Aaron, listen to me,” Harold said, for what felt like the 700th time. Three weeks after their ordeal, life was finally returning to normal, which included the normal mischievous ways of the original Lord Bamber. “I am not a pirate or a Captain. I am employed by the British Navy and I have to go to work so will you tell me where my hat is or I swear to God...”
Aaron grinned like a mischievous child. His blue eyes were twinkling, his cheeks pink, and his chin held high.
“Have you considered pirate life?”
“Now!”
“You're not as joyful as you used to be, Harold,” Aaron said, at last, and retrieved his brother-in-law's hat from inside a kitchen cabinet.
“You're a child,” Harold snapped at him, putting it on his head.
“Indeed,” Aaron said. “But I am alive and I can go to the market, walk in the gardens with my wife, I can attend the court of the King, and so I will accept that.”
“Goodbye,” Harold rolled his eyes, heading out the door to his waiting carriage.
Entering the kitchen, Lola smirked as she watched Harold go.
“Why do you torment him so?”
“I used to do it on the ship all the time,” Aaron said. “I figured I'd make him feel at home.”
“I'm quite sure he feels at home, seeing as he has been here for years,” Lola replied. “It's just odd that you are again.”
“Are you not eating?” Aaron asked as she poured herself a cup of tea.
“No,” Lola replied, with a wince. He quirked an eyebrow.
“What is it?”
“It's nothing, it's silly,” she answered.
“Lola,” Aaron said. “When has something been off limits to our conversations?”
“My...corset has fit differently recently,” she said. “I thought that if I ever return to the stage...I'd like to be in the same...costumes as before.”
“Oh for goodness sake,” he said. “Do you think Wesley minds?”
“I don't think he minds at all,” she said. “But all of this sitting around the house with rich food and reading with him in the garden no doubt contributed to it. And in addition...”
“In addition?” he asked, confused. She turned a funny shade of pale that he suddenly recognized “Lola, are you going to be sick?”
“Just one moment,” she managed, heading for the back door, which led out into a patio. She barely made it outside before she double over, vomiting neatly onto the lawn.
“Good gracious,” Aaron said, at her side in an instant. “What's made you ill?”
She crouched down, making sure she was steady before she rose. She accepted his handkerchief, wiping her mouth.
“I just thought that I'd give you a chance to take care of me swooning at breakfast,” she said. “Since I've sat with you half a hundred times.”
“Lola...” Aaron said, and she shook her head.
“It's fine. It's happened a few times over the last few days. I assume I've just been struck by some minor illness, and it will be alright.”
He realized something, and reached for her shoulder.
“And you've gained weight?”
“A little,” she answered. Suddenly, it dawned on her. “Oh, no.”
“'Oh no' is not a normal reaction to the realization that you may be with...”
“With child,” she finished the sentence. “I can't be.”
Aaron furrowed his brow.
“Why not? Do you not know...?”
“I know how it works!” she snapped. “I just...my career...”
He laughed.
“Lola, you may be carrying the next Earl of Rippon, and that's what you are concerned with?”
She sank into a chair, her face still pale.
“Are you going to be sick again?” he asked, and she shook her head.
“It's just...Oh good Lord,” she couldn't believe this was possibly happening. “We reconciled, Aaron. We accepted that we loved each other, that we couldn't be apart, no matter what was happening around us. We accepted that it may drive down his family line, we accepted that people died because of our union...But we never talked about children...about a child of the union of an Earl and an actress.”
“What exactly did you think would happen?” he asked her. “Unless one of you was...not well, this was bound to happen.”
“But what kind of life will this child have?” Lola asked. “From such a parentage? They will face discrimination, they will face...”
“Lola,” Aaron said softly. “Your child will have two brave and wonderful parents who will love it, and make sure it is brought up properly. Your child will have the blood line of an earl and the courage of an actress. It will have privilege, title, intelligence and creativity. This is not a bad thing.”
“I can't tell him,” she said. “Not yet.”
Aaron sighed, sitting in the chair opposite her.
“When, then?”
“Gilles goes on trial at the end of the week,” she said. “Let us wrap up this whole ordeal and then we can figure it out.”
“And then you can tell him,” Aaron corrected her. “Unless you are thinking of running again?”
“No,” she assured him. “I'm not. I'll never leave his side again. I just...have to figure this out. Accept that there is a new role in my life and it doesn't come with lines or an adoring audience.”
“It does,” he said, with a smile. “The lines you will figure out. The adoring audience is tiny, but you will love them just the same.”
She laughed at that.
“Is that how you feel about being a parent?”
“Are you asking me if I've figured it out?” he asked. “Because the answer is solidly no. Gwendolyn will be looking at suitors in a few years and I am still as confused as the day I learned she existed. I love my daughter, but every parent, Lola, is simply pretending to know what they are doing.”
