Page 56 of The Ones Left Behind
“That is a sound to warm the soul,” Kitty reflected, “but we might be out here for hours if she has any say in the matter.”
“Eventually she will fall asleep,” Matthias murmured. “The key is to outlast her.”
“Or wait until her parents return.”
After a while, the little one leaned against Kitty. Matthias’s leg ached and throbbed, but not for the world would he have stopped this scene.
He finally began to slow the swing and Kitty pulled Frances into her arms. When the swing stopped and she stood up, she was practically in his arms.
“Is she not a delight?” She looked down at the cherub-like child, burrowed into her chest to sleep.
“We could have that, Kitty.”
* * *
Kitty had been savedby the return of the Duke and Duchess.
“I did not think she would be able to sleep with so much activity going on. You have the magic touch, Kitty,” the Duchess remarked softly. “I can take her to her nurse now.”
“Allow me. You enjoy yourself.”
Kitty was not ready to respond to Matthias’s words, but they had seemed genuine. She had known he wished for a lot of children, but war had prevented him from marrying, she thought. As she had not conceived with Peter, she was worried she might not be able to, although they certainly had not tried hard.
Matthias needed an heir now more than ever. Had he considered that she had not borne a child with Peter?
Kitty looked down at the beautiful little girl in her arms, and could not imagine anything better than having her own child to nurture. She had resolved, when Peter died, that it was not God’s will for her to be a mother. Then she had become destitute, but selfishly, she still longed for a child of her own. Would that be enough to make the marriage a happy one?
Even if Matthias was marrying her for the wrong reasons, the possibility of having his children was enough to tempt her.
“You are an enchantress, Lady Frances,” she whispered, kissing the child’s soft, downy forehead.
The nurse came to take the child and Kitty reluctantly handed her over. She looked back and saw Matthias watching her longingly. Was she only seeing what she wanted to?
It felt as if her own objections were slowly beginning to melt away, yet she wanted to be sure. Unable to avoid their friends, she walked back to the group.
“We were considering a stroll to the orchard. The plums should be perfectly ripe by now,” Matthias remarked.
“I would think, after your exertions of the day, you would be tired,” she responded. Then she realized her mistake. Hopefully he would not realize she knew the full extent of his activities.
“I am not as lily-livered as that. And besides, I have been recuperating for so long, this is just what I need.”
The other couples preceded them and they fell into a comfortable rhythm, Matthias surprising her with his ease on the crutches.
“You saw me this morning?” he asked unexpectedly.
“I was tending the garden,” she admitted. “And the garden is some distance from the stables...” She attempted to prevaricate.
He cast a knowing look in her direction.
The wretch was going to make her confess. “Had I been there, surely you would have seen me, so poor am I at hiding.”
He turned and smiled at her, looking at her in a way which sent shivers down her spine.
She forced her gaze away and kept walking, conflicting emotions churning inside her. How easy it would be to be swept away by this charming Matthias, but they were children no longer.For a moment, she allowed herself to wonder what would happen if she accepted his proposal. After going down the dangerous pathway of motherhood in her mind… if they could behave as friends once again... perhaps he could love her one day.
They reached the orchard too quickly, before she had finished her thoughts. Perhaps that was for the best, her evil genius chided, because it was difficult to think clearly in his presence.
Rows and rows of trees, heavy with fruit, went as far as the eye could see in the northern direction. There were plum trees and peach trees, and apple trees which would mature in the autumn. To the south, however, was a view of the sea.
