Page 108 of A Deal for the Duke’s Virgin

Carriage wheels rattled on the gravel outside, and all of them sat up straight, eyes wide.

“Is that them?” Laura whispered. “Are they here?”

“Let Christian and me go first,” Thalia said, rising to her feet.

Christian held out a hand, and she took it, flashing him a quick smile.

What a lucky woman I am.

They walked out into the foyer and glimpsed the carriage through the open doors. Sister Abigail climbed out before turning to lift Sophia down, then Nicholas, then Alex. They stood in a huddle, eyes wide, glancing up at the house.

Thalia stepped forward first, offering them a smile. “There you are! It’s good to see you, children. Come on in, come on in.”

“I’ll bring their bags,” Sister Abigail offered.

“Would you wait for a little while, just so they could settle in?” Thalia asked. “There’s tea and refreshments, and we’d be glad to have you.”

Sister Abigail nodded, offering a wry smile. “Of course. I won’t deny that I’ll miss these little urchins.” She said the last part affectionately, ruffling Nicholas’s hair. He giggled uncertainly, ducking his head.

The children were ushered inside, still glancing around uncertainly.

Christian stepped forward, smiling down at Alex. “Welcome home, son.”

Alex smiled uncertainly up at him. “Should… should I call you Father?”

“You may call me whatever you like. The truth is that I am simply glad to have you here. Glad to have all of you here,” Christian added, smiling at the others. “If you don’t want to call me Father or Papa or anything like that, then you can call me Christian. Not Sir or Your Grace, but Christian.”

The children nodded earnestly.

Thalia glanced over and found Sister Abigail nodding approvingly.

“Now,” Christian continued, smiling down at the children, “would you like to meet your grandmother and aunt?”

They nodded again, eager. He herded them into the drawing room, where Celestia and Laura waited.

Thalia hung back, watching.

“Aren’t you going to join them?” Sister Abigail asked softly.

“I’ll let them get acquainted first,” Thalia responded with a smile. “After all, I know the children pretty well. I’ll let the others meet them first. You know, I can’t quite believe that this is happening. I’m so… so lucky.”

Sister Abigail smiled back. “You deserve it, Your Grace.”

“Come on, now. Your Grace? Really? How long have we known each other? Call me Thalia.”

Sister Abigail’s smile widened. She glanced back at the drawing room, where Nicholas now sat beside Celestia, playing with Orange. Laura had brought Sophia to the window seat, where they pored over books.

That left Alex and Christian, who stood side by side in front of the fire. Alex was talking excitedly about something or other, and his father smiled affectionately down at him.

They all look so happy, Thalia thought, tears pricking her eyes. They were happy tears, thankfully.

At that moment, wheels crunched on the gravel outside, and Thalia glanced over to see a familiar carriage approaching.

“It seems that my stepmother and brother are paying us a visit,” she remarked, chuckling. “The more the merrier.”

Sure enough, Jonathan’s carriage rolled to a halt in front of the door. Augusta stumbled out first, beaming. Jonathan followed, arms full of boxes and wrapped presents.

“I’m sorry to drop by unannounced,” Augusta fretted. “But I hoped to meet the children. Can we?”