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“My cook?” he asked. “I thought he wasourcook now.”
She blushed. “Yes, well. It will still take some time for me to really believe I am the lady of this house.”
“You had better quickly,” he said then paused before asking, “Would you take a walk with me?”
“Of course,” she agreed, surprised.
Curiosity took hold of her as Fergus led her back out through the front of the house through the garden to his mother’s grave. Edwina wrapped her arms around his, looking at the stone monument as the sun blazed the sky in orange and pinks.
“I think my mother would have liked you,” Fergus said, at last, his voice soft and gentle. “And I think she would have felt you more than deserving to be the Duchess of Hillow.”
Fergus pushed her out away from him, and he put his hands on her rounding belly. She stilled his hand on her stomach, relishing the warm touch of his hand on her.
“Does it feel real yet?” she asked.
“That you are carrying our child?” he asked, pulling her into his arms. When she nodded against his chest, he laid his cheek on the top of her head. “Oh, yes. And I am terrified and excited at the same time.”
“I hope we are good parents,” Edwina whispered, holding him tightly.
“We both had a good example each, your father and my mother.”
Edwina laughed. “Oh, my poor father did the best he could.”
“And that is all that we can do,” Fergus said, pushing her out to arm’s length again and gently touching her face. “I know you are going to be a wonderful mother.”
“And what about you?” Edwina asked, raising an eyebrow. “Do you think you will be a good father?”
“The best, of course,” he jested. Edwina leveled a serious look at him, and he laughed. “Well, I want to be. That must count for something. My father was so strict and severe, so closed off. I shall keep practicing every day to make sure our son or daughter knows they can talk to me, come to me with any concerns or questions.”
Edwina drew him back into her arms, breathing the scent of horse and forest on his clothes. Her belly felt awkward between them, but she loved the reminder of the child they had created, growing inside of her.
The last few months had shown Fergus as a changed man. He had not spent a single night away from the house. In fact, Edwina had spent almost every evening in his bed to the shock and surprise of the staff.
“I wish she was still with us,” Fergus said softly.
“I know,” she told him, squeezing him tightly. “I would like to believe that she is still with us in spirit. And she would be terribly proud of everything you have accomplished.”
He laughed as though he did not believe her, but Edwina felt what she said was true. She could not believe the immense trauma that he had experienced and how much work he had done to be open and honest with her about his feelings. She no longer felt uncomfortable or confused about where she stood with him. He made her feel loved and accepted and wanted.
Nightmares still plagued him from time to time, but even Edwina had noticed that they came less and less. The hollow look on his face and dark circles under his eyes seemed to fade, and his skin took on a warm tone from the time he spent out of doors. He looked happy and healthy.
“I must go into the city tomorrow,” Fergus said, breaking their silence.
“Oh?” she asked.
“I am meeting with Lord Townshend to discuss a bill he wants to put before parliament next season,” he explained.
“You are going to help sponsor a bill?” she asked, looking up to him in surprise.
“The bill would make provisions for helping soldiers injured in service,” he explained with a shrug. “The Earl thought I might make a good face for the effort, quite literally.”
“Well, I am happy for you,” she told him matter-of-factly. “I think it will be good for you to make some more connections, get involved politically. You can finally use your influence as a Duke.”
“That is the hope,” he smiled and touched her face. “Let us get ready for supper.”
He took her by the hand and led her back into the house. Edwina cast one last glance back to the monument over Fergus’ mother’s grave. The peony bushes had faded in the late summer, only a shadow of a reminder of how she ended up marrying the Duke of Hillow.
The End?
