A Daring Captain for Her Loyal Heart Bonus Scene

Christopher had been away for so long, Juliana was almost beginning to forget what it was to have him at home.

Almost; though not quite.

If she needed any reminder, any evidence that he had once been here, it was easy to discover. All she needed was to look up from her needlepoint.

Their toddler, by now just about walking on unsteady feet – and inevitably falling, at which point he would cry for his mother – was chubby-cheeked and amiable, and Juliana could see Christopher’s likeness easily. It was there in his eyes and the shape of his mouth, and she had no doubt his hair would grow like his father’s, too.

She remembered her pregnancy with little Edmund, and how afraid she had been. She had worried about being on her own, with Christopher off at his barracks – and then off at war.

Everything had changed when the Duchess of Prighton, softened by the passage of time and absence from her daughter, decided to stay with her for the months preceding the delivery.

Juliana had feigned annoyance at the woman pushing her way back into her life and taking over – but in truth, she had been glad of it. The Duchess had barely even complained about the size of their home, which was smaller than she had been used to; and she had stayed throughout the pregnancy, helping Juliana to manage the household as her belly swelled so large, she wondered how she could walk.

The birth had been not without its difficulties, but they seemed to fade away in her memory from the moment that she held her newborn son in her arms. That had been when Juliana knew she would do it again, and gladly.

And when Christopher came back on leave to see his first-born child, their family had been complete; and after he left again, with constant visits from Uncle Edmund and Aunt Joanna, the Duke and Duchess, and even the baby’s Great-Aunt Reffern, Juliana had no time at all to think about being lonely.

Her days were filled with the joy of her child, and when Christopher managed to get away to visit them, it was all the sweeter – and made even more so when their second baby began to grow inside of her.

That pregnancy had been lonelier, it was true; the Duchess was growing older herself, and she stayed for a few months, but she was not as helpful as she had been. A fall in the winter on slippery ice had left her with a stiffened hip, and in the end, Juliana’s elder sister came to help her through the birth.

There was no saying yet whether the baby, not yet one full year old, would turn out to resemble more Christopher or herself. She seemed happy to gurgle away most of the day, playing with a rattle that Edmund had given them as a Christening present and cooing when her brother attempted to show her this toy or that trinket.

“Be careful, now, Eddie,” Juliana said. Their young son had already developed his own nickname, to distinguish him from his namesake Uncle; though little Mary was still just that, and had not yet displayed enough character for them to devise some other way of calling her.

“Yes, Mama,” Eddie sighed heavily.

Juliana suppressed a laugh; she could tell already that Eddie, once grown a little more, would be as much of a mischief-maker as his father had been.

For Mary, she hoped for great beauty and intelligence. It would be well for the girl to marry a good man when she grew of age, and since Juliana and Christopher had ended up somehow less than the sum of their birth titles, Mary would need beauty on her side to win over a suitor of high standing, and intelligence to choose wisely.

Not that Juliana would have had it any other way. Christopher had risen in position well, and she was favored often by visits and invitations from the wives of the other officers.

At present time, they all took much comfort from one another’s company, since it was hard to sit alone and think of a husband away fighting Napoleon with no word of his progress.

“A letter, my lady,” Jenkins said from the door.

Jenkins (the younger; a nephew of the man who had served Christopher’s family) bore a plain white envelope in his hand, which Juliana wasted no time in tearing open. Eddie waited expectantly, knowing that the letter signified news from his father, and even Mary quieted at the sense of anticipation in the room.

Juliana read it three times through, savoring, as always, the words which were written for her and her alone. They were the outpourings of Christopher’s heart, which she took as a great comfort when he was away.

Satisfied at last, she looked up to deliver the news to Jenkins and Eddie – and their cook and housekeeper, all of whom had come running to hear the latest word from their master.

“Lieutenant-Colonel Hardwicke writes that he is well,” Juliana announced. “They have had a large skirmish and came out of it victorious, and though many of the men were wounded, he escaped harm. He will be home on leave shortly and bids us expect another missive with confirmation of the date.”

There was a general sound of happiness from the gathered onlookers, and the cook even clapped her hands in delight. The poor woman had lost her own husband close to the beginning of the war, and now seemed to hang on every notice of Christopher’s health, petrified to see another man felled by the French.

There was a rapping from their front door, and Jenkins disappeared to answer it as Juliana swept Mary up into her arms to tell her with delight that her Papa would be home to see her soon.

“My lady,” Jenkins said, with an expression of delighted surprise that made no sense to her for but a moment. “Another missive has come. The messenger insists on delivering it himself.”

Whatever could this be? “Send him in,” she ordered.

Jenkins nodded obediently, and was gone from the doorway for but a moment before both cook and the housekeeper, from an advantageous viewpoint in the corridor, let out a squeal.

And the messenger stepped around the corner, and Juliana almost dropped Mary in shock, dropping herself into her chair instead for safety.

“Well met, Mrs. Hardwicke,” Christopher said with a dashing smile. “Your husband sends his regards.”

Juliana gave a cry of joy, and leaped up again, finding herself steadier on her feet. She rushed for Christopher and embraced him, tightly, Mary propped between them. Eddie had already run forward to throw his arms around his Papa’s leg, where he squeezed as if the world might be ending.

“Did you miss me?” Christopher chuckled, beholding the happy tears of his wife and son.

