“I’m going to be a grandmother! My darling girl, you’ve done so well!”
“I knew it! Of course! No wonder she’s been eating nothing but strawberries all day long!”
The in-laws had come crashing through the door and were exclaiming in continuous waves, taking hold of Ivelina’s hands and pulling her into their arms before she’d had time to process anything. Ivelina, now wrapped in the Dowager Duchess’s embrace, could only sit there with rigid posture and rapidly blinking eyes.
The physician, moved beyond all composure, removed his monocle and pressed it against his damp eyes.
“‘Sniff’… I must admit—after all this time—I had been quietly hoping for this day…”
“Congratulations, my lady! Could there possibly be more joyous news in all the world?”
“Congratulations, my lady. You’ll soon be holding a beautiful little one.”
“I’m a grandmother! Oh my goodness!”
“I’m going to be a grandfather! Ha ha ha!”
The former Duke and Duchess—who had been waiting for a grandchild with considerable longing—were in a state of absolute celebration.
“This is no time to be sitting still! Darling, we must start buying everything the baby could need—this instant! We’ll scour the entire duchy, nothing but the finest—”
“My dear! What if we throw a celebration for our daughter-in-law’s pregnancy this very weekend? The grandest, most magnificent party ever held—”
The chorus of congratulations cascaded one after another, until Ivelina pushed herself upright against her pillow, hugging it to her chest.
“I—I’m pregnant? Is that really true, Kael?”
Kael pressed a long, tender kiss to her forehead.
“Yes. That’s what they say. It seems the moon heard your wish.”
“Pardon? What—what did you just say? I didn’t quite catch it!”
The noise around her swallowed his words entirely. After a moment of bewilderment, Ivelina reached up and quietly pinched her own cheek. A soft noise escaped her. Then she broke into an expression of pure, incandescent happiness.
“‘Ow’! That hurt! So it’s not a dream! I’m actually, truly pregnant!”
Kael looked down at his wife and laughed—the quiet, unguarded kind that escaped him despite himself. He rarely wore an open smile, but in the face of a woman this impossibly dear to him, holding it back was simply beyond his ability.
“Is there anything you’d like to eat?”
“If it’s a girl, I want her to look just like you! And if it’s a boy, I want him to look just like you too—! Oh, they’d be so unbearably sweet—”
Ivelina, radiant with happiness, had already stopped listening. She was too busy sketching the face of a small, dark-haired child in her imagination—a face that looked exactly like Kael’s.
* * *
Eight weeks.
Two weeks after the announcement of the pregnancy, her parents arrived at the Hardeion manor.
“Good heavens! Mama! What is all of ‘this’?”
“What do you mean, what is it? These are things for our grandchild.”
The carriage was packed to bursting. I stared at the mountain of gift boxes in absolute astonishment.
“We don’t even know the baby’s sex yet—why are there already clothes and toys?”
“Don’t worry about that. I bought for both boys and girls.”
“That’s not the point! This is wasteful!”
“Ivelina. When it comes to a child, being frugal just means regret later. Only the best.”
“But—but ‘Mother-in-law’ has already bought a mountain of things! More than enough—!”
Katherine had gone out shopping the same day the pregnancy was confirmed and returned with enough to fill a storage room—cleaning out nearly every infant goods shop in the duchy. In both sexes, naturally, since the baby’s sex was unknown. And this very morning she had left early again to go purchase newly arrived stock.
“It’s not enough. This is my first grandchild and I will do everything in my power for them. Do not stand between me and my love for this child.”
“You don’t have to express love through extravagance! Do you have any idea how much all of this must have cost—”
“Quite a lot. I completely exhausted my personal household allowance. Your father even emptied his emergency savings.”
“Why would you—wait. ‘Papa’? His emergency savings?”
I turned to look at my father, who was standing slightly behind my mother like a shadow.
‘Papa has never in his life been this profligate.’
“‘Ahem!’ Obviously! This is for our beautiful, darling, wonderful grandchild.”
“…”
“Jane and I went through the entire duchy for the finest available goods. There’s a new set of illustrated fairy tales that’s apparently extremely popular—bought those immediately.”
“…’Ha.'”
“And encyclopedias, naturally—every variety. And a satchel for academy in every color—”
“Wait—wait, wait. The baby hasn’t been born yet! A school satchel? The academy is ‘ten years away’—”
“The satchel was Jacqueline’s purchase.”
“‘What?'”
“I suggested it might be slightly premature. She insisted. She spent her entire monthly allowance on it.”
I turned to find Jacqueline lurking to one side of the carriage, trying very hard to be invisible.
“Your niece or nephew won’t be attending academy for another decade!”
“…Well. There’s nothing wrong with buying ahead.”
Jacqueline scratched the back of her head. Her cheeks, entirely out of character, had gone bright red.
“I simply cannot with any of you! Money doesn’t grow on trees, and you’ve already spent all of this—”
“Enough of that. Come inside, dear. I expect our handsome son-in-law is waiting for us?”
* * *
Laughter rose and fell around the sitting room.
Both sets of parents were gathered with Ivelina and Kael, and the room was lively with warmth.
“Can you imagine—the baby coming along on the very honeymoon trip? How terribly romantic. This will clearly be a remarkable child. Don’t you think so?”
“Absolutely! Our daughter-in-law has truly accomplished something extraordinary. You know, I keep thinking we really ought to throw a proper celebration—even now, couldn’t we arrange something this week—ha ha ha!”
“You never learn, do you? Didn’t you hear what the physician said? Complete rest until she’s past the early stage. She’s always been delicate—we absolutely cannot let her overdo it.”
“Ah—right, of course. Well. Tomorrow then I must go personally and source the best possible ingredients for her restorative meals. Shall we go together? And since you’ve made the journey all this way—why not stay for a few weeks?”
“Splendid idea. Most welcome.”
My father gave his father-in-law a decisive thumbs-up.
“Better than that—why not stay until the birth? Karson, the east wing has plenty of empty rooms.”
“Oh, that’s right! Wonderful! Do say you’ll stay—what do you think?”
“Ha ha! Yes, yes, gladly!”
I sat listening to the warm, happy noise of it all, and let my head fall gently against my husband’s shoulder. By early afternoon, the tiredness always came back.
I covered a yawn with my hand. Kael leaned down and murmured close to my ear.
“Tired?”
“N—not in the least. Not remotely tired.”
He stroked my hair with a soft hand, and announced to the room:
“My wife appears to be tired. We’ll excuse ourselves for a little while.”
“What! Kael, I’m not tired at all! I’d like to stay—”
“Goodness, is it already this late? Time for our daughter-in-law’s afternoon nap! Get her to sleep properly now!”
“Put the girl to bed at once!”
For every word I managed, two or three came back. I couldn’t find space to get a word in edgewise.
I was bundled into my husband’s arms and carried out before I’d properly understood what was happening.
I slapped at his chest and kicked feebly.
“I don’t want to go! I don’t want to go to the bedroom!”
But I went anyway.
* * *
“‘Hh’—please, stop—stop—”
There was, in fact, a secret to my afternoon nap time.
Of the time allotted, perhaps an hour was actual sleep. The remaining hours were occupied by my husband—pressing kisses to every surface of my body.
This arrangement had originated from the physician’s recommendation that intimate relations be avoided in early pregnancy. It was my husband’s solution.
‘Chu. Chup.’
A warm, full mouth moving against my chest, drawing in slow, deliberate pulls and releasing with a soft, wet sound.
“‘Hh’—Kael. That’s enough… you’ve been doing this for an hour already… ‘mm’—”
