The Werewolf's Pregnant Bride (7 page)

"Perhaps you should cease speaking of things you know nothing about," Nathaniel said curtly. He handed his tickets to the attendant and then found a seat quite near the back.

Nathaniel felt like his head was fuming. He wished he had never agreed to go to the silly circus in the first place and even more so he wished he had not brought his ridiculous wife. What did she know about anything? She was nothing but a silly American woman.

His dogs had a wonderful life. All of his animals were cared for and fed. They were not like the filthy and starving dogs one often found in the street. They were born and raised to pull the carriages. Not one dog that was not happy doing it was ever harnessed up. It would have been futile and ridiculous to do so. His dogs liked pulling. They liked following their pack leader.

Assuming the animals at the circus were treated kindly and cared for well they were as well off traveling with their human companions as being hunted by predators and trophy collectors in their native lands. Had the girl never seen real hardship?

She talked well about slavery but had she ever seen it? Had she seen the hungry and impoverished in the streets of London? He did not believe in slavery. It did not seem right for one man to sell another. Still, that did not mean that life was never cruel to people, even free people. She might think him arrogant, pompous, and spoiled but she was unrealistic and idealistic. He could not save the world. No one could. Instead, he worried about his little corner of the world. He made sure that his dogs were cared for and bred for the tasks required of them. His family made sure that the tenants on their land had what they needed. He showed all the household staff the respect they deserved. Nathaniel was even making sure that the chit who might be carrying his brother's bastard had a home instead of ending up destitute on the streets. It would serve her right and might show her what real hardship was about. Obviously, she had nothing better to do than argue that the horses be brushed ten times a day and the lions be given the freshest meat. Would she care so much about the rest of the world if she was trying to put food into the mouth of a babe as a woman on the streets? If she was a factory worker barely scraping by and always afraid that machines would take her job would she care so much about enslaved Negroes?

Sophronia looked to the large ring that divided the spectators from the circus performers. She wondered if Mercy would be angry with her once they were home. She hoped not. Claire and Mercy were the only people she really had now. They were the only ones who might make life as Nathaniel's wife bearable.

Perhaps she should have held her tongue. Her mother always did say that she should be less free with her words. Her tongue had certainly done little to keep the peace back home with her mother.

The ringmaster came to the center of the ring and announced the first act.

Sophronia watched as a monkey did tricks on the back of a horse while it galloped in circles around the ring. The audience cheered and Sophronia found herself amused by its antics in spite of herself.

This circus was one of the better ones that Nathaniel had seen. It had a lion tamer, acrobats, rope dancers, jugglers, clowns, and an elephant. The elephant was a bit on the scrawny side and it did the required tricks without enthusiasm. As someone who worked with animals day in and day out he could see that the elephant was not thriving in its life in the ring. His own dogs were happy with the life they had but perhaps this elephant had known the freedom of the African savannahs before being brought to do tricks for people. He could not know for sure but he thought that at least in this one instance there might be something reasonable for the silly society to protest. Let them find a way to bring life back into the elephant’s eyes. He just needed them to stay away from his well cared for and happy dogs.

He offered his hand to Mercy and Sophronia and they walked in silence back to the carriage. They were feet away when Sophronia began to yawn.

"Perhaps you should rest once we arrive home. It can not be good for either you or the child to be overly tired," he whispered to her.

He wondered if she was still in her feisty mood from earlier and would argue that women carried babes while working in cotton fields and factories. He never let his pregnant bitches pull loads and he suspected that women forced to exert themselves during their pregnancies lost more children and had higher mortality though he would say neither thing to his wife.

"I think I will rest. I did not think it would be such an exertion. Still, it was a lovely day," Sophronia said. He wondered if the exhaustion had calmed her or if perhaps she had thought about his words and decided she did not want to argue with her husband any longer. Perhaps, she had even seen the wisdom in what he had said though he doubted that. He had dealt with bitches as stubborn as his wife. It took a skilled hand to convince the canine ones to submit to their master and do as they should.

Chapter 11

Sophronia found the family unusually quiet at breakfast. Eldon was not enjoying his usual alcohol and Nathaniel did not appear to be eating at all. Wolstenholme was reading a paper at the head of the table.

