Who Brings Forth the Wind (Kensington Chronicles)

by Lori Wick

  telling my father she was a fool for having married him and an

  even greater fool for giving him sons."

  "Oh, Tanner" was all Stacy could say.

  "It's not going to be that way for Drew. This is your home

  now, our home. I don't know if I can ever forgive you for what

  you did, but Drew's going to have his mother and father with

  him."

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  257

  Stacy sighed. "You still believe the worst, Tanner, even

  after seeing Drew?"

  "Drew is obviously my son, Stacy, but we won't speak of the

  other." His voice said there would be no argument and, as

  usual, Stacy acquiesced.

  When Stacy looked defeated, Tanner's hands gently stroked

  her waist. "Come have breakfast with me. Bring Drew if you'd

  like."

  Stacy saw it for the olive branch that it was. She hated

  living under this false accusation, but for now she was going to

  have to let it drop. It wasn't ideal, but maybe in time he would

  come to see that there had never been anyone but him.

  "What is it?"

  "It's an egg dish. Now I want you to try some."

  The three-year-old's face was so comical that Tanner had

  to raise his napkin to his mouth to hide his smile. If he wanted

  to provoke his wife at that moment and probably earn himself

  a tongue-lashing, all he had to do was laugh. He certainly

  admired her way with Drew, especially when she must have

  been tempted to laugh herself. Tanner knew he would never

  have made it.

  The duke was correct about his wife's desire to laugh.

  When Drew started to eat, Stacy sent a warning glance in

  Tanner's direction, but not even she could hide the twinkle in

  her eye before turning to her own plate.

  Tanner was just starting on his third cup of coffee when he

  realized that a nanny or nurse should have been doing Stacy's

  job. He pondered on the different women who had been in

  charge of him and his brother over the years, and then knew it

  would be years before Drew appreciated having his mother

  there instead.

  While most women were sewing or visiting with friends,

  Drew's mother was teaching him to eat correctly and to

  respect his elders. It suddenly occurred to him why. There

  would not have been money in the viscount's household for a

  luxury such as a nurse. Tanner determined to ask Stacy if she

  wanted to hire a nanny, but he knew what the answer would

  be.

  "Tanner," Stacy cut into his thoughts, "would it be a problem

  if I visited Bracken today?"

  Tanner's brows rose to his hairline. "You certainly don't

  need to ask permission to go calling, Stacy. Just order the

  carriage and go."

  *Thank you, Tanner," she said softly. He almost told her

  that wasn't necessary either.

  "Am I going to Racken?"

  "It's Bracken," his mother corrected him, "and, yes, you

  are. You can play with Lady Sunny's little boys."

  "Do they have toys?"

  "I'm sure they do," Stacy answered absently and reached

  for her cup of tea. She wouldn't have been quite so calm if

  she'd seen Tanner's shocked look.

  He had a sudden image of his son playing with shoes on

  the floor of his mother's sitting room. Something painful tore

  inside of him at the way his wife and son had been living for

  the past three years. This was his family home; all of his

  childhood toys must be here somewhere.

  Tanner excused himself a very short time later. Stacy was

  surprised to see him go so suddenly, but she was thankful for

  their brief time. She would have been even more thankful if

  she'd known that he was ordering the house servants at Winsow

  to ready the nursery for Drew while he and Stacy were at

  Bracken.

  "Oh, Sunny, you should have seen his face when he saw

  Drew. I thought my heart would break."

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  "He didn't question his parentage at all?"

  "No," Stacy answered and went ahead to tell her the entire

  story. "God is so good," Stacy said as she finished.

  "How about the verses; were they an encouragement?"

  Sunny's voice said she hoped they had been.

  '"Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands

  that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the

  word be won by the conversation of the wives, while they

  behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear; whose

  adorning, let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the

  hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel, but let

  it be the hidden man of the heart in that which is not corruptible,

  even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. First Peter 3:1-4.'"

  "I can't believe you memorized those verses," Sunny said

  in amazement.

  "I cling to them," Stacy told her, "and it's been such a

  comfort. But my favorite verse isn't with those. It's at the

  middle of chapter three. 'For the eyes of the Lord are over the

  righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers; but the

  face of the Lord is against them that do evil.'"

  "You challenge me, Stacy. I haven't memorized a verse in

  several weeks."

  "Oh, Sunny, I think God understands. You said that Preston

  had a cold and then you and then Sterling. I think at times

  like that you have to concentrate on the verses you already

  know."

  Sunny's brow drew down in a mock frown. "I thought

  when we studied that I would be teaching you. I really needed

  to hear that, Stacy. Thank you."

  Stacy smiled. "There is so much I don't know, Sunny, and

  I'm still too timid. I haven't even told Tanner about my conversion.

  I need boldness."

