When the Earl Met His Match (Wedded by Scandal #4) - Stacy Reid Page 0,51
the time.”
“It does?”
She nodded and tried to sign along the words even as she spoke them, a method they used to ensure the words and signs matched. “The first time it happened, I was so scared I burst into tears. It was Sarah who assured me it was normal, and I am not at death’s door. And then Dr. Edwards informed me that it is quite the norm and my agitation over the matter was needless.”
He lowered his gaze to her belly, a feeling of alarm tripping through him when it seemed as if her dress itself moved. He arched a brow, amazed, when her belly undulated for several moments. “What do you think it is doing?”
“Dancing, maybe?”
He sent her a scowl, and she smiled, the loveliness of it rendering his mouth dry.
“Would you…would you like to feel?” she asked with such shyness he could only stare at her, just stare. Then he nodded.
Her throat worked on a swallow, then she took one of his hands in hers and rested it atop her high belly. The flesh underneath his palm shifted and rippled, and a sense of awe filled his heart.
“After I stopped being frightened by it, I think that look on your face is exactly how I felt. I… Sometimes I cannot believe there is a baby inside me. A life that is growing, that is dependent on my wisdom and love to grow and survive,” she said softly, her eyes filled with a curious deep longing.
He caught a flash of awareness of her responsibility, that similar sense of awe, and a good deal of fright. Suddenly he ached for her. Since her pregnancy she had been alone, ignorant of what to expect, and without the support most ladies received from family and friends when they went into confinement. Yet she hadn’t withered under the stress of it but had held steady. Admiration swelled inside Hugh.
He hadn’t really been there, despite telling her this child was also his. He didn’t ask after it, for well, it was not here yet, and he hadn’t really dwelled on what would be required of him when the child was born.
They would have nursemaids, nannies, and tutors. What role would he really be playing? He recalled then how often her maidservant would rush to the lady to assist her from a chair or to reach a book for her. And he also knew Sarah had been sleeping in her chamber on a pallet, and sometimes he would hear her maidservant’s low and soothing whispers that all would be well with the child, just wait and see.
Hugh looked down at his palm on her belly. He was needed even at this stage—to comfort her whenever she seemed uncertain, to feel the child when it moved, to speak about her fear of the upcoming birthing if there was any. The idea shook him, and he frowned at the strangeness of the emotions that filled him. If he did not know better, Hugh would say he was anxious.
And what do you feel, my lady?
She dipped her head closer to his. “You are staring, my lord.” Without waiting for his reply, she whispered, “Do you wish to know why I suspect her to be dancing?”
He didn’t question how she knew the sex of the baby, simply nodded.
She started to sing, a bawdy tune that would have mortified the sensibilities of any young lady. Hugh grinned, and to his surprise, the movements under his palm became even more erratic. She was corrupting the child, and he loved it. Phoebe changed from the lively song to a soft sweet melody, and the baby quieted, the ripples dying until they were nonexistent.
“Isn’t that simply fascinating?” she whispered. “She responds to my voice. I could hardly credit it the first time I realized.”
He nodded, and she fairly glowed her pleasure.
“Do you believe the baby to be a girl?”
“I fervently hope so. You…you deserve to have an heir of your own bloodline.”
“Boy or girl, I would love them as my own.” His heart pounded, and he wondered about this love he spoke of. What would it feel like? The same protective, warm feeling he felt all his life for his siblings?
She leaned forward. “Before…before coming here, I had little opportunity to think about the fact I was with child. It seems odd considering it was that truth that upended my life. I was so scared of what might happen to me…to my baby that I never really dwelled on the fact I