Daphne stroked vandal's soft fur for a while, Olivia got back into bed as she was feeling nauseous and unwell that day. In the end, she told Daphne to go play with Vandal in the garden as she wanted to rest.
Daphne left the room and went to play with Vandal in the garden. Sarina saw Daphne from the living room and decided to keep her company since Leonard had returned to the room with Olivia, telling her that Olivia was feeling unwell and needed to rest.
When Sarina approached Daphne, she said, "Hello, Duchess."
"I told you, you can call me Grandma. There's no need to call me Duchess now that you're part of my family," Sarina replied.
Daphne blushed and said, "Okay Grandma."
Sarina hugged Daphne and said, "You're so lovely. Come on, let's go inside. It's cold out here, and you'll get sick if you stay outside for too long."
Daphne followed Sarina to the living room, where the maids served them hot chocolate and cookies.
Daphne asked Sarina, "How is Olivia doing?"
"She's still feeling a bit unwell, but that's normal during pregnancy. In a few months, she discomfort should lessen," Sarina replied.
"I would like to do something to make her feel better," Daphne said.
"For now, we can't do much. But until Olivia feels better, they won't be able to leave because we need to embroider something for her baby," Sarina explained.
Daphne thought it was a great idea and said, "Yes."
Sarina had sewing boxes brought for both of them so they could embroider something nice for Olivia's baby. Daphne decided to embroider a blanket for the baby, while Sarina chosen the whole afternoon embroidering until dinner time. That night, only Daphne and Leonard's parents had dinner, as Olivia was still not feeling well, and Leonard didn't want to leave her alone.
Olivia continued to feel sick with nausea and vomiting for a whole week. Daphne used to visit her in the mornings with Vandal and spend the afternoons embroidering with Sarina. They had become very close, and Daphne started calling Sarina Grandma more naturally.
When Daphne and Sarina finished embroidering the first pieces of clothing, they slowed them to Olivia. She was very happy to see the beautiful garments they had created for her baby and wished she could embroider like them, even though she wasn't very good at it.
It took Olivia a month for the nausea and vomiting to subside. When she was feeling better, Leonard decided it was time to return to their territory as they had been away longer than he had planned due to Olivia's illness.
As they were saying goodbye at the entrance with Leonard's parents, Sarina hugged Olivia and said, "I'll visit you before the baby is born. I want to be there with you when he arrives."
"That would make me very happy. I'll be waiting for you," Olivia replied.
"Have a safe journey," Sarina bid them farewell.
Leonard helped Olivia into the carriage, and Sarina said goodbye to Daphne and Leonard. When they were all in the Carriage, the coachman set off.
Olivia sat next to Leonard and laid her head on his shoulder. Daphne sat in the front next to Vandal. The return journey took much longer than the outward one, as Olivia often felt very hungry and they had to stop in villages to buy fruit or snacks for her.
When they finally arrived at the mansion, the servants rushed to greet them. Amelia hugged Olivia and said, "We've all missed you so much, ma'am."
"I missed you all too. It feels good to be back home," Olivia replied. When Amelia saw Daphne, she asked, "Who is this beautiful young lady?"
Olivia gestured for Daphne to come closer and said, "This is Daphne. Leonard and I have adopted her, and she's now part of our family. Please treat her well."
Amelia was very surprised to hear that the duke and duchess had adopted Daphne. Upon looking closely at the young gir, she calculated that she must be around thirteen years old, and thought that perhaps she was an illegitimate daughter of Leonard's, and he had forced Olivia to adopt her.
Amelia thought that when the duke was alone she would ask him about it, but since Olivia seemed so happy with the girl, Amelia treated her kindly and told the servants to prepare a room for the new lady of the house.
The servants hurried to do as Amelia ordered, Alfred informed Leonard that Sir Darius had come by several times looking for him as there were apparently important matters he needed to attend to.
Leonard instructed Alfred to send a messenger to let Darius know he was back. Upon entering the house, Olivia asked Amelia to bring her something to eat as she was starving.
Amelia went to the kitchen and brought a tray full of Olivia's favorite desserts. She had brought a large amount of sweets as she also wanted Daphne to try them. Seeing Olivia's voracious appetite, Amelia said to her.
"My lady, it seems like you are eating for two."
"In fact, I am. I am pregnant."
Upon hearing that Olivia was pregnant, Amelia exclaimed, "My lady, is that really true?"
"Yes, Amelia. I am going to be a mother."
Tears started to roll down Amelia's cheeks and she said, "Oh... I am so happy, my lady. That means we will soon have a little baby in this house."
"That's right, Amelia."
"Congratulations on your pregnancy, my lady."
