AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well done!” Lord Hart yelled from his seat on the other side of Giulia.
Amelia glanced at the older earl, amused. He’d always been so irritable and contrary that seeing him now, in this new light, was oddly satisfying. He treated Giulia more like a daughter than a niece which was well and good in Amelia’s mind; Giulia deserved to be so wholly loved. Amelia leaned over to whisper to Giulia when something about her friend’s position gave her pause. Giulia’s hands were clasped over her round belly, her eyes closed, and her face bent into a slight grimace.
“Giulia?” she asked softly. She was afraid of what this meant but did not wish to cause anyone alarm, particularly not Giulia’s uncle who was rather unpredictable most days but was even more so today with his striking resemblance to a concerned mother hen.
Giulia did not move her face, neither did she respond. Bending her neck so all Amelia could see was dark, curly hair wrapped around her head in a messy coronet braid, Giulia took a slow, deep breath.
Alarm built up in Amelia’s chest. “Giulia?” she asked, louder.
Lifting her face, one of Giulia’s eyes popped open, but her eyebrows remained tightly drawn together. “Hush,” she admonished. “It is nothing.”
That was certainly not true. “Tell me what I can do.”
“You can quiet your voice,” she whispered harshly. “While I make it through—” Gritting her teeth, she quieted again.
Oh, dear. Even Amelia knew this couldn’t be good. Rising, she ignored her friend’s request and crossed the pitch to where Andrew stood beside Charles, watching as Mr. Pepper moved into the batsman’s position, and Mr. Johnson waited at the wicket opposite him.
The men stopped talking the moment she approached and seemed able to tell that something was wrong by the expression on her face. “What is it?” Andrew asked as she drew closer.
“I am fairly certain that Giulia is in distress.”
Andrew immediately glanced to where Giulia sat before sharing a glance with Charles. Both men turned and looked at Mr. Pepper. He stood before the wickets, his focus on the blond man preparing to bowl when he seemed to sense the attention he was receiving from his friends. Or perhaps something within Mr. Pepper told him that not all was right, for he glanced their direction just in time to miss the ball to the sound of the umpire calling, “Out!”
Mr. Pepper didn’t seem to notice. He looked from the men to Amelia, and immediately his gaze flicked to Giulia. Dropping the bat, he broke into a run, crossing the pitch with effortless speed. Andrew went after him, Charles and Amelia following shortly behind at a hurried pace. Amelia’s mind quickly ran over the implications of the situation. By this point, a win for Graton was nigh on impossible, but none of them seemed to care. Not when their friend could very well be having her baby right there on the pitch. Amelia glanced around, but the field chosen for play belonged to a farmer from Melbury, and there didn’t appear to be a building in sight.
She approached the group and slowed her pace. Lord Hart was turned to his niece, a horrified expression on his face, and Hattie had slid into the chair beside Giulia, holding her hand and speaking softly to her.
“How long has this been happening?” Mr. Pepper asked, clearly tempering his voice. Whether he was doing his best to cover concern or fear was anyone’s guess, but Amelia rather assumed it was both.
“Since some time in the middle of the night,” Giulia said apologetically, her dark eyebrows drawing together.
Mr. Pepper’s face contorted into one of shock mixed with disbelief. “How could you not have told me?”
Giulia glanced around the circle of friends that now surrounded her and smiled sheepishly. “I did not wish to miss the fun today.”
“Yes, this is simply buckets of fun,” Mr. Pepper said, but a rueful smile met his lips, and he turned to Andrew. “Can we make it home, do you think?”
Andrew looked to Giulia, seeming to calculate the situation. “I’m not sure.”
She nodded emphatically. “I think—” Stopping, she pulled her lips between her teeth and looked up to the top of the tent covering her. They all waited in silence until she blew out a long breath. “Yes. I can do it. If we leave now.”
Lord Hart rose immediately. “I’ll fetch the carriage.”
Amelia covered her surprise. She knew the earl loved his niece, but an earl fetching anything was still amusing to her.
Mr. Pepper took the seat Lord Hart had vacated and slid his hand behind Giulia’s back. “May I?”
She closed her eyes, nodding to him, and he swept her into his arms, carrying her away from the tent.
“But our things!” she called, looking over Mr. Pepper’s shoulder toward the chairs and tent, the table full of food.
“We will take care of everything,” Amelia called. The very last thing Giulia needed to worry about was gathering her things. “Do not fret over any of this.”
Amelia was faintly aware of the umpire calling the match for Melbury, and cheers going up on the far end of the pitch, but no one in her immediate circle seemed to notice or care that they’d just lost.
Andrew rested a hand on her shoulder. “I will go with Nick and Giulia. Can you and Hattie manage their things? I’m certain their servants will take care of it.”
“Of course. Go,” she said, gently pushing him away. “We can make sure everything is packed away and returned to Halstead.”
