Page 96 of The Viscount's Unwanted Bride
A knot in his gut loosened. She joined him in his bedchamber every night, only leaving if the baby made her too uncomfortable to sleep near him. He’d worried she might feel pressured to remain nearby because of his fears.
She rolled her eyes as if reading his thoughts. “You silly man. I adore cuddling with you.”
He ignored the name-calling and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “I like having you close too.”
There was a rap at the door, and Mr. Giles announced that the doctor had arrived. Kate lifted her head from Theo’s shoulder, and he got off the bed and went to the door.
“Show him in, Giles.”
While the butler went to fetch Dr. Hanson, Theo grabbed the chair from Kate’s writing desk and carried it over so he could sit beside her.
Dr. Hanson sauntered in, windswept from the spring breeze. A friendly smile crossed his bluff features, and he dipped his head in greeting. “Good afternoon, Lord and Lady Blackwell.”
Theo nodded politely. “Thank you for coming.”
“It’s no trouble at all.” The doctor set his medical bag down and crossed the room to stand on the side of the bed opposite Theo. “How have you been feeling, Lady Blackwell?”
Kate tilted her head back to look up at him. “I’ve been better able to keep food down for the past two weeks. My back aches a little, and”—she colored—“my, er, hips do, too, but it’s not constant.”
He nodded. “That’s likely from your body making room to accommodate the baby. The back pain could also be from carrying extra weight, although I doubt it’s enough to cause too much discomfort at this point. Are you getting plenty of rest?”
Kate glanced at Theo and smirked. “Lord Blackwell has been ensuring I’m abed for at least nine hours. I don’t always sleep well, but it’s not from lack of opportunity.”
Dr. Hanson knelt beside the bed. “Is it the back and hip pain keeping you awake?”
“Partially, but I’ve also been getting hungry at the strangest times.”
And craving the oddest foods, Theo thought silently. Combinations that he’d never think to put together, such as sweet fruits paired with cheese or salt sprinkled on pudding.
“That’s normal,” Dr. Hanson assured her. “The baby may move around inside you, creating and relieving pressure on your stomach so that you think you’re full when you’re really not, and then, when it shifts, you suddenly realize how hungry you are. Just make sure you’re eating plenty to keep your strength up.”
“She is,” Theo said.
He’d been unable to resist monitoring her eating patterns, just to make sure she was having enough. He needn’t worry, though. She seemed to have matters well under control.
“Good.” Dr. Hanson extended his hand toward Kate’s rounded belly. “May I?”
She nodded.
He ran his palm over the bump. “Have you felt the baby move yet?”
“Yes,” Kate said.
Theo caught her eyes and melted at the warmth he found there. It had been one of the most magical moments of his life when she’d burst excitedly into his office, hiked up her skirt, put his hand on the bare skin of her abdomen, and he’d felt the slightest nudge against his palm.
Proof that his baby lived.
Tears had sprung to his eyes, and he hadn’t bothered to hide them as he’d kissed her belly. Kate knew how much it meant to him to feel evidence that all was well with their son or daughter.
Dr. Hanson opened his medical bag and pulled out a wooden tubelike tool. “This is a stethoscope,” he said. “It’s a reasonably recent invention. I only bought this one a month ago. I’ll use it to listen to your heart and lungs and make sure everything is as it should be.”
“It won’t hurt her, will it?” Theo asked, starting to rise from his chair. No newfangled invention was worth hurting his wife, no matter what reassurance it might provide.
Dr. Hanson smiled kindly. “Not at all.”
He pressed the one end of the tube to Kate’s chest and seemed to listen through it, and then he got her to lean forward while he repeated the same procedure from the back. That done, he tucked the stethoscope back into his medical bag and zipped it shut.
He clasped his hands together and looked earnestly from Kate to Theo. “As far as I can tell, the pregnancy is progressing as it should be. You can have every expectation of delivering a healthy baby. Of course, I’ll continue to monitor throughout the pregnancy, but if we were likely to have major issues, they’d usually have shown themselves by this point.”
