On second thought, she decided the physician had a good point.
When Graham was performing those very ministrations later that night, he asked what she had done about her feet during her pregnancy with Edward.
“As I recall, I didn’t suffer overmuch,” she replied, her hands held atop her rounded belly. “Not like now.” She allowed a moan of satisfaction when he rubbed a particularly sore spot, his warm hands chasing away the autumn chill.
“I suppose it’s far more noticeable when you’re carrying more than one babe,” he reasoned.
Hannah blinked. “How do you know that?”
Graham gave her a quelling glance. “I have my arm wrapped around them whilst we sleep,” he reminded her, rather glad she still allowed him to spoon his body around hers so her back was against his chest and his knees were tucked behind hers. He gave up his hold on her foot and held out the arm. With his other hand, he pointed to the inside of his elbow, then his forearm, his wrist, and then the palm of his hand. “There are more than two feet in there.”
Hannah giggled. “According to Dr. Regan, there are. Edward will be over the moon when I tell him.”
A knock sounded at their bedchamber door.
“Come,” Hannah called out, thinking it was her lady’s maid.
The door opened, but only a fraction. Edward peeked around the edge. “I promise, I wasn’t eavesdropping. I just came to tell you I’m off to Brooks’s. But, I couldn’t help but overhear... tell me what?” their son asked. His eyes widened when he saw his father holding one of his mother’s feet.
“Your mother isn’t carrying a four-legged child,” Graham stated as he managed to keep a straight face.
Edward blinked and then gave a huff. “Oh, you mean because she’s having twins?” he countered.
Both Hannah and Graham stared at their son. “How did you know?”
He shrugged as he stepped farther into the room and closed the door. “You’re rather large already,” he replied, his gaze going to his mother. “Almost as large as Aunt Laura.”
“Edward,” Graham scolded.
“It’s all right,” Hannah murmured. “I rather imagine she’s having twins as well.” She patted the bed next to where she lounged. “Come in for a moment so I can tell you how proud I am of you.”
Edward lifted a knee and settled on the edge of the bed. “I am glad to hear it, especially since this situation means I won’t be going to Oxford,” he replied.
“I do hope you don’t regret having to take a seat in Parliament so soon,” Graham said. The baron’s writ of acceleration had been accepted, and Edward was due to take his grandfather’s place in the House of Lords the following week. “You’re having to take on a lot of responsibility at a very young age.”
“I don’t think I will regret it,” Edward replied as he watched his father rub his mother’s foot. “Besides, you were working when you were seventeen, were you not?”
Graham nodded. “I was twelve when Mother taught me how to enter numbers in a ledger and fifteen when I started working in the warehouse,” he acknowledged.
“My taking on the earldom does mean I will have to spend some time at Harrington House,” Edward said. “All the papers for the earldom are in the study there, you see,” he explained. “But I plan to spend my nights here, at least until I’m older.”
“I’m so glad to hear it,” Hannah said with a huge grin. “With the Mayfields having left on holiday, I feared you would choose to live there.”
Prior to the Mayfields’ departure for the Continent, the earl announced he would be spending most of the time eating, drinking, and tupping his wife. Meanwhile, Temperance had quietly appointed a new editor to oversee The Tattler.
Despite her every effort to learn the identity of the new gossip maven, Hannah had no idea who the Countess of Mayfield had tapped for the duty. Given she would be spending the next couple of months in confinement, Hannah decided the timing could not have been better to be out of Society.
“I thought about it, but...” Edward allowed the sentence to trail off.
“What is it?” Hannah asked as she pushed her other foot towards Graham. “This one now, please.”
“I’m soon going to be an older brother. I’d like to be here, since I’ve never had siblings before.”
Hannah exchanged a glance with Graham.
“I’m an only child,” Graham said. “And you didn’t have any younger siblings,” he said to Hannah. “We’ve no idea what these babes will mean for you,” he added as he turned his gaze back on his son.
“There’s no need to worry about me,” Edward replied. “I intend to be an excellent brother. I’ll play with the boy and provide protection for my sister.”
“You’ll make an excellent lord, as well,” Hannah remarked. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so determined about anything.”
Edward placed one of his hands over hers and gave it a shake. “Thank you, Mother. And thank you for the information about the babes. This helps my odds immensely.”
“Odds?” Graham repeated, his brows furrowing as he ceased rubbing Hannah’s foot. “How so?”
“In the betting book at Brooks’s. Right now, the money is on a boy, but there’s no mention of twins. I can put money on a boy and a girl and win no matter what,” he said proudly.
Graham regarded his son with a smirk. “What if she has two boys? Or two girls?”
Edward’s face fell. “Oh,” he said on a heavy sigh. “Can that happen?”
“Perhaps it would be better if you didn’t gamble at all,” Graham murmured. “Your siblings ever find out you bet against them and you may discover there’s no such thing as brotherly love.”
Hannah tittered when Graham drew a fingertip down the middle of her instep, her foot jerking in his hold.
