“After,” Auggie answered without a hint of shame. “Jack was with us almost from the very start.” He glanced down at my face. “Like it was ordained by God himself.”
Papa scoffed. “My Bible interprets things a little differently.”
“True,” Auggie conceded. “But I was always taught that God works in mysterious ways. And nothing in my life has been more holy than marrying Peaches and having our son.”
“Can we see him?” Memaw asked.
“Perhaps,” I told her. “But I think we should make a few things clear.” I turned back to Papa. “I’ve held a lot of bitterness against you for the things you said about my baby brother, Dashiell. I understand that you don’t agree with the way he’s being raised, but he is a beautiful, kind, exceptionally sensitive little boy and I won’t let anyone hurt him. If you are to be around this family, you must refrain against making any derogatory comments against him. Like all children, he doesn’t deserve anything but love.”
Papa’s jaw clenched. I knew it was everything he could do not to break out into a fire-and-brimstone sermon right there on the spot. “I’ve already promised Archer that I will not say a negative thing to him. Despite what you think of me, I do care for the boy. Everything I’ve said in the past comes from love, and the deep, abiding concern I have that he will never know God’s kingdom.”
“Children are God’s Kingdom,” I told him. “Matthew 14:19,” I added. “Like any child, he is innocent and pure. And that’s how he loves. Innocent, and pure. God’s grace is absent when that love is tainted by ugly, hateful words that do nothing but make him feel alone and abandoned. He wasn’t created for your comfort. Maybe, just maybe, he was created for your growth.”
He opened his mouth to say something, but Memaw put her hand on his arm. “Fine,” he gritted.
It gave me strength to keep going. I straightened my own spine. “Secondly, my life is a lot different than it used to be. With it, come certain obligations for those who wish to be in it. If you want to be in my home, and in my life, you have to abide by those same rules.”
“Archer already told me. As did Countess Tremwell,” he added, almost begrudgingly, as he nodded her way. “I have agreed not to speak to any reporters.”
“Good,” I said with a nod of my own. “Now that we have that understanding, what is the plan while you are in Aldayne?”
Audra took over from there. “We have already set up a private residence near the hospital. There will be a caregiver throughout the day, as well as support staff to ensure the basic needs, cooking, cleaning, shopping, are all taken off your grandparents’ shoulders.”
“And,” Archer prompted. She stole a glance and he gave a quick nod. She faced me.
“And the queen has requested their presence at the Gratitude Gala.”
I blinked in confusion. “You discussed this with the queen?”
Audra only looked slightly chagrined. “Yes, your Grace. She is the one who authorized everything and got it all in order.”
I turned to Auggie, to see if he knew anything, as Audra was his assistant and technically answered to him. He offered a slight shrug.
“Most of the negotiations happened while you were in the hospital with Jack,” Archer supplied, showing his support for her unorthodox behavior. “As I said before, time is of the essence.”
I took a deep breath. “Fine,” I caved at last. I took one last look at my grandfather. I wanted to beg him not to embarrass me, but I knew it was fruitless. I stood. “I hope you enjoy the party. Mom and Fern put a lot into it to make it special.”
It was my only warning.
I took Auggie’s hand and we left them alone in the drawing room. Mom and Dad passed us on the stairs on the way down. The minute Dad’s eyes met mine, I knew how sorry he was we had all been brought into it. I could tell in an instant that was the burden that had been weighing him down. I just gave him a wordless hug to let him know that I supported him, no matter what.
I, however, didn’t stop walking until we got to our apartment, where Hannah was rocking Jack back to sleep. “You can go,” I told her, more curtly than I intended.
She nodded and left us alone. I immediately gathered Jack in my arms. He fussed for a moment, but I kissed him until he settled back down again. “I can’t believe Audra told Maeve what was going on and not us.”
Auggie sprawled on our sofa. “You shouldn’t be so surprised, Pea. She works for the queen first.”
“But she’s my friend,” I argued.
“But she works for the queen first,” he repeated, emphasizing every word. “Audra has always been duty over everything else. You know that.” He paused. I said nothing. “We had a problem. She fixed it. That’s how she works.”
