to swaddle her instead.
“We aren’t far,” David said softly. “How can I help?”
“We need to get them into the cart—together.” He held their daughter toward Emmaline. “Ready?”
She nodded and took the babe, her lips curling into a smile. “She’s so beautiful.”
“Just like her mother. I’m going to lift you both into the cart.” Lionel looked to David. “Can you arrange a place for her on the floor, preferably with blankets?”
“We’ll do our best.” David clapped a hand on Lionel’s shoulder before returning to the cart.
“I’ll stand beside you and make sure you’re secure,” Fanny said before glancing at Lionel in question.
Lionel leaned forward and tucked a blonde curl behind his wife’s ear before kissing her cheek. “Hold on to our daughter. I’ve got you. Or I will.” He flashed her a smile of encouragement then got to his feet before squatting beside her.
It was awkward as hell, but he managed to lift them from the ground while Emmaline cradled the babe. He quickly carried them to the cart where David had arranged a sort of nest of blankets. David helped settle them into the vehicle.
Benedict, their golden-haired son, immediately sat next to Emmaline, his worried gaze taking in his mother and then his baby sister. “Are you all right, Mama?”
“I’m wonderful, my darling. Come and meet your new sister.”
Another wave of emotion cascaded over Lionel as he climbed into the cart. He looked back to the groom who’d held Emmaline’s hand. “Thank you. We’ll send help for the repair as soon as we get back.”
The groom waved, and once David and Fanny were resettled in the cart, they took off toward the house. Lionel situated himself behind Emmaline once more so she could rest against him. She held their daughter, whose face was just barely visible amidst Lionel’s coat, and Benedict sat close next to them.
“Aren’t you cold?” Emmaline asked Lionel.
“I am completely unaware of the temperature at the moment.” In fact, he had been overheated.
“What’s her name?” Benedict asked.
“She doesn’t have one yet,” Lionel said. “Do you have a suggestion?”
“Rose,” Gray offered. “They smell nice.”
“Not Caroline,” Benedict said. “We already have one of those.”
Lionel kept from laughing. “Yes, we do. That would be very confusing to have two.”
“Like there are two Grahams,” Gray said.
“But you are Gray, not Graham,” Lionel reasoned. “Perhaps we could call the baby Caro to differentiate.”
Emmaline touched her daughter’s nose. “Or we could call her Natalie since it’s Christmas Eve.”
“Perfect,” Lionel said, smiling.
And then Natalie decided she’d had enough of looking serene and began to squall.
Later that evening, Emmaline reclined on a chaise in the drawing room next to the fire, blazing with the Yule log, her newborn daughter asleep in her arms. This was not how she’d envisioned her Christmas Eve, and yet it was the best one she could remember.
“Only the Duchess of Danger would have a baby outside,” West said, smiling, as he went about the room refilling drinks.
Fanny held up her empty glass for sherry. “I’d argue the Duchess of Daring would be more suited to such a thing. Or maybe the Duchess of Defiance.”
“Oh, Lucy would absolutely give birth outside. In a tree perhaps,” Ivy said of their friend, the Countess of Dartford, who was also known as the Duchess of Daring. It was from the silly nicknames Ivy and Lucy and their other friend Aquilla had started several years ago. They’d assigned faux dukedoms to men they dubbed the “untouchables.” Lucy’s husband was the “Duke of Daring,” owing to his risky pursuits such as racing and riding in balloons. Of all the wives of the “dukes,” Lucy had publicly adopted her husband’s nickname—because she’d also adopted his thrill-seeking behavior. She was now as accomplished a racer as her husband.
Everyone laughed as Emmaline contemplated her husband—the Duke of Danger. Because of his past as a serial duelist. Thankfully, that was the past, for he hadn’t dueled in years. She briefly thought of her former husband, who Lionel had killed in a duel that her husband had insisted on having. Lionel still harbored guilt about it and always would. They both did because without that duel, they wouldn’t have married and fallen in love.
Life could be especially strange. Natalie snuffled in her lap. And wonderful.
Lionel came back to the chair he’d recently vacated to refill Emmaline’s wassail. Sitting down beside her, he offered the cup, then took it back after she’d taken a sip.
“Thank you for taking such good care of me. Of us.”
His blond brows twitched as he gave her