"Perhaps we could play some charades!" Hyacinth suggested when Francesca and her small orchestra had played for a good half hour already, after the anniversary dinner.
"What a wonderful idea, darling!" Violet chimed in.
"Do we still have our old cards tucked away somewhere?" Daphne wondered.
"I believe they are in that golden box over there on the shelf! Hyacinth, would you be so kind and get them so Daphne does not have to stand up?" Violet smiled and waved towards the shelf on the opposite side of the room. Hyacinth scurried happily away, came back with the box and handed it to her oldest sister.
"Now, let us see..." Daphne muttered as she had opened the box and was leafing through the pack of cards in her hands.
"What is the topic of those cards?" Kate wondered.
"Why, members of the ton, of course!" Daphne grinned. "This one is dead, this one is married and has a new family name, this one is also dead..." She mumbled, picking away the outdated cards. "Oh, I just realised, we have to add the Sharma family into this game!"
"That is quite unnecessary, we will play with the existing cards." Kate stated quickly. She did not want to know how someone would act when they were supposed to be her, probably waving their finger around in a scolding manner and looking displeased, since there was no Anthony in the room whose arms they could collapse into.
"Fine, we will play with these then... I believe I have plucked out all the old and dead ones, so we can begin!" Daphne declared. "Who wants to go first? The youngest?"
"Yes!" Hyacinth whooped and took the cards from Daphne. She picked the one on top, read it, flashed a smile and began to act. She moved as if she was walking with a stick and studied her audience with a cunning look.
"Lady Danbury!" Daphne screamed and was the first one to shout out the right answer.
"I do not look like that!" Lady Danbury protested. "Or, maybe I do..." She laughed.
"Daphne, you are rather good at this game as well!" Kate grinned.
"I am good at most games." Daphne announced proudly, as she struggled for a moment to get up from the sofa with her large belly – a lot less proudly – and took the cards from her sister. She picked one and burst into laughter as she read it. "Oh, this is easy..." She smirked, sat down in a chair facing the others and began staring at Kate with a smouldering, seductive look, before quickly turning away with an upset snort and then turning back to stare hungrily at her. Kate laughed so hard she could not get the obvious name out from her mouth. Everyone screamed out Anthony's name almost in unison, but Eloise had got a slight head start, so she was deemed the winner. She took Daphne's spot on the chair, picked up a card and got a weird, almost offended look on her face. Then she began to act as if she was writing.
"Writing? Who writes all the time?" Daphne wondered.
"Colin?" Violet suggested.
"You, to the duke." Daphne grinned.
"Oh, hush you!" Violet snorted and blushed.
"No, no!" Kate huffed. "Lady Whistledown!!" She burst out.
"Finally, thank you!" Eloise sighed and the rest applauded as Kate picked a card. She smirked as she read it, ruffled her chest to make her appearance more stouty and busty, crossed her arms on her chest and began to study the others with a designing and manipulative smile.
"What, this could be anyone!" Daphne, who seemed to be the first one guessing every time, complained sourly. "Lady Cowper? Miss Cressida Cowper?"
"No, it is obviously Lady Featherington!" Margaret Dorset yelped and surprised them all by guessing the right answer. Then she hurried happily to pick a card from the deck. "Oh no, this is almost like blasphemy...!" She exclaimed in shock. Kate sighed with an amused grin, as this woman proved once again that she was clearly not especially clever. Now she had already given away her character, although the displeased face she pulled as she sat down poshly in the chair did bear a remarkable resemblance to Queen Charlotte herself. Gregory, who was too young to join the gentlemen, was the first one to shout out the Queen's name, so he took a card and began to wave his hand in the air like he was painting.
"Benedict Bridgerton, of course!" Lady Danbury shouted in the forefront. She got up as arduously as Daphne had and read the name on the card. Then she looked at Daphne, Eloise, Francesca, Gregory and Hyacinth, took a deep sigh, looked at them again and rolled her eyes while massaging her head like she was suffering from a terrible headache.
