He laughed, holding her close enough, she could feel the tight press of her stomach against his. By the smile on his face, he could feel it too—and delighted in the giddy little feeling.
“Do you suppose there was trulyonemoment andonealone?” he asked, suddenly the philosopher. “Falling in love with you was the sum of a hundred different moments. Like when we kissed for the first time. And when you came out to Grace’s grave to find us. I think that, perhaps, was the final blow. I could not have held out against you then even if I had wanted to.” He brushed his fingerpads down her warm cheeks. “And I confess, I did want to… alittle. You made me afraid in wholly new ways. But I was powerless against you.”
“Good.” Isadora grinned at him and stepped back. “By then, I had already fallen madly in love with you, so it was only fair you had done the same.”
Sophia huffed an impatient breath. “Mama, Papa, must we speak about this now? I am to be Aunt Marie’s flower girl and I cannot afford to be late or I won’t get the chance again!”
“It’s always important to talk about these things,” Isadora laughed, but she cast a glance at the clock on the mantelpiece and clicked her tongue. “But perhaps we can talk about them once we’re back. We should get going.”
“The carriage has been ready for the past fifteen minutes,” Nicholas shrugged, offering her one arm and Sophia the other. “Shall we, ladies?”
Sophia grinned, bounding up. Marie had been very particular that Sophia was to be invited and to attend the wedding, and Sophia had been delighted at the inclusion. Together, they all made their way downstairs and into the waiting carriage.
Isadora’s stomach hadn’t yet gotten large enough that it severely impeded her movement, but she did find that she moved more differently now. More gently. And when she finally sat in the leather seat, she let out a little sigh of relief.
Nicholas leaned closer. “This is not a secret we can keep for long, I suspect.”
She grinned. “Not for long. Hopefully, just for today at least.”
“Andthenwill you allow me to shout it from the rooftops?”
“If that’s what you want to do.”
“It’s what I’ve wanted to do ever since the physician examined you and said it was unlikely for you to lose the babe now.” He kissed her temple. “I want the entire world to know you are having my child.”
She absently caressed her bump again. Sometimes, she imagined she could feel the new life inside her: a heart beatingnext to hers, and tiny hands and feet all kicking and stretching together. Things had progressed just enough now that she occasionally felt a tiny kick.
There was nothing better in the whole world than this feeling.
Nicholas put his hand over hers, their fingers interlocking, and as he held her, perfectly casually, he talked with Sophia about her expectations for the wedding. She had been athiswedding, but that had been an entirely different affair.
This was a wedding between two people who had already fallen in love.
Marie deserved a chance to find happiness, and Oliver was the perfect man who could give her the life she always wanted. He was patient where she was flighty, knew when to make jokes and when to be serious, and he came from a long line of very respected, very titled gentlemen, which made him a suitable brother-in-law to Nicholas, a duke.
Added to that the fact that Nicholas and Oliver were friends entirely independently of the women was another point in his favor. Isadora was fully convinced that Marie would be perfectly happy, and that they were an ideal match.
When they reached the York church where they were due to marry, Nicholas helped Isadora down and gave her a sweet kiss. “I’ll see you later.”
She smiled; he was walking Marie down the aisle in the absence of any other parent figure. Although he hadn’t said anything about it, she could sense how emotional that very fact made him.
“Good luck,” she whispered, and took Sophia’s hand, stepping inside the cool, dim building. Stained glass windows stood all around, sunlight beaming through a couple, and several people were already seated. Elizabeth, Marie and Nicholas’s sister, saw them and leaped to her feet, hurrying toward them.
“I’m so glad you made it! Is Nicholas outside?”
“He is. He’ll be ready for whenever Marie is.”
“Well, she’ll be late, as is her right.” Elizabeth guided Isadora and Sophia down to the aisle she was sitting in, right at the very front—saved for immediate family only. Oliver sat on the opposite aisle, looking a little green. “And everyone will wait for her, as is also her right, and she will be the most beautiful bride you’ve ever seen.” Elizabeth sighed, her eyes filling with warmth and affection. “And she’ll know it, of course.”
“Of course,” Isadora smiled.
“Do you not thinkyouwere the most beautiful bride?” Sophia asked, sounding genuinely curious.
“That isn’t for me to say,” Elizabeth said, and her husband leaned over with a smile.
“She was in my eyes.”
Heat stained Elizabeth’s cheeks, and she swatted him away with a small, pleased smile.
