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Two years later
Nathaniel cradled Sarah against his chest as he walked around the room, bouncing her slightly. The tiny infant squirmed and made a sound of protest before deciding this treatment was acceptable and going back to sleep.
On the bed, Emma dozed fitfully.
They could have hired a nurse to take care of their newborn. Mrs. Penbury had suggested it, especially as Emma had been giving piano performances up and down the country until she had been forced to retire at the latter end of her pregnancy. Hiring a nurse would have allowed her career to continue far sooner.
But Emma had protested. This was her child, she had said, baby Sarah in her arms, her face flushed and damp with sweat. There was no world in which she would allow anyone else to care for her child. And so, she had chosen to step back from performing, at least for the present, in order to care for her baby.
And there was no world in which Nathaniel would ever allow her to go through something like this on her own. Thus, he had taken to walking with Sarah in his arms while Emma got some much-needed rest. He imagined Thomas had done much the same with first Edward, then Lucy. Thomas had never been the kind of man to allow his wife to carry the burdens of their shared life.
His finances had struggled for the past two years. Not as badly as they had since the mining incident. After a few months, he had managed to reopen the mine, and it was back to being a primary form of income. His tenants had also strived to help as much as possible. But thanks to the Earl of Swinson, many of his financial connections in London had dried up, and he now struggled to find investors for his future ideas for the estate.
Still, he would never change a thing. No number of investors could replace this precious time with his daughter and wife.
Emma stirred on the bed, her eyelids fluttering open. He crossed the room to lean over her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Good morning,” he murmured.
She smiled up at him, then refocused on the bundle in his arms. “She’s asleep?”
“She is,” he confirmed.
“I am always in awe of your competence as a father. Even I could not get her to settle so easily.” She made no attempt to take the babe from him, content to allow him to hold Sarah so long as she remained asleep. “Are the children awake?”
“I expect so. Although I doubt Edward would be pleased you still consider him a child.”
“Ah, sweet boy. He will always be a child to me.” She smiled contentedly. Lucy had traveled with her, performing in her own particularly precocious way, but Edward had not inherited that same talent. Although he had often accompanied them, he and Nathaniel were observers rather than fellow performers. In the past two years, Edward had begun to turn into a man, and Nathaniel had been contemplating sending him away to school.
It would cost, of course, but it would give him much-needed socialization before he went to university.
Sarah squirmed again, awoken by the sound of her mother’s voice, and Emma reached for her. “Here,” she said. “Let me take her while you go down. Don’t leave Edward at the breakfast table.”
Lucy, being only nine, tended to breakfast in the schoolroom, but at twelve, Edward had joined them in the breakfast room every morning. Nathaniel returned his daughter to Emma and called for his valet. Leaving Sarah in Emma’s capable care, he ventured downstairs to find Edward sitting at the breakfast table already, and the post sitting beside Nathaniel’s place.
“Good morning,” Edward said. Nathaniel could not help comparing this calm, collected young man with the scared, shy boy who had first arrived at the house.
“Good morning.” Nathaniel picked up a note from Fitzwilliam and Bethany announcing their intention to call for dinner later. After his marriage to Bethany, Fitzwilliam’s relationship with Nathaniel had become increasingly informal. They were still technically master and steward, but in reality they were friends. And with their wives being sisters, it would have been difficult to maintain any real distance between them.
He flicked through his other post and had just come to a letter covered in familiar handwriting when Emma entered the room, Sarah wrapped against her front.
“Good morning,” she said to Edward, kissing his cheek before moving to Nathaniel. For a moment, he just watched her, hardly able to believe that she was his wife. Two years, and the glowing luster of her eyes still blew him away. “What are you looking at?” she asked, and he almost blushed before he realized she was referring to the letter in his hand.
“A letter, I think, from Selina.”
