Honor Reclaimed (All About Honor) (14 page)

“Well my friend, you might be
surprised,” John answered.

“Now tell me about the third
baby.
 
Where does it come in?
 
Is it also Eirian’s?”
 
That would explain why she had such an
easy time with this delivery, especially since it was twins.
 
He just could not imagine John taking
his wife’s baby sister as his mistress.
 
Drew thought that was stooping pretty low, even he would not do that.

John took a moment to weigh his
options. He really did not want to tell Drew what he had done, but not to tell
would caste a bad light on Eirian who was blameless.
 
“What I am about to tell you must never be repeated if you
wish to maintain our friendship.
 
Is that understood?”

“Of course, I will swear to it if
you like.” Andrew could tell that John was serious.

“That will not be necessary.
 
Your word is good enough for me.”
 
John said

“You have that.” Andrew assured him.

“The baby, John Jr., was
Johane’s.
 
He was the one she died
giving birth too.” John paused trying to find the right words to finish.

“That’s your big secret?
 
No wait, was Eirian your mistress then,
before Johane died?” This was getting complicated.

“Never!
 
She was an innocent young girl and I raped her.”
 
There, he had said it.
 
He had hoped that he would feel better
getting it off his chest, but he really did not.

“I thought you were being
serious.
 
You had me eating out of
your hand.”
 
Drew slapped John on
the back.

“Drew, I am serious.
 
I did rape her and the twins are a
product of that rape.” John said solemnly.

“You are serious.
 
What happened?
 
I know there has to be more to it than
that.”
 
There was no way he could
believe this man was capable of rape.

“I had been drinking heavily for
three days after Johane died.
 
I
was in a drunken haze when Eirian arrived un-chaperoned at the Priory.
 
In my confusion, I convinced myself
that Johane had returned to me. I was so glad that she had returned to me that
I ignored Eirian when she begged me to stop.
 
It was not until afterwards that Eirian’s tears finally got
through to me. The proof of her innocence was obvious.
 
I had no choice.
  
I had to marry her.
 
As it turned out it was a good thing I
did because the morning after the wedding she woke up with morning sickness.”
 
John was ashamed to be telling his
friend the sordid details of his marriage.

“Unbelievable! Tell me, do you love
her?”
 
This serious compassionate
side of Drew was one John had rarely seen.

“I have always loved her, since she
was a little child.
 
Was I in love
with her? No.
 
More than that, I
was angry and resentful.
 
She was
the cause of my being trapped in a marriage that I was not ready for.
 
I needed time to morn my wife.
 
I think you know how much I did love
Johane.
 
I was not ready to face life
without her.
 
I sure as hell was
not ready to begin a new marriage, but I had very little options under the
circumstances.
 
I felt like I was
being disrespectful to Johane and making a mockery of everything we had meant
to each other.
 
I made Eirian’s life
miserable for about six months, punishing her for my mistakes until I finally
realized how blessed I was to have had two such wonderful and loving women in
my life.
 
I have discovered that I
love her dearly, and I am madly in love with her.”
 
John suddenly did feel better now that he had verbalized his
feelings for Eirian.

“Well you are a lucky man, and I am
glad you finally know it.
 
I would
be happy to find one such woman in this lifetime.
 
If I did, I would gladly resign from the scoundrel’s club and
join the ranks of the solid married man.”

Late the next morning Eirian heard a
light tap at her door.
 
She was
resting in bed after finishing nursing little Johane.
 
It was not yet time to nurse the baby boy who that had yet
to be named.
 
“Enter please,” she
called out.
 
She was surprised to
see Andrew enter the room.
 
She was
not sure that it was entirely appropriate for him to enter the room, especially
since John had left about an hour ago to go to the office.

“How’s my patient this morning?
 
Madame, I continue to be impressed with
your courage.
 
I have never known a
woman to be in labor all day, entertain guests at dinner and then deliver twins
within the hour.
 
There are just
some women who are designed to bear children; you certainly appear to be one of
them.
 
I would like to check you,
if you don’t mind.
 
Is Joan
around?” Drew asked.

“She will be right back.
 
She just left to take little Johane
back to the nursery.
 
My son should
not be ready quite yet for his feedings so we have a few minutes I believe.”
 
As thankful as she had been for his
assistance in the delivery of the twins, Eirian still was not comfortable with
him examining her in such a personal way.

“Madame, do you mean to tell me that
you plan to nurse the babies yourself?
 
I know that Johane took the task on herself, but that was just one babe
at a time.
 
You are amazing.
 
It will be good for you.
 
Do not misunderstand me, you will
return to your normal figure much more quickly.
 
The babies will be much healthier as well, but most women of
your class would never consider such a thing.
 
It will virtually put an end to your social life for a
while.
 
Even shopping will be a
challenge.
 
Are you prepared to
make those kinds of sacrifices, because if you are not it would be better to
not get your milk established than to try to dry it up afterwards, especially
with twins.”
 
Drew explained.

“I have never considered doing
anything else.
 
These are my
babies, and I will be responsible for their nourishment as long as I can.
 
I do not care about my social life as
you put it.
 
