Chapter 87 - Disappointment And Excitement

The next day, the summer heat still hung over the manor but with Vincent home again, Delaney was at least a bit more distracted. With Miles and their friends there as well, she found things were actually pretty perfect.

The only disappointment was when she woke one morning to find she wasn't pregnant. Delaney hadn't given much thought to actually being pregnant but for some reason, discovering she wasn't, upset her. She was looking forward to having a family with Vincent and spending so much time with baby Benjamin had secured that in her heart.

When she told her husband her news, he nodded, his face serious.

"I'm sorry," she apologized quietly, afraid he might be angry.

Vincent looked at her in surprise before quickly pulling her to his chest for a hug.

"My love you have nothing to apologize for. If this is anyone's fault, we know it's mine."

Now it was Delaney who looked surprised, "What? Why?"

He swallowed, "My... my injuries Delaney we don't know if I can even give you a baby with the poison..."

"Don't say that," she interrupted him, "I know we can have a baby. There's nothing wrong with you. I'm just sorry it didn't happen this time."

Vincent looked down at her, his eyes giving away hints of sadness.

"I want you to have a family one day love. If I can't give that to you I won't let myself stand in your way of having it with someone else."

"Stop it Vincent!" she tried to push away from him but he held her tight.

"Delaney I love you and I want you to have everything in life."

"Stop! I don't want you to talk about this. I don't want to talk about us not being together."

"Do you ever think that being with me is the hard choice you're going to have to make? Maybe in order to find happiness, you'll have to choose to leave me."

Delaney stopped fighting to get away from him then and looked up at him in disbelief.

"I never ever think about that," she spoke with a trembling voice, "I know I am happy with you and that will never change. I will never choose to leave you. Now please Vincent, please stop talking about this!"

He looked at her for a long moment before slowly nodding, "Alright my love... I'm sorry."

Hugging her to his chest, Vincent held her there, loving the feeling of her holding him too.

"Let's go find the others," he suggested once they had both had a moment to calm down.

Delaney nodded before linking her arm through his and leaving their bedroom to find their friends.

Over the next few days, they swam in the lake and rode the horses through the woods on a sort of exploration. In the evenings they played cards out on the lawn, caught fireflies, and spread out on blankets to watch the stars.

Even though they were together and enjoying themselves, the heat still found them and began giving everyone a bit of a short fuse. So a week after Vincent came home, Delaney decided to broach the subject of the ocean house with her husband.

As they lay in their bed, separated because Vincent's skin was so hot that it was miserable for either of them to be close for too long, Delaney bit her lip and tried to build up her courage. All the candles had been blown out so they were in complete darkness save for the moonlight shining in through the open windows across their bed.

"My love," Delaney started quietly, "What if we go away from Edgewood? Just to escape this heat?"

Vincent looked over at her from his side of the bed, "Go away from Edgewood? To the ocean house, you mean?"

"Yes... It would be much cooler there and I would be able to curl up with you at night without us both feeling like we were boiling."

He was quiet, staring at the ceiling again as he thought it over.

"I know the trip would be hard on you... but I thought if we maybe just... broke it down into smaller pieces, maybe that would be easier?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we could start by traveling just to my Aunt and Uncles. They'd love to see us and we could spend a night there. That way the time in the carriage isn't too long at once. We could stop and see Duncan and Selina as well."

"And then?"

"Well... I know you have a cousin about half a day's ride from there. We could visit and possibly spend a night. Then we could stop and see Win and get some rooms. We could stay a night in the city house after that. We would just travel bits at a time, stopping here and there to stay with our friends or family. Then we'd make it to the ocean house without you being in too much pain."

"That's at least six days of traveling Delaney, if not more."

"I know... but I thought the cooler air might do us good."

He didn't say anything as he thought over her words. She knew it was a lot to ask of him. She and the others might get sore from a carriage ride but it would be nothing like the pain he would go through for it.

"Alright," he agreed at last, "We'll prepare tomorrow and leave the day after. I'll send our people ahead to the city house to open it and then a few on to the ocean house to open it too."