I sighed as I sat next to him. He gathered both Jack and me into his arms. “I guess I’m still reeling from the shock. That was an ambush attack downstairs.” I knew that I couldn’t blame Audra for that. It was Archer, through and through.
“Would you have said yes any other way?” Auggie asked softly.
“No,” I admitted, cuddling my child close. I studied his perfect little face. “If they hurt him,” I started.
“They won’t,” Auggie promised. He turned my face towards his. “I’m never going to let anyone hurt you or Jack. That includes you, Pea. You know you’d never forgiven yourself if there was something you could have done, and you didn’t do it. You’re not that person.”
I conceded with a nod. He took Jack into his arms. “Let’s get our boy dressed to meet his new Papa and Memaw.”
The words sounded so funny coming out of his mouth I had to laugh. “As you wish, Your Highness,” I said with the proper bow.
He kissed me. “You bow to no one, my queen.”
We joined the family in the McPhee residence, where Papa and Memaw now sat on the sofa on either side of Dash, who was happily regaling them with all the adventures he had been on this past year. Dash lit up the minute we appeared in the doorway.
“Pea! Lookit! It’s Memaw and Papa! They came all the way to Aldayne to visit us!”
He was so excited it just tore my heart in two. How could he love them so fully when they could only love him with guarded hearts? It just didn’t seem fair. “I see that,” I told him as we walked into the room, Jack nestled safely in Auggie’s arms.
Memaw hopped to her feet with a delighted gasp. The circumstances of his existence aside, Jack was her first great-grandchild. She was immediately smitten the moment Auggie transferred him into her arms. “Prince Jackson Roan Quinn Agassi McPhee, meet your Memaw.”
“Oh!” she said as she stared down at his face. “He looks just like you,” she said to me.
Auggie smiled at me and took my hand. “Every bit as beautiful, every bit as stubborn.”
The rest of the family laughed.
Papa rose with some difficulty from the sofa, which startled me. I remembered him as a giant of a man, preaching about hell and damnation from a fiery pulpit, ready to take Satan himself to the mat.
Now, he was a frail elderly man who was losing the fight to cancer. He was rail thin and his hand shook as he reached out to caress Jack’s cheek.
I gulped hard as I realized what the stakes truly were, and why Dad had been so torn to pieces. I leaned forward. “Jack, this is your Papa.”
As if he understood, Jack focused on Papa’s chiseled, weathered features as he closed his tiny hand around one of his fingers. “No,” Papa objected at last. “He doesn’t look like Peaches.” My heart stopped for a moment as I waited for the bomb to drop. Instead I watched in wonder as his old face softened. “He looks like Dougie.”
Tears slipped down Memaw’s cheek as she made the connection. “Oh, my gosh, Seth. He does. He really does.”
I found myself unexpectedly emotional. Auggie gripped my hand in his.
Fern and Gav joined us for dinner. I had expected Fern to be equally upset, but as it turned out, Gav was able to prepare her for their appearance. “He told you?” I ask
ed when we got a minute alone in the kitchen.
She nodded. “An ambush like that wouldn’t have worked on me. You know that.”
I mirrored her nod. I did know that. What I didn’t know was that the rest of my family thought it could work on me.
And it had.
It seemed I was being treated with kid gloves suddenly. And I didn’t much care for it.
Like me, Fern was a bit more cautious and subdued throughout the family dinner we all shared.
Likewise, Mom and Dad were equally sedate, up to and even after Papa and Memaw left for their new home early in the evening, thanks to Papa growing especially tired.
Audra and Archer went with them. She stopped in front of me, offering a silent apology. I knew it wasn’t because of anything she did, but how she was forced to do it. I gave her a nod and a small hug to let her know I understood.
Aldayne came first.
That night, we nestled Jack in between us in our huge four-poster bed. Auggie couldn’t take his eyes off him. “Not even a month old and already saving lives,” he marveled as he caressed his tiny face. “What a miracle he is.”
I nodded. “It’s incredible.”
His eyes met mine. “You would have done it too, you know.”
A tear slipped down my cheek. “I wish I could be as sure of that as you are.”
