The Duke's Juliet Bonus Scene

Two years later…

“I am so pleased that you are staying with us at the Manor House for some months to come,” Nelly said to her cousin Daisy. “We can spend so much time together and go shopping in London.”

Before Daisy had the chance to reply, Oliver appeared backstage, and Daisy moved away while the duke spoke with his wife. Oliver approached Nelly, planting an affectionate kiss on her forehead, at the same time as rubbing her swollen belly.

“And how are we feeling?” he asked his heavily pregnant wife.

“We are both fine,” Nelly smiled, as she too rubbed at their child who was wrapped safely in her womb. “Stop fretting so much, I promise, the sickness is well and truly gone. Mother tells me that most women only suffer it in the first few months, and I am in the last few months, so all is well.”

“Well, I suppose we must listen to the wise advice of mothers,” he said, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek this time. “I know that you are blooming, but I worry when you come to the theatre. If my opinion were asked, I would rather you stayed at home and rested more.”

“I would be bored out of my mind, Oliver, and well you know it,” Nelly retorted. “I need to keep in touch with what’s going on at the theatre because I miss it.”

“I know you do. And your admirers are all missing you too. But, for us, our child is more important than the theatre,” Oliver said, in the hope of convincing Nelly to do less physical work.

“I do agree with you, my love. The thing is, our child is not here yet, but the theatre is,” she replied, looking away as she saw Charles walking towards them.

“Charles, I meant to ask you something,” Oliver said as he neared them. “How is Margaret feeling about playing the old maid’s role?”

“She’s not happy about it,” Charles said, but he had a look of satisfaction in his eyes. “She complains that her roles are getting older with each play.”

“If she’s causing us too much trouble, we can always replace her,” Oliver suggested.

“No, you cannot,” Nelly stepped in, remonstrating with her husband. “The pair of you must stop being so hostile toward her. I forgave her years ago, and it’s about time the two of you respected her more. She is a brilliant actress.”

“Had she not taken to the bottle, we might have,” Charles was the one to stick up for their poor relationship. “She slurs her lines, and half the time gets them wrong. Lucky she’s experienced enough to improvise and smooth things over.”

Nelly glared at Oliver as if she was daring him to add to the downfall of poor Margaret Lockhart, once a very fine and much-respected actress. Instead, he shrugged his shoulders as if to indicate that he didn’t care either way what happened to her. What she had done against his wife, even though it was in the past, was unforgivable in his eyes. It was only because Nelly had insisted that Margaret stay for as long as she wanted to, that she was still among the cast.

“Right, everyone on stage for the next act!” Charles called out, as they were in the middle of rehearsals.

As it happened, Margaret was on the stage next. Nelly was about to observe from the sidelines but didn’t get the chance. Daisy came dashing up to her, jumping up and down with joy.

“At last, I've done it. I’ve got all my lines memorised, the whole lot,” she announced, looking most proud of herself.

“That is excellent news, though I never doubted that you could do it, not for one moment,” Nelly clapped her hands together, pleased at her cousin's revelation. “But don’t be getting too comfortable playing the leading lady, I will be back soon enough.”

“Well, Aunt Delilah said once your baby’s born you won’t want to be away from it for one minute,” Daisy said, repeating what she had heard Nelly's mother quote. “So, you might need a little longer than you think.”

“That is not open for discussion,” Nelly said, looking a little frazzled at the news. “Let’s go and work on your expressions for the lines, and then…ouch…oh, my goodness!”

“What is it?” Oliver asked looking worried as he quickly dashed to his wife’s side.

“It’s nothing but a twinge, I promise,” she assured him, as she held her arm around her back to rub at the pain.

“I am taking you home, this minute, and not arguing,” Oliver insisted as he went to get his wife’s overcoat. He wasn't allowing her to refuse and held it open for her to put her arms in the long sleeves.

“Must I go, Oliver?” she complained. “I like to be around for rehearsals.”

“There’ll be plenty of time for me to practice my expressions another day, Nelly,” Daisy told her. Although the disappointment was clear to see on her cousin's face. “Please go home and rest for now.”

Nelly knew she was beaten. As much as she loved being among the theatre cast, she didn’t want anything to go wrong with her pregnancy either. And so, she gave in and put on her coat. Before leaving, she leaned in and hugged her cousin.

“I know that you’re more than ready. You don't need help from me any longer, so thank you for pretending that you need me,” Nelly said in a soft voice.

“I do need you, cousin, and I expect you here tomorrow when I have to play my death scene,” Daisy said.

“Very well, if you’re sure I won’t be in the way, but I am tired today so I will leave you to it,” Nelly sighed.

“Nelly Northbury, you are never in the way,” Daisy said, surprised that her cousin would ever consider herself in anyone’s way. “What's more, I am honoured that you are willing to help me.”

“Oh, I do love you, cousin,” Nelly said, unable to hide her happy tears. “Mother tells me that I will get more and more emotional as my time gets nearer. I only have a couple of months to my due date, so you’ll have to excuse me.”

“We will get through it together,” Oliver’s voice came at her behind her. “Come now, my love, let me get you home.”

“Thank you, Oliver. I suppose I must listen to your advice more often as it looks like I’ve overdone it,” she confessed.

“Good. It is about time you listened to my wisdom,” Oliver said in jest, for he knew his wife rarely listened to him in matters of the theatre. “I never thought I would see the day when you agreed with me. Now come. We need to leave. When we have our baby in our arms, we will be so happy. It will make your sacrifice at the theatre well worth it, I promise you.”

Nelly leaned her head on his strong shoulder and squeezed at his arm fondly. She allowed him to guide her outside to the waiting carriage.

“You are so right, my love,” she said, climbing into the carriage and placing her hand on her large tummy as she sat down. “Oh! Our child just kicked,” she told him with a giggle. Upon seeing the joy on her husband’s face, she knew that everything was well with the world.

 The End...

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