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Anthony knew it was going to be a stressful morning from the moment he stepped out of the carriage with Edmund holding his hand and Miles clinging to his hip.
📍BRIDGERTON HOUSE
At the end of her pregnancy, Kate was more exhausted than she would like to admit. The size of her belly made it impossible to get a comfortable sleeping position, her back and feet ached, and she was dealing with two particularly active and unruly children under the age of six. Kate supposed that rest was her price to pay for extending the Bridgerton family.
So there she was, awake, exhausted, sore and surviving her third night of barely any sleep because of the tiny feet of her last unborn child, and with Edmund and Miles snoring in her ear tucked between her and Anthony. Though Anthony had sworn he would be as strict with his sons as he was with his brothers, he was the more permissive of the two.
She noticed a tiny hand stroking a strand of her hair. She turned around with a smile on her lips. Her eyes adjusted to the dim light of dawn and focused on Miles' dimpled smile.
"Hi amma"
"Hi, my love", Kate slipped her arm over his neck and pulled him close to her body. Miles buried his little face in Kate's neck and let out a happy sigh. "Did papa let you sleep in here?"
"Yep, I was cold and I woke Neddy to walk me down the hall... it scares me". Kate's lips parted in a smile as she watched her youngest son furrow his eyebrows like his father. "We woke papa up so we would not disturb you, mommy. He told us we could stay", he finished moving closer to her body and clenching the strap of her nightgown in his little fist. "Did we wake you up?" he asked in a high-pitched little voice.
"No, my love. I was woken by your little brother's feet".
Miles sat up with a smile on his lips. "Is he kicking? May I? Please please please please".
"Ssshhh", Kate whispered putting a finger to her lips to silence him. Miles put a small hand to his mouth, though you could tell he was smiling, his wide eyes alight with mischief.
Kate grabbed his hand and brought it close to her navel. They waited in silence. Miles did not take his eyes off his mother's belly and Kate gawked at him, waiting anxiously for her last child to kick again.
"Amma! Did you feel that? He greeted me!" he squealed.
Anthony grunted across the bed. "Miles, stop squealing, you are going to wake amma". He groaned again and put his arm over his eyes.
"You are late, my lord".
Anthony raised his hand to look at her with a smile on his lips. "Lady Bridgerton".
"Hello papa!".
"Hello sweetheart".
Miles stepped over Edmund and threw himself on his father's chest. Anthony deposited a kiss in his hair and pulled him away from his poor brother, whom he had already forcibly awakened. "My new brother greeted me, papa".
"Good morning Neddy", said his mother, pulling poor Edmund away from Miles' nervous energy and showering his face with kisses. Edmund turned completely over to his mother and pressed himself against her body to continue sleeping. Kate covered her mouth, stifling a yawn.
"Papa! Did you hear me? My brother said hello! Neddy!", cried Miles again. Edmund sat up and turned to him stoically, rubbing his eyes with clenched fists and yawning shamelessly. Kate sat up to reach for the glass of water on her bedside table.
"Miles, be quiet", her father scolded. "Amma's tired". The two brothers began elbowing each other to annoy the other. "Hey, you promised me yesterday that if I let you sleep here, you would be good. Stop it. Edmund!".
"But I have done nothing!", shrieked Edmund indignantly. " It is his fault! Miles! shut up!".
Chaos broke out. Edmund lunged at Miles and put his hand against his mouth to stop him from speaking, Miles scrambled to get rid of him and they began to roll around on the bed. Anthony tried to pull them apart, but Edmund stretched out a leg with such bad luck that it hit Kate's hand, causing the glass he was drinking from to slip from his grip, spilling over Kate herself.
"Aaah, children!".
The fight stopped immediately. As soon as Kate turned her head already scowling, three pairs of eyes looked up at her in fright.
"It was him", the two brothers shrieked in unison, pointing an accusing finger at each other.