"Mama, you are our mama! I mean – Lady Violet!" Francesca yelled and everyone laughed.
"I do not look at my children like that...!" Violet protested, but laughed as well.
"Yes, you do!" Daphne and Eloise shouted almost in unison. The game went on for a few more rounds, until almost every member of the ton had been presented and Daphne was unsurprisingly declared as the winner. She guessed right so many times that in the end she was passing on her acting turns to others, as she was tired from constantly struggling to get up from her seat.
"I believe it is getting rather late and I have blissfully exhausted myself from all the excitement..." Daphne finally grinned and hurled herself up one more time from the sofa, before planting a kiss on the still seated Kate's forehead. "Thank you for a wonderful evening and for letting us stay here tonight, I would not have wanted to suffer the carriage ride home..." She smiled fondly.
"Of course, this house has been your home for much longer than it has been mine." Kate smiled warmly back at her. "Do you want me to escort you to your rooms?"
"No, stay here with your guests! Like you said, I have lived in this house for quite many years, so I am quite certain I can make it back to the guestrooms." Daphne smirked. "And besides, I still need to find Simon." She stated, made a remarkably graceful curtsy considering her very pregnant condition and left the drawing room. She had only climbed the first set of stairs when she ran into Prince Friedrich, who was coming down from the smoking room located on the top floor. "Your Highness!" She quickly curtsied, again.
"Oh! Daphn – Duchess." He stuttered and bowed back at her. Daphne smiled at him kindly and there was a long silence during which none of them said a word. "I..." The prince began, but cleared his throat to stop him from perhaps saying what he really had wanted to. "It is a delightful party your brother and his wife have arranged." He lied instead.
"Yes, most certainly." Daphne smiled broadly. "I hope you have enjoyed yourself as well. I did not see you on the dancefloor?"
"Neither did I see you." Friedrich smirked and grabbed a hold of the railing as to steady himself, or rather his racing thoughts. "I mean... Of course you did not take to the dancefloor, in your current condition..." He muttered awkwardly. Daphne cast a heartening smile at him and the prince's face grew even more troubled. "I believe... Or I rather take it, that you are happy with your life with the duke?" He asked quite bluntly.
"Well, of course. Most happy indeed." Daphne replied with a slightly abashed smile.
"Good, I would be terribly sorry if you had regretted your... Choice." Friedrich replied.
"I have not." Daphne said, her friendly smile slowly fading from her lips. "Your Highness –"
"Prince Friedrich, please." He interrupted.
"Prince Friedrich... I do not wish to further reminisce upon the fact that I did indeed choose my husband's proposal over yours. I believe that one should glance towards the future and not the past... I am sure your wife feels the same way." Daphne stated quite coldly, but quickly put on some sort of smile. "I mean no offence, of course. You were nothing but gallant, lovely and understanding towards me two years ago! But the past is indeed in the past, Your Highness."
"Of course." The prince replied after a short pause during which he had been blinking his eyes furiously. "You are quite right, Your Grace." He said a bit more sharply, but nevertheless gave her a polite little bow. "I shall bid you goodnight."
"Goodnight, Your Highness." Daphne answered with an equally polite curtsy and continued her trudge up the stairs towards the smoking room, in order to find her husband.
Kate prattled happily on with her guests in the drawing room, but glanced a bit worriedly at Edwina who looked quite glum, probably because she had not been the first one to guess at any round in the charades, even if her knowledge of the British ton was fairly good.
