Taming the Rakes

20

It had been nearly five months since Lea and Theo had married, and they were settling into their married life quite well; contractually, Theo needed to see his mistress at least once a week, which Lea had no issue with. Generally, on this day, Lea would make herself scarce at the house, and she would return to an even more attentive and loving Theo; he was quite attached to Lea and tried to make her feel special and loved at all times. Theo had shocked himself with this, as he had initially only went to the Unification Festival to please his parents. It was now the end of the first month of winter, and the Winter Solstice Celebration had just passed; Ashborne had done their town proud, providing a meal and gifts to the poorer members of their town. Theo had hunted all of the meat they had fed the people, and the produce had all been grown by Ashborne House, as was tradition. Lea had helped serve the food, and Theo had played Lord Solstice, handing out gifts to all of the children who squealed with glee and jumped all over him. It had made Lea’s heart happy to see her husband laugh and interact with the children; she could not wait to be a mother.

            One cold morning, towards the end of the year, Lea woke up to find she was alone in bed; Theo had probably gone hunting early to make sure he did not miss the last run of deer through Ashborne. Lea felt groggy that morning, almost as though she was coming down with something; quickly, she rang the bell for Rosemary to come, and she pulled the blanket up over her eyes, as the sun coming into her room was giving her a headache. When Rosemary entered, Lea groaned. “Would you please close the curtains, Rosemary? The light is aggravating my eyes. That and my stomach feels like it is doing summersaults.”

            Rosemary chuckled, closing the curtains as she had been asked. “Well, m’lady, it really isn’t any surprise. All that love making was bound to catch up to the two of you eventually.” Lea peaked one eye out from under the blanket, her face confused and her eye squinted. “Lord, Lady Leanora haven’t you expected this? You are nine weeks past your bleeding day! I cannot believe it took this long for you to get symptoms.”

            Lea gasped, jumping out of bed, and running to the bathroom. She squealed in delight and ran back out just as quickly. “Are you sure it has been nine weeks, Rosemary?”

            “Nine weeks and three days, Lady Leanora,” Rosemary nodded, counting on her fingers. “You know Lady Aramoor paid me to keep track of all of that, make sure she would know when she would have her first grandchild? I had to keep track, I just thought you would notice sooner, Lady Leanora.” Rosemary laughed, shaking her head in disbelief. “With how smart you are, I thought you would be able to figure that out by yourself!” Rosemary teased as she helped Lea into her house dress, which she would be wearing much more of unless they absolutely had to leave for some reason. “We’re going to have to be careful here soon, Lady Leanora. You won’t be able to wear a corset for much longer without risking harm coming to the child or you,” Rosemary smiled softly. “I will let Mrs. Jenkins know that she should be on the look out for a nursemaid for you…Everyone will be so excited to have another baby in the house, it’s been far too long doting on Lady Lucile, you know.” Lea laughed and shook her head in agreement.

            Rosemary returned to her work downstairs while Lea sat quietly in her office with the curtains drawn and a few candles lit as she worked on some of her letters to send out to married friends and such. She sent out a few gifts that had not quite gotten done yet, and looked at the clock when it chimed later than she expected Theo home from hunting. Worried, she rand the bell for Mrs. Jenkins. “Mrs. Jenkins, would you please have Mr. Goldsberry take a look and see if Lord Ashborne is heading back this way? He went out hunting early this morning and he is usually home by now.”

            Mrs. Jenkins nodded sympathetically, seeing the worry in her lady’s eyes, and hurried downstairs. Within an hour,  the whole household was out looking for Lord Ashborne; they had the stable staff out on the horses, riding the game trails. Lady Leanora was so nervous she was pacing the garden, Rosemary close by, trying to keep her calm. “What if Jacobi spooked and threw him? Or what if his boy missed a shot and hurt Theo or Jacobi? Oh, Holy Ones, Gods above, what if he was seriously hurt?” Lea was nearly hysterical, tears pouring down her face. “I cannot do any of this without him, Rosemary…not anymore. I could do it before him but now…now I need him,” The maid held her lady close as she sobbed, her body shaking with fear.

            “Lady Leanora, you are freezing cold and terrified, you need to go back inside and lay down. For goodness sake, m’lady, think of the baby!” Rosemary tried to calm her down, holding her tightly as she shivered and cried. Lady Leanora refused, standing in the freshly falling snow, desperately looking for her beloved husband. What felt like an eternity later, but was in reality only moments, those who had stayed back at the house heard the sound of a whistle being blown; they had found Lord Ashborne. Lady Leanora sucked in her breath and held it, her body shaking with fear. Several of the stable boys rode up and one of them called “Someone get a doctor!” before the rest of the household came up after them, pulling Lord Theodore Ashborne behind one of the hoses on a sleigh.

            Lady Leanora let out a frightened shriek as they pulled him up to the house, and several of the men carried him into the tearoom on the main floor. Someone ran for the doctor as Lady Leanora followed them inside, her breath catching in her throat as she cried softly, looking at the pale, cold body of her beloved Theo.