day of the wedding finally came.
Alvin greeted Alysanne at the door with a kiss on her cheek and a teasing "Are you sure I can't persuade you to change your mind?"
Alysanne shook her head mutely. She didn't know how much he was joking and how much he really wanted her to. She didn't even know how much she wanted it herself.

When Alvin went inside to prepare, Alysanne stopped at the donation bowl. For a while she just stood there, praying with all her heart for the Watcher to show her the right way.
She threw the coins in, her eyes fixed on the carved figure's shrouded face.

When she heard the clink of the coins hitting the stone bottom of the bowl, a warm feeling enveloped her and she was almost sure she saw the Watcher smile. It may just have been a trick of light... but whatever it was, it gave her enough courage to enter the church and approach her love and her fiancé, who were waiting for her.

They knelt side by side to ask for the Watcher's blessing, Tomas bowed his head and begun praying earnestly. Alysanne just looked at Alvin - she couldn't bring herself to calling him father Alvin - who was about to bind them together. What was he thinking? Was he glad, maybe even relieved? Or did he want her, was he jealous? Did they have Alvin's blessing as well as the Watcher's?

Alvin's face was calm - composed? emotionless? - but when Tomas said his vows in a voice full of devotion, he smiled with what seemed to be sincere approval.
With that encouragement, Alysanne forced herself to look away from Alvin's face and repeated the vows to her husband-to-be.
It took all of her self-control to keep looking into Tomas's eyes when Alvin pronounced them man and wife.

Then they turned and faced the village.
Before the wedding took place, Alysanne had thought about two people only, completely ignoring the rest. When she saw how many people were present, she was glad for it. She didn't even know all of them and could only guess why they chose to witness the wedding - were they family or friends of Tomas, or just curious or simply nearby? Still, what surprised her even more than them being there was the fact that there was no rejection on any of their faces.
Alysanne felt finally accepted, maybe for the first time since her father was caught with lord Lorimer's wife.

That night she slept well in Tomas's embrace, with no distracting dreams. She was safe, with a man who would take care of her.

And Tomas had great plans. His vision of the life they would lead was grand but so clear Alysanne could almost see it before her eyes. Four or five children, the house rebuilt to four times the size, with a huge central fireplace to gather at...

But before all that could happen, there were countless smaller things to take care of. Even before building that huge fireplace, there had to be enough wood for cooking and warmth, especially in the middle of winter.
Tomas was determined to take care of all the work like a proper man.

Luckily, the woods were just behind the house, offering at least this one resource even in the dead of winter. Gathering enough fuel to last until spring took some time, the important thing was that it was there for the taking. And when it's time for rebuilding the house, there would be plenty of material for that as well.