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Anthony snorted with relief as the carriage stopped and the door opened. After another tedious day in the Parliament, arguing about useless laws with bored and unhinged old men, the well-deserved rest had arrived. He climbed the stairs to the front door eagerly, greeting the butler quickly and discarding on the way the hat and all the cloaks he wore to protect him from the cold London winter.
"John, has the viscountess arrived yet?". He asked, heading quickly for the stairs.
"Erm... Actually, my lord...", John stopped immediately at the viscount's thunderous gaze.
"Actually, what?", Anthony repeated with a raised eyebrow.
As John tried to construct a meaningful sentence that would not incinerate his employer's temper, Anthony rolled up his shirt sleeves to his elbows, waiting patiently with his arms pulled up on his hips for John to speak .
"Well... actually... what I wanted to say... is... um... well...", John cleared his voice again, wringing his gloved hands, looking up at the ceiling to avoid Lord Bridgerton's gaze. " So, actually... Lady Bridgerton commented to her maid... who in turn alerted the cook... to tell the butler... I mean, er, well, to tell me of course... who else?", a nervous laugh escaped his mouth and his eyes connected with the viscount's.
"Get to the point, John", he punctuated each word menacingly. John felt the wings of his nose twitch rhythmically with each deep breath. In fact... was that vein in his forehead before all this diatribe?
"Lady Bridgerton has not left the house today, my lord. She was indisposed and ordered for the surgeon mid-morning", he blurted out and closed his eyes, ready for the consequences.
"John, are you telling me that Lady Bridgerton has been ill since this morning and... NO ONE HAS SENT ANYONE TO CALL ME?!". Although Anthony considered himself far above most aristocratic men, who made no secret of their disdain for servants (or women, or hirelings, or, well... any other kind of social group than their own), he couldn't help but raise his voice to poor John.
"Lady Bridgerton said it was not necessary and we thought that..."
"KATE!"
The Viscount's shout stopped her vague excuses as she turned leaving him with the word in his mouth and set off at full speed towards her chambers. Shoving anyone who got in his way.
All he could hear was the blood oozing in his ears. He felt as if his bedroom was miles away.
"KATE", he shouted again to see if he could get a response that might calm him down.
When he finally reached the door, he practically stumbled inside in his haste to reach his wife.
The bitter taste of bile rose in his throat as soon as he saw Kate lying on the bed. Dressed in her nightgown, open as a star, covered with sheets and a pillow hiding her face. Actually if he had stopped for a second to analyze the comical situation he would have avoided all the drama and out of control. But Anthony Bridgerton being Anthony Bridgerton, that obviously did not enter into the equation.
"KATE!", he pounced on his marriage bed and shook his wife roughly.
"What in the world are you doing?! Anthony!!!", Kate screamed back in fright. "Anthonyyyyyy! Let go of me if you do not want me to throw up on you!"
"You scared the hell out of me!", Anthony knelt down on the bed, closed his eyes and massaged his temples. "I swear, I just lost five years of my life over this scene". Kate actually looked at him as if he had lost his mind. "What in the world are you doing?"
"Me? You are the one who has been pouncing on me like a madman, my brain is as scrambled as a cup of tea." Kate groaned and collapsed dramatically back into the pillows.
Anthony sighed a calmer sigh when he saw that she was mostly okay. "Sweetheart, what is wrong? John told me, or rather whined, that you sent for the surgeon this morning".
Kate groaned under the pillow.
"Crystal clear".
Anthony lifted the pillow from her face. Kate frowned until her eyes adjusted to the light.
"Oh, hello".
"Hello", she sighed, surrendering to his smile. He was a handsome man, her husband.
"I said, John told me, when I came in, that you sent for the surgeon this morning".
"I heard you the first time", she said squeamishly, crossing her hands over her abdomen. "Just as I heard your screams as you came in here", she raised her eyebrows, staring at him.
"It is a pleasure to see you have successfully ignored me". Anthony lay down next to her, sticking as close to her body as possible as he rested his head on one hand and the other clutched Kate's hands that lay on his abdomen. "Are you going to tell me what is wrong with you yet?". He whispered before giving her a tender kiss on the cheek.
When he pulled away he saw that Kate's lip was trembling and her eyes were struggling to hold back tears.
"Kate?". He could feel his pulse quicken in panic.
"I did not want to tell you like this...", she sobbed. "I had prepared to surprise you... but...", she sucked in a breath, trying to calm herself. "I had planned to tell you with Neddy and Newton, while we were having dinner here, but... I was not feeling well at all, and your mother has taken them both away, and you came early and now everything is ruined and it is not going to be special....". A lone tear slid down her cheek.
Anthony was really having trouble keeping track of the conversations he was having under this roof throughout the afternoon. "But, tell me what?".
"Sweetheart, when you want to you are very obtuse...", Kate stroked his face and pulled him close to her to kiss the crease between his eyebrows. "I am with child".
"You are?". Anthony looked up in surprise to where their hands were intertwined, though still flat, they already had confirmation that a new life was making its way into his wife's body. He began kissing her face and neck murmuring steadily. "I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you...".
Kate giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Are you happy?".
"Happy? I am ecstatic. Just when I think you cannot surprise me anymore, you go out of your way to prove me wrong". Anthony rolled onto his back and pulled her up on top of him.
"I have to keep you humble, my lord".
Kate pulled him close and kissed him as if her life depended on that kiss.
"Are you feeling better?". Finally Anthony asked when they both needed to breathe.
"Now I am, the chai Emily made me finally kicked in", Kate pressed her nose to his. "Plus I was nervous about telling you, which I think only made it worse".
Anthony hugged her even tighter. "Two babies in less than three years...", he said, with such a smug gesture that he could not help but hold back the smile that parted his lips.
"Do not look so smug", Kate retorted as she jabbed an accusing finger at his chest.
"I could never, I am a gentleman", he said before winking at her. "It is not my fault my wife cannot keep her hands off me yet at this point..."
Kate shot him an offended look at his impudence, but when Anthony hugged her tighter and bit her lower lip with desire, she forgot any complaints she might have about his statement. She could not say he was wrong.