Her eyes had started to tear up and she began to cry.
“Wilhelmina, are you in pain Darling? Please tell me I wasn’t too rough with you,” Nigel said.
Through her tears of joy she told him no, their lovemaking had been perfect. Her phone rang and the ring tone was her twin brother.
“I’m sorry, I have to get this,” she said to Nigel reaching for the phone.
“Uhmm, hello,” she said through her sniffles.
Will was on the other end. His voice was laced with concern for his twin. Anxious words rushed from his mouth.
“Willie, are you okay? Is everything all right? I was just hit with this huge wave of emotions and now I feel like I want to cry. Are you crying?”
“Yes, I am crying, Will.”
“What’s wrong Willie, talk to me,” Will coaxed.
She was quiet as her fingers ran through the hairs on Nigel’s chest, “I’m okay. Nigel and I, uhm, we just made our son, I think.”
“Ew! Shut up. Just shut up. Oh, yuck,” Will exclaimed and with that, her brother hung up.
Vanity looked at Nigel. She found herself giggling again, as she wrapped loving arms around his waist. Snuggling close, she held onto her husband, planting a kiss on his chest.
“See, it was so good even my brother felt it,” Vanity said.
Nigel kissed her again. “Tell me again Wilhelmina. Tell me once more,” Nigel said, burying his nose into the top of the mass of hair.
“That shit was good! You are the official Guv’Nah of Happy Town!” She laughed loudly.
“Not that you silly goose, tell me again, about how much you love me,” Nigel said.
“Oh Nigel, this is how love feels,” she said in a high pitched girly voice as she batted her eyelashes at him.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, “I love you, Nigel Strathmore.”
“I love you too, Wilhelmina.”
{31] All in the family...
It is said that if you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans. In Vanity Devons’ mind, God was having quite the row, because everything in her world changed in one night. Her plans to become a mother happened far faster than she had anticipated, along with several other life-changing events.
On the outskirts of Glastonbury, a loud boom was heard three nights before Christmas, waking everyone within a three-mile radius. The fire brigade responded, but much of the sleepy hamlet had to be evacuated as the fumes from the crystal meth lab took over took the streets, filling it with poisonous gases.
Vanity’s heart sank when she heard of the death of Lisbane’s parents as she and Nigel donned protective masks, searching through the aftermath of the rubble for the child. After about an hour, devastated and in tears, she was surprised when Nigel’s phone rang and Giles informed him that the child had been found upstairs in Strathmore Manor in the guest room, asleep.
When told of her parent’s demise, Lisbane’s only question was, “Lady Wilhelmina, will you be my Mum now?”
She cradled the child to her chest, crying with joy that she had not been hurt. Nigel turned his head to hide his emotions as his wife. After obtaining his consent and a bit of paperwork, Vanity Devons became a mother to Lisbane. A month later, she found out she was soon to be a mother in her own rights. A child that made her eat everything, including the scraps in the kitchen sink. No matter how much she ate, she never seemed to be full and spent every day constantly seeking something upon which to graze.
This kept Babette busy. Between the nightly battles with Lisbane for a bath and keeping her Lady fed, the poor girl was dead on her feet. Nigel rewarded her with a hefty bonus for consenting to care for Lisbane, which pleased the girl to no end. He even tacked on an additional week to her annual holiday plans.
Nigel, too, was pleased. Lady Wilhelmina was glowing and had spent the last month at his side in England. Jessica was running the New York office, but he knew something was off with his wife. On a quiet Tuesday morning, she came into his office at the London factory, her eyes welling with tears.
“It’s done,” she told him as she flung herself into his arms.
“Wilhelmina, Darling, what has happened,” he implored as he sat her upon his lap.
“I sold it,” she cried as her body shook from the force of her tears.
Nigel was confused, “Sold what, Darling? Talk to me.”
She sniffled, wiped her nose on the back of her hand, and yelled in his face amidst a blubber of tears, “I sold Vanity’s Pleasure!”