He took my hand in his and brought it to his lips. “You saved my life,” he stated softly.
My loving husband held me close while I cried.
Chapter Twenty
The Thursday marking the 1st Annual Jackson Roan Gratitude Gala began festively for most Aldayneans, who got a bank holiday direct from the queen so they could all celebrate. Television programs focused on the American tradition of the holiday, which might have backfired against the queen because some Aldayneans wanted to move to a democratic system much like the Americans they were encouraged to celebrate.
Still, many devoted to the country and Her Majesty, the Queen, got into the spirit of things, using the day to officially usher in the holiday season, much like we do in the States.
Despite the party being thrown in my honor, the day itself was full of duty and obligation that kept me from my beloved newborn son way more than I liked. I got to show him off to his fairy glam mothers Jorge and Clementine only briefly before Hannah squirreled him away so that we could focus on getting dressed for the gala. It was a far cry from the Thanksgiving before, when Fern and I had joined Mom at the break of dawn, prepping a turkey and cutting up veggies and making cornbread for Dad’s favorite southern stuffing. We drank mimosas while Mom baked some monkey bread as she played old music from the 1970s, which was her tradition.
Getting glammed up in formal wear for an actual ball at a castle felt widely out of place. And I couldn’t even drink yet to numb the absurdity of everything.
By late afternoon, Auggie was in his uniform and I was in another amazing Darcy Masters original. We met up with the rest of the fam in the McPhee living room, where all but the children were dressed in their formal best.
Though it had a baby’s name attached to it, the Gala was adults only.
Mom had somehow managed to make a meal for Hannah and the kids anyway, since they would be staying home, watching The Wizard of Oz, which was also tradition.
I sincerely hated I was going to miss Jack’s first time viewing it, even if he would likely sleep right through it since he was only three weeks old. It was the first “first” I would miss… and that Hannah wouldn’t.
It left a bitter taste in my mouth as we boarded the helicopter that would take us to Shimmering Falls, despite the fact I looked like freaking Cinderella with another tiara on loan from the queen.
It was fortunate, I supposed, that there was plenty to keep us busy, not the least of which girding my loins before I came face to face with Cillian again.
We arrived at the Queen’s castle a little before five o’clock that early evening. The queen’s official press correspondents took photos as we walked the purple carpet leading us into the fine palace through its private entrance facing Queen’s Quay. Everyone else walked the press line in the front of the castle.
“Not like your Thanksgiving at home,” a reporter pointed out when we stopped for questions.
“Not quite,” I answered with the obligatory smile.
“Where’s Jack?” they wanted to know.
“You’ll get to see the prince soon enough,” Auggie interjected with a proud smile. “We have the christening in a few weeks, after all.”
Another reporter pounced on that. “Isn’t six weeks a little young to christen a royal baby?”
“Everything we do is fast,” Auggie said, pulling me close. “Just watch how quickly we give him a sibling.”
He was proud of himself for tugging their chain, but I was livid as we headed inside. “Why did you say something like that?”
He shrugged, nonchalant. “Why are you surprised? Remember what I told you in New York?”
I thought back to our first stop in the tour that changed my life. “You like to jerk their chains.”
“Exactly,” he grinned. “And the way I figure it, they’ll be duly warned when they spot a new baby bump in a few months.”
“You’re obsessed,” I told him, shaking my head.
“With you,” he granted, with that smirk.
We headed into the main dining hall where it waited for all its guests, its grand stone fireplace already aglow. There were two long tables on either side, with settings for two hundred guests, fifty folks each side. The family table sat perpendicular, draped in white with vases of Unity roses. Just behind the Queen’s chair was the royal purple Aldaynean canopy and family coat of arms. The princesses were milling about, checking every detail alongside Fern and Mom. They were in service even though they were dressed in their formal dresses complete with tiaras and purple sashes to denote their membership to Queen Sorcha’s Royal Order of Extraordinary Women, an honor given since Abyleen helped establish Ademar centuries before.
I was ready to earn my place as well. “How can I help?”
Giz was quick to answer. “You have to greet guests with the queen.”
It was not the good news I wanted. I would have rather washed hundreds of dishes in blistering hot water than face a parade of Who’s Who.
