Above All Else

Chapter Twenty-Four

"Wait, he did what?" I ask Ivan, wide-eyed beside Mrs. Ike.

He sets down his water. "They are on their way now. Nicole is being forced from the home. Henry didn't give me specifics on why he removed the child from her care."

"If Henry took the baby," I murmur, lost in thought, "I'm... sure it was for a good reason."

"Do you honestly think she was harming the child? I mean, the queen was cold but-"

"I don't think Henry would have let her go if she had been. No... but he might have been afraid she would?"

"It's sad that I don't doubt she'd be capable of something like that," Mrs. Ike says, clearing the table of the empty plates. I look to Alexander, who's mouth is coated in mushed bananas. I smile, wiping his lips with his bib.

"What I'm worried about is the repercussions of this," Ivan says, sitting at the other end of the table. "I know Henry has a kind heart. The public know that as well. But they will never condone an adoption to be made by the king. The child will have to be placed with another family and unfortunately, his parents tainted legacy will accompany him."

I nod, feeling sorry for the baby. No child deserves to be disliked from birth for something they had no control over. Mrs. Ike and Ivan leave to work, and since I'm stuck inside in recovery, all I can do is wait for Henry to get back.

Thankfully, it doesn't take him too long. Almost twenty minutes later, Henry enters the dining room, probably having been told I was here. I close the large book dedicated to English battles and stand up. He's not holding the baby.

"Hi," I murmur softly. He smiles, looking exhausted.

"Hi."

He comes around the table and clasps my face when he reaches me. I lean into him as his lips press to mine, hovering and caressing. Immediately as if there had been a shift to our universe, we're shockingly intimate, only focused on one another. His tongue deepens, his hand moving to grasp my hair into his fist. My fingers clasp his suit jacket before moving underneath, running over his shirt. I take pleasure in knowing what his muscles look like beneath his clothing.

He groans, pulling back. "Alright, I'm going to take a step back now or I'll have half a mind to ignore everything Overton said and have you right here."

I bite my lip, giddy as he moves away from me, walking to Alex. He lifts him out of the small reclined baby chair, grinning wide. "You're getting heavier every day, aren't you?"

Alexander has a fascination with Henry's hair and quickly reaches to grab it. He lets him.

"You know I may have to get this cut soon," Henry says, smirking.

"And the world will weep," I murmur, tilting my head. He did get a trim already. "I like the length it is now. Not too short, not too long."

He smiles. "Then, I'll have to keep it this way, won't I?" I nod, humming with laughter and he sets down Alex into the chair again. Our son becomes absorbed with his toy giraffe. "So... today was rather eventful."

"I heard," I murmur, raising a brow. "Where is the baby?"

"With Mrs. Ike. She's warming up some milk for him."

I nod, sitting down. "Nicole must have been really something for you to do this."

He sighs, sitting down as well. "I- should have thought about it harder before acting but... I am a new father." He looks to Alexander. "I could see she was going to mistreat him. No matter what that child represented to this family, he is not to blame."