I have never been that
inclined to care about high society.
 
I am a homebody and enjoy my family above all else,” Eirian assured him.

“Well then, you are
commendable.
 
I wish there were
more ladies out there like you.
 
Maybe I will keep trying to find one for myself after all. Ah, there is
Joan now. Joan will you assist me please?”
 
Drew gave Eirian a quick check and pronounced her to be
progressing very well.
 
“I will let
you get some rest now before your son requires your attention.”
 
Drew gave her a quick bow and left her
to rest.

Two hours later, after leaving
Eirian to rest, he could not get her off his mind.
 
He was about fifteen years old the last time he had a crush
on a girl.
 
He hated to think that
he was in love with his best friend’s wife, but he could not help it.
 
It was like love at first site when he
was reintroduced to her in their parlor last night.
 
It was not just that she was beautiful; it was her sense of
humor born of her innate intelligence, her courage, and her strength of
character. She reminded him a great deal of Elle.
 
She was not self-absorbed as were most of the young ladies
of his acquaintance.
 
She cared
more for the needs of her family than her own pleasures.
 
He did not know a single maiden who
would willing give up her youth to raise the children of her sister unless
there was great wealth, prestige or a title involved.
 
His only regret was that he returned a year too late. He
would just have to worship her from afar.
 
He may be a man about town, but he was not a poacher and did not
seriously pursue married ladies.
 
He did have his limits.

John could not wait to get home to
check on Eirian and to see the babies.
 
He left the office at midday telling his uncle that they would have to
do without him for the rest of the day.
 
Once again, Uncle William congratulated him on the healthy births.

John stopped at the jeweler’s and
selected a beautiful
parue
of emeralds and diamonds,
which included a necklace, earrings, bracelet and a ring.
 
He chose it because it reminded him of
Eirian’s eyes.
 
He had them placed
in a velvet case for presentation.
 
He could not wait to get home to see her reaction.
 

Once home he hurried up the stair
two at a time. He did not even stop to check on his guest before he went to Eirian’s
chambers.
 
Whistling happily, he
opened the door only to find Andrew and Eirian laughing and engaged in an
animated conversation.
 
The way
Andrew leaned in towards Eirian and the slight blush on Eirian face made John
stop in his tracks.
 
He did not like
to think that he was typically of a jealous nature, but there was a tension in
the air that made him very uncomfortable.
 
He trusted both his wife and his friend, but he was still uncomfortable
with the situation.

He took a deep breath and in a voice
just a bit too loud said, “Good evening, what have we here?
 
Is Andrew trying to entice you away
from me?”
 
John could not help but
notice that Andrew’s face became slightly flushed.

Andrew was saved from responding
himself when Eirian said, “Oh my love, I am so glad you are home early.
 
Come see how much our children have
grown since last night, but first your wife needs a kiss.”

Eirian’s response was so natural and
composed that John knew she had nothing to hide.
 
He had known Drew long enough to know that something was
wrong there.
 
He did not like to
think that he would have to watch his best friend so that he did not try to
seduce his wife.
 
He wished he had
not insisted that Drew stay with him while he was in London.

John touched the box he had hidden under
the cape draped over his arm.
 
He
would hold it for later as he wanted to give it to Eirian in private.
 
He laid his cape down on the secretary
and pulled the chair up next to Eirian bed.
 
Before he sat down, he leaned over and kissed Eirian
tenderly and with more passion than he had ever kissed her when not in
private.
 
He felt the need to
remind Drew that she was his wife and not up for grabs.
 
Eirian was a bit surprised by the
display but thought maybe he was still on an emotional high from the birth of
the babies.

John looked down on his sleeping
babies and was once again overwhelmed with the idea of twins. A son and a
daughter, Eirian had outdone herself this time.
 
He knew he needed to let their families know the good news,
but he would put it off as long as possible to avoid the speculation that he
knew was human nature.
 
The fact
that they were twins helped because everyone knew that twins often came
early.
 
These obviously were not
premature as they were full sized, but it did sound better.

Drew visited with John for a few
minutes, and then excused himself to allow them to have some privacy.
 
He did mention to John that he would
like to speak to him later.

“Darling, I thought about you all
morning until I just could not stand it and had to return to see you and tell
you once again how proud I am of you and how happy I am.
 
I stopped and picked up something to
try to show my appreciation.”
 
He
walked across the room to retrieve the jewel case from his cape. Returning to
the bedside, he kissed her again on the forehead and placed the case in her
lap.

Eirian looked down at the velvet
case and tears started to escape down her cheeks.
 
“You did not have to reward me, but I love you that much
more for it,” she manage to say through the tears in her throat.

“Aren’t you going to open it?” he
asked with a smile. She was so special.
 
Most of the women he knew would have gone straight for the box, and
would have been offended if it were not costly enough.

“Oh my, oh my.
 
John these are beautiful. I am thrilled,
but you should not have been so extravagant?” Eirian was still unsure about
their financial situation.
 
He and
Johane had always kept at low profile and stayed close to home not
participating in high society.
 
She
did not know if it was by necessity or by design.