More laughter came from the usually stern prince at that, earning her a kiss on her cheek for her mischief. "And you will not be stroking that until you are healed and well, sweetheart."

"There are more ways than one to make love, my dearest," she told him, with a faint blush to her cheeks, though she was no newlywed anymore. For now though, she was content just to be close to him. "He is a handsome fellow," she said, as she leaned against Felipe's shoulder and admired their son.

"That there is," Felipe agreed quietly. "But I will not risk your health for my pleasure." He smiled as she settled against him. "Of course he is a handsome fellow," he said. "How could he not be, with such a beauty for a mother?"

Jane chuckled, knowing she wasn't nearly as lovely as he claimed. "You flatter me, Felipe. He is handsome, like his father." She poked a finger at his bicep, that amused twinkle in her eyes again. "That's you."

He grinned. "I should hope so," he remarked. "I know for a fact you were a maid when we were wed." He winked down at her cheekily.

She gasped at his teasing. "Of course, I was a maid, Felipe! What did you think?" She feigned a look of indignation, as if she'd just been insulted, though she knew he was only teasing her. "You know, I could have pursued Harry, er ....King Henry, if I'd wished to do so. He is very handsome."

"True, you missed your chance there," he agreed, not at all concerned by this line of teasing. "However, he would not then have been king, and you would not be a princess."

Jane shrugged her slender shoulders. "I did not marry you to become a princess, Felipe, as you well know. I married you for a much more important reason than that," she told him, looking up into her husband's handsome, young face.

"Indeed?" He raised a brow, his smile still in place beneath his teasing gaze. "And what reason would that be, my sweetheart?"

She said nothing for a long moment, letting him think what he wanted, a smile spreading slowly across her face. "For convenience, of course," she replied, though they both knew that wasn't true.

"You, my princess, are absolutely impossible," Felipe informed her affectionately, leaning down to kiss her upturned lips. "And I love you," he breathed into that kiss.

She savored that kiss, as she savored each and every one of his kisses, her smile eager for more, though she could not afford for it to go much farther than that until she was healed. "As I love you," she told him, lifting a hand to brush her fingers against the handsome line of his jaw. Her gaze held such adoration, the words were almost unnecessary.

He held that smile with his own, the tip of his nose brushing affectionately against hers with teasing tenderness. There was silence for a long moment, a soft silence that did not need words for them to know what was in each other's hearts. Then he drew in a breath. "I think your son just threw up down my back."

Jane brushed her lips against his, her breath catching at each kiss, before breaking into a girlish giggle at his remark. "That is one of the dangers that comes with being a father. Do you think you can manage it, my prince?"

"You hold him, I'll handle myself." Gently easing their son into Jane's arms, with a fresh cloth to wipe the boy's mouth, Felipe rose and began unlacing his doublet, showing off the milky spill down his back.

Jane took the infant gently into her arms, smiling down at the small, handsome bundle that was her son before looking back up at her husband and laughing again. "Oh, I'm afraid you are right, Felipe. I hope he hasn't ruined your doublet."

"It can be cleaned," Felipe said, pulling the laces free as he spoke. "If it is stained, well, I needed a new riding doublet for training, anyway." He flashed a grin over at her before pulling the fine fabric over his head, his shirt riding up with the motion briefly before falling back to his waist.

"Training?" she echoed, her smile fading. "You mean for battle," she said, that frown still in place. She did not mind watching him dress or undress, for that matter. Even after all these months of marriage, she still found him as handsome and desirable as ever, but she worried for his safety sometimes.

Laying the stained piece of clothing aside, he turned back to her in time to see that frown. "It is my duty to be well trained and accomplished in that art, sweetheart," he reminded her in a gentle tone. "I do not like war, but I will be good at it, so that as few people die as possible."

"Just be sure you are not one of them, Felipe," she said, her lower lip wobbling, unable to hide the worry from her voice. She always worried for him, but even more so now that they had a son.

He moved back to her, stroking a hand against her cheek. "If my brothers have their way, I will never see another battle in the flesh," he reminded her. "They seem to think I am still a child, despite the fact that I held the border for several years. Jane, life is brutal and unjust. But I will promise you this - whenever I am on the battlefield, you can be certain that I am fighting to return to your side."

"They are only trying to protect you, Felipe," she pointed out, looking into his gaze with tear-filled eyes. "Please, Felipe ..." She pleaded in a quiet voice. "Please do not leave me and our son."

