The Bachelor Earl - Darcy Burke Page 0,56
hope you had an excellent adventure. You gave us a bit of a scare.”
“I’m sorry, Papa. I had to keep an eye on Jasper.” She cast him a somewhat disgruntled look, and Ivy had to stifle a laugh. “He moves rather fast for a toddler.”
“That’s my boy,” Graham said. He looked to West. “We need to get Jasper back. He fell into the stream and is soaking wet.”
“Leah is also a bit damp in the feet,” Ivy said.
West surveyed their daughter. “I can see that.” He turned to Graham. “Yes, you must go at once. I’ll stay and find the others, then we’ll chop down that cursed log.” He gestured toward the tree the boys had agreed upon.
“Why is it cursed, Papa?” Leah asked. “I like it.”
He smiled at her and went to kiss her forehead. “It isn’t, sweetling, especially since you like it. Go on home with your mother, and I’ll be there soon.”
“But then you’ll be alone,” Leah said, frowning.
West shook his head and stroked Leah’s cheek. Watching them together brought another tide of relief and love over Ivy. “I won’t be alone at all,” West said. “I have Harris and the others to keep me company until the cart returns. In the meantime, we have to cut down our log.”
“Can’t Mama stay with you? I promise I’ll go home with Arabella and Graham, and I’ll go straight upstairs for a bath.”
Was she really only five and a half? She sounded so mature, but then that’s what Ivy had come to expect from her darling girl.
Arabella looked a bit restless. “I’ll make sure she does.”
Ivy didn’t want to debate it—not when Arabella needed to get her son home. “All right then. I’ll see you shortly.” She gave Arabella a grateful smile. “Thank you.”
Before the cart left, Harris removed the axe. He turned to West as the vehicle drove away. “Do you wish to do the honors, Your Grace?”
West looked toward the cart. “I probably should. Leah is watching, and I don’t wish to disappoint her.” He took the axe from Harris and went to the tree. The other footmen arrived and were glad to hear the children had been found.
“On second thought, I’m going to let you younger men do the hard work lest I hurt myself.” West handed the axe back to Harris. “Plus, I need to comfort Her Grace now that the crisis has passed.” He winked at Ivy, and the footmen chuckled in response.
Ivy shook her head as her beloved husband came toward her. “You don’t give yourself enough credit. You forget that you chop firewood all the time.”
“How do you know that?”
“As if you aren’t aware that I watch you.” She rolled her eyes then settled them on him with a warm intensity. “How can I not when you remove your shirt?”
“I don’t do that every time.”
“No, and that’s a shame.”
West wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her close to his chest. “You’re all right? About Leah, I mean.”
“Yes, we’ll talk with her about it when we get home. She should have told us she was going after Jasper.”
“Except, if she was merely following him, she may not have realized she needed to say anything.” He rested his forehead against Ivy’s. “Sometimes we forget she’s only five.”
“And a half. But yes, you’re right.” Ivy’s chest constricted for a moment. “I won’t forget that again.” She raised her hands between them and grasped the lapels of his coat. “Arabella said she’s expecting their third child. She asked if it was difficult to manage three. After today, I can unequivocally say, yes.”
“Oh dear, does that mean there won’t be a fourth?”
“It won’t be for our lack of trying.”
West brushed his lips against hers. “No, it won’t. And I look forward to another attempt later.”
Ivy giggled. “Just one?”
His eyes sparked with desire and love. “Oh, now you’re tempting me. But then you always do, my love. Don’t ever stop.”
“Never.” She kissed him, heedless of the footmen and their task, even when they felled the tree.
It was a Yule log hunt she would never forget.
Part Two
Lionel cringed as the cart hit another deep rut in the track on the way back to Stour’s Edge, West’s ancestral pile. Emmaline let out a low moan and squirmed on the seat.
“We’re almost there,” he said encouragingly.
She pushed out a long breath and narrowed her eyes at him. “We aren’t either. I need to get off this bench. Will you help me to the floor of the cart?”
“Anything.” He just