Chapter 37

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

“ T hat was not what I meant,” Helena muttered under her breath as she led Morgan towards Ambrose’s study.

Morgan gave her a devilish smile. “I am keeping my word. Your treasure shall be mine.”

Helena’s face twisted into an adorable snarl that nearly made Morgan explode with happiness. Technically, he was still keeping his word. He was going to be her first. But they were also going to wait until they were married. They had taken deep, extraordinary steps together in their unorthodox discovery into her desires, but this step could wait just until they joined as man and wife.

“You seemed to have no problem with what I did to you instead,” Morgan teased.

“Yes, well, I thought that was to be my warm-up, not my finale,” she muttered unhappily.

This time Morgan could not hold back his laugh, and the sound boomed from his chest as he stopped in the hallway and pulled her into his arms. Helena smirked at him in defiance before she gave in and sealed her lips with his in a long kiss. With difficulty, Morgan reined in his desire to pull Helena into the nearest empty room, and they withdrew from one another.

“It was still a trick,” Helena sighed, going right back to the argument.

“It was clever word play,” Morgan retorted, continuing their walk again. “It is not my fault you did not notice.”

“You were distracting me,” Helena said with a soft laugh, pushing at his shoulder.

“And I will gladly distract you as many times as you wish until our wedding night,” he replied wickedly, winking.

“I hate you.”

“You love me.”

“Damn you, but I do,” Helena laughed again as they stopped before Ambrose’s door.

“Very well, you silver-tongued devil,” she went on with a sigh. “We shall wait. Now go, talk to Ambrose.”

“We shall call for you when we are done speaking,” Morgan promised her, leaning in to kiss her forehead.

Though all three of them knew exactly why Morgan was there and what he would be asking Ambrose, he wanted a moment alone with his friend. Though he did not realize it until he fell in love with Helena, Morgan believed there were some traditions he wanted to maintain.

Morgan waited until Helena had gone from the hallway before he took a steadying breath and opened the door to Ambrose’s office. As usual, he found his brother behind his desk. Only this time, Ambrose was not buried face first in paperwork or records, but instead was leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head, his feet propped on top of his desk.

“Oh, come now,” Morgan huffed, waving a hand at him. “This look does not become you.”

Ambrose’s brows furrowed for a moment, but then rolled his eyes and shifted out of his relaxed pose and into his usual one.

“No, it does not,” Ambrose muttered. “I was trying to be more…casual.”

Morgan raised an amused brow.

“How is that working for you?”

Ambrose grunted and got up to retrieve his decanter of whiskey.

“Nothing about this is casual,” Ambrose sighed. “I have spent the last two days wrapping my mind around you marrying my sister, and it still does not seem plausible.”

He poured out two glasses and then walked one over to Morgan.

“That is why you are here, is it not?” Ambrose asked warily, raising the glass to his lips.

Morgan tilted his glass towards Ambrose in a toast of agreement, and then took a sip of the liquor.

Ambrose shook his head as he looked at the ceiling and drained his glass.

“We did not mean to, but Helena and I have fallen in love, Ambrose. I want to marry her. Be her husband. Make sure she never has to worry about anyone coming after her again,” Morgan replied.

“You run through women like you run through boxing partners,” Ambrose retorted. “You have “been in love” dozens of times. How do you know this is real?”

“Fair point,” Morgan acknowledged wittily, taking another sip of his whiskey. He was expecting more than a few barbs and harsh questions to be thrown at him today, and he had prepared himself for it.

“Reuben’s spy might have discovered our little tryst, but what he did not discover was how much she and I talked,” Morgan explained. “By our second meeting, I was sharing things with her I have not shared with anyone. Including you, brother.”

Ambrose frowned at him, but did not interrupt.

“In our talks, I discovered many things. Helena is an incredibly kind soul beneath her haughty exterior.”

“I already knew that,” Ambrose snapped.

“But I did not.” Morgan countered. “I learned, though. I learned all about her, and the more I learned, the more I wanted her. We had a deal that was supposed to have a starting and stopping point, but Ambrose, I knew far too quickly that I was going to go through torture when we stopped. And I did, and you saw it.”

Ambrose let out a long breath through his nostrils.

“Indeed I did,” he agreed begrudgingly.

