Page 103 of The Moonstone Marquess
“Brioc and Hen told us,” Ella replied.
Phoebe looked around. “When? Just now?”
Imogen nodded.
John took his wife’s hand as her face paled. “It’s all right, Charlotte. Girls, are the ghosts here?”
“They were,” Ella explained. “But they’ve gone back to Moonstone Cottage. They are very happy for Aunt Phoebe and Uncle Cormac.”
“Two boys,” Imogen said.
Phoebe’s eyes rounded in alarm. “But my sister, Hen, has twins. A boy and a girl. How is it possible for me to have twins, too? And two boys?”
Imogen shrugged. “Yes, two boys.”
“It’s those moonstones,” Cormac teased.
Ella scrambled to her feet and gave Phoebe a kiss. “That is from your Aunt Hen.”
Imogen also pattered to Phoebe and gave her a kiss. “This is from me.”
Cormac leaned over and tipped Phoebe’s chin up so that their gazes met. “And this one’s from me,” he said, leaning down to kiss her beautiful lips. “I love you, Phoebe. So very much. I think we had better hire four nannies.”
“Why four?” she asked, unable to suppress a smile.
“We are having two boys, my love.Two.Lord help us if they are anything like me. They will be holy terrors. We may require the services of an entire regiment to contain them.”
Imogen shook her head furiously.
“What is it now, duckling?” Cormac asked.
“Aunt Phoebe is a lioness. She can easily handle two little boys like you.”
Phoebe grinned. “Do you hear that, Cormac?”
He kissed her again. “I surely did. I am not afraid of battle. Nor afraid of ghosts. But I shall always tread carefully around you, Phoebe.”
“No, that is awful. You can never be afraid of me.”
“No, love. Not afraid of you…just of ever losing you.”
Phoebe leaned her head against his shoulder. “You never will. True love is forever. This is what Brioc and my aunt have shown us. This is what we have.”
John smiled over at his wife. “Can Charlotte and I get in on this, too? I love you, Charlotte. You and our girls fill my heart with joy.”
Everyone raised their lemonade glasses in toast and shouted all at once, “Happy summer!”
“The happiest, my love,” Cormac whispered, and kissed Phoebe again.
Ella and Imogen watched them and giggled.
The End
