Page 95 of A Rogue to Resist
Katherine took a deep breath, then met his gaze with renewed steadiness. “I believe I am with child, Drake. Doctor Felton confirmed it yesterday when he called to check on Mrs. Collins’s recovery.”
The world seemed to still around Drake as her words registered. A child. Katherine was carrying their child. The heir the entail demanded, yes, but so much more—a living embodiment of their love, a new life they had created together.
“You’re certain?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
Katherine nodded, her eyes never leaving his face as she monitored his reaction. “The doctor believes I’m approximately two months along. The child would arrive in early spring.”
Joy surged through Drake, so powerful it momentarily robbed him of speech. Instead, he gathered Katherine into his arms, holding her with a gentleness that belied the intensity of his emotions.
“A child,” he whispered against her hair. “Our child.”
When he drew back to look at her, Drake was surprised to see uncertainty lingering in Katherine’s expression.
“You’re pleased, then?” she asked, a vulnerability in her voice that he rarely heard nowadays.
“Pleased?” Drake repeated incredulously. “Katherine, I’m elated. Overjoyed. There aren’t words adequate to express what I’m feeling right now.”
The admission brought a smile to her lips, though her eyes still held a shadow of concern. “I was afraid it might be too soon after our wedding. That Society might count the months and draw uncharitable conclusions—”
“I care nothing for the conclusions of Society,” Drake interrupted gently. “Or for any expectations beyond our own happiness. This child is a blessing, Katherine. The most precious gift you could possibly give me.”
The last of her tension seemed to melt away at his words, replaced by a cautious joy that brightened her features.
“Edmund was so certain I couldn’t bear children,” she confessed quietly. “After five years of marriage without a child, he became convinced the failure was mine alone.”
Drake cupped her face in his hands, his touch infinitely tender. “Edmund was wrong about many things, my love. Most especially about you.”
Katherine leaned into his touch, her smile deepening though a hint of trepidation remained in her eyes. “I know nothing about being a mother, Drake. My own remarried when I was young and was most distracted after that. I’ve had precious little experience with children beyond occasional visits with tenants’ families.”
“And I know nothing about being a father,” Drake countered. “My own was hardly an example worth following. But we’ll learn together, just as we’ve learned to manage Greythorne together.”
A soft laugh escaped her. “Is raising a child similar to managing an estate, then?”
“I imagine there are certain parallels,” Drake replied with mock seriousness. “Both require attention to detail, careful planning, and the ability to adapt when circumstances change unexpectedly.”
Katherine’s laugh grew stronger, the sound filling Drake with profound satisfaction. How far they had come from their first contentious meeting, when her laughter would have been unimaginable in his presence.
“There’s something else,” she said, her expression growing more serious. “Something I haven’t told anyone, not even Rosabel.”
Drake waited, giving her the space to continue at her own pace.
“I’ve always wanted children,” Katherine admitted, her voice soft with long-suppressed longing. “Even after Edmund convinced me I was barren, even after I told myself that independence was preferable to risking another marriage—there was a part of me that never stopped hoping.”
The confession, offered with such trust, touched Drake deeply.
“And now that hope is realized,” he said gently. “Though I suspect motherhood will prove at least as challenging as managing Greythorne.”
“I’m counting on it,” Katherine replied, her usual spirit reasserting itself. “I’ve never shied away from a challenge, as you well know.”
Drake laughed, pulling her close once more. “Indeed, I do. It’s one of the many reasons I love you.”
They sat together on the stone bench, surrounded by the bounty of Greythorne’s orchards and fields, the future stretching before them with newfound promise. Drake felt Katherine relax against him, her body fitting perfectly against his side as though made to be there.
After a moment, she spoke again, her voice holding a note of wonder. “A child, Drake. Our child. It hardly seems real yet.”
“It will become more so with each passing day,” he assured her, his hand moving to rest gently over her still-flat stomach. “And undoubtedly more challenging as well. Are you worried?”
“About the birth? A little,” she admitted. “About motherhood? Considerably more so. I have no model to follow, no experience to draw upon.”
