The Pearl Of Great Price

Chapter 34: Respect

The only thing more valuable than time is family. No amount of riches, titles, or success can take the place of the time spent with them. What your time is dedicated to reflects who you are. It's a way of offering pieces of yourself to it. For Charles his wife and boys are everything. His family is his life and everything else is second to them. 

When his wife became "indisposed", as she calls it, he realized how short time and life truly is. He understood this because he became remorseful wishing he had more chances to tell her how much she means to him, more chances to laugh with her, more chances to see the world with her, more chances to talk with her, and more chances to just love her. No man is promised tomorrow, only today. So he vowed that he was going to love like there was no tomorrow. His goal is to shower his wife and boys with so much love there's no room for confusion or doubt. And when tomorrow comes, if it's allowed, he is going to love all over again. 

As the week went by, the Brandons thoroughly enjoyed Cardigan by the sea. The best thing has been playing with the boys in the ocean. Although "playing in the ocean" is really Mary and Charles dipping their little feet in it. In an odd turn of events, William loved it and Owen hated it. He did not like the water on his feet at all and he told his parents so by wailing a loud wail. On the other hand, William giggled with glee every time his father raised him up and dropped his feet down into the cool surf.

If pure happiness is found in the precious smile of a baby, then baby laughter is pure joy. It's the most beautiful sound in the whole world. Hearing William's laughter is the best medicine in the whole of the universe. It makes the heart sing. "One day we're going to blink and then they will be grown. But I hope we can look back and say we saw it all. We soaked it all in because we were there for it and it was great," Mary told her husband. 

There is no disagreement in those words. Charles only added to it. "I hope they will know the privilege of being their parents was always greater than any hardship, inconvenience, or frustration. I hope they know what a gift they are to us, every day. No matter what I hope for, regarding our children, I hope they will know they were wanted, longed for, prayed for, and so very loved." He took William, raised him up, then swooped him down low into the water again. Same as before he laughed and it made his parents smile brighter.

By the end of the week, word got out that the Grand Duke and Duchess were in Cardigan. People started showing up requesting an audience with His Lordship and Her Ladyship. "Can't we send them away? We're on holiday dammit," Charles grumbled. 

Outside on the veranda together, they are sipping tea and watching the ocean. Mary stood and came to sit on his lap. Smoothing the worry lines on his forehead away, with her fingers, she kissed his nose. "My Duke, I love you. I love that you're protective of us and our time. But we can't send them away. They're our people and as the governors of their territory it's our duty to hear them out." She heard his sigh. "I promise we won't let it last long. We'll hear some of the requests and ask the others to be heard by Lady Dot and Lady Ashdown. Dot needs practice since she'll be running Suffolk with Anthony. Which I'm glad he accepted and is currently doing so."

He got up with her in his arms, carried her into the bedroom, and let her gracefully untangle herself from him. She smoothed out her colorful, pleated dress. She likes this dress. It's breezy with the pleats and the sleeveless nature of it. Perfect for keeping cool in the sticky humidity of the heat. Plus it's colorful with its gradient shading, going from red to pink to violet to blue.  

On her waist went a bejeweled, thick-waisted belt. Then she put on the stacks of gold and diamond bangles, Charles had given as a gift, along with more stately earrings. Once her shoes were on her feet and her fragrance rolled onto her wrists, neck, and décolletage she was ready.