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His brother took her gingerly. “Gosh, I hope she’s not leaking.”
Tira screwed up her wee features, as if displeased with her uncle’s tepid reception.
“You’re all worse than poor Tira,” Victoria said, starting to reach for her.
“Victoria, you’ll ruin that lovely pelisse,” Ainsley protested. She leaned in to sniff her daughter, resting a gentle hand on Tira’s little capped head. “Thatisquite appalling, I must say. And if she is, er, leaking, the stain will never come out.”
There’d been an unfortunate incident just yesterday when Ainsley picked Tira up before the nursemaid had finished dressing her. Ainsley’s expensive gown had suffered dire consequences as a result.
Victoria whipped a baby blanket from the carriage and deftly wrapped it around Tira’s sturdy form. “I grew up in a coaching inn and mucked out more than my share of horse stalls. This is a mere bagatelle by contrast.”
“I love her,” Kade said, gratefully handing her over, “but she smells almost as bad as the twins after a night of carousing.”
“Almost? The twins are infinitely worse,” Ainsley said, stoutly coming to her baby’s defense. “And at least Tira doesn’t destroy the furniture.”
“Och, give the wee lassie a chance,” Royal said in an exaggerated brogue. “She’ll catch up to her uncles in no time.”
Ainsley smacked his arm, trying not to laugh. “That’s an awful thing to wish on your daughter. Tira Kendrick will be the sweetest and most refined of young ladies, if I have anything to say about it. Not some Highland hellion like your brothers.”
Relief eased the knot in his gut. He hated that she was unhappy. It made him feel almost as helpless as that day at Waterloo when he’d lain half-dead in a ditch, unable to fend for himself.
Victoria settled the baby on her shoulder. “Actually, the twins have made progress. They hardly ever destroy furniture these days.”
“I’ll take your word for it,” Ainsley said dryly.
Graeme and Grant, as well as Braden, had yet to arrive in Glasgow for the wedding. By next week, however, the entire family would be assembled under the roof of Kendrick House. How well Ainsley would deal with a houseful of Royal’s cheerfully brash brothers—on top of the other stresses in her life—was an open and troubling question.
Ainsley gave Tira a quick kiss on the top of her head. “We won’t be long, I promise,” she said to Victoria.
“Take all the time you need.”
With Kade dragging the carriage behind him, he and Victoria headed for the street.
Royal offered Ainsley his arm. “If you permit, I would be delighted to escort you, my lovely lady.”
She dimpled up at him, her smile sweet and rather shy. Since Ainsley was normally the antithesis of shy, it was another indication of how rattled she was. Her vulnerability sent a clear message that he needed to continue to tread carefully.
They strolled down one of the shaded paths, heading toward the opposite end of the park.
“Why are you scowling?” she asked a few moments later. “Is your leg hurting? Do you want to sit down?”
“Ainsley, please don’t fuss over my leg. It’s fine.” Surprisingly, it had been better these last several weeks. Then again, he’d been so busy that he’d barely had time to think about whether his old injury nagged at him.
“I’ve got to fuss over something, since my daughter won’t let me,” she said with a rueful smile.
“It’s just the teething making her fractious. That’s always hard on a baby, you know.”
“That’s precisely my point. I don’t knowanythingabout being a mother, because I had to give her up before I learned how to do it.”
He tucked her close to his side. “You’ve been thrown into the deep end of the pond, Ainsley. I have no doubt that you and Tira will soon be inseparable.”
She mulled his words in silence for a few moments. “Sometimes I wonder if I made a mistake.”
Now they were getting to it. “By coming back to us, you mean?”
“No. By giving her up.” Her expression suddenly turned fierce. “I should have found a way to make it work. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t see it. But I still should have found a way.”
“Love, this was the only way to keep both of you safe from Cringlewood. Short of going into exile, I don’t see how you could have done anything different.” He hesitated, and then made himself say it. “Unless you think you should have married Tira’s father.”