"I am starting to feel rather tired as well." Edwina suddenly announced and stood up. "I must go and find my husband, as we still have a lengthy carriage ride back home." She declared and – much like Daphne – dismissed Kate's offer to be escorted upstairs, so Kate stayed with her guests and Edwina stepped into the large hall alone. She was just going to call out for her husband when she noticed that he was standing in the staircase, but then she realised he was already talking to someone – and that someone was nonetheless than the Duchess of Hastings herself. Edwina tried to swallow down the big, painful lump that had suddenly appeared in her throat. Surely there was nothing to worry about? It was common knowledge that Friedrich had been courting Daphne two years ago, but Edwina had convinced herself that it did not matter and the prince simply had not yet met the love of his life – her. But now, seeing the two of them talk privately and Daphne flashing such friendly smiles at him, it certainly woke a whole new kind of boiling jealousy inside of her. Like in some horrible nightmare she walked in sticky slow motion, silently as a cat towards the staircase. She had to see. She had to see that there was nothing to worry about, that she had simply imagined it all. But instead what she saw was that look, that damned look she knew all too well. Not in Daphne's eyes, to be honest, but in her husband's, when he watched her leave up the stairs. It was that same cursed look Edwina had seen in Anthony's eyes at the altar, when she was about to marry him. And just like that look, neither this look in Friedrich's eyes was directed towards her...
The same hopelessness, shock, anger and utter feeling of betrayal she had felt at that altar rushed up and raged inside of her again, but this time it was much worse, because this time the man was actually married to her and to make matters even worse, she was bearing his child. Despite being almost blinded by her frantic emotions, Edwina realised that Friedrich was coming downstairs towards her and she simply could not face him right now. So, she quickly rushed into what she expected to be an empty breakfast room and rapidly shut the door behind her, leaned her back against it and breathed heavily with her eyes closed and stinging of bitter tears.
"Your Highness...!" A male voice suddenly cried out from the room. Edwina winced and opened up her eyes, just to see that the room unfortunately was not empty, but she had in fact startled a baffled-looking Colin Bridgerton, who had been writing a letter by the fireplace.
"Mr Bridgerton...!" Edwina exhaled. "I am so sorry, I did not think anyone would be here..."
"It is quite alright, Your Highness." Colin smiled at her, still looking a bit taken aback.
"No, it is not... I do not wish to disturb you any further... I shall leave." She stuttered and turned towards the door.
"No, stay...!" Colin exclaimed, quite unexpectedly. "You are clearly upset, what is the matter?" He wondered and took a few cautious steps towards her. "I hope all those speeches about Anthony choosing Kate over you did not make you afflicted..."
"No! Oh, no... I assure you this has nothing to do with it..." Edwina said in a sad voice.
"So, what is it then?" Colin queried with curious eyes, in a much more upfront manner than most people would have confronted a princess. Extended family, or not. "Please, sit down." He waved towards the sofa in the corner of the room. Edwina was totally surprised by how open-heartedly he offered to listen to her troubles. She did not know Colin Bridgerton that well, but had indeed got the picture that he was a young man with many friends who held him as dear as his own family did.
"I..." Edwina wheezed out after she had sat down, opposite to Colin who had slumped down in an armchair, but she could not even begin to find the words she needed so badly to get out. "This is just silly, I have probably simply imagined it all, based on my past experiences..." She sighed, starting to feel annoyed at herself.
"Experiences about what?" Colin asked.
"Well... Love, I guess." Edwina replied silently. Colin looked suddenly immensely worried.
"Is something amiss with the prince? Has he... Threatened you, in some way?" He enquired unexpectedly seriously and sharply, making Edwina stare at him with a puzzled expression.
"What...? No! Never, he has been nothing but kind towards me." She snapped, casting another confused glance at Colin. "But, he... I... I believe he still has... Feelings, towards your sister, the duchess..."
"Oh, I see..." Colin blurted out, realising much to his relief that this had luckily nothing to do with the recent incident involving Miss Rosso.
"But, like I said, I have probably just imagined it all...!" Edwina hurried to correct herself. Colin took a deep sigh, as his most cumbersome manner of wanting to be everybody's best friend surely put him in difficult situations sometimes...
"I am afraid it is highly possible that you have not imagined it, Your Highness..." He began, but Edwina interrupted him before he was able to continue any further.
