His Pregnant Bride

Part Three

There were candles lit inside the estate and the pair were met on the lawn.

Ireena's parents were still in their ball attire. The relief on their faces was only momentary, however. Their daughter had returned yes but she was inappropriately dressed and with a man in tow.

"Good heavens Ireena, have you lost all sense of decorum?" Ireena's mother rushed from the house to collect her daughter.

"Mother, Father, I have something-"

Cedric didn't let her finish just yet. "Perhaps this conversation would be better had inside. It's quite chilly out here, and I would not have Ireena at risk of falling ill."

Mr. Graham nodded curtly. Mrs. Graham ushered her daughter inside past all the servants.

Cedric looked squarely into Mr. Graham's eyes, the knowing silence between them almost becoming tangible as he crossed the threshold.

***

There was already a fire burning in the hearth as the servants had wanted to keep the mistress of the house warm, though it had done very little to keep her calm in her distress over her missing daughter. It was doing very little to keep her calm as Ireena stood before her now. She was properly clothed in a simple dress now.

"I know you have made arrangements with the count. Agreements. But I have decided to marry Cedric."

"Well this is certainly.....so sudden. What will...what will people think." Ireena's father eyed Cedric warily. He and his wife knew now that Cedric was heir to the Calvert estate. What they didn't know was why he was standing in front of them with Ireena as she made her declarations.

"Quite frankly I'm not concerned with what people think. Or say. From this moment on I would like to live my life for me and me alone. But I have to think about the child. Collin's and mine." Ireena held her stomach. "It is clear that I must marry and with haste. I only desire to make the choice in whom I marry, and it will be Cedric." She found Cedric's hand and held it tightly, reassured in his secure grip. "It will be a humble life, yes, but even a humble life has its own richness."

Cedric suspected Ireena must have expected more of protest from her parents, but there was only silence and the crackling of the fire among them. Mr. Graham's eyes never left Cedric's, however, trying to piece together what was unfolding in the receiving room.

"I know I am not as tested an individual as the count must be or as skilled an entrepreneur, but I have respect for your daughter, and I urge you to rest easy as I can assure you she nor our children will ever come to know ruin, financial or otherwise."

"I think it safe to say no one is assuming a life of economy for Ireena. Not with you Mr. Calvert," Mr. Graham said.

Ireena's gaze snapped to Cedric's face, her brow so quizzically furrowed one might have feared its permanent disfigurement. "Calvert?"

Cedric offered her a gentle smile. He wished he could kiss her confusion away, but as that was highly inappropriate at the moment, a verbal explanation would have to suffice.

"You did not know the name of the man you had become engaged to?" Mrs. Graham exclaimed. "Good heavens, child, you find great joy in causing a mother's concern!"

"Never mind that, she's in very capable hands is she not Mr. Calvert? Any man who would go to such lengths for his own....emotional security, avoiding and eluding all manner of predatory women and cunning mothers who would see their daughters bound to a man's wealth rather than the man. These are quite extraordinary circumstances you have orchestrated. Very fortunate indeed."

Cedric and Mr. Graham shared a nod between gentlemen before he continued.

"We will agree to the match of course, and offer our sincerest apologies to the count. My daughter who is currently on her way to retire to bed has been a most wayward creature."  As if on cue Mrs. Graham began ushering Ireena out of the room. Ireena glanced back but was clearly too stunned to protest. "I do hope she's not a wayward wife." He walked closer so they could shake on it.

Cedric, while he appreciated the sentiment, couldn't disagree more. In the brief moments that he'd come to know her, Ireena hadn't struck him as wayward at all. Only misunderstood.

She was just like him in that regard. With that thought Cedric was convinced he'd found his perfect bride.

THE END.