"Jane ..." He eased down onto the bed beside her, kissing her forehead once more. "I have no intention of leaving you before we have lived a long and fruitful life together. Do you think me so weak and childlike that I cannot survive a battle surrounded by loyal comrades?"

"No," she said, sniffling back tears, as she folded into his embrace, their newborn son tucked between them. "I do not think you weak and you are certainly no child, but ..." She drew a breath as she looked up into his face once again - that beloved face of his that she had fallen in love with almost instantaneously. "You must promise me you will always come back to me, Felipe. Always."

One thing about her husband was his near complete inability to tell a lie, to the point where everyone knew when he was concealing something because he simply did not speak. Felipe sighed, wrapping his arms about her and their son. "I cannot make that promise, sweetheart," he told her quietly. "I do not know what the Goddess has planned for me. But I can promise you this - I will always do whatever I can to come back to you."

"And yet she still blushes whenever anyone mentions anything even slightly risque," Felipe pointed out with a low laugh. "Besides which, I have work to do." He sighed, leaning back just a little. "I have to go over the reports Ezra is sending from Valentia, and pass on those I think are pertinent to Pomerania."

"Always busy working, my poor prince," she said, her fingers affectionately stroking his jaw. "Do not be away too long, or we will miss you," she told him, her gaze as affectionate as her caress.

"I will stay away only as long as I am needed to," he promised her, kissing the tip of her nose before pulling back to rummage for a clean doublet.

She pouted, as she often did when he had to leave her to attend to his duties, but she knew he would return as soon as he could. "If you are not back in time for the evening meal, I will send Elspeth to find you," she warned.

A soft knock on the door announced that he had been right about Elspeth's imminent arrival. Felipe flashed a grin at his wife as he drew the laces of his new doublet closed. "I shall know I am in trouble if she arrives before I leave," he promised, bending over the bed to kiss her once more as the door opened to admit the redhead.

She would have done fastened his doublet for him, if he hadn't moved so far away. As he bent close, she grabbed hold of his doublet to keep him close a moment longer. "I love you," she whispered, returning his kiss before letting him go at last.

"Love you always," he answered, kissing her nose as he straightened up.

Elspeth was, as he had predicted, blushing, carefully not looking at either of them as she waited to be acknowledged. Felipe winked at Jane.

"It's safe to look now, Els, you're not going to see anything you shouldn't."

Jane turned her smile to Elspeth as she let Felipe go, looking a little amused at her friend's blush. "Felipe is leaving us, Els. He has work to tend to," she explained.

"He seemed to be tending to something with rather a lot of enthusiasm," Elspeth offered in her familiar quiet tones, giggling as Felipe kissed her cheek before leaving the two women to do whatever it was they did. "How are you feeling, Jane?"

Jane waited until Felipe made his exit before exhaling a weary sigh. "Sore," she said, relaxing against the pillows again now that Felipe was gone. "But it is a good kind of sore," she added, not wanting to sound too ungrateful. She was one of the lucky ones - she had survived a difficult birth and had a healthy baby boy to show for it.

"And still hiding it from Felipe, I see." The redhead smiled, moving across the room to sit herself on the end of the bed facing her best friend. "Look what arrived this morning." She opened up the little cloth-wrapped package in her hands to reveal a jumble of small brown squares that smelled simply decadent.

Jane gasped in surprise as she spied the treat her friend had snuck into her room. "Oh, is that chocolate?" she asked, peerfully hopefully over at the package in her friend's hands.

"Yes!" Wriggling closer, Elspeth offered the little collection to her friend. "There was a box of it on the boat from Carantania - it was a gift from the queen there. I picked these ones out for you, because I know you love oranges and this chocolate has been flavored with orange juice."

"Oranges?" Jane echoed, brows arching upwards dubiously. "But if I wanted an orange, I would have one. Why would I want chocolate to taste like orange when it should taste like chocolate?" he inquired confused.

Elspeth smiled a mysterious little smile. "Just taste it," she suggested, holding up her little packet for her friend. The reaction of Brynne to chocolate had been very entertaining, but Elspeth lived for the opportunity to treat her friends and make them smile.

"Very well," Jane agreed, holding out her hand for a piece of the chocolate. It wasn't Elspeth she doubted, but the claim that chocolate could taste like oranges.

Setting a piece into Jane's outstretched palm, Elspeth leaned back to watch the reaction, her enjoyment bubbling up into a bright, hopeful smile.

