Kenna had changed her outfit for the third time and Emilie was getting a bit annoyed, "What was wrong with the last one?"

"I'm sorry Emilie, I'm just nervous. This is my first time hosting a party and the guest list is certainly one that could lead to unwanted excitement," Kenna replied.

She looked in the mirror and decided that this dress would do, "Thank you for your help, I'm looking forward to when I can dress myself again. You'll be joining us at the party today, right?"

"Oh I don't know, I don't want to intrude. I'll probably just help the other servants."

Kenna took Emilie's hands in her own, "Emilie, your not just a servant. You're my friend."

"But I don't have anything to wear..."

Kenna thought that Emilie was about the same size as she was before she got pregnant. "I think I can help with that," Kenna said with a smile, walking over to her wardrobe.

She picked out a dress for Emilie and helped her with her hair.

"Oh Emilie! You look beautiful, I wish your husband could be here to see you," Kenna exclaimed.

"Thank you Lady Kenna, truly," Emilie spun around in front of the mirror and giggled, "I feel like a Princess! I've never worn such fine clothes before. If my husband was here I don't think he'd even recognize me. I got a letter from him the other day..."

"Oh?" Kenna inquired.

"He's coming home soon! He was one of the last ones kept back after the invasion of Calais but he just received his release."

Kenna was happy for her friend, but sad at the prospect of her leaving.

"Lady Kenna, do you think there's a chance you could employ him? I don't want to leave your service..."

Kenna was relieved, "I'll speak with Bash but I'm sure we can find something for him to do around here. Bash isn't exactly a businessman but Francis has been giving him advice for getting the most out of our land and I'm sure some extra help will be appreciated."

Finally, Kenna started to hear carriages arriving. Let the party begin, she thought.

Kenna was exhausted from greeting everyone and was searching out a place to sit down. She looked over and saw Diane sitting alone on a couch and thought that it was now or never to find out what their relationship would be like.

"Diane, I wanted to say..." Kenna said as she sat down.

Diane interrupted her, "If you're going to bring up past grievances, don't."

Kenna was shocked when Diane took her hands in her own. "Kenna, I admit that I wasn't pleased when I learned of your union to Sebastian, but I'm willing to accept the situation."

"Really?" Kenna asked skeptically.

"Yes," Diane replied.

Kenna breathed a sigh of relief, this had certainly gone a lot better than she had anticipated but there was still a nagging worry in the back of her mind that Diane had disregarded their past a little too easily.

Catherine clearly felt the same way as Kenna because she walked over to them and commented dryly, "Isn't this an interesting sight. Are we all one big happy family now?"

Diane looked at Catherine, "Kenna and I may have had some... tension, back at court. But I have no choice but to accept her now, just as you've had to accept Mary, because I can't get rid of her."

Catherine just pursed her lips and walked away to speak with someone else. Diane's last words made Kenna a bit uncomfortable so she decided mother-in-law, daughter bonding time was over.

"I have to go check on something, it was good talking to you," Kenna said quickly as she got up in search of someone else.

Bash went over to sit with his mother, "Why are you all alone?"

"Sebastian, I'm not exactly on good terms with anyone at this party," Diane replied, "I'm here for you."

"And Kenna," Bash added.

Diane sighed, "And Kenna. I honestly can't believe you're married to her. For one she slept with your father, and she's a silly, selfish girl."

"Mother I don't know if you were aware but I didn't exactly choose to marry her," Bash replied.

"Then why didn't you get out of it, surely you could have gotten an annulment under the circumstances-"

"Because I love her, Mother," Bash interrupted, "Kenna is not a silly, selfish girl. She is my wife and I need you to respect that."

"Does she make you happy?" Diane asked.

"Yes, mother she does. I've never been happier, because she loves me for who I am, not for my nonexistent title or riches," Bash replied.

Diane sighed, "All I ever wanted was the best for you Sebastian. But if this is what you want, then I will accept it."

"This is the best thing for me. You wanted a life and a woman for me that was not suited for me, I see that now. Please just be happy for me. I'm going to be a father soon," Bash pleaded.

"You will be a wonderful father Sebastian," Diane said, placing a hand on his face.

Kenna was talking to Greer when Bash approached her.

"May I steal my wife away for a few minutes, Bash asked Greer.

"Of course," Greer replied with a smile.

Bash reached for Kenna's hand and led her out back to the garden.

"What is it?" Kenna asked.

"Just needed some fresh air..."

They took a few turns around the garden before Kenna spoke up, "I saw you talking with your mother. I heard the word annulment."

Bash turned to face her, "Kenna, my mother is aware now of how I feel about you and she won't suggest such things again."

"Oh? And how do you feel about me?" Kenna asked with a smirk.

"Well if the fact that you're bearing our children isn't answer enough to your question..."

"Alright, alright," Kenna laughed, "I surely hope you spared your mother such details."

"Don't worry, I just told her that you are the love of my life and that I've never been happier," Bash said with a smile.

Kenna rested her head on his shoulder, "I suppose we should probably get back to the party, seeing as we are the hosts..."

When they walked back in, Genevieve came up and announced that they were going to cut the cake now. Kenna was excited, she knew Genevieve had been hard at work decorating the cake all morning but she hadn't been allowed to see it yet. Kenna gasped when the cake was brought out, it was beautiful. Intricately iced designs covered the whole thing and Kenna couldn't even imagine how laborious it must have been to complete. It was a cake fit for the Royal Court. While they ate Kenna watched people go up to Genevieve and compliment her work. She was beaming and blushing at the same time.

Catherine walked up to Kenna and commented, "I forgot about Genevieve. She really should have been brought to court, you're lucky she was included in my gift."

It made Kenna sad that Catherine thought of one of her cooks as nothing but an add on to their property. But then again, it wasn't that long ago that Kenna didn't see servants as more than just property either.

"Genevieve is a gift to me. She been helping a lot to prepare for the arrival of the babies and she's been teaching me to bake," Kenna replied.

"Oh that's lovely dear," Catherine said distractedly as she walked away.

Kenna was worn out from the party and was relieved when she was finally able to head to her chambers that evening. Diane was staying with them for the night and would leave for Paris in the morning, but everyone else had left and the house was finally quiet. She was getting ready to call Emilie up to help her undress when Bash came up behind her and started to unlace her dress.

"I'll help," Bash said, peppering her back and shoulders with kisses, "You're so beautiful."

Kenna sighed, when she had first started really showing she had felt uncomfortable undressed around him but he didn't even seem to see the flaws she saw in herself. When she had her nightgown on she slowly hobbled over to the bed.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to hold out much longer," Kenna said, "these babies are going to be early."

Thank you for reading this chapter, I hope you enjoyed! Originally I was going to have some more drama at the baby shower but I discovered I'm not very good at writing that so I kept things relatively calm :) As always your feedback is appreciated because I use it to help shape the story. Next chapter will be up tomorrow, prepare for some babies maybe?