“Excellent,” Katharine nodded with satisfaction. “Then it would not be too much to hope for a grandson very soon?”
Davyss intervened; he had to. He clapped a disbelieving hand on his forehead, reaching to take his wife’s arm and pull her from the chair. “Sweet Jesus, Mother,” he muttered. “We have only just arrived and already you are speaking of grandchildren?”
He had pulled Devereux to her feet. Katharine watched the pair indignantly. “And why not?” she demanded. “The purpose of this marriage is to perpetuate the House of de Winter and I see no offense in asking a true question.”
Davyss gave her an exasperated look, putting his hand on Devereux’s back to gently guide her towards the door.
“You could have just as well asked me,” he scolded her. “Of course you can hope for a grandson in the spring. Or perhaps the summer. Perhaps it will be a girl and not a boy. Whatever the case, we have done our duty, as you are well aware. The House of de Winter will continue at some point.”
Katharine lifted an eyebrow. “At some point, indeed. I am an old woman, Davyss. I do not have time to waste.”
Davyss was carefully pushing his wife along but Devereux abruptly stopped, turning to face Lady Katharine. She put her hand on Davyss’ arm, stilling him, when he tried to turn her back around.
“I will do my best, Lady Katharine,” she assured her. “I understand that my role in this marriage is to breed strong sons. I will try not to disappoint you.”
Davyss just looked at her, somehow hurt by her words. Perhaps in his mind, that too had been her only role in this marriage. But that idea ended a few days ago when he returned to Thetford. In just the past few days, she had come to mean much more to him. He almost didn’t care about children; he simply wanted to get to know her better because what he knew so far had him captivated. When Devereux turned around to leave the room, he shot his mother a reproving look. Lady Katharine was unremorseful.
“I am sure you will not, my lady,” she replied evenly.
Davyss refused to let the conversation continue. He took Devereux from the room and to the wide stone stairs that were built into the house, leading to the upper floors of the manse. He left his wife standing at the base of the stairs while he went to the door and ordered all of her trunks brought inside. Then he escorted Devereux to the third floor, took a left turn, and ended up in a wing of dark wood and musky smells. This was Davyss’ domain at Hollyhock, the lair of the eldest de Winter male. It had the feel of power, virility and intimidation.
The four rooms on this level were his; two on the west side of the house and two on the east with a central hall down the middle. There were small rooms in between each pair of rooms for dressing and bathing. Davyss’ male servants slept here when he was in residence. He took his wife to the first room on the left.
The first thing that greeted Devereux was an enormous bed made from strong English oak. It had four giant posts and a canopy of heavy fabric curtains that encircled it. He paused by the door as she continued inside, inspecting the big, well-furnished room. She ran her hands over the bed post, feeling the quality of it.
“This is my bedchamber when I stay at Hollyhock,” he told her. “If you wish to change anything about it, feel free to do so. It is a room for a man and I am sure you would like to change that.”
She smiled faintly as she turned to him. “Why would I?” she asked. “The room reminds me of you and that is not a bad thing in the least.”
He grinned. “I am flattered,” he replied, stepping into the room. He closed the door softly behind him. “This room shall serve us well as we practice making those grandchildren that my mother is so eager to have.”
Devereux’s smile faded and she lifted an eyebrow at him, suddenly looking very weary. As Davyss watched with curiosity, she sat heavily on the bed and blew out her cheeks as if her exhaustion had abruptly caught up with her. Davyss thought she looked a bit apprehensive and he began to wonder if his mother’s comments this early in their marriage had somehow offended her. He was about to find out.
“I do not believe that shall be necessary,” she said after a moment.
His brow furrowed. “Why not?”
She wouldn’t look at him as she rubbed her belly. She seemed to find interest in everything else in the room but him, unable to meet his eye. It took her some time to reply and when she did, her tone was laced with hesitance.
“Because…,” she tried again. “Because I do believe your mother can already expect a grandchild in the winter.”
Davyss stared at her a moment as the words sank in. His smile vanished completely and the hazel eyes widened.
“What?” he couldn’t keep his jaw from dropping. “Are you serious?”
She sighed heavily, nodding. Then she tipped over sideways and ended up supine on the bed. Exhaustion and apprehension gave way to teary eyes which she quickly wiped away.
“Aye,” she murmured, her hand still on her belly. “I have not been feeling my best the past few weeks and it is only growing worse. I thought it was the shock of our marriage, or the travel, but I cannot deny that I was feeling poorly before you returned to Thetford. Right now, all I want to do is sleep and that is not like me. I am exhausted, my head throbs and my belly aches constantly, which leads me to believe that I may be with child.”
He was suddenly on his knees beside the bed, his face a mask of shock. “So that is why you have been retching?”
“I believe so.”
“But… but we have only… not more than a few times, and….”
She met his eye, then. “It only takes once, Davyss,” she couldn’t help but smile at the expression on his face. “It would seem that your virgin bride conceived on that day we do not like to speak of. Perhaps something good came out of that day, after all.”
Davyss was stunned. He remained on his knees beside the bed, trying to reconcile her news in his own mind. Eventually, a massive hand came up and began gently stroking her arm. For several long moments, he couldn’t seem to manage anything else. He really didn’t know what to say.