"Thank you, love," Delaney rolled on her side to smile at him, stretching over to give him a quick kiss. Even his lips were burning hot in the heat now.

He smiled at her and reached over to brush a stray section of hair from her face, "You're welcome wife. I love you you know."

Delaney looked at him with tender eyes, "I love you husband."

The next morning, they announced their plans to their friends who reacted with great excitement. It was decided that Miles, Bernard, Cora, and Constance would go to their homes for a week or so to settle things, and then they would all travel to the Adair ocean house where they would meet Delaney and Vincent.

When their friends asked about all their stops Delaney made up a story that she wanted to visit her family as well as meet some of Vincent's family members and this trip was a good opportunity to do both. It wasn't completely untrue and it kept from drawing attention to her husband.

Carriages and wagons left, bound for the city house and then the ocean house. More than half the household staff was gone in a day. Vincent sent a majority of the guards along with them.

Miles and the others also had their things packed and made ready to leave. His carriage was brought around to the front of the manor just a bit before midday. Their trunks were loaded up and their servants were ready as well.

Delaney hugged each of her friends tightly, thanking them so much for coming and spending time with her. When she got to Miles she paused and looked at him as he smirked back at her.

"Thank you for coming to look out for me," she sighed, giving in.

"Ah well, it's nice to get to be the brother who's the protector for a change. I've always been the one being protected."

They both glanced over at Vincent where he stood talking to Bernard and looking down at baby Benjamin. He was smiling and happy.

"I imagine you've done quite a bit of protecting before this," Delaney countered, stepping forward to hug the man, "And I know your brother would agree."

"Maybe," he smiled and hugged her tightly back, "But I think he's found a new protector now that's doing a pretty good job."

Delaney looked down bashfully and heard Miles chuckle as he climbed up onto his horse.

Bernard gave the baby to Constance where she was waiting in the carriage before he too mounted up.

They all called and waved goodbye to each other as the carriage drove away with the men riding alongside it. Delaney and Vincent found themselves alone again.

They spent the afternoon going over the accounts and estates that Vincent had visited while he was away. They ate their dinner in the dining room together and Vincent walked Delaney to bed as he did every night.

It was still smotheringly hot but Delaney found she wouldn't have been able to sleep anyways, too excited to be off on their trip the next morning. She was still awake and restless long after Vincent had fallen asleep.

The next morning, the manor was a madhouse and Delaney found herself wishing she'd gotten more sleep. The servants that were still there rushed around trying to get last-minute preparations done as well as do the work of all the people that were already gone.

After a light breakfast and getting dressed and ready to travel, two carriages were brought around to the front of the manor. In the smaller of the two, Harris and Ms. Bird would ride as well as a couple of other servants they were bringing for extra help.

Delaney looked at the second carriage. The grand and amazingly ornate one they had ridden home in after their wedding. Vincent stood at the door and held out his hand to help her up and into their waiting ride.

When her hand landed in his though Delaney stopped and turned to look back at Edgewood, their enormous, castle-like home. A pang of sadness hit her heart as she stood ready to leave it. They didn't know how long they would stay at the ocean house and that made her miss their home before they had even left it.

"Are you alright?" Vincent asked with concern.

Delaney nodded but when she spoke her voice was sad. "It feels so strange to be excited to leave here," she explained, "This is the first place that's truly felt like my home since I was a child."

Vincent smiled lovingly at her and pulled her into his arms, holding her close and giving her a gentle kiss.

"Edgewood will always be our home love... No matter how far we travel or for how long... We can always come home to this place."

Delaney swallowed and nodded. She gave him a quick kiss before she stepped back to let him help her into the carriage. Once they were both inside, he knocked on the top and they began to roll forward, half of the remaining guards riding in front and behind them.

Delaney looked out the window at their home as it shrank behind them. When she couldn't see it anymore, she took a deep breath and pushed away her sadness. It was time to look ahead now.

They were leaving on an adventure.