I was still dead tired when Evelyn Rose woke me, crying again. We had slept maybe two hours. I opened my eyes with the greatest reluctance, and then I realized Chevalier had us both wrapped in his arms, and my heart filled to bursting with happiness.
“Good morning, Chevalier. Yes, yes, I’m coming, Evelyn Rose.”
Chevalier kissed my cheek. “It's afternoon, not morning. Wait. I'll help you.”
“I think I can manage getting out of bed, Chevalier.”
He ignored my teasing protest and climbed out of bed, taking my arm when I scooted toward the edge. I sighed, but the moment my feet touched the floor, my legs threatened to give out underneath me. I might have fallen if Chevalier hadn't caught me. If I hadn’t been weak and sore from a difficult labor and wasn’t carrying our baby, I knew he would have smirked and taken the opportunity to tease me back.
Instead, he supported me until I was sure of my footing. “What do you need?”
“To sit down,” I admitted. “She probably needs to be changed.”
He guided me to the table where Lydia had left supplies for us, and I collapsed into a chair and took a moment to catch my breath. Evelyn Rose continued fussing in the meantime; not as insistent as earlier, but not to be ignored.
“I can handle this myself, but I would love a hot bath afterwards. I feel disgusting.”
Chevalier kissed my neck. “Then I’ll draw the bath for you, and I’ll have Melanie come up to change the sheets and bring us something to eat.”
“I know everybody will want to see her, but I’m not sure I can manage that today.”
“They can wait. You need to rest.” Chevalier kissed me one more time before he left.
I smiled and cooed at Evelyn Rose as I changed her. “That’s your daddy, Evelyn Rose. He spoils me, and I know he’ll spoil you, too.”
She was settling down a little, but she was still unsatisfied. I knew she would be until she had another meal.
“There. Does that feel better?”
She had stopped crying, and she looked up at me with the most beautiful crystal blue eyes. I could see her wispy blonde hair now, almost invisible when she was first born. It felt soft as down under my hand.
“You look just like him.”
She was as quick to nurse as before. I watched her, enchanted, memorizing every detail. All the pain and misery had been worth it.
Chevalier’s fingers combed through my hair when he returned. “How are you feeling, little dove?”
“Tired, weak, sore, disgustingly sticky.” I leaned my head back to look up at him, my heart warming at the sight of his soft smile. “And never happier. She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”
“You both are.”
I giggled. “The lack of sleep is getting to you.”
“I mean it, Ivetta.” He leaned in and kissed my cheek. “You’re more beautiful now than ever.”
He left to turn off the bathwater while Evelyn Rose finished her meal, and I looked down at my flabby stomach, wondering if I would get into that little black dress in six weeks. That was the duration of time the doctor had given us to wait before engaging in physical intimacy again. My sore body didn’t even want to think about intimacy right now, but I was thinking about that dress, and I was thinking I wanted to look good for my husband. The afterglow from birth that blinded him to how I really looked would wear off eventually.
“Are you ready?” he asked, returning when I burped the baby.
“Yes. You realize you’ll have to hold her while I’m bathing, don’t you?”
He froze. A single look at his wide eyes told me he had somehow overlooked that little detail. I would have laughed if I had the strength.
“It isn’t that hard, but maybe you should get a chair for yourself. You know, so you can make sure I don’t drown while you’re trying to remember to breathe.”
His eyes narrowed again. He helped me up and supported me on the way to the bathroom. “Can you manage undressing on your own?”
“Help me to the tub. I’ll sit on the edge, and you can take her. I can handle the rest from there.”
Probably. I wasn’t sure. But I certainly couldn’t manage while holding the baby, too.
Chevalier was trying to seem confident, but he kept glancing at Evelyn Rose, and I could tell he was nervous about holding her. It was adorable.
“Hold your arms out like Lydia showed you. Good. Here you go. Just remember to hold her head. She can’t hold it up yet.”
