Page 60 of Promises Made at Midnight
Ulrick stood and began to pace the chamber much as his wife had been doing not long ago. “They will live and perchance even this is more than they deserve. Better for them to continue to remain on this earth in servitude in some distant land so they may contemplate what they have done. In either case, we shall never see them again and I will be glad once they are all gone from our lands.”
“I’m so sorry it has come to this, Ulrick, especially with your mother.” Bridgette rose and went to stand before him. She reached out and took his hand. “I know how hard this must be for you to lose part of your family.”
He bent forward to kiss her lips and he felt most of the tension of the day leave him now that his wife was in his arms. “You are my family now. You, the children, and my brother and sister. ’Tis all I need in life to have you all by my side.”
A strange smile lit his wife’s lips. “This is all you need? Are you sure?”
“Aye,” he whispered before he began running his hands along her body. She suddenly stopped him by grabbing one and placed it on her belly.
“Then be prepared for another addition to the family in or around another six months, my lord,” she said, while her entire visage brightened with her news.
“What?’ he asked in disbelief.
“You’re going to be a father, Ulrick,” she whispered.
“A boy or a girl?”
She laughed and the sound echoed in the chamber. “Of course, silly. I certainly don’t hope we’re having twins, although they would be a double blessing.”
Ulrick’s world began to spin at her news. Several minutes later he awoke, finding himself on the floor, his head in his wife’s lap as she placed a cool cloth upon his brow.
“What happened?” he asked wondering what had struck him down.
“I believe, my dearest love, that my news of your impending fatherhood was a bit too much for my mighty warrior and you passed out cold,” she said lovingly.
“Surely you jest?” he said, aghast at what had befallen him.
“How else do you explain your current position on the floor, my darling?”
He groaned. “Please do not tell Turquine and Taegan that I was so easily taken down. I would never live long enough to hear the end of their jesting.”
“Your secret is safe with me, Ulrick. You are pleased about the baby?”
He began to sit up so he might take in the beauty of his wife. He placed his hand on her stomach again. “Pleased? You have made me a very happy man, wife.”
Bridgette stood, holding out her hand for him to take. She pulled him over to their bed. “Show me,” she whispered, with a husky tone that caused parts of Ulrick to stir to life.
“We will not harm the babe?” he asked, reluctantly.
She unbuckled his belt, letting his sword fall to the floor with a loud clank. She quickly began working on the strings holding his clothing in place. “The baby is very safe, my love, but your wife desires your attention.”
“I am yours to command for always,ma chérie.”
Far into the evening Ulrick did everything in his power to ensure his wife was fully satisfied. She was his heart and had crossed time to be with him. Never had he thought he would find a woman to love like Bridgette. A woman who came from across the stars and decided to stay with a twelfth century knight. His life with Bridgette and his children was indeed blessed.
EPILOGUE
Dunster Castle, Winter
Seven Months Later…
Bridgette entered Ulrick’s solar cuddling her one-month-old baby in her arms. She took in the domestic scene of Eustace sitting at a table while Ulrick leaned over his shoulder as he helped their son with his letters. Eva sat on the floor near the hearth with Seraphina while the two played with cloth dolls. Her daughter’s giggles brought a smile to Bridgette’s face. Her love for their family blossomed like a fresh spring rose as each day moved into the next. A kind of normal routine settled around Ulrick, Bridgette, and the children and she was thankful for the happiness that surrounded them.
A woman rose from her seat and rushed over to Bridgette holding out her hands to take the precious bundle from her arms. “Let me take the baby,” Lady Jade Kincade declared. “It seems like ages since I held a little one.”
Her husband Thomas called out from across the room. “Please indulge my wife, Bridgette, else our trip here from Scotland will be all for naught!”
A rumble of laughter coursed through the room while Bridgette stared at the woman she had met over a year ago in their friend Zoe’s apartment in another place in time. “We’ve certainly come a long way to find our happily-ever-afters,” Bridgette whispered as she placed the baby in Jade’s waiting arms.
