Ah. So that explained the beard. Nora leaned over and kissed the back of Søren’s hand. Then she took it and held it and said nothing. For years, Søren had kept his traumatic childhood mostly hidden behind a shroud of silence and shame. But since becoming a father, Søren’s past had been slipping out in one little dark tale or another. Yes, King had heard a few stories, too, and asked Nora if she thought it was something they should worry about. She’d said “no,” though she was worried.

Ever since Fionn came along, Søren’s walls were coming down. But were they the walls that held Søren in? Or the walls that held Søren up? She didn’t know, but she knew this…she could do nothing for him but listen, no matter how much it hurt to hear the suffering in his past. If anything in the world was truly a sin, it was letting one’s own mild discomfort interfere with someone else’s healing.

“I’m Catholic for a reason,” Søren said, his eyes focusing again on her. The past was vanquished, temporarily at least. “The Church of England is fine, but it’s not for me. I need all seven of my sacraments. King Henry threw out the baby with the baptismal water.”

Nora knew this. They’d talked about it before, once or twice, when they had their serious “What happens if/when we get caught?” talks. Back then, however, those conversations had stayed in the realm of the theoretical, the maybe, the someday, the what if.

Now it was happening.

“Speaking of kings…you seeing King soon?”

“Tonight, at my new house that I do not know about yet.”

“Remember to act surprised and also totally unimpressed.”

“I’ll remember.”

“He’ll see right through it.”

“Without a doubt.”

She picked up his book and read what he was reading out loud:

A hermit said, “Do not judge an adulterer if you are chaste or you will break the law of God just as much as he does. For he who said, ‘Do not commit adultery’ also said, ‘Do not judge.’”

Nora put the book back on his stomach. “Nice. Loophole Theology is my favorite Theology.”

“Not a loophole. Have you ever tried going a day without judging someone else?” he asked.

“Sounds impossible.”

“Exactly.”

“I prayed for you,” she said softly.

“Did you?”

“A lot. Almost every night you were gone, I’d pray for you. Went to church, sat in a pew, prayed and prayed…last night, I even lit a prayer candle. Voilà. You’re here.”

“I was already back by the time you lit your candle. Very powerful prayer if it can time-travel.”

She looked up at him. “I’m just that good.”

He kissed her again. Not on her head this time, but on her lips. When he started to roll on top of her to deepen the kiss, the book on his stomach stopped him.

Nora laughed as Søren picked up the book of sermons and tossed it across her bedroom, where it landed in a pious heap on her rug. He slid on top of her and dragged her underneath him. Bliss, feeling his full weight and length and breadth on top of her again.