Hope for the Hopeless

Epilogue

It had been the wedding of the year, Francesca and John Stirling married at the end of the season, their engagement taking place when Sophie and Benedict were on their honeymoon.

It was not really a surprise for either of them as they'd been expecting it. John had come up to Benedict at the reception following their wedding and Benedict had apologised to John about his curt behaviour towards him at the start of the season and explaining his jealous, William had found it hilarious that he'd thought that he was interested in his cousin and John had taken it all with good humour and light heartedness.

They left their reception a little before the end to head back to Benedict's home where he'd dismissed all his staff for the evening, wanting the time alone with his new wife, where they could properly consummate their wedding vows, legally and he'd asked her if she trusted him and before Sophie could say more than "Yes... why?" he'd crawled beneath her skirts and reduced her to a withering mess with just his tongue.

Neither of them got much sleep that night as Benedict taught Sophie a lot of ways to bring him, and herself to pleasure.

They slept a bit in the carriage on the way to the south coast for their honeymoon and much to Sophie's minor modification, when they weren't sleeping, Benedict was making her scream...

It had been a blissful honeymoon, being free of all social restraints and graces and Benedict had even managed to convince Sophie to pose nude for him, on the promise that he would paint her a beach scene.

It had been a compromise he'd been more than happy to yield to, even if it did end up with Sophie needing a bath by the end as she had paint in all sorts of areas.

When they returned to London, there were questions about when they'd be expecting their first child.

Kate announced she was pregnant with their second, Daphne with hers and Simon's third and Sophie was wondering when it would be their turn.

She knew it wasn't always straightforward and quick and she did have her own fears after her mother had died giving birth to her so a little wait wasn't doing much to worry Sophie.

Benedict had, as promised, taken her to look at a possible home for them, Sophie had fallen in love with the place the moment she'd set her eyes on it. It was a little further out from London, and about a half days' ride from Hampshire and her father's estate, two days to London and  three to Kent but it was an idyllic country home.

She'd learned that its name "My Cottage" was used ironically and the owner was a Duke, who owned a chateau in France and three other properties within the British Isles and this was his smaller home but he no longer needed it and was happy to sell it.

They moved into My Cottage, three months after their wedding and a month later Sophie learned, with the help of her new Housekeeper, Mrs Alice Crabtree, that she was expecting their first child.

It had not been without incident, Sophie had come into the kitchen that morning to speak to Mrs Crabtree about the local seamstress who was after a helper and she'd thought perhaps Mrs Crabtree's daughter Emma would have been perfect for the role when the smell of fish had gotten into Sophie's nostrils and before she'd so much as uttered a word, Sophie was throwing up into a bowl.

It was fresh fish that Mr Crabtree had caught that morning but it had upset Sophie's stomach so much that even Benedict who had been upstairs had heard his wife throwing up and come down to investigate, and nearly joined her in casting up his accounts at seeing his wife hunched over.

"I think... perhaps we need to call for a doctor Mr Bridgerton" Mrs Crabtree called, suspecting that her mistress was pregnant.

Benedict had been frantic, having never known Sophie to ever get sick and summoned one at once.