She felt guilty. For a whole long list of reasons the only emotion Esperanza was capable of feeling during the walk from the cafe to her home was guilt. It hung heavy in her chest making her heart ache nearly as much as it had being away from Sioni. She should not have been playing Happy Families with Sioni. It was not fair to him, taunting him with what he couldn't have. It wasn't fair to her to torture herself so. It wasn't fair to Kaleb who thought her a loyal, stupid, pretty wife. Nor was it fair to Grace or Charlie to show them brief glimpses of life with the father they could have had, that they probably should have had, and then remove him from their lives over and over.

The house at forty three and a fourth Trefusis Road had always been in the Broadmoor family. Enchanted and hidden, it was set back from the muggle street. The Falmouth Falcons had always had at least one Broadmoor on the team, and they had almost always lived in this house. She wondered if the Broadmoor wives before her had invited their halfblooded lovers in to their husband's home. Did they feel as guilty about it as Esperanza did? Was a safe distance maintained between them as long as her children were awake, though they both knew it would be broken the moment her daughter fell asleep?

"The Nursery is up the stairs, to the left." She smiled, taking off Grace's coat first, then unbundling Charlie. Sioni had been in their home before, but she was fairly certain he had never been invited upstairs. "The yellow and white room. We've talked some about giving Grace her own room, but." She was mostly sure Grace would spend all night sneaking back to the nursery to check on Charlie, so that she could give her mother a full report on Charlie's sleeping habits. This was doubly so if Charlie's sleeping habits were less than perfect. "You may as Sioni very nicely to read you one short book, while I give Charlie a bath." She imagined GRace would talk Sioni in to playing a game as well, which was fine. Getting Charlie's hair clean was always a challenge.

She carried her younger daughter up the stairs and into the bathroom. She took her time with Charlie's bath. The guilt of what she was doing, still bothering her. Keeping Sioni from his daughter but letting him close to her husbands daughter just seemed wrong. She was trying to do the right thing for Charlie, for her marriage, and even Sioni though she doubted he'd see it that way. Things were complicated. More than any thing she wished they were not, but wishing had never really changed anything. Everything she did with Sioni made her feel guilty, everything she excluded him from broke her a little more. She had invited him into the house she shared with her husband. And neither of them were fooled into believing that she would not be inviting him to their bed either.

Once Charlie was clean, though slightly less happy, Espa wrapped her daughter in a towel and carried her to the nursery. She stood in the doorway a moment to watch Sioni and Grace together. While she was not convinced that Kaleb would be capable of loving Charlie once he knew she did not belong to him, she did not have the same worries about Sioni and Grace. Sioni would love Grace no matter what. How could he not? He was a Hufflepuff. She changed Charlie and set her down in the white crib, then kissed the top of Grace's head.

"It is time to Nap Grace, I don't care what Charlie is doing, you're going to stay in your bed the whole nap alright?" Grace had the unfortunate habit of reporting on her sister's moment by moment actions during nap time. Charlie is standing up. Charlie is eating her blanket. Charlie is making noise. Charlie isn't sleeping. Perhaps moving Grace to her own room would help, but Espa was certain it would result in more noise as Grace ran between her room and Charlie's room, then to her mother's to give her report.

This time it was Espa's turn to place her hand on Sioni's shoulder and let it linger there, before motioning for him to follow her from the nursery. The door was not even closed before she could hear Grace sitting up and talking to Charlie. she smiled a little to herself, then remembered her visitor. "Would you like a cup of tea? Or a glass of brandy, or wine if you prefer?" Offering him things she could freely give with no guilt did not make the things he actually wanted from the afternoon go away. But it did make her feel better momentarily.