For the next few days, Delaney kept an eye on her husband.  It worried her how angry and upset he had been when they had talked.  They locked themselves away in their room like they had talked about and she made sure he slept often.  She actually found herself surprised by just how much he slept.  It seemed like all of his exhaustion had finally caught up to him.

When they were awake though things were wonderful.  They were happy just to be together like they had been when they first fell in love.

Vincent would hold Delaney in his arms against his chest and she would read out loud from one of their books while he listened.  Sometimes he would read while she lazily traced the scars on his chest.

He insisted she practice more with the knife so he tied a pillow to one of their bedposts to make her target.  With her in a nightgown and him in only his breeches, he stood behind her pressed against her back with his hand over hers on the blade.  They moved together as he showed her what to do.  Then he stood back and watched in amusement as she stabbed the pillow over and over until the floor was littered with goose feathers.

Even with no music, the pair would still dance around the bedroom laughing and imagining themselves at a grand party.  More than once the servants hauled the tub back up and filled it with hot water for them.  Sometimes Vincent would have his ledgers brought up to their room and he would spread them out over the bed and teach her more about managing the estates.

When they had stayed like this for nearly a week, they both finally began to get a little restless and venture out of their room.  One morning they talked about it and decided that it was time they got back to their lives and managing Edgewood and the other estates.

After their romantic time together Delaney was in such high spirits she almost floated around Edgewood.  She worked on all the projects she had come up with but the one she became most taken by, was the gardens in front of the manor.  Violet had never been one for flowers so while she had been duchess the gardens had mostly just become a maze of hedges and bushes.  Delaney brought in gardeners though and began to build up plots for her flowers.

She was so dedicated to it that most days she would put on a worn old skirt and get down and work in the dirt herself alongside the servants.  Ms. Bird had insisted that she wear gloves after the first day she had come in with black dirt beneath her nails.  Sometimes Vincent would take a break and stroll out from his study to watch her with a look of amusement on his face.  He loved her dearly.

There were some days that Vincent would have to ride off to do work at the other estates so Delaney would be left on her own.  It was those days that she had begun having little picnics outside with a handful of servants.  Each time she tried to pick different ones so they would all get a chance.  They loved her for it.

The blanket was laid out in the very middle of her garden where she had made sure to leave a clearing.  They ate surrounded by hundreds of flowers in all the colors she could imagine.  Their sweet perfume filled the air while butterflies and fat bumblebees bobbed around them.

Delaney couldn\'t remember ever being so happy.  Things were perfect.

Nearly perfect.

Although she may have felt like she was floating in a dream, it was in fact reality and time continued to tick on.  Each day that passed left her feeling a bit more hopeful that she would find herself pregnant.  Everything was just so wonderful she felt it had to happen.

She told Vincent her feelings and at first, he had tried to convince her to rein in her hope and lower her expectations.  Delaney pleaded with him to not be negative and instead raise his hope with her.  She convinced him that their happiness could make things happen.  He gave in at last and joined her in being hopeful for their future.

Or at least... he pretended to be.

While they had spent their days locked away together in their bedroom Vincent had loved spending so much time with his wife but he had also used it as an opportunity.

Miles had made a very good point when he had recommended Delaney learn to use a blade and now Vincent was committed to teaching her.  He had always worried about her finding another husband and being financially secure after he was gone but he had never considered her safety.  Without himself and now without Ian either, she would be all alone once he was gone.  He needed to know that she would be able to defend herself.

He made her practice until he felt she would have the best chance he could give her.  He also didn\'t want to push her too hard about it and give away that he was actually concerned.

When Harris had brought them breakfast in bed one morning he had the man bring up his books.  He had purchased a house and a bit of land not far from Miles and Cora\'s home and it was there he hoped Delaney would live.  After seeing Felicia and Rose handle the bees he had a similar operation started there so she would have a way of making her own money in case anything happened to the money he was leaving her.

Managing an estate wasn\'t always easy though and he didn\'t want her to struggle with it.  He laid his books out in front of them and went over things with her, trying to teach her all he could.  He showed her how he invested money to make more money and also how he weighed the risks.

He secretly taught his wife as much as he could manage without letting on that he was actually worried and wanted her to learn.  He also had to work very hard to keep his pain hidden from her.

His body protested as he danced with her and when she stopped to take a drink of water he took a quick sip of his medicine so he could keep going.  The pain was getting worse every day now and there was no denying it.  His scars were also stretching well across his face and now covered nearly half his chest.  He couldn\'t hide the marks from her but he could hide the pain.  He just had to keep pretending at least for a bit longer.

He pretended to be feeling better just as he pretended he thought they might really have a baby.  It was all a lie though.  He knew these were dreams that could never come true.  Maybe in a different life, they could have had a long and happy life together but that wasn\'t in their future now.

-

She didn\'t have to tell him the morning she found out she wasn\'t pregnant.  He could tell by the look on her face when she walked slowly into his office.  Her eyes were red from her tears even though she had managed to get them under control for now.

Without speaking, Delaney dropped into the seat on the other side of his desk.  Slowly he got to his feet and walked around to join her.  He knelt in front of her despite the pain it caused him and took her hand in his.  He brought it to his lips and lightly kissed it.  As soon as he did it released a new flood of tears.

"I\'m sorry my love," he whispered, "This is all my fault."

"Stop it," she managed, "It could be my fault as well.  I took that stupid poison.  Maybe it isn\'t clear from my body yet."

"The poison isn\'t your fault... You were tricked."

"It doesn\'t matter," she whispered, shaking her head, "Either way I... I\'m not pregnant."

"It\'s going to be alright," he tried to reassure her, "If it is the poison it won\'t stay in your system forever.  You\'ll still be able to have children.  You just have to wait a bit longer."

Delaney\'s mouth fell open and she stared at him with a mixture of shock and anger.

"What are you talking about?  I don\'t care about having children "someday".  I need to have a baby now.  We only have one more chance and if I\'m not... if I\'m not..."

Tears began to fall harder and she fought to catch her breath.

"Delaney please," he whispered, "Please don\'t cry.  I\'m sorry."

"If you\'re sorry then... then tell me you won\'t force us to uphold that stupid arrangement we made.  We agreed to it before we loved each other!"

"My love..."

"No Vincent," she took his hand and held it tightly in hers, "We don\'t have to uphold it.  My uncle won\'t ever mention it and you know your mother wouldn\'t.  The only people that know about it would be happier if we were together.  They would never talk about it.  Please my love!  Please tell me we can forget about that agreement and just stay together."

Vincent dropped his eyes from hers, "Delaney I... I can\'t."

She ripped her hands away from his immediately getting up from her seat.

"How can you say you love me and then do this?"

He couldn\'t answer so she turned and stormed out of his study.  As soon as she was gone he stopped fighting it and let his leg give way beneath him, dropping hard to the stone floor.  His heart ached but he knew there was nothing he could say to her that would make this easier.  He couldn\'t back down though.  Not now.  Not with his body falling apart.

One more month.  He had one more month to spend with the woman he loved.