"Thank you very much, Amelia."
Amelia, after learning about Olivia's pregnancy, told all the servants who were also very happy to hear the news.
Since Leonard was alone in his office, Amelia took the opportunity to talk to him. When Amelia entered the room, Leonard had his head down, reviewing some papers, and without looking up, he said, "What's the matter, Amelia?'
"My lord, I came to ask you something."
"What do you want to ask me?"
"Is that young girl you adopted your illegitimate daughter?"
Leonard raised his head and looked at Amelia, saying, "Amelia, where did you hear that?"
"Well, you have been a ladies' man and I wouldn't be surprised if you had some illegitimate children out there. Perhaps you found out that girl was your daughter and that's why you forced the duchess to accept her as her own."
Leonard started laughing and said, "Amelia, you really have a great imagination. I have never had any illegitimate children, and it was Olivia who wanted us to adopt that girl. I just wanted to please her, so I adopted her."
"Are you serious?"
"Yes, she's the niece of the Marquis of Norfolk, he was her guardian and planned to marry her off to a man three times her age. Olivia sympathized with her and in the end, we adopted her to prevent the marriage."
Amelia put her hands to her head and said, "Oh, dear, poor girl."
"Amelia, I'm telling you this because I don't want to you have the wrong idea and plant your strange ideas in Olivia's head about me having illegitimate children. Do you understand me?"
"Of course, my lord, don't worry, I won't say anything that the duchess might misunderstand. Well, now that you have cleared up my doubts, I will go attend to the lady. Now that she's pregnant, we must take good care of her."
"Do as you please, Amelia, and now leave me to work in peace."
"Yes, my lord."
Amelia went to where Olivia and Daphne were to show them the room the servants had prepared for Daphne.
The room was near Olivia's but not close enough for her to hear Leonard and Olivia's passionate nights. The room was pleasant with beautiful views of the garden. The servants had already stored Daphne's belongings in the closets and prepared the bathroom, as they had a long journey.
Olivia left them alone and went to her room to bathe. Amelia helped Olivia bathe, and when she finished, she asked Amelia to call Madam Margaret as her clothes were beginning to feel tight, and she needed new clothes for herself and Daphne.
Amelia dressed Olivia in a dress that Madam Margaret had made for her before leaving, which was not too long so Olivia wouldn't trip over it.
As the weather was getting colder with winter approaching, Amelia put a shawl around Olivia to keep her warm. When she was ready, she went to fetch Daphne for dinner.
Olivia thought Leonard might not join them for dinner as he had a lot of work to catch up on. However, now that she had Daphne with her, she wouldn't have to dine alone.
When they arrived at the dining room, Leonard was waiting to dine with them. Olivia was surprised and said, "I thought you wouldn't join us for dinner?"
"I'm tired today, I will continue with my work tomorrow."
Leonard pulled out a chair for Olivia to sit next to him, and Daphne stood unsure where to sit. Seeing her indecision, Leonard said, "Daphne, you can sit wherever you want, from now on, this I will be your home."
Daphne sat next to Olivia as she felt most comfortable there. As the servants served the food, Leonard asked Daphne, "Do you like the room they prepared for you?"
"Yes, I like it a lot, she garden views are very beautiful."
"If there's anything you don't like about your room, you can tell the servants to change it, and if you need anything ask Alfred."
Alfred, who was close by, said to her, "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask, miss."
"Thank you very much," replied Olivia.
Olivia said to Daphne, "I hope you feel comfortable. Here, all the servants are very kind; I'm sure you'll like them."
After they finished dinner, they went to their rooms. Olivia said goodbye to Daphne, "Goodnight, Daphne. Sleep well."
"Goodnight," replied Daphne.
Olivia and Leonard went to their room where Mari was waiting to help her change clothes. She then left, leaving the two alone.
Olivia got into bed with Leonard, who wrapped his arms around her and asked, "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine. The tri[ has been very tiring, but I'm fine," Olivia replied.
Leonard touched Olivia's belly and said, "It seems like our baby is growing very well. Your belly is starting to show now."
Olivia placed her hand on Leonard's and said, "Yes, my clothes are starting to feel tight. I've asked Amelia to call the designer to make new clothes for me."
While Leonard had his hand on Olivia's belly, he felt something moving underneath and said to her, surprised, "Have you felt that?"
"Yes, this is the first time the baby has moved," Olivia replied.
Leonard continued to touch Olivia's belly and asked, "Why isn't it moving anymore?"
"I think he's tired too. As he continues to grow, he'll move even more. I'm sure you'll be able to feel him moving again soon," Olivia reassured him.
Leonard kissed Olivia on the neck and said, "I love you."