  "Has there been an opportunity to tell him?"

  This gave Stacy pause. "Now that you mention it, I'm not

  sure if there has. Maybe I need to give it more time."

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  "It sounds like you'll have the time. And don't forget your

  verses so fast. Your life will show him better than words."

  "Yes, it should. My pride rears its head, and I want to shout

  at Tanner and defend myself. His words about not forgiving

  me were hard to take, so I concentrated on his wanting a real

  family. I've prayed about that for so long."

  "Speaking of families, did you want to check on the boys?"

  "Yes. Drew will be growing hungry soon."

  "As will Sterling and Preston. We can have tea when

  they're settled with lunch."

  "Oh, Mumma," Drew cried when his mother appeared at

  the nursery room door.

  "Hello, my darling. Having fun?"

  Drew ran to hug Stacy. "They have real boats!" His voice

  was breathless with excitement. "Lots of boats!"

  Stacy's grin was as large as her son's eyes.

  "How about some lunch?" Sunny asked the gang, and they

  responded loudly.

  Stacy studied them as they moved out of the room and

  down the hall. Sterling was a most handsome young lad,

  sporting his father's dark hair and eyes. He was just short of

  his sixth birthday. Preston was less
than a year older than

  Drew, and his hair was as dark as Drew's was fair. They were of

  the same build, Preston being an inch or so taller, and both

  were the picture of young health.

  Since he was a little older, Sterling was inclined to be

  more serious, whereas both Drew and Preston were in some

  ways little more than babies. Sterling was wonderfully patient

  with all of their antics, and Stacy had not as yet heard a cross

  word between them.

  After seeing that they were nicely settled, the Hawkesbury

  nanny in attendance, Stacy and Sunny went to the small salon

  for their tea.

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  They made themselves comfortable and talked as if Stad

  had been back for years instead of weeks. The Duchessir

  Cambridge had a small sandwich halfway to her mouth whc

  her husband and Brandon walked into the room. Stacy,

  pecting she might choke if she took a bite, replaced

  sandwich and sat still while Tanner approached.

  He bent as soon as he was near, grasped her jaw, arxi

  kissed her. Stacy stared up into his face a moment, her own!

  face still cupped in his hand, before speaking.j

  "You could have ridden over with us. "Stacy prayed that he

  was not checking up on her.

  "In truth I was in need of a ride. My horse has been getting

  fat of late. If you don't mind my company, however, I'll go back

  with you."

  "All right," Stacy smiled sweetly, the first real smile since

  her husband had come for her. It was so reminiscent of their

  first months as husband and wife that Tanner had a hard time

  taking his eyes away. Only Brandon, coming to greet Stacy,

  moved him on.

  In the next few minutes, the men took seats and were

  served tea. The conversation ran from one subject to the next

  until Parks, head of housekeeping at Bracken, came to the

  door.

  "I'm sorry to disturb you, my lord," he said to Brandon.

  "That's all right, Parks. What is it?"

  "Nanny reports that young Lord Richardson bumped his

  head while playing and is quite inconsolable."

  Stacy began to rise.

  "I'll go," Tanner told her. He moved to the door, Brandon

  behind him.

  "You look thunderstruck," Sunny commented when the

  men left.

  "I'm just surprised that he wanted to go."

  "I guess I'm not. Whenever he visits here and the boys are

  present, he always speaks to them with genuine interest. I

  think he really loves children."

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  Sunny talked on, cutting off only when the men reap-

  red,

  Drew in his father's arms. He was not crying, but his

  iir head lay on Tanner's shoulder and the evidence of tears

  on his cheek. Tanner deliberately took the settee next to

  icy and as soon as Drew saw his mother, he reached for her.

  Stacy took him on her lap but looked down to see that he

  [was smiling back at Tanner.

  "You certainly don't look any worse for wear," Stacy commented

  and looked for the bump. Some tears filled Drew's

  eyes, but they did not spill.

  "I believe it was quite minor." Tanner's voice was dry. His

  son might have overreacted, but he was adorable while doing

  it.

  "I think what you really need is a nap," Stacy said.

  Drew's lip quivered, but Stacy's voice was firm.

  "You will not fuss about it, Drew. Now let's say goodbye to

  Lord and Lady Hawkesbury."

  Tanner came behind his wife and son to say his own

  goodbyes, but he was rather preoccupied. Why hadn't it

  occurred to him that Drew cried harder because he was tired?

  He decided he could learn a lot about parenting from Stacy.

  Tanner would have laughed at his own seriousness if he

  could have seen Brandon's and Sunny's amused expressions

  after he left. Of course, they would have been the first to admit that they had no idea what it was like not to meet your son until

  he was three.

