Ardently |h.s|

fifty

August 1811

"Charlotte, the carriage is all set for us to leave whenever you are ready!" Harry calls from the stairs. 

"We'll be down soon, love!" I call back to him, before turning to the baby in front of me. "Your father is so impatient isn't he?" I coo to the infant as I fix him in my arms. Before I could even turn around, the door to the room opens fully. 

"Mama! Ready?" A little voice calls from the door. A big smile takes over when I look to the little girl standing at the door. "Yes, darling. Theodore just needed a feed but we are all ready to go." I assure her. 

Behind her, the figure of my husband appears. "Francesca, what did I say about rushing your mother?" He has a slight smile on his face, which only tells me that he told her to come up and see what was taking so long. 

His hair has grown out, much to my approval. He has the most gorgeous curly locks, and I think the long hair suits him wonderfully. He has definitely gotten more handsome with age, which I was surprised to learn can happen. I guess I'm just one of the lucky ones who has an eternally handsome husband. 

Our daughter looks up at him, giggling mischievously before shrugging. I'm sure a treat was offered as always. Harry walks over, reaching out to take the small infant from my arms which I gladly allow. "And how's my strong boy? Ready for the trip to see his Uncle Liam?" he coos, holding Theo up so he could see his face. 

Theodore is of course, asleep, but what more can you expect from a three month old infant. I take Francesca's hand as we walk down the stairs to get into the carriage. Thankfully we don't have a long ride ahead of us, since Liam and Penelope decided to take up residence on the other side of town. Mostly to stay near her family as they just had their first child together, a son. We were very excited to find out our boys will be around the same age. Hopefully they'll be best friends. 

We pile into the carriage, Francesca sitting next to me and Harry holding Theodore in his arms. He has been the most amazing father to our children, so much so that I would be happy having as many as we possibly can. I just want every child to be loved by him. 

Francesca is a little over a year old now, which is hard to imagine. It feels like just yesterday Harry and I were welcoming her into the world. Giving birth to her was the hardest thing I've ever done, but the most rewarding. I don't think I'd ever seen Harry cry before our daughter was born. 

We picked her name when I told Harry I was pregnant. We didn't know she would be a girl yet, but we both agreed that if we were to ever have a daughter, her name would be Francesca. After my mother. 

A few months after Francesca was born, to not many people's surprise, we were expecting again. Harry and I were so nervous to have another child, especially since we hadn't even been parents for a year yet, but we were also so excited. Francesca became our world so quickly and we just knew that we wanted more kids as soon as she was born. 

Theodore came in May of this year and he was such a little surprise. We were sure he would be another daughter, just because of how similarly I carried him and Francesca. But he was Theo and he was crying and screaming so loudly. It made us laugh as we cried and held him. He's been just as loud ever since, always making sure everyone in the room knows he's there. It reminds me of Harry for sure. 

And to be quite honest, I would be ready to do it all over again. Harry is the most amazing partner through all of this. If I'm ever craving a snack or meal, he'll go get it no matter what time of night it is. One time, he went all the way to Cheshire just so I could have the chocolates from the shop he loves over there because I wanted them. I don't think he's ever made the trip there and back before that fast.