Page 68 of The Rogue’s Embrace

June, 1814

Adalia stared at the gnarled tree. The willow along the border of the pond to the east of the castle had grown with multiple thick limbs—each thinking they were the main trunk. One of the fat limbs had long since broken off from the center—the perfect spot to sit and hide, completely still, in a game of hide and seek.

The willow branches shuffled in the breeze, giving her a view to the trunk. Flat, curled into a ball, still as a rock, sat Josalyn. Adalia smiled. For how much her niece liked to talk, no one was better than Josalyn at silently hiding. And she could do so for an inordinate amount of time.

Hazard's nose lifted into the air, his head cocking about as he whimpered. Adalia set her hand on the nape of his neck, trying to calm him—or at least keep him in place. Hide and seek meant hiding without a nervous wolfhound divulging all the best hiding spots. Something Hazard had a very hard time respecting.

Adalia wouldn't have allowed this nine months ago. Never. The twins out of her sight—out of anyone's sight—but this, this she could now give them. Their childhood while they were still children. They were safe, and she knew that fact in her heart.

The war had settled. Napoleon banished to a far-off island. She had underestimated how free she would feel with that fact. For as much as she had always felt safe at Dellon Castle, now the world was open to her again. Open to the twins.

The heavy scent of rose wafted to her and Adalia twisted in the chair she had set under the shade of an ancient oak to look over her shoulder. Toren walked down the sloping hillside toward her, bringing the smell of the flowers with him.

"You have been in the roses?"

"I have."

He smiled. "However did you know that?"

"I could smell it. It is all over you. My nose has been oddly strong as of late."

He stopped behind her, leaning down to kiss her neck as his hand slid downward to flatten atop the rounded mound of her belly. "The first blooms of your hybrid with the pink tips have opened."

"I did not know you were observing them so closely."

"I like to watch your experiments."

He nipped at the tip of her ear and then moved to stand next to her, his look taking in the pond and trees as his fingers settled along the back of her neck, tracing circles down the line of her spine.

"Speaking of experiments, Violet wrote to report your idea of turning several of the withdrawing rooms into private card rooms at the Revelry's Tempest has been quite the success."

"Good. Yet she still does not care for me, does she?"

"The credit did come begrudgingly."

Adalia's head tilted to the side, her hand reaching out to rub the back of his leg. "She will, eventually. I am sure of it. If it is any consolation, of all the men in the world, you are by far, the one she trusts the most."

"I do not know if that is good for the men of the world or not."

Adalia pinched the back of his leg and he chuckled.

"Look."

His head gave a slight shake, a wry smile lining his lips as his gaze landed by the pond's edge. "Mary is really bad at hiding."

Adalia laughed, her look swinging to where Mary sat bunched behind a fat rock by the water. Her blue skirts ruffled out in all directions. "Yes. But so bad at it, I suspect she just likes to get found first."

"Does she realize your brother is sneaking up on her from behind?"

"I doubt it."

Adalia clasped her hands, resting them on the top of her swollen belly as she watched Theo limp his way toward Mary. A sudden squeal, and Mary jumped up, starting to run just as Theo caught her around the waist, tickling.

Instant strain on Theo's face, his eyes cringed as he lifted Mary, pretending to throw her into the water. It pained him. Greatly. But Theo kept the smile wide on his face, laughing for the sake of his niece.

What Theo had suffered—the ravages from those days. His limp. His jaw that was still slightly askew. Scars that had healed to rough white threads along his skin. The war was over, but this—the wounds of empire against empire—had lost their nobleness. No man should have to suffer as her brother had.

Toren's look grew serious and he nodded toward Theodore. "How did you manage to get him out here?"

She looked up at her husband, mischievous glimmer in her eye. "I told him I would make you delay his move back to Glenhaven if he didn't come out into the sun and play with the girls."

He shook his head. "Remind me never to bet against you."

She laughed. A laugh that was reflected fully in Toren's brown eyes. Brown eyes that were once so distant from her, now were her every breath.

It swirled around, settling upon her in that moment—a sudden happiness so thick it almost suffocated, stealing her breath away.

All of it, all of the pain, the heartache, the worry of the past years—worth it.

Worth it for this one moment, when uncompromised happiness was truly hers again.

Full, all-encompassing happiness.

Happiness born of love.