That look of shock and wonder was back on his face. He stared down at her, our little daughter who looked so small in his arms, and this time, she was silent, staring back up at him with matching blue eyes.
“She looks just like you, Chevalier.”
I stood, holding onto the edge of the tub for support, and Chevalier’s nervous eyes flicked from Evelyn Rose to me and back again. He wanted to help me, but he was afraid to move.
“What if I drop her?”
I peeled my nightgown off, wincing as I did so. Even my upper body was sore. “You’ve never dropped me, and I’m much bigger than her. Thank you for getting the bath ready for me. This will feel so good.”
Everything hurt, but the hot water soothed my achiness, and I had only to look over at Chevalier from time to time to see he was doing fine with Evelyn Rose. Better than fine. He drew her close to his chest as he relaxed, and a gentle smile spread across his face. By the time I dragged myself out of the tub, he was well and truly comfortable with her in his arms, and he didn’t offer to give her up to me. Not that I asked. I was wondering if I could skip the meal and go back to bed.
It smelled so good, though. My stomach growled.
Chevalier was confident enough now to hold Evelyn Rose with one arm while helping me into the bedroom with the other. Melanie was setting the table with lunch, and she spun to look at us, her gray eyes sparkling the moment they landed on the baby.
“Ooh, is that Evelyn Rose? May I hold her?”
Chevalier was reluctant to give her up, and he looked back at Melanie at frequent intervals throughout our meal. I wasn’t worried. Melanie was the oldest in her family and had plenty of experience with babies.
“She has the king’s eyes,” Melanie cooed. “When they’re open, anyway.”
“I hope that will be all she gets from me,” Chevalier commented.
“Chevalier, you have many fine qualities,” I chided him.
He looked at me with a gaze so tender and a smile so sweet that I felt my cheeks warming even before he spoke. “I would prefer for her to be as much like you as possible.”
I ducked my head, embarrassed.
“Did you hear that, Evelyn Rose?” Melanie asked in a soft voice. “When you grow up, you need to find a man who loves you like that.”
“It’s a good thing she won’t grow up for quite a while. I’m not sure her father will make it easy for any potential suitors.” I giggled, picturing princes and noblemen running in terror at a single look from daddy Chevalier, and I glanced up at him.
He smirked. “Naturally.”
Neither of us left our room that day. We slept as much as we could, and Chevalier doted on me hand and foot whenever we were awake. I was too fatigued to mind, and when the next day came and he stated I had to stay in our room and rest, that didn’t bother me. Labor hadn’t been fun. I didn’t even want to think about doing that again for at least another year or two.
I had to think about it, though. Evelyn Rose was perfect, but she was a girl. Chevalier needed a son to inherit the throne.
I decided it would be better to talk to Lydia and the doctor before I approached Chevalier about that little problem.
When our anniversary came, I felt much better, and I enjoyed an exuberant dinner celebration with Chevalier’s brothers, Arianna, Theresa, and Lydia. I’d fed and changed Evelyn Rose beforehand, and she was more than happy to be passed around, showing off her beautiful blue eyes to everybody in turn.
But there was more to celebrate than our anniversary and our baby. The new sapphire ring on Lydia’s left hand was impossible to miss when she reached out for Evelyn Rose to take her turn holding her.
“Lydia, what’s that?” Theresa exclaimed.
“Now is as good a time as any.” Nokto wrapped an arm around Lydia’s shoulder and announced, “We’re getting married.”
“Congratulations!” I said, a sentiment echoed by everybody except for Clavis.
“It’s a disease,” he muttered.
Nokto's sheepish smile turned into a sly grin. “Just do me a favor and stay away from the bouquet toss.”
“Pfft. As if I want to catch that cursed thing. You can have your peaceful domestic life. I’m not ready to settle down yet.”
“That’s good news if I’ve ever heard it.” Jin raised a glass. “A toast to Clavis never reproducing!”
Everybody, including Clavis, joined the toast.
“Did Nokto catch a bouquet?” I asked.