Kate took a deep breath, trying to calm herself and not burst into tears. She knew it was normal for brothers to argue, especially at the ages Edmund and Miles were, even Anthony had admitted to her that he used to fight with Benedict and then Colin when they were children. It was, after all, kid stuff. Still, she could not help but feel overwhelmed, and in less than two months there would be another one. The emotions of pregnancy began to overwhelm her again.
Anthony saw Kate blink several times, struggling to hold back tears. "My love, are you all right?".
"Yes..." she whimpered.
"Boys, go get the nurse and tell her to get you ready to go out," Anthony ordered as he got out of bed to walk in Kate's direction.
"Sorry, amma" the two whispered regretfully.
They both left accompanied by Newton and the door clicked shut. Anthony sat down next to his wife, motioning with a tug on her hand for her to lean against him. When Kate's head rested on his shoulder, Anthony massaged her lower back until she sighed in relief.
"Are you okay?".
"Yeah... I am just a little overwhelmed. It is a little while before the baby comes, I cannot sleep, my back hurts like hell and on top of that they keep arguing lately... I do not know how we are going to make it when there are three of them...", Kate finished with a crack in her voice.
"We have enough nurses...".
"You know as well as I do that children need their parents, Anthony... We cannot make someone else take over when things are not going well, we never have." Kate blew her nose with the embroidered handkerchief he had held out to her, which she had made herself before the wedding. " It is silly, let it go. I am overwhelmed, there is no need to make a big deal out of it". She waved her hand dismissively.
"It does matter, Kate", Anthony ran his hand slowly over her protruding belly. "Let's do this, shall we?". Kate's eyes connected with his, still a little teary. "I am going to take the kids on errands with me, so you can have this time to yourself... I am going to ask the maids to run you a nice warm bath for your aching back", he said kissing the curve of her neck, "and then have them send up your breakfast", he added kissing her cheek. "And then you have the whole morning to rest, no kids begging for attention, no fights, no overprotective husbands hanging around", he finished kissing the tip of her nose.
That last earned him a smile. "Sounds great".
"Now go change before I keep seeing you with your see-through nightgown clinging to your body, I cannot promise I will make it out of this room in time". Anthony purred in her ear.
"Fool", Kate whispered into his mouth. " You are incorrigible".
After a few extra minutes in his arms and some goodbye kisses, Anthony headed for the dressing room mentally preparing himself for the day.
📍TAILOR'S SHOP
"What is the plan?" Anthony asked his sons once they got out of the carriage.
"Tailor's shop, jeweller's shop and Gunter's," they said at the same time.
"All right, if that is all clear gentlemen, here we go".
The three of them walked through the door of Mr. Green's tailor's shop, the chime of the door bell filling the silent shop.
"Lord Bridgerton, it is a pleasure to see you again", said Mr. Green with a nod.
"Mr. Green".
"And I see you are well accompanied by true gentlemen", the tailor added.
"Hello, Mr. Green, I'm Edmund Bridgerton and this is my brother Miles", Edmund said emulating his father's serious tone.
"Heeeello", Miles added squeezing tighter around Anthony's neck.
Mr. Green smiled at the boys. "So, to what do we owe the honour?".
"We were coming to see if you could make us three waistcoats for the next ball", Anthony said as he lifted Miles higher on his hip. "I think Lady Bridgerton might like it if the three of us have matching formal wear", Anthony added with a final throat clearing.
"Papa, your ears are red", Edmund pointed out.
"Not at all," smiled Anthony looking down at his impertinent son.
"Yes, it is too", Miles pointed out, sticking his finger in it.
Mr. Green, in all his goodness, held back his laughter at the image. He cleared his throat to get their attention. "If you will come this way, I will show you the new material".
...
"Edmund, stop moving", Anthony said for the tenth time.
"Papa, it is itchy", he complained again trying not to move from his seat.
"It is done Mr. Bridgerton", smiled Mr. Green. "Well we have all the measurements and patterns, I suppose by next week all three will be done, my lord".
"Great, I will have a servant come and collect them. Thank you again, Mr. Green". Anthony said goodbye, leading his children out the door.
"Do you think amma will like the surprise?" asked Miles with a frown.
