Finally reaching the farm, Lance led Midnight to the barn, then walked up to the front door and knocked quietly. "Mamma?" he whispered, the tears still falling down his face.

The door opened a bit as two green eyes peered out into the darkness. The same gasp he heard the day before echoed quietly through the night as the unseen hand opened the door wider. "Lansten?" a soft voice called, the uncertainty purely evident.

Upon hearing his mother's soft and beautiful voice, Lance's legs buckled under him as he completely broke down. "Mamma...Mamma," he sobbed.

Catching him before he hit the ground, Rebecca held her son until James came and tried to take him from her arms. She simply shook her head and her husband backed off as she held him, allowing him to cry onto her shoulder. "Shh," she whispered. She was at a loss for words; all she could do was try and sooth her son, while shooting concerned glances towards James.

"Mamma," Lance cried, his heartwrenching and anguished sobs causing great concern to both his mother and father. "Mamma."

"Shh," she whispered again, this time slowly leading him to sit by the warmth of the fire. "Lansten, what happened?" she asked, her voice quiet as he continued to cry.

"They...they...they ha...hate me..." Lance stuttered in a choked voice. "I...I thought...I...I can't...I...I..." Lance got no further as as fresh well of tears spilled over from his green eyes.

Against her better judgement, Rebecca replied, "Hush now child. You will not have to return. I will not let anyone hurt my baby again."

James walked over and knelt down beside Rebecca and his still sobbing son. "Rebecca, you can't promise this. Lance doesn't belong to us anymore. We need to find out what has happened, but we cannot promise that he can stay here. Lord Joseph will be worried and will want to know what happened to him."

"Then send word to Lord Joseph that Lance is here James," Rebecca replied, starting to rock her son back and forth gently, like she had done when he was a child. "But I will not allow them to hurt him again, no matter if they are nobels."

James nodded ans walked to the barn to call for Thomas, one of the hired hands. "Thomas, saddle up Antares and ride to Lord Joseph's castle. Tell him that Lord Lance is here so he doesn't worry."

"Yes sir," he said. Nodding and running back, Thomas saddled the horse and was gone in a flash.

Walking back into the farmhouse, James' concern for his son grew when Lance had not calmed down any, despite being in his mother's arms. Rebecca looked up at her husband, her own eyes shining with tears.

They could only sit and wonder what had been done do their baby boy to make him cry this much. It took all their strength to not break down and cry with him. When Rebecca felt her son shudder in her arms, she motioned to James to add wood to the fire. While he was outside, Rebecca whispered, "Lansten...baby...what's wrong? Can you tell me what happened?"

"They...they...they...ha...hate me," Lance choked out as his tears finally started to subside a little. "I...I...tri...tried but...they hate me."

"Remember what I told you yesterday?" she asked. "That if they don't except you as a friend, then it is their loss; not yours. But, you will not have to worry about that. I fully intend on keeping my promise to you. You will not have to return to them, and their taunting."

Returning with the firewood, James overheard what his wife had said. "Lance, we both love you very much" James began, rubbung his son's shoulder. "But you don't belong to us anymore. You belong to Lord Joseph now and I'm sure he is frantic with worry about where you are." Looking at both Rebecca and his son, James continued. "I have sent word to Lord Joseph that you are here so he doesn't worry."

Looking up harshly at her husband, Rebeccas' eyes narrowed to slits; one of the few times in her life that they had. "Lansten," she said, her voice remaining calm. "We've kept your room the same. Go on in, and I'll be there in a few minutes to tuck you in and sing to you, if you'd like."

Looking at his mother, his tear-stained face full of fear, Lance pleaded. "Pl...please...please don't send me back. I can't go back...please don't ma...make me..."

Smiling down and wiping some of the tears away, his mother answered, "Of course we won't make you go back. You'll stay with us, here where their teasing and taunting cannot hurt you."

"Ye...yes, m'am," Lance whispered as he stood and walked to his room. Once there, he took off his clothing and put on his nightclothes, then climbed into bed, waiting for his mother.

When she and her husband were alone in the living room, Rebecca turned her harsh eyes towards her husband. "James, how can you tell Lance that he has to go back to them?!" she demanded, her voice lowered to a whisper, so as not to upset her son again. "You saw the result of what their teasing did to him. You saw him crying in my arms because of them. I will not allow them to hurt my boy anymore!"

