The twins curtsied and left the room without saying anything to him, but they waved goodbye to Lilly.
Marina looked at her husband with a small smile on her lips. “I will walk them to the door,” she said. “You should take Lilly to bed before she falls asleep on her dirty plate.”
He nodded before turning to his daughter. “All right,” he said softly. “Up you get.”
She rubbed her eyes as she stood up and grabbed Evan’s hand.
“Did you have fun today?” he asked.
“Mm-hm,” she said. “Why can Marina have friends over, but I cannot?”
Her question stabbed at him. Had she truly wanted to play with other children that much?Perhaps I can arrange for a child or two to play here. But what parent would want to send their children over to a strange house, even with a nanny? I would have to talk to the parents.Everything sounded dreadfully complicated. He knew he would have to figure something out, but the thought made him ill.
“Father?”
“Yes, Lilly?” He realized he forgot to answer her.
“Why does Marina get to have friends?”
“Technically, they are her sisters,” he said, for lack of a better reply.
“Well, then, can I have a sister?” She sounded a little impatient.
Evan cleared his throat and focused his gaze on the paintings that decorated the hallway. “Unlikely,” he said.
“Why?”
“It is complicated.”
“Why?”
I should have walked Marina’s sisters to the door while she took Lilly upstairs, if only to avoid this line of questioning.
Even as he thought it, he was happy she was talking to him more. He would prefer uncomfortable questions instead of her being completely silent with him. “Marina would need to be comfortable enough to carry a baby in her stomach. That is a lot of work on her part for many months.”
“But she loves kids!”
“She does. But carrying a child is not something to be taken lightly. She could get sick.” He swallowed at the thought of something happening to Marina. He pushed those thoughts away. Those worries did not matter because he doubted Marina would ever be willing to carry his child.
They were on friendlier terms, but he was still too cold. She felt the need to fight to be seen by him. He doubted she would be comfortable seeing him in a romantic light. The thought depressed him more than he expected it to. He cleared histhroat. “Besides, babies are a lot of work. They are very noisy and require constant care.”
“I could help care for them! I can help!”
Evan smiled at her earnest statement. “I’m sure you would help. You would be a good big sister. But babies are fragile. It would be a long time before you could play.”
She pouted. “I can wait. Just like I waited to meet Princess Delphinium the Third.”
“Waiting for a baby to grow up is much different than waiting for a fish.”
She pouted. “Promise me you’ll think about it.”
He chuckled. “All right. I’ll think about it.” But it didn’t matter how much he thought about it if Marina didn’t feel comfortable enough to carry his child. “I am glad you had a lot of fun today,” he said. “But now it is time for you to go to sleep.” They stopped in front of Lilly’s door.
She yawned as he opened the door for her. “All right.”
He tucked her into bed, smiling softly. “Sweet dreams,” he said.
She pouted. “Unlikely,” she said, mimicking his tone from earlier.
