41
It was a lovely warm day in midsummer. Victoria was in what had always been for her the best and most comfortable part of pregnancy. After five years she'd forgotten what it was like. She found she'd missed it, a little. The big gray tomcat was curled in what remained of her lap, resting against her belly and purring. She stroked his back with her fingers and took a deep breath through her nose, catching all the scents of the blooming flowers and fresh air.
The girls were playing in the garden while she and Victor sat in wicker chairs on the lawn nearby. A tea tray sat on the small table between them. A thump and a cry, followed by a brief round of bickering, came from just beyond the hedge.
"What are they playing?" Victor asked. He was leaning his head back, eyes closed, catching the sunshine.
"Princesses, they said," Victoria replied. Catherine screeched her angriest screech and she wondered whether or not to intervene.
"I'd have thought that would be a more...sedate game."
"Does Liddie ever lead sedate games?"
"No," Victor said with a grin. "She does not."
Just when Victoria was going to ask him to go and break up the row, the squabbling stopped. There was a rustle and some whispering and then the children appeared from behind a rosebush. Lydia ushered her sisters out in front of her. She wielded a large stick, while Catherine and Anne wore slightly clumsy flower crowns.
"It's time for the dragon!" Liddie called. "Father, please, will you?"
"I'm busy counting my gold," Victor called back, not even opening his eyes. "Just a minute."
"Father, please?"
How had they learned how to make the word 'please' into so many syllables? Victor sighed, stretched, and hoisted himself from his chair. Victoria smiled fondly and scratched the cat's ears. The baby inside of her rolled about in a lazy way and she put her hand to her belly. The cat hopped down and sat in the shade underneath Victor's empty chair. Then he set about washing his whiskers.
Over on the side lawn by the carriage house the children ran as fast as they could go as Victor loped behind them. Skirts flying, hair streaming out behind them, enormous smiles on their faces. Victoria was surprised to find herself choking up a little at the sight of them. So young and happy and free. A stark contrast to her own dark and confined girlhood.
Near the corner of the house Liddie stopped so suddenly that Catherine crashed into her and they both stumbled. Anne was late to realize that the chase had paused and ran a small distance beyond them before doubling back. Their voices were a little lost on the breeze, but Victoria could hear most of what followed.
"What's wrong?" Victor asked.
"You must really chase us!" Liddie told him.
"But I was!" Victor protested.
"You weren't chasing us fast," Lydia replied in a tone that made Victoria take a deep breath and tense up, fully prepared to scold.
"You were walking," Catherine put in. Her face was so red with exertion that Victoria could see it from where she sat.
"It's true, you weren't chasing," added Anne, surprising her mother. It was rare that she ever said a word against her father.
"But that would spoil the game," Victor tried, holding out his hands helplessly.
"It won't!" the children assured him in chorus. They directed him back to the rose bush to start the chase anew. Victoria put her fingers to her lips to hide her grin at the put-upon expression on her husband's face.
"Are you at the rosebush?" Lydia called from where the children had re-grouped in the middle of the lawn.
"You can see that I am," Victor called back. Victoria heard him sigh.
"Now really chase us, dragon! Run, run from the dragon!"
The girls took off, and so did Victor, at full speed as directed. Within two seconds he caught up to the children. He reached and nabbed first Catherine and then Anne, holding them by their upper arms, one in each hand. They wriggled and laughed and played at trying to get away.
"Look, see?" he said to Liddie over their giggles. Lydia, by far the fastest, was by the hawthorn tree next to the house. "Wasn't much of a chase."
"Turn them loose, dragon!" Lydia shouted, brandishing her stick.
"No, I don't think so," Victor said, his tone light and playful. "I think I'll take them home for Mrs. Dragon. She could use two child-servants."
"It's true, I could," Victoria called, a hand to her belly. "Soon I'll have a baby dragon, I'll need help."
"All right then, you heard her, come on, children," Victor said. He grinned at Liddie. "I'll be going now, thank you."
"Don't worry, I'll save you!" Liddie called to her sisters, but the hostages did not seem all that concerned. Indeed, their grins were enormous as their father marched them over to where Victoria was sitting.
"Here you are, my dear," he said. "New child-servants. Princesses, even." With that, he took to his chair again, legs stretched out and eyes closed. The cat emerged from under his chair, tail held high, purr rumbling.
"Why thank you, they're lovely," Victoria said. She directed the children to sit by her feet in the grass. Soon the cat joined them, enjoying being petted and fussed over. The girls were sweaty and out of breath. Anne had lost her ribbon and Catherine's hem was filthy. They were getting cat hair and grass stains all over themselves. But somehow Victoria did not care. Indeed, she found it pleased her to see them this way. She glanced over at Victor, dozing again, and smiled.
Very soon Lydia came tiptoeing over, stick in hand. "The dragon is asleep," she whispered to her sisters. "Why are you petting that cat? That's the dragon's cat!"
"We're making the best of things," Catherine told her sweetly.
"Come on, while we can!" Liddie hissed, and hoisted her sisters up off the ground. The older two took off immediately, but Anne patted the cat one last time, and then looked at her mother.
"Can you manage without child-servants?" she asked, very sincerely. "Do you mind if I go?"
Victoria waved her off. "I'll manage," she assured her. "Go, be free." She watched as Anne trotted off to join her sisters at the hawthorn tree. The cat followed after. No longer the dragon's cat, plainly.
"Oh no, did they escape?" Victor asked lazily, eyes closed, just loud enough for the children to hear him. "I knew I should have used the cage."
"Ah well," Victoria murmured. She watched as the cat climbed the hawthorn. Then Lydia, tall and strong, scrambled into its branches after him, to her sisters' delight. "It would be such a shame to cage them."