Jane furrowed her brows as she inspected the small brown square suspiciously. Lifting it to her nose, she did indeed catch a scent of citrus and arched a brow at her friend before finally popping the entire square in her mouth. Her expression changed as the sweet slowly melted on her tongue, the flavor changing subtly as it did so. "Mmm," she murmured appreciatively, around the square of chocolate. "It does taste like oranges!"

Delighted with her reaction, Elspeth set the little cloth packet into Jane's lap with a wide smile. "They're all for you," she said generously. "I knew Felipe would not remember, even if he showed interest in the shipment, so I made sure to get you some for yourself."

Jane's smile softened at her friend's thoughtfulness, and she reached for her hand. "Thank you, Els. That means a lot," she told her, giving her hand an affectionate squeeze. "Would you like to see the baby?"

Squeezing her friend's hand in return, the redhead giggled softly. "Is it so hard to believe that I visit every day to see you, silly girl?" she asked affectionately. "Your son is adorable, but he is rather boring right now."

"He doesn't do much but eat and sleep and, well, you can imagine the rest," Jane confirmed. She adored her young son, but it was true that he didn't do much right now. "I look forward to your visits, Elspeth. It is rather boring lying in bed all day."

"Well, I am here with interesting news on that front," her friend said with a mischievous flicker of secrecy in her gaze. "How would you like to get out of this room for a few hours every day?"

Jane arched a brow at her friend's question. "I am not yet well enough to do much," she reminded her, though she looked intrigued nonetheless.

Elspeth giggled softly. "I had a fascinating conversation with Caoimhe this morning," she said, referencing the wife of the current chief of the Horse Lords. "Apparently, when a woman has a child in their clans, she is expected to be out and about within a day. When I mentioned that we are a little weaker than them, she suggested we make use of old King Peter's wheeled chair."

"From what I saw when I walked in, I would say you have plenty of that in your life," Elspeth teased, setting up a table within reach for Jane with the various activities on it before moving to inspect the bookshelves. "Hmm ....How risque were you thinking?"

Jane smiled. "So do you," she countered, amused. "Not too risque. It will be some weeks before we can ....you know," she said, a small pout on her face. There was no point in reading about making love, if she couldn't partake in it yet.

Elspeth blushed faintly, selecting a couple of books from the shelf. "I am sure you can restrain yourself that long," she told her friend. "After all, you restrained yourself for months before you got permission to wed."

"Did I?" Jane asked, a teasing smirk on her face, though it was true. She had married Felipe as a virgin. She sighed faintly as she leaned back into the pillows and closed her eyes a moment. "Is it silly of me to still be so ridiculously in love with my husband?"

"I should hope not," Elspeth pointed out, laying her selection of books on the little table before settling back on the end of the bed. "Look at the High King and Queen. They adore one another, and they have been wed for almost thirty years."

"What about you, Elspeth?" Jane asked, turning a little to face her friend while remaining propped against the pillows. "Do you still love Miles as you always have?" she asked curiously, her eyes alight with romantic interest.

This elicited a soft giggle to match the blush on her friend's cheeks as Elspeth glanced down at her hands, smiling shyly at the question. "I think ....I believe I love him more now than I did the day we were married," she confessed softly. "He is so good to me, Jane."

Jane smiled at her friend's answer. "We are lucky, Elspeth. Not everyone is able to marry for love." That much went without saying, but not a day went by that Jane wasn't thankful for her good fortune.

"Believe me, I know." Elspeth nodded in agreement. "Were it not for the men who tried to use Harry, I would have been married to a fishmonger by now. A good man, but not one I could see myself loving."

"A fishmonger?" Jane echoed, wrinkling her nose. This was the first she'd heard of that. "It's a good thing you met Miles, too!" she added, knowing how fond her friend was of her duke.

Elspeth laughed, shaking her head. "Alric was a good man, but he was much older than I am," she admitted. "He would have done his best to look after me, I'm sure. But I am very glad that I met Miles."

"And I am very glad I met Felipe," Jane said, smiling warmly at her friend. "I am so happy, Els, but I am glad it's over. Not the pregnancy, so much as the birth. It was ....not easy," she confessed with a frown, though she didn't want to discourage her friend when her time came.

"You did very well, Jane," Elspeth assured her, reaching over to pat her hand. "I know it seemed long, and yes, there was a moment or two when things were a little dicey, but you came through it, and you have a beautiful son to show for it."

Jane smiled. When her friend put it that way, it was certainly worth it. "He is beautiful, isn't he?" she asked, though she wasn't really expecting an answer. She took hold of her friend's hand. "Oh, Els. There is really nothing like being a mother," said the woman who had only been a mother for a few days.