“Arianna’s,” he replied. “That’s what I get for hitting on a bridesmaid.”
“I’ll forgive you this time,” Lydia teased him. “Just don’t do it again.”
After that, I was back at work with a bassinet in my office and a baby in my arms whenever I was up and about. Between that and breastfeeding, the extra baby weight melted away, and I was in a perpetual state of joyful exhaustion.
Another birthday party for me came and went. Evelyn Rose was once again the favorite of the night, wearing an adorable little dress made to match mine. Roger was there, and when he saw her, he proclaimed he would marry her. His parents almost fainted.
The weeks passed, and Chevalier’s kisses became more passionate, his caresses more sensual. He was getting impatient for the six-week mark, but making love was the furthest thing from my mind. Setting the fatigue aside, I was still sore, and when the day came and we were on our way to the chateau, I wasn’t sure I was ready.
We’d timed our arrival to coincide with Evelyn Rose’s next change and feeding. The servants brought our luggage into the bedroom while I attended to her, and then I passed her off to Melanie. “She should be ready for a nap now. Just knock if you need anything.”
“We’ll try not to disturb you,” Melanie said, winking. She’d opened up so much since Evelyn Rose came into the world.
I closed the door, and I was suddenly nervous about being alone with Chevalier. He was sitting on the sofa reading, but I felt his eyes on me. I took a deep breath and turned around.
“Hold on. I just need a minute.”
He sighed and returned to his book. I dug through my luggage to find the dress and darted into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me.
I took another deep breath. He was eager, but he wouldn’t lose sight of my comfort. This would be fine. And it wasn’t all for him, anyway. I missed being with him this way, too. If I needed to stop, he’d stop. We could at least spend some quality time together.
I started untying the laces at the front of the dress, thankful for the more forgiving maternity clothes I’d been wearing lately. Having laces and fastenings at the front meant I could manage dressing and undressing myself. And I didn’t have to worry about a corset, either, because after my discussion with the doctor, he’d decided I shouldn’t go back to wearing them, just in case that could contribute somehow to future problems with labor.
I still needed to talk to Chevalier about that.
I hadn’t tried the little black dress on since I first got it, and the fit had changed with my body. My stomach was flat again, but my bust was larger from nursing, lowering the already low strapless neckline even further. That alone would drive Chevalier crazy, I thought, studying my reflection in the mirror with some anxiety, and then there was the tight skirt that ended mid-thigh, plus all the glitter and sequins to make it impossible not to look at me.
I wondered once again how anybody could wear something like this in public. This was only for Chevalier’s eyes.
I removed all my hairpins and combed my long black hair out with my fingers, arranging it to fall over both shoulders and my back like the Benitoitian seamstress had done. Then I took one more deep breath, and I opened the bathroom door.
Chevalier had stripped down to his shirt and pants, and he was working on his shirt buttons when he turned to look at me. The intensity in his blue eyes as they slid up and down my body was enough to make my knees weak. He locked eyes with me, and I felt a thrill of nervous excitement as he approached. His hands came up to my face, cupping my cheeks with a gentle touch, kissing me with a heated question, and the anxiety melted away. No force. No demands.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned into his familiar embrace. I never had to worry.
“Ivetta, you’re more beautiful every day.”
He scooped me up and carried me to the bed, and then his kisses were traveling down my neck, igniting a fire within me to answer his silent question. I gasped and tilted my head back, digging my fingers into the back of his shirt.
“It doesn’t fit the same, but… I didn’t think you’d mind…”
His hands slid up and down my sides, sending shivers up and down my spine while his lips worked their magic on every inch of exposed skin. I tore at his shirt, needing to feel him, too, undoing the remaining buttons and running my hands across his chest and down his stomach. He caught my wrists and pinned them against the pillow on either side of my head, a grip I could break with ease if I so wanted, but the blue eyes smoldering with desire above me had me entranced.
“What do you want, little dove?”
“I want you, Chevalier. But… I’m still a bit sore, so take it easy.”
