Chapter Thirty-Eight

Philomena opened her eyes and nestled more closely under the covers. More than a year had passed since Muldrow had abducted her, and her memory of that horror was fading. Hugh threw back the embroidered bedspread that she had sewn before their wedding and leapt out. Philomena groaned. “I do not know why you insist on rising so early,” she said.

Hugh smiled down on her, the stern planes of his face soft. “I will ride out for an hour before breakfast, but you must stay in bed until my return.”

With an effort, Philomena rolled over and yawned. “It would be good to sleep a little longer. Our child is impossibly restless during the night. I believe he must be a boy, as active as John.”

“Then you will need all your strength, soon.” Hugh bent and kissed her forehead.

“Listen,” she said.

Hugh paused as the whistle of the steam train carried through the frosty air.

“There goes the train to Bristol. Imagine, Hugh, if the train had been derailed elsewhere, rather than in Sonning Cutting? Is it not amazing that I should be thrown to the ground not ten miles from the Manor, my own rightful home?”

“Even more astonishing, my love, that I should find you there. How much has happened to bring us together. We must be the luckiest couple in the world.”

Philomena struggled to sit up as a thought struck. “I have still never visited Bristol. Perhaps in the summer?”

“Do you imagine you may find relations there?” Hugh teased. “In any case, I think you may want to wait until the baby is more than a few weeks old.”

“You know, in a way I envy Muldrow and Joseph. Both will soon be sent off to Australia to make new lives for themselves.”

“I do not think they possess quite your sense of adventure, my love. They were lucky to be deported rather than hanged.”

“All the same, there is something exciting about travelling to a new and unknown country.”

Hugh’s eyes brightened. Despite his happiness at Thatcham Hall with Philomena, he still longed for travel. “Then perhaps we should arrange our trip to the Americas.” He sat on the bed once more. “I should like to see the machinery they use on their huge farms, and learn something of their agricultural practices.”

He smiled. “Look at you,” he said, lips twitching in the manner Philomena loved so much. “Your eyes shine at the thought. I see that our life together will never be dull.”

Hugh bent to kiss her, full on the mouth, and Philomena responded to his caresses. He was gentle, these days, for the baby would be arriving in a few weeks. Philomena loved the way he controlled his passion. They had spent many exhilarating nights together, while Hugh raised her to the heights of delight with his ardour, but now he was all tenderness.