A Very Historical Holiday Collection by Aston Alexa

Author:Aston, Alexa
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Historical, Anthology
Publisher: Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2022-11-16T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Two

Reid escorted Ashlyn at a slower gait than usual to the drawing room. Always in tune to her, he had become more so ever since she discovered she was with child. He had suffered with her through those first few months, when she couldn’t keep down but a few bites and not only the smell—but merely the thought—of fish had her puking into the nearest ceramic bowl.

Fortunately, she had regained her appetite and had no problems eating fish or anything else these days. She experienced bursts of energy, followed by short periods of fatigue. He was constantly checking on her. Or checking up on her. He felt like the head of a large spy network, with servants, tutors, and pupils all reporting to him regarding her mood and physical wellbeing throughout the day.

Two weeks ago, her belly had seemed to pop overnight. Where before she had a small bump, now a much larger one had taken its place, extending her stomach and making her condition easy to see. Ashlyn had taken to unconsciously cradling her belly, endearing her all the more to him as she protected their unborn child. Reid knew his wife would make for an excellent mother. She already mothered all the pupils of Dunwood Academy and half of Gillingham’s servants.

He wondered why Dr. Bradford was calling now, especially since none of the boys had been injured or were ill. No word had arrived regarding any of their tenants being sick. He could guess all day at the nature of the unexpected call but decided to wait and see what the physician revealed.

“It seems to take forever to reach the drawing room these days,” she murmured. “I find myself out of breath just walking up the staircase.”

Reid swept her off her feet and began carrying her down the corridor.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“I thought it was obvious. Carrying you.”

“But why?”

He paused and gave her a tender kiss. “Because I can. Because I want to. Because I love you and that little bundle of ours that you are carrying.”

“Oh,” she said softly and returned his kiss, lingering.

After she broke it, he carried her the rest of the way to the drawing room and then gently placed her back on her feet.

“I shall carry you everywhere if you allow me.”

Ashlyn’s hand cradled his cheek. “Not everywhere. Just some of the time. I will let you know when and where.”

He took her hand and kissed the center of her palm before lowering it to her side. Then he opened the door and placing his hand on the small of her back, led her inside the room.

Dr. Bradford rose as they entered. “Good morning, Your Graces. May I say that you look to be in excellent health, Your Grace. Is everything progressing well?”

Ashlyn nodded and sat. “Yes, the midwife tells me that everything looks to be fine. I had trouble keeping much of anything down early on but I feel I am making up for that in recent weeks.”

“That is very good to hear.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.