“Look at those eyes. As green as the Duke’s. Oh, this little one has an old soul,” Bridget gushed, gently tracing the tip of her finger along William’s cheek.
“Caroline, Bridget, I should like you to meet my new nephew, William Harcourt, the future Duke of Ashworth,” Elara explained, coddling the boy tightly.
In her arms, William cooed and stretched, obviously overjoyed by all of the attention.
“Well, what a pleasure it is to meet you, Your Grace,” Caroline cooed.
“Nephew, you say?” Bridget asked, looking up at Elara. Elara did not miss the relief in her sister-in-law’s eyes, and she nodded. “Did His Grace’s brother have a child? I had not heard of his marriage.”
“Yes,” she confirmed, feeling a surge of protectiveness wash over her. “William is the son of Augustus. My greatest joy since becoming the Duchess of Ashworth has been getting to know this little man and taking care of him since his mother has passed.”
“Well, who would not find it joyful to take care of such a precious little lamb as this?” Caroline asked. “May I hold him?”
“Soon,” Elara promised, tucking William closer to her body. “I have had the maids set up tea and nibbles in the parlor. Why do we not go in and take our seats? Then you may hold William a while before it is time for his wet nurse to attend to him and lay him down for his afternoon nap.”
Caroline and Bridget readily agreed, and after they sat down, Elara could not help but notice how loving and caring her friends were toward baby William, and how not at all judgmental they were, as she had feared. They had taken the truth at face value, and Elara was relieved that neither asked about rumors regarding William’s parents.
“Well,” Bridget sighed, her gaze lingering on William as the wet nurse took him away. “I see now why it took you so long to invite us over. It seems your new life has kept you quite busy. Are you enjoying it?”
To her own surprise, Elara felt herself smiling as she reached for her cup of tea.
“I must admit this marriage is going much better than I could have ever anticipated,” Elara confessed, then swept her eyes over the sitting room full of light tones of cream and white.
“The house is purely opulent,” she said. “I am in constant awe of every room. The staff is quite lovely, especially the housekeeper, Mrs. York. She has helped me become acquainted with many of my new duties and provides a joyous tone when things start to feel too serious.”
Elara paused to take a sip of her tea and help herself to one of the brightly colored macaroons set before her. She bit into the sweet and shimmied her shoulders with delight as the strawberry flavor burst on her tongue.
“After tea, I shall take you upstairs to show you my rooms. Then we shall tour the gardens. They are just coming into bloom and are so lovely,” Elara went on with enthusiasm.
She noticed quickly how Bridget and Caroline shared a glance.
“What is that look?” she asked, setting her half-eaten biscuit down. “Do you not believe me?”
“Oh, it is not that,” Caroline quickly replied, picking up her tea. “You certainly do seem most content with your new home and staff.”
Caroline then blushed as she brought her teacup to her lips and sipped.
“However?” Elara goaded, looking from Caroline to Bridget.
“However,” Bridget agreed, placing a hand on Caroline’s arm. “We were asking whether you were enjoying your marriage with the Duke, not the estate you live in.”
Elara blushed as she reached for the rest of her biscuit and popped it into her mouth, feeling a little foolish for not understanding their meaning at first.
“Oh,” she said, swallowing the biscuit.
“You do seem quite happy,” Caroline said, her tone hopeful. “Have you and His Grace reached an understanding?”
“Of sorts,” Elara agreed, looking up at her dear cousin, then at Bridget. “We more or less stay away from one another. He attends to his life, I attend to mine, and I help look after William.”
“I see,” Caroline mused, then glanced at Bridget.
Suddenly, despite how much she had missed Caroline and Bridget, Elara felt uneasy.
Since when have those two been in cahoots?
“If there are questions you want to ask, please just speak them plainly,” Elara said with an exhausted sigh.
“Do you still hate him?” Caroline asked almost immediately. Her question sent a strange jolt through Elara, but she quickly recovered. After all, she had told Caroline how annoying she had found the Duke, so why would she not still be curious?