"Sweetheart, I know how you feel," James replied quietly, a little taken aback by his wife's anger. "I am not happy with the way Lance has been teased nor how much it has upset him. But we also have to remember that Lance is married now. He belongs to Lord Joseph and we have to accept that. I want to know what has happened to upset Lance so...this is why I sent word to Lord Joseph that Lance was here. I am sure he will come; then we will be able to find out what happened."

"How can you be so sure that what Lord Joseph tells us is the truth James?" Rebecca questioned. "They are only words, and words can easily be changed to make him look good." Taking a deep breath to compose herself, Rebecca looked back at the closed door that lead to her sons' room. "Perhaps we made the wrong choice 16 years ago James. We never should have promised Lance to Joseph."

James looked at his wife, taking his her hands in his. "Rebecca, we don't know what happened yet. We don't have the whole story. Let us find out what Lord Joseph has to say first before we pass the wrong judgement. Perhaps he didn't know what took place to make Lansten so upset."

"Then you can wait and listen to what he has to say James," Rebecca replied calmly. "If that is your main concern. But right now, my main concern is the child in the next room." Turning and walking quietly into Lances' room, she knelt down next to the bed and ran her fingers lightly over his hair.

Turning over, Lance's tears started again at the sight of his mother. "Mamma," he sobbed as he reached out for her.

Moving to sit on the edge of the small bed, Rebecca took hold of Lances' hand. Bringing it up to her lips, she kissed the back gently, a gesture that had helped to calm him when he was a small child. "Shh," she soothed. "No more tears tonight."

"Wha...what's wrong with me, Mamma?" Lance whispered in a shaky voice. "Why...why do they ha...hate me so?"

"Oh Lansten, there is nothing wrong with you. You have a good heart and would never hurt anyone," she explained. "Your father and I may not have been able to raise you to be as sophisticated as the others, but we taught you to not hate anyone. There is nothing wrong with you my son."

"All...all I...I wanted was to be...be friends with Jus...Justin and Josh...Joshua. I...I tri...tried so hard but they hate me, Mamma. Joshua was right. I'll...I'll nev...never be a no...noble. Never."

"You may still be their friend Lance. But they were right. You will never be a nobel," Rebecca whispered. To his shocked expression, she explained, "You weren't born to be a nobel. You were born to be yourself, and only that."

"Ye...yes, Mamma," Lance whispered as his mother held him. Safe in his mother's arms, Lance told her what had happened, including the hurtful things Joshua had said. "I...I thought he had...had started to li...like me, but it was just an act. He said that I was not a noble...that I was nothing but a farm...farm boy. But M'lord...he doesn't look at me that way. He...he told me that he loved me for who I wa...was."

"And he is right. You should not have to put on an act just so that other people will like you Lance. I thought your father and I taught you that?" Rebecca asked. "Anyone who forces you to change who you are is not your friend. Perhaps, in time, they will see that you are a charming young man who loves riding his horse, singing, and just enjoying life to the fullest."

"I...I don't know...I...I'm so confused, Mamma," Lance admitted. "M'lord...he has been very kind and patient with me. He knew that I...I didn't...I mean I had not..." Lance stopped, suddenly embarrassed.

"And if he is as good as he seems to be, then he will continue to be kind and patient with you. You have given him no reason to change otherwise." Leaning forward and wiping away a dried tear from her sons' cheek, she added, "Everything will fall into place soon. Thomas went to tell Lord Joseph where you were. He'll be here in a few hours; but I will not let you go back with him unless you want to. It will be your choice and yours alone." Smiling slightly, Rebecca just looked down and shook her head. "My son all grown up. I remember when you would not let go of my hand until you fell asleep." She hoped that by remembering when he was a small boy, it would calm him enough, or at least ease his nervousness.

"I...I wish...I wish..." Lance whispered, his eyes once more filling with tears.

Moving closer to him, Rebecca dabbed his eyes with a clean cloth and asked, ever so gently, "Do you not want to return with your husband?"

"I wish I was still little," Lance replied tearfully. "I wish that I could stay safe and warm in your arms forever." Looking at his mother, the tears began to slide down his face. "I...I'm scared, Mamma. I'm scared that I won't please Lord Joseph...that I'll never find my place in the family. But I'm scared most of all of disappointing you and Papa."

