Page 42 of An Accidental Elopement

Gregory nodded. Archie wished that he had known about the pregnancy earlier. Then he might have spoken to Gregory and the whole thing might have come to naught. He would not have to live the rest of his life in fear that Cecilia would find out and that it ruined his marriage.

“And the more invasive approach is the only option?”

Once again Gregory nodded. He crossed his arms over his chest and was silent for a moment while looking into the distance.

“I don’t suppose I have to tell you that it is illegal?” he said as he once again turned to look at Archie.

Archie shook his head. Of course, he knew that it was not allowed.

“As you said, it comes at great risk for the mother to go through it. Especially if it is not done by a doctor. Plenty try to help out women in these situations, some for money, some out of a good heart, but as you said they can end up causing more harm than good. I do however know a doctor from the hospital who performs these kinds of procedures.”

Archie had to check that his feet were still on the ground because he had never felt so lightheaded before. Could it really be that there was a doctor who could handle the situation and make it go away?

Lavinia had said that she did not want the child removed, but if he could present her with a trained physician who had done it successfully before, she might consider it.

“Thank you, Greg. I will talk to her about it,” he muttered as he took his brother’s hand, then reached to pull him into an embrace. Gregory slowly put his arms around him and held him until Archie was ready to let go of him.

Twenty

“What exactly is the matter with Farleigh Cottage?” Edwina asked when she and Cecilia sat down in one of the upstairs parlors the next day. Edwina had already unbuttoned her dress and was nursing the three-month-old Neville.

Cecilia managed to keep from sighing, as she thought of what to answer. Archie had not confided in her about the problem. After the night they had spent together, she doubted that he could have been with another woman. They had retired early after dinner, and he had seemed practically insatiable as he had made her climax several times before doing so himself then had wanted her again almost instantly after.

“I suppose it’s not that important,” Cecilia murmured and tried to sound as if it really was of no consequence. “Would you have liked to have helped with the wedding preparations?” she asked as a way to change the subject.

The wedding was tomorrow, and Millie was busy with the decoration and several last-minute details - she dragged a reluctant Hester around after her. Charlotte was helping them, while Lucy was teaching the older children how to draw. The men had all fled the estate to go hunting.

“No, I would rather have joined the men,” Edwina stated with a smile. “Or Lucy for that matter. I miss spending time with my two oldest sons. One of the things no one tells you about having children is that even though your heart is big enough to love all of them, your days will not magically expand to include more hours to do so.”

She smiled while she said it which took the sting of her words, even though Cecilia could hear the sadness lying beneath it. The two eldest boys, Miles and Vincent were five and three, and Cecilia had seen especially the youngest cling to his mother when the family was together. She admired how close-knit the marchionesses’ family was and especially the work that she started to glimpse lay behind it. Like Millie, Edwina loved her children for who they were. Cecilia hoped that she could do the same herself and not be too influenced by her own parents.

They spent a couple of hours in the salon and then joined the other women for elevensies.

“Oh, I thought Archie was with you,” Millie said as they entered.

“He left after breakfast,” Cecilia answered with a frown since her mother-in-law had been in the room when Archie had taken his leave.

“He returned about an hour ago. We saw him from the window,” Hester told them and indicated one of the windows facing the drive up to Great Farleigh Hall. The salon faced the garden which was why they had not seen him.

Cecilia’s mind raced to try to come up with an answer. Their relationship was still new; perhaps it had simply not occurred to Archie to seek her out when he came back even though she would have liked him to. And had expected him to do so to be quite honest.

“Perhaps he joined the men on the hunt,” Edwina suggested and lay a hand on Cecilia’s arm. It was clearly a gesture of reassurance more than anything else, and Cecilia offered her a faint smile.

“No, he has not left again,” Hester said and took a bite of her food. Her reply was so unpretentious that it almost made Cecilia smile despite the queasy feeling in her stomach that Archie’s behavior gave her.

***

Archie watched from his chair by the fire as Cecilia’s maid left the room. He was certain that the maid had found it quite scandalous that he had been there when Cecilia had dressed, but since they were back in his old bedroom in the family hallway, there was little to be done about it. Except, of course, he could have left the room like any decent husband would. But he was not decent in that regard.

“Is the estate in trouble?” Cecilia asked and interrupted his musings on propriety. She was tucking on a pair of long white silk gloves and was dressed in a light blue dress with the most generous neckline that he had yet seen her in. For a moment he was distracted by the way the fabric clung to her bosom and tried to imagine it in a deep blue or purple. She would need a completely new wardrobe when they traveled to London. The washed-out colors of an unmarried woman did not bring out her best features.

“Archie?” she prodded. He looked from her breasts to her face and found her smiling slightly, even though he could also hear a hint of annoyance in her voice.

“No, nothing is the matter with the estate,” he answered and walked towards her to drop a kiss on her lips. His hungry body immediately demanded that he deepen the kiss and he was all too willing to oblige and lose himself in Cecilia and her embrace for a moment. But she took half a step back, not out of his arms, but out of reach of his lips for the time being.

“If you are having financial difficulties, I want you to tell me. I don’t want to be one of those wives who do not realize the seriousness of the situation until they are evicted from their homes.” Her gray eyes were serious and for a moment Archie wanted to confess the whole thing.

How he had told Lavinia of the doctor Gregory knew and she had been livid with anger, throwing a bowl after him that he would even suggest what she should and should not do with her body. How he had spent the rest of the day pouring over his father’s books in an attempt to find a suitable tenant. All the while he had been pretending that he merely wanted to see how his father did his accounts since he might be inspired. Which had caused his father, when he returned from the hunt, to give him a half-hour lecture about how to run an estate – “even a small one” as he had said. Archie had gritted his teeth and tried to remember that his father was simply telling him this out of the kindness of his heart and not as a way of annoying him.