He was quiet for a moment before he realised what she had said, and laughed softly.
"Dozens?"
Chapter Thirty
The next morning Alessandra and Edward said their farewells to Alessandra's mother and father, with the promise that both parents would come to Edward's estate in coming months.
Once on their journey, Edward and Alessandra both started to think about the night ahead, staying in the same inn once again, and Edward found himself fuelled at the thought but now also worried about her being pregnant, and desperate to not do anything that might harm her or the life growing inside of her.
After greetings at the inn, they calmly followed the innkeeper up to their room and immediately closed the door behind them, where Edward found his desire to maintain control was forcefully counteracted by his wife wrapping her arms around him and kissing him passionately.
Alessandra heard him groan deeply but then felt him pull away from her.
"What is it?" she asked him and could see conflict on his face.
"Are we going to hurt the baby?" he asked shyly and she smiled broadly at him and pulled him closer to her again.
"No, the doctor said that everything will be fine for months yet," she said and when he didn't say anything she continued. "Edward, all is well. My body is hardly changed at all yet."
She leaned in to kiss him tentatively, to feel her way and make sure she wasn't pressuring him, and slowly he melted against her, having missed her warmth so much in previous nights.
* * * * *
Lying still connected to his wife, Edward relaxed after the vigour of their lovemaking this night, and relished the feeling of being so close to her. He was on top of her, rested inside her, and she was kissing him all over his face and stroking his hair, and he felt at rest.
"I love you so much," he whispered to her, wondering how he was going to get through months without this, if she carried the child to full term.
Alessandra kissed him deeply, knowing that he was still concerned for her.
"I love you too, Edward. Please stop worrying. You and I both know that babies do not always survive through to birth, or after birth. But I do not want that thought to stop us from enjoying our love for one another."
He said nothing in reply, instead just cuddling into her further, and holding her tighter.
Chapter Thirty One
As they approached the manor house the next day, they could see Edward's mother run out the front entrance, already extending her arms to them as soon as they could reach her.
"Oh my son, it is good to have you back," she said, holding him tightly before turning to Alessandra. "And you too, Alessandra. Are you well?" she asked, expectantly.
"Yes, I am well, and yes I do now believe Edward and I are going to have our first child," she said, smiling at Edward's mother, who let out a shriek of happiness.
"Oh!" she said, seeming unable to say anything more as she gathered her son and her daughter-in-law into her arms once more. "I am so happy for you both."
She ushered them into the house and they were then greeted by Edward's father, who came forward to shake his son's hand and kiss Alessandra on the cheek.
"Alessandra is with child," Edward's mother informed him, and Alessandra saw Edward's father's face become visibly emotional before he contained it and a look of determination came over him again.
"Congratulations to you both. We must all work now to help you rest, Alessandra," he started to say and she laughed lightly at him.
"I shall be fine, I am sure, but thank you."
Edward spoke up, to bring attention back to the fact that they had only just arrived home.
"Father, I should like to get Alessandra settled. Shall I then join you for anything that needs attending to?"
"Oh yes, Edward, if you can come to the steward's room when you are free I would like to go over some paperwork with you," his father replied and then walked off in that direction.
"Mother, we shall see you soon," Edward said, dismissing his mother and taking Alessandra's hand to lead her upstairs to their bedroom.
Once in their room again he pulled her close and held her while softly kissing her.
"I have to leave to go and see Father. What shall you do? If you want to lie down to rest, I can let Mother know…"
"Edward, I am fine. Stop worrying. I will go down and see your mother once I have freshened up," Alessandra replied, kissing him and then ushering him out the door.
Once the door was closed she took a moment to lie on top of the bed and just be silent and alone for a few minutes. She moved her hands over her stomach, feeling suddenly highly protective of the little person that was trying to grow inside of her, and she knew it would be something that was all thought-encompassing for the entire household in months to come.
She was deep in thought when she heard a light knocking on the door, and on opening the door Alessandra saw Margaret curtseying to her.
"Good afternoon, Miss, I just wanted to see if you need anything," she said and Alessandra smiled at her.
"Now, Margaret, be honest with me and tell me if someone just sent you here to fuss over me," she said and the older woman smiled back while nodding.
"Mistress has asked me to stay close by in case you need help with anything," she replied. "Do you need your case unpacked, perhaps?"
Alessandra nodded and opened the door wider to allow Margaret access into the room.
"Thank you, Margaret, I would appreciate that," she said to the older woman and watched as her items were carefully removed from her case and laid out for sorting. "And thank you again for your conversations." She paused as she saw Margaret look up at her with a wondering look on her face. "I do now believe that I am with child, so I may lean on you more in coming months."
Margaret smiled broadly and then toned it down in remembering her place.
