Page 79 of Raising the Duke’s Unexpected Twins

“Thank you, but I will remain with him,” she said.

“Then, so shall we,” Emma added to her sister’s statement.

“I will sit with Tim, if you would like to sit with your family at dinner, Cordelia. Tim is not only your responsibility,” he told her.

He stepped into the room and knelt at Tim’s side, touching him on the leg. Cordelia placed her hand on Nicholas’s arm, her restraint to keep from touching him having not held on long enough. She gazed into his eyes, the feel of him warm and strong under her hand.

“No, thank you. I will sit with him. At dinner, I would only be worried about him, and you would disapprove of how little I would eat.” She gave him a weak smile. “And then I would get irritated at you once you found out and scolded me.”

He covered her hand with his, and Cordelia swallowed, wondering if her newfound revelation was obvious through her touch or her gaze. Chuckling, he added, “You know me too well, wife. Very well, trays it is. Wish me luck with the two wild women downstairs,” he said as he rose.

He widened his eyes in faux horror, leaving the ladies chuckling as he went.

“He really has grown on me, you know,” Emma said, shaking her head as if she couldn’t quite believe it herself. “A rake turned gentleman. Or perhaps there was a gentleman under there all along.”

Cordelia smiled, unable to yet speak the truth she knew in her heart. Her mother caught her eye, however, but she looked away. This was her own matter that she needed to deal with on her own time. After dinner, Cordelia’s family readied to leave. She hugged each of her sisters in turn and then hugged her mother tightly.

While they were still in an embrace, Fiona said, “I am always here for you, my dear, whenever you should have need of me. But I want to leave you now with your husband, for you two to figure things out on your own.”

Cordelia tensed, and her mother pulled away and took her hands. “You are more than capable, Cord. You always have been.”

Her mother’s words strengthened her as she watched Nicholas say his goodbyes and lead them to the door. Olivia was off sleeping in a guest room; Mrs. Browning was with Tim, and Nicholas and Cordelia were on their own at the foot of the stairs.

“Was I wrong to call for them?” he asked her softly, leaning against the banister and looking up at her from where she stood on the first step.

“No, not at all. Thank you. It was a good reprieve, and it felt like we were not alone in all this.”

“Good.” He smiled. “You and I are alike in this way at least. We wish to do things on our own, and it can be difficult to ask for help.”

The sounds of the house were dim, and most of the lamps had been turned low. It was simply the two of them in the dark. Cordelia’s heart beat fast, and she worried her breathing too would sound as if it was racing.

“Yes, I can be very difficult. It’s true.”

“Ha! An admission from one Cordelia Debrett. I never could have imagined.”

She grinned and turned away from him. “Well, considering I am now the Duchess of Meinster, perhaps it means I am becoming more tractable.” She clutched her skirts and walked up the steps.

“Dear God, say it isn’t so, Cordelia,” he said following after her. “I like you just as you are.”

Cordelia spun around, her eyes finding his, but before any other words could be said, twin cries cut through the night.

“Oh dear,” she said, hurrying up to the nursery, with Nicholas on her heels.

Mrs. Browning’s eyes were worried. “Tim will not settle. His fever is not as bad as it once was, I believe, but he will not rest.”

“Olivia,” Tim said with a groaning cry, tears spilling over his cheeks as he tried to get himself out of bed, but Mrs. Browning tried to keep him in place.

From down the hall, they could all hear Olivia crying as well. Nicholas put his hands on his hips.

“That’s enough of this then,” he said firmly. “Cordelia, what do you think we should do?”

She lifted her brows, surprised yet pleased to have been asked. She frowned, but as the din of crying rose, she sighed as she made her decision.

“I think at long last, we should bring them together.” Nicholas looked hesitant, and she continued. “I know that the physician has discouraged it, but they are twins. They need one another, and I don’t think either Tim or Olivia will be entirely easy until they are together again.”

He nodded sharply. “Then we will stay with them. Together.”

“Oh.” Cordelia was embarrassed that her cheeks reddened in front of the nanny, but Mrs. Browning politely said nothing. “Very well. We shall stay with them.” She nodded. “Mrs. Browning perhaps you could ask for beds and blankets to be brought here?”