Page 123 of The Duke's Inconvenient Bride
EPILOGUE
Norfolk,
Two years later
“Mama!”Lilian toddled toward Emma on her adorably plump little legs with a flower clasped between her hands.
Emma checked the flower quickly to ensure it wasn’t a rose—and therefore might have thorns—before focusing on her daughter’s sweet face.
“What do you have there, darling?”
“Flower, Mama.” She thrust it toward Emma, one of the maroon petals falling off in the process.
Emma’s heart swelled with love. “Thank you, Lily. It’s beautiful.” She took the flower and tucked it behind her ear. “Have you and Daddy been exploring?”
“No.” Lilian plonked onto her bottom on the blanket Emma had spread in the shade from a hedge on the edge of the gardens at Ashford House.
“We found all sorts of things,” Vaughan said, coming into view from behind the hedge. He was carrying another flower,and he knelt in front of them and smoothed back Lilian’s pale blond hair, then tucked the flower behind her ear.
“There,” he said to their daughter. “Now you match your mother.”
Lilian clapped her doughy palms in delight. Emma kissed her forehead and breathed in the twin scents of baby and springtime.
“My beautiful ladies.” He gazed at them with a softness that had become familiar over the past two years.
“Cake?” Lilian asked.
Emma hid her smile. There was absolutely no denying that their daughter had inherited her sweet tooth.
“Let’s see if we have any cake,” Emma said, opening the picnic basket that Mr. Travers had packed for them. “Hmm. It looks like we have to eat our vegetables first.”
She withdrew a few containers of mashed vegetables and handed Lilian a spoon. Her daughter liked to be as independent as possible.
“Are there scones?” Vaughan asked, sitting beside Emma.
“Yes, with fruit preserves.” Emma scooped the berry preserve onto a scone and passed it to him.
He hesitated, watching as she prepared another for herself. “You’re sure it’s safe for you to eat?”
“I’m certain.” She glanced down at her stomach, which was round with their second child who was due to be born in a matter of weeks. “Mr. Travers is very careful with what he gives me.”
She’d discovered that her husband could be quite a worrier when it came to her safety and that of their children.
“You must be thirsty,” he said, setting his scone down. “Let me get you a drink.”
He poured a cold herbal infusion from a flask into a cup. Emma cringed as she accepted it from him. Ever since Mr. Travers had first concocted the brew—intended to settle herstomach during pregnancy—Vaughan had been plying her with it at every opportunity.
The infusion wasn’t unpleasant, but it wasn’t something she wished to drink constantly either. Unfortunately, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse when she knew he only did it because he cared.
She’d never thought she’d have someone who loved her that much.
Tears pricked her eyes.
“Are you all right?” he asked quietly as Lilian shoved a spoonful of mashed potato into her mouth, smearing half of it on her face.
“Everything is perfect,” she said. “I love you.”
He leaned over and kissed her. “And I you, sweetheart.”
