Page 184 of The Conquered Brides
“The greatest comfort will be being near my daughter!” she exclaimed, clutching my arm in excitement.
“And your grandson,” I told her, giggling at the wonder that crossed her face.
“Oh, Cecily,” she breathed, almost reverently. “You didn’t lose the baby then. I was so fearful for you, child. And all alone…”
“I wasn’t alone, Mother. I had Antony.” I smiled up at my husband. “And George is fine. Why, he seems ready to crawl, and then we’ll certainly stay busy!”
“A grandson.”
“I have two sons,” I told her, unable to stop smiling at the pure joy of the moment.
“John is a lad of nine,” Antony explained. “And I must tell you, he’ll be happy to have you. I hear you’re a baker?”
“Oh, yes. I had to learn a trade, to get by.”
“Well, perhaps you could show your daughter a thing or two.” Antony winked at me, but even his teasing criticism couldn’t temper my happiness.
“I’d be happy to.” She released me at last and wiped her hands on the apron she wore around her waist. “Now then, when do we go home?”
* * *
My lady mother fit seamlessly into our little family as though she’d always been there. John took to her immediately, and I loved to witness their easybond. She didn’t take over the baking, as I’d expected, but instead spent long mornings teaching me. It was odd—I’d never imagined that the two of us would be up to our elbows in flour, yet as strange a picture as it must have made, we both wore smiles on our faces.
We never spoke of Hohenzollern, nor Susanna, nor any of the rest. Yet, there were moments when I’d see her staring wistfully off into the distance, and I knew she was remembering times past.
In such moments, when my heart would grow wild as it ached in my chest, all I had to do was look down to see George clutching at my skirts, or listen to John as he read aloud from one of the books from our meager library, and my heart would go still and calm again.
The best part of my day was when Antony would come find me. I never knew where I’d be or what I’d be doing, but at some point during the day he would seek me out and stop me from whatever I was doing, scoop me up in his arms, and carry me to our bedchamber. Some days, I laughingly protested, and on others I simply snuggled into his embrace, eagerly anticipating the moment when he would lay me down on our bed and begin to ravage me with nothing more than his hungry eyes.
Though at one point I hadn’t been able to imagine such a life, now that I was immersed in it, I discovered that it had pleasures to offer that I never would have known I was missing before.
The End