"Please, call me Edwina, we are family after all." She instructed with the slightest smile.
"Edwina. I mean... I do not know that much about the matter, but as you already know, the prince did indeed court Daphne the season before the last one. He even proposed..." Colin explained somewhat apologetically. "And... I have found out the hard way that these suspicions, or just the tiniest feelings or premonitions we have about people, they tend in fact to be the truth... I myself have left such suspicions unnoticed in the past, making me almost marry a woman who was keeping from me the fact that she was already carrying another man's child. I should have realised why she was so willingly throwing herself into my arms, but alas, I did not..."
"Oh, I did not know that..." Edwina spoke in a voice that was barely above a whisper.
"Well, as you see, I did not marry her." Colin said with a sad smirk, waving his left hand and its empty fingers in the air. "I could not marry her, once her secret was out, but I would have still wanted to..." He sighed and watched as Edwina was clearly figuring something out.
"Ah, now I see... It must have been the lady at the dinner, at Aubrey Hall in the summer? When you – I mean, when Kate caused a scene." Edwina deducted and Colin nodded.
"Yes, Lady Crane. And yes, I caused a scene as much as poor Kate... Although my scene was much, much worse." He muttered, staring at his hands with eyes full of shame.
"Love does make us do rather foolish things." Edwina smiled comfortingly.
"It sure does... But, that is not all. You see, I have not been just on the giving end of unrequited love, I have also been on the receiving end." He continued, with yet another deep sigh.
"Oh...?" Edwina wondered, looking suddenly quite curious and less heartbroken.
"There is this girl... Woman. Who is a dear friend of mine and has always been, since early childhood, and I... It has come to my knowledge, some time ago already, that this person is completely in love with me." Colin explained gravely, staring into the dancing flames in the fireplace. "And I... I do not know what to do. I do not even know how I feel about her, I have always seen her as a friend, a very dear friend, but a friend nonetheless and I... I guess I have had some suspicions about her feelings already for some time, but they were confirmed to me this summer at Aubrey Hall. By accident, by someone else. With her present..."
"Oh dear..." Edwina gasped. "That must have been terrible for her."
"Yes, and even more so, since I have not written to her or seen her after that." Colin grunted.
"Was it... Was it perhaps her you were just writing to, if I may be so bold as to ask...?" Edwina enquired in a cautious tone.
"I... It was." Colin admitted. "But, I could not even begin to know how to put all these intricate thoughts into simple words on a piece of paper..." He exhaled in surrender. Edwina studied his furrowed brow and miserable expression silently for a while. "Benedict is a true artist in every way and would surely already have produced a tear-jerking love letter, whereas Anthony... The man is surely as far from a poet as anyone can be, but somehow even he has managed to declare his love for his wife tonight and meanwhile I... I just sit here, staring into a fireplace like a complete idiot."
"Colin Bridgerton, you are not an idiot. But perhaps you should not write to her, perhaps you should seek her out instead and talk to her about whatever it is you feel?" Edwina suggested. "If it is not love beyond friendship, surely she has earned that much honesty from you as well."
"Perhaps... And maybe you could talk to your husband as well, tell him about these fears and feelings of yours?" Colin proposed, trying to repay the kindness.
"I cannot..." Edwina sighed.
"Why not? If you cannot, neither can I." Colin stated firmly.
"He would just think I am being silly, or that I am being hysterical because I am pregnant. Or worse, he would get angry at me and that is the last thing I want..." She muttered, now staring into the flames too.
"Have you never had a fight?" Colin wondered, all wide-eyed.
"Never." Edwina replied bluntly.
"How strange! Your sister and Anthony fight all the time and then the next moment they make the chandeliers jiggle in the drawing room, beneath their bedroom. I do not know which is more annoying, the arguing or the love-making, but... Oh, I am so sorry...!" He gasped and fell silent as he noticed that Edwina was blushing. "I quite forgot myself, I should not have said such a thing in front of a lady, especially a princess...!"
