“Thank you.” Eleanor patted her friend’s shoulder and left from behind the screen, her steps quickening as she made her way back to the drawing room. Soon, the breakfast would be announced, but Eleanor had no desire to eat. All she wanted was to see Sebastian’s face and watch his expression as he discovered he was to be a father.
He’d mentioned offhand that he wanted to begin a family, to have a daughter like her and a son like him. Over the course of their year together, he had also told her more about his childhood with his parents. They had been kind and loving,and until that terrible night when he was thirteen, he had been happy.
That’s what he wanted for their children. That happiness in childhood, with no danger of it ending.
Of course, he had not blamed her that she had not become with child sooner, but now she could finally make that dream come true for him.
She picked up her skirts as she searched for her husband.
“Eleanor?”
“Sebastian!” She turned to him, finding his expression panicked as he looked at her.
“What happened to you? I was looking for you, but everyone said you left with Olivia. Are you well?” He cupped her cheeks in his hands. “You look pale. Would you like to go home?”
“Not yet. But I do have something to tell you.”
His gaze searched hers. “Bad news?”
“You may decide that for yourself, but I would hazard a guess that it isn’t.” She smiled up at his handsome face, so dear to her. “Come with me. Here.” She opened a door to a small parlor, unoccupied. “Now we can be alone.”
Heat sparked in his eyes, but he remained gentle as he asked, “Are you sure you don’t need to sit down?”
“Not yet, but I think I might need to soon.” She took his hands and squeezed them. “You see, the truth is, I think—I amalmost certainI am with child.”
Sebastian had been worried for quite some time about his wife’s health. Over the past few days, he’d watched her battle nausea she never wanted to acknowledge. He’d seen her toss and turn at night, and turn down food she usually adored. All that time, he’d kept that concern deep inside, knowing that his past had a habit of rearing its head when he wanted it to least.
Now this.
This.
With child.
He’d dreamed of it—of course he had. A little girl with Eleanor’s eyes and her bright smile. A boy he could take riding and teach how to take over his title one day. Children who would bear his name and carry on the generations.
“Are you jesting me?” he asked, and his voice cracked. Once, he might have been embarrassed at that sign of weakness, but he had no reason for shame in front of Eleanor. She had seen everypart of him, and she loved and accepted him just as he was—even when he didn’t deserve it.
“Jesting you?” She tilted her head, and her smile was perfectly gentle. “I would not do that about such a thing.”
No, he already knew that.
Tears misted his eyes, and he brought her knuckles to his mouth, one at a time. Perhaps once, he would have feared hearing such a thing—he might have remembered about his parents and thought about all the things that could go wrong.
There were so many things that could go wrong, of course. There always were. With every eventuality came a collection of worst-case scenarios. But now, he did not default to thinking about them. He thought only of the joy that would come from starting a family with the woman he loved more than anything else in the world.
“I love you,” he said, kissing the corner of her mouth.
“Are you happy?”
“Yes. You could not fail to make me happy.” He brushed his knuckles along her jaw. “I love you more every day, and now we have something else to love.”
A smile split her face, and Sebastian put the last of his fear from him. It had been over a year since it had last ruled his life, and hewould not give it more space. The only thing he would allow in was joy, and he had that in bucketfuls.
“I can’t wait to get you home,” he said, holding her close and kissing the top of her head. “So we can finally start a family together.”
The End?
