Chapter Nineteen #3
He took a bite of the scone which she had slathered with marmalade and clotted cream. The scones were melt-in-your-mouth delicious, and the added jam and cream made them even more so. He heard Cathryn trying to suppress a giggle as he licked his fingers.
“Are they good?”
“None better. I want these every day,” he replied. He picked up his cup and took a swallow of tea.
“I’m sure Cook will be more than happy to oblige.”
He reached for another scone and bit into it. “The woman is a master in the kitchen.”
“Hmmm.”
“I went through all my correspondence so I can jump into it in the morning,” Charles said, his mouth half full of the scone.
“I take it there was nothing overly important if it can wait.”
“End of the month bills,” he said, watching her reaction. “There was one I wasn’t familiar with. Doctor Foster in London? You’re not ill, are you?”
“Not at all. I just went to see him about some female issues. Nothing to concern yourself with,” she replied.
Charles noted she wasn’t looking at him directly but something behind him. What was going on with her? “Care to elaborate?”
“This isn’t the way I imagined talking to you about this, Charles.”
“Are you going to tell me?” he asked. He was trying not to get frustrated with her attitude, but it might not be easy for her.
“Very well. Since you insist,” she said. “I’m with child, Charles.”
He was flabbergasted. That was the last thing he expected her to tell him. “How, what, are you sure? When are you due?”
Her eyes lit up and she was trying very hard not to giggle. “The doctor confirmed my suspicions. The babe is due in seven months, and how? You should be able to figure that out. I probably conceived the very first time we made love. The doctor said it was more common than you’d think.”
“You’re okay, aren’t you? What can I do to help?”
“There’s not a thing you can do. Really. I just need to rest as much as I can.”
“That’s easy enough,” he said.
Cathryn leaned closer and kissed him on the cheek. “You’re going to be a great father.”
How could he be a great father? His entire childhood had been unlike what other children experienced.
He’d been sent away because he was peculiar and odd.
Surely their child wouldn’t be like that and inherit his traits.
If it was a boy, he wanted him to have the best of everything.
Everything to make him into a successful man.
The best schools and tutors to show him everything he needed to get ahead above everyone else.
If it were a girl, she would get the same, at least as much as young girls were allowed.
He wouldn’t hold her back from anything.
“Charles? Charles!” Cathryn said strongly. “Where are you? I’ve been talking to you and you’ve been somewhere else the entire time.”
Charles jerked his head around toward the sound of her voice. “I apologize, my love. Your news was unexpected.”
“You don’t like that we’re having our first child?”
He shook his head fiercely. “No, no. Nothing like that. I’m ecstatic. It was just unexpected so soon.”
“I felt the same way. I thought we might at least have a year, but we don’t, so I’ve accepted it. The more the news sinks in, the happier I am. I’m sure you will be too.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” Charles replied.
“Could we agree on one thing?”
“What’s that? Not to tell your parents until after the babe is born?”
“Something like that. She’s going to try and move in with us on the grounds of ‘helping’ me. I want to enjoy every single moment of this, and I don’t need my mother trying to take over,” Cathryn said. “I know that sounds horrible, but given my mother’s history, I think it would be best.”
“You’ll get no argument from me. Besides, if I remember correctly, she and your father are supposed to travel to southern Italy in the next month or so.”
She smiled. “I’d forgotten all about that. That’ll keep her busy for a couple of months.”
“Can we tell Roxanne and Arthur?”
“Of course we can tell them,” Cathryn said.
Charles reached for another scone. This time he was met with a soft slap on the top of his hand. “It’s the last one; I don’t want it to go to waste.”
“Very well. Go ahead. I suppose we are celebrating.”
“Yes, we are,” he replied. Just as he reached for the lone scone on the plate, a bright flash of lightning followed by an ultra loud clap of thunder jolted him.
“See. I told you not to take the last one. The gods have spoken and agree,” she teased.
“They’re just jealous they can’t enjoy it. I mean, you know gods; they can’t eat.”
Another large bolt of lightning hit somewhere close by. By the loudness from the clap of thunder, Charles was sure the lightning hit somewhere very near, possibly on the estate.
“That was close. Very close,” Charles said.
He rose and walked to the windows and looked out on the terrace and gardens.
The rain was coming down sideways and hard.
Lightning flashed. Two strikes back-to-back.
The thunder even louder. Perhaps the storm was moving on.
Time would tell. He hoped it would move on soon.
“I hope it hasn’t hit anything, and if it did, it only hit the ground.”
“If it’s hit a building on the estate, the only way we’ll know with all this rain is if a hit structure catches fire.”
She arched a brow. “You’re right. We’ve certainly had our share of bad storms this summer. I wonder why that is.”
“Some years are just worse than others. I’m not sure why,” he replied. He returned to Cathryn’s side and wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him. The familiar scent she wore filled his senses. “This certainly has been a day for surprises and celebrations.”
“Ummm.”
He peered down at Cathryn and found she had fallen asleep that quickly.
She was content and felt safe with him. It was a new concept to him.
One he liked immensely. One he never wanted to end.
From a forgotten spare to a man with visions; he certainly had come a long way.
It sounded like things which needed to be shared with the world. A new book to be written indeed.
The End