by Wylde, Anya
Celine took a deep breath, hope unfurling in her heart. This was it, she had to take the risk and tell him that he was right. She did love him. He may laugh at her, but she didn’t care. If she didn’t say it now, she could regret it for the rest of her life.
“Come and see the baby,” a maid broke into her thoughts.
Celine lost her nerve and the moment was lost.
They stood up and avoiding each other’s eye made their way back to the captain’s chamber.
What they found was a far cry from what they had left.
The door to the chamber was flung open invitingly. A couple of pirates lay draped in the passageway holding bottles of rum softly singing celebratory songs.
Inside the room the windows had been flung open, and the bright sunlight flooded in illuminating the freshly made four poster bed with its clean white linen.
A few people stood in the room, but all Celine could see was the content duchess lying on the bed with a small infant curled on top of her chest. The duke sat kneeling next to the bed, his single large finger gripped by tiny newborn ones.
Tears of happiness and awe were streaming down almost every cheek in the room.
“Isn’t she awfully ugly?” Penelope sobbed happily. “I still love her.”
“All newborns are wrinkled and red. She will become prettier,” Sandy remarked.
“She?” Celine asked approaching softly.
“I checked,” Penelope confirmed. “It is definitely a girl.”
“What will you name her?” George asked.
“Grace,” Penelope replied promptly, “after my mother. Grace Mary Elizabeth Sandy Radclyff.”
Sordid Sandy started bawling at this pronouncement, while Celine nodded approvingly. It was only right.
George came and put his arms around Celine and together they watched the duke and duchess cuddle the child.
“I changed my mind. Let’s have one,” George said, his fingers squeezing her shoulders.
“You have to marry first before you have one,” the duke said. He didn’t turn around, his eyes glued to his child.
“Will you marry me then?” George asked Celine.
“Because you want a baby?” Celine countered, resting her head on his shoulders.
“No, because you love me and I love you,” he replied confidently.
“True,” she agreed, turning her face up to receive his kiss.
With that single word, the matter was settled to everyone’s satisfaction, and then they kissed and the pirates clapped, the angels sang, and the newborn baby let out a hearty healthy wail.
And in that room that day rang the happiest sounds in the world.
Epilogue
“I am glad you have become responsible,” Celine said to her husband, “but not too responsible.”
George lifted his four month old baby girl and wiped her face, “And I am glad you have become impulsive, a little mischievous and a lot more fun.”
They smiled at each other.
“Do you know who I met the other day?” George continued. A young three year old boy with an adorable dimple raced up to him for a hug.
“Who?” Celine asked placing a cloth on the grass and sitting down carefully.
“Your poet, Philbert Woodbead.”
“You said his name correctly,” she said in surprise.
“I always knew it,” he replied smugly. “I just enjoyed butchering it.”
She shook her head in amusement, her loose curls glistening in the sunlight, “How is he?”
“He is marrying an American heiress who adores his poetry. She was hanging off his arm when I met him.”
Celine grinned and patted her swollen belly. She watched three more children racing towards them and said, “Then it is a happy ending for everyone.”
George now lying flat on his back with children of all ages crawling all over him replied in a muffled voice, “It always is, my love. It always is.”
THE END
If you enjoyed reading Seeking Philbert Woodbead, then please check out my previous books at www.amazon.com/Anya-Wylde/e/B008VOR9I8
If you would like a complimentary copy of my new upcoming novel, then please email me at [email protected] and I will send it to you when it is released.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Anya Wylde lives in Ireland along with her husband and a fat French poodle (now on a diet). She can cook a mean curry, and her idea of exercise is occasionally stretching her toes. She holds a degree in English literature and adores reading and writing. Connect with Anya Wylde on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Google+ to be notified about her upcoming releases. Website: www.anyawylde.com
Book Cover: http://hakeme.com/
Copyright:
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part maybe reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.