With love Emma

Chapter 16

Emma and Lord Advent were on their way to Frances and Marcus' wedding in Brentwood. Amelia refused to join them. Amy and Amanda decided to stay back, too.

The wedding was a week-long event, with various entertainment planned for the guests. It was the talk of the year, the wedding of the heir to the richest dukedom in England. Lady Martha had outdone herself, despite not liking Frances, she wanted the best wedding for her son.

Frances' family arrived in thirty-six carriages. Emma was shocked to learn only Frances' immediate cousins (the Hills and Smiths) and their family had come. The rest would come a day prior to the wedding.

There were children milling around and worn-out nannies running after them. Someone joked that the Smiths' land was exceptionally fertile, so they breed like rabbits.

The Brentwood castle, which was one of the largest castles in all of England, couldn't host all the children in the nursery. So an entire floor in the family wing was converted to a nursery.

Emma was almost knocked down when a three-year-old ran past pushing her by. A completely dishevelled looking nanny carrying a six-month-old was chasing him.

Emma dived and caught hold of the boy.

'Thank you, Your Grace,' said the maid, trying to take him from her.

'Let me hold him,' Emma said and caught the six-month-old.

'I am so sorry for troubling you.'

'It's not a problem,' Emma said and cradled the infant.

'You shouldn't run away like that Ed,' the nanny reprimanded.

Emma walked them to the nursery.

'Thank you, Your Grace. I will take care of them from here.' The moment she let go of Ed's hand he took off again.

'Ed, come back,' the nanny yelled, looking completely helpless.

'I will take care of him till you get back.'

The nanny looked at Emma as though she was her fairy godmother who had come to rescue her from the evil torturers. She took off after Ed, who was using his small size to devastating effect, running below large tables while the nanny had to take a longer detour.

Emma chuckled and headed in. She found two bags embroidered with the names Edmund and William.

'So you are William, can I call you Bill?' she asked the six-month-old who looked at her curiously.

He started to fuss after a few minutes. She changed his nappies, he started nibbling her shoulders.

'You must be hungry Bill, wait I will check what you have.'

There was milk in the flask, she fed him. He drank it greedily. He didn't want to be put in the crib. Bill fell asleep on her shoulders as she slowly rocked him.

'I am sorry, Your Grace, for causing so much trouble.' The nanny apologised again, appearing with Ed held firmly in her hands.

Emma slowly tried to lower Bill to the crib. As his back barely touched the bed, Bill woke up with a scream.

'He is such a fussy baby. I have worked in Smiths' nursery for more than 8 years and never seen a fuzzy baby like him,' complained the nursemaid.

'Bill is not fuzzy, he is just demanding.'

The maid chuckled, 'Wait till you see him at night. You will change your opinion. The sooner the other nursemaid arrives I will be able to breathe.'

At Emma's questioning look the maid added, 'There wasn't enough space for all the maids in the carriage, they will be joining us in two days.'

'Oh! I will be happy to look after Bill till then.'

The maid looked taken aback 'No, Your Grace, I cannot impose on you. Lord Advent would be very displeased if I let you do my job.'

'I will send my handmaid to pick up Bill's belongings,' Emma said and marched off carrying Bill, who promptly went back to sleep now that he was back on her shoulders.

'Miss. Zennor, I didn't see you at lunch. Are you feeling well?' asked Lord Advent.

Spotting a sleeping baby on her lap, he lowered his voice, 'Who is this young delight?'

'This is Master William Smith. I am helping the nursemaid look after him, he is quite a handful. I hope you don't mind? His mother is pregnant too,' Emma explained.

'Not at all. I will instruct Mary to serve you lunch in the room. Should I ask her to help you take care of Master William?'

'No,' Emma almost shouted, realising it she added, 'I mean thanks, but I will ask her help if I need.'

Lord Advent nodded and left. Emma kept staring at sleeping Bill, there was something calming about it.

Time with Bill flew by. Emma has never been this busy all her life. Taking care of an infant was a demanding job. Bill needed to be fed every three hours.

He woke up at odd times. He didn't like sleeping on the bed. They both found a perfect compromise. As long as she cuddled him, he stayed in bed without a fuss. And when he was awake he didn't like staying indoors.

Even though he was only six months old, Emma couldn't stop talking to him. She talked about flowers, stars, books and love as they strolled through the garden. He would gurgle or coo in response. At night they sat by the window looking at stars and the moon.

'Thanks so much for taking care of Bill', Lady Smith kept thanking Emma repeatedly.

'You are wrong about him though,' Emma said to the maid.

'About what, Your Grace?'

'About Bill being fussy,' turning to Bill she added, 'You are not fussy, are you? You are just demanding. We managed to come to a compromise on most of the things. Though I had to be firm about not eating dirt which he was not happy about.' She tickled him lightly, making him giggle.

Lady Smith chuckled, 'Wait till you have kids of your own. I was like this when Edmund was born. It wears off quickly. Sleepless days are filled with endless feeding and nappy changes.'