Hertfordshire

Seven months later

Miles paced back and forth outside of their chamber, from where Rose’s moans and groans sounded. They sent chills down his spine, and he shuddered. He had to fight a strong urge to burst through the doors and demand to see his wife. However, he knew that he couldn’t.

If he did, he wouldn’t just have to contend with Lady Mary and Lady Hudsingham, but also with his own mother, since all three of the ladies were present with Rose as she gave birth to their very first child.

Not that he could blame them. His mother had been exceedingly excited at the prospect of finally welcoming the long-desired heir, and Lady Hudsingham – or Marianne, as Rose called her stepmother – had grown closer than he’d ever thought possible to Rose, especially since they’d announced that she was with child.

“You really must sit, Lord Lambury,” Rose’s father said behind him. “You will wear yourself out. These things can take a very long time.”

“How long?” Miles asked, exasperated. “It has already been two hours.”

In the corner, Robert chuckled.

“My lord, I hate to be the one to have to give you this news, but when my wife had our first child, she was in labor for no less than fourteen hours.”

“Fourteen hours is nothing,” Lord Hudsingham said as he crossed the hall and sat beside Robert. “Tabitha was in labor for almost twenty hours when she had Rose.”

Miles grew woozy at the prospect of having to wait another eighteen hours or more for the birth of his child.

“Must you upset him?” Hetty asked as she entered. She seated herself beside her stepfather, who shook his head.

“I’m only telling him the realities of what might happen.”

Miles took a deep breath and pressed his ear against his wife’s chamber door. Low groans and cries emitted from within, and he turned to her stepsister, who had been living with them for the better part of the year.

“Hetty, please will you go inside and see to her? There is a much better chance that the three ladies will allow you to enter rather than me.”

The young girl got up and made her way across the hallway. She stopped and smiled at him. “I assure you Rose will be just fine.”

He appreciated her words, as he’d appreciated her presence in their home. Rose had been delighted at the close connection she and Hetty had formed, and it was a delight to see it. Hetty knocked on the door, but the moment she entered, shouts to leave rang out. Undeterred, she entered.

“Faith, it is Hetty,” Lady Hudsingham called out. “You may enter, of course. But none of the gentlemen on the other side of the door.”

Rose’s father chuckled. “You do not cross my wife. When she has set her mind on something, she is determined.”

“As is Lady Lambury,” Robert agreed. “My lord, maybe a cigar?”

Miles shook his head. “Cigars are for when there is something to celebrate. As yet, there is nothing to celebrate. Although I hope there will be soon.”

“Well.” Robert bent down and retrieved something from underneath his chair. “If we can’t smoke, then we shall drink.” He raised a bottle of whiskey, and Lord Hudsingham clapped.

“A splendid idea.”

“No glasses,” Miles commented when he joined them.

Reginald Hudson shrugged. “And that is a problem? Give it here, Robert,” he said with a smirk.

He watched as Rose’s father unscrewed the cap and took a swig before handing it to Miles. The warm liquid ran down his throat, and he did momentarily feel better as the whiskey settled in his stomach.

Robert took a long swallow before handing it back to Rose’s father. They passed the bottle around another two or three times, and then Lord Hudsingham handed it back to Robert and sank into his seat.

“Nothing better than a little swig here or there to drive away from the sorrows. And I have had enough of those this past year.” He rolled his eyes, and Miles nodded in an understanding manner.

“Have you had any word from them?” he asked quietly.

“No, but I heard an on dit that they headed for Scotland. Do not tell Lady Hudsingham, for she shall suffer apoplexy at the thought of Letty getting married at Gretna Green to an actor.”

He shuddered. Six months prior, Letty and Lady Charlotte had joined forces and run away. But they hadn’t gone alone. It seemed that for some time, both Lady Charlotte and Letty had kept company with two actors from the Theater Royal. Since these would not have been proper connections, they’d taken it upon themselves to run away – never to be seen again. At least for now.

To say that Lord and Lady Hudsingham were mortified by this development was an understatement. However, Miles couldn’t deny that the family had been much more at peace since Letty’s departure.

Lady Hudsingham, who had already warmed up to Rose and treated Hetty better now too, had leaned on her daughters, as well as Lady Mary, another frequent visitor to Stockworth Hall.

Still, between Lord Tibley’s constant bad-mouthing of the Hudson family, Letty’s running away, and Humphrey’s trial, the two families had found themselves in the scandal sheets more often than any of them wished.

