In Which Winter Would Not Intrude

September 26, 1188

"Were you a good boy for Winter today?" Lady Rona cooed as she picked up her youngest--youngest for about another month, anyway--and greeted him with a tickle. "Well?"

Dally only giggled, so Winter took it upon herself to answer. "He was a very good boy. You weren't too uncomfortable at the school today, were you, my lady?"

"Oh, Winter. I'm pregnant--not an invalid. I'll need plenty of time off after the baby gets here, so I might as well work all I can before." At least this baby seemed to be going easy on her employer, Winter supposed. If word among more senior staff was to be believed, both Darry and Aspen had been easy babies, but Yvanette had been the pregnancy from hell. Dally had been bearable for Lady Rona, but certainly not ideal. This one seemed at least calmer than their closest sibling, though maybe not so tame as the two before him. "Rough as they can be when they're inside, they'll have you running around all you can when they're out!"

"Oh, don't I know it." Though, she supposed it wasn't impossible that children were better for their nannies than their parents. Lady Rona's children didn't give Winter any trouble, or at least any trouble they couldn't help but give her, and neither had any of her previous employers'. Her stepchildren were darlings, and two of them barely qualified as children any more besides. It was only a matter of time, she guessed, before she knew for sure. "But speaking of that, I, uh... I do need to talk to you about... um, time off."

"Oh!" In no need of any further explanation, Lady Rona set Dally down, then returned to her full height, hands clasped together. "Winter, are you expecting?"

Winter smiled. "In the early part of April, yes."

"Oh, how exciting! I'm so happy for you." And she didn't look like she could have been lying, not with that giddy spark in her eye. "You'll make an excellent mother."

"Thank you. When I'm back after my leave, would you mind if I brought my baby along with me?"

"Not at all. It won't be too much younger than mine, after all; they ought to be fine playmates."

A funny thought, her baby playing with the child of a knight, the grandchild of a duke. How amused her dear mother would have been! "I should hope so."

"Splendid! I know Had probably has some of your stepchildren's baby things lying around, but if you need any more, don't hesitate to ask; between my children and my nieces and nephews and my younger siblings, my family always has plenty."

"That's very kind of you."

"And I hope you won't worry too much about the birth. It's worth it, I promise--for all the ones you've seen were just as disgusting as the ones I've seen, I'm sure of it."

Seen? "Actually, my lady... I haven't seen a birth."

Lady Rona's eyes widened. They were the same as Darry's--and rather like whenever the boy stubbed a toe. "Really? Not once?"

Winter shook her head. "I moved around a lot. I had friends, but most of them never had children while I was living near. I didn't have any sisters, and most of my female cousins lived in different shires."

"Oh. Well, awful a sight it is, you should see at least one before your time comes. Trust me, you'll be better off knowing what to expect." Lady Rona ran a hand over her baby's mass, then locked eyes with Winter again, grinning.

"You'll attend my baby's birth next month."

Winter blinked. A trusted lady's maid aside, surely that wasn't a servant's place. "Oh, I couldn't intrude."

"It wouldn't be intruding. Besides, I insist, and everyone knows better than to refuse a laboring woman anything she wants." She gave her stomach another pat. The baby must have been kicking. It wouldn't be long before Winter knew what that felt like. "And you'll be spending so much time with little Celina anyway that she might as well know you from the start."

"You think it will be a girl then?"

"Oh, I know she's a girl. The fun will come in seeing what yours is." Did Lady Rona want to attend Winter's baby's birth? She guessed that would be all right. Apart from Had's sister and sister-in-law, she hadn't given it too much thought... "Promise me you'll be there."

"All right." Yes, it would be gross, and painful--that much she'd figured. But Lady Rona was right; it would be better if she saw it done before attempting to do it herself. "I'll be there."

NEXT CHAPTER:

In Which Winter Makes and Is Made

July 18, 1187

"Winter, Winter!" Aspen skidded to a halt as her mother followed her into the room. The little girl had a tendency to trip over her own feet, so Lady Rona never cared to see her running. "Had's here!"

