Page 112 of Heartbreaker of the Ton
Arabella placed a hand on Etty’s arm. “Your son’s fine, Juliette. Roberta will ensure he comes to no harm. She quite adores him. Come, sit.”
Etty resumed her seat. “Who’s Captain Thomas Foley?”
Arabella shrugged. “Something to do with Admiral Nelson. The children are playing Band of Brothers.”
“Band of what?”
“Band of brothers, Miss Howard,” the girl said, approaching Etty.
“Mama!” Gabriel cried, his cheeks pink with exertion, a broad grin on his face. He wriggled free from the girl’s grip and rushed toward Etty, stumbling into her arms.
“Are you having fun, sweet boy?” she asked.
“I’m taking care of him, Miss Howard,” the girl said. “Come along, Gabriel, we need to induct you into our band if you want to be a brother. Then we can give you your command.”
The boy wriggled free from Etty’s grip, and she swallowed the sense of loss as he ran toward Roberta and took her hand.
“Thomas Foley is captain of theGoliath,” Roberta said. “We thought it fitting, given Gabriel’s size.”
Etty glanced at her son, over whom the girl towered, and let out a soft laugh. “You may live to regret that, Roberta. You’re taller than Gabriel now, but when he’s older he’ll tower over you.”
“Was Gabriel’s father very tall?” the girl asked.
Etty stiffened, and Arabella took her hand.
“Roberta, why don’t you take the children into the kitchen? Mrs. Brown said she’d be making iced buns for tea today. Tell her I said you could have one each.”
“Yes, Mama.”
“That’soneeach, Roberta—I don’t want you overindulging, then claiming you cannot eat your supper tonight.”
The girl grinned, then tugged on Gabriel’s arm. “Come along, captain. Mrs. Brown makes the finest buns in the whole of England.”
The children trooped inside, laughing together, and the youngest of Arabella’s stepchildren—a freckle-faced lad with a mop of red hair—took Florence’s hand.
“You come with me, Florrie,” he said. “Mrs. Brown will give you an extra bun for your sister, and maybe your mama would like one also.”
Their animated chatter faded as they disappeared inside the house, and Etty leaned back into her chair.
“Exhausting, aren’t they?” Arabella laughed. “But the key to managing children is ensuring that they tire each other out.”
“Your Roberta seems a sensible child,” Etty said.
“That she is. She terrified me at first, but I love her as if she were my own. No—sheismy own.”
“Does she fear that when…” Etty trailed away as she glanced at Arabella’s swollen belly.
“That when the baby comes I’ll love it more than her and her brothers?” Arabella caressed her belly and smiled. “It was the first thing she asked me when Lawrence and I told the children that I was expecting.”
“You told them together?” Etty asked, glancing across the garden. Mr. Baxter had stopped clipping and was standing back to admire his handiwork. “I must say, your husband is a most unusual man.”
A soft smile curved Arabella’s lips. “That he is, and I wouldn’t have him any other way. He’s even insisting on being present for my confinement. I know it’s not proper, but I have to admit to some relief in knowing that he’ll be with me.”
A ripple of fear flickered in her eyes, and Etty took her hand. “You will be well, Bella,” she said. “You’ll be surrounded by people who love you.”
Whereas I was alone.
Etty shivered at the memory of the pain, the ripples of agony that gripped her body until she couldn’t breathe, tugging at her insides until she feared she would burst…