“More than you could ever know,” Juliana said, rocking Mary gently as the babe began to moan in confusion at all of the commotion around her.

“I think not,” Christopher said, kissing the top of her head with warmth and affection. “For I had three to miss, and you only one.”

“But that one is the dearest to all of us,” Juliana said, only just restraining herself from a sob. “And we are so happy to see him again.”

“And he is just as happy to see you,” Christopher assured her, safe and returned again from the perils of war, closing his eyes as he held his family close.

It grew late, and time for the children to be put to bed; and Juliana lay Mary gently in her cradle as Eddie, old enough to know of his father and look forward to his visits, demanded his favorite bedtime story.

It was Papa’s story – the one that only he was allowed to tell.

“Alright,” Christopher said, giving in and kneeling beside the bed as Juliana took a chair. “It all began years ago, when a brave knight fell in love with a beautiful princess.”

Eddie settled down comfortably into his bed with contentment, and Juliana clasped her hands together, enjoying the moment of seeing her favorite people all in the room together.

“The princess was kind, and funny, and so beautiful that every prince in the realm fell in love with her. But she did not want to marry a prince, for she had already met the knight, and she had fallen in love with him too.”

“The knight was uncommonly handsome, and charming with it,” Juliana put in, giving Christopher a warm smile.

“Mama!” Eddie scolded.

“Sorry,” Juliana said, covering her mouth to hide a laugh. Eddie liked the story told the way that Christopher told it, and no other.

“Now, the knight was often away from court, slaying dragons and keeping the realm safe. This left the princess alone, and she was taken in by a wicked wizard.”

Juliana shot Christopher a look, pretending to be angry. Her step-father may not have been kind at all times, but they were fully reconciled, and she objected to his depiction as wicked.

Christopher stuck his tongue out childishly before continuing, causing her to stifle another giggle.

“The wizard decreed that the princess could only marry a prince, as no one else was worthy. That included the knight, who was very sad to hear of it; but he was determined not to give up.

“The knight began to battle hard to win the wizard’s respect. He slew many dragons, and even fought the evil Black Knight. The Black Knight wanted to bring our hero under his wing and make him evil, too, but he resisted.

“Not only that, but with the help of his fellow knights, he vanquished the Black Knight and banished him from this land forever.

“But all was not well for the princess. She had been forced to endure courtship from a prince, a very dull and ugly prince who was nothing like the knight at all.

“She knew that she would never be able to love him, and he wanted so badly to get away. At last, she managed a trick: she dressed up her maid as a princess, and the prince was fooled, and married her instead.

“They were very happy together, of course.”

Juliana smiled at the way Christopher told the tale of John and Mary Woode. They were indeed very happy together, even if they did not visit as often as Juliana would have liked; they held some of the liveliest balls in the county, for it turned out that John did have a more interesting side of him after all, brought out by Mary’s presence.

“All that remained for the knight to do was to somehow win the princess’s hand. And so, he took on one last task, the reward for which was to become a prince. Lo and behold, he was crowned, and he knew that he was worthy at last.

“So, the prince came to the wizard, and the princess, and the Wicked Queen – who was the princess’s wicked mother. Soon, he showed them all that he had done: he had vanquished all their foes, driven the Black Knight from the land, and even transformed himself into a prince to be worthy of her.

“So they were married, with great joy and happiness. And in time they became King and Queen of their own land, and they had their own prince and princess, two little children who delighted them greatly.”

Eddie’s eyes were drooping already, and as the story came to an end, he closed them with a satisfied sigh. He was soon asleep, his quiet breathing leveling out and becoming deep and even.

Christopher smiled and took Juliana by the hand, leading her out of the room quietly so as not to disturb either of their sleeping children.

They walked out to the open air to look up at the sky, and Christopher wrapped his arms around his wife from behind as they gazed at the stars glimmering there.

“Do you think the King and Queen thought about having a third child?” he asked in her ear, kissing her lightly there.

“Perhaps they did,” Juliana smiled. “Though the King was off at war very often.”

Christopher sighed. “The great burden of a monarch,” he said, touching the insignia at his shoulder. “I can’t be seen to take too much leave. But we have Napoleon on the run, and soon everything will be done with. I promise you that.”

“Perhaps in times of peace, the King and Queen do have more heirs,” Juliana conceded, a smile tugging at the edge of her lips.

“Ah, Juliana,” Christopher sighed, letting go of their pretense. “I am so happy to be home again. Thinking of you and the children has brought me through worse battles than you could imagine.”

“I hope it will get you through them all,” Juliana said, her hands tightening where they lay over Christopher’s. “I dream of having you here beside us at all times, my love. One day, perhaps.”

“Maybe in a time of peace I will no longer be needed, and I may retire with full honors, and join Edmund in the family business,” he said, somewhat wistfully.

“I do not mind a jot what you do, so long as you take us with you,” Juliana told him. “Do you know, I long for you as much today as I did when first I pined for you?”

“And I long for you,” Christopher said, planting more sweet kisses on the exposed skin of her neck. “And though I did not think it possible, I believe I love you more each passing day.”

“I love you too,” Juliana whispered.

Their words floated up to the stars, to mingle there long after Juliana and Christopher had returned inside, and be kept safe until their dreams and promises could be fulfilled.

 The End...

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