⚜️ You Can Call Me Sir Alexander ⚜️ (Alex Turner)

EPILOGUE

Hazel held the little creature against her chest. She was exhausted and in pain, but excited to finally meet him. Her little boy was perfect. He cried a little, but he settled down once she held him against her.
She looked at his little fingers and at his little nose and smiled. Her heart felt full and happy.
"I want his father to meet him," she told Martha, an old trusted servant who worked for the Lord's family all her life -and kept many family secrets. She wasn't a midwife, but after helping many in her life, she had the knowledge. 

Alexander was waiting anxiously in his chamber, hoping that everything was going well. He could hear Hazel screaming and moaning in pain, and every time he winced and worried. He knew it was normal while delivering a baby, but he couldn't help being concerned. The risk of dying while giving birth was high and he already almost lost her once.

When he heard the little cry he rushed out of his room and waited, excited and impatient, by Hazel's door.
Then it was quiet, and after some time Martha let him in and waited outside to give them some privacy.
Hazel gave him a tired but content smile. "Meet your son, my dear..."
Alexander rushed to her. He took her hand and placed a kiss on it as he looked, marveled, at the little creature resting on her chest.
"A son! My son...!"

He delicately brushed the tip of his finger on his tiny cheek and then put it under his little hand.
The baby wrapped his small fingers around it.
He arched his brows and looked at Hazel, amazed.

A son. A descendant who, thanks to the agreement with Lady Elwood, will keep his bloodline alive and perpetuate the Turners name. A son that he could teach to: how to ride a horse, how to fence. A son that prehaps would follow his footsteps and have the success and glory he couldn't have.
And most importantly, a son who was born in love, and not only out of conjugal duty.

Lady Isobel started pretending a pregnancy after the wedding with Alexander. This way the child would pass for hers and it would finally put her parents at peace. Plus, she found the whole bluff extremely amusing.
She insisted on moving in the Harrington Palace as a way to distance herself from her overbearing father and to make the whole baby subterfuge easier to execute.
She had been extremely helpful and gracious to them since she moved in and Hazel now considered her a friend. She was fun, witty and smart. She was also very interested in Hazel's knowledge of curative plants and herbs, and often she would go with her in the garden to learn about them.

Alexander lifted his eyes on her.
"You should let your father know, darling. I am sure he would be most delighted."
Hazel shook her head. "He will not appreciate me having a child out of wedlock."
"We will explain the situation, I am certain he will understand."
"I am not quite sure about that..."
"He will. Perhaps we can pay him a little visit in a few months, when baby will be a bit older. So he can meet his grandson. I'm quite certain he will be content."
Hazel's eyes illuminated. Oh, how she missed her dear father!
She cupped his bearded cheek. "That would be wonderful, Alexander!"
She would love him to visit the palace, but his health was a bit falthering nowadays. A long trip would be too much for him.

"What do you want to name him, my love?" She asked Alexander, whose finger was still trapped in the baby's wee hand.
"Oliver," he replied after a bit of thought.
"The First?"
"Aye, the First."
He knew how much Hazel loved and missed her deceased mother, Olivia.
She took his hand in hers, and squeezed it. How thoughtful of him to pick the name after her dear mother.

Alexander looked at his son and then turned his eyes back to Hazel. "Oliver David Turner."
Hazel nodded, caressing her baby's back with a delicate touch. Her other hand in the hand of the man she loved and who gave her this beautiful little creature.
She smiled with her eyes half opened, for she was so tired, and she fell asleep with the heart full of happiness.