The Bed You Make
Chapter 10
~ In With the New ~
Dara gratefully inhaled the rich aroma of the freshly brewed coffee being poured. A week after exchanging vows, she and Stefan had settled into a routine of extremely long days and wary nights. Mornings were getting better but she still appreciated the gentle jolt that Mrs. Landsbury's personal blend provided. Keeping pace with her new husband was a task Dara could only hope to accomplish with a clear head.
Each day Stefan revealed more and more of the workings of the Cassadine ‘empire'. Together with Nikolas they spent twelve-hour days going over the myriad of tiny details that Dara would need to know before she could even begin to understand the scope of the task before her. Dara could only marvel at how far-reaching it was. She observed aloud to Stefan that the details of the things he undoubtedly kept from her must be even more impressive. He'd raised a trademark brow but hadn't bothered to issue a denial.
“Dobry vecher, zhena.” This morning's greeting was in Russian. Stefan randomly threw out basic phrases in either Russian or Greek in an effort to challenge Dara's progress in becoming multi-linguistic. Occasionally he even threw out incorrect phrases to test her grasp of her lessons.
“Dobroe utro , muzh,” Dara confidently corrected her husband.
“Very good.” Stefan strode into the room and took a seat opposite Dara at the table. Before he even settled into place, Mrs. Landsbury began to fill his cup with steaming black coffee. “Your progress after only one week is quite admirable.” Stefan reached for several morning papers and began to quickly peruse their headlines.
Dara accepted her husband's praise. She had quickly discovered that Stefan did not offer it idly. He was a patient, but exacting teacher. More than once over the past week he'd chided Dara for her lack of comprehension. Stung, she had been mildly affronted until Nikolas later explained that it was his uncle's respect for Dara's intellect that made him unaccepting of anything less than what Stefan believed she was capable of. It was an aspect of Stefan that Nikolas knew very well.
Dara realized that she was being given a glimpse into Nikolas' childhood. She could easily envision Stefan and Nikolas as they reviewed the young man's daily studies, seamlessly moving in and out of roles – teacher and student, Regent and Prince, father and son. The bond between the two Cassadine men was strong.
That first day quickly provided an opportunity for the new Mrs. Cassadine to observe their closeness. She, Nikolas and Stefan were buried so deeply within a mound of paperwork that lunch time had come and gone by them without notice. An hour later the housekeeper, Mrs. Landsbury, stepped into the room and firmly announced that all business would cease so that lunch could be served.
To Dara's surprise, Stefan and Nikolas obediently marked their places among the paperwork and cleared all the dossiers from the table. Nikolas smiled and explained that on such matters Mrs. Landsbury's word was law. Every head of the Cassadine family – from his grandfather Mikkos on down – quickly learned that things ran more smoothly when Mrs. Landsbury's conditions were met.
It amused Dara to know that Stefan was not exempt from the housekeeper's authority.
