Page 73 of Everything But the Earl
“Oh.”
“I was about to follow you to dreamland,” he said. “Do you want me to fetch him?” He gestured toward the other room.
“Oh. Yes, that would be nice. Can you bring him here?”
Owen went back into the other bedchamber and picked up the writhing child. He did seem quite upset.
“This is no way for a gentleman to behave,” Owen said, rocking him gently. “Your poor mother needs her sleep, and little boys should always respect their mothers.”
Owen brought the crying baby to Grace, who held her arms out. While Owen had been in the adjacent room, Grace had undone thebuttons of her nightgown. She took the baby now and brought him to her breast.
Owen was fairly certain his own mother had not fed him this way, as most aristocratic women didn’t, but he marveled that Grace was doing it. As she fed Dafydd, he climbed into bed beside her and looked over her shoulder at the baby.
“I brought you some food,” he said softly. “You didn’t eat much at dinner and I thought you might get hungry. Mary said the doctor said you needed to eat in order to recover. It’s not much. Some cured meat, a little cheese, some bread.”
“That sounds lovely. Thank you, Owen.”
“I want to help you. You’ve said these last weeks have been difficult. Please tell me if there is anything I can do.”
“I will,” she said.
“Does that hurt?” He gestured to Dafydd.
“Not much. My skin is a little irritated, but Catrin gave me a salve that helps.” She looked up at Owen. “He’s a healthy boy. He likes to eat. The doctor said he was a large baby, which I suppose explains what happened.”
“I wish it had been less hard on you. Were you sick throughout your confinement? My friend Hugh’s wife felt unwell through much of hers.”
“No. Well, yes, at first. I got dizzy and nauseous. But then it was all right. It was very strange. I could feel him move around in me. I liked that part. And I was not much confined. I walked around the property. I went to the cottage until my belly was too big to reach my pottery wheel.”
Owen kissed her temple. “You astonish me.” It was true. He couldn’t believe the delicate woman he’d married had done all that.
When Grace had finished feeding Dafydd, and he’d drifted back to sleep, Owen carried the boy back to his crib and settled him in. When he returned to the bedroom, Grace was eating the food he’d brought up.
“Thank you for this,” she said.
“I can find somewhere else to sleep if this is too much for you.”
“It is fine. I did miss you, Owen. And having someone to fetch the baby for me is a big help. I’m so tired.”
“No wonder. You made a person.”
She smiled at that. “I am glad to see you, but as soon as I finish this, I am going back to sleep.”
Owen hung his dressing gown on the hook next to the bed and slid under the sheets with her. He wanted to hold her but didn’t want to bother any of her injuries. Instead, he stayed on his side of the bed and watched her.
“If you need something,” Owen said softly, “you’ll tell me, right?”
“I will try,” she said, which wasn’t much of a promise.
*
Grace knew Owenwas upset.
And she knew it was her fault.
After the first day of his return, perhaps after the initial euphoria of seeing each other again had passed, Owen had acted cool toward Grace. He was kind and polite, but he hadn’t really touched her or said much.
On the fourth day, Catrin called. Owen was out touring the estate with his man of business and was not in the house when Catrin arrived, so Grace invited her friend to sit in the parlor with her.