"I hope to join you in that feeling someday," Elspeth agreed, squeezing her friend's hand in answer. It might well be sooner rather than later, but she had yet to tell anyone other than her husband. "I am so happy you are content, Jane. You deserve so much."

"So do you, Elspeth," Jane countered, another smile for her friend. "I owe you for the chocolate," she added, her smile widening, though she wasn't too sure how she was going to repay her yet.

"I'm sure you'll find a way to repay me somehow," her friend said cheerfully. "In some way that is gloriously embarrassing and also thoughtful, knowing you."

"Embarrassing" Me?" Jane asked with a hint of mischief in her eyes and an almost girlish giggle. "I will try not to embarrass you, Els. You have been such a good friend to me," she added, turning serious.

"Honestly' Jane, you're the reason I have confidence now," Elspeth told her sincerely. "If I had not met you in Berengaria, I would still be a shy wallflower. I might not even have followed Harry out here."

"I do not think you give yourself enough credit," Jane told her friend. "And if you had not followed Harry, you would not have met your handsome duke," she reminded her.

"I would not be expecting to spend our exceedingly hot summer absolutley miserable either, but some things are worth it," Elspeth said, laughing softly. "Miles is ....he's wonderful."

"I am very happy for you," Jane told her friend, though she was just as happy for herself. "We are truly lucky, Els," she repeated, though she thought Elspeth was the one who was especially lucky. She knew what her friend had suffered before finding happiness.

"We are." Elspeth paused, lurching forward to embrace her friend. "I'm going to miss you so much when you go back to Pomerania!"

Jane was a little taken aback by her friend's sudden embrace, but not unpleasantly so. She blinked in surprise as she returned her embrace. "You will simply have to visit us there," she suggested.

"I will," Elspeth agreed, nodding as she drew back. Her expression made it clear that she was trying not to cry. "I'm sorry, I'm a little emotional today. It will pass."

"Whatever is the matter, sweetheart?" Jane asked, studying her friend as she drew back. Were those tears in her eyes" Were they happy or sad tears"

Blinking to clear her eyes, Elspeth made a good attempt to get herself back under control. "Nothing is the matter," she promised through a fond smile. "Truly. I'm just ....ridiculously sensitive today."

"I do not think love should be dark, but light and happy. Don't you?" Jane asked, setting a hand against her friend's arm, a soft smile on her face. "I think you need never worry about Miles in that way, any more than I need worry about Felipe. They are good men, and they love us."

"They married us," Elspeth pointed out in amusement. A very different situation to the one her mother had been in. "I should very much like a loving life filled with light and laughter."

"And we will have it," Jane said, giving her friend's hand a reassuring pat. Jane had thought it was her who worried too much, but it seemed all those who loved were fated to worry a little.

"Starting with getting you out of this stuffy room sooner rather than later!" Elspeth declared, capturing her friend's hand and squeezing gently. "You will have to decide what to wear, you know."

Jane laughed. "I know. How horrible for me," she said, eyes glittering with amusement, just as she heard little Robert stirring in his cradle. "Oh, dear. Now I've woken him."

"May I?" Elspeth asked, gesturing toward the cradle. Despite her daily visits, she never once touched the baby without permission from his parents, and today would be no different.

"Yes, of course," Jane told her friend, trusting her implicitly and knowing she was eager to have a child of her own. "He is no doubt hungry again." She rolled her eyes a little at her own statement. The little one never went long before he was hungry again.

"Or he can hear you and wants to be close to his mama," Elspeth said, bending to lift the little bundle out of the cradle. "There now, little man, what's all this fuss for?"

Jane watched from where she sat, propped up against the pile of pillows at her back. She was eager to hold her own son, but knew she needed her rest. She smiled as Elspeth soothed the newborn, wishing they did not have to say goodbye.

But Elspeth wasn't the kind of friend who would visit you and then fawn over your baby for hours. She took the short closeness of carrying little Robert over to the bed, bending once more to lay him in his mother's arms. "He's such a good boy."

"A hungry boy," Jane remarked, taking her son from her friend and cradling him in her arms. "Just like his father," she added in a soft voice as she slid her gown down over a shoulder to let the boy nurse at her breast.

Elspeth giggled, rolling her eyes at the comparison even as she poured her friend a fresh cup of iced tea and brought the fruit bowl over to the table beside the bed. "I am not sure I needed to know that about my cousin."

Jane laughed again, realizing what she'd just accidentally inferred. "That is not what I meant," she pointed out, that twinkle in her eyes again. "Though I cannot argue the fact either."