And she balled louder. He hadn’t asked her to do such a thing and based on the revenue the company generated, it was a very lucrative business. It still perplexed him to no end that a woman could pay that much for a pair of lacy knickers, but they did.
“If David forced you to sell it, I will look at having a rod with him,” Nigel said, rubbing her back.
It took a minute for her to regain her composure and he allowed her time.
“No I sold it because if I didn’t I would never grow. If I didn’t sell the business, David would always feel as if he had to be at my side during shows instead of with his family, which is where he is needed. I have to start a new chapter,” Vanity said through soft snobs.
Yes, Nigel was very confused. He had not asked her to give up her company or what she loved doing most. He held her as her tears subsided.
“It’s time to do something new. I sold the company and I am starting two children’s lines of clothing. One called Tiddly Twins and the other Liz B. Strathmore,” she told him.
Nigel’s sat in awe of her. The children’s market was even more lucrative than lacy knickers, and she would easily make a small fortune. However, he was uncertain why the change all of a sudden.
“The Liz B Line will be high end, with exclusive one-of-a-kind clothing for the clients who don’t want their kids wearing off the rack and the other is made just for the rack,” she said.
She pulled out a picture of David’s twins, Trey and Amanda, showing him a photo of the boy and the girl in coordinating outfits, which were close, but not identical.
“I got the idea when I saw many of the old photos of Will and me. Our clothing was always a sore spot for me, which is why I started designing clothes in my spare time. The clothing line will grow with the twins,” she said.
She used her tablet and thumbed through the designs.
“These are absolutely genius,” he told her as he stopped on a photo of Lisbane in a cute frock with a matching hat. “I really like these. Is this that hideous pattern of fabric that was in the back of my closet?”
She smiled as she thumbed through a few more images.
“It is so ugly, it is cute,” Nigel said.
Vanity showed him several more outfits using that fabric and another bolt that he could not sell to any clothiers and he could not help but laugh.
“I could do exclusive lines with the bolts that you cannot sell,” she told him.
Nigel couldn’t take his eyes off the fabric that was too ugly to even made bed pillow, yet she’d transformed it into a marvelous product. He had questions about how she planned to proceed after she closed out the old lines.
He asked, “Darling, how did David feel about being put out of a job?”
“He was fussing until I handed him his half of the check. Then all of a sudden, he thought it was the greatest idea ever,” she said through a sniffle.
Nigel rubbed her thigh. “I am still confused as to what prompted you to do this. I know what VP meant to you,” he said looking at her.
She gazed into his eyes. The news she actually came to tell him she offered with no emotion in her voice.
Vanity said, “I can’t continue to run that size of a business with two small children raise.”
Nigel was looking back at her. As with his conversation with her twin, it took a moment for the spoken words which traveled through his ears to reach his brain.
“Lisbane is not that big of a handful and Babette is there to help,” Nigel said and stopp
ed. “Wait, what do you mean by two?”
Vanity smiled at him as she touched her stomach, “You are about to be a dad. Again.”
“I don’t know if I can handle this,” he told her with a smile. “I have been married for five months and I am a father of a five-year-old hellion who is obsessed with pink and a baby on the way.”
“Yes, but Collingswood will give her a run for her money,” she told him with a wink. Nigel stood up so fast he dumped her off his lap. “How long have you known? When did you find out?”
Vanity picked herself up off the floor, dusting off her bum. “I found out last week. I am only 6 weeks along, but, I think it’s a boy. I am hoping it’s a boy,” she replied.
He helped her get to her feet.
“You are having a boy? I mean we are having a girl? Holy Silk Balls!” He ran into the factory, losing all of his regal composure and bearing. “We are having a baby thingy!”
The machines were silenced as the staff looked up and he yelled at them again, “I am pregnant! We are having a baby.” A few snickers resounded as she stood next to him. The workers new in his excitement and understood that she was carrying the next heir to the Strathmore line. Wilhelmina only prayed that it was a son.
