Her Noble Lords (26 page)
Authors: Ashe Barker
I would be mortified were it not for the cramping spasms now engulfing me at regular intervals and which rather focus my thoughts on other matters.
I am bundled into bed, my maids and Lady Cecily working in tandem to loosen my wedding gown and strip it away. Piers hovers at the edges of the room, for once in his life useless, superfluous, and uncertain. His sister suggests he wait down in the hall for news.
He allows himself to be ushered from the room, stopping only to mouth ‘I love you’ from the doorway. I start to respond in similar vein but my gesture is lost in an ear-splitting scream as the next contraction seizes me. The sound turns Piers’ face ashen and that is my last memory of his beloved features before Lady Cecily closes the door firmly against him.
It is up to us women now.
* * *
My baby emerges into a waiting world some sixteen agonising hours later.
“‘Tis a boy!” yells Joan. “A bonnie blond-haired lad, the very image of his father.”
I grope for the baby, only to have Agnes deposit him face down on my chest. I hug him to me, all memories of my recent labours evaporating at the first plaintive wail of my newborn son.
“We shall name him Ralf,” I whisper, more to myself than anyone else. Piers and I have not discussed this but it seems the natural choice. My joy is interrupted by an unexpected cramping pain as another contraction grips me.
“Oh, God,” I moan, “when will it end?”
Agnes peers under the bedclothes then turns to me with a sympathetic grimace. “‘Twill end when this second one is born. Ye’re having twins, my lady.”
Baby Ralf’s brother makes his grand entrance three minutes later. My twins are identical, naturally. I gather the second baby to me and wonder if two Pierses in the family might be too many. I shall ask my husband.
“Ah, they are fine boys both,” exclaims Cecily, “and so like my own dear brothers were as babies. I remember they made as much din, too.”
Both my babies are screeching at the top of their lungs, each seeming to be intent on outdoing the other. I shove one of them, I am not entirely sure which, onto my breast where he gropes for my nipple with unerring instinct. As he starts to suckle I attempt some ineffectual rocking to placate the other. The noise level drops a little but it is already clear to me we shall be requiring a wet nurse.
The door bursts open and Piers hurtles in. He ignores his sister’s attempts to convince him that he might prefer to wait until we are all more presentable, rushing straight across to the bed. He stares in wonder at the two blond heads, then as if by instinct reaches for the one not latched onto my nipple. The baby goes quiet, gazing up into eyes so like his own.
“Two. We have twins.” Piers is not usually one to state the obvious but I suppose he can be forgiven this once.
I smile up at him. “Yes. I thought we would call the eldest Ralf but I was not sure about the other…”
He offers me a perplexed smile. “Yes, of course. Which one is the eldest?”
“I am not honestly certain.” I look to my attendants for help.
“That one, I think.” Cecily points to the one feeding. “You had him in your right arm and—”
“No, it was the other lad,” says Joan. “Definitely. I saw you shift him across, just before you took the second one.”
“But, I held the first one whilst the younger was birthed, then I gave him back and…” Agnes falls silent as we all regard the newborn lads with varying degrees of consternation.
“Now you know how the rest of us always felt,” offers Cecily, “at least those who did not have the measure of you. These two will lead you a merry dance, I imagine.”
Piers refuses to be consigned to the hall again and instead amuses himself by cooing at first one baby then the other as the women scurry around cleaning first me, then the chamber. It is an exasperated new and already doting father who finally orders them to leave him alone with his family. He perches next to me on the bed as we arrange the now sleeping boys between us.
“I intend to petition the king as soon as he returns to England. I will relinquish the earldom in favour of—well, we shall work out which one—and seek guardianship of them both. There will be no problem. As their uncle and now stepfather, my claim will not be contested.”
“You may be their father.”
“I know that. In the end it is of no consequence and far simpler this way. It will be many years before the new earl is old enough to take on his responsibilities so I will continue to run the estate and lands. By the time he is ready to assume control of Egremont I expect I shall be more than happy to hand it over and take my ease with my lady.”
“I doubt I shall have much leisure to look forward to if I am to produce twins every year.”
He pauses, considers this prospect for a few moments. “You are right, of course, though the good Lord may see fit to bless us with girls from time to time. You could dress their hair with ribbons of different colours—at least then we could tell them apart. Should I extend the castle?”
I lay my head on his shoulder, pensive suddenly.
“We will be happy, will we not? Just the two of us?”
He kisses my dishevelled hair. “Just the two of us? Can you not count, my lady?” He pulls me closer into his embrace, his expression more serious now. “A month ago I would have found that a difficult question to answer. Not now. I believe we will be fine, provided you can be content with just one husband. I intend to keep you well occupied if that will help.”
“I believe I could manage, my lord. I would not wish you to share me with another, if that is what you were considering.”
“I have never shared anything of value with any other man but my brother and I do not intend to make an exception with my beloved wife. You are stuck with just me, sweetheart.”
“And you with me. With us.”
“I am glad. And whilst on that subject, which boy shall we name for Ralf? I wonder about Richard for the other, in honour of the king.”
“Richard sounds good. And I believe you are right, one Piers in our household is quite sufficient.”
The End
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You can find author interviews, excerpts of upcoming books, and general thoughts from Ashe Barker via her blog, her Twitter and Facebook pages, and her Goodreads profile, using the following links:
https://twitter.com/ashebarker
