His own heart started to beat even faster.I shall have to do that when Olivia… Oh God. “But I barely knew my own father. He died when I was so young.”
“I know.” Olivia curled into Nigel’s arms. “And every day I am thankful that our children will not know that same tragedy.”
The clock chimed midnight as Olivia said this. For a moment, all time seemed to stop. A minute passed and then another and then another. The slight tension that had been in Olivia’s shoulders faded.
Nigel’s muscles relaxed, and he began to laugh softly. The laughter was infectious and caught Olivia up in it. Together they laughed and laughed until Dandelion barked her disapproval.
They stopped but could not keep the smiles from their face nor the joy from their hearts. The castle was brimful of new lifewith more on the way. And they knew that life would remain for decades to come.
All was well.
The End?
