Her Night with the Duke
Page 29
“Whatever will we do in the meantime?” she asked breathlessly.
“I am certain we can think of something.” He crawled onto the bed on his hands and knees, like an animal on the prowl. “Perhaps I should begin by searching you for that strange knife of yours.”
Epilogue
London
One year later
Leela watched Hunt lift his glass. “To my beautiful and brilliant wife.” She could hardly believe they were a family now. It still seemed like a dream.
The friends and relatives who’d gathered at Weston House to celebrate the publication of the third volume of Travels in Arabia raised their glasses. “Hear, hear,” they called out.
Standing beside her husband, Leela smiled. “Thank you all for being here to celebrate with us. I am full of gratitude. Now please do enjoy yourselves. There is plenty of food and drink.”
The guests dispersed, some heading in the direction of the dining room, where a generous spread was laid out. Others gathered around the table to peruse copies of Travels of Arabia.
Together, Hunt and Leela mingled with their guests. His large hand, draped lightly around her waist, slipped to her bottom. “Stop that,” she admonished him. “We are in public.”
“You were hard to resist before,” he murmured in her ear, “but now that your hips are lusher than ever—”
“Yes, yes, I know.” She cut him off. He could barely keep his hands off her now that her figure was fuller. “There is more of me to love, as you keep saying.”
“So true and for such good reason.”
Warmth filled Leela. She couldn’t disagree. She had so much to be thankful for. The sounds of the oud and drums filtered through the room, evidence that her relatives had commandeered one of the smaller public rooms. It hadn’t taken Leela and Hunt long to discover that music, dancing and hookah pipes followed Leela’s Arab relatives almost everywhere they went.
“There you are.” Tori emerged from the crush with a rosy-cheeked babe in her arms. The little boy gnawed at his fist as though it was the most delicious thing he’d ever eaten. Tori smoothed a gentle hand over the boy’s pale, downy-haired scalp. “Someone is looking for you.”
Mr. Foster appeared behind his wife, carrying a younger infant with a shock of black hair. Hunt stepped forward.
“I’ll take my daughter now, if you don’t mind.” It never ceased to amaze Hunt that this beautiful little angel already had her mother’s luxuriant hair. Many Arab babies are born with hair, Leela informed him when he’d rhapsodized about Maryam’s lovely locks after her birth. Hunt pressed his lips against his daughter’s tiny temple, knowing that Leela was wrong. No one’s hair was as lovely as his wife’s and daughter’s.
“Mrs. Foster and I are most eager to read your latest volume,” his secretary said to Leela.
“Wait until you read Travels in Morocco,” Hunt said proudly. “It’s her greatest manuscript yet.”
“Hunt only says that because he came along on that journey and provided feedback on each chapter.”
“Your Grace.” Hughes, the butler, appeared, directing his attention toward Leela. “Will you be signing your books? Your guests are wondering.”
Leela looked over to see people waiting in line holding copies of her book.
“Go on,” Hunt urged her. “I’ll go and deliver Maryam to her nurse and return to assist you.”
“I don’t need assistance signing my books.”
“All the same. My plan is to hurry you along.”
“Why? The party has just begun.”
“I think we should get to work on providing a sibling for Maryam right now. I hope our next child is a girl as well.”
“Why is that? You need a boy to carry on the title.”
“Exactly.” He pressed a kiss against her cheek. “You of all people know how seriously I take my responsibilities. Think of how much fun we shall have while trying to do our duty.”
“Oh.” Her cheeks flushed. “It is important to secure the succession. We must keep trying until we get it right.”
“Precisely. Come to think of it, I’ll deliver Maryam to Nurse and meet you upstairs.”
“And leave our guests? What will people say? It’ll create a scandal.”
“I’ve come to appreciate scandal.”
“You have?”
“Every scandal I’ve been involved in has brought great joy into my life.”
“I see your point.” Her breath hitched. “I’ll sign fast and meet you in our bedchamber.”
“That’s my girl. See? I had the right of it all along.”
“About what?”
Hunt’s eyes twinkled. “I told you that you’d make an ideal duchess. And you are definitely my ideal.”
Acknowledgments
Delilah Chambers and her travels were informed and influenced by original sources that I was thrilled to find and fascinated to read, including: Domestic Life in Palestine based on Mary Eliza Rogers’s observations of Ottoman-era Palestine during an 1855 visit; A Visit to the Holy Land, Egypt, and Italy by the Austrian travel writer Ida Pfeiffer, who visited the region in 1842; and the letters that Regency-era traveller Lady Hester Stanhope wrote to her physician, which were published in 1845 under the title, Memoirs of the Lady Hester Stanhope. In addition, I was excited to find details about daily life in Gibraltar in A Handbook for Travellers in Spain (1847). These sources provided rich details that I hope made these places more vivid to the reader.
I have many people to thank, including my editor Carrie Feron, for taking a chance on characters with backgrounds readers aren’t used to encountering in historical romance. And for elevating the original manuscript with her edits and suggestions, aptly described to me by another author as “little nuggets of gold.” Assistant Editor Asanté Simons is always just an email away with a ready answer, no matter what the question. Amy Halperin, Patricia Barrow, and Chris Cocozza gave me as beautiful a cover as any author could hope for. My thanks to everyone at Avon, including Pam Jaffee, Imani Gary, and everyone in the Avon publicity department, who helped bring Her Night with the Duke to readers.
This book was truly a family-and-friends affair. My friend Megann Yaqub made sure Leela appreciated both sides of her heritage. My sister Amy Hamad and my friend Margaret Besheer helped keep the Arab characters authentic. My sister-in-law Mais Hasan’s expert advice ensured the Arabic words and expressions were on point. My friend Faith Lapidus Weiner made sure I tied up any loose ends.
There are few experiences I relish as much as being part of a generous community of writers. Joanna Shupe and Michele Mannon are my die-hard writerly support system. Thank you for everything, ladies, especially those conference slumber party read-a-longs and pandemic happy hours. I’m so grateful to Sarah MacLean for her early support of my writing and this series, to Sophie Jordan for her generosity and willingness to answer any questions, and to Lenora Bell for her encouragement and advice. And thank you, Evie Dunmore, for doing a thoughtful sensitivity read and gently suggesting some needed changes.
None of this book business would be worth anything without the readers, librarians, and bloggers who read our books and spread the word about them. Interacting with you on social media or via email is always a highlight of my day. Thank you for spending a few hours with me via my books. I hope you’ve found it worthwhile!
About the Author
Bestselling author DIANA QUINCY is an award-winning television journalist who decided to make up her own stories where a happy ending is always guaranteed. Her books have been included on “Best of” lists in Library Journal and The Washington Post.
As a U.S. Foreign Service brat, Diana grew up all over the world, but is now happily settled in Virginia with her husband and two boys. When not bent over her laptop, Diana spends time with her family, reads, practices yoga, and plots her next travel adventure.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
Also by Diana Quincy
Rebellious Br
ides series
Spy Fall
A License to Wed
From London with Love
The Duke Who Ravished Me
Accidental Peers series
Compromising Willa
Seducing Charlotte
Tempting Bella
Engaging the Earl
Atlas Catesby Mysteries series
Murder in Mayfair
Murder in Bloomsbury
Murder at the Opera
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
her night with the duke. Copyright © 2020 by Dora Mekouar. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins Publishers. For information, address HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.
Digital Edition OCTOBER 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-298680-1
Print Edition ISBN: 978-0-06-298679-5
Cover design by Patricia Barrow
Cover illustrations by © Chris Cocozza
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HarperCollins is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers in the United States of America and other countries.
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