However, none of these things mattered anymore. The entire family, as well as Lady Mary and her husband, Lord Vicary, had assembled at Stockworth Hall for yet another Christmas, and this one they would all be celebrating together as a family – with one new addition.

Miles let out a deep sigh. “I do wish my father were here. No offense to the both of you, you have been wonderful companions these past few hours, but I do wish my father were here.”

“He is, my lord. In spirit he is. I know it’s not the same, but I hope you can draw comfort from knowing how much he loved you and how proud he would be of you.”

“I am in full agreement with Robert, Lord Lambury. You have a beautiful home, a wife who adores you, and you have brought his killer to justice and restored peace to my family. In addition, your father’s business thrives. Yes, I dare say he’d be proud of you.”

His father-in-law’s kind words touched him, and he could only hope that they were true.

“I know nobody will ever be able to replace your father, but you have myself and Robert, and you can always lean on us. Just as Rose can lean on Marianne, now that their connection has been firmly established, and your mother.”

Miles smiled. His mother had grown close to Rose, and the two adored one another. Thus it hadn’t surprised him in the least when his mother had announced that she’d be at Rose’s side for the birth.

He glanced at the clock. Rose had been in labor for almost three hours now, and after a simple pregnancy, he was in good hopes that she would deliver a healthy child. However, the helplessness vexed him. He’d suffered nightmares upon nightmares about all the things that might go wrong, and they came back now to haunt him.

As if reading his thoughts, his father-in-law placed a hand on his forearm.

“I can see the worry written upon your face. Trust me, all of this will be forgotten the moment you hold your baby in your arms and…”

The door to Rose’s chamber opened and Hetty emerged first, followed by her mother. Both beamed brightly and clasped each other by the hand.

“The children are born!” Lady Hadsingham announced with a bright smile. Miles froze in place.

Had she said children? He looked to Robert and his father-in-law for confirmation, but the both of them looked just as confused as he was.

“Did  you say children, dear?” Lord Hudsingham inquired.

“It is true. There are two babies. I said all along that Rose was much bigger than I thought was normal, but I was censured for it,” Hetty declared.

“Hetty was right, Lord Lambury. You are a father to a healthy boy and girl.” With a smile, she added, “I did have a suspicion, given that I had twins myself, and I shared this with Rose, but we decided to keep it to ourselves in case we were wrong.”

The earth shook underneath Miles’s feet, and Robert jumped up and grabbed him by the arm before he could fall.

“Twins… Twins?”

“Indeed,” his mother said as she exited. “We have our heir and a rosy-cheeked girl.” The delight in her eyes warmed Miles’s heart.

His mother wrapped her arms around him, and her warm embrace steadied him.

“Mother, can I see her?” he asked as he peered down at her.

“Of course, you can. Go on, son. Go on.” She stepped aside as Lady Hudsingham and Hetty moved away from the door too.

As he entered Rose’s chamber, he canvassed the room. Lady Mary stood beside Rose and propped up her pillow, while Rose glanced up, a beaming smile on her lips and a baby in each arm. Her hair stuck to her face, and she looked clammy as if from sweat, but the happiness vibrated off her.

“Miles! Miles, can you believe it? A boy and a girl? Isn’t it wonderful? Isn’t it the most glorious of presents?”

He joined her side just as Lady Mary excused herself to give them privacy, and when she closed the door behind her, he clambered on the bed.

“I cannot believe it. Look at them. They look like a perfect mixture of both of us,” he whispered as he took in their little reddish faces. Each baby had a shock of dark-blonde hair. He watched the children as they lay swaddled on Rose, who looked from one to the other.

“The boy has your eyes, and the girl has mine. But you’ll see when they wake,” Rose whispered. Gently, Miles draped one arm across Rose’s stomach and nestled beside her on the pillow.

“We are complete now. Our family is complete,” he marveled.

Rose looked up at him, and the love in her eyes made his heart swell.

“We are. There’s only one question we must answer now,” she said with a grin. “What shall we name them? I do have an idea.”

“Me too,” Miles agreed. “Given that they came to us together, there are only two names that would suit.”

“Tabitha and Auric, after our parents,” Rose said quietly, tears in her eyes.

“Yes, Tabitha and Auric. Those are our children. And our parents will be their guardian angels, always keeping them safe from harm,” Miles added as his eyes also filled with tears of happiness.

Then, as he lay beside Rose, their children in their arms, he looked up at the sky and realized that Robert had been right. His father was looking down on him, as was Rose’s mother – and they surely were smiling at the happiness the union had brought forth.

The End

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