Page 78 of Raising the Duke’s Unexpected Twins

She took a slow breath, thinking of how warm and safe she’d felt in Nicholas’s arms, even when he continued to be the most confusing and insufferable man ever. He would show his heart one moment and then take it away the next! Could she truly trust him?

Deep down, she knew that she could, that he was a good man despite all his attempts to make her believe otherwise.

He must simply learn to trust himself, and I cannot do that for him.

She rose, feeling better now, and she walked to the door, confused when she could hear her mother’s voice as she went up the stairs towards the nursery.

“Ah, my dear! You should still be abed, you know,” Fiona said from where she sat next to Tim.

“Mama, Emma, what are you doing here?” Cordelia rubbed at her eyes, confused.

“Why, Nicholas sent for us!” her mother said brightly.

Just then, Tim burst into tears again, and Cordelia’s heart ached. She rushed forward and knelt by him, grasping at his hand.

“Oh, Tim, please rest. You will feel better; I promise.”

Tim continued to whimper, and she could hear him muttering Olivia’s name. Cordelia shushed him and hummed to him, and he eventually quieted. When she rose again, she paced, throwing her hands up.

“I am at my wits’ end, Mama! I have never tended to a sick child, but the doctor’s advice isn’t working. We are giving him the medicine, and he is resting, and Olivia is not staying in the room with him, and yet nothing seems to be working.” Tears began to stream down her cheeks, and she went to the window to look out over the bright sunshine covering the green fields. “And Nicholas…”

Emma spoke up. “As for Nicholas, he is doing a fine job. He is with Olivia downstairs with Danae. They are playing a game, I’m sure. I can hear the laughter from here.”

Cordelia was comforted by that. “We are all calling him Nicholas now?” she asked with a smirk, turning back to look at her smiling sister and mother.

“Well, he asked us to,” Emma said plainly, glancing at their mother before turning back to Cordelia. “He said we are family.”

Cordelia’s heart did a foolish thing and rose with hope. “He said that?” she asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

Something warmed in her chest at the thought of that, Nicholas calling them family, Nicholas bidding them to come and help them. It made her want to hug him, kiss him, but it also made her want to shake him.

Why can’t he simply be the man I know he is all of the time? Why does he continue to hide away?

“Yes, for it’s true. And he asked us to come and help to make sure that you were caring for yourself and to provide any guidance on caring for a child. Now, my dear, you mustn’t fret. Your nanny has told me that the doctor believes the worst to be passed. Sometimes, children are a bit stubborn with their illnesses, especially boys.” She rolled her eyes. “They like to drag out their discomfort for as long as they can to see if they cannot squeeze out a bit more of our womanly sympathy.”

Lovingly, her mother brushed a hand over Tim’s forehead. “You are just the same as any man, little one.”

Cordelia wanted to cry again, seeing how much love her family had for her new one. Her mother was looking at Tim as if he was her grandchild in truth.

She went back to Tim’s side and took her mother’s and sister’s hands. “Thank you.”

“So you’re glad to see us?” Emma teased. “Danae thought you’d be incensed that we wouldn’t think you could do it yourself.”

Cordelia chuckled. “Yes, she was right that I would have not asked for help, even though I should have.” She shrugged. “Perhaps I hope to prove myself to Helen in some way. That she was right to put her trust in me.”

She thought of her dear friend’s words when she’d told Cordelia that she would get the children if anything had ever happened to her.

There is no one but you, Cordelia. No one I trust more than you.

“And she was.” They all turned to see Nicholas in the doorway, looking so dear and handsomely disheveled with a loose cravat and dark stubble on her chin that Cordelia nearly jumped into his arms. His eyes didn’t move from hers.

“She was right about both of you,” Fiona said kindly. “This is all part of the journey with children. They are forever getting sick and getting our worries up.”

Cordelia smiled and rose to her feet, mouthing ‘thank you’ to Nicholas as she approached him, not trusting herself to keep from reaching for him, but she eventually refrained, remembering her mother was there.

“I have come to let you know that dinner is ready. I will send food up to you, or you are welcome to sit in the dining room. Olivia and Danae and I shall attempt it, but I cannot decide who is more unbiddable, Danae or Olivia.”

When everyone laughed, Cordelia beamed at him. It was right then that she knew her heart, even if she was afraid, and even if she was not certain of his heart.