𝑂𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑙....
In a world of bloody war and misgivings that lead to treason, there is only one thing Catherine Percy can be sure of and that is danger.
Her life had not always been thus, f...
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~The Sun of my Earth~
June 1468, three months later....
Catherine and Richard could only marvel in awe as the months of pregnancy began to change Catherine's young body. Her breasts swelled, becoming almost painfully tender, so that he had to be careful whenever he caressed her, and her belly began to expand, possessing a soft curve that was the first true sign of life.
The young Duke and Duchess found that they adored nothing more than to spend an evening by the fire, their hands placed gently atop her swelled stomach in the hope of feeling a little kick or movement. Both yearned to feel their child beneath their fingers, to know that their baby was safe and healthy, a strong York ready to enter the world.
No such movement had been felt yet but they were assured that they soon would and neither could wait for that fantasy to become true.
At just fifteen, Catherine knew that she was rather young to carry a child and it appeared Richard knew this too for he hardly ever let her out of his sight. Day after day he sent for the best physicians in the land to examine her and the babe, his constant worry for her health as endearing as it could be irritating at times!
Whatever she wished to do, Richard insisted upon doing it with her, weather that was taking a walk in the gardens or climbing the stairs to bed. He was there each second, each step, one arm around her waist and his gaze constantly on the soft swell of her belly. He came to be recognised as constantly carrying a look of deep worry in his eyes, one that at times appeared the nerves of an excited child and at others the true concern of a man soon to become a Father.
At least five times a day he asked his Duchess if she was well and took to asking each of her servants the same, keeping a close watch on her every move. He knew Catherine sometimes felt he was restricting her, especially when he suggested she no longer hunt nor ride, but he was determined to keep she and their baby safe.
The news that she was with child had all but consumed him and now nothing else on earth mattered. All he cared about was Catherine's safety an the safety of their baby. His little son or daughter. Each night he prayed to God for their health and that the birth would go well, an event that was still months away yet loomed over the young couple like a dark cloud.
For all the joy a new child brought, childbirth could prove to be all but a death sentence for all Mothers, no matter how young or how many babes they had born before. Childbed fever could as easily take a soul from earth as childbirth itself and, although she had not spoken of it, Richard knew Catherine feared the day when their baby would come into the world.
Each night, he prayed with all his heart that the birth would be easy and as painless as possible. He was determined not to lose her, or their child.