"It does not matter, I am happy if Kate is happy." She smirked coyly. "But... I believe the prince and I are in every way more even-tempered and... Even-mannered, than Anthony and my sister."
"Of course." Colin quickly agreed. "But my father and mother had heated arguments as well, although they loved each other deeply. Those arguments simply seemed to clear the air between them and make everything better again... So, perhaps we should not be afraid of possible arguments and bravely throw ourselves against new conflicts and letdowns."
"Wise words indeed. If only we were brave enough to follow them..." Edwina sighed.
"Perhaps we are." Colin smiled softly at her. "After all, what do we have to lose? It is not like things could get much worse from where they are at the moment..." He laughed a bit embarrassedly.
"That much is true..." Edwina made a little awkward laugh as well, before melting into a warm smile. "Thank you, Colin, for your thought-provoking words... If Anthony is a viscount and Benedict is an artist, perhaps you could be a philosopher."
"You flatter me, Princess Edwina." Colin laughed. "I hardly have the brain for that."
"No, but you have the heart." Edwina replied and Colin was totally taken aback by the sweet compliment. "Take care of that big heart of yours, but also be not afraid to give it to her, if that is what you truly want." She smiled fondly at him and stood up.
"That is what I am trying to figure out..." He sighed, standing up as well.
"Thank you, again, for this lovely little chat." Edwina said and curtsied. "It meant a lot."
"It meant a lot to me as well." Colin stated, making a polite bow.
"Good night, Mr Bridgerton." Edwina smiled and left for the door.
"Good night, Your Highness." Colin smirked back at her, before returning to his letter.
***
Kate smiled to herself as she opened the bedroom door and found Anthony undressing himself of his fine festive clothes. There it was again, the familiar feeling of those hot embers smouldering inside of her all day – bursting into blazing flames whenever she saw him. Was it possible to fall in love with the same man over and over again? Kate believed it was, at least that was the simplest way to describe the feeling. He turned to look at her, flashed a smile as he was unbuttoning his silvery waistcoat and made that fire inside of her even more searing.
"Viscountess..." He murmured as he walked up to her and grabbed her head softly in his big, warm hands. "You managed to once again organise an unforgettable evening for our beloved guests." He smirked and kissed her gently.
"Me?" Kate laughed when her lips parted from his. "It was you who held that unforgettable speech, I am still quite moved by it." She smiled fondly, wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him one more kiss. " Please, help me get rid of this uncomfortable gown..." She pleaded with a sigh and turned around. Anthony began to untie her gown, planting yet a few more kisses on the back of her neck while doing so.
"The ladies seemed to be quite thrilled over your game of charades..." He said with a smile that Kate could not see, but felt against her sensitive skin.
"I cannot take any credit for that either, it was entirely Hyacinth's idea and Daph entertained us by winning the whole thing." Kate replied in an amused tone while unbraiding her hair.
"Of course she did, she turns into a shark when those cards are pulled out." Anthony grinned and continued to untie Kate's corset.
"She did do a rather hilarious impersonation of you, though." Kate chuckled and glanced at him over her shoulder.
"Really, how?" He wondered with a broad smile and turned her around, since he was done with his task. Kate stepped out from her gown and let the corset drop down on the floor, standing in front of him only in her white, almost see-through chemise.
"Well... She stared at me with a very seductive look, then turned quite upsetly away, before turning back to stare at me again." Kate grinned and continued unbuttoning his vest where he had stopped once she had entered the room. Anthony gave out one of his usual 'hmphs', but nevertheless smirked at her while she was working with opening up his necktie. He carefully studied her face, beautifully framed by her now freely flowing hair. Then he studied her big brown eyes that were concentrated on the task her fingers were set upon and thought to himself that opening up a necktie, especially one so strictly tied up as the one done by his accomplished valet, must be as difficult of a task for a woman as it was to untie a corset for a man. But, Kate had already had a year of practice and soon the long piece of fabric dropped down on the floor and laid there at the same time both elegantly and completely out of place, like a dead white dove.
