Moments of seemingly endless silence passed. Thomas stood up, gave Mary and I a quick nod and left the room.

Mary closed her eyes, sighing heavily, and then glanced up at me with pools of emerald, swirling with emotions.

"Mary, I'm so sorry." I said in a choked voice, wrapping my arms around her.

"It's not your fault." She said quietly. "I'm just too small, William. Had I been a bit bigger built, and a bit taller, none of this would have been as much of a problem."

True, Mary was small, only about five feet two inches tall, and normally just over one hundred pounds. But her build was also muscular, well sculpted, with well-proportioned and defined curves. And there was no way I was going to blame her, or her build, for not being able to bear children, for other women her size had born children more easily than she had.

"Don't blame yourself. You couldn't help it."

"I know. Besides, we have four, and that's a healthy number."

"Yes, it certainly is." I replied while thinking, 'We're lucky we've even got that many.' For Braden's labour had been very difficult for Mary, and before him, she had had a forced miscarriage.

"William." Mary's voice pulled me from my thoughts.

"Yes?"

"Please, close the curtains on the four-poster."

"Certainly."

I got up and pulled the dark red velvet curtains shut and left the room so Mary could rest. Then I went downstairs towards the sitting room, where I got about half-way into the room when I accidentally stepped on one of Braden's stray toy soldiers, the bayonet he held digging painfully into my foot.

"God damn it, Braden, pick up your blasted soldiers!" I hissed while holding my left foot.

Thomas, who was sitting in one of the two settees in the room, peered up at me from the book he was reading.

"You're still up." He said.

"As are you." I replied, still rubbing my foot.

"Well I at least got some sleep. How come you're not in bed?"

"Mary needed her rest, so I left."

"But you're still awake?"

"Thomas, do shut up. Yes, I'm still awake!"

"And cranky too."

"Thomas!"

"Now now, Will, you don't want to wake your wife or sons.."

"Hush your mouth then!" I growled.

"Fine.." Replied Thomas with a smug look on his face.

I rolled my eyes at Thomas, tossing him and irate look and left the room, once again stepping on my son's toy soldier and cursing on the way out.