“Oh.” Emma’s brows rose into her hair. They had not had any contact with either Selina or Swinson since the day Nathaniel had arrested their servant and cast them from the property. “What can she have to say, I wonder?”
Nathaniel tore into the letter and scanned it, then silently passed it to his wife. As she read, she laughed under her breath.
“She’s marrying?”
“And Lord Bolton. Have you heard of him? I confess my information is sadly out of date, but the last I heard, he was shockingly profligate and had scammed several of the ton out of their hard-earned money purchasing fake Roman statues.”
“I expect that is why she believes she will be fabulously wealthy before the decade is out,” Emma mused. “Do you suppose she will help him with his schemes?”
“Undoubtedly. I expect he married her for that reason only. He is two years her junior, you know.”
“A match worthy of her. And she hopes you make you jealous with it.”
Nathaniel placed his hand over hers. “She could never succeed.”
“Oh, I know. But it is entertaining that even now, on the cusp of her own marriage, she has taken the time to write to you.”
“How foolish,” Edward said gravely, and Nathaniel felt a rush of affection for his serious nephew.
“How foolish indeed. Now, Edward, do you want a ride this morning?”
***
The dinner was rambunctious as normal. Bethany and Fitzwilliam never failed to bring the entertainment in the form of stories of their life—always, endlessly amusing. Nathaniel never laughed as often as he did when they were all together. And Bethany even brought the news that she was expecting, news that made Emma nearly squeal with delight.
His favorite time was not then, however. No, his favorite time came after, when their guests left and the children went to bed, and he accompanied Emma to the music room. Often, she played and sang for him. Tonight, however, she patted the space beside her.
“Come. Allow me to teach you to play.”
He came to sit beside her, recalling the first time they had attempted such a thing. He placed his fingers on the keys, and she placed hers overtop. The brush of her fingers against his sent a spark of awareness through him.
“Can you remember what to do?” Her voice was soft.
“I believe so.” He played a few notes, then stopped. “But perhaps you ought to teach me.”
She made a sound of amusement, and he obeyed the pressure of her fingers. A slow air emerged, the melody lilting, and after a moment, she began to sing. Nathaniel joined in, allowing his voice to join hers in a lower harmony.
Finally, finally, there was laughter in this house. Harmony. Song.
The door creaked open, and Edward and Lucy emerged in their nightclothes, a gleam of mischief in their eyes.
“You both ought to be asleep,” Emma said, but Nathaniel placed a hand on the small of her back.
“Let them stay, Em. Let them play with us.”
Lucy immediately joined them at the piano, and Nathaniel perched her on his knee, although at nine she was getting a little old for such things.
“I will turn the page,” Edward said from Emma’s other side, a little loftily.
“When Sarah is older, I will teach her how to play the piano,” Lucy said as they played together.
Emma smiled across at Nathaniel. “Yes,” she said. “I suppose you shall.”
“And Auntie Beth’s baby, too,” Lucy added.
Edward scoffed. “She won’t want you to teach her.”
“She might,” Nathaniel said. “Lucy is very good, you know. And if it’s a boy, you might teach him how to ride.”
Edward subsided, mollified, and Emma rested her head on Nathaniel’s shoulder. “My family,” she said, a little thickly.
Lucy gusted a sigh. “Yes, are we not wonderful? Now shall we play?”
Nathaniel laughed. “Yes,” he said fondly. “We shall.”
OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!
Grab my new series, "Whispers of Regency Love", and get 2 FREE novels as a gift! Have a look here!
Hello my dears! I hope you enjoyed the Extended Epilogue of my new book! I can’t wait to read your lovely comments here. Thank you for being so wonderful! 🥰
Love your novels Aria! Once I start reading I cannot put it down until the last word!
Thank you!
NEver too old to read a romance novel.
Pat(88 years young)
Pat, this absolutely made my day, thank you so much! Knowing my stories can keep you turning pages until the very end is the greatest compliment. And I completely agree: you’re never too old for romance. 💛