"Of course", Anthony said flatly, scooping him up in his arms and grasping Edmund's hand.
"Besides they're purple, it's his favourite colour," Edmund added seriously.
Once the bells stopped ringing after the door closed, the shop fell silent again.
📍JEWELLER'S SHOP
"Edmund, look after your brother", Anthony ordered as he removed his gloves and approached the counter. "And do not touch anything".
The children were surprisingly well behaved, much to their father's delight, gazing at the silver and gold gadgets resting on a shelf, whispering to each other, laughing at their witticisms... yet all good things must come to an end.
As Anthony furrowed his eyebrows together, assessing each of the pieces Mr. Storr showed him, his children came over to see what was taking him so long.
"I can still show you more designs, my lord", Mr. Storr murmured, "Or even, if you have any designs in mind, I would be happy to turn them into reality, if I may suggest".
"I do not think mamma would like to have a pear-shaped brooch...", Edmund commented with a wrinkled nose. "Could you make one in the shape of a corgi?" he asked excitedly.
"Oh yes", added his brother effusively.
"Yeah right, I just needed to make a brooch for the menace," Anthony muttered wryly not as quietly as he would have liked.
"Papa, Newton is not a menace!", commented Miles with a horrified look on his face.
"Papa, that brooch in the shape of an angry duck is beautiful!" said Edmund gleefully. His brother nodded solemnly from behind. Anthony just looked at him, not knowing what to say about it.
...
Mr. Storr brought out another box full of finely detailed rings, far more elaborate and expensive than the ones he had previously shown him. In front of all that display, one ring caught Anthony's eye so much that he knew immediately that this was the one. "I will take that one", he said with a smug smile on his lips.
Mr. Storr smiled back and headed for the shop's stockroom in search of the right wrapping.
"Let me see", Edmund asked, standing on tiptoe, clutching the counter.
"I want to see too", Miles squealed.
"But I have said so before", Edmund shrieked back.
"Boys", Anthony interjected, trying to calm them down.
"Do not push me!", whined Miles.
"You do not push me!"
Anthony did not even have time to react, but to him, the sequence happened very slowly. Edmund stood on tiptoe clutching the counter trying to catch a glimpse of the box filled with dozens of rings, brooches, earrings and necklaces on the display case. Miles pushed him harder than anyone would think for his age, which caused Edmund to become unsteady and in his haste to keep from falling, he tried to grab hold of the counter. With such bad luck that he grabbed the edge of the box and took it with him to the floor. As he fell, he took his brother with him, who pushed the coat rack next to the counter, which in turn hit the shelves attached to the wall full of small jewellery.
After the initial clatter of metal on the marble floor, both from the box and the surrounding shelves, Anthony watched in horror as dozens of pieces of jewellery scattered across the floor in all directions. Had he not been more concerned about his children, he might have shrieked.
"Edmund, Miles, are you all right, are you hurt?".
"He pushed me", he pouted so adorably that Anthony just wanted to shield him from everything.
"He did not let me see", Miles added in his defence, now also terribly sad. "And he threw me away, too".
"You guys cannot fight at the drop of a hat all the time. You are brothers, you are supposed to look after each other, and the new baby when it comes", Anthony sighed, helping Edmund and Miles up from the floor, trying to fix their clothes and hair as well. "Miles, say sorry for pushing him and..." he raised his voice a little before Miles groaned, "Edmund, say sorry for not letting him see and throwing him away".
"Sorry", they said in truly repentant unison.
"Now give you two a hug and then help me pick up all the mess that hav-".
Anthony did not get to finish the sentence as Mr. Storr appeared in the doorway stifling a scream of horror.
"Oops, papa, I do not think we are going to have time," Miles commented in what Anthony assumed was a whisper to him.
Edmund bent down again to pick up a particular piece, went to the jeweller, stood on tiptoe again and left the ring, chosen by Anthony before this disaster, on the counter. " We would like it gift-wrapped, please".
Anthony felt so embarrassed that he knew it would be a long time before he returned to that jeweller's shop.