Vivian and Claire had not arrived at the table at all and Sophronia wondered if they were packing for their excursion. They had been most tight lipped about where they were going and what they were doing. If she was not feeling so exhausted she might have been put out about the whole business. Instead, she was glad to have the house nearly to herself. She thought the peace and quiet would do her good. She would have Mercy for company and she would be rid of Vivian.

"Perhaps you should take your wife for a walk in the garden before we depart. It would not due for her to fall ill from your absence," Wolstenholme said. At first Sophronia thought that he was speaking to Eldon but then she remembered that Eldon's wife would be journeying with them. Since the only other married man in the room was Nathaniel she realized Wolstenholme must be speaking to her husband.

"The weather is pleasant enough," Nathaniel said without enthusiasm.

"Only if you are sure you have the time," Sophronia said. They had been doing so well at avoiding each other since their visit to the circus. It seemed a shame to stop their avoidance now when he would be gone for several days.

"I can make the time," Nathaniel muttered.

"Very well," Sophronia said. She took the smallest amount of food she could get by on and once she was finished Nathaniel offered her his arm and led her out to the gardens.

He had been meaning to talk to her but he kept getting distracted. There had been a complication with one of his bitches and he had lost a promising litter of pups over the last two days. Between that and the preparations for the trip his intentions of spending time with Sophronia had continued to be delayed. He might have waited until his return had his father not interfered. One of the few positives about the relocation his father was forcing on him was that his father would not be at the breakfast table to stick his nose in Nathaniel's marital relations.

"The weather is pleasant," Sophronia said after several moments of silence.

"It is."

"That will make your journey comfortable?"

"Passable."

"You are set to return in four days?"

"That is correct. Mercy will be here to keep you company and Ruth will see to your needs."

"This is a visit you make frequently?"

"Monthly, though Vivian doesn't often accompany us. She is only along as a guest of Claire's for this trip."

"If it helps assuage your fears I can assure you that your absence will barely be noticed and that it will in no way make me ill to find myself under a roof where you are not," Sophronia said. He supposed her words were meant to rile him but instead he wanted to laugh. He had not really thought that even after their passionate night together she was attached enough to him to be heartbroken by his departure no matter what his father might have thought.

"I am relieved to hear it. I would hate to spend my nights lying in bed worried about your welfare," Nathaniel said. He made sure his voice was playful. He did not want to start a fight before he left. Instead, he wanted to attempt to make some repair.

Leaving for the full moon was always unpredictable. Most moon cycles things were calm and the worst that happened was an injury from a bear that was hunted while everyone was in wolf form.

Still, sometimes accidents happened. There had been a death during a moon cycle six months ago. Werewolf hunters had found them out on the mountainside. His pack had killed the hunters but not before they had used a silver bullet to end the life of a wolf. His father's alpha order not to go into the woods when his instincts were telling him to give chase had saved his life. The wolf killed had been his friend and Nathaniel had intended to follow him out from the brush where most of the pack was hiding. His father had sent wolves out to creep up behind the hunters. Nathaniel and Mathew had not wanted to wait. Mathew was not a member of their pack and so did not have to heed the alpha command. Had Nathaniel not been given the command to stay in hiding where he was then he would almost certainly have died along with Mathew.

New precautions had been put in place so that was unlikely to happen again but still there were always certain dangers that came with the full moon.

"You will not be doing anything dangerous?" Sophronia asked.

"Only a hunting trip. There is very little danger involved," Nathaniel assured.

"Except to your unsuspecting prey," Sophronia countered. He should have seen that coming after her argument at the circus about animal rights. Still, had she not eaten bacon that very morning?

"You can lecture me on the cruelty of hunting once you give up eating the flesh of hunted beasts."

"I suppose that was hypocritical of me to say," Sophronia said with a sigh.

"It is good for a lady to forget how her food comes to the table," Nathaniel said. It was hard to imagine a lady in a fine silk dress with white gloves splattered with animal blood. Peasant women might be fine up to their arms in a turkey carcass but not women like Sophronia.

"If a lady should have distance from hunting then why are Vivian and Claire going?"

"For the same reasons you and Mercy are not," he said. He would need to tell her about werewolves one day he realized. It would not be that day or any day soon but there was no way she could live under his roof and raise a were-child without knowing.

He was surprised that she gave no protest though he guessed that with the babe in her belly the idea of hunting held little appeal. She was not really desirous to go. She just hated being told that she could not go.