He chuckled. “You keep me waiting for months and then ask me to take it easy?”
His kisses were intoxicating. He released my wrists and moved on to my dress, peeling it off and exploring me with a light touch, careful and slow, and that made me want him to touch me even more.
“Mm, Chevalier…”
“Tell me what you want, little dove,” he purred in that low voice he knew sent a frisson through my entire body.
“You know what I want…”
“Say it anyway.”
“Please, Chevalier—”
His lips were on mine again, swallowing every moan and sigh as his skilled hands played me like an instrument. It had been longer than six weeks since he’d kissed me dizzy, longer than two months since the discomfort put a stop to making love, but we still fit together. We still knew how to give the other what they wanted, and we still wanted what the other gave. We didn’t even have to think about it. Conscious thought dissolved into sweat and emotion and friction, and when we lay tangled together, panting for breath, the pleasure far outweighed the pain.
I wanted to stay in his arms forever.
He tucked my hair behind my ear and followed it down my neck to my back with his fingers. I combed his blonde bangs out of his face and gave him a light kiss.
“Are you alright, little dove?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Just a little sore.”
He frowned. “Was I too rough?”
“No, not at all,” I reassured him.
I gave him another kiss and sighed with contentment, resting my cheek against his chest. He kissed the top of my head and nuzzled into me.
“Chevalier?”
“Yes?”
I bit my lip, nervous to broach the subject, but we had to talk about it eventually. “Chevalier, I want to have another baby.”
He was silent for a moment.
“I’m not putting you through that again, Ivetta.”
I pulled back enough to look at him. He was frowning, his eyes conflicted.
“But you need a son. And the doctor said he thinks it would be safe to try again. Maybe it will be easier next time.”
“Or it might be harder.”
“There’s no knowing unless we try.”
He put his hand on the back of my head and drew me back to his chest. I closed my eyes and snuggled into him, feeling him wrapped around me, listening to his steady heartbeat.
“I need to think about it,” he finally said.
“That’s fine. I don’t want to try again for another year or two, anyway. That isn’t something I’d like to repeat too often.”
He sighed, his breath wafting across my hair. “Why are you so optimistic? Haven’t you been through enough?”
I hesitated. I knew the answer, but I wasn’t sure how to say it.
“With every negative, there’s a positive,” I began, choosing my words with care. “If Mother hadn’t gotten sick, we may never have met. If Jack hadn’t assaulted me, we may never have gotten so close. I guess… this is what Mother was talking about. When she told me God has a plan, and everything happens for a reason, even if we can’t see why. Even if we never see why.” I sighed. “She told me that when I became angry with God because of her illness.”
A pause.
“Is she the reason you still read the Bible and go to church?”
“No.” I opened my eyes and traced circles on his chest, watching my finger move across his skin, wondering how much more I should say. “I thought I was done with God after she died, but… I guess there came a point when I realized I didn’t want to run away from Him anymore. It’s what I believe. And it’s true. I keep seeing it. Every time something bad happens, something better comes from it.”
My heart was pounding in the stillness. I hadn’t meant to talk about this, and I was afraid to look at him, unsure of what I’d see in his eyes.
But he didn’t reply, and I’d said this much already.
“I know you’re not religious, Chevalier, and I’ve never talked to you about this because I didn’t know how you’d react, but… someday, I’d like it if we could go to church together. So we can share everything.”
He didn’t respond. I held my breath, waiting, but then there was a knock at the door. Our time was up.
I sighed and untangled myself from him. “Back to motherhood.”
Night had fallen. I gave Evelyn Rose her bedtime feeding while Chevalier got ready for bed, and then he took her from me so I could do the same. When I came out of the bathroom, he was tucking her into her bassinet. I went to his side and looked down at that sleepy, angelic face framed by wispy blonde hair, and I had to smile.
“She looks more like you every day.”
“Shh, she’s almost asleep.”
