She cleared her throat, finally looking at the slight swell of Lydia’s stomach. They had not made any official announcements, but it was becoming too obvious to hide.
“I suppose I was afraid,” she said. “And I let my fear guide me into saying things I regret. Please accept my apologies.”
Thalia caressed her stomach. Perhaps it was the pregnancy, but she felt particularly magnanimous of late, as though she loved the world and it loved her, and nothing could ever go wrong again.
Of course, she knew that was unlikely; things went wrong all the time, and she couldn’t control them or the likelihood of that happening.
But she could control this.
“I understand,” she said, taking the other woman’s hand.
Her father would never come around to being sorry or ever wanting contact with her again—unless he came sniffing around for money. But Joyce meant her apology. Her eyes were downcast, and her shoulders hunched. Giving Joyce the benefit of the doubt and offering forgiveness was the least Thalia could do.
“I accept your apology. I can see you’re remorseful. And, as you can see, Maxwell and I are together, and I hope you have made your peace with our love.”
“Lydia writes to me,” Joyce said. “And she said that you are both very happy and treat her well.”
Maxwell came to stand behind Thalia, one gentle, supporting hand on the small of her back. “There was never any doubt about that,” he said.
Joyce looked again at Thalia’s bump. “I gather I have congratulations to offer.”
“This is Lydia’s event, so we aren’t going to make any formal announcements,” Thalia said, unable to hold back her smile. “But yes.”
Joyce’s smile was small, but it seemed genuine. “My congratulations. Lydia was the best thing to happen to me.”
“I have no doubt Peanut will be the best thing that happens to us, too,” Thalia said, glancing up into Maxwell’s face.
She adored the soft expression that came over him whenever he thought about their child. As much as she teased him over his devotion and his worry, she knew he would be the best kind of father, just as he was the best kind of husband.
“Dinner is at eight,” Thalia said to Joyce. “If you’ve been keeping country times, I’m sorry to make you wait.”
“No, no.” Joyce attempted to smile and stood up straighter. “I kept Town fashions in the hopes I might have a chance tosee Lydia again before she married. Thank you for making that possible.”
To Thalia’s surprise, she dipped into a low curtsy before making her way upstairs to the room they had ready for her.
“I think we did the right thing,” Thalia said, following her upstairs with her gaze.
“We did,” Maxwell agreed, kissing her cheek. “Everything is prepared for the dinner. What would you like to do with the time we have left?”
Lydia was with Anna and Simon, out shopping for new gloves and stockings, leaving Thalia and Maxwell alone for the afternoon. She would be back in time for dinner, of course.
Thalia grinned up at Maxwell. “I know exactly what I want.”
Maxwell massaged his wife’s feet as she sank further into the bath. The strength of his protectiveness over her and the babe she carried had taken him by surprise. He thought he’d loved her before, but this was entirely new.
If he could have done so, he would have prevented her from doing anything that bore the risk of over-exertion, but even he could admit that hosting a dinner party, while requiring a lot from her, did not quite fit that bill.
Still, at least he could do this for her.
She sighed in relief, leaning back in the hot water. If she had not insisted that she could still make love the same as always, he would have put a stop to that, as well, just in case it could harm the baby. But either out of insatiability or certainty, she had insisted that he not stop until the babe was born.
And truly, the sight of her naked with the child growing inside her excited him beyond all reason.
Even now, lying back in the water, the rounded tip of her stomach just poking through the water, made him harder than iron.
He resisted the urge to climb into the tub with her, setting her atop him so she might ride him to both their completion. Her breasts had begun to swell larger than ever, and he loved to touch them, feeling their new heaviness and shape.
All these changes were to accommodate the childhehad put there. The possessiveness in the thought made him slide his hands up her calves.