“I do not want to be apart from her anymore,” Morgan went on. “What I feel for her, what we feel for each other is real, Ambrose.”

Ambrose sneered as he looked down into his empty glass and went to refill it.

“Very well, let us say you are truly in love. I can accept that. I never thought I would love a woman as I love Barbara, but here we are. But what about Helena’s last engagement? Do you have any idea what rumors we are already dealing with? An engagement announcement is only going to make them more vicious.”

“Helena deserves a long engagement if she wishes,” Morgan replied. “And Helena has never cared about the opinion of the ton, nor have I. But do not ask me. Ask her. I am simply here to ask for your approval to ask for her hand.”

“Rumors will also spread about you,” Ambrose pointed out. “No doubt some are already circulating. You are used to playing the clown and the rake, Morgan, but will you still be comfortable when people treat you differently because of it?”

“Whatever happens, we will deal with it together,” Morgan stated calmly, steepling his fingers. “As a family.”

Ambrose perked his brow and leaned back against his desk.

“As a family?” he asked. “Does that mean you are coming back into our fold?”

“Did I ever truly leave?” Morgan asked, smirking. But when Ambrose did not say anything, he grew serious.

“I never wanted to leave, I just thought it was best for everyone if I did. But I am not going anywhere. You, Ezra, and Duncan are my brothers. Barbara, Alice, and Lydia my sisters. And Helena will be my wife.”

Ambrose looked at Morgan for a long time, the silence filling room like suffocating quicksand as he studied him.

“Very well, then,” Ambrose sighed, a wry smile spreading over his face. “Let us call her in here. It looks like you have a question to ask her.”

“Morgan?” Lydia asked, her eyes wide with shock. “Morgan?”

“Morgan?” Alice echoed.

“How many times are you going to say his name?” Helena laughed, looking at her friends across the table.

“I was as shocked as you two were,” Barbara said alongside Lydia and Alice. “You could have knocked me over with a feather when I found out.”

“How?!” Lydia exclaimed, obviously still having trouble processing the information.

“Oh, that is not really important,” Helena said hastily, which earned her a smirk from Barbara and Teresa. She would one day tell that story to her other two friends, but for now, they seemed to be having enough trouble accepting the identity of her new husband-to-be.

“I cannot believe Ambrose has allowed this,” Alice said in awe.

“He has been over for dinner quite a few times since he asked for Helena’s hand,” Barbara explained on Helena’s behalf — throwing her a lifeline. “It is very clear that he has true feelings for her.”

“And do you love him?” Lydia asked, her brow raised curiously.

“I do,” Helena agreed, laughing.

“Morgan?” Alice said again, and Helena shook her head as her smile began to hurt her face. She knew that her friends would have trouble accepting the news, but their surprise was becoming downright comical.

“I am so happy for you, darling,” Teresa said warmly, reaching for Helena’s hand. “This is such terrific news.”

Helena beamed at her friend and squeezed her hand in return.

“Thank you, Teresa.”

“Darling,” Alice said carefully, a light blush tinging her cheeks, “I do not mean bring up such unsavory topics, but after everything that happened with Luke, are you sure you want to do this?”

Helena fell silent for a moment as the memories of last week flooded into her mind. It was not an uncommon experience for her. It had happened to her many times, at any given moment. She could be having breakfast with Ambrose and Barbara or posing for Morgan, and the memories of Luke’s accident would overwhelm her. At night it was worse.

Even if she managed to escape them while she was drifting off to sleep, they were always waiting for her in her dreams. Except, of course, when she snuck away to sleep in Morgan’s arms.

While he remained steadfast to his idea of marital tradition, they had indeed bent some of the rules. She would still sneak out most nights to be with him. Their dynamic seemed to grow more intense every time, even when he was simply holding her and stroking her hair while she sobbed at the memories.

When she did sleep alone, she would awake many times with a racing heart, gasping for breath, and covered in sweat despite the chilly air. She would then get up, and though she knew it was silly, would check her chambers to be sure they were empty. Sometimes, when she woke up, she would feel that familiar sense of dizziness she had experienced in Ashfield and she would panic, thinking Luke had somehow poisoned her again. It was going to take a long, long time to heal from what had happened.

