“I truly need to speak with Jenny and confirm my suspicions.” Merry’s tears had disappeared. Mischief and delight now danced in her eyes.
“I am going with ye.”
With a put-upon huff and a roll of her eyes, she took his arm and grudgingly tugged him alongside her. “You might regret it.”
“Why would I regret any conversation ye might have with yer maid?”
“We will be discussingwomanlythings, and I am not speaking about needlepoint, pianoforte, or which book I am currently reading.”
A subtle leeriness dawned on him. Womanly things. Courses and their timing. Feckin’ hell. Had it happened already? He halted at the base of the stairs and took hold of her, turning her to face him. “Are ye with child?” he whispered.
With more compassion and understanding than he ever thought existed, Merry reached up and touched his cheek. “It will be all right, Duncan. I promise.”
“Ye canna possibly know that.”
“I have six sisters, five of whom have successfully brought forth healthy babies. My mother had eight children with no issues.” While caressing his cheek, she grazed her thumb along his bottom lip, making him yearn to catch her up against him and protect her from every possible evil. “It will be all right,” she repeated. “Fight your fears, my champion. Don’t let them take you over.”
“I canna lose ye,” he said, his voice cracking. He gave in to his needs, gathering her into his arms and holding her tight. “I could never bear it.”
She hugged him back just as tightly. “I am healthy and strong, and your strength makes me even stronger. Look how happy we have been since you shunned the horrible memories of your past and told them to be gone.”
He closed his eyes, fighting to regain control and send his panic packing. “What do we do to keep ye as safe as possible?”
“We live and enjoy life.”
“It canna be that simple.”
“And we do not threaten the servants.”
“They made ye cry.”
“They did not. My condition made me cry.” She shifted with a delighted giggle. “You had best pray that I do not become like Blessing whenever she is in the family way. The devil himself fears her.”
After meeting Merry’s strong-willed sister, Duncan thoroughly understood why, but decided it prudent to keep that opinion to himself. “When will it happen? The bairn. It’s coming.”
“That is something Jenny and I shall have to discuss. She keeps up with the dates and such with much more accuracy than I do.”
“Ye will tell me when ye know?”
She stared at him as if he had suddenly sprouted a second head. “Well, of course I will tell you. As the father, you need to know what to expect.”
Renewed panic filled him. “We dinna have a nursery. Or a room for a nurse, a nanny, and a wet nurse.”
She smoothed her hand down her front, which appeared as flat as ever. “We have time to prepare. These things do not happen overnight.”
“Maybe not, but these preparations take time—and they’ll need to not only be completed here in London but in Galkirk as well.”
With a plotting thoughtfulness he had already learned meant trouble, she slowly nodded. “Probably Galkirk first. Will we not be in the country during Yuletide and the first of the year?”
“We will be wherever ye wish us to be.” He urged her upstairs, his thoughts awhirl with names of architects, builders, and designers. “Talk to yer Jenny, aye? I’ll be needing a date to give to the workers for when I wish everything to be ready.”
She caught hold of his hands and squeezed. “Breathe, Duncan. Everything will be fine. I am certain of it.”
He wished he possessed her certainty. All he had right now was something akin to what he had felt during the war right before riding into battle. “Speak with Jenny and then come straight away to the library. I’ll be there drafting letters.”
After pecking a kiss to his cheek, she scurried up the stairs as if floating on a cloud—and she probably was because her dream was coming to fruition.
It wasn’t the dream that frightened Duncan, but the nightmare of possibly losing her.
