The next morning...
When Geoffrey came into the room carrying the tray of breakfast the next morning it was almost nine-thirty. One whiff of the smell the bacon on it, however, and she instantly threw back the covers and ran naked, toward her bath. Geoffrey followed quickly and held her as she heaved.
But a half-hour later, she stood in front of the mirror in her suite. Hannah had gowned her in an emerald green that matched her eyes, and her hair dripped with matching ribbons. She could hear Geoffrey’s footsteps in the bedroom as he paced back and forth on the other side of the door. Even Hannah paused to look up.
A moment later, he was standing in the doorway.
“You look adorable, my love.”
Angel giggled. “Perhaps you can stop pacing, then.”
He raised a brow. “How did you know I was pacing?”
“We listened to you,” Angel giggled once again. “Back and forth, to and fro... back and forth...” She was swaying as she spoke.
Geoffrey’s expression changed, suddenly, into a glare. He strode quickly toward her, gathering her up into his arms. She gasped, her eyes wide.
“Angelica Ariadne Wellington. You are enough to cause any man to pace the floor. You have driven me to distraction.” He realized how wide her eyes were, and glanced over at Hannah. “Excuse us, Hannah,” he said, carrying Angel into the bedroom, and slamming the door behind him with a sound that echoed through the entire wing.
* * *
Geoffrey held her over his shoulder as he crossed the room and sat down. A moment later, Angel was lying face-down, across his lap; her gown up over her back.
“Geoffrey?” a soft whisper came from her. “What are you doing!?”
“I believe you know exactly what I’m doing. If I were a cat I’d have no lives left by now. The number of times I have been forced to snatch you from the jaws of death would have certainly…” He paused. The little heart-shaped bottom proved to be entirely too distracting, and he took her by the waist and sat her upright on his lap to face him. He continued lecturing, in a stern voice.
“I have grown old and grey overnight, young lady. I took great pains yesterday to make sure the door to the old Parlor and the door between the Parlor and the bath were locked. And what did you do? You found the key and opened the door. You made it possible for those monsters to have you, and the ones who were unable to get to you were your husbands. You knew Charles was there and that Elva Grimm was on the loose. And yet you deliberately...” He paused to give her a slight shake.
“I... I didn’t think, Geoffrey.”
“You didn’t think…” he echoed. “I, young lady, cannot allow you to continuously drag me through these experiences without consequences. You are responsible for obedience.”
She was crying softly now, “You’re right, Geoffrey; I know it.”
But his lecturing continued. “And the thing that worries me the most is the fact that you were carrying our child, while you. Simply. Didn’t. Think.”
A moment later, however he realized she had become very still, and paused. Her face was full of despair.
“Angel?”
Still, she didn’t move. He lifted her chin to face him. “Angel? Are you ill?”
Her hands covered her face, as she let out a cry of anguish that filled the room. Alarm struck him from head to toe.
“Angel, talk to me.”
* * *
Angel’s weeping was intense and terrible. “The baby! When I opened the door to the parlor last night, I completely forgot I was carrying the baby.” Still covering her face with her hands, she leaned forward against Geoffrey’s chest. The sobs grew greater.
“Oh, Geoffrey, I’m so wretched. The baby...”
If she hadn’t known it before, she knew it now. Her breasts were fuller; she could feel a weight in her abdomen that she had not felt before. Her center of balance was different. She had ignored the signs that others, especially Geoffrey, had clearly noticed.
He was holding her gently now; rubbing her back and speaking softly to her although she barely heard him. When she reached up around his neck, he embraced her, holding her to him.
“Oh, sir. I have been such a fool.”
“No, my love. You are neither wretched, nor a fool. You are a new mother, and having difficulty realizing that for the first time in your life, you are responsible for the infant inside you. But it’s time you grew up, little one. You see,” his voice was softer now, “I’m realizing I have more responsibility, too. I’m not only responsible for you, but there is part of me that grows inside you. I’m responsible for this child’s safety as well as yours.”
“Oh, Geoffrey, You’re so right, and I’m so sorry.”
He held her back from him and stared down into face.
“I believe you, Angel. And you’re forgiven.”
She swallowed, hard, the tears still falling. Burying her face in his neck, she whispered to herself, almost inaudibly. “It’s time to grow up, Angel. I’ll be good, Geoffrey. I promise. I’ll be so good you won’t even recognize me.”
Geoffrey brought her, once again, close to him, wrapping her in an enveloping hug and bringing her lips to his for a crushing kiss.
“Yes, my love,” he whispered into her mouth, “And I’ll remember your promise.” He looked down into her eyes now, and added, very softly, his own.
“Do not doubt me.”
The End