Especially since the ton wanted to do nothing more than talk about the drama of it all. Which was why, as a family, they had chosen to take a cold journey to the countryside, where they would not only live out the rest of the winter in peace, but where Lydia and Ezra would have their baby.

“I want to be with Morgan,” Helena replied finally with a simple shrug. “I am going to struggle with these memories, whether it is by his side or by myself. I would rather fight those memories while I am in his arms as his wife than I would on my own.”

“Oh, dear,” Alice sighed, turning a serene expression towards her older sister. “She really is in love.”

“It seems so,” Lydia agreed, smiling warmly at Helena as she traced her fingertips over her very large, very pregnant belly. “You know, this idea of you two together is growing on me. I did not want you to leave us. None of us did.”

“That I can agree with,” Alice supplied.

“As can I,” Barbara agreed right after, clapping her hands as if to symbolize the change of subject. “Now, let us move on to the fun part. The planning of the wedding. Have you and Morgan spoken about it?”

Helena beamed, happy that their conversation had finally concluded.

“White and pink,” Helena sighed. “I want everything white and pink. With just a touch of black here and there. The church we visit when we summer here is absolutely gorgeous; white stone and peaked rooftops that look stunning and mysterious when the snow falls. And you must recall the inside. The stained glass windows and the artwork on the ceiling are absolutely precious. We will have the ceremony there, and then have the reception at Morgan’s country house.”

“And on what date will this gorgeous affair take place?” Lydia asked, then let out a small gasp as she jerked in her chair.

“The end of January,” Helena answered, her brows furrowing with worry as she watched Lydia suddenly grow pale.

The others noticed as well, and all four of them rose from their chairs to go to Lydia.

“Darling, what is it?” Alice asked, putting a hand on her sister’s shoulder.

“I think—ohh!” Lydia gasped as she jerked in her chair again, this time so harshly that she rose to her feet. Alice immediately grabbed hold of one of her arms as Helena grabbed the other.

“Is it the baby?” Helena asked, her excitement growing as she looked down at Lydia’s belly.

Lydia nodded, her pale face turning red as a contraction seemed to ripple through her body.

“Oh, my goodness, it is time,” Alice sang, a smile breaming across her face.

“Teresa, find a footman to send a message down to the men. Ezra needs to know,” Barbara insisted.

“Helena, come, we must get her upstairs.”

“I shall go fetch the boys myself,” Helena decided, moving so that Barbara could assist Lydia.

Helena flew towards the doors of the salon and threw them open wide so the others could bring Lydia through. She was smiling widely as she ran to the butler who was stationed by the front door.

“Is all well, Lady Helena?” the servant asked as Helena hurried towards him, her face flushed pink with excitement.

“Everything is perfect,” Helena said in a rush. “Send someone immediately to fetch the midwife. She is currently at the Stanton’s country residence checking in on their new little boy. Bring her here posthaste.”

Joy eclipsed the old man’s worried expression, and he bowed quickly in acknowledgement.

“I will at once, madam,” he replied readily. “Oh, what joyous news! Finally a new baby Fernside child!”

Helena hurried off in the direction of Ezra’s study on the far side of the house. Upon opening the door, she was greeted by a familiar sight that only made her laugh harder. While Ezra and Duncan were leaning against the fireplace — drinks in hand as they smiled — Morgan and Ambrose were wrestling on the floor, with Ambrose holding Morgan in a defensive move.

“Oh, for heaven’s sakes, still?” Helena asked, throwing her hands up in the air. “You are all either in your thirties or nearing it, and you are still playing at this?”

“He must admit that I am the strongest and the oldest,” Ambrose insisted, shrugging nonchalantly from his position.

“Never,” Morgan grunted beneath him.

Shaking her head, Helena smiled as she crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

“Well, I am happy to see that you are all… bonding again,” she giggled. “But I come with important news.”

At once Ambrose got off Morgan and helped him up as Duncan and Ezra dropped their drinks on a nearby table and stood up. Ezra walked to her, his ice blue eyes pinning her with his usual deep stare. Helena had looked into those eyes nearly all her life, and while most had felt fear upon looking at him, she had only felt a rush of sibling love. She drew closer and put her hands on his upper arms.