"Is he?" Landing one last tickle to little Dally's chin, Winter turned and greeted both her charge and her employer with a grin. Had did not make a habit of calling on her at work, which was probably why neither Lady Rona nor Sir Ashe seemed to mind on the off-chance he did. "Well, tell him to come in, silly."

"I did! But he says he doesn't want to keep you from your work long, so he'll just wait in the courtyard until you have a minute, then go run some errands after you talk."

"He wants to talk, then?" About nothing too serious, she hoped! Had wasn't her first suitor, but she'd always been busy back in Dovia, caring for her mother and caring for her father and making ends meet, so none of those courtships had lasted long enough for much 'talk'. But things had been going well, at least she thought, so it wouldn't be anything too horrible--surely? "How did he seem? Happy? A little somber?"

"He seems very happy," Lady Rona answered on her daughter's behalf. "Despite Aspen and Darry ambushing him as he walked in the gates. This one and Had got out unscathed, but the silly boy ripped his tunic."

"Do you need me to mend it?"

"Thank you, but I have Electra working on it right now." Lady Rona winked. Odd; in Winter's experience, noblewomen didn't typically make a habit of winking at their servants. "It's just a little tear. She can mend it while you talk to Had."

"You're sure you don't mind?"

"Of course I don't mind." She held out her arms and gestured for her youngest; somewhat unsure, Winter handed Dally over. "Now, go and talk to him before my middle two can pester him again."

"All right. I'll try to make it quick."

She hurried out of the nursery and made her way to the castle's front steps, nearly clearing two at once in her haste. Sure enough, she found Had at the bottom, on the path the cut through the courtyard.

"Allergies letting up?"

"A little." But God, she couldn't wait for December! She had her ups and downs, but anything below her brain and above her gut was not her own from April on to November. No, it was rented domain of phlegm, and phlegm refused to be evicted. But Had had seen her on some of her worse days in the past year, and if that hadn't chased him away, who knew what would. "I'll be in the clear once the Christmas wreaths go up."

"Good thing I have six months. That will be a tough Christmas present to beat."

"You don't have to get me a Christmas present."

"Oh, so you want to show up on Christmas morning with something wonderful for me, then watch me scramble?" Chuckling, he pulled her in for an embrace, his hand warm and gentle against her exposed upper back. "Not a chance."

"Damn. I was looking forward to seeing you flustered." She kissed him on the cheek, then stepped back, looking him over. He wasn't lacking in comical features--the beak-like nose, for instance--but they blended in such a way that somehow made for a handsome man.

It was the flaws, after all, that made one human. "Now, what did you want to speak to me about?"

"Ah, yes. Forgive me if I'm a little nervous." Nervous? Why on earth would he be nervous? She hadn't thought she intimidated him--and given past suitors, she'd appreciated that. "Thing is... I've been happy this past year. Very happy. And this after a time I hadn't thought I could be happy again."

Wait...

"Had?"

"It's true, Winter. And the reason I've been so happy is you. Every story about your old employers, the way you can't focus on anything else when there's an open book in front of you, even the sniffles from your allergies. You've been on my mind on a loop for months now, and even though my life is good and I know that now, nothing brings that to light quite like seeing you."

Was this? It couldn't have been...

"Winter Verona." He dropped to one knee, hand to his heart, eyes to her face. Not quite blue, not quite green, some wonderful in-between. "I love you. And, if you'll have me, I'd like to spend the rest of my life trying to make you just as happy as you've made me."

"Oh, Had." She couldn't help it. She leaped, practically sprung--landing squarely in his startled, yet reliable arms.

"You already have."

An exhale--relief. His grip tightened and relaxed all at once. "So... you'll marry me?"

"Of course I'll marry you." As she slipped down from his arms, she wondered if she ought to have been more subtle. But who cared? He certainly didn't. Nor did she. "I love you too."

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