📍GUNTER’S
Once they reached their last stop, the three Bridgertons sat down at a table, each with their own ice cream. Anthony lemon, Edmund strawberry and Miles vanilla.
"I had a great time today, papa", Miles said, his mouth stained with ice cream.
Anthony grimaced, he supposed the fun of the day depended on perspective. He pulled out his handkerchief again to wipe both their faces and hands. " I am glad, though I think we could have done without the jeweller's shop show". He knew that as soon as he told Kate, she would die laughing.
"Papa"
"Mmm?"
"Do you think we are going to have a brother or sister?", asked Edmund with a frown.
"I hope for your poor mother's sake it is a girl. I do not think she will put up with another man to look after", Anthony said with a half laugh.
"I want another brother", Miles pointed out. "Girls are so boring".
"Amma is a girl, too", Anthony added, licking the rest of the ice cream from his lips. "And I think I have never had as much fun with anyone as I have had with her".
"Yeah, but amma does not count", Miles remarked.
"Why not?", asked Anthony genuinely intrigued.
"Because amma is... amma... she reads us stories every night, we go for walks with Newton, she plays with us on the nursery floor... she is not like the other ladies", Edmund replied for Miles rolling his eyes.
Anthony smiled, " You are right amma is amma... and for that reason if you have a sister, she will be different too...". Miles shrugged. "So I hope as soon as we get back home there will be no more absurd fights, promise?" asked Anthony raising an eyebrow.
"Promiiiiised," said the brothers with annoyance.
📍BRIDGERTON HOUSE
"Ammaaaaa", they both squealed into the viscountess's sitting room with Newton close on their heels (it used to be her bedroom, but due to disuse, Kate decided it would be better as a space of its own to read and relax).
"My little gentlemen", Kate hugged them, showering their little faces with kisses. "I have missed you all morning".
"Papa took us out for ice cream!", squealed Miles.
"It was a secret, you silly", Edmund muttered.
"What a pair of wingmen I have got myself," Anthony commented from the doorway. He walked over to his wife, who was lying on the couch, flanked by their two children. "How are you?" he asked as he leaned over to kiss her on her mouth.
"Much better now", she murmured against his lips before capturing them in a kiss.
"Ewww", moaned the two miniature versions of the viscount surrounding her.
"We bought you a present!", snitched Edmund this time.
"Yes, papa, give it to her!", added his wingman.
Kate looked at him as excited as she was amused. Anthony scooped Miles into his arms and sat down next to Kate, laying Miles in his lap. Then he pulled the box wrapped with a huge bow out of his pocket, handing it to Kate to open. He draped his arm over her shoulders and leaned back on the couch.
"It is a ring", Miles added happily.
All three of them stared dumbfounded at it.
"What?", he asked genuinely surprised by the silence.
Kate finally started laughing to the point of tears, causing Edmund to start laughing as well and eventually rubbing off on Anthony who kissed his youngest son on the cheek.
"Honey, you cannot tell what a present is before you open it", Kate clarified, patting Miles' little head. Finally, Kate opened the package, and as she removed the lid she gasped. It was a beautiful ring, silver, with fine diamonds shaped like three intertwined tulips.
"Anthony..."
"Since we are going to be a family with three little monsters, I thought we needed a symbol to go with it, did we not? A tulip for each child you have given us, Kate", Anthony said as he took the ring out of the box and placed it next to his wedding ring. "Do you like it?"
"Do I like it? Anthony... it is beautiful... I do not know what to say", she whispered wiping a tear from her cheek. "I love you. So much". She brought the hand with the ring up to her cheek and pulled him close for a kiss. "I love you all so much".
Edmund hugged his mother tighter, as did Miles who rested his face on her belly, while Anthony rested his cheek against Kate's head. If happiness could be depicted, this scene was certainly the best definition.
"I still think the angry duck brooch would have been a good choice papa, but if you like the ring too, amma, then that is the important thing", whispered Edmund causing both parents to burst out laughing.