Mary's Path
A solution

Mary thought about what Anna had told her and she wanted to keep seeing Erik. But there was still a part of her that wondered if it was worth the risk. But the walk to and from church with Erik was one of the rare occasions now days when she laughed.

She wanted to laugh and be happy and feel carefree, just for one afternoon a week. Was that so bad? Did she really need to give that up?

As Sunday came and she headed out of the gate, Erik stood waiting for her. She realised that she had been worried he wouldn’t be there. But when she saw him, she smiled and waved happily at him.

“Hi, ready for church and then dinner with my family?” he asked as she walked up to him. She nodded happily as Zerden hadn’t said anything about needing her for a meeting with lady Sarah.

They walk as usual towards the church, greeting father Link before entering. But Mary felt differently this time. She couldn’t relax but kept looking at the people around them to se if anyone was judging them.

In the sermon for the day, father Link talked about the sickness and how it was more important then ever to be generous towards their neighbours. Mary was moved by his words, and she felt Erik take her hand and gently squeezing it. It was to let her know that he knew what she was feeling and that he understood.

It was nice have that reassurance. Mary made sure to give some extra money in the alms box and then she let Erik escort her toward his home.

“Mary, is something wrong?” he asked as the walked. “You seem a bit distracted and unfocused”

“I’m sorry, it’s nothing. Don’t mind me”

“It’s okay, I’m not upset with you. I just want to know if there is something on your mind. Is it the sickness?” he gently probed.

“No, well yes that too, but it’s not the main reason” Mary tried to formulate a coherent sentence.

“Okay, then what is the matter? Maybe I can help.” he said smiling towards her. She sighed.

“I’m just not sure I can continue seeing you like this Erik and I’m sad about it” she confessed making him stop and look at her.

“Why can’t we see each other? Have you meet someone else?” he asked making her confused. Why would meeting someone new keep her from seeing Erik?

“No, but someone pointed out to me that it’s not proper for us to be alone together. We are too old for this” she said. He looked at her and a wrinkle appeared between his brows.

“Was it Zerden that told you that?”

“No, maybe. It doesn’t matter who it was. What does matter is that I can’t risk losing my position at the castle”

“Mary, no one cares about us walking to and from church together. No one will make you leave the castle over a thing like that” he tried to reassure her, but he saw that she wasn’t convinced.

“Tell you what, why don’t I take my little sister, Ida, with me next week? Then we won’t be alone, and we can still spend some time together” he offered.

“Really?”

“Sure, she can be a bit of a pain in the you know what, but if it makes you more comfortable, then I’ll do it”

“Thank you, Erik. I don’t know what I would do if I had to give up on seeing you” she said smiling.

They continued walking towards Erik’s home and as usual, the closer they came to the artisan part of the city, the more uneasy Maria felt.

Mrs. Korpi and her husband welcomed Mary as usual, and Ida followed her around asking questions about her life in the castle until Erik told his little sister to bug of.

Mary helped preparing dinner, cooking for five people felt like nothing after doing it for court. Erik’s mother praised her for her skills in the kitchen and Mary thanked her.

They all sat down to eat, and Erik and his father entertained Mary with stories about what had happened in the shop and Mary told them funny stories from the kitchen.

It was interesting, Mary thought, that the mood was so much more relaxed around this dinner table than how it was at Zerden’s parents. But still Mary felt more relaxed at Zerden’s parents then here. These parts of town held to many memories, these persons were a part of them. The good ones and the bad ones.

She still hadn’t been able to let go of the past and she felt it the strongest here where there were reminders everywhere.

But she enjoyed her time at the Korpi household non the less and they seemed to enjoy having her, which was always nice.

As the sky turned a light peach colour, Erik offered to walk her home and told Ida that she should come along. Mary smiled at his consideration. They wated outside on the street as Ida was getting ready. Mary looked towards her old home and Erik followed her gaze.

“Have you been back?” he asked.

“No, I don’t think I could” she said, he nodded as Ida came running. The three of them made their way through the streets and soon they saw the castle gate come in to view.

“We’ll wait for you to go through before we go back” Erik said.

“Thank you, and thank you for having me”

“It was so much fun, please come again soon” Ida said waving as Mary walked away. Mary waved back as she entered the courtyard.

Zerden stood just inside the gate.

“Oh hi” Maria said surprised.

“Hi, were you out in the city until this late?” he replied.

“Yeah, Erik and I went to church and then I ate dinner with his family. Erik and Ida walked me back” Mary said as they walked over the yard. “Were you waiting for me?”

“Yes, I came by the kitchen to ask you to join me and lady Sarah in the gardens after church. But you weren’t there”

“Sorry”

“I thought you weren’t going to be alone with him anymore” Zerden said with furrowed brows.

“I know, he was waiting for me when I went to church, so I let him come along. But we talked and he will bring Ida next time”

“Who is Ida?” Zerden asked.

“His little sister. That way we won’t be alone. Thank you by the way for letting me know it was inappropriate”

“No problem” Zerden said, still with a frown. “Well, it’s to late for a walk in the gardens now. We missed our chance” he sounded annoyed.

“Sorry, I didn’t know” she said, but she was more relived then sorry.

“Can you make sure to be around so that this doesn’t happen again?” he asked.

“I don’t know Zerden, I promised Mr. and Mrs. Korpi that I would visit them soon again and I have church to go to”

“But you promised me to help me” he said, giving her a hurt look.

“I’ll do my best” she said with a sigh.

“Thank you, Mary, I know I can trust you. Have a nice evening” he said as he left her by the kitchen door.

“You to” she said before going inside.