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“I have something to tell you.”
Orion paused in the act of buttoning his nightshirt. He cast a look at his wife—sitting at her dressing table, brushing out her hair and braiding it as was her habit every night before bed—and tried to gauge her mood.
“You do?” he asked, carefully.
Walburga continued with her hair, as if it were nothing of import, but when Orion stepped closer and met her gaze in the mirror, he saw a look of pride and satisfaction—even excitement—in her eyes.
“Yes, I rather thought you should be the first to know. I’m expecting.”
Orion’s own eyes widened, unexpected joy bursting in his chest.
“You’re certain?” It had been four years since their wedding, after all, and although neither of them had ever spoken of it, the fact that no child had been forthcoming had led to... concerns.
“I brewed a potion this morning that confirmed it. It’s still early days, I can’t be more than a few weeks along.”
She lowered her hand to touch her stomach, where—Orion could hardly believe it—their child was now growing.
“That’s wonderful news,” he said, excitement buzzing inside him. His lips seemed to be tugging up into a smile without any conscious effort on his part.
“Isn’t it?” She met his eyes in the mirror, taking up her hairbrush again to mask a giddiness he had rarely seen in her, but that resonated strongly with his own emotions.
A child! She was to be a mother! And he—a father!
Gently, he took the brush from her, lifting her hand to his lips. “Exceedingly so,” he murmured, gratified by the light flush on her cheeks. He gently pressed her fingers before releasing them.
“When will you be able to determine the sex of the child?” he asked, helping to hold her hair as she finished braiding it.
Whilst any child was, of course, a delight, Orion had no doubt that the family would be awaiting the arrival of a boy with bated breath, eager for the long-awaited heir to the Black family to be born. Especially their parents had not been shy in reminding them of their duty.
“Not for a few weeks yet,” she replied, only to continue with utter certainty, “but I know it will be a boy.”
He stilled, trying to suppress the surge of joy. “How can you tell?”
“Call it a mother’s intuition.”
Her hair now done, Walburga again touched her belly through her nightgown and Orion put a hand on her shoulder, filled with a rush of protective feelings for his wife—and their son.
“You should come to bed,” he told her. “The elf will no doubt have warmed the sheets already.”
They could tell the rest of the family later, but for tonight the joy of this moment would be only theirs to share.