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Chevalier insisted I stay in our room the rest of that day, and he wouldn’t let me leave the palace for the remainder of our week in Benitoite. I did as he ordered, although I felt fine with the new medicine keeping my nausea at bay. He had already been worried about me before that near-fainting episode. If I could do anything to put his mind at ease, I would do it. Even if that meant letting him put me under house arrest in a foreign country.
There were worse ways to spend a vacation than living in pampered luxury.
And there were unexpected benefits. The doctor had been studying women’s health, preparing for this eventuality, and he’d read some new medical literature that suggested corsets could contribute to problems during pregnancy. So, no more corsets. I couldn’t complain about that.
Then came our return trip to Rhodolite. Chevalier wouldn’t allow anybody else in our carriage, in case I needed to lie down, and he made me sit in his lap to cushion me from any jostling if the carriage hit a rough section in the road. That was embarrassing at first, but it was a rather cozy arrangement after I got used to it. I decided to view it as extra time to cuddle, especially since he also instructed the driver to go slower than usual.
Thus, it took us twice as long to get home, extending our weeklong vacation to nearly a full two weeks, and when we finally arrived, I discovered our room had a brand new balcony. He’d ordered its construction while we were gone.
Then he put me under house arrest again.
The next few months promised to be very, very long.
“Oh, goodie, you’re letting me out for Luke and Arianna’s engagement ball.”
Melanie giggled as she pulled the laces of my dress taut. For the past week, I’d been stuck in my room, resting and recuperating from a trip where all I could do was rest, and I was going stir crazy.
“Not so tight,” Chevalier instructed from his self-imposed supervisory position, leaning against the wall next to the mirror with his arms crossed over his chest and his piercing blue eyes trained eye on me.
“It’s fine, Melanie. Go sit down, Chevalier. Your hovering is making her nervous.”
He frowned, but he moved a few feet away and sat at his writing desk, still staring at me. “I don’t need you fainting again.”
“I didn’t actually faint. And this dress isn’t nearly as tight as the one I wore at Belle’s wedding.”
“Which may have been why you got light-headed.”
“That and skipping breakfast, which I did not do today. Melanie can attest that I cleaned my plate for breakfast and lunch.”
She and I went to the vanity, where I sat down and she reached for my hairbrush and hairpins. “Will you be needing me to bring supper as well?”
“Yes,” Chevalier answered for me.
My heart sank. That meant he wouldn’t let me stay at the ball for long. Although maybe that was just as well, since I wouldn’t be doing any dancing. The prospect of sitting around and watching everybody else have fun didn't thrill me.
I clenched my fingers into my skirt and focused on Melanie as she styled my hair in the mirror. She’d told me before that she practiced on her little sister’s hair because it was the same texture as mine, and she was already as good as Theresa had been.
Well, even if I couldn’t do anything, I would look good.
“Jin and Theresa’s engagement ceremony is tomorrow,” Chevalier said.
“Really?” I met his eyes in the mirror, my gloom vanishing in an instant. “When did this happen?”
The hint of a smile appeared on his lips. “Just before Belle’s wedding.”
Theresa must have been bursting at the seams to tell me. I wondered how he got her to keep quiet about it.
It was hard to be mad at him for all my restrictions when he kept finding ways to surprise me. He wanted me safe, not miserable.
We left our room and walked in comfortable silence for a little while, hand-in-hand, and then he took a turn away from the ballroom.
“Where are we going?”
He gave me a sidelong glance and that hint of a smile again. “Your office.”
I stared up at him. “My… office?”
He didn’t reply, just held that ghost of a smile and let me wonder until he stopped us at what I knew had been a vacant room right next to his office. When he opened the door, I saw that it now held a large, rich oaken desk set in front of the window, which overlooked the lawn between the palace and the church, and it had new built-in bookcases lining one wall. The only other decoration was a circular rug depicting a red rose blossom in the center of the wood floor.
I released his hand and walked over to the desk, running my fingers across the smooth, cool surface. “This… is mine?”
“I don’t intend to keep you in our room until the baby is born, but I won’t have you running around the palace looking for the servants, either. They can come to you now.”
“Did this come from the library?” I asked, looking down at the rug.
“No, but I had it made in the same style as those. You may decorate however you like.”
I spun in a slow circle, taking it all in. “And I’m right next door to you.”
“Naturally, I want to keep a close eye on you.”
He was leaning against the doorway, watching me with a smile. I went to him and gave him a kiss and a hug. “Thank you, Chevalier.”
He returned my kiss and settled his hands on either side of my waist. “We should go. There are many people who have been asking to see you.”
“If I behave, and if there aren’t any problems, is there a chance we can stay later at the ball tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
I gave him another happy kiss. “Maybe the next few months won’t be so bad, after all.”
And they weren’t. It took some time to get used to all my new restrictions, which were imposed by Chevalier but also softened by him. He didn’t want me riding in a carriage because he thought that was too jostling, and horse-back riding by myself was also out of the question; however, he didn’t have a problem with me visiting Rose, and he took me out on Blade from time to time so I could escape the palace walls. I had to admit Blade’s gaits were much smoother than Rose’s, and there was something nice about going back to riding with Chevalier’s arms wrapped around me.
It was a little annoying to have my guards constantly reminding me to sit down and take a break, though. Also bothersome were my meals showing up like clockwork, along with the unspoken expectation that I clean my plate every time. However, the almost daily desserts made by Yves were nothing to complain about, and neither was the constant stream of visitors to my office.
By early fall, I had a new late afternoon routine, beginning with Theresa walking through my door and bringing the latest news.
“Did you hear about Sariel and Sarah?”
“You mean Leon and Sarah?”
She shook her head. “No, they stopped seeing each other a month ago. He’s with Nadia now. But Sariel has a date with Sarah tonight.”
