Chapter 149 - The Potion

The next morning they had breakfast while their things were packed onto the carriages. Once they were finished they gathered outside for tear-filled goodbyes.

Delaney kissed little Benjamin goodbye who was now looking around at them all. His wetnurse took him with her to the carriage she would be riding in. The duchess hugged the boy's father next, Bernard smiling sheepishly. He seemed much more at ease when he turned and gave Vincent a firm handshake and pat on the shoulder.

Mason stepped up next and didn't shy away from Delaney's hug. He grinned when she gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Thank you for letting me stay Lady Adair," he said with twinkling blue eyes, "I must say I do believe you are now my favorite cousin."

Delaney giggled, "And you are my favorite Prince."

Mason laughed and bowed low before turning to say goodbye to Vincent. Miles stepped in next, giving Delaney a quick, firm, hug.

"I figured I would cut in before you said goodbye to the girls," he smiled knowingly down at her, "Who knows how long that might take."

Delaney leaned up to kiss his cheek as well. "Take care of your wife," she whispered.

He smiled and nodded before turning to his brother.

At last, she turned to face Constance and Cora, both already with tear-stained cheeks. She held out her arms to them and they embraced in one big hug.

"I want us to try to spend time together like this every summer," Constance managed through her tears, "Even when we're old. Even if it's not for quite as long."

"Even when Cora and Miles have a dozen unruly children," Delaney teased, making her friends laugh.

"Maybe by next summer we'll all have babies of our own," Cora smiled hopefully, "Wouldn't that be wonderful? Watching them all down on the beach together with Benjamin?"

Delaney felt a pang of worry in her heart but smiled and nodded anyway. Cora saw her worry in her eyes anyway and hugged her once more.

"It will happen," she whispered in her ear, "I'm sure of it."

-

Delaney and Vincent stood and waved goodbye to the carriages as they drove away leaving them alone together once more. Feeling sad, Delaney kissed Vincent's cheek and told him she wanted to lie down for a bit. He nodded, understanding, and walked her to their room before heading off to his study to do some work.

Once he was gone, Delaney closed their bedroom door and walked over to sit lightly in the chair beside the windows. She stared out at the beautiful ocean and thought about what Cora had said. What a beautiful future that could be, the three of them all mothers with their babies playing together.

She imagined a child with golden curls and big, blue eyes like Cora and another with long, soft, brown hair like Constance. The place for the third child, hers, stayed empty. She couldn't quite imagine what a child created by she and Vincent would look like. Would it have his black hair or her chestnut waves? Would it have sea glass colored eyes like she and her mother before her? Or would it have the dazzling green eyes of the Adairs?

Would they have a boy or a girl? Would it be tall like them or short like Delaney's parents and Violet? Would it have Vincent's strong jaw? Would it have her little nose?

Would it ever exist at all?

She swallowed hard and felt her eyes burn with tears wanting to be shed. She refused to cry about it anymore though. Going to the door, she quietly slid the lock into place before going to her bookshelf and pulling out the little hidden bottle.

Looking hard at it, Delaney realized then that her mind was made up. She wanted a future with Vincent. She wanted them to have a family together. She wanted to hold a baby in her arms so she could see it with all its little details instead of trying to imagine one.

Her teacup sat on her dressing table abandoned from that morning when Ms. Bird had brought it to her to drink while her hair was done. Sitting on the saucer beside it was a silver spoon. The Queen had said she would need to take one spoonful a day until she knew she was pregnant.

Delaney's heart was beating hard in her chest. She walked to her dressing table and sat down.  Taking a deep breath, she pulled the stopper from the bottle and jumped when it made a little pop sound. A strong herbal smell wafted up from the opening and Delaney glanced around her again, just to make sure no one was around.

With trembling hands, she slowly poured the thick, brown liquid into the spoon until it was full. Looking at it, she paused for a moment and questioned her own judgment. Maybe this was a bad idea? Unwilling to give up on her future though she closed her eyes and forced herself to quickly take the spoon into her mouth.

The contents tasted like a strong, foul, medicine, and Delaney nearly choked when she swallowed it down. Once she had, she sat very still in her seat, staring down at the empty spoon. It was as if she could feel the potion making its way down into her stomach. She felt sick and she didn't know if it was from the mixture or from nerves.

Suddenly someone grabbed the handle of the door and tried to open it. Delaney jumped to her feet, sending the spoon bouncing across the floor.

"Just a moment!" she called out, scrambling to jam the stopper back into the bottle.

"My Lady?" Harris called through the door, "Should I come back?"

"No!" she exclaimed, "Just one moment!"

The last thing she wanted was for him to go tell Vincent she'd locked him out of the room and for her husband to question her about it. She hurried to shove the little bottle back in its place and set the books back in front of it as neatly as she could. Rushing to the door, she slid the lock aside and yanked it open.

Harris looked at her in shock as she stood pale and breathless before him.

"My Lady is everything alright?"

"Y-yes," she smiled a bit too big and quickly nodded, "I uh, I didn't realize I'd locked the door. I was just fidgeting with it and I thought I had unlocked it again but clearly, I did not."

She stepped back and gestured for him to come in. Harris hesitated but stepped inside carrying an armful of clothing of some sort. He looked around the room as if he was expecting something to jump out at him. When nothing did he went on and deposited the clothing in Vincent's wardrobe.

Delaney stood awkwardly in the middle of the room watching him while she twisted her ring around and around on her finger. At last, he stepped back and gave her a bow and excused himself, closing the door behind him.

Delaney dropped to the floor right there and leaned back against the foot of her bed. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, working to calm her racing heart. If she hadn't locked the door she would have been caught. By having the door locked though and then acting strangely on top of it, she had made Harris suspicious of her. He was Vincent's oldest friend.

Thinking of her husband, she got herself up off the floor and went back to her seat by the windows in case he came to check on her. She picked up her book she had left resting there earlier and tried to read some to distract herself but her eyes kept wandering back to the spot on the shelf where the little bottle was hidden.

Queen Sophia had said she had taken this potion in an attempt to get pregnant herself so surely it couldn't be that bad. The witches wouldn't be foolish enough to put the Queen's health or safety at risk. If they did and King Daniel found out surely he would see them meet their ends. The King and Queen were desperate but not that desperate.

Delaney and Vincent had been married five months now. They were nearly halfway through their first year. She didn't want to wait any longer or leave it up to fate. She would use the potion to help her have their first baby. She was sure any others they had would come just fine on their own after. They probably didn't need the potion at all but she decided it wasn't worth the risk.

Not able to focus on her book Delaney groaned in annoyance and closed it, putting it aside again. Looking around on the floor she found the spoon she'd dropped over beside the couch.  She set it back in its place on the saucer and stood staring at the bookshelf. She would have to leave her room for a while or she wouldn't be able to think of anything else.

There was no point in thinking about it anymore. She'd taken the potion now. It was done.