No, this question is coming from a different angle, so I think it's worthy of its own topic. Anyway, I like many smaller threads more than a few very long threads, especially when the thread has been dormant for a while.

Anyway! On to your question. When I planted the note for Hetty to find, I was expecting those two to marry, one way or another. I wanted Alred to marry again, and this seemed like an interesting way to bring it about. I don't know that I planned to make them live happily ever after, but I do know that I was never intending their marriage to go as sour as it did.

The thing with Leof's attraction for Hetty was a sudden inspiration of mine, which came up long after Alred & Hetty's marriage, and after quite a few charming little affectionate chapters between those two. So Leof himself was definitely not part of my original plans.

I don't even remember exactly how the attraction came up. The "Leofric has a wicked thought" chapter that introduced it -- it was a surprise even to Leof! -- hardly seems capable of standing alone without that element in it, so I must have had the idea before I took the pictures & wrote it. But the idea must have come quite shortly before I did that chapter.

It is quite possible that I wanted to introduce the birth of Leila's baby, and while looking for ways to work that into a chapter I thought "Hmm, Leof could pay a visit, and maybe Leia..." and things snowballed from there. Like many seemingly profound and carefully-plotted storylines in Lothere (*cough* Egelric and Maire), this one grew out of a single surprising incident and a whim.

Yes, even from the very beginning Hetty's behaviour towards Leof (her body language in particular) was rather obvious:

Her white hand came up and pawed at the air, almost touching his belly but not quite daring. What did she suppose would happen if she touched him?

“Do not worry, Leofric.” She attempted to stroke his sleeve, but she seemed startled by the thickly muscled arm beneath.

They do have a lot of chemistry. (Yes, I'm team Leof / Hetty. )

However, it really is sad that two sensitive, affectionate people like Alred and Hetty have one of the most unhappy, in keeping with the time period marriages in Lothere. And it does seem like it's damaged beyond repair right now.

But anyhow, re-reading old Alred chapters, I get the impression that he's always been heading in this direction, and it was just a matter of how long it would take him to get there. So in that sense any (post Matilda) marriage he had would have gone awry eventually, I suppose. And Hetty's self-pity would eventually had caused her trouble as well. It definitely feels like they're reaching the climax to their own stories.