I dropped my quill, splattering ink across my desk. “What?”
“I know!”
I sat back in my chair, dumbfounded. Sarah, the timid baker’s daughter, didn’t fit in my mind with Sariel at all. Nobody really fit in my mind with Sariel. He’d never shown the slightest interest in romantic relationships before, and I wasn’t aware he’d even met Leon’s last lover.
“Anyway, what are you doing about your dress for Arianna’s wedding?”
I set my quill in the inkpot and wiped up the mess on my desk. “The seamstresses are waiting to make my dress until right before her wedding. She’s going with pink and lavender, by the way.” I sighed. “I’m not looking forward to being a pregnant bridesmaid.”
“Oh, you’ll look great. You’re only just starting to show. I bet you’ll be one of those pregnant women who is absolutely adorable, unlike me. I take after my mother, so I already know I’ll look like a beached whale when I’m pregnant.”
I giggled. “You will not.”
“Will, too. But I haven’t quite settled on the colors I want for my wedding yet. I’m leaning toward blue, like a dark navy blue and a soft baby blue.”
“Those would look really nice.”
“Cake is here!” Yves walked through the door with a triple-layer chocolate cake on a platter, which he set on my desk with a flourish.
“Ooh, that looks delicious.” I studied the pattern of raspberries and strawberries garnishing the thick chocolate frosting. “Is that supposed to be a rose in bloom?”
“Of course. Better eat up before—”
“We heard cake was here,” Jin said, sauntering into my office with Leon and Licht in tow.
“It’s for Ivetta,” Yves told them.
“You know I can’t eat all of this. Besides, it’s almost dinnertime. There should be just enough for one slice per person, assuming—”
“Don’t forget us,” Luke said, smiling his wide, boyish grin as he entered the room. Clavis, Nokto, and Chevalier were right behind him.
Since I usually retired for the evening after dinner now, which I often ate in my room with Chevalier, dessert had become a pre-dinner affair. Everybody settled into their spots: leaning against a wall here, sitting in a chair there, or, in Luke’s case, flopping down on the floor and sitting cross-legged in a corner. Theresa had made her way over to Jin’s lap, the two of them as shameless as ever, and there was already a loud discussion ongoing about Sariel and Sarah.
Chevalier sat on the edge of my desk with his back to his brothers. I met his eyes and felt like my heart would burst out of my chest. The doctor had examined me earlier, and I couldn’t wait to tell Chevalier the news. I just didn’t want to do it in front of everybody else.
“You have good news.”
I nodded and gave him a shy smile. His warm blue eyes and soft smile made my heart flutter.
“What’s the big secret?” Leon called from his corner of the room.
“It’s no secret. I had my weekly check-up today.”
“And?” Theresa prompted me.
“And, so far, so good.” I glanced up at Chevalier again.
“That’s not all.” Nokto gave me a knowing smile. “What aren’t you telling us?”
“You don’t need to know,” Chevalier replied.
“I’ll tell you all tomorrow,” I promised.
The conversation turned toward Luke’s upcoming wedding, leaving Chevalier and me free to finish our cake in peace. As soon as my plate was empty, he stood, offering me his hand.
“Let’s go.”
“What? So soon?” Clavis asked.
“Have a good night!” I told everyone as Chevalier led me out the door.
In the relative privacy of the hallway, he released my hand and slid his arm around my waist. “Well?”
“So impatient. But I guess I can tell you now. You already know the nausea is getting better, and during the exam today, the baby kicked the doctor.”
Chevalier’s blue eyes sparkled. “Is that so?”
“The doctor said that means I’m starting my second trimester, and he’s much less worried about anything going wrong. So you should stop worrying, too.”
“You know I can’t do that, little dove.”
I sighed. “I know. Which is why I’m letting you fuss over me unnecessarily.”
He still had reason to worry. The most dangerous part of the pregnancy was yet to come: labor. But that was months away, and I’d been hoping this news would help him relax a little.
And while I appreciated how much he cared for me, I wanted him to be more excited about the baby. As excited as I was.
He opened the door for me, and when I walked past him, he surprised me by scooping me up. I shrieked and threw my arms around his neck.
“Chevalier, I’m too heavy!”
He carried me to the bed, and I glimpsed the mischief in his eyes just before he pressed me into the blankets and kissed me. “You’ve barely gained any weight, Ivetta,” he breathed before he kissed me again.
I could taste his excitement in his kisses, making my heart swell and my chest feel tight. But was this about me, or about the baby?
“The doctor says I’m gaining appropriately,” I reassured Chevalier between kisses. He started rubbing circles on my stomach, making me giggle. “That tickles. The baby hasn’t kicked since the doctor felt it, so—”
Just then, the baby kicked.
Chevalier’s hand froze. His eyes widened.
“Ivetta.”
I had to laugh at the shocked expression on his face. I combed his blonde bangs back with my fingers. “That’s our baby, Chevalier.”
He caught my hand and brought it to his lips, showering kisses along the inside of my wrist and palm, up and down each finger, making me squirm as he found each ticklish spot. “It’s real, Ivetta.”
“Of course it’s real. It’s—”
He released my hand and caught my chin, leaning in for a hot, needy kiss that turned my legs to jelly. I tangled my hands in his hair as he followed it up with several shorter, no less passionate kisses. This was what I wanted. I wanted him to know it was real, to share in the joy I felt at the new life growing inside me.
He kissed me breathless, and then he lay on the bed beside me, cupping my cheek in his hand and brushing his thumb across it as he gazed into my eyes. We just stared at each other for a while.
“We will need to discuss names.”
I couldn’t stop smiling. It felt like my heart was going to beat right out of my chest. He wanted to discuss names. This was really happening.10Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCsuGaDHqX
