Married to the Marquess

by Rebecca Connolly

  “I was engaged most of my life,” he interrupted gently. “I never looked for anything else, I saw no need to. So it’s true that I have only ever loved you. You were my first love, and you are my last love.” He took a deep breath, and then said, “And I am choosing you, Kate, if you will have me.”

  She opened her mouth in shock, and he rushed on.

  “I know we are already married. But now I want to be married to you. I want to spend every day with you. I want to raise a family with you. I want you to fill our house with daughters that look exactly like you, and I don’t even care if we have any boys at all.”

  Kate laughed and wiped at a tear that had begun a course down her cheek.

  He smiled briefly at her laughter and took a hand in his. “I want to spend every day of the rest of my life making you happy. I can’t do all that I must do and be all that I must be without you. I need you, Kate. I’ve needed you for years.”

  Fighting for control of her emotions, Kate gave him a watery smile. “I need you, too, Derek. And I choose you. Every day.”

  Derek broke out into a relieved grin and pulled her into his embrace, kissing her softly. “I love you.”

  “I love you,” she whispered, holding him tightly.

  “Now that brings to mind another question,” he said in a gruff voice, pulling back a little to look at her.

  “It does?” she asked with a laugh. “What?”

  “When exactly did you decide you loved me? I was hardly easy to love.”

  “On the contrary, I found myself quite unable to resist you,” she teased, lacing her arms around his neck. “I tried very hard, believe me, but alas…” She shrugged and sighed in defeat.

  “While I am delighted to hear that you fell in love with me against your will, that fails to answer the question,” he scolded, trying not to look too pleased with himself. “When?”

  “Oh,” Kate sighed, thinking back and touching her forehead to his, “probably somewhere between the strawberry tarts and the dancing in the moonlight.”

  “Not this garden?” he asked in surprise.

  She shook her head against him. “No, no, I already loved you before then. That merely put an exclamation point on the end.”

  Derek burst out laughing and pulled his wife even closer. “Oh, Kate, Kate, Kate… we may have had a rough start to our marriage, but from here on out, it is going to be the stuff of legends.”

  She chuckled softly. “With battles and dragons and damsels in distress and knights in shining armor?”

  “Yes, yes, all of that,” he agreed with a nod. “And bright, fantastic, victorious happily ever afters.”

  Epilogue

  “Remind me to never answer a summons from Derek ever again.”

  “You are his brother. I think you have to.”

  “You would be surprised, Duncan.”

  “I, on the other hand, have every right to refuse him. Don’t you have footmen, Derek?”

  “Of course, I do, Colin. I just thought you would appreciate the opportunity to put your exceptional physical strength on display.”

  Colin sniffed and folded his arms. “Well, who is looking?”

  “Kate.”

  He shook his head immediately. “Doesn’t count.”

  David went up on tiptoe and shaded his eyes as he looked down the street. “I think I see Elinor Milton over there, who looks very interested in what we are doing.”

  “Right then, shall we lift on three?” Colin asked as he rubbed his hands together.

  The others rolled their eyes, but took position.

  Kate snickered as she moved out of the way, shifting the husky toddler on her hip. “Alice,” she called, “be careful, they are coming through now. Do not get in their way, all right?”

  “Yes, Aunt Kate,” the little blond girl playing in the corner of the room replied with a smile.

  The four men lifted the massive instrument and awkwardly made their way into the house, barely fitting through the door. Still the cover lay atop it, hiding it from her view. All that Derek had told her was that the new instrument was being delivered today, and she was curious. They had already purchased a new pianoforte to take the place of the one that had been lost in the fire. It had been the first piece of furniture that Derek had placed in the London house when they had rebuilt. It was a fine instrument, but hardly the quality of the one they had before. Not that she minded, for any instrument was better than none at all, but really, they didn’t need another.

  “Easy, easy,” Derek said as the men turned the corner and made their way towards the music room.

  “You go easy,” David huffed, his arms straining under the weight. “I’m trying to avoid losing my arms over here.”