She also prayed that she could fit into her wedding dress.
AS THE DAYS SPED BY and April looming around the corner, there were many details to be completed. The wedding dress Vanity had initially purchased for her ceremony had to be scrapped and she made a new one that fit around her growing belly so the pregnancy was not so obvious. Her parents, who had arrived in March, immediately noticed the pudginess.
Nigel quickly brought his hand up to his nose, “We are already married! Don’t hit me!”
Elena was a ball of nerves and each time she looked at Vanity, she would start to cry in her elation for her daughter. This upset Vanity because each time her mother cried, she cried too, which upset Clarke who could not contain the puffiness around Vanity’s eyes. Finally, irritated beyond measure with all of the crying, the swearing from Clarke, and Lisbane crying each time Vanity cried, Nigel called his mother and sent Elena to assist Lady Jayne with the wedding details.
“I am certain you have a great deal to catch up on since you last saw each other,” Nigel told her as he loaded Elena into the Bentley and sent her to the Keep. It greatly mellowed out the rest of the week.
Each time Will looked at his sister’s belly and at Nigel standing next to her, he would frown and say, “Ewww!”
Elsie was too far along in her pregnancy to travel to England, and Will was going to try to catch it all on film.
Gianni’s only comment was, “Cool, 008 is growing in the pod.”
He looked about the kitchen for Biddie, “ooh, is there pie?”
David had arrived with Halley and the twins, whom Vanity immediately fell in love with. She had not seen them in person since their birth and had only interacted with them via video chats. They were so adorable that she could not help but cry.
This made Lisbane cry.
This made Clarke start cursing.
Which made Lisbane mimic him and Nigel sent Clarke to the Keep to help the mothers. A day later they sent him back. Elena’s only words were, “He is too disruptive.”
Disruptive was a mild way of putting the words chaotic maelstrom. Clarke was convinced the headless ghost of Anne Boleyn was chasing him through the castle trying to make him straight. He claimed the ghost slipped into his room last night and tried to handle him under the covers.
The ever composed Giles’ draw dropped, his face contorted and he frowned when he asked, “What?”
The attention now focused on Clarke, who took to center stage, retelling his story to a captive audience.
“It was horrible. A headless naked ghost chasing me around, all ghostly and stuff, booing at me, saying oooooooh, take me. I tell you all, I was truly afraid for my life, child. I was screaming at that sheer ghost lady, Girl! Where you wanna go?”
The expression on Giles face made David Sr. lose it. He fell over on the couch, holding his stomach in gut busting laughter. But the butler could not wrap his mind around what Clarke was inferring.
Giles asked, with his nose turned up in the air, “Are you implying that you were chased by a headless ghost who wanted to copulate with you?”
“That’s what I am saying Jeeves!” Clarke remarked with
“The name is Giles,” he told Clarke.
“Whatever your name is, I was scared just that bad. I can’t even think straight. A queen needs a drink,” Clarke said.
He sashayed out of the room followed by Lisbane who was mocking the way that he walked, tagging along behind him, her hand on her tiny hip.
“And a princess is going to get some milk,” Lisbane added.
Cookie, who had been very quiet the entire trip, looked at her uncle and asked, “Uncle David, can I go back to my kitchen? These people are confusing me.”
David Sr. had laughed himself so hard, that he had rolled off the couch on to the floor lying on his back like a dead cockroach. He looked at Giles, who was standing in the corner, a deadpan look on his face as he watched the two saunter off. This only made David Sr. laugh harder.
“Bloody hell! I don’t know if I am going to be able to survive all of this,” Nigel said as he sat in a slump in his chair by the large hearth. David had brought with him a special bottle of wine that he had been saving and poured him a glass.
“Welcome to marriage and my crazy ass family, Your Grace,” he said as they both swirled, inhaled and sipped.
