Marrying the Major: Passion and peril in Regency London (Unsuitable Matches)

by Joanna Maitland

  Emma eyed him suspiciously. "And will you challenge him to a duel, too?"

  "That depends," he said, trailing his fingers round the top of her arm and then down to rest on the underside of her delicate breast. "Were you planning to give me cause?"

  Two could play at that game, Emma decided, trying to ignore the way her breast was settling heavily into his hand. She poised the tips of her fingers around his nipple and squeezed a fraction, so that her fingernails tightened into his taut flesh. His intake of breath was satisfyingly sharp.

  "Not immediately," she said.

  EPILOGUE

  Jamie looked up at Emma with eyes shining with happiness, in spite of her obvious exhaustion. "Are they not beautiful, Emma?" she said.

  Emma shook her head in wonderment at the two tiny babies cradled in their mother's arms. She knew she had witnessed a miracle. She felt very close to tears. "They are, indeed. Truly beautiful, Jamie. Richard will be so proud of you."

  At that moment, the bedroom door was thrust open to admit Richard, followed by the dowager, and the nursemaid. Emma was decidedly de trop. With a softly murmured "congratulations" to Richard, she quietly left the room and made her way downstairs to the garden.

  Hugo was pacing up and down on the terrace, for all the world like the expectant father. He turned at the sound of the opening door. "Emma, what has happened? The servant could not say."

  Emma smiled joyfully at him and saw the strain disappear from his face in a moment. "Richard has a son. And a daughter. And Jamie is very well. I am no longer needed."

  Hugo inspected his wife for signs of fatigue. She had not left Jamie's side since labour had begun, hours and hours ago. And there was a smear of blood on the side of her gown, where the apron had failed to protect her. He put a sustaining arm around her waist and pulled her close.

  "Are you very tired, my love?" he asked.

  "A little, I admit, but nothing compared with Jamie. She was wonderful. So brave." Emma remembered Jamie's hours of pain. It had been frightening at first, but Jamie had never complained. In a moment of calm, she had taken Emma's hand and told her that she did not mind the pain, for each spasm brought her nearer to the moment of birth. And now that Emma had seen that miracle with her own eyes, she had begun to understand.

  "Poor Richard was wearing a track on the flags," Hugo said. "And he was cracking his knuckles incessantly all the while, too. I've never seen him do that before. When I mentioned it to him, he had no idea what I was talking about. He looked at me as if I were quite mad." Hugo shook his head, laughing. "I might have expected such a reaction in a first-time father, perhaps, but he's done it before—"

  "Not with twins, Hugo. That was always going to be more difficult for Jamie. You must see that?"

  Hugo led her across the terrace and down on to the lawn before he answered. "I do not seek to make light of the matter, believe me," he said, seriously. "The problem is, we men feel quite helpless at times like this. I know that Richard longed for another child, but his first thought was always for Jamie. I hate to think what he would have done if—"

  Emma put a finger across his lips. "Hush," she said softly. "Do not say it. Everything is well."

  They strolled across the lawn in companionable silence until they reached the ancestral oak.

  Emma looked up into its branches. Autumn was late. The leaves had not yet begun to turn.

  "You know, when I was a child, I probably climbed this oak as often as I climbed my own. If I sat very still, the birds would sometimes start to sing again, forgetting I was there. I used to watch the sunset through the branches and conjure up a magical, musical kingdom where everyone obeyed my slightest command."

  Hugo laughed. "You always were a little madam, or so Richard told me in his letters." He bent and kissed her, slowly and thoroughly. When he raised his head again, her skin was pink and her eyes were glowing with love.

  "That reminds me," he said with a sly smile. "A letter arrived this afternoon, from Kit." He reached into his pocket and drew out the folded sheets.

  "May I read it?" Emma asked, stretching out her hand.

  He flung his hand high above her head, taking the letter well out of reach. "Absolutely not," he said, with mock severity. "Think of how your delicate sensibilities might be outraged by what he has to say about his, er, adventures. It did not take him long to tire of the delights of Paris. He has been in Vienna these last four weeks. And it seems he is already, er, making his mark."

  Emma looked quizzically up at him.

  "It appears that the ladies of the Austrian court are quite as dazzling as any to be found in London, or Paris. And—" he opened the letter to remind himself of its exact contents "—more amenable, according to Kit." He refolded the letter and restored it to his pocket. "More than that, I dare not tell you. Kit's letters shall be treated like mine to Richard, fit for a lady's ears only if savagely censored."

  Emma leant into his warm, strong body, tilting her head back against his shoulder so that she could look up into his face. He smiled down at her. The scar was a thin silver line now. It made his smile a little twisted on one side, but she had long ago decided that it was an endearing mismatch. Hugo's face was full of character when he smiled, especially when he smiled at his wife as he did now.

  "What are you thinking, my love?" Hugo said quietly, starting to run his free hand delicately up and down her spine.