But off to the receiving room we went, as instructed, to meet Maeve. “Augustine,” she greeted, leaning forward so he could kiss her cheek. “Peaches,” she added. I awkwardly did likewise.
She appraised me thoroughly. “How are you feeling?”
“Tip top,” I responded.
“And Jackson?”
“He’s amazing,” Auggie bragged with a big smile. “Maybe next year he can come, given it’s his name on the shindig.”
She chuckled. “We’ll see. He might be home keeping another sibling company if the rumors are true.”
Auggie wasn’t embarrassed in the least. “Maybe even twins. Who knows?”
“Who indeed,” she agreed. “Let us meet our guests, shall we?”
She nodded to one of the staff waiting by the door, who began to allow in the first to arrive from the VIP list. We were on our third royal gathering for the year, so many of the faces were already familiar. The Strongs were there, the Tremwells, of course. Viv brought Caz again, with sad, sedate Riona bringing up the rear.
His eyes sparkled as he greeted me, which caused Auggie to stiffen beside me. It made me feel a little better that I wasn’t dealing all that well with Hannah’s presence in our life.
Granted, she wasn’t paid to have sex with people… but she was raising my child, and that was betrayal enough.
I also didn’t care much for the way Eloise sized up my husband when she approached with Allan. They were civil to me, barely, but mostly because the queen was standing right next to us.
Then, the moment I dreaded. Cillian approached with that damnable, gloating smirk. I clenched my teeth as I held out my hand to him. He held it to his lips a fe
w seconds longer than necessary, which felt like forever as his eyes locked with mine.
“You look lovely as always, your Grace,” he murmured. I knew it was 100-percent insincere. “Congratulations on the birth of your baby.”
“Thank you,” I managed to grit.
Cillian smirked only a little before he turned to Auggie. Neither said anything for a moment. Finally, Cillian bowed.
“Congratulations on your new family,” he managed, without calling him by any title at all.
Auggie stared daggers at him. “Thank you.”
“It’s a fine thing to have a son to carry on the family name,” Cillian continued. He paused to let that barb hit its sensitive mark.
Auggie’s jaw clenched, proving it had landed exactly where Cillian wanted it to. “It is, indeed.”
They stood for a painful, silent minute that seemed to stretch on forever. “I wish him well,” Cillian finally said. He slid me a glance before he continued to the queen.
I took Auggie’s hand in mine and gave it a squeeze.
He returned the favor when Archer and Audra brought Memaw and Papa to meet the queen. Again, Papa didn’t bow, but he did give her a nod. “Your Majesty,” he managed, though I knew it choked him to say it.
“Welcome to Aldayne,” she said. “I wish it could have been under better circumstances.” She nodded at Auggie and me. “Although there are many things to celebrate, aren’t there?”
“God is good,” Papa said.
“All the time,” Maeve replied, taking Papa by surprise, I think.
After we greeted our guests, we were the last to arrive in the dining hall where they had been seated. Mom and Dad sat with us at the royal table, along with Fern and Gav. The princesses joined the Queen to her right.
Memaw, Papa, Archer and Audra sat closest to us on one table, while the Byrnes sat closest to the princesses on the other.
The queen rose and clinked her glass to bring all chatter to a stop. No one had taken a sip or a bite yet; they wouldn’t have dared.
“On behalf of the royal family,” she started, gesturing to everyone at her table, “we would like to welcome you to the 1st Annual Jackson Roan Gratitude Gala, in honor of my first-born great-grandson, Prince Jackson.” She allowed the polite applause. “As you know, Jackson’s mother is an American, where they have the charming tradition of spending one day each year to reflect on their many blessings, a holiday they call Thanksgiving. In Aldayne, we share many of the same privileges and blessings as our American friends and family. It seems only fitting that, now that Americans are seated on our family tree, we share in this celebration. We have many things to celebrate, including the wedding of my grandson Augustine. I am most thankful that he has returned home to Aldayne to start his new family and soon, by his birthright, take his place as the new monarch of our beloved Aldayne.”
The Duke Takes a Bride (The Rocking Royal Trilogy Book 2) Page 20