Emilia tiredly opened her eyes and peeked at her husband, who had recently entered her room from his bath. He didn't say anything to her at first, only moving over to fluff up the pillows under her and gather up the books on the nightstand. He deposited them on a nearby shelf before grabbing a towel and a pitcher of water and heading back over to his wife. He pushed her sweaty bangs away from her forehead and roughly wiped it across her forehead, brows creasing in concentration.
"I can do it, sir!" exclaimed a maid as she peeked into the room. She headed in and deposited one of Emilia's dresses against the dresser, holding out her hand for the damp towel. Cooing over the weakened woman, the maid wiped away the residue on Emilia's brow. "You'll be getting better soon and you will be having another baby after that, okay? No need to worry!"
Exhausted tears pounded against Emilia's eyes as the maid continued. After a few minutes that seemed to last years to the woman, the maid was bid out of the room.
"Mason, could you come over here?" Emilia called out as soon as the servant had left.
The man looked up from his glass of cognac before moving closer to his wife. As soon as he had gotten her within his reach, she moved her hand out and brushed it through his raven hair, a soft smile replacing her solemn expression. "Your hair is really soft when you wash it~"
"Interesting..." the man mumbled as her fingers faltered and she tilted her head.
"I promise you that I'm going to be fine, Mason. How is Elijah doing, honey?"
"The doctor is still a bit unsure. Effie and Arabella are playing together in the other room with Jane watching over them. She also brought her son there with her. Now that I think about it, I have to discuss with the cook what we should be having for dinner..." Mason trailed off as he walked out of Emilia's reach. "I'll be coming back. If you need anything, just ring for a maid."
As soon as he had left, Emilia merely sighed and listened to the muffled sound of her two other children singing and clapping their tiny hands in the other room.
Surely, Elijah will be doing that when he gets old enough, Emilia surmised before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.
A/N: One of my friends wanted to see Mason as a morally gray character and had therefore requested a prompt where he was not outright evil.
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The Butterfly Caught in the Spider's Web (Alois Trancy x OC)
FanfictionArabella finds herself engaged to the infamous Alois Trancy, whom she has a strong disliking for. Can she learn to love him, or will their already tenuous relationship snap?
