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“Evening,” Anna nodded curtly, staring at her daughter’s face.

Lucy seemed perfectly content and peaceful; an expression Anna was disheartened she had lost as of late. It was a strange feeling, the mix of relief that her plans to get a wet nurse had been the right choice and the slight twinge of disappointment that she had not been sufficient for her own children. However, she had much to think about, so she pushed the thought aside and walked over to Timothy’ cot.

“I wanted to see them before I left,” she said, reaching out to stroke the hair of her sleeping son.

“I see. Well, I can assure you, the twins are in good hands, Your Grace. You needn’t worry about them at all. The house is full of people who are well equipped to care for them in the hours you will be gone.”

Anna sighed, smiling as she placed her finger in Timothy’s palm and he curled his tiny fingers around it.

“I do not doubt it, but… I do not like to be apart from them. Sometimes, I do leave to see my sister, but tonight… the circumstances are different, and I do not feel quite myself. And suddenly, the thought of leaving them feels more daunting than usual.”

The wet nurse was silent for a moment, then she approached Anna, gently holding Lucy out to her.

“Think of it this way, Your Grace… perhaps you are just thinking too much about every uncertain thing at this moment. And it is all right – to be uncertain about some things. But my mother always told me never to dwell on the things I was not sure about. Your children will be fine, and you will meet them in the same perfect health that you left them. That is for certain. Everything else on your mind, much like the seasons of the year, will pass. You do not need to worry at all.” She advised kindly as Anna held onto Lucy.

Her daughter’s sleeping face made her heart soar, and Anna couldn’t help but feel her nerves settle a little.

“Thank you,” she told the woman after a moment.

“Certainly.” Angelica curtsied. “It was my pleasure.”

Anna set Lucy down in her cot and leaned down to press a kiss to her daughter’s cheek. Then she inhaled deeply and squared her shoulders.

“Well, I am off. Take good care of them for me.”

Angelica placed a hand over her chest, her expression betraying her honesty. “I will, Your Grace. You have my word.”

Anna smiled kindly and walked out of the nursery, resolving to face the night as directly as she possibly could.

Hudson had told himself to be patient. He had resolved to be on his best behavior, but he had long since come to realize that perhaps he was not understanding as he had initially believed himself to be.

However, tonight, there seemed to be something brewing in his veins that made him restless. As he waited for Anna to join him so they could leave for the ball, he found himself pacing about the foyer, growing increasingly anxious for some reason.

“Perhaps it is because we have yet to make a public appearance,” he mused under his breath, willing himself to stand still.

His resolve only lasted for a moment before he was on the move again, walking about the foyer like a man possessed by a restless spirit.

He paused suddenly, lips parting to send the butler to go and find his wife, but the words refused to go past his throat when he heard a voice from above,

“I am deeply sorry for keeping you waiting. I wanted to check on the children. I do not believe it’ll ever get easier to leave them behind,” Anna sighed as she walked down the stairs carefully.

Hudson stared up at her, his mind a muddled mess as he tried to understand what she had said, only to rule it as inconsequential in the face of her beauty. Her words could be addressed later, after he had gotten his fill of the sight of her.

He had known she seemed different upon his return, her body a little fuller in all the right places since he’d last seen her. But this dress she had chosen to wear tonight made it quite clear that things had changed since he’d last held her. A fire was ignited in him, blazing with need as he tried to recall the reason they needed to leave the house.

“What is it?” Anna asked, her eyes lowering nervously. “Is there something wrong?”

Quickly, Hudson shook his head, not wanting to worry her or bring her any discomfort with his train of thought.

“I was merely thinking of the time. Tardiness is not a favorable look on either of us, given that this is our first public appearance as a married unit. Not to mention that it is long overdue.”

“Right,” Anna swallowed, looking as though his words had done the opposite of what he had hoped to accomplish.

He wondered if he should say anything else, but before he could, she squared her shoulders and asked,

“Shall we be off then?”

Hudson stared at her for a moment, then he held out his arm to her.