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This caused Isa’s eyes to fill with moisture. “I’m very glad to hear it.” She got to her feet, and forcing herself not to waver, she said, “I shall spread the good word.”
As she was headed down the stairs, she had to pause and lean on the banister for a moment, relief for her sister making her weak in the knees. It wasn’t until she entered the study that the occupants inside froze. It was as if they were collectively holding their breath as the duke shot to his feet.
She smiled at the new father. “Olivia and your son are doing wonderfully.”
The duke faltered for a moment, and then he headed for the door. She attempted to stop his retreat, but he was already halfway up the stairs before she could utter a single word.
“You couldn’t have stopped him if you’d tried,” Sebastian drawled. He stretched his arms over his head. “Now that the worst has passed, I could use something to eat.”
He left, apparently to scrounge the duke’s kitchens. Gray mumbled beneath his breath about arrogant men, and quit the room as well, presumably to ensure that his friend remained in line.
Isadora, on the other hand, wasn’t complaining, because she was glad to be left alone with Remington. He walked over and enveloped her in his arms. She sighed, the feel of his warmth a comfort after the stressful morning she’d had, although it hadn’t been anything compared to what Livy had endured.
“I hope you’re not too nervous about our bundle of joy that will arrive in a few months’ time.”
Isadora smiled. She was entirely too tired to laugh. “As long as I have you and my sisters by my side, I daresay I shall be quite content.”
He quirked a brow. “Do you expect me to be in the room with you?”
She quirked a brow in return. “Miles might have done as the good doctor instructed and stayed away from Olivia, but I fully expect for you to be there through my lying in. We made this child together. We should both be there to bring our son or daughter into the world.”
He grinned. “I like how that sounds.” He reached out and touched a stray lock of her hair. “I can just see a little girl with your dark hair running down the stairs—”
“—after her russet-haired brother who eluded his governess for the tenth time that day,” she finished.
He winced. “It wouldn’t be very far off the mark if he were anything like me.”
Isadora attempted a mock gasp. “My lord! You were such a scamp? And here I thought you were a well-behaved gentleman.”
He pulled her closer and kissed her soundly on the lips. After they parted sometime later, he said, “I think you’ve known me long enough now to realize I’m far from beingthatwell-behaved.” He paused to consider his words. “At least, as far as the bedchamber is concerned.”
She grinned. “A fact I’m grateful for every day.”
Taking his hand in hers, she said, “Should we go upstairs and meet your new nephew before Seb and Gray have the chance?”
“Lead the way, my lady.”
She winked at him. “It is what I do best.”
Author’s Note
Didyou know that the quote most people know from the 1980 movie, “The Shining,” when Jack Nicholson’s character starts his spiral into murderous insanity with the words, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” is actually much older than that? James Howell first coined the phrase in his book of Proverbs in the 1600’s.
The gentlemen I mentioned in Newcastle were real people in history. Granted, my characters didn’t contribute to the funding for the railway, but I thought it was the perfect way for Isadora to gain entrée into a known man’s world, by rubbing elbows with “men of vision,” who were also looking toward the future of industry. George Stephenson was considered to be the “Father of Railways” for his continual improvements to the engine designs. Together with his son, Robert, they built the Locomotive No. 1, the first passenger line on the Stockton & Darlington railway that ran in 1825. In 1829, a contest was held to see who could design the fastest locomotive. George succeeded with his entry titled,Rocket, and those achievements are still celebrated to this day.
The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, now titled the Royal Society, has been around since 1824. The meeting that Isadora and Remington attended actually took place and was the cornerstone of the foundation that is still in existence today.