“Is it time?” Ezra asked steadily.

Helena could feel the soft tremble running through the otherwise stoic beast of a man. He was the toughest of the four of them, or at least he had been until he had fallen in love with Lydia. Now, just like Ambrose and Duncan, he turned into an excited pup every time his wife was mentioned.

“The midwife has been called, and Alice, Barbara and Teresa are helping her up the stairs,” Helena replied, reaching up to give his arms another squeeze.

Excitement filled Ezra’s eyes as his face drained of all color. He suddenly whirled on his feet to face Ambrose and Duncan.

“What do I do?” he asked them quickly, his voice brimming with panic.

“Easy, old boy,” Ambrose laughed, grabbing him by the shoulder as the man stared at him, utterly petrified.

“All will be well,” Duncan assured him next.

Ezra did not wait to hear any more words of encouragement before he bolted from the room, calling Lydia’s name as he made his way to the stairs.

“We had better go with him,” Duncan suggested, looking at Ambrose as he nodded his head towards the door. “That man does not deal with fright very well.”

“Do any of us?” Ambrose chuckled, but he and Duncan were both already heading out the door to catch up with their friend, leaving Helena and Morgan behind.

“So, it is time for a new bundle of joy to join the family, is it?” Morgan asked, walking up to Helena.

She smiled as she lifted her arms, loving the way Morgan’s body swallowed hers in a tight hug.

“It appears so,” Helena replied, then burrowed her nose into Morgan’s chest, inhaling deeply. “Though I fear it was the news of our engagement that shocked her into labor.”

Morgan chuckled as he shook his head. “You know Ezra was worried about that,” he teased. “How did they take it?”

“They were surprised,” Helena admitted, “but as always, they are supportive of my happiness.”

Morgan gave her a genuinely loving look and leaned down to place a warm kiss on her lips.

“Is she frightened?” he asked next, smoothing his hand down her back.

Helena hesitated. Of course Lydia was frightened. After what had happened to her mother, she had feared having children of her own for a time. Ezra had also feared the idea of children after his own upbringing, but — as their relationship deepened — their idea of parenthood had slowly started to shift.

“She will be well,” Helena said definitely. “She and the babe will be well, and we will have another beautiful child in the family.”

“Lydia will make an excellent mother,” Morgan stated, rubbing his chin on top of her head.

“And Ezra will make an exceptional father,” Helena said, then grinned. “Albeit a little overprotective, I would imagine.”

“Yes,” Morgan chuckled, pulling away just enough so that he could look down into her eyes. “I think all of us are going to be over-protective.”

Helena’s brow perked as she looked up at her husband-to-be.

“All of us?” she asked, a slow grin forming.

They had yet to discuss children. At one time, Helena had despised the idea of having children of her own. But now, when she imagined her future with Morgan, she not only saw the two of them, but a family. Is that what he also imagined?

“All of us,” he agreed, moving his hands up to cup her cheeks. “If, of course, that is something you want?”

Helena’s smile grew wider, and she raised up on her toes to kiss his lips. Just as they were about to touch, a piercing wail from above filled the air.

“We had better get upstairs,” Morgan stated, laying a quick kiss on her lips as she stared up at the ceiling.

“Yes, we should,” Helena agreed, the two of them holding hands as they left the office. “Our friends need us.”

Fourteen Hours, Three dozen screams, and one bruised Ezra hand Later.

“Look how gorgeous she is,” Helena gushed, her heart overflowing with love as she held the newborn baby in her arms.

Surrounding her were Barbara, Ambrose, Morgan and Teresa, all of them looking down at the newborn. Lydia, exhausted but smiling from ear to ear, was now reclining in the freshly cleaned bed. Ezra was to her right, nursing the injured hand Lydia had held onto during the birth. He looked happy, relieved and nauseated. Alice and Duncan were to her left, looking Lydia over with both concern and love.

“You did amazingly, sister,” Alice whispered to Lydia, leaning down to kiss her temple.

“Thank God she looks like her mother,” Morgan joked over Helena’s shoulder as he peered down at the child.

“Watch it,” Ezra warned, glaring at Morgan.

“Oh, come now, old boy, you must admit, your wife is far more attractive than you,” Morgan teased back.