"Jane, are you trying to make my face as hot as the Carib plains?" Elspeth complained through a warm smile as she took her seat at the end of the bed once again.

"Can you honestly tell me that your Miles does not ....hunger for you now and then?" Jane asked, carefully wording her question so as not to embarrass her friend too much.

"If he does, he has never said so in quite those terms," the redhead said, pressing her fingers to her cheek in an attempt to cool her blushes.

"And yet, you are with child," Jane teased her friend, though she did not want to cause her too much embarrassment. Of course, there were plenty of women who did not enjoy their husband's attention in the bedroom, but she did not think Elsepth was one of them.

"I thought that was the purpose of the marital bed?" Elspeth asked her in turn, daring her friend to think her so sheltered that she didn't know she was talking rubbish.

"Yes," Jane replied, leaning forward and lowering her voice, that teasing gleam still in her eyes. "But there is nothing wrong with enjoying what happens there, is there?" she asked with a saucy wink.

"It certainly isn't blasphemy," the redhead countered, managing a sweet, impish little smile in response. "Sometimes, it seems almost divine."

Jane giggled again. "If it is divine, then I should worship at the altar of Felipe as often as I can," she whispered, knowing that might be construed by some as blasphemy. And yet, it was the goddess Jane thanked each and every day for both Felipe and their son.

"You are ridiculous," Elspeth told her friend affectionately, giggling at the turn their conversation had taken. "And I am very glad to have met you."

"As I am to have met you," Jane countered. "You are like a sister to me," she confessed further, feeling as close to Elspeth as she did to Marianne.

"As you are to me," Elspeth promised her, smiling fondly. "I have so much enjoyed having you here, even if you never expected to stay for quite so long."

"I have enjoyed my stay," Jane confessed with a sigh, knowing she and Felipe would need to return home sometime soon. But she did not want to think of goodbyes right now, not until it was necessary. "Oh!" she exclaimed, her attention drawn back to the infant in her arms. "I almost forgot to burp him," she said, drawing the baby away from her breast. "Can you hand me that cloth there?" she asked, with a nod of her head toward the table. "He spit up on his father earlier and ruined his doublet!"

"Oh, goodness!" Laughing, Elspeth reached for the cloth, laying it over Jane's shoulder. "How badly is it stained?" she asked. "I might be able to fix it, with a little work."

"It is over there," Jane said, with another nod of her head in the direction where her husband had left his stained doublet. She carefully lifted her son onto her shoulder, chiding him gently. "Easy, little one. No throwing up on your Mama," she urged him, rubbing his back gently.

The newborn gurgled softly, loosing a small barrage of little burps that were, thankfully, dry as a bone. Elspeth grinned at the sound as she inspected the doublet. "He should have called someone to soak this," she commented. "May I take it with me" I think I can get the stain out."

Elspeth's smile softened as she shook her head. "No," she said. "I will have plenty of opportunity to hold him. You seem very comfortable and content just as you are."

Jane made no move to take her son from her shoulder, almost relieved that Elspeth had declined, at least for now. "It is a strange feeling to be with child, Els. And stranger still to bring one into the world. Strange and wonderful. Nothing short of a miracle," she told her friend softly.

"I am beginning to understand that," Elspeth answered. Every day, she was learning how strange it was to be with child, starting with nausea all the way through to the strange desires for odd foods.

"You will see," she told her friend with a soft, affectionate smile. She quieted a moment, as if in thought, and then added, "I would like to be there, when you give birth. I would like to help you, as you have helped me."

"Oh, Jane, I should very much like that too," Elspeth confessed. "But you will have to discuss it with Felipe. You have both been gone from Pomerania far longer than you originally expected to be, after all."

"I will discuss it with Felipe and he will discuss it with his father and we will work it out." Jane reached for her friend's hand, a soft smile on her face. "I promise."

"I am sure my uncle will listen to you both." In fact, Elspeth was certain of it. Philippe had allowed his youngest son's heart to overrule the need for any political arrangement. Unless there was some desperate need to have Felipe at home, she did not think he would object too much to waiting another year to meet his grandson.

"I'm sure he will," Jane said. Though she wasn't too sure what the High King had planned for her husband, she would abide by the king's wishes, whatever they were.

The political situation had calmed significantly since last year. Lotharingia was surrounded by enemies, with no allies left on the continent. There might not even be a war this year, for the first time in many years. It was something to cling to. After all, what better time was there to be starting a family, and what better place than surrounded by family' It might not be ideal, but it would work out. Somehow.