“What is it?Are you all right?”
Ana’s hand clutched at his arm, the other pressed against her roundness.
Peter drew her in, his bliss quickly turning wholly to concern.He gently touched a hand to her torso as well, as if he could feel what had her so taken aback.“What is the matter?”
“Thebebé!I feel her move!”Ana looked up at him, her cheeks rosy and rounded in an impossibly wide smile, while tears sparkled in her eyes.
“Truly?”Peter found it even harder to breathe than it had been a moment previous.
“Sí.I am certain.”
Peter dropped to his knees, not caring in the slightest about the wet gravel soiling his pants.He cupped the roundness of Ana’s midsection with his hands.What a miracle it would be to feel their child moving within her.The thought brought an entirely new and heady rush of excitement to Peter’s mind.
“Querido, it is so early still.I feel her inside me.I don’t know if you can feel her too.”
Ana’s hand stroked Peter’s cheek as her smile softened into one that he hoped was affectionate of some sort.
“But I want to.”
“Lo sé.Soon, I am certain.”
Peter huffed out a heavy sigh, one that was visible in front of him in the crisp winter air.He pressed a hand to his knee, raising to his feet again, and resumed their walk.Beside him, Ana was quiet but glowing as she wrapped an arm around her round torso, basking in the tender surprise.
Once the initial excitement of the moment had resolved, Peter had to broach the topic of her using his English name.He could not resist it.
“You do realize you called me Peter, do you not?”
Ana pursed her lips in a pout and sighed heavily, a look of pretended disappointment written all over her lovely face.“I so sorry.Lo siento mucho.In this my moment of excitement, I forget and call you in this lazy language.ButPedrois much better, you know—so very much romantices Pedro.”She shrugged her shoulders, the same shoulders that were trembling with the laughter contained inside her.Peter couldn’t resist chuckling as well.
“I do believe Peter can be just every bit as romantic as this Pedro, as you say.I also believe that you have insisted on calling me that in Spanish all these months just to tease me.”
“Bueno, you find me out,Pedro.”Ana laughed fully now, but the softening of her gaze seemed to indicate that perhaps there was an additional reason to her insisting upon calling himPedro.Perhaps it had been a protection or hesitation of sorts.Because there was definitely a certain intimacy upon using one’s Christian name in one’s own language.It implied an emotional nearness that they had not yet experienced.Peter could not deny the thrill that had coursed through him at hearing his name upon her lips, even as it had trilled dramatically upon delivery.It tightened his chest with breathlessness and caused the undeniable attraction that he felt for her for so many months to become cemented more deeply within him.
“And seeing as I have found you out, as you say, could you be persuaded to continue to call me Peter?”
“Quizás...”Ana said, tapping her chin with a finger, “but I would like to see how you do this persuasion, no?”
Peter did not need any more encouragement.Her lips were entirely too flushed and becoming as it was.“Well, if you insist.”Peter pulled Ana into his arms, dipping her dramatically, and kissed her soundly.At least, that is, until she wriggled in protest and sent them both tumbling slowly into the snow, tangled up in each other’s embrace.
Chapter 24
February 10, 1814, London, England
London felt much more familiar this time, Ana decided.
Or perhaps it was being in Peter’s company that felt more familiar, more comfortable.She snuggled into Peter’s side, wrapping her arm through his.
Estás bien?Peter squeezed.
Estoy bien.Ana squeezed in response, and Peter leaned more heavily into her.
Ana sighed at the comfort that came from the warmth of his touch.Months, even weeks ago, the prospect of traveling to London again would have brought her great distress.Abbeygate had become a safe haven for her, and the looming, bustling landscape of London was overwhelming.But somehow, being with Peter quieted the noise, both inside her mind and outside the carriage.Ana pressed her cheek into his shoulder, squeezing her eyes shut.So much had changed in so little time.And now she felt as if she could never endure life without his touch, his companionship, his smile, his wry jokes.
She loved him.She could no longer deny the reality of her feelings.The comfort of waking up at his side each morning had stripped her heart bare, revealing that truth.And loving him somehow flooded her with elation and terror at the same time.Elation that she could discover so pure a love in the darkest moment of her life.Terror that she would lose him—that more important responsibilities would come along, and he would leave her, just asMamáhad.Just asPapáhad.
Peter had planned this trip for Ana’s benefit.Her swelling form had started to grow past the constraints of her current clothing, all except the loose night shifts and dressing gowns he had purchased for her a few months past.And although she protested that Elena could help her to make some adjustments to some of Lady Ashmore’s old gowns so they would be more serviceable, Peter insisted that they would take a trip to London in search of some garments that would be comfortable for the coming months.Lady Ashmore had been kind enough to arrange for a seamstress to come to her home so Ana could have her measurements taken in a more comfortable setting, given the privacy it provided.
Ana admired Peter as they stepped out of the carriage in front of Heathridge Hall.His double-breasted greatcoat was a vibrant Prussian blue, its length long and flowing, as was the apparent style, but the cut of the garment indicated that Peter had worked directly with the seamstress to ensure it fit the demands of his daily activities.The fabric had a durable flexibility that suggested it could be worn for years without revealing signs of distress.The definition of the shoulders and collar also had a specific military-esque appearance, as well as the numerous pockets that he had apparently requested to be sewn into the interior.Ana had already seen him slip half a dozen items into his person, and he surely couldn’t be storing them in his cravat.
