A Defiant Liaison

IV

"The moment I saw her, a part of me walked out of my body and wrapped itself around her. And there it still remains." Arundhati Roy, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

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IV.

"Claire!" cried Grace, who promptly flew down the stairs to receive her sister and the new baby inside the Ashwood House foyer.

Peter did his best to avoid the footmen who were in the midst of carrying in the trunks belonging to the travellers, and in doing so, inadvertently looked up at the magnificent ceiling that stretched two floors above. One could never fully prepare themselves for setting foot in a house such as this, and considering their modest upbringing, he wondered if Grace had ever properly become used to it.

His eldest sister, he observed, did look very well, and every bit a young duchess, right down to the glittering earbobs which hung from her lobes. Grace kissed Claire's cheek before she delicately placed a hand on little Maria's head, softly cooing over the precious infant.

"Oh, what a treasure!" she gushed,

Both Jack and Claire were terribly proud. Neither one of them had stopped smiling in the two weeks since Maria had been born. Peter did not think that he had ever seen two people who were more pleased with their brood than Jack and Claire.

"And that hair! Denham features, do you think? Or is that Jack's colouring?" Grace wondered.

"Of course, it is Jack's colouring," Claire said confidently. "Maria is his double. I cannot see anyone else."

"I think you are right," Grace agreed, before she looked up at the rest of the party and gave them all an apologetic expression. "Do forgive my rudeness."

"It is allowed when there is precious cargo," Jack teased as he received his sister-in-law, kissing her cheek.

Grace kissed Jackie's cheeks and fussed over her a little before she arrived at Peter and pulled her brother in for a tight hug. Peter had to lean down to kiss Grace's cheek, as Grace murmured, "You have gotten taller."

Peter chuckled. "Perhaps you have shrunk."

"It has been too long," she continued. "You work too hard. Do not forget about us in quiet, old Hertfordshire, while you build your empire in town."

"I could never," Peter assured her. Despite living in London, and loving the work that he did, the natural thoughts that passed through his mind as they travelled through the Hertfordshire countryside was that this was home. No matter where he lived, Ashwood would always be home.

"Jack! Claire!"

A blonde woman streaked down the stairs so quickly she might have been a blur as Susanna appeared before them with the biggest expression of anticipation on her face. Oddly, she was dressed in a rather dull, shade of beige. The dress itself was pretty, but the fabric appeared quite out of character for someone as usually fashionable as Susanna was.

But Susanna had changed in between now and the time that Peter had last seen her, and he supposed her choices of clothing had perhaps changed, too. She was a little darker in her complexion, with a dusting of freckles across her nose, indicative of someone who spent a great deal of time outdoors. What shone the most, perhaps, was her radiance. She was happy, and the Susanna that Peter had last known in London was terribly frustrated with her lot in life. Despite the rather arduous adventure that she had gone through, she did not seem to regret any of it, and Peter was glad for her.

Susanna was the next one to fuss over the baby, and soon the entire household became aware of Jack and Claire's arrival, as Adam and Cecily descended upon them as well. The moment Cecily appeared, nobody else could claim the baby. Maria was in her grandmother's arms for the foreseeable future.