2 September, 1810
Rome, Italy
Everleigh chuckled and shook her head as Claire, her silken ears flapping, raced by in pursuit of the ball Sarah had thrown. Those two never grew tired of that game. The stately Italian villa they’d let for the next month boasted an enclosed courtyard perfect for energetic dogs and almost-four-year-olds.
“Mama, did you see Claire fetch the ball?”
Sarah bent to retrieve the slobbery orb.
“I did, darling.” A feathery fluttering in her belly startled Everleigh. She cradled the small mound with both hands. “Well, hello there, precious. Do you hear your sister and Mama?”
The babe moved again.
“Griffin, the baby is moving! Here, you must feel.”
She pressed his hand to her tummy. Another flicker caused her to giggle, and a goofy grin divided his face.
“Energetic little fellow, isn’t he?” He bent low, murmuring to the small mound. “This is your papa, and he loves you very, very much.”
“This is only the beginning.” She ran her palms over her stomach. “Theadosia said she could see Amber’s entire foot pressed against her belly at times.”
His gaze fell on the simple gold band encircling her ring finger. “I wish you’d let me buy you a proper wedding ring, sweet.”
She held her hand up, admiring the simple ring. “Not a bit of it. I found this in my Christmas pudding after I asked you to marry me. It’s perfect. It was meant to be.”
Actually, nearly everybody found a ring that evening, thanks to Griffin’s sweet-talking the cook. Not everyone was as pleased as Everleigh had been to discover the trinket.
Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he drew her near. “You forget, I asked you first.”
“Yes, but I turned you down, so it was only fitting that I proposed to you, scandalous though it was.”
“How about an emerald ring you could wear with this band then?” He caressed her fingers.
“I suppose, if you insist,” she teased.
He knew her weakness for emeralds.
She rested her head against his chest. Married seven months already. Their wedding trip had been delayed due to Caroline Chatterton’s devious machinations. Somehow, she’d persuaded the local magistrate to open an inquiry into Frederick’s and Arnold’s deaths.
Probably by bedding the dumpling of a man.
Everleigh hadn’t been permitted to leave the country during the investigation, which, after five months, completely exonerated her. Caroline, the fool, hadn’t been as fortunate. Seems she’d been cuckolding Frederick with a not-altogether-too-bright fellow of questionable repute, who had taken her at her word when she said she wished her husband and father-in-law were dead. She’d wanted Everleigh dead too, the fellow had confessed, but he didn’t hold with killing women.
Ironically, Caroline—fortunate to have escaped the hangman’s noose—now sailed for the same penal colony Theadosia’s father pastored. Her former lover hadn’t been as fortunate.
The postponed honeymoon had worked out well in the end. Everleigh had been able to attend Jessica’s and Nicolette’s weddings, as well as the Dowager Duchess of Sutcliffe’s marriage to Jerome DuBoise.
Griffin was convinced he’d orchestrated that union, but the Duke of Sutcliffe claimed he’d been responsible.
Sarah paused in her romps to trot over to her new governess, Miss Brimble. Nurse had gratefully retired to a comfortable cottage in Bristol, and Miss Brimble, being several generations younger and the oldest of twelve, proved skilled at managing Sarah.
Maya and Jenny—the name Sarah picked for the doll Everleigh made her—sat serenely on the tolerant governess’s lap.
“Let’s go for a walk, my dears.” Sarah gathered her dollies in her arms, and Miss Brimble stood.
Claire, tongue lolling, had plopped herself at Miss Brimble’s feet, but the instant the governess stood, the spaniel leapt to all fours once more.
“Miss Sarah, shall we explore the maze?” She looked to Everleigh for approval, and after receiving a nod, asked, “Shall I hold one of your babies for you?”
Sarah tilted her head and extended both before her, considering them. She passed Miss Brimble Jenny. “Maya needs extra ’tention, so she doesn’t get jealous of Jenny.”
Was that a hint?
Sarah had been ecstatic when Everleigh and Griffin had told her she was going to be a big sister. Her enthusiasm waned considerably when she learned she might have a little brother, and a jot more when told she couldn’t dress the new baby in her dollies’ clothes.
As Sarah and Miss Brimble disappeared into the labyrinth, Everleigh turned into Griffin’s embrace and hugged him.
“I never thought I could be this happy, Griffin. I love you so much, it almost hurts sometimes.” She tilted her head into the crook of his shoulder. “Tell me again when you knew you loved me. I never tire of hearing it.”
He pressed a tender kiss to her forehead.
“I knew the moment you scooped Sarah into your arms in the drawing room, and my heart stood still for an instant, that I’d found the woman I was meant to spend the rest of my life with.”