"Take care of yourself while I am gone. Ruth can get a message to me if we are truly needed," Nathaniel said. Sophronia nodded.

They were near the garden exit and it was almost time for them to leave. On impulse, he leaned forward and kissed her cheek.

"I will not need you," Sophronia whispered.

The house was quiet once everyone had left. Sophronia took a nap until her body was so rested that sleep was not an option. It was evening but not fully dark. She asked Ruth to bring her a tray of food and when she was finished eating she made her way to the library.

Mercy was on a chaise lounge upholstered in red velvet. She had a book in her hands and only turned her head for a moment when Sophronia arrived then brought her attention back to Pride and Prejudice.

Sophronia scanned the shelves. She was not in the mood for books of love but she also had no desire to read Greek tragedies or Shakespeare. Instead, she plucked the story of Don Quixote from the shelves and settled herself in a chair. 

"I love my brothers dearly but I do enjoy the peace when they are gone," Mercy said. In Sophronia's book Alonzo, who would become known as Don Quixote, was comparing the bravery of Cid Ruydiaz with the Knight of the Burning Sword. She had not read very far. Alonzo had not yet left his estate and gone off on a quest to try and save the world.

"I like the peace as well," Sophronia agreed.

"I suppose we should enjoy it while we can. Once the little one arrives I think there will be less peace and quiet."

"I think you are right," Sophronia said. She vaguely remembered when her sisters were small. They had been wailing little things at times.

"It will be a change, though a welcome one. I wondered how long it would be before I had a niece or nephew once Eldon and Claire set a wedding date. It is much quicker than I anticipated."

"I am glad that the family will welcome the baby," Sophronia said. She did know that she was fortunate. She might not have the life she had planned but as a fallen woman her fate could be much worse.

"Do you have a nursemaid in mind or will you allow us to find a woman from our estate. The nurse who cared for me and my brothers is still young enough to care for a child. I believe she was who Eldon intended to hire to care for his children. I can sent word to her and ask if she would be willing to care for your child."

"As Nathaniel and I will not be living at the main house would it not be better to have separate nurses for separate nurseries?"

"I suppose that will depend on how old your child is when Claire has a child," Mercy said, "Though I doubt Claire would begrudge you the nursemaid until her child was born. She is sensible except where my brother is concerned. With Eldon she is perhaps a bit blind but I do believe that is the kind of love my brother needs. He needs a woman to give him the same blind love he misses from our mother."

"It is a very difficult role mothers have," Sophronia said. Her own mother was a woman to be in awe of but not to love. She did not want to be that sort of mother but she was not sure how she would love her child. The child was neither given to her by the man she loved nor something she had planned and wanted. She supposed if the child had been fathered by a man she loved or at least been the result of a marriage where the child had been hoped for and wanted that she might have true love and affection for it. Even now when she often felt it moving within her she felt a great distance from it. She had not thought of who would care for the child once it was born nor had she thought twice about a nursery for the child. Likely, the house Wolstenholme had promised Nathaniel would not be built before the child was born and the first year of the child's life would be spent in the main house. It did seem appropriate that the child be in the same house as the man who had fathered him though that man would act as his uncle. It all was so confusing.

"I am sure that Ruth can be of some help to you if you are in need. If my mother was here she would be able to advise you. Or, I suppose, you could write to your own mother for advice though I worry the correspondence will take too much time," Mercy said.

Sophronia would not ask her mother any advice about parenting. She would not have even if her mother had lived in the same town instead of across the ocean. Still, the distance was a reasonable excuse as to why she needed the advice of a woman closer by.

"I think I shall ask Ruth tomorrow what we will need to prepare for the child," Sophronia said.

"I will help with the preparations if you like. Claire will want to help as well," Mercy said.

"Perhaps it is better if we do it during the times they are away. It must be difficult for Claire to see me giving Nathaniel a child when she has not yet given Eldon one though Nathaniel and I are just married," Sophronia said. Her situation was not enviable but if Claire never gave Eldon a son and Nathaniel inherited then her sons could potentially inherit the estate. Until Claire birthed an heir there would always be some discomfort surrounding Sophronia's child if it was a son. Things would be even worse if Claire ever came to know or suspect the truth. Sparing her feelings would be a good reason to keep some distance between Claire and her child which would give them the best chance of preventing Claire from discovering the truth.