Her own tears eminant, Rebecca traced her sons' face with her hand ask she spoke, her voice choked at his words. "Oh Lance, you will never disappoint your father and I. We love you, no matter what you do; we will always love you without reservation."

"Oh Mamma," Lance whispered, breaking down again in his mother's arms. Rebecca couldn't hold back her tears anymore as they slid down her face, too. She held her frightened son, rocking him back and forth until he drifted to sleep.

James quietly stood in the doorway until Lance fell asleep, then walked up to his bed. Kneeling down beside it, he ran a hand through his son's hair, then turned to his wife, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Was he able to tell you what happened?" he asked gently, so as no to wake the sleeping Lance.

Watching over her son, Rebecca answered quietly, "He said that Joshua said he would never be a nobel, because of where he comes from. And that he's scared of disappointing us both."

"You told him that we love him unconditionally and that he could never disappoint us, I hope," James replied.

"Of course I told him that James. What mother wouldn't?" Shaking her head, she asked, mostly to herself, "How could anyone what to hurt him? He's done nothing to deserve this."

Sniffling, James stood up and walked back to the living room. Sitting in front of the fire, he shook his head, as Rebecca quietly closed Lance's door and joined her husband. Seeing the expression on James' face, Rebecca put her arms around him.

"Were we doing the right thing James?" she asked. "Agreeing to the marriage terms?"

"I...I thought so at the time, but now..." James' voice trailed off. "I have never seen him so upset and frightened. I feel as if this is my fault...that I put too much pressure on him to conform to what was expected of him in the royal family."

"Is there no way for him to stay with us? He's not happy there. Or, maybe there's a way that he can stay somewhere else, closer to us, and he'd not have to worry about Joshua and Justins' teasing?"

James shook his head. "Rebecca, I know I how you feel. I feel the same way. He is my son, too. The last thing I want is for Lansten to be unhappy. I love him with all my heart. But he is married and he does belong to Lord Joseph now. Perhaps when M'lord gets here we can all sit down and work out a solution to the problem."

"But Lord Joseph said that he was our son before his husband," Rebecca protested quietly, then grew silent. Watching as the fire danced and crackled on the hearth, she rested her head on James' shoulder, shedding silent tears.

"I know...I know," James replied quietly as he held his sobbing wife. "It will work out, Rebecca. I promise you...it will work out."

Once he found out what Joshua had done to upset Lance, he banished him to his room until further notice, Justin as well. He'd had enough of their jealousy and hatred toward Lance. He belonged to Joseph and they would just have to accept that fact.

Presently, Blake came into the study accompanies by a tall, dark-haired man. "Begging your pardon, M'lord," Blake began, "but this gentleman has news of Lord Lance."

Looking up from his hands, Joseph nearly jumped when Blake spoke Lances' name. "You know where he is?" he asked, standing at once. "Is he safe? Where is he? Why did he leave without telling me?"

"Good evening, M'lord" Thomas greeted him. "My name is Thomas and I have been sent by Mr. James with news of Lord Lance. You needn't worry anymore...he is safe. He is at his parents' farm. I do not know the details of why he left here, but Mr. James said you should come at once."

"Of course," Joseph said, nodding towards Blake. "Have my horse saddled at once and brought to the front. Tell Christopher I've gone to bring Lance home, and to keep a sharp eye that both Joshua and Justin stay in their rooms. If they as much as let a hair off their heads cross the threshold into the hallway, I'll deny both of them any right to my estate."

"Yes, M'lord," Blake replied. "Should I go and prepare Lord Lance's room for his return?" Blake asked.

"He will be staying in my chambers tonight Blake," Joseph called back as he hurridly moved down the hall to Lances' chambers, Thomas following. Once they arrived at the chambers, Joseph went about gathering a change of clothes and blankets from the private bathing chamber then returned and packed a bag for the trip.

"Very well, M'lord," Blake replied as he assisted Joseph in getting Lance's things. "I pray that you will find Lord Lance all right, M'lord."

"I hope so too Blake," Joseph sighed. "I hope so too." When everything was ready, both Joseph and Thomas rode back to Lances' parents farm; and Joseph was set on bringing his green eyed angel home with him that night.