Breezehome wasn’t much in terms of being a house fit for a Thane. But, Dardeh thought as he led Lydia inside, it’s definitely a step up from Ma’s little shack out in Markarth. There was a cozy little sitting area with a fireplace, a nicely arranged kitchen, and plenty of chests and barrels and so forth for storing supplies; and Proventus had stocked it with a goodly amount of basics, including plenty of Nord mead that Dardeh felt certain he and Lydia would enjoy.
“There’s a room for you upstairs,” he said, leading the way. It wasn’t a posh room, the one just to the left of the landing, but it was comfortable enough and Lydia wouldn’t be trying to sleep amidst the snoring in the Dragonsreach barracks.
She looked around and nodded. “Thank you, my Thane,” she said.
He smiled at her. “Dardeh. Please. Really, this Thane business is all well and good but I’m a miner, and I’m not used to titles.”
“If you wish,” she said, furrowing her brow, “but it doesn’t seem right. You’re a Thane of Whiterun, one of the most important people in the city. You have the trust of the Jarl. And you’re the Dragonborn.”
He took her by the shoulders. “And my name, Lydia, is Dardeh. All right? I’d be a lot happier if you just treated me like anyone else.”
She nodded. “Very well… Dardeh.”
He dropped his hands and walked through the landing.
“Feel free to use this space up here, any way you like. That bedroom’s not very big, so go ahead and spread out if you like. I’m probably not going to be spending all that much time here in the short term, what with all the dragons. Once that’s all settled, maybe I will be, too, but for the time being? The house is basically yours.”
He stepped into the master bedroom.
“Except for this room. This one’s mine.”
He smiled, looking around it. There was a double bed. It was long enough and big enough for him to sleep in without being cramped. With someone else, even, if that should ever come about. There was a wardrobe, a safe, and several chests. There was even a desk to work at, if he ever needed such a thing. It was by far the most opulent space he’d ever had to call his own, and he was almost in awe of it.
“Now then,” he said, turning to Lydia. “Sit down for a moment. There’s something else I want to discuss with you.”
She took a seat at the desk and looked up at him.
By the Nine she is a beautiful woman, Dardeh thought.
She was. Lydia was well-built and muscular, as one might expect of a warrior. She also had dark hair and eyes to match, fine features, and one of the most perfect mouths Dardeh had ever seen, made up with a deep red cosmetic of some kind. If I had intended to imagine a beautiful woman, he thought, I would have imagined one like Lydia.
She looked up at him with an odd look. Wary. Slightly distrustful.
“Is… something wrong?” he asked her.
“No, my Thane.” She shook her head. “I’m just waiting. I want to know what you expect of me.”
“Oh,” he said. A moment passed, and then Dardeh realized what she was getting at.
“Oh! No, no, Lydia, it’s nothing like that. Trust me. You’re my housecarl, because that’s what our mutual friend Balgruuf ordered, and that’s how it’s going to be. Please don’t be concerned. I wouldn’t ever… take advantage of that.”
Lydia looked down with a small smile, obviously relieved. “I’m sorry that I had the wrong idea, sir.”
“Dardeh.”
She smiled up at him. “Dardeh.”
“Now then, let me tell you my idea. It’s going to be awfully dull for you to sit in here and guard my ten ingots of iron all day long.”
Lydia laughed.
“I have something else in mind.”
They talked for a long while.
“You’re a good man, my Thane,” Lydia said, smiling at him. “We are lucky to have you in Whiterun.”
He tskd. “What did I tell you about Thane-ing me?”
She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. “In this particular instance, Dardeh, it seemed appropriate.”
He laughed. “All right. You win. I’ll be back shortly.”
____
He wandered around Whiterun for a good half hour or more before he finally spotted her, sitting on a bench under the dead Gildergreen tree, the huge centerpiece of the Wind district. She noticed him and gave him a big smile.
“Hi Mister!”
“Hi Lucia,” he said, smiling. I hope I know what I’m doing. Thank the gods for Lydia. I couldn’t do it otherwise.
“I wanted to ask you a question,” he said.
“What is it?”
“Well, are you still sleeping outside or sitting by the fire in the Bannered Mare?”
Lucia was very good at trying to keep a stiff upper lip, that much had been clear from the beginning; but her face fell at that question. She nodded, looking miserable.
“I… don’t know what else to do.”
“Would you like to have your own room?”
Her eyes snapped up to his. “What?”
“I could adopt you, if you want. I have a house in Whiterun, now, and it has a place that looks like it would be perfect for you. I have a housecarl, because the Jarl decided I should have one. Her name is Lydia and she’ll watch out for you when I’m not here. If you would like that. The only thing you have to promise to do is keep your room clean.”
Lucia’s eyes got very wide, and then very misty. She nodded.
“Are you sure?”
Dardeh knelt down in front of her and took her hands. “Yes, sweetheart. You and I can take care of each other, is that ok? And we won’t be alone anymore.”
“Oh yes! Thank you! I’ll be the best daughter ever, I promise! Thank you Mister… Papa!” She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him.
“Ok, now you run down to Breezehome. Lydia’s there already and she’ll show you where your room is. I have some things to do, but I’ll be there by tonight, and I’ll tuck you in.”
Lucia flew down the stairs toward the market.
Dardeh sat down where she’d been, and struggled with himself. It took him a few minutes, and several swipes at his eyes, before he felt composed enough to go about his business. He needed to see Farengar about a better healing spell, and borrow his enchanting table and alchemy station to prepare for the trip to Riften. And, Dardeh thought as he climbed the steps to Dragonsreach, I think I saw one of the Khajiit caravans outside the gates. I wonder if they would have something like a doll to sell. I know they sell wooden swords, but I’m not ready to teach my daughter swordplay yet.
He shook his head.
My daughter.
I just adopted a little girl.
______
Lydia smiled at him as he slipped into Breezehome, and held her finger up to her lips.
“She was exhausted,” she told him quietly. “We cleaned the place up and organized a little, and worked outside in the garden. Oh and we went shopping and such. By the time she ate she was nearly asleep.”
Dardeh smiled. “Thank you, Lydia. I couldn’t possibly do this without your help.”
She looked toward the door of Lucia’s room and smiled again. “Well, I always thought it would be lovely to have a child, but it’s not likely to ever happen. This gives me a chance to play at being a mother.”
“I know what you mean. I’ll never have children of my own. My ma passed not too long ago. Now I feel like I have a family again.”
Lydia gave him a long look.
She wants to ask why, but she’s too polite. Well I think that’s something that’s best left unsaid. He reached out and patted her on the arm, smiling, and then went to Lucia’s room.
She was sound sleep. He reached into his pack and pulled out the doll he’d bought for far too many septims from the Khajiit merchants, and slipped it onto the bed next to her where she would find it in the morning. Then he sat down on the floor and watched her sleep, for a long time.
It wasn’t like adopting an infant. She was half-grown already. But for a few years, anyway, he would be able to give her a warm, dry, safe place to live.
Talos guide me, Dardeh prayed silently. I seem to have a family.
Busybodies were going to talk. They were going to assume things about him and Lydia and their relationship. He didn’t care.
That night, Dardeh slept in his own bed, in his own home, and it was the best sleep he had enjoyed since before his mother died.