  She shivered in response. She could see in his eyes that he was deliberately trying to arouse her. They would have to go inside soon or else—

  "Mmm?" said Hugo, fixing his eyes hungrily on her mouth.

  "I was thinking, sir, that though Kit is a rake and may never be redeemed, his elder brother is but little better."

  "Indeed?" Hugo was trying to sound severe, but the mischievous glint in his eyes gave him away.

  "Indeed, sir. A few years abroad may do wonders for a young man like Kit, but you, at your age… I fear you are beyond redemption."

  "I see," said Hugo, beginning to nuzzle Emma's neck. "Well, in that case…"

  Emma felt the familiar thrills running through her body, making her belly heat and her skin yearn for his touch. The months of marriage had made no difference at all to Hugo's effect on her, except perhaps to make the feelings, and the pleasure, more intense.

  "Hugo, may we not go inside?"

  He laughed against her skin but went on planting those tantalising little kisses on her neck, exactly where he knew they would create havoc with her senses.

  "Hugo, you wretch! Think who may be watching."

  "No one, my love. They are all concentrating on the new arrivals. Nobody would notice if I took you round behind this ancient oak and—"

  "Don't you dare, Hugo Stratton!" Emma exclaimed. "I declare, you are quite as bad as that brother of yours. You take a woman in your arms, and—"

  "And if that woman is my darling wife, I am lost." He drew her back towards the house. "But I admit that a feather bed is more comfortable than this damp lawn."

  When they reached the terrace, walking arm in arm, a tiny wail broke the silence. "Ah," said Hugo, "I hear the sound of a godchild."

  "Hugo, has Richard asked you to stand as godfather?"

  Hugo nodded. "I think he believes I am in need of a little practice," he said teasingly. "He says that I was excused on the last occasion only because I was dead."

  Emma giggled. "You, sir, are quite preposterous." She paused. "On the other hand. Richard is quite right. You do need the practice."

  "Emma?"

  She hid her face in his waistcoat, feeling unaccountably shy. At last she said, so low that he could barely make out the words, "You will have a few months to practise, Hugo, but only a very few, I'm afraid."

  "Emma, for heaven's sake, tell me!"

  "You will be a father, too, Hugo. In the spring, I think."

  Hugo gave a soft whoop and lifted her off her feet, whirling her round and round until she was quite dizzy and breathless.

  "Hugo, put me do
wn."

  "No—why? I have you, and I mean to keep you, my darling, wonderful wife."

  Emma ran her hand over his dark shining hair. "I have no intention of trying to escape," she said softly, offering her lips for his kiss. "My one, my only love."

  THE END

  Unsuitable Matches Series

  Who would take the Stratton brothers—a disfigured veteran and a cynical rake? Yet even unsuitable matches have their good points. It's a question of digging... Deep.

  Kit Stratton, handsome playboy, notorious rake—with a score to settle

  After five years in Vienna, Kit Stratton is back England, bent on taking his revenge on Lady Luce, the old harridan who caused his disgrace and banishment.

  Marina Beaumont arrives in London, expecting to become the demure companion to a reclusive old lady in her declining years. But on her very first evening, Marina is taken to a gambling hell where Lady Luce loses a fortune to Kit Stratton, the handsomest man Marina has ever set eyes on. And the most dangerous, too.

  Unless Kit can be persuaded to forgive the debt, Marina will be sent back home without a penny of the wages her family so desperately needs. What choice does she have? Scandalous though it is, Marina must meet Kit Stratton alone to beg him not to claim the debt. Surely a gentleman will be open to persuasion? By a lady.

  But Kit Stratton is a notorious rake. Is he a gentleman at all?

  And what reward will a rake demand in return for Lady Luce's debt of honour?

  A revised edition of the novel originally published by Harlequin S.A. in 2003

  Click here to see at your local Amazon

  Dear Reader: from Joanna Maitland

  If you enjoyed Marrying The Major, I'd be really grateful if you could leave a review at your usual online store or on your favourite reader website. Your review can help other readers to find and enjoy my books, too.

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  Thank you!

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  Joanna Maitland Titles

  Regency Historicals

  Unsuitable Matches Series

  A Penniless Prospect†

  Marrying the Major

  Rake's Reward

  Star Crossed Lovers

  My Lady Angel†

  Bride of the Solway†

  Star Crossed at Twilight

  The Aikenhead Honours

  His Cavalry Lady

  His Reluctant Mistress

  His Forbidden Liaison

  His Silken Seduction

  Individual Stories

  A Poor Relation†

  The Earl's Mistletoe Bride*

  A Regency Invitation

  [with Nicola Cornick & Elizabeth Rolls]

  * new ebook edition coming soon

  † titles available as Mills & Boon/Harlequin Historicals

  Other Joanna Maitland Stories

  Lady in Lace ~ Regency Timeslip

  One Christmas Tree to Go ~ Victorian Timeslip

  [Novella in Libertà Books anthology: I Hate Christmas]

  I, Vampire ~ Romance with Bite

  [Novella in Libertà Books anthology: Beach Hut Surprise]