Page 109 of The Duke's Inconvenient Bride
“Longley is waiting in the carriage,” Vaughan said dully. “So, yes. I’ll be safe.”
Emma arched an eyebrow. “He didn’t want to come in?”
Vaughan sank even farther into the chaise. “He said I was going to regret this and that he didn’t want to see it.”
“But he didn’t stop you?”
Vaughan didn’t reply. Honestly, when he’d gotten into the carriage earlier, there had been no stopping him. He’d have ignored anyone who tried.
“Would you like a drink or food before you go?” she asked.
“No.” He stood, trying not to wobble. “I’ll just be on my way now.”
He couldn’t even look at her. He understood her position, but he’d also never felt so dismissed in his life.
He was a duke.
People didn’t treat him like an errant toddler. But perhaps in this case, it was what he deserved. After all, she’d only sent him away once. How many times had he shot down her ideas of love?
He deserved this.
In the daysthat followed Vaughan’s visit, Emma distracted herself by exploring the grounds of the estate and reading in Lord Mayhew’s library in the main house, which he’d kindly allowed her to use.
Nothing she did could erase the memory of Vaughan’s forlorn face from her mind, though. Yet he didn’t return, and nor did he write. Perhaps he’d come to the conclusion that he didn’t want to pursue a romantic intimacy with her after all.
Maybe, once he was sober, his fears had won out.
“Your Grace,” Daisy said hesitantly as she dressed Emma’s hair.
“Yes, Daisy?”
In the mirror’s reflection, she could see Daisy press her lips together, hesitating for a moment before she continued.
“It’s been a while since you’ve had your courses,” she said.
Emma frowned. Surely it hadn’t been that long. But when she thought about it, she’d last had them prior to her marriage. Well over a month had passed. Closer to two.
“Does that mean…?” She’d heard rumors that a woman’s courses stopped when she was with child, but no one had ever confirmed it for her.
“You might be increasing,” Daisy said quietly. “I couldn’t say for sure. I’ve heard the other maids speak of such things. Your courses could just be delayed though.”
Emma’s stomach fluttered. She placed her palm over the softness of her belly. Could a baby be growing inside her at this very minute? A son or daughter she could cherish?
Someone into whom she could pour all of the love that no one else had ever wanted.
Hope swelled within her.
“A baby,” she whispered.
“Maybe.” Daisy sent her a secret smile. “You should call for a doctor to make sure.”
“I will.”
Emma sent word to Violet, and within a few hours, the local surgeon came by. He poked and prodded, asking questions that made her blush, but it was all worthwhile when he confirmed that she was likely with child. She couldn’t contain her smile and thanked him profusely as he left. He promised to call again soon to look in on her.
After he was gone, Emma and Violet shared a pot of tea in the drawing room, and for once Violet didn’t make a fuss when Emma requested scones with jam and cream.
“I need to tell Vaughan,” Emma said, still hardly able to believe the news. They might have been trying to beget an heir, but she’d never stopped to imagine how it would feel once they succeeded and the baby was growing inside her. She’d mentally skipped forward to after they were born.
