Page 93 of The Lady's Last Mistake

The ride from Hope Clinic to St. James’s Square had taken an age, it seemed, and he was grateful the midwife had been with them. She kept Cassie’s mind focused on breathing as the contractions overtook her, and off Grant, who had slowly started to unravel.

“It will be over soon,” James said. “All will be well.” He clapped a hand on Grant’s shoulder as he passed by. He’dworn a rut into the carpet the last two hours, the sounds from the bedchamber enough to stop his heart. They stabbed at him, each one ripping him open.

He nodded, grateful his brother was there. The last two years had been tumultuous with the rest of his family. Lawrence and Harold had joined the marquess in his denunciation of the Hope Clinic, while Penelope and James had been in support. Lord Lindstrom had indeed cut Grant off, but as Cassie’s dowry was a small fortune, it didn’t much matter. He teased her all the time about how he’d only married her for her money, especially when she was being particularly stubborn about something. She would clap back with, “And I only married you for your prowess in bed, my lord, so we’re even.” They would end up laughing and making love every time. Good God, he loved her. He loved every little thing about her, even the parts that infuriated him, like her sharp tongue and heady temper, her mulish impatience and perhaps less significantly, her devilish pranks, like her penchant for moving the ribbons in the books he was reading so that he’d lose his page. He would endure all the misplaced ribbons in the world just to hear her laughter, see her smile, witness the heat in her eyes when they made love, and the determination that filled them whenever she was caring for someone at Hope Clinic.

This marriage was vastly different than his first. He worshipped Cassie just as he had Sarah, but there was something deeper to this union, something stronger. Cassie had once questioned how their love could work when they were each so very broken. But they had taken their broken pieces and forged something stronger out of them.

Another grating scream came from the bedchamber. Itwas a blade to his chest. Grant raked his fingers through his hair and tugged.

“I need to be in there,” he said. He turned to Hugh. “You were with Audrey.”

“I was invited in,” he clarified.

“What help would you be?” James countered. “Look at you. You’re a mess.”

His brother was right; he was a frantic, unmoored mess. Cassie would not need him in this state.

The bedchamber door opened, and Grant whirled toward it. Genie stood within the threshold, shielding the room from view.

“She is asking for you,” she told Grant, and without hesitation, he stormed into the room.

Cassie was on the bed, her chemise bunched at her thighs, her hair loose, her skin glistening from sweat. She held out a hand to him, and he surged toward her. He gathered her into his arms.

“What is it?” he asked Elyse, who perched at Cassie’s feet. “What is wrong?”

“She is doing just fine,” she answered calmly, just as he would have, had he been attending a birth. He’d done so several times over the last two years. But here and now, that was not his role. “Almost there. Just a few more pushes,” the midwife said with confidence.

Cassie gripped his arm and turned her eyes to his. “I just don’t want to be alone this time,” she whispered.

Instantly, the frantic rattling of his mind and pulse evened. He swept a damp lock of hair from her brow and forgot everyone and everything except for her and what she needed from him. She wasn’t alone. Elyse and Audrey andGenie, along with her maid, Ruth, were all present. But it was Grant she needed. It was Grant shewanted. He would not let her down.

“I am right here. I’m not leaving, my love.” He kissed her brow, and another contraction commenced. Being at her side, with her hands squeezing his, her screams resonated differently than they had while he’d paced the landing. They were not just cries of pain, but of resolve, of fearlessness and the determination to bring their child into the world. He’d never seen her so bold, so brave and powerful as she was right then.

She wasn’t frightened in the least, and because of that, neither was he.

After a final valiant push, Cassie fell back against the pillows. A shrill wail split the air. Grant watched in sheer fascination and disbelief as Elyse handled the infant, deftly clamping and cutting the umbilical cord before lifting and turning the babe for them to view. A little girl, flushed pink and squalling, quivered as she fussed. Grant could barely see her through a wall of tears as Audrey took her and swaddled her.

“Grant,” Cassie said softly, her voice drawn by exhaustion. He cradled her face and kissed her brow, and for a heart stopping moment, peered toward Elyse. The midwife appeared to have been waiting for him to do so, because she merely nodded and grinned.

“All is well, my lord.”

At last, the tension drained from him, and he released a shaky sob as he gently pulled Cassie.

“You are breathtaking,” he whispered, kissing her temple, and feeling her melt against him.

“We have a daughter,” she said, and when he peered down at her, tears streaked her cheeks too. He brushed them away and kissed her as joy consumed him.

A moment later, Audrey placed the swaddled little girl into Cassie’s waiting arms.

“She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he whispered.

Cassie nuzzled the baby’s crown of fine, raven black hair, and breathed her in. “I could hold her forever,” she said softly.

“You can, and you will.”

As they gazed at their daughter, Grant felt the last of their broken pieces shift and fall. They slid into place, side by side, where they became whole again.

Right where they’d always been meant to be.