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Pregnancy suited his duchess. She was practically glowing with beauty, and he liked nothing more than to watch the way she rubbed her stomach gently as if already comforting the tiny babe that her body was currently housing.
Knowing that it would not be long before she brought their child into the world, Anthony felt it was his duty to take the final piece of stress from her shoulders, having finally received the good news they had been awaiting for several weeks.
Knocking gently upon the door, he swept into the room, and even before she could speak, he dropped the letter he had been carrying into her lap.
“What is it, Anthony? Is something wrong?” Lady Penelope asked, always so concerned that all they had achieved together was always one step from tumbling down all around them. Anthony couldn’t exactly say that he blamed her; even after a year, he knew that his wife was still having trouble actually believing she was a duchess in her own right.
“Read it,” he urged her gently. He waited impatiently for her to do so, his stomach clenched with even more excitement as he watched her eyes widen. It wasn’t until she jumped up from her chair, screaming with joy that he knew she had read and understood the words written by Mr Patterson.
“We have done it?” she exclaimed, sounding as though she couldn’t quite believe it. Then she added with more certainty, “We have done it!”
Taking her in his arms, the duke held her close as he smiled happily. “We most certainly have, my love. Thanks to your inheritance, we have not only repaid all the debts left to me but have also finalised our investments.”
“According to this, Mr Patterson believes we are well on our way to making our fortune!” Penelope exclaimed, lifting the letter to him as though she believed he had not read it.
Anthony couldn’t help laughing. Taking the letter from her, he dropped it and took hold of her face, holding her cheeks in both his palms as he gazed down into her sparkling eyes. “I know very well what it says, my love, and it is all down to you!”
“No, Anthony, we have done this together,” Penelope insisted, and when she removed his hands from her face, he did not protest. Instead, he held her hands and kissed her forehead.
“The credit is all yours, my love,” he assured her. “None of this would have occurred had you not been brave enough to run from France.”
Penelope cringed at that, and Anthony felt a little guilty. He knew all too well how those dark days still affected her, and in an attempt to take her mind from it, he quickly dropped down onto his knees before her. Gripping her belly in both his hands, he gazed up at her with a smile before kissing her stomach and saying, “I love you, Lady Penelope Grafton, and I am unbelievably excited to begin the next chapter of my life with you.”
Again, he kissed her stomach and felt her trembling beneath his touch. She reached down and placed her hands on his, so they held their child together. Smiling down at him, she responded, “Neither can I.”
Their gazes met, and Anthony felt a wave of affection, the likes he had only ever felt when Penelope was in his arms. Kissing her stomach one final time, he whispered to the child inside, “We can’t wait to meet you little one.”
Hearing her sniffle, he looked up to see that a tear was rolling down Penelope’s cheek. Pushing himself to his feet, he held her stomach with one hand and placed his other at the small of her back. “What is wrong, sweetheart?”
Penelope quickly shook her head and wiped away the single tear. “Nothing is wrong,” she insisted with a shake of her head. “I never hoped I would ever be this happy. When you came for me in Scotland last year, I believed I was dreaming, and I am ever so glad that I never woke up!”
“This is not a dream, my love,” he assured her, though he was certain that if it were, he did not wish to wake up either.
He had just leaned down to press his lips to hers when he heard the sound of knuckles wrapping on the door. In the next moment, they were interrupted by two women in a flourish of colourful fabric before Anthony could call out a single word as Anthony’s sisters swarmed into the room.
“Oh, Penelope, look at how big you are!” Elizabeth exclaimed, hurrying to greet her sister-in-law with open arms. Anthony could do nothing but step back with a look of sympathy for his wife as his sisters accosted her with grand gestures of affection.
“Forgive me, Your Grace, I could not stop them,” Mr Cartwright announced as the elderly butler appeared in the doorway with his head bowed. Anthony couldn’t help smiling. The old butler had never really been able to control his sisters before, and he shouldn’t think that would ever change, nor did he want it to. So long as they were the perfect ladies in public, he cared not if they were over-excitable in his home. After all, it was theirs also.
“Oh, how long do we have to wait now?” Emily asked as Anthony gave the butler a silent nod of understanding. He turned back to find his youngest sister holding onto his wife’s stomach, looking almost as excited as he felt.
“The longer, the better,” he pointed out to her, hoping only that their child would be healthy.
Emily glanced around Elizabeth and scowled at him. “It has been quite long enough. I am more than ready to meet my nephew!”
“As are we all,” Elizabeth reminded her sister. She turned to Anthony and assured her, “And when he finally decides to make an appearance, we shall be here to help.”
“Thank you, Elizabeth, Emily,” Anthony told his sisters, relieved that he and his wife would not face the days ahead alone. This was one of those times when he wished so desperately that his mother or even Penelope’s mother was with them that they might be around to help his wife in her most important task to date.
“Come now,” Elizabeth insisted, taking hold of Penelope’s hand and guiding her to the nearest couch. “You have been on your feet long enough. You must rest.”
“Lizzie is right!” Emily insisted, helping to guide the duchess over. “You must sit and tell us exactly how you are doing. Are there any signs yet?”
Anthony couldn’t help rolling his eyes, wondering whether his sisters were even more excited than he was. He could be certain of one thing; he was mightily happy at just how well the three of them got on.
Everything has worked out even better than I had ever hoped!he realised, deciding it was best to leave his wife and sisters to their gossip, knowing they would talk for hours now that Elizabeth and Emily had finally arrived from their latest trip to London.
THE END
