Chapter 51

Downstairs in the drawing room,

the midwife said her farewell to the rest of the family and left

the five of them sitting silently with their individual

thoughts.

"She will need someone to help

her, at least, Edward. Who does she trust to help her with the

baby?"

Edward looked up, suddenly

realising he was not certain who Alessandra even interacted with on

the household staff. But remembering how trustworthy Margaret had

been when he and his father had brought Mrs Howard to the manor,

her name was the first one that entered his mind.

"I think Margaret might be the

person she would prefer, at least initially," he said, standing up.

"I shall locate her and talk to her."

~~~~~

Walking around the rooms in an

attempt to find the right staff member, Edward found himself

cursing the size of the manor. With it being summer, it was even

worse as everything was cleaned and set up for the upcoming hunt

his father had arranged, when a great number of people would be

staying with them.

Finally, he found Margaret in

one of the guest rooms, preparing it for the arrival of a

guest.

"Margaret," he

said.

Margaret looked up,

surprised to see the young master seeking her out. "Yes,

Sir?"

"You are aware that my wife has

safely delivered our child," he started and saw her nod in

acknowledgement. "I would like her to have someone with her to help

as she requires it, and to give her support, particularly when I am

not nearby. It will require some help with my daughter…" he said

tentatively, not even sure if Margaret knew anything about children

or babies.

"Sir, I have nursed

babies and raised children," Margaret said, reassuring him. "I

would be happy to provide help to the young mistress if that is

what you are asking."

"Yes, thank you," Edward

said. "Will you pass this work to someone else, and go to her

now?"

Margaret nodded,

curtseyed, and walked off to find Alessandra, with a smile on her

face as she had come to consider the young mistress a very likeable

and affable young lady who she would take pleasure in

assisting.

Before leaving the room,

Edward took a moment to go to the window of the presently unused

bedroom, and just looked out, enjoying the view. From there, he

could see the hill he and Alessandra had both come to love riding

up to the summit of. He felt himself grow excited at the thought of

things such as horse riding, which she had not been able to enjoy

in recent months.

As his mind

turned back to their

conversation at the waterfall, where she had expressed her desire

to not be with child again in summer, he resolved that he would do

whatever he had to, to make sure that did not happen. But even in

thinking about how to not get her pregnant, he felt his arousal

come on strong, due to his anticipation of their intimacy soon

being able to resume again. Even just thinking about her like that

was enough to create deep feelings of passion for her. He realised

then, standing at the window, how much his body had missed hers

after all.