Chapter Twenty
Having finished one of the best meals, Daphne and Roxanne retired to the drawing room for tea while the men stayed in the dining room to enjoy a glass or two of port and smoke cigars.
Daphne considered the tradition silly and out of date with the times.
Men, however, thought otherwise and continued the ritual because they wanted time away from their wives in order to be able to discuss politics and other things a woman wouldn’t be interested in. Or so they thought.
Daphne began to pour a cup of tea for each of them. Sam sat atop his cage eating a piece of apple.
“He certainly has calmed down,” Roxanne said, eyeing the parrot.
“He has, but apples are one of his favorite treats.”
She handed the cup of steaming tea to her sister-in-law and picked up her own and sat back. “I abhor that men still think they have to continue with this silly ritual.”
Roxanne put her tea on a table in front of her. “I know, but they’re never going to change.”
“It makes them feel important, so why let them think any different?”
“Exactly,” Roxanne replied.
Daphne watched as Roxanne fiddled with her teacup. She finally took a sip and put it back down. “I have some news to share, but you must promise not to tell Arthur or mention it to Graham. I haven’t told him yet.”
She arched a brow. “What have you bought?”
“Nothing.”
“Then what is it?”
“I believe I’m with child,” she said lowly.
“What? That’s wonderful news.”
“I haven’t told anyone but you because I want to be sure before I tell Graham. I’m planning to see a midwife I know and see if she can tell. If not, I’ll wait to see if I miss my courses again.”
“Then you’ll go to a doctor?”
“Yes, and then I’ll tell Graham.”
Picking up her teacup, Daphne took a sip. “You’ve had a child, so I’m sure you’re probably with child.”
“Yes, but that was a long time ago. I’m older now.”
“You’ll be fine.”
“I know, but I just want to be certain.”
“I promise, I won’t tell a soul until you tell me.”
“Thank you,” she replied. “Are you and Arthur planning to start a family any time soon?”
Daphne grinned. “Let’s just say we’re not doing anything to prevent it.”
“Newlyweds,” Roxanne said.
“You and Graham are much the same.”
“True. I hope that part of our marriage never changes.”
“Me too. I would miss it if it did.”
Daphne had learned a lot from her husband on ways for him to please her, for her to pleasure him, and ways for them to do it together.
Never had she imagined how good it would be.
Arthur, knowing she was a virgin, had been very patient the first day or so.
From there he moved on to showing her things she’d only read about in the secret stash of books her mother kept in her chamber.
Some of her books were naughty romance novels and others were nonfiction, making Daphne wonder how her mother even got the books into the house, let alone how she purchased them without her father being the wiser. Or perhaps he did know.
“You know how a man approaches sex can change over time. Some never do change, others turn into copies of their fathers, and not in a good way,” Roxanne said.
“How would they know that about their fathers?” Daphne asked.
“Probably seeing how their father treated their mothers. How he treats women in general.”
“I see.”
“Enough about me,” Roxanne said. “How are you adjusting to your new role?”
“Well enough. I’m thankful Arthur has such a devoted staff. They’ve been quite patient with me.”
“I can’t imagine there’s much that needs to change.”
“No, and I’m perfectly fine with leaving things as they are. I even told Arthur I wanted to postpone redecorating. I decided I want to live here a year before I do anything.”
“That’s a brilliant idea, Daphne. It makes sense to live in the house a full year and to see it in all seasons.”
“Do you really think so? Arthur thought it made perfect sense but told me I was more than welcome to change my mind if there was something I wanted to change.”
“It makes perfect sense. I mean, what if you redid this room and two months after you’d redone it, you hated it. Then you’d be stuck with it.”
“I see your point, and I’m glad I’ve put it off. I’ll have time to decide what room should be redone first and what order the rest fall.”
Roxanne sighed and finished her tea. Putting her teacup down, she glanced over at Sam who was still being quiet, eating his food. “He certainly makes for a conversation piece.”
“Doesn’t he? I plan to have him present next time I invite ladies over. It’s hilarious to see their reactions, especially when he curses.”
“He certainly has a colorful vocabulary,” Roxanne replied.
Pointing at the windows, Daphne grinned. “Look. It’s snowing.”
“It appears winter is here. It’s cold enough for snow, but I thought rain might be all we’d get.”
“I love snow!” Daphne said, walking towards the windows.
“It’s nice to look at from in here. It’s too cold.”
As they were watching the snow come down, Arthur and Graham walked in. Neither Roxanne nor Daphne turned around to greet them. They simply continued to watch the white precipitation continue to come down.
“When did it start snowing?” Graham inquired.
Roxanne turned towards her husband’s voice. “Just now.”
“It looks like it’s coming down at a steady pace,” Arthur added.
“I certainly hope so,” Daphne squealed.
“We should probably return home before the road becomes impassible,” Roxanne said.
Graham shook his head but grinned in his wife’s direction. “My wife isn’t a winter person.”
Arthur snorted. “Yes, I remember having to force her outside to make snow angels. She complained the entire time, even though she loved doing it.”
“I only did it to appease you. I was miserable lying on the ground flopping around like that,” Roxanne replied.
“Arthur, do you have a sleigh? It would be so much fun to go out for a drive if the snow continues,” Daphne asked.
“Yes, there’s a sleigh. I had the stablemaster see that it was cleaned and polished for this winter.”
“Graham, please see to the carriage. I know we don’t live far, but I don’t care to get stuck on the road between here and there,” Roxanne said.
Graham bowed deeply towards his wife. “Your wish is my command, countess.” He walked from the room to have the carriage readied.
“I hate to end such a lovely evening so early, but we’ll do it again soon.
” Roxanne smiled at her brother’s wife. They seemed to be a perfect match.
Daphne was not set in her ways yet and loved things she had never imagined.
Daphne’s upbringing had been unusual with her parents allowing her to do more than simply learning to dance, play pianoforte, or embroider.
While Arthur learned things necessary to become duke, Roxanne was expected to learn the typical things a young lady should know in order to find a good marriage, even though that hadn’t been the case for her.
“Come,” Arthur said, “let’s go to the entrance hall so you can put your cape and gloves on. I imagine by the time we reach there, the carriage will be around front.”
The trio walked through the house, downstairs to the grand hall. Graham walked in as Roxanne was preparing herself for what she thought was frigid cold.
Arthur and Daphne donned their coats and followed them out to their waiting carriage.
Saying their good-byes to their guests, they watched as the carriage disappeared into the night.
There was no moon this night, and ordinarily it would make for a very dark time, but the snow made everything brighter.
Daphne grabbed her husband by the hand and pulled him along to a grassy area just off the drive now covered in a blanket of snow. She sat down in the fresh snow and lay on her back and began to make a snow angel.
“I bet my snow angel will be far better than yours,” she taunted.
“I rather doubt it. I have a few more years practice making them than you do,” he replied as he began to make his.
Here it was late in the evening and the two of them were lying on the ground making snow angels like they did when they were children. His wife was giggling madly, enjoying herself tremendously. He couldn’t ask for more.
“Oh look, Arthur. There’s the gray! How did she get out?”
He sat up with a jerk. Sure enough, the beast was once again loose and running through the open lawn. “She seems to be enjoying herself.”
“Shouldn’t we go after her?”
“No,” he replied. He stood and helped her to her feet. “I’m sure she’ll return to the stables when she’s had enough. In the meantime, you and I have better things to do.” He pulled her in close and kissed her as though he couldn’t get enough.
The End