“Not a chance.” She cast a side-glance. “You may commence the service, as I just want to note a few ideas before I forget them.”
“All right.” He drew the napkin from his plate and discovered a small bundle. “What is this?”
Henrietta merely shrugged.
With care, he unfolded the brown paper, studied the item, reflected on the significance—and froze.
“I am thinking of producing a new line of clothing.” When he glanced at her, she shimmered with unmasked joy. “Do you believe I shall find equal success with children’s garb?”
For a few seconds, Ernest struggled to respond, because he feared he might make a cake of himself. “Does this mean what I pray it means?”
“Yes.” She nodded once.
“Darling.” In a flash, he pushed from the table and knelt beside her. “How do you feel? Are you well? Are you tired? Should I summon the doctor?”
“Ernest, calm yourself.” She giggled and kissed him. “I am beside myself, and we feel fine, but you are white as a sheet.”
“I am worried about you.” Lifting her in his arms, he peered left and then right. He strolled into their inner chamber, paused at the foot of their four-poster, frowned, and then returned to the sitting room. “Bloody hell, I am going to be a father.”
“My love, I beg you, put me down before you drop me, because you appear on the verge of swooning.” At last, he returned to his chair and settled her safely in his lap, and she wound her arms about his neck. “Shall I fetch you a brandy, because you look like you could use a drink.”
“No.” He tightened his hold. “Do not leave me, as I need to hold you.”
It dawned on him then that he held his wife and their babe in his grasp, and he bent his head and wept without shame.
“Ernest, my sweet husband, do not cry.” As usual, she knew just how to appeal to him, as she bestowed upon him a series of flirty kisses along the crest of his ear, continuing along the curve of his jaw. “You are going to make a wonderful father, and we are going to do this together.”
“As we have done everything, my little bird.” Twining his fingers in hers, he brought her bare knuckles to his lips and then pressed her open palm to his cheek. “Do you know that I wake, every day, and search for you? That there is still a tiny bit of doubt that this is our life?”
“Yes, because I do it, too.” She rested her forehead to his. “But it gets easier, with each passing morning, when I wake to you, and you hold me in your arms. And at night, when I fall asleep in your unyielding embrace, I know you are here. I only wish I could find a way to prevent the nightmares of your father’s abuse that still plague you, because your torment breaks my heart.”
“But you compensate admirably.” He gave her a gentle squeeze, as so many possibilities sprang to life. “And I am so excited about your news. If it is a girl, I am going to spoil her. Of course, you will dress her. And it if it is a boy, I am going to mentor him, and teach him all he needs to know to survive, but I will never hurt him.”
“You will do your best, and that is all anyone can ask.” She rubbed her nose to his. “Do you know what I want to do?”
“What, sweetheart?” No matter the request, he would give her anything. “Tell me what you want.”
“Do you remember how we used to sit on the floor, behind the sofa, in the back parlor, and eat the extra scones and strawberry preserves left from your mother’s afternoon teas?” When he nodded, she grinned and gazed at the table. “What say we dine on the carpet, as we did then? Only now we have no fear of discovery or retribution, and we can linger as we choose.”
“I love that idea.” He lifted her from his lap.
Working in concert, they resituated the meal, with place settings arranged in a less than elegant yet comfy presentation. She kicked off her slippers, and he doffed his boots and coat. As he collected a couple of large, fluffy pillows, she poured the wine. With their feast spread before them, he supported her, as she knelt and eased to the cushion, and he squatted beside her.
“It seems like yesterday, does it not?” She inclined her head and opened her mouth, as he fed her a juicy morsel of roasted chicken. “And you are still taking care of me.”
“That is my chief priority.” Footsteps in the hall caught his attention, and he halted, mid-chew and stared at Henrietta, as she mirrored his stance. For a brief instant, tension weighed heavy, until all fell quiet.
In unison, they blinked.
Then they burst into laughter.
“Old habits really are hard to break.” She daubed the corner of her mouth with a napkin. “For a minute, I sought a hiding place.”
“As did I.” He chuckled and then sobered, as he surveyed their suite, bedecked in an odd array of their combined personal effects, indicative of their mutual existence. Indeed, they were two like souls, so perfectly matched as to render the distinctions between them invisible, despite everything they endured. Not even an eleven-year separation could divide them. “But there will be no more running for us, because we are as one, and the future is ours.”
ABOUT BARBARA DEVLIN
USA Today Bestselling Author Barbara Devlin was born a storyteller, but it was a weeklong vacation to Bethany Beach, DE that forever changed her life. The little house her parents rented had a collection of books by Kathleen Woodiwiss, which exposed Barbara to the world of romance, and Shanna remains a personal favorite. Barbara writes heartfelt historical romances that feature flawed heroes who may know how to seduce a woman but know nothing of marriage. And she prefers feisty but smart heroines who sometimes save the hero, before they find their happily ever after. Barbara earned an MA in English and continued a course of study for a Doctorate in Literature and Rhetoric. She happily considered herself an exceedingly eccentric English professor, until success in Indie publishing lured her into writing, full-time, featuring her fictional knighthood, the Brethren of the Coast.
Connect with Barbara Devlin at BarbaraDevlin.com, where you can sign up for her newsletter, The Knightly News.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BarbaraDevlinAuthor
Twitter: @barbara_devlin
TITLES BY BARBARA DEVLIN
BRETHREN OF THE COAST SERIES
Loving Lieutenant Douglas: A Brethren of the Coast Novella
Enter the Brethren
My Lady, the Spy
The Most Unlikely Lady
One-Knight Stand
Captain of Her Heart
The Lucky One
Love with an Improper Stranger
To Catch a Fallen Spy
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me: A Brethren of the Coast Novella
The Duke Wears Nada
BRETHREN ORIGINS
Arucard
Demetrius
Aristide
Morgan
PIRATES OF THE COAST
The Black Morass
The Iron Corsair
The Buccaneer (Bewitched & Beloved)
The Marooner
KATHRYN LE VEQUE’S KINDLE WORLD OF DE WOLFE PACK
Lone Wolfe
The Big Bad De Wolfe
Tall, Dark & De Wolfe (September 2017)
OTHER STORIES
Magick, Straight Up
The Stablemaster’s Daughter
The Stablemaster's Daughter (Regency Rendezvous Book 11) Page 16