Freedom in Marriage: A Southern Historical Romance ✅

Chapter Thirteen

**This has not been edited or proofread.

Easton

I ran my hand over my horse's flank, admiring his smooth coat after the brush I'd given him. Normally, I let the stable hands brush him after a day of riding, but I wanted to be out in the sunshine and the warmth just a little bit longer. It wouldn't be too much longer before the cold weather began to move in for good and winter bore down upon us.

"Easton?" I looked over in surprise at my little sister, Evangeline. She was supposed to be inside reading.

"What are you doing outside, little one?" I asked her. I beckoned over one of the stable hands, and he quickly made his way over to put my horse in his stable so he could be fed and watered. "You're supposed to be doing your reading for the day," I gently reprimanded her.

She fiddled with her fingers. "There's a lady I don't know in the house. She came knocking, and she looks really upset." I frowned. "Catherine is with her."

I grabbed my little sister's hand in mine and quickly led the way to the backdoors of the house. Once we were inside, I ushered her back to the library to finish her reading for the day and quickly went in search of Catherine and whatever strange woman was in our house.

I didn't like the idea of my wife being around someone I was unfamiliar with or inviting this person into our home.

I was surprised to see Lottie sitting next to Catherine in the lounge room. Lottie was much too pale, and her hands were trembling around the teacup in her hands. They both looked up when I walked into the room, and Catherine quickly stood to her feet. When Lottie began to stand as well, Catherine quickly beckoned for her to stay seated before making her way over to me.

"What's going on?" I asked quietly, clasping my wife's hips and running my eyes over her face as if her expression held all the answers to my questions.

"Lottie had an incident last night. A lot of cramps. She's also not feeling well. Barely able to hold anything down. I sent for the doctor already. She didn't know where else to go."

I pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Can you check on the girls for me?"

She nodded and quickly left the room, her skirts rustling around her feet as she made her way out of the room. I headed over to Lottie, taking a seat beside her. "Lottie? Can you explain to me what's going on?"

"I can't afford a doctor." Tears swam in her eyes. "I know you're doing so much. Both you and your brother are. I can't ask for more, but if I lose my baby—"

"Easy," I soothed, patting her hand. "If you need a doctor, then we'll pay for one. And until you're better and we know you're going to be okay, you'll stay here where we can keep an eye on you and help you."

"But your family. Your wife." Her eyes pinched shut. "Your mother," she added in a whisper.

"My mother has no say in what happens in this house, and she hasn't since my father passed," I told Lottie calmly. "What I say goes. And I say you need to stay here until we know you're okay. And I know my wife will agree."

A tight smile pulled at Lottie's lips. "She's so nice. So kind. Any other woman would have turned me away."

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Catherine is one of a kind, and she means the world to me. I'm an incredibly lucky man to have her as my wife."

My brother entered the house, pulling his hat off his head, his boots thumping across the hardwood floors. The doctor followed him in, and I quickly got up so the doctor could take my spot. He settled his bag on the table before offering a kind smile to Lottie. "I hear you're having a bit of a rough day," he started as he took a seat next to her.

My brother came to stand next to me. "Is she staying?" he asked me quietly.

I nodded. "Until we know she's okay, I don't want her by herself. Bastard child or not, that baby is part of this family."

My brother clapped his hand to my shoulder. "Understood. I'll get a couple of the housemaids to head over to her place in town and clean it up and stock it with food so when she can go home, she doesn't have that added stress."

"Good idea," I murmured, watching as the doctor spoke quietly with Lottie, inspecting her belly with his hands. "It might be a good idea to hire a permanent housemaid for her as well. She'll need one as she gets further along in her pregnancy and especially after the baby comes."

"Agreed," Ethan said softly.

"She's not bleeding," the doctor told us as he began to pack his bag back up. "I'd like to come back tomorrow and see how she's doing, but resting will be her best friend for the time being."

"Not a problem," I assured him. "She'll be staying here with us until she's feeling better and you give her a clean bill of health."

The doctor held his hand out to me, a smile tilting his lips. "You always have been a good man, Easton."

I shook his hand. "I have a responsibility to that child and to Lottie," I said with a shrug. "I've never been one to shove aside my responsibilities."

He chuckled. "You tell yourself it's just a responsibility then, Easton. You gentleman have a good evening. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon after lunch."

"We'll see you then." After I let him out, I turned to Ethan. "Can you put Lottie up in a room?" I asked him. "I need to check on Catherine and the girls."

Ethan rolled his eyes. "Where's Mom?"

I just shrugged at him. He grunted before walking over to Lottie, a kind smile on his face. "Let's get you settled upstairs," I heard him tell her as I headed toward the library.

When I got to the entrance, I stopped in the doorway and leaned a shoulder on the door jamb, a small smile titlting my lips as I watched my little sisters lean against Catherine, both of them taking turns reading to her from the book in her hand. And they were rubbing her belly absentmindedly as they did so.

There was so much love in that massive room that it just about did my heart in.

Our mother might have been a pretty crappy one, but my little sisters would never have to go without the love of a mother. Not with Catherine around.

I sent a silent thank you to every man who ever thought she was too much as I quietly slipped away so I wouldn't disturb the girls or Catherine. It was because of those dim-witted men that I was able to marry my beautiful, loving wife.