A Family Affair

by Jennifer Wenn

  If Fanny was unhappy, it wasn’t the grumpy men Devlin should fear. No, he should fear the mother—the Saxton daughter without a conscience.

  Chapter 26

  Unaware of the coming storm, Fanny and Devlin had begun their new life as husband and wife by falling into a nice rhythm that suited both. They slept together in her bed, where they thoroughly enjoyed waking up together and making love before breakfast. The morning meal was spent discussing everything they read about in the newspaper, and afterwards Devlin left to spend his day with Pendragon’s supervisor while Fanny continued her explorations of her new home and its surroundings. They met at the dinner table again and spent the rest of the evening in the library playing games or in bed making sweet love.

  All in all, it was a good life.

  Devlin had several times told her how amazed he was at how easy life with a wife was and how he couldn’t believe he had feared married life so much before.

  Fanny was happy too but couldn’t help feeling a bit lonely. She loved her mornings with Devlin and held on to her shiny happy smile until he left her for the supervisor. But she had to spend the rest of the day all alone, counting the long hours until they met again at the dinner table.

  One day she was so lonely she had a carriage drive her down to the village, to the small manor where Mrs. Overton and her family resided. She had endured the overjoyed lady’s gossip for an hour before she went back to the castle and her loneliness.

  Devlin thought it was better she spend her first weeks inside her new home learning how to take care of it as a mistress should rather than running around the countryside visiting the neighbors.

  Only one little problem with his idea arose: as Fanny had already learned, Pendragon was a household run in an exemplary manner by the more than competent servants. She had next to nothing to focus on when it came to the housekeeping, and she was more a body in the way than an involved mistress.

  She searched through the grand library for books about Pendragon and the Ross family, but there weren’t many in that genre, as the former residents of the castle had seemed more interested in the books’ covers than in what they contained.

  She spent two days embroidering a cushion she then put on her bed with a satisfied smile, only to find it removed and put in a closet by a servant with better decorating skills.

  One especially nice day she spent in the herb garden searching for weeds to pick, but like everything else at Pendragon the garden was in perfect shape. No weeds dared to grow under the sharp eyes of the gardeners.

  She asked Devlin if she could join him and the supervisor, but Devlin had only chuckled over her request. He told her it was men’s work, and sent her away to do something more appropriate for a woman.

  When she asked him to tell her exactly what this could be, he simply shrugged and changed the subject.

  She was so bored she even started to take naps to make time go by. But even with all the time alone she still was happier than she ever had been before, because the time she spent with Devlin made up for all the boring hours.

  She was madly in love with her husband, and, when he was with her, life was perfect.

  The day the Darling carriage stopped in front of Pendragon, Fanny was spending her day in the library, recounting all the books. She might have missed one or two the first time she inventoried them.

  Devlin had left for the supervisor’s office, and as it was pouring rain outside, she had no choice but to spend her time indoors. As there were no specific responsibilities with her name on them, she had to invent some for herself, like counting books.

  She had just climbed up the long ladder to be able to count the awkwardly placed but un-dusty books on the top shelf, when the door opened behind her. As the castle was full of servants who quietly walked in and out of rooms, she didn’t look down, not until a very familiar voice cut through her silent counting.

  “One would think a man as rich as Devlin could hire someone to dust in the library.”

  Fanny yelped and turned around too hastily, forgetting she was at the top of a ladder, and fell helplessly backwards. With a small scream, she toppled straight into her father’s waiting arms.

  He immediately hugged her close to him, and she threw her arms around his shoulders with tears streaming down her face. She dug her nose into the curve of his neck, inhaling his familiar scent.

  Caroline was next in line for a hug from Fanny, and they both cried as mother kissed daughter thoroughly on nose, chin, and cheeks.

  The last one to take her into his arms was Rake. Fanny sank into his embrace, cherishing the sound of his heart against her cheek.

  “What are you all doing here?” she squealed, delighted, as she left Rake’s warm embrace.

  George arched a perfect eyebrow. “Aren’t we allowed to visit our beloved daughter?”

  Rake coughed.

  “And niece,” George continued, with a shake of his head toward his brother.

  Rake gave him a toothy smile, which the older brother ignored.

  “Of course you are welcome. If I had known you were coming, I could have had the servants preparing rooms for you in advance.”

  Caroline patted her daughter’s soft blushing cheek. “I don’t mind waiting. You can show us around your new home in the meantime, although perhaps we should wash off the dust of our trip somewhere.”

  “Of course.” Fanny smiled and rang the bell. Ten minutes later, her relatives had washed up and everyone was making their way slowly through the grand rooms of Pendragon. It was a lovely castle, and every room had been decorated to perfection with lavish fantasy.

  “Where is that husband of yours?” Rake asked as they lingered in the enormous ballroom encompassing the whole north side of the first floor.

  “He’s with the supervisor of Pendragon, who also takes care of Devlin’s other business arrangements. They usually spend the day together, so you will meet my husband as he joins us for dinner tonight.”

  Rake frowned at her.

  “He spends all his days with his supervisor?”

  “Yes, he does,” Fanny answered cheerfully.

