(...and then I sucked into looking through gifs for hours on end a couple of days in a row because hot men should not be allowed to lick their lips... ...don't mind me, my inner fangirl is showing *hides*)

"That is mighty generous of you, mi'lord." To say that Joseph was astonished was probably putting it mildly. "Yes, we have an agreement." To him, it wasn't as though he was selling off his daughter, but that he was ensuring a good life for her. He watched as the prince and his entourage turned and left and then shook his head. "Well I'll be. And I thought we were blessed when the carpenter took off with Laura..." He whistled low and then turned to the others who were watching. "Alright, back to work. We've got to get this in before the next rain."

---

Of course, since news spreads quickly in a village, word quickly came to her what was to become of her, and who she was intended for. Needless to say, Josephina had been both shocked and pleased that this was going to be a more honorable arrangement than what her mother had first assumed. It really had been a blessing in disguise to be such a late bloomer, as they say. She had been so awkward when she had come of age.

However, it alarmed and worried her some as she had heard about the prince, or well, king's inability to keep a wife, and she wondered what had happened to all of them and if the same terrible fate awaited her. Losing one or two wives in childbirth might be plausible, even if rather unlucky, but she wasn't sure what number this made her as the number changed depending on who was sharing the rumor. Anna had to have the patience of a saint to put up with Jo's constant stream of questions and ridiculous notions such as "What if he plans on eating me?" or "What if the queen mother is sacrificing all the girls to the devil?" But she managed to snap only a few times and assured Jo that even if her life was cut short, she could at least expect a year of good living better than she'd ever had. After all, an heir to the throne was still needed.

When Edwin came for her in the evening, Josephina answered his knock at the door herself as the men were still coming back in from the fields. Her hair was done up this time in a sort of braided updo, as her mother had attempted to give her a more ladylike appearance, and she had taken the time to wash all the dirt from gardening off herself and put on a clean apron. Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed as she saw who it was, even though she should have expected him to return, and she fumbled a bit as she curtsied.

"Good evening, mi'lord! It, ah... is a pleasure to see you once more." This time, knowing that she was not in trouble, she dared to take a much better look at him. After all, such boldness hadn't been punished the last time. He was rather handsome for a devil, she thought to herself, although she didn't voice that suspicion aloud as her mother had chastised her for it earlier. She felt as though she could fall into those blue eyes and drown, but perhaps he was just bewitching her. That had to be it! With a further blush, she averted her eyes. And yes, with her head swimming with such strange thoughts, she had completely forgotten to invite him in and left him just standing out there waiting.