"Can you believe that it has already been a year since our wedding night?" He smirked at her and got rid of both his vest and undershirt, revealing his naked upper body.
"I can, since it is November again and I am undoubtedly pregnant..." She teased, backed away from his handsome body and slipped underneath the thick duvet on the bed, just as heavy rain started to hammer down on the glass behind the curtains. She cast a worried look at the window, so Anthony gave her a comforting smile and crawled underneath the duvet as well. He pulled her body close to his and kissed her fragrant hair.
"Do not worry, darling, there is practically never any thunder in November. It is just regular autumn rain." He murmured as she hid her face against his bare chest.
"If you say so..." Kate sighed and wrapped her arms around him.
"Is he awake?" Anthony wondered and caressed her belly. As on que, Kate felt the already familiar fluttering inside of her body, though it seemed to grow stronger every day. It was during a similar moment when she had just laid down to sleep some weeks ago when she had felt it for the first time, ever so slightly like the wings of a butterfly, but still unarguably there. She had been so excited that she woke up Anthony, only to make him gravely disappointed over the fact that he would not be able to feel anything on the outside for a long time. But still, it had made him even more eager in his efforts to read something out loud for the child every evening.
"He is, actually..." Kate replied with a smile, not realising what she had said before a victorious grin spread across Anthony's face.
"See, you think it is a boy as well!" He pointed out with a sneer. Kate decided to ignore his witticism and instead placed his hand right where she had felt it.
"There..." She breathed out excitedly when she felt the fluttering again. Anthony was suddenly so focused he even stopped breathing for a while, but finally he gave up with a disappointed sigh.
"I still cannot feel anything." He declared sourly.
"You will, eventually." Kate smiled at him. Anthony smiled back at her, before reaching out for the old fairytale book from the nightstand. He scooched down lower on the bed and propped a pillow behind his head, before leaning his cheek against her belly.
"Let us see then son, what do we have set up for tonight..." He muttered as he leafed through the book. "Oh, it is your mother's favourite, Hansel and Gretel!" He laughed and glanced up at her face.
"No, I do not want to see that damned witch again!" Kate complained.
"Fine. They have such weird names anyway, Hansel and Gretel..." Anthony mused, continuing to leaf through the pages.
"I believe they are German." Kate stated, her voice filled with disdain. "Prince Friedrich is not the only appalling thing that has come out of Prussia, it is him and that witch..."
"Ah, that reminds me..." Anthony hummed and turned his face back towards her. "I tried to speak to the prince and mend our relationship, but... I believe I only made it worse."
"What did he say?" Kate wondered. It felt somewhat stupid to talk seriously with Anthony when he was so far down, but he was acting so sweetly that she could not bring herself to tell him to do anything otherwise. At least he was no longer leaning towards her belly, instead he had turned on his side, propped himself up on one arm and looked at her.
"Well..." Anthony began and decided to leave out the repulsive 'put her on a leash'-part, as there was no point in upsetting his wife any further. "He seemed to be quite angry over what you said to him at the palace."
"Good." Kate replied bluntly.
"Yes, but then he hinted that I would still have some affection for Siena when I seemed so upset over the fact that he had tried to have her killed... I assured him I would get upset over him trying to kill any human being at all, but he did not listen and marched away from the room." Anthony summarised. "And... Then the Duke of Stanton asked for my blessing for him to marry my mother, so I kind of forgot about the prince." He added, quite nonchalantly.
"Really?" Kate exclaimed and almost sat up straight from excitement. "Did you give it?"
"I did." Anthony replied with a slightly melancholy smile. "On one condition."
"And what was that?" Kate quizzed curiously.
