Chapter 228: Family planning [1]
Back at Eloise’s home, Eloise and Minnie set the table when it came time for dinner. They prepared chairs for Aiden and the other guards, but the offer was rejected as they needed to stand watch and protect the home.
Still, Eloise filled plates with food to take outside so no one would go without their supper.
Now, only Eloise, Millie, and Damien remained inside for dinner.
"Your wife cooked most of it while I cut for her. She has improved," Millie said, proud that Eloise hadn’t lost the talent to cook. "It smells so lovely that the neighbours might become jealous."
"You are too kind, Millie. I had your help with the tasting, which is the most important part. I remember the days when I tried to cook for my father before he returned from work, and it was flavourless. We still had to eat it so it wouldn’t be wasted," Eloise said, a smile touching her lips as she recalled the memory.
"Every skill has its failure in the learning steps. You failed a few times, but now you are good enough to make a wonderful meal. One that will give everyone the strength they need," Millie said, speaking of herself. "Most ladies in your position can’t cook."
"They don’t need to. There are servants all around to aid them," Eloise replied, seeing no harm in it. "As of late, I had no reason to practise my cooking since there were many cooks and maids around me."
"But as I have told you, life can change. What if they lose all that help? How would they be able to sustain themselves? You’ve achieved something everyone should know. Do you know how to prepare a simple meal, Lord Hawthorne?" Millie asked, hoping Damien would take on the skill.
"I know how to roast meat. It is what I did in my outings with the army, but nothing more than that. I haven’t had time to learn how to prepare more dishes," Damien answered honestly.
There was no slot to fit learning to cook.
"Damien is a busy man, so I won’t expect him to cook for me. Besides, it gives me a skill I am better at than he is," Eloise said, taking her seat beside Damien. "I shall keep him fed at times while he works."
"Are you not worried that I will come to like your cooking so much that I prefer to only eat your food?" Damien asked, his lips curving into a teasing smile.
"No. For all the work you do, it would please me to cook for you. It also gives me reason to learn more recipes. I liked cooking for my father and now for you. Millie as well," Eloise said, turning to Millie. She reached for Damien’s hand to hold under the table, her fingers brushing lightly against his.
"How nice of you to include me in your sweet moments, but I am most certain Lord Hawthorne wished I were not present now," Millie said, ignoring that the two were holding hands.
Millie found peace in her life, seeing that Eloise’s marriage was still going on happily. Despite how rash it was, the two were lasting better than others expected.
"No. You are like family to Eloise, so you are family to me. I enjoy having you here," Damien replied warmly.
"Lord Hawthorne, you certainly know how to make an old girl happy," Millie said, touched by the gesture.
"You may refer to me as Damien since we are in a private setting. I have to thank you for taking care of my wife today," said Damien.
Millie shook her head, since it was the other way around. "It is Eloise who took care of me today. I’m sure you heard about my son, but you have been kind not to speak of it. If not for Eloise, I would have continued with his disrespect. She came right in time."
"Look at us getting distracted when there is a good feast before us," Millie said, fanning her face with her hands to stop her tears. "We must eat quickly. The guards must have finished eating while we have not taken a bite."
Eloise smiled and began to help serve the food for Damien. She was eager to see how Damien would react to her cooking. She had poured most of her time and effort into preparing the meal so she could impress him.
"Let me serve you," Damien said, taking a spoon from Eloise’s hand. "It is the least I can do."
"Since you two might be here for a day, I will bake a cake for you in the morning. One that would go well with your morning coffee or tea. Whichever you prefer," said Millie.
Eloise pouted, pretending to sulk. "It seems that I am losing you to Damien. I won’t stand for it."
"You will always be number one in my heart, Eloise. Until you have children, of course. I am weak to children," Millie said, smiling fondly.
Damien welcomed the moment as he got the chance to have his question answered. "Children? Does my wife want more than one?"
Eloise froze, realising where this was going.
Millie looked at the couple. "Yes, more than one. For as long as I have known Eloise, she has wanted a lot of children. Did you not take a look at her old drawings? The ones of herself, her father and her children. I always wondered why she didn’t draw her husband."
"I was young. I didn’t think I needed a husband to have children. All the children needed was their grandfather and me," Eloise explained, smiling at how silly she was.
"I saw the drawing, but I didn’t know what it was. So, you wish to have many children," Damien said, a smile forming. One that he wouldn’t be able to get rid of anytime soon.
’Oh, heaven help me,’ Eloise sighed.
"Yes, I thought of having many children, but even then, in my drawing, you would see that I only ever drew my father and the children I thought I would have. I don’t know why I wasn’t so bothered about a groom even as a little girl. I loved weddings. Oh!" Eloise gasped, placing her right hand to her mouth as the memory struck her.
She was wrong.
"I think I know what has startled you. I faintly remember a drawing my dear wife handed me after we had a fake marriage as children. I recall that drawing having a groom, and I was it," Damien said, even more determined now to find the old drawing.