I loved watching him with her. His blue eyes would focus on her, full of undisguised adoration, and the contrast of his strong build with the gentle way he touched her and cradled her in his arms was beautiful. He was just a father who loved his daughter with all of his heart, and he made no attempt to hide it.
But that was Chevalier. If he set his mind to something, he would do it, and he would do it better than anybody else. Fatherhood was no different.
I kissed his cheek and went to bed, picking up my book from the nightstand to read until he joined me. He waited until he was certain she was sound asleep. I marked my place in my book and put it away.
“We should talk to Gilbert and Keith at the goodwill gala about scheduling times to visit them,” I whispered. “I don’t think traveling will be too much of an issue. She handled the trip here really well.”
Chevalier pulled me into his arms and down to the sheets, and he kissed me. “You wanted to see what remains of the Garnetian palace as well, correct?”
“Yes. If we time it right, maybe we can get there when the lilacs are still blooming. We’d have to go soon, before spring is over, though.”
“Gilbert will accommodate that. I expect you will want to go to Benitoite in autumn?”
I nodded. “We’ll have to find out the exact due date from Belle, but I’d like to be there for her, if it’s possible. So we should go to Jade in the summer.”
“And stay home for the winter.”
I smiled and kissed him. “Evelyn Rose might be in her own room by then. Hot apple cider, hot cocoa, and lots of alone time sounds wonderful to me.”
He smirked. “You won’t try to seduce me into getting you pregnant, will you, little dove?”
“Now, why would I ever do that?” I teased him. “You said you wanted time to think, and I’ll respect your decision, whatever it is. The doctor told me how to plan so that nothing happens in the meantime.”
Chevalier traced a feather-light finger down my cheek. “I don’t like the idea of holding back.”
“Well, if you don’t, I’ll end up pregnant whether you like it or not.”
We shared a long, passionate kiss. The embers from the earlier flames warmed and sparked within me.
“You are a persuasive little thing,” he breathed before he kissed me again.
“I’m not trying to persuade you, Chevalier.”
And then, as often happened, Evelyn Rose interrupted with her crying again.
“My turn.” I gave Chevalier a peck on the lips and hurried to the cradle. “Shh, little one, everything will be okay. Do you want me to sing you a song?”
Mother’s lullaby did the trick, as usual. Evelyn Rose settled down and closed her blue eyes, and when I returned to bed, Chevalier appeared to be sleeping, too. I brushed his blonde hair out of his face and kissed his cheek.
“Goodnight, Chevalier.”
I cuddled up to him, and he put his arm around me and hugged me close. Not quite asleep yet.
“I’ll think about it,” he mumbled.
“You already said that, Chevalier.”
His blue eyes opened and met mine. “I’ll think about going to church with you, Ivetta.”
I stared at him in surprise. I hadn’t expected him to even bring the subject up again, and even though it wasn’t a definite answer, my heart swelled with happiness just the same. Simple consideration on his part was already an answer to prayer.
He kissed my smiling lips again. “It doesn’t take much to make you happy, does it?”
“Not at all.” I laid my head on his chest and sighed. “We’ve come a long way, Chevalier, haven’t we? From the day we first met. Belle says it’s like a fairy tale, and sometimes, it really seems like it.”
“We need to get some sleep before the baby wakes us again.”
“Just one more thing.” I pulled back to look into those soft, sleepy blue eyes. “Promise me… promise me we’ll keep writing the story together? For the rest of our lives?”
His hand found mine, and he touched my wedding ring. “You already have my promise, little dove.”
I kissed him and laid my head back on his chest. “I know, but sometimes I just like to hear it again.”
His fingers intertwined with mine. “I promise, Ivetta. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Chevalier.”
His heart beat a steady rhythm in my ear, and his breathing slowed as he drifted off to sleep. I closed my eyes and sighed, content to join him in slumber, knowing when morning came, we would pick up the quill and continue writing our story. It had really just begun, after all. We would write it together, every day, every month, every year, for the rest of our lives.21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqby6HYrDt3