"Yes, of course, Miss. I am always here."
* * * * *
Alessandra made her way downstairs to find Edward's mother. Upon not seeing her in the drawing room, she ventured further back in the house, through the kitchen and into the garden. Not finding her, she decided to go to her preferred place for sitting and thinking, and as she entered the glass room, she saw Edward's mother sitting there, looking like she was deep in thought.
"Are you well?" she asked her mother-in-law and saw her jump slightly.
"Oh, Alessandra, I did not hear you enter. Yes, child, I am well. Come. Sit with me," she said, moving along the bench to make room.
After Alessandra had sat down, Edward's mother continued.
"How are you feeling, Alessandra? Physically, I mean."
"I feel as well as I did before I learned I am carrying a child. I do not notice any difference yet."
"Alessandra, I understand you were tentative about announcing because you are aware that I was told long ago that I could not have any more children."
Alessandra nodded.
"You must forget such thinking. My time for children is gone, and even if it wasn't - even if I were a young woman in my youth and wanting to start a family - this is nothing you should hide. It is a happy thing to happen. Edward's father and I look forward to seeing our son become a father, and us being able to meet our grandchildren. It is only a joy, this news."
"Thank you. I shall try to not do anything that might … harm … the baby," Alessandra replied, and the two of them then sat quietly in contemplation.
"We have a good physician in Bath, who you may see as you wish to, or if you would prefer, you are welcome to find another one. And you may wish to find a midwife who can help you when your time is near."
"I do not know how to find such people."
"Worry not, we are all here to support you, and I will put the word out for a midwife. Someone will know of one who has been used recently and is spoken highly of."
"Thank you."
* * * * *
In the evening, in the quiet of their bedroom, Edward and Alessandra stood in front of
the fire, holding each other and kissing deeply, while slowly undressing each other. Being in the privacy of their own room again, Edward felt more at ease in making love to his wife, and took great care and joy in removing her clothing at a pace that seemed almost unbearable to Alessandra, who found herself wanting him more and more, and with greater urgency.
Finally naked, she lay back on the seat by the fire, feeling him pleasure her with his mouth, and heard him say softly, "I am still going to keep doing this to you, even after the time passes where we cannot join, Alessandra."
She did not say anything, just revelled in the delicious feelings he invoked in her in this way, and then she was tipped over the edge in a moment of blissful release.
As he came up to her level, she kissed him passionately and enticed him to enter her, hearing him groan deeply. No matter how often they joined, every time that first moment of entry always felt like a new feeling that had never been felt before.
After he climaxed inside of her, he clung to her, feeling the depth of how much he had come to truly love her, despite how rocky things had looked when they had first met.
Alessandra held him, feeling his emotion and rejoicing in their suitability in marriage and physical love, and she then encouraged him to stand up so they could both move into the bed.
As they stood up, Edward now looked closer at his wife, and touched her belly softly.
"You are starting to grow now," he said, smiling at her as his hand moved over the very slight bump that had started to form. "You become more beautiful every day."
Chapter Thirty Two
"What do we need to do today, Father?" Edward asked at the breakfast table one morning, three weeks later, but the response he got back was a broad smile from his father and his mother, who looked as if they had done something underhand.
"Today you shall take your lovely wife into Bath," he started, and Alessandra's head came up in surprise. Since arriving on the estate, she had not ventured to any of the nearby towns, and felt a familiar excitement grow inside of her at hearing these words. "Your mother and I have agreed that you and Alessandra - should you wish to - shall take some time off from your duties around the estate, and enjoy some time together before Alessandra is too large with child. The weather is fine now and the roads are clear, as we move into spring, so we have arranged for you to stay at The Railway Manor, for the next four nights."
Edward and Alessandra looked at each other with an equal look of surprise, then excitement, and then joy.
"Father! Mother! Thank you!"
"Shall I assume that you wish to do this, and arrange the carriage for you?"
Edward looked enquiringly at his wife, excited but concerned about her journeying.
"It is up to you, Alessandra. Do you feel up to some travel and exploration?" he asked her and she smiled broadly and nodded with great enthusiasm.
And so it was settled. Three hours later Alessandra sat beside her husband in a carriage, heading off to a new town that she had greatly heard about but never visited, and she placed her hand on her belly, silently telling her unborn child all about it.
* * * * *
They checked into their accommodation and stood at the window, looking out over the view of the township.
"Oh Edward, your mother and father are so kind to me," Alessandra said, feeling emotional all of a sudden.
"Alessandra, they love you, as do I," he said, putting his hand over her belly once again. "And when this little one comes we may not have as much time together alone like this, so let us enjoy it."
He kissed her, as a gesture with the thinking that they would then walk out and start exploring, but he soon realised that his wife had other plans, and he found himself taken into that world of pleasure once again.