  “What do you think, Harry?” she asked the little boy perched on her hip. “Does Papa need to watch his words around Uncle David?”

  “Dave!” the little boy called happily, waving.

  “Favorite,” David declared proudly, unable to resist grinning at his nephew.

  “Less talk, more work,” Derek returned, frowning in Kate’s direction, which made her smile.

  The instrument tilted precariously, and all four halted and shifted their grip to secure it once more. In the process, the cover slid off and Kate gasped as she suddenly beheld the most beautiful, not to mention elaborate and blatantly expensive, instrument she had ever beheld.

  “Derek, we do not need that,” she scolded, placing her hand on the hip her son was not inhabiting.

  “We do, too,” he panted as they continued to move towards the music room.

  “Whatever for?” she asked as she followed them.

  “Because, my love,” he managed to force out, his teeth clenched in his effort to maintain his grip, “you are the most beautiful, most gifted, most accomplished musician in all of London, and you deserve an instrument to match.”

  “Less talk, more work,” the other three chimed together, bringing back Derek’s glower.

  Kate clamped her lips together and tried to avoid laughing. “I do not need two instruments, Derek,” she protested as they moved to set the piano near the other.

  “The other is going to your sister’s for Alice to learn on.”

  She grinned. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “Does Aurelia know this?”

  “Of course not.”

  Now Kate had to giggle as she looked over at Alice, who watched the men curiously, her dolls forgotten. “She will hate you forever.”

  “I know.” In spite of the heavy burden he was holding, Derek managed a jaunty grin.

  “I would love for Alice to learn,” she mused aloud. “It would be so good for her.”

  “Kate, I am begging you,” Colin groaned from his position on one end. “Stop talking. He will always respond, and he always slackens his grip when he does.”

  “Sorry, Colin,” she apologized, smiling.

  “Maybe if you had a wife, Colin, you would understand,” Derek snapped, sidestepping his end into position.

  “What, that marriage makes a man go soft?” he asked innocently, which made Duncan and David snicker.

  “No, that a man gets into trouble if he does not respond to his wife.”

  Colin seemed to consider that for a moment as he moved his own end, looking remarkably unruffled by the exertion required of him. Then he shook his head. “No, I am still going to have to insist that the first is true. Particularly with you. It’s very sad.”

  “Colin, do you like having friends?” Derek asked, tilting his head. “Because we can change that.”

  “And let’s set down on three,” Duncan said loudly, offering a rare grin.

  On the count, the men set down the instrument, each releasing a rather heavy breath of relief when they had done so. Then they turned to look at the other, which was much smaller and would be a great deal easier to move.

  “Shall we go on with this one, then?” Duncan asked, hands on his hips.

  Derek shrugged. “Might as well
.” He turned to look at Alice, who grinned the moment he did so. “What say you, little miss? Would you like us to take this over to your house right now?”

  She gasped and darted over to him. “For me? For me, Uncle Dewek?”

  He grinned and squatted down to be at her eye level. “For you, indeed. Do you want to learn to play pretty songs like your aunt does?”

  “Yes! Yes, pwease, Uncle Dewek!” she cried tugging at his arm.

  Chuckling, Derek placed a quick kiss to the little girl’s cheek, then stood and faced the others. “Well, gents, you heard the lady. Let’s move this one out to the wagon.”

  Without a single word of complaint or protest, and not a groan to be heard, they did so, and far more easily and quickly than they had previously. When the instrument was loaded, Colin and Duncan leapt aboard to help the driver secure it.

  “I so wish I could see Aurelia’s face when that arrives,” Kate said as Derek came over to her.

  “As do I, but Colin is going to ride over with the driver, and has promised to return with a full report. You know how detailed Colin’s reports are.”

  Kate grinned mischievously. “That will be vastly entertaining.”

  “You shouldn’t be up on your feet,” he scolded gently as he reached her. “Especially not with this fellow weighing you down.” He reached for his son, who went to him happily, jabbering away in his mix of nonsense and words that entertained his parents to no end.

