Charlotte went to hug her sister, but she could not quite manage it with Elizabeth in her arms, but she could scoop up the baby. This was her niece. She needed to hug her desperately. As she clutched onto the little girl, Charlotte beamed the happiest smile ever. She loved that her American family was growing by the minute; it made her feel so wonderful about her life here. She loved being on the other side of the world from Lord Jones, and she also adored everyone here. Charlotte had resigned herself to never getting any happiness in her life. Now she had it all and more.
“I do not mind,” she replied seriously. “I think that it is a lovely idea. I also love that you included Edmund’s mother’s name too. That is a very lovely gesture. How do you feel now that your baby is here?” she asked knowingly. “It is the best sensation in the world, is it not?”
She could remember the first time she held her own baby. It shifted absolutely everything inside of her and made her even more grateful to have run away. Charlotte would have done anything to protect her child; she knew for certain that she could not have stayed with her husband once he was born. It was just lucky that she had already left, making it that much easier.
“It is great,” Mary burst out like it had been building up inside of her for ages. “I cannot believe it. I have never felt anything like it.”
She moved her eyes from her sister holding her baby to Richard and Johnathon, and finally to Edmund. Her very own Duke. The man she had never wanted to marry. Who would have known that he would end up making her the happiest woman alive? With her small family around her, Mary felt incredible. This new life was just wonderful.
THE END