  Caroline and George shared a look, knowing their only daughter. Had she sounded just a little too cheerful?

  “So,” Rake continued curiously, “tell me, what do you do when Devlin is busy all day?”

  “Oh,” Fanny said with a shrug. “This and that. You know. Wifely things.”

  Caroline stopped and stared at her daughter. “Wifely things?”

  Fanny nodded and increased her speed, but for nothing. Her mother wasn’t easy to distract when she knew she was onto something, especially when it came to her children. Sebastian had once said he was sure she was clairvoyant, and her children thought that quite logical. No one could know so much without actually being there in some way.

  “So,” Caroline said, mimicking Rake, “you oversee the household, plan the dinner menus, and visit the farmers and the neighbors?”

  “Well, Mrs. Blair takes perfect care of the household, and our excellent chef plans the dinner menus. However, I do admit, he does it really well, because dinner usually is absolute heaven.”

  Her father harrumphed, and Fanny was afraid he’d finally caught his wife’s game. “But you do visit the farmers, don’t you? It is your obligation as a landowner, my dear, to take care of the families in your charge.”

  Fanny sighed. She was really not up for this, not yet anyway, but there was no way out of it. They would continue to ask her their probing questions, and they would not stop until they had all the answers. What was the point of trying to hide her standing in the household? They were only a couple of questions away from the truth.

  “Useless,” she muttered.

  “Excuse me?” Rake hadn’t really heard what she’d said under her breath.

  Fanny turned and glared at her uncle. “I am useless, that’s what I am. Completely useless.”

  George frowned at his daughter’s distressed tone of voice. She knew his loving heart
had a really hard time dealing with her when she was troubled. It was more her mother’s part of parenthood. He much preferred and enjoyed the cuddling and playing games part.

  Thankfully, Caroline knew her part of parenthood too, and she took her daughter’s hand and led her to a small sofa.

  “Why do you think you are useless?”

  “Mama, I have nothing to do, and it drives me crazy. Everything is perfect here—the castle, the servants, Devlin. Everything. I don’t fit in, because I’m not as perfect. And I just can’t stand going around doing nothing all day.”

  “Have you told Devlin about this?”

  “I have tried, but he never listens enough for me to make him see what I see. He doesn’t understand my point of view about how his servants are so well trained they attend to everything perfectly well without me.”

  She sobbed, and fell into Caroline’s waiting arms.

  “Why don’t you go out for visits?” Rake asked. “There must be lots of suitable friends for you in the county.”

  “Because Devlin thinks I need time to get used to my life here before I start socializing with the locals,” Fanny said with tears in her eyes. “And I don’t want to go against his wish, at least not yet. I went out and visited one lady, who came here to greet me at my arrival, but she is such an awful person, I really can’t stand her. And since I haven’t met anybody else yet…”

  “You won’t go against him yet?”

  Fanny looked up from her mother’s embrace, and met Rake’s twinkling eyes. “Yes, I’m currently leaving him alone. I want the happiest of marriages, and so I’m trying very hard to compromise.”

  “As I see it, it takes two persons to make a proper compromise. From what you tell us, it seems only you are doing the compromising here.”

  Fanny shrugged. “I can wait. And while I wait, I will try to make life as smooth for my husband as possible.”

  Rake grinned. “The kitten is hiding her claws.”

  “I would prefer the angel is hiding her horns. But yes, I’m biding my time.”

  “I must confess, it feels so strange to see you this emotional,” Caroline said, thereby closing the subject of compromising.

  “I know,” Fanny sighed, getting all teary-eyed again. “I don’t know what’s the matter with me. I’m not this sensitive normally, as you are well aware. But it’s like moving away from you all has transformed me into an unstable wreck, and I can’t find my way out of it.”

  “Oh, dear,” her mother breathed, her green eyes piercing.

  “What?” George asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

  “George, why don’t you and Rake go to see if you can find Devlin and let him know we are here.”

  Fanny saw her father open his mouth, but her mother moved her piercing look to him, and seconds later the door closed behind the escaping men.

  Caroline let go of her daughter’s hands, folding her own neatly in her lap. Fanny couldn’t stop a wave of nervousness. Her mother was up to something, and she had not a clue what it was. And not knowing scared her the most.

  “Fanny, can I ask you something?”

  “Anything.” Fanny swallowed, and hoped her panic wasn’t visible.

  “It’s just something I need to know…”

  “Yes?”

  “Could there be a possibility that… that…”

  “That what?”

  “That you could, possibly…be…you know…”

  “What?”

  To Fanny’s surprise, her mother did something she hardly ever did—she blushed. Something was definitely wrong, something that caused Caroline the hardest time getting the words out.

  “What?” Fanny repeated impatiently, and Caroline took a shaky breath, as if she tried to find strength.

  “Could you be pregnant?” she finally burst out, surprising her daughter with the insight.

  “You think?” Fanny gasped, feeling dizzy over the possibility of carrying Devlin’s child.

  “Yes, I do,” Caroline answered slowly. “Well, at least if you were…”

  Fanny waited for her mother to continue, while her heart almost burst out of happiness.

  Could it be? Could she be carrying a child?