  “I am fine, Derek,” she told him, putting a hand to her swollen abdomen. “I have at least two more months, and I feel perfectly well.”

  “Even so,” he began, only to be cut off by his son squealing in excitement as David started towards them, Alice having latched on to one of his hands already.

  “Do you want to come and play with Uncle David, too, little man?” David crooned as he approached, which sent Harry giggling.

  “Why am I so unloved?” Derek moaned as Harry practically climbed over his shoulder to reach David.

  David shrugged as he took Harry. “I could say something about looks, but Kate has a very mean, very fast punch, and I don’t want to injure myself any further today.”

  “Wise man,” Kate said, nodding in approval.

  Derek grumbled as David ran off with the children, already making them laugh and cheer and screech in delight.

  “Derek,” Kate said softly, taking his hand, “really, why this new instrument? I don’t play nearly as often as I used to, and with the new baby coming, I will barely have time to sit down, let alone perform.”

  “Because I can,” he replied simply. “I will hear no more about the expense, Kate. It was well worth it.”

  “But if you…”

  “Shut up, darling, and let me spoil you,” he ordered, clamping his hand over her mouth.

  She tried to glare at him over his hand, but at his severe look of warning, she had to smile.

  “Papa!”

  Derek turned and grinned as Harry came toddling towards him. He scooped the boy up in his arms, and tossed him into the air, making him squeal in delight, then set him down again as he saw David and Alice running towards them, in some sort of game of chase, with David growling like a monster.

  “Go save Alice from the monster, Harry,” Derek urged, giving him a little push. “A proper gentleman always rescues a damsel in distress.”

  Harry looked up at him with a frown that was exactly like his father’s, his green eyes curious. At Derek’s nod, the look became determined, and he raced towards David.

  Derek shook his head in amusement, then turned back to Kate, who was watching him with a smile.

  “What?” he asked.

  She closed the distance between them and took his face in her hands, then pressed a very sound kiss to his lips.

  “What was that for?” he asked when she broke off, wrapping his arms around her.

  She shrugged and slid her arms about his neck. “Because I love you. Because you are so good to me. Because you gave me a beautiful son. Take your pick.”

  “Hmm,” he mused aloud. “Well, I do like all of those. But I told you I wanted daughters. Ones that look just like you.”

  “I am trying,” she protested, giving him a rather wry look, “but I cannot help it if they come out boys instead. Surely you want sons as well.”

  “Oh, of course,” he assured her lightly. “Harry is the finest son that was ever born. I wish he looked more like you, but that is neither here nor there. But please tell me I get a daughter.”

  “I promise, as much as I am able to,” she said solemnly as her eyes danced, “that you will have at least one daughter. I don’t know that it will be this one, but someday, you’ll have one.”

  “You think it’s a boy?” he asked, a smile forming as his eyes flicked to her growing bulge.

  “I can’t be sure,” she said with a laugh. “I thought Harry would be a girl, remember?”

  “I do. What a surprise he turned out to be.” Derek smiled fondly at the memory.

  “Were you disappointed?”

  He looked back down at her immediately. “Disappointed? No, never! I was delighted that we had any child, boy or girl. I was so relieved you were well, and he was well, that I had no room for any other emotions.”

  “Good,” she sighed, tightening her hold around his neck. “I love you, you know.”

  He smiled and touched his nose to hers. “I know. You said that already today.”

  “How very excessive of me.”

  “I don’t mind,” he whispered conspiratorially. “You see, I love you too. I was thinking it all morning, but I think I said it already before we got out of bed.”

  “We are just squandering those words away, aren’t we?”

  “Scandalously.” He pressed his lips to hers, lingering.

  A loud snarl followed by uproarious laughter broke the moment, and Derek groaned as he pulled back. “Please, darling, if we do have a son next, don’t name him David. I couldn’t bear it.”

  Kate snickered and shook her head. “I will not name our next child David. Perhaps a later one, as I really am terