"This was not what I wanted. I wanted to change the world. I wanted to go on grand adventures. I never wanted to marry. I thought I would be an abolitionist. I imagined a life of smuggling mistreated slaves from the south to the north and helping them to build new lives. I never imagined I would be somewhere like this as a wife and a mother," Sophronia whispered once the sobs had subsided.
"It does not mean that you will never have any grand adventures," Nathaniel said though he understood her point. What grand adventure could a woman have who was married to the second son of a marquess and who had a child? Her life might someday involve running his household and caring for her children but that was the best she might expect.
"I think I need to go now," Sophronia said. She gently pushed away from him and hurried down the hallway towards her room.
"Is she unwell?" a voice behind Nathaniel asked. He had not heard anyone approach.
"She misses her home," Nathaniel said because he was not sure Claire could really understand Sophronia's plight. Claire had been born and bred to wife Eldon. She had done exactly what she was born to do. Mercy on the other hand had been born to wed Daniel and provide the pack with the next generation of werewolves. She had shared her pain at not being able to have the life she was born to with her brother a few times. She bore it like any lady did but Nathaniel knew his sister and he knew that she wanted more out of her life that to simply be a spinster and cared for by doting brothers and nephews into old age.
"Your father wants you in his study. He has finished speaking with the leader of the witch’s coven. They claim that there was no breach and that none of their members could be at fault. If they speak the truth then the ramifications are horrific," Claire said softly.
"I will go to him," Nathaniel said.
"Should I go and see to Sophronia?"
"I think all she needs is a bit of time," Nathaniel said.
Chapter 15
Sophronia opened her eyes wondering what had awoken her.
"Sorry to wake you," Nathaniel's soft voice said. She could just make him out in the dark shadows of the room. For a moment she wondered why he was there then she remembered she was his wife and he might be there to claim his husbandly rights. She wished she did not feel so heavy and tired. She did not know how much longer before the baby would be born but she was sure it could not be much longer. If her belly stretched any further she thought her skin would rip open. Beyond that the child kicked and pushed at her so much that she was sure he was as restless to be expelled from her body as she was to expel him.
"Shall I remove my nightgown?" she whispered.
"No. I am not here for that," he said.
Part of Sophronia felt disappointed but part of her was relieved. She was not sure how the act would be possible with the mound of her belly being so swollen.
"Then why are you here?" she asked. She could think of no other reason for Nathaniel to visit her in her bedroom in the latest hours of night or perhaps even the earliest hours of the morning.
"I brought you something," he said. He stepped forward and laid something on her table.
"I cannot see," Sophronia said with a yawn.
"I should have lit a candle, I suppose. I had not thought to wake you but I will be leaving with my father and Eldon at daybreak. I had just thought to bring the book by."
"Where are you going?"
"We are looking for a new place for our hunting trips."
"Is the old one no longer rich in game?"
"You remember the mention that there was a hunting accident and someone perished?" Nathaniel asked. Sophronia sat up so she could better see him.
"I remember."
"It is possible that it was not an accident. It may have been deliberate."
"Is it some family's play for power?" Sophronia asked. The aristocracy no longer held the power it once had but that did not change the fact some people were willing to kill for even seemingly small amounts of power or money."
"It is unlikely that it was someone who was with us and anyways the person killed was not even a gentleman. He was a servant." Sophronia had heard of servant quarrels ending in deaths though that was most unusual.
"His employer did not think one of his other servants could have taken the opportunity to kill a rival?"
"We are certain it was not a member of our party," Nathaniel repeated firmly.
"Does that mean you think it was a crazed murderer?" Sophronia had heard of people such as Andreas Bichel who had lured women to his home and murdered them or John Williams who had killed two families and their servants. Still, she thought the idea that there were people in the world who killed strangers for no apparent reason was mostly the imagination of novelist needing to tell a good story.
"We cannot be sure. We only know that we must find a new place for hunting," Nathaniel said. The caution in his voice told her he was withholding information from her. He had suspicions which he was choosing not to share. Perhaps he thought her too delicate.
"What book was it that you brought?" Sophronia asked. The murder was not her concern and if Nathaniel did not wish to speak of his suspicions then she was not going to push.
"Frankenstein," Nathaniel said.
"I do believe I have heard of that," Sophronia said though she could not remember anything she had heard.
"It is far more modern than Don Quixote which I hope you can forgive but it does have some interesting ideas and themes. I read it several years ago and enjoyed it. I thought perhaps you could read it and we could discuss it upon my return," Nathaniel said.
"Of course," Sophronia agreed. She would finish reading Don Quixote the next day and begin on the book he had given her. She would read it and they would discuss whatever there was to discuss. She supposed having a book to talk of would help them converse. She now could talk to him of the health of his dogs and of this book. It was a safer topic than the baby his brother had fathered but that he was being forced to claim.
"I will leave you to sleep. We are leaving before dawn so I will not see you before I depart," Nathaniel said.
"I should give you a kiss for luck before you leave," Sophronia said.
"If that is your wish," Nathaniel said.
Slowly, Sophronia pushed herself off of the bed. Her heavy body complained at the movement but she ignored it. Nathaniel moved towards her and they met near the foot of her bed. He leaned his face down and she lifted hers up so that their lips could meet. She had intended nothing more than a peck on those lips but instead he had put his hand on the small of her back and pulled her against him. His lips crushed against hers and she felt lightheaded as he plundered her mouth. She might have stayed in his arms all night but finally he pushed her gently away. She reached out for the bedpost to steady herself as he turned and left the room.
Nathaniel cursed as he closed the door behind him. His cock was hard and straining against the fabric of his pants but there would be no relief for him.
He needed to climb into bed and sleep. The next few days would be busy at best and dangerous at worst.
The pack leaders had decided to split into smaller groups for the time being. The lodge they had been using since he was a child would be abandoned for a time. His pack and two others, which totaled about two hundred werewolves, would spend the full moon together. They would need to look for a place where they would be out of sight and that could be protected by a smaller number of witches. They needed a place where people rarely went but that had some game for hunting.
His father knew of four places that were each within a days ride from Wolstenholme estate. In the morning they would ride out to look at the different areas so that the best location for a new moon sanctuary could be chosen. Servants and tenants would build a meager lodging. They needed to move quickly. There was never enough time between the full moons.
Chapter 16
Sophronia sat in the Rococo style parlor with Mercy and Claire. Like her, the others had books in their hands and like her they seemed unint
erested in reading.
"Should I play the pianoforte for us?" Mercy asked when Sophronia closed her book and leaned her head back. She was reclining in a duchesse. Claire was seated diagonally across the room in a settee while Mercy sat across from her in a fauteuil en cabriolet.
"Only if you wish to," Sophronia said. Her body was comfortable but she was starting to get a restless feeling as well. She inched slightly up and then back down. She turned left, then right, and then back to her original position.
"Are you well?" Claire asked.
"I believe so," Sophronia sighed.
Mercy closed her book and moved to the pianoforte and began to play one of Joseph Haydn's sonatas that Sophronia was familiar with.
She leaned back and closed her eyes to take in the music and noticed a tightening feeling in her belly. Her eyes sprang open and she sat up.
The music stopped abruptly as Mercy left the pianoforte and rushed to her side.
"Should I fetch Ruth?" Mercy asked.
"I think you should," Sophronia said with a nod. Since it was her first time carrying a child she had no idea what it would feel like when birth was imminent but something was happening and she hoped Ruth who was a mother would know if the tightening in her belly was a sign that her child planned to be born that day.
Even though her belly was swollen to the point of bursting it did not seem like enough time had passed from the fateful day she met Eldon to now for the baby to be born. Surely the baby was not ready. She was far from ready to be a mother.
Nathaniel stood beside his father as they looked from the edge of the tall hill into the valley beneath. It was the third site they had visited that day and his feet were sore from the walk up rocky climbing paths. This particular site was a hill that was almost a mountain. It looked like a mountain when one stood near the base. It took them over an hour to climb to the flat ledge that they now were standing on and it might take another hour to reach the peak of the hill. Still, it was unlikely that they would find such a nice flat ledge that was so well concealed by placement and surrounding flora if they continued further up. It appeared that above their location the way was steeper and narrower.
"I think the village is too nearby," his father said. Looking over the edge of the cliff Nathaniel could see the village beneath. The smell of cooking foods carried in the wind to his nose and made his mouth water. He hoped they would stop to have their supper soon. They would sleep under the stars and then proceed on to the further possible site in the morning.
"I agree," Eldon said and Nathaniel nodded.
"We had better hope for better luck with the last site," his father said. The first site had not had an adequate water source and the second had not had a level place to build a lodging. Perhaps it would work in the future if it could be leveled but they would need somewhere by the next full moon which was fast approaching.
As it was they would barely be able to find a site and build a crude lodging before the next moon. They might spend the next full moon under little more than a lean-to at the rate of things.
They walked down the hill mostly in silence. At the bottom Owen was waiting. He laid out their drinks and supper which Nathaniel gratefully ate.
"We can go a bit further before dark," his father said as he wiped off his hands with a linen napkin.
"We should set up a campsite in another hour," Owen said. His father nodded in agreement.
"Then we had best be on our way," Eldon said. Owen and Reggie began to load up the cart they had driven with supplies. It was too long a journey for the dogs to pull a carriage but the two wheeled wooden cart was light weight enough that four dogs could pull it with ease. Dalton hooked the dogs back up to the cart and they were about to continue on their journey when Owen paused.
"Hoof beats," he warned. He reached into the cart and pulled out a pistol. He kept it low and partially hidden so as not to scare whoever was approaching. A rider on horseback was not a werewolf and so a pistol would be a good defense if his intentions were of harm. Likely it was nothing more than another traveler.
They turned towards the sound of the hoof beats and waited for the stranger to approach. The rider came into view, halted his horse, dismounted, and rushed forward towards them.
"That is Simon," Dalton said. "One of the sons of a tenant."
"I know him," Nathaniel's father said.
"I am glad I caught up with you. I had hoped you would not have gotten so far. Aunt Ruth sent me to deliver word that Lady Sophronia is showing signs of the baby being born. Dr. Alyes was sent for already," Simon said.
"Perhaps we should return," Nathaniel said.
"The birth of a child can take time. Sometimes days," his father said.
"Still, we should be there," Nathaniel said.
"Finding a new hunting location is too important," his father said.
"It seems reasonable that the father should return. You go. No need for all of us to return. The baby being born is not the heir to Wolstenholme," Eldon said.
Nathaniel wanted to punch his brother in the face and holding back the urge took all of his strength and willpower.
"Your brother has a point. You can return to your wife. We can continue to scout the next site without you. We will return when we are through," his father said.
Nathaniel nodded because he supposed he had few other choices. His father was right that the pack having a safe place to pass the moon was essential. His father as the alpha and Eldon as the heir should be out seeing to the needs of the pack. His presence was not needed.
Eldon would have been sent back had the baby being born been the heir to the Wolstenholme estate and name but it was not. The baby being born was nothing more than his brother's bastard.
Owen grabbed a few supplies and handed them to Simon. Nathaniel would make far better time if he was unburdened by supplies. Simon had a horse and the extra load would do little to impede him.
If he and Simon hurried they might make it home by dawn. He desperately wished he could ride the horse or that some kind of creature who was smart enough to carry a rider but dull-witted enough not to fear his predatory scent had been bred. Once the moon came up he might send Simon ahead and transform into his wolf form to gain extra senses and speed. It was difficult to force a transformation. It was almost impossible during the day and most easily done when there was a threat of some kind lurking nearby. No matter how he became a wolf his body would be taxed by it. He would be on the verge of exhaustion when he arrived and without his pack to protect him he might run into countless dangers along the road. It was quite a bit of danger to put himself into for a child that was not his and a wife that had been forced on him. Still, his heart knew that Sophronia needed him there. He might be nothing more than a second son but he was the only husband she had and he was the man who would be claiming her child.
Sophronia cried out as another wave of pain hit. Ruth dabbed her face with a cool cloth while Mercy and Claire sat at her side holding her hands.
The doctor had come in to examine her and said that indeed the baby would be born from her pain but it could take some time. She might be in her pain for hours. She did not think she could last hours. She had never felt such soul crushing pain in her whole life. She was now sure that no woman ever gave birth in a cotton field and then picked up her baby and continued her work. Such silly stories she had heard could not be possible. Here she was in a comfortable bed surrounded by women to help her and she felt sure she was going to die from the pain as it peaked. Slowly, the pain subsided though she knew another one would follow it soon.
"Has everything we need for the baby arrived?" Sophronia asked Ruth.
"We will work with what we have. We thought there would be more time. I should have remembered that both Eldon and Nathaniel decided to arrive in this world early. Mercy was the only one with the patience to wait to see this world. Her poor dear mother did not know what to do with herself when Mercy decided to wait until the proper time to be born," Ruth said.
"I do not think so. We might have had another month. The wee one may be a bit small but I doubt there will be anything real to worry over," Ruth said.
"And if anything happens to me Nathaniel will make sure he is taken care of?" Sophronia asked. This question was directed at Mercy. She could not stop the feeling of dread that was sitting in her chest. Women died having babies all the time. Orphaned babies without families were abandoned to orphanages. She did not want that to happen to her baby. She could not bear the thought of her child being raised without family in some cold institution. Not when he was the son of a Wolstenholme.
"Nathaniel is his father. He could do nothing else," Mercy assured.
"But more women live than die having babies. You must remember that," Ruth soothed.
"If the worse should happen I promise to care for him like he was my own," Claire whispered into her ear. Claire had lost a mother. This child was by Claire's husband and by rights should have been hers. Sophronia started to laugh at the cold irony of it. She was being punished with Eve's curse for her sin with Eldon. Then, she might die and leave the baby to be raised by the woman married to the child's real father.
"Should I get Dr. Alyes?" Mercy asked looking alarmed. Sophronia realized she must seem like a lunatic to her innocent sister-in-law but she did not care. The next wave of pain was starting and she felt as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders. She was going to bring a new person into the world. They might both die in the night. If they did not then on the morrow she would be a mother.
"No," Ruth said shaking her head. Of the women in the room Ruth was the only one who had the tiniest inkling of her suffering. She wanted to send her sisters-in-law away. She wanted them to keep their innocence a bit longer until they suffered for lying with a man the way she was.
The next pain started to peak and Sophronia's laughs at the bitter irony that was her life turned to screams of agonizing pain.
The Wolf's Pregnant Bride Page 11