  Tears of joy ran down her cheeks, and her mother dried them tenderly away.

  “This is so embarrassing for me, but I have to know.” Caroline took a deep breath. “Did you and Devlin make love before your wedding?”

  “Mother!” This time it was Fanny’s turn to blush.

  “Oh, dear,” her mother breathed, as if Fanny’s blush told her everything she needed to know. “You did. Have you had your bleedings lately?”

  Fanny frowned. She wasn’t too comfortable with the subject, but the possibility of being pregnant somehow made the embarrassment seem less important. “No. Now when you mention it, I haven’t for a while. Not since… Well, not since before the Easton Ball.”

  “Francesca Darling!” Caroline cried out, and Fanny shrank back, bewildered, not understanding what her mother’s problem was. What could make her mother stare at her with such an angry look on her face, just because she hadn’t had her bleeding?

  “Oh, my God.”

  “When?”

  “Oh, my God!”

  “Fanny, when?”

  “Mother!”

  Caroline’s patience was gone, and she gave Fanny her strictest if-you-don’t-tell-me-what-I-want-to-know-now-you-will-be-dead-in-ten-seconds look, and Fanny paled.

  “The day of the proposal,” she whispered, knowing her words would hurt her mother.

  Caroline closed her eyes and Fanny felt as if the whole world was falling apart. She had never thought her mother would have reason to look at her with such disappointment. Devastated, she didn’t know what to say or do. She had done the worst thing possible: she had let a man take her virginity before marriage.

  But Caroline had yet another surprise for her daughter. When she opened her eyes again, the disappointment was long gone and a sweet, tender love remained.

  “I can’t say I’m thrilled over your actions. But what’s done is done, and since you are married to the man, I will drop the subject.”

  “Thank you, Mama,” Fanny whispered, and threw herself into her mother’s waiting arms.

  “Can you believe I am about to become a grandmother?” Caroline shook her head with a little smile. “Such wonderful news you give me, my dearest daughter.”

  For a long time, they looked deep into each other’s eyes as their relationship changed from mother and daughter to that of a grandmother and a mother.

  Caroline put her hand against Fanny’s belly, and when she pushed the soft flesh, she could feel the hard swelling of the child.

  “I would guess you are three to four months pregnant. You should soon feel your baby move…or have you already?”

  Fanny frowned. “I don’t know. I have had a rather strange feeling in my stomach lately, like when I am nervous about something. Fluttering, you know.”

  “It’s the baby, silly.” Caroline laughed. “And it is just how it is supposed to feel in the beginning. Later it will be regal punches.”

  “Punches don’t sound as nice,” Fanny grumbled, and Caroline patted her daughter’s belly lightly.

  “You will soon change your mind,” she said dreamily. “It is such bliss to carry a child inside of you, and to feel it move. Men will never understand this part of pregnancy, nor will they ever understand how sacred one feels when you carry a new life under your heart.”

  “Devlin will be overjoyed,” Fanny breathed with a smile that told her mother exactly how hysterically happy she was. “I can hardly wait to tell him.”

  She grabbed her mother’s hand. “Promise you won’t say anything to Papa or Uncle Rake. Not until I’ve had a chance to tell Devlin all about it. Promise!”

  “Of course I promise.” Caroline smiled. “This is between you and your husband now, and I won’t tell anyone, not even your father.”

  This was going to be the b
est surprise ever.

  Chapter 27

  Devlin sat quietly in his chair, listening with a small smile to the gossip flying over the table.

  It seemed much had happened in Berkshire during the two short weeks since he and Fanny left for Herefordshire. His wife and her relatives had been chattering constantly for an hour now about everyone in their acquaintance.

  The disappointment he’d felt when he first saw Rake and George had quickly disappeared when he saw the joy in Fanny’s face. She was so happy over the unannounced visit it was small-minded of him to feel the Darlings could have left them alone for a little while longer. He and Fanny hadn’t been married for such a long time, after all, and had a new life to get used to. In his mind, that included privacy and no relatives for, preferably, a couple of months.

  However, this family was tightly knit. He had known it before marrying Fanny, so he should not be surprised over the visit. It just felt too soon, and now the calm and functional routine he and Fanny had begun to establish was disturbed. It would take some time to fall into those comfortable steps again.

  But, on the other hand, Fanny’s laughter was like music to his ears. He did like seeing her happy, and he hadn’t for a while, not like this, not since they left the wedding.

  “Are you going to sit there and sulk all day, or will you give me a sample of your best port?” Rake drawled, interrupting Devlin’s thoughts.

  “I’ll give you some port, my friend, but not my best one. I’m saving my finest port for more important guests who could come to visit, like the royal Georges, for example.”

  “So take out your best port, because we are also known as the Royal Family, and therefore, you shall approve of us tasting it!”

  Devlin laughed; Rake had a point there. He stood up and led the men out from the dinner room. They took a glass in the library, but soon George excused himself to find his wife and daughter.

  Rake, on the other hand, didn’t seem in any rush to find Fanny now he was here. Instead, he wiggled his glass encouragingly, and Devlin filled it again.

  “So, how’s life in London?”