"Sir Guy's Atonement" (Book 3) by Gratiana Lovelace, 2015 (a Wattys2015 Nominee)

Ch. 34 (PG): Brother Tuck's Advice

Stopping and drawing his wife into his arms, Baron Guy kisses the top of her head.

Baron Guy: "Rose, My Love. Is baby Diana truly fussy, or are you uncomfortable knowing that my past love Lady Marian lives and is a guest under our roof."

Their son Seth's eyes widen as he cannot help but over hear part of his parents conversation as he walks behind them-though his Mama has admonished him not to eavesdrop on people, it is impolite. Yet Seth cannot dismiss the question as to why his mother would be uncomfortable with their cousin Lord John Oxbridge's nurse, the Lady Anne? He senses that there is an element to the situation that eludes him-and perhaps next month when he is eleven, a nuanced understanding of adults will begin to form in his mind.

Lady Roseanna: "Are you so forgetful about the three babies and one toddler in Seth, who preceded Diana, and their temperaments?" She asks in a teasing tone belying her troubled thoughts.

Baron Guy: "Nay, My Rose. I merely want to reassure you ..."

Lady Roseanna: "No need to explain!" Lady Roseanna waves her hand dismissively at him.

Baron Guy: "But Rose ..." Baron Guy tries again.

Lady Roseanna: "Guy! I realize that you must deal with the situation of Lady Marian being returned to you ..."

Baron Guy: Baron Guy forcefully counters his wife's implication. "But she has not returned to me. Lady Marian does not even know who I am!" Without meaning to, Baron Guy's voice has become strident. Seeing the alarmed faces of his wife and son, Baron Guy tempers his outburst. "What I mean to say is that Lady Marian was never mine in the first place." He has rarely admitted this to himself, and never out loud before. "So therefore, she cannot not be returned to me."

Lady Roseanna: "Semantics, husband?" Lady Roseanna fixes Baron Guy with a piercing gaze, trying to discern how unsettled he is with the return of Lady Marian/Anne.

Baron Guy turns around to face his wife, pulls her over to and around a large hedge just out of sight of the rest of the party, and draws her into his arms. Seth rolls his eyes sheepishly and continues walking toward the manor. He is accustomed to his parents being tender and loving with each other at odd moments-and in broad daylight. But as an almost eleven year old, Seth has become slightly embarrassed by seeing his parents being romantic with each other. So Baron Guy and Lady Roseanna now have some privacy to speak frankly with each other.

Baron Guy: "Rose, My Love. Whatever Lady Marian meant to me in the past, that is where it stays-in the past. You and I and our family are my sole reason for being. I am nothing without you and your love. You have made me a better man." Baron Guy leans down and kisses her lips sweetly.

Lady Roseanna: Shaking her head in disbelief, Lady Roseanna demures. "Guy, I did not and I do not have such influence over you."

Baron Guy: Holding his wife closer, he counters with a sly smile. "But you do." Baron Guy kisses his wife again-this time with a bit more passion. "Though I wish Lady Marian well and will endeavor to aid in her finding happiness in anyway I can-thanking God that I did not kill her, because it lifts a burden from my soul-she is not in my future, nor am I in her future. Our time is past." He reiterates. Then he smirks. "And I suspect that she might have someone in her future already." Baron Guy tries not to sound like a rejected suitor and he smiles teasingly for his wife's benefit.