“Have you thought about having another one?” she asked, suddenly. “You and Shauna? Adding to your family.”
“Ah,” he gave her a pained smile. “We'd like too.”
“But---Oh. Oh,” she suddenly realized. “I'm sorry.”
“It's alright,” he said. “It's just that you must have a large family now, to make up for it. We've always been the same soul, Lola. One of us being perfectly happy was just as good as both of us.”
“That's not a good excuse,” she said, as she took a sip of juice. “I'm alright now, so long as no one wanders around the patio.”
“What's on the patio?” Gwendolyn came into the dining room then and Aaron's expression completely changed. He opened his arms and his daughter gave him a brief hug before going to the serving platters. She had a viscous appetite, strong and healthy, which was all he could ever hope for.
Him being alive didn't change the line of succession, for Gwendolyn was still female. Harold's son James would still inherit, and would be ruled by a regent if Aaron was to meet an early grave. Gwendolyn, however, didn't seem to mind. She was a happy child, eager to please and learn, and she dreamed of a good marriage and a life full of happiness.
“Nothing,” he said. “Is your mother awake?”
“She is not,” Gwendolyn said. “But even if she was, she'd eat breakfast in her room. Why don't you eat breakfast in your room, Miss Lola?”
“Huh?” Lola took a moment to process what Gwendolyn was asking. “Oh. That is generally a tradition that married ladies of noble households uphold.”
“But you are a married lady and a countess,” Gwendolyn said, confused.
“That I am...” Lola glanced at Aaron. “But I'm an actress first. And I don't like waiting for my food.”
“And I am not brave enough to tell her to wait for her food,” Wesley said, as he swept into the room. Lola smiled up at him, rising to greet him. Aaron noticed that she arched her back differently, changing her posture to possibly hide any bulging belly “Lord Bamber, how do you fare?”
“Quite well, Earl Rippon,” Aaron said. “You're dressed for the office.”
“Well...yes,” Wesley looked between the two of them in confusion. “I agreed to go back, do you remember?”
“I'm not senile quite yet,” Aaron answered. “I just haven't seen it in awhile.”
“No time like the present,” Wesley said, taking a piece of toast. “Besides, I need to make sure the evidence is presented for Gilles to swing. I don't want one slip up.”
“From the noose?” Gwendolyn asked, and Aaron gave Wesley a look.
“Indeed,” he said. “Because Gilles did a bad thing, remember?”
“Yes,” Gwendolyn said. “But Father....will that mean the Bamber line only exists in this house?”
“Yes,” Aaron said. “Although there are others, they have little to no claim. When your father and I are gone, you and James will be the guardians of the title.”
“I wouldn't mind,” she said. “Except James is annoying.”
Aaron laughed at that, shaking his head.
“And so nothing changes,” he said. “Generations from now, Bamber and Harper cousins will be hiding each other’s hats in cabinets.”
“You did what?” Wesley said. “Wonderful, now he'll be in a foul mood all day.”
“Shall I walk you to the door?” Lola asked, and he accepted her arm, leaving Aaron alone in the dining room with Gwendolyn.
“Father,” Gwendolyn asked, continuing the conversation. “When is their baby coming?”
“What?” Aaron asked. “What are you talking about?”
“I heard Lola and you...”
“Tell no one,” Aaron said, quickly. Gwendolyn looked confused.
“Why?”
“Because Miss Lola is trying to...find out a way to surprise Earl Rippon,” he said. “And she hasn't quite figured it out yet. Promise?”
Gwendolyn shrugged.
“I guess,” she said. “But what will you give me?”
“You're a little demon,” he said. “I'll take you to market this afternoon, if you wish.”
“That will do,” she said, with a smile. He rolled his eyes. She knew how to wrap him around her little finger, that was for certain.
“I'm going to see your mother,” he said. “I'll be back, alright? Don't get into mischief.”
“Father,” she said. “I learn from the best.”
He chuckled, taking the stairs two at a time. It felt odd to be in such a good mood, knowing his cousin would likely be sentenced to his death before the week was out. That type of thought made him more grateful for his life and his health. He knew that neither would last forever, so he needed to take advantage of both while they were present.
Generations of his family had taken these steps before him, and he hoped that generations would continue to do so after he was gone. It wouldn't always be easy, but he knew that he was not the first generation to find such things difficult.
“Hello, my love,” Shauna said, when he entered their room. She was just finishing breakfast, ready to greet the day. Ever since he had been granted his freedom, his life, she was so much happier; so much more willing to smile, to take risks and laugh. “How is your morning?”
“Interesting,” he said, and came forward, laying a kiss on her lips. “How was breakfast?”
“Wonderful, as always,” she said. “Why interesting?”
“Um,” he said, and then smiled. “Never mind. We're together now, that's all that matters.”
“Indeed we are,” she said, as he folded her into his arms. “Indeed we are.”