“Are you okay, my love?” Benedict asked as he entered the office where I was sitting.
“Yes. Did Lucian understand?” I asked.
Benedict walked around the desk and wrapped me in his warm embrace. “Of course, he did. Lucian also feels a little guilty, but he understands.”
I feel momentarily bad. For ages now, Benedict and I had been trying for a child. All the other Nortons had either had a child or were pregnant. But not us. Surrounded by all that bliss had taken a toll on Benedict and me, and we’d had to move out for now. Benedict seemed happier back here, and I knew I was; there wasn’t any pressure on us.
“I’m glad to hear that. Maybe we can take a break together,” I said and felt guilty. Did Benedict want to spend some time alone? The Nortons were infamously close; was I causing a breach between them?
“Stop thinking like that, I can read your mind, my love. It’s fine wanting to be by ourselves,” Benedict replied, and I smiled.
“Well, we’ve had some bad news, that family that had reserved the inn cancelled. Instead, we have a family called Maddon coming to stay with us. Adam, Rina, and four children. From what Rina said, Adam was involved in a bad accident and nearly lost his leg. She says he can manage stairs, but I assured her we do have a lift,” I said.
“Sorry about you losing that booking, but not having a full inn could be nice at Christmas,” Benedict murmured thoughtfully.
“Are we staying here for Christmas Day?” I asked.
“Yes, we’ll see the others Christmas Eve and Boxing Day evening when Lucian will open the doors to Wollscombe for an evening get together,” Benedict said.
“I’d like that, us being here together. Especially if it snows like it’s meant to,” I mused.
“Darling, this is England, knowing our weather, we’ll have a heat wave instead!” Benedict teased.
I smiled at his words. I knew he meant to cheer me up. The weather was different back in his day. It constantly snowed during the winter, and they had a thick London fog that coined the phrase ‘pea souper.’ Snow had once been a heavy constant across England, not just the parts that got it now. AlthoughBenedict did say the air was cleaner, but not by much. Whereas the coal and constant fires had created fog back then, now car fumes spoiled the air.
“Come and sit by the fire and eat. Julie has prepared a ploughman’s lunch for us. How strange that a farmer’s rough fare is now a specialised dish,” Benedict teased me.
“True,” I said, rising to my feet.
Julie ran the kitchens. We had a manager, Trudy, who worked Monday to Thursday, took bookings, and managed the staff and cleaning team for The Black Cat. Trudy was well aware of Lady Catherine and, like the rest of us, didn’t mess with her. Lady Catherine ruled the roost here, and we all knew it.
The fire was blazing in the hearth as we entered the bar-slash-restaurant part of the inn. The bar had been perfectly preserved when I’d bought it. We’d made a couple of changes, torn down some walls in a couple of the private parlours and extended the dining area. But the inn was pretty much the same as when Benedict had inherited it.
At a small round table near the fireplace was our meal, and I smiled when I saw the rose in the vase. It was a white one; Benedict had taken to giving me one randomly to surprise me.
“Thank you,” I said with a smile, picking it up and smelling it.
“You’re welcome, my love.” Benedict held my chair out, and I sat down. It was always the small things with him that meant the most. He was not only born a gentleman, but it showed in everything he did. It was just one of the reasons I loved him.
Later that night
The lights in my bedroom switched on. Lady Catherine was present. I’d come upstairs to get ready while Benedict locked everything down. Then I heard the bath running and smiled.
“Thank you,” I murmured. A soft hand passed over my cheek as a caress. I leaned into it, knowing Lady Catherine only meant love.
“We’re going to be here a month at least. Did Benedict tell you?” I asked.
“No,”the word floated through the air.
“I didn’t fall pregnant again. We’ve been trying for a year, I don’t know why it’s not happening, but it won’t. Everyone around us is having babies, bar us. I want to make Benedict happy.” A soft sob left me before I even realised it was there.
“Mariah, everything happens in due time,”Lady Catherine replied. A shimmer caught my attention, and Lady Catherine appeared.
Her long black hair was down, and she wore a dress from her era. Plump, red lips contrasted with her high cheekbones. Her eyes were the same hazel as Benedict’s, and I knew where he got them from. She had the straight and noble Norton nose and was truly beautiful. She was also extremely powerful; she was over nine hundred years old and didn’t look a day over twenty-five.
“Will I have children?” I asked and winced at the desperation in my voice.
“I am not a seer. Is your and Benedict’s happiness dependent on children?”Lady Catherine inquired.