"Do you think other married couples spend as much time like this, as we do?" he asked her, after they were sated once more, the thought having crossed his mind curiously.
"No, it is my understanding from what other people have told me, that some couples very much do not spend time like this together - do not, in fact, even enjoy it. It is difficult for me to understand. I think I could spend all day every single day of my life like this, with you," Alessandra said with a serious tone but he laughed at her, making her laugh softly also.
"My wife," he said, kissing her again. "How different you are now, from the shy, timid little thing that came into my home and was too afraid to speak."
Alessandra smiled at him indulgently.
"That is your doing, Edward," she started to say and saw a look of surprise on his face. "Every single day you make me feel like I am beautiful."
Chapter Thirty Three
Their first day in Bath, after their arrival, the couple spent in their room, eating, drinking, making love and talking. Always they seemed to find it so easy to talk to one another about so many things, and even now they were still learning new things about one another.
The next morning, Alessandra looked out the window and let her excitement take over.
"Oh Edward, let us go out and walk around the town. It looks so beautiful."
He came up behind her and kissed the back of her neck, making her melt.
"You look so beautiful, my lovely wife."
She pulled away from him, laughing.
"Come, Edward. There are things for us to see and do," she said with mock sternness and he laughed before putting on his coat and starting to follow her.
* * * * *
As they walked through the streets, Alessandra found herself wide-eyed in looking at the many people around, all of whom seemed to her to have come from a much higher place in society than she had ever seen. She found herself looking at gowns and jewels, and the elaborate ways the women wore their hair. If she had been of another kind of nature, the experience might have made her feel ugly and not of a class high enough to be among these people, but with her exuberance and keen eagerness for learning, she simply walked among them like a scholar in a university.
Edward watched his wife much more so than he looked at anyone else, finding her facial expressions a constant source of allurement to him. He knew that even he, with the standing his family had in the land due to the size of his family's estate, would never be regarded as high in society as many of the people around them were, but he at least had grown up around people like this through his parents' entertaining at the estate. To now know and fully understand where his wife had come from, made him even more in awe of her for so easily walking among these people without any indication of unease at all.
* * * * *
From a distance, another pair of eyes had found their way to Alessandra, and were now watching the way that she and her husband looked at each other. As Tom Missinger watched, he felt not only a deep regret once again for not having insisted to his parents that she was the one he wanted to marry, but also recognised in this instant that he had a deep longing for her, and a need to be looked at the way that she looked at the man beside her.
He took a moment, while continuing to watch her discretely, to think about his own marriage and now look at his own wife beside him. Of course it had seemed an acceptable idea at the time - with his intended bride he would be able to add much land to Missinger Estate, his family property. And when he had first met his intended, he was truly struck by her immense physical beauty, which he knew had not wavered since they had wed, but now he looked at Alessandra and even though she was no beauty - and had never been - the level of happiness and contentment on her face transformed her into someone with a very attractive quality about her.
"Are you well, Tom?" he heard his wife asking and he smiled sadly at her.
"Of course, Katherine."
That was all it took for her to be reassured and turn her attention elsewhere. Even though they had been married for this long, she still seemed to him to be just an accessory to him, and equally he felt like he was just an accessory to her. She had not seemed to wish for them to have any true intimacy, and the marital act she tr
eated like it was a necessary unpleasant thing that had to be done, but should be done as quickly as possible and then forgotten. Even in that, there was still no child, which left him wondering what the point of all that land would be if there was not going to be any heir to inherit it.
Looking at his previous beau and her beloved, Tom could see - could tell - that they had an entirely different type of marriage, and that her husband was sharing with her all the things that he - Tom - had always wished for, and it made him feel unbelievably sad. He was still processing that thought, looking at her, when he came back to the present and realised that she was looking straight back at him.
Without any thought of his wife, he moved forward.
* * * * *
Alessandra and her husband enjoyed exploring and looking at so much, and were just about to head back to their lodgings when Edward saw Alessandra's face change from joy to surprise, and then to intense thoughtfulness. When he followed her gaze he was unhappy to see heading toward them the same handsome man he had seen her with in her home town. Thinking quickly, this time he made sure to be in the picture that this man saw of Alessandra, and stood close to her, holding her hand.
"What a delightful surprise, seeing you here," Tom said directly to Alessandra and not at all giving Edward any acknowledgement.
Alessandra curtseyed and this time avoided his eye contact.
"Tom, what are you doing?" Tom heard his wife ask as she approached them, and Alessandra saw his face cringe.
"Katherine, please allow me to introduce an old friend, Alessandra, and her husband," he said, trying to seem normal even though his nerves were frayed. "This is my wife, Katherine."
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