Two days later, a large family dinner was planned. During dinner, with everyone gathered and Jessica and Clarke at the table, Vanity presented them her new idea and new company plans. She looked to Khalea to help her get it set up. Her gaze went to Jessica.
“I don’t know if I can do it without you. I would love for you to help me build this,” Vanity said softly.
The girl was quiet, but Nigel spoke up.
“I have something for you Jessica,” he said before handing her an envelope. “It is a 30 day trip through South America starting April 20th. You will be assigned a travel companion to accompany you and it is all expenses paid.”
Jessica, overwhelmed by Nigel’s generosity began to cry. This made Vanity cry. And of course Lisbane’s lip begin to quiver. And for some odd reason, Clarke started to tear up as well.
Nigel stood up.
“Please, please, please, for the sake of all that is sacred! No more tears ladies,” Nigel said as his gazed wandered over to Clarke. David Sr startled chuckling. Although he uttered the command, it did little good when he told Jessica that if she decided to accept the job offer, there was a small cottage on the property that she could move into. “We can have it all ready for you to move in when you get back from South America. I mean, if you want the job.”
He never gave her an opportunity to answer because he moved on to Clarke.
“There is also another cottage on the property as well, if you want it Clarke,” he said with a bit of a terse face.
“Oh hell naw! I am far too beautiful to be squirreled away like some country mouse. I am a city queen, and a queen needs her drones to worship her,” Clarke said aloud.
David Sr started choking.
Gianni looked about the room, “Do we have any more of that pie?”
But Nigel wasn’t done. “I’m glad you said that Clarke. I could really use some help to rebrand some of my lines. I want to do a couple of catalogs and some advertising for some of the older fabrics, you know branch out. I could really use your expertise.”
Clarke clutched at his green pearls, “that’s fine, but it must come with a flat in the city, ’cause I am not living out here. You don’t even have street lights. It’s creepy as hell. I looked over at the woods, and I swear I saw some yellow eyes looking back at me.” He crossed himself and said something in Spanish. “I was hoping you were sending me to Abu Dhabi, but I guess employment is just as good. The Abu Dhabi mens
gone have to wait.”
And he poked out his lip.
Giles was still standing in the corner just staring at Clarke with a blank face. David Sr lost it again. Wiping away the tears of laughter, he looked at Giles, who had not moved from his spot, or changed his blank expression as Clarke rose to grab the bottle of wine from the center of the table and turn it up, guzzling it. David Sr laughed harder.
Nigel extended his hand for a shake to Clarke, “well, here is to a very interesting beginning to something I am not certain of what I am doing.”
He looked at Gianni, “However, something I am certain of, is you young chap.” He handed his nephew in law an envelope. “This is my initial investment in your future and your consultation fee for the time you spent helping me make this manor greener.”
Gianni was at a loss of words when he looked at the check. But Nigel wasn’t done, “I have an internship here for you next summer if you want it.”
“I sure do!” He grinned at his Dad. “If it is okay Pops?”
Will looked at his sister’s rounding belly, then back at Nigel, turning down his mouth at the sheer thought of how the two of them made a baby. His only reply was a wave of his hand and say, “eeww!”
It was good enough for Nigel.
“Raise your glasses,” Nigel said. “To new chapters!”
{32] Here comes the brides...
The wedding day started with a beautiful morning at the manor, and Will finally having the chance to ride one of the Arabians that David and Gianni bragged so much about. As her brothers mounted up and Gianni mounted the Walera, Nigel had one of the Shire ponies brought out for Chuck.
“I figured this would be more your speed, Mate,” Nigel said with a wry grin.
Chuck didn’t find the humor in the joke and his rants at Nigel were missed as Vanity walked out of the Manor, in a soft pink silk robe, her hair down, and both billowing in the April morning wind. Nigel’s breath caught at the sight of her as he turned his horse and galloped towards the house.
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