"That remains between the duke and me, for the nonce..." Anthony smirked in a mysterious manner. Now Kate was the one to give out a disappointed 'hmph' instead. She wondered what on earth had changed Anthony's mind about the matter and cast once more a worried look at the apparently haunted chair in the corner of the room. Perhaps Lord Edmund had paid his son a visit again... "And I spoke to Colin as well, just before coming up here." Anthony continued. "He had apparently had some sort of eye-opening chat with your sister, about 'love and heartache', as he put it..."
"Really?" Kate blurted out again.
"Yes, he seemed to have comforted Edwina in some matter he did not wish to reveal any further, but apparently he had convinced her to speak more openly with the prince." He replied, sounding pensive. "Then he blabbered on about friendship being a fine foundation for love and even potential matrimony, or something of that sort..."
"Hmm..." Kate pondered with a contemplating look. "I believe it is about that Penelope Featherington girl. She seems quite smitten with Colin, I rather think."
"That vapid wallflower?" Anthony laughed out.
"Anthony!" Kate scolded him vexedly, but he was too far away for her to gently slap him.
"Sorry, but she is exactly that. And surely Colin has no romantic endeavours regarding her, they have been friends forever..." Anthony snorted, indeed sure of himself.
"Precisely." Kate smirked cunningly. "'Fine foundation for love and matrimony', or what was it he said?"
"I'll be damned..." Anthony muttered with a reflective expression. "Well, if that is the case, I see no reason why to prevent it from happening. The Featheringtons might be almost penniless, but they are nevertheless a respectable enough fam –" He suddenly stopped with a horrified face. "Oh no. No, no, no..."
"What, what is it...?" Kate gasped.
"I will not let him marry that horrendous Portia Fetherington woman into our family...! I never thought any of my brothers would be stupid enough to marry one of the Featherington girls, although if I had to make a guess who would be so stupid as to do it, it would surely be Colin..." He prattled on a bit agitatedly, while drawing circles on Kate's belly with his forefinger.
"Anthony!" She scolded him again and whisked his hand away from her body.
"Fine, perhaps Colin is not that stupid, but I sincerely do not want to see that awful woman every Christmas, at every christening and birthday celebration and – God forbid – perhaps all summer long at Aubrey Hall...!" Anthony spat out. "No, I have to put an end to this folly."
"Anthony, no." Kate protested sharply. "No more meddling, bullying, duelling or ruining your siblings' love lives. You have to let them sort things out for themselves, they are adults."
"Well, they surely do not behave like adults for most of the time..." He huffed.
"And you do?" She scoffed. Anthony cast a sour look at her, but it soon melted into a smile.
"I believe you are right, again..." He finally sighed. "Colin will have to figure it out himself and if he does in fact marry the girl, it is entirely his problem that he got himself such a gruesome mother-in-law." Anthony decided, like some judge at court. Kate smirked to herself because Lady Portia Featherington was surely the last woman in England anyone would want as a mother-in-law, but if someone could handle the situation, it must be the kind-hearted Colin Bridgerton who did not seem to dislike any person.
"And if he marries her, perhaps we can build the remaining Featheringtons an own guesthouse on our lands, so they do not have to stay at Aubrey Hall..." Kate suggested, grinningly.
"Great idea, dearest! I know a great spot, right next to the piggery." Anthony replied with a mean smile.
"You are awful!" Kate laughed.
"Awfully sweet?" He grinned, as he picked up the book again and returned to his earlier position against her belly. Kate chuckled and began to run her fingers slowly through his hair.
"Yes, awfully sweet." She agreed and smiled fondly at him. He cast a loving smile back at her before opening the fairytale book again.
"Sorry about the interruption, dear son... Now I will start reading." He murmured softly. "So not the one with Hansel and Gretel, because your mother fears the witch so... Ah, 'Jack and the Beanstalk', this one is a classic." He uttered and began to read. Kate usually never heard the endings of the stories, because she was already fast asleep by then. This time the soft and steady patter of the rain against the windows boosted the calming effect of Anthony's velvety voice even further, making her conk out almost immediately after 'once upon a time'.