“Point taken, Father,” Edward replied. He leaned closer and asked in a whisper, “Is what you’re doing there some sort of... of foreplay?”
Graham struggled to keep a straight face. “Why, yes, son, yes, it is,” he replied.
A blush covering his neck and cheeks, Edward announced, “I’m off,” as he quickly took his leave of the bedchamber.
Hannah watched him go, her eyes widening. “What did he ask you?”
Graham had already given up his hold on her foot. He was kissing her belly and then one of her breasts through the fabric of her night rail before he whispered, “He asked if it was time for me to make love to you.”
Hannah gasped. “He didn’t!”
“Ah, but it is,” Graham murmured before he took her lips with his and kissed her. “I have to teach those two not to kick their mother,” he added before he resumed his lovemaking.
The following morning, he awoke with a rather sore arm.
Author’s Notes
The early life of the Simpsons and the Wellinghams are included in the books, The Promise of a Gentleman and The Pride of a Gentleman, both included in The Cousins of the Aristocracy: Boxed Set. The story of how the Earl and Countess of Mayfield acquired The Tattler can be found in The Gossip of an Earl. The Desire of a Lady, Lady Lily’s tall tales of her experiences with aristocratic suitors, includes how she and William Overby finally achieve their happily-ever-after.
Family charts for the characters in the various Aristocracy series can be found at https://www.lindaraesande.com/familycharts.html.
King Street
Up until 1918, King Street intersected with Oxford Street near where Swallow Passage is today. In 1819 its northern section was replaced by Regent Street. The remaining southern section of King Street is now known as Kingly Street, and the buildings that made up the set of townhouses the Simpsons owned are mostly still in existence, their lower floors a variety of shops, restaurants, and nightclubs.
Portraits
Until photography was perfected, painted portraits were the means by which the titled, the rich, and the middle class had their images captured on canvas. Couples were frequently painted shortly after their weddings a
nd families upon the occasion of a boy’s breeching or other important event. The older portraits in a house or castle were usually hung in a portrait gallery—a wide hall along which generations of family members could be viewed at one time—while newer paintings might be hung above fireplaces or in a salon where callers could see them.
Portraits were also painted as miniatures, which required a steady hand and tiny brushes. They could be worn as brooches or as pendants or carried in a pocket in addition to finding homes on fireplace mantels or parlor tables. These popular paintings were frequently reproduced as prints for use in book illustrations or cards.
Joshua Reynolds, the first president of the Royal Academy and principal painter to George III, was a master of gestures and poses while Thomas Gainsborough was a natural painter. George Romney practiced the classicized style and John Hoppner was considered truthful. Probably due to his own family of five children, Hoppner was good at capturing childish traits in his subjects.
Reynolds was succeeded as the royal artist by Thomas Lawrence, a painter who specialized in vivid, romantic images characterized by flawless, exuberant handling.
Parures
Wives of aristocrats frequently owned complete parures, or matching sets of jewelry that included earrings, a ring, a necklace of either long or short length, a brooch and two bracelets. A matching diadem or tiara and a jeweled belt were also worn with evening wear. The stylish or tasteful never wore the complete set at the same time as the “less-is-more” attitude was adopted during the Regency era (a marked contrast to the Georgian era before it).
Also by Linda Rae Sande
The Daughters of the Aristocracy
The Kiss of a Viscount
The Grace of a Duke
The Seduction of an Earl
The Sons of the Aristocracy
Tuesday Nights
The Widowed Countess
My Fair Groom
The Sisters of the Aristocracy
The Tale of Two Barons
The Passion of a Marquess
The Desire of a Lady
The Brothers of the Aristocracy
The Love of a Rake
The Caress of a Commander
The Epiphany of an Explorer
The Widows of the Aristocracy
The Gossip of an Earl
The Enigma of a Widow
The Secrets of a Viscount
The Widowers of the Aristocracy
The Dream of a Duchess
The Vision of a Viscountess
The Conundrum of a Clerk
The Charity of a Viscount
The Cousins of the Aristocracy
The Promise of a Gentleman
The Pride of a Gentleman
The Holidays of the Aristocracy
The Christmas of a Countess
The Knot of a Knight
The Heirs of the Aristocracy
The Angel of an Astronomer
The Puzzle of a Bastard
The Choice of a Cavalier
The Bargain of a Baroness
Beyond the Aristocracy
The Pleasure of a Pirate
Stella of Akrotiri
Deminon
Origins
Diana
About the Author
A self-described nerd and student of history, Linda Rae spent many years as a published technical writer specializing in 3D graphics workstations, software and 3D animation (her movie credits include SHREK and SHREK 2). Getting lost in the rabbit holes of research has resulted in historical romances set in the Regency-era as well as Ancient Greece.
A fan of action-adventure movies, she can frequently be found at the local cinema. Although she no longer has any tropical fish, she follows the San Jose Sharks and makes her home in Cody, Wyoming.
For more information:
www.lindaraesande.com
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