Ezra stopped massaging his injured hand, and smirked before he looked down at Lydia with absolute love.

“Well, I cannot argue with that,” he retorted. “She truly is the most beautiful woman in the world, is she not?”

“Stop it,” Lydia whispered in an exhausted voice, but she smiled lovingly at her husband as Ezra took her hand and leaned in to kiss her forehead for the thousandth time.

“She is so tiny,” Teresa breathed, looking over Helena’s shoulder at the baby.

“Fear not, she will grow to be big and strong, I promise you,” Barbara whispered, reaching down to stroke her knuckle gently across the sleeping child’s face.

“She certainly will,” Ezra agreed.

“Bring her here,” Lydia implored, holding her arms out for her daughter.

Helena immediately brought the child over to her mother and placed her gently in her arms.

“Here you go, Miss Francesca Marie Fernside,” Helena sang softly, “Back to your mama where you belong.”

Frannie breathed contentedly through her tiny nostrils and snuggled into Lydia’s bosom as she felt her mother’s touch, all without rousing from her sleep.

“Come, everyone,” Alice urged, rising from the side of Lydia’s bed with a smile. “Let us give them some privacy.”

One by one each family member came to kiss Lydia’s cheek and hug or shake Ezra’s hand, and left the couple to marvel over their new babe.

“What a darling blessing,” Morgan murmured when they were all in the hallway.

He found Helena, seemingly unable to keep his hands off her for too long, and massaged her shoulders as they walked slowly towards the stairs.

“She is perfection,” Alice sighed, leaning into Duncan’s side. “Pure perfection. Come, husband, let us go check on our own bundles of joy.”

“Of course, my love,” Duncan replied, throwing a goodbye nod to Ambrose and Morgan.

“We should also check in on our little one,” Barbara gently urged Ambrose, who had wrapped his arm tightly around her shoulders.

“Indeed,” Ambrose murmured, leaning down to kiss the top of her head, “And then perhaps it is time we start working on another.”

“Ambrose!” Helena scoffed, then laughed.

“And you look down on us for our behavior?” Morgan teased, throwing up his hands in mock astonishment at Ambrose’s rather tawdry words.

“It does not feel good to hear such things about your siblings, does it?” Ambrose shot back, throwing a devilish smile over his shoulder at Morgan.

“Do not be so brash, brother,” Helena teased, shoving Ambrose’s arm.

But she laughed, happy that their family was finally as it should be. It had taken a little time, but Morgan and Ambrose’s relationship was stronger than ever, and though he sometimes muttered complaints, his initial begrudging approval of their impending marriage had become a genuine one.

“You are staying here tonight, are you not?” Ambrose asked Morgan, moving on.

“Of course,” Morgan replied. “I cannot leave now. Ezra is bound to panic at least a dozen times before breakfast.”

Ambrose smirked and nodded.

“No doubt,” he agreed. “I trust you will behave while you share a roof with my sister?”

“Ambrose!” Helena gasped, and even Barbara echoed her surprise.

“Go check on your children, brother,” Morgan chuckled. “Your sister is well in hand.”

“Very well in hand,” Helena agreed mischievously, to which Ambrose groaned and rubbed his eyes.

“Your jokes separately are hard enough to put up with, but now that you have joined forces I fear you have grown much, much worse. I must remember that.”

They all laughed as Barbara patted her husband’s chest and told him to breathe as they veered off down the hallway to Beau’s room.

“Your brother has a point. We truly do work well together, do we not?” Morgan whispered in Helena’s ear.

“Unequivocally,” she replied, stepping before him to stop their walk to their rooms.

“Can you imagine our children?” Morgan chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Sarcasm will be their first language, not English.”

“They will keep their cousins on their toes, to be sure,” Helena laughed softly.

“But first,” Morgan whispered, bringing her fingers to his smiling lips, “We shall be married.”

Helena gave him a bemused look before giving him a rueful grin. He loved teasing her about her maidenhood now, taunting her for being a true bride.

“Thank you so much for the kind reminder,” she replied sweetly, then boldly reached out to cup his bulge.

Morgan let out a surprised wheeze as he backed her into the hallway wall.

“It is always a pleasure to remind you, my little Persephone,” he whispered wickedly, and gave her a passionate kiss.