Page 146 of A Baby to Seal the Duke’s Fate

“Yes.” She turned back toward the garden, and he came to stand beside her at the railing. They stood staring out into the darkness in silence for a moment.

“The garden looks better at night,” Honora said eventually.

“You said that before,” he said.

A small smile touched her mouth.

“You remember.”

“I remember a great deal.”

Honora looked away shyly, saying nothing. The house behind them was warm and lit, the gardens dark below, and for once, there was no immediate crisis waiting to interrupt them.

“How is Cecily?” Leopold asked.

“She is very pleased with herself,” Honora said. “She has decided the entire household belongs to her.”

“Martha would agree.”

“Martha has begun acting as though Cecily belongs in the kitchen as much as she does in the nursery.”

“She has been doing that for some time.”

Honora smiled. “She gives her pieces of bread.”

“Martha gives everyone pieces of bread.”

“Not like this.”

Leopold looked at her. “How is this different?”

“She watches her eat.”

“That sounds ominous.”

“It is. She looks proud.”

Leopold laughed softly. “Perhaps she has finally accepted that Cecily is staying.”

“I think she has always known she was never leaving.”

Honora glanced toward the house. “Her Grace moving about the house again has caused some confusion.”

Leopold raised a brow. “They are afraid to speak to her?”

“They are afraid to even speak around her.”

“I suppose I cannot blame them.”

“I believe she is more worried about speaking around them,” Honora said. “She must be aware that they know all that has happened lately. I think they fear her unnecessarily. In fact, I think they might find her a bit more subdued than she used to be.”

Leopold nodded, thinking about how different his mother had become to him just in a few days. “I believe you are right.”

Honora laughed, and it was a more beautiful sound than any musical number Leopold had ever heard.

“I always am.”

Leopold smiled at her. “You are quite confident.”