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  G/!lMi/~

  As usual, stacywas starving. She had eaten a large dinner

  and even enjoyed Tanner's presence in the process, but that

  felt like hours ago. She tried to sleep, but it just wasn't going to

  work. After fighting the urge for just a few minutes, she

  decided to go to the kitchen. She knew the feeling and was

  certain it would not go away.

  With a decisive move, she threw the covers back and

  reached for her wrapper. It came to her as she was leaving her

  room that Tanner would simply ring for something, but Stacy's

  relationship with the staff was only just slightly warmer now

  than it had been when they first arrived

  Cook, Price, and of course, Hettie were the only servants

  who did not act as if they were doing Stacy a favor every time

  she called on them. It was only when Drew needed something

  that she was bold enough to speak up, which of course was the

  very reason Stacy was walking toward the kitchen this late at

  night, feeling rather clandestine about fixing herself a snack

  while the rest of the mansion slept.

  Tanner climbed the stairs rather late that night. He'd had

  some figures to go over concerning a land deal he and Brandon

  were involved in, and he'd not been satisfied with the

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  outcome. They had already talked of it several times and were

  going to talk of it again in another few weeks. Tanner had

  wanted the paperwork out of his head so that he could once

  again concentrate on Drew and Stacy.

  As was swiftly becoming his habit of the last few weeks,

  Tanner moved to Stacy's door. Each night before he went to

  bed he would check on both her and Drew. He'd have much

  preferred Stacy to join him in his own room, but that had not

  yet happened She was growing less wary of him each day, and

  he felt that given time they would once again live as man and

  wife.

  This didn't immediately erase all the past, but Stacy had a

  good memory; she would not forget his reaction last time and

  play him for a fool again. Tanner wondered briefly if she'd had

  other men while in Middlesbrough and then realized that

  such thoughts were dangerous. He shifted his mind away from

  such visions as he soundlessly opened Stacy's door.

  Tanner did not like finding her bed empty, but he remained

  calm as he moved across to Drew's room. His heart was

  silently telling Stacy that she had better be there. When she

  was not, he decided to wake the entire house to look for her

  but refrained from doing so until he checked the upstairs and

  then made his way down the stairway.

  She was not in the library or the gallery. He wondered if

  he'd missed her somewhere on the second floor and was

  actually halfway up the stairs when he thought of the kitchen.

  He almost laughed. If Stacy were hungry she would never ring

  for a servant. With a smile on his face he moved toward the

  kitchen.

  Lady Richardson had just finished an apple and was starting

  on a piece of pie when Tanner came in the door. She froze,

  a crumb of food at
the corner of her mouth, and watched him

  approach.

  "It seems we have mice--tall, blonde mice."

  "I was hungry," Stacy told him unnecessarily, still trying to

  decide if she was in trouble.

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  "I can see that." Tanner used his handkerchief to wipe her]

  mouth and then stood staring at her.1

  "Don't stop on my account," he told her. "Go ahead and'

  eat."

  Stacy did so, but it was not easy with Tanner staring at her!

  His gaze was warm as he watched her. He even pulled a chair

  up, so his eyes were level with hers.

  "Would you like something?" Stacy asked

  "To eat? No, thank you."

  Stacy finished her pie. "You're making me nervous," she

  admitted, a small quiver in her voice.

  "You're not afraid of me, are you?"

  "I'm not sure what to say to that."

  "You are afraid," he stated.

  "Of our being together, no, but of my having you for a time

  and then your pushing me away again, that terrifies me."

  Surprisingly this did not anger Tanner. He looked as

  though he understood. Unfortunately he felt no guilt over the

  way he'd sent her away. In his mind he had been wronged. If

  Stacy would only comport herself faithfully, he would care for

  her all the days of her life. He felt whether or not she stayed

  was all up to her.

  Suddenly Tanner held out his hand. "Come here, Stacy"

  was all he said. It was hardly an explanation, but Stacy went to

  him when he reached for her. They kissed in the kitchen, and

  she had no protest when Tanner lifted her and carried her

  upstairs.

  She had prayed long and hard about this time, wanting

  with all of her heart to do what God would have her to do. Maybe, Stacy reasoned, this will be one more way to show

  Tanner that my love has always been constant.

  The next morning Tanner eased quietly out of bed, careful

  not to wake Stacy. He stared down at her, thinking there

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  f wasn't a lovelier, more giving woman in all of England At this

  moment he could almost believe her when she claimed that

  he had misunderstood the scene at the Cractwells'.

  With feather-soft movements he reached for his robe and

  left the room. Stacy had come in with just a light wrapper on

  the night before, so Tanner was headed to her room to find her

  a robe. He didn't want her feeling at all uncomfortable when

  she awakened.

  Stacy's bed was as he'd seen it, covers thrown back and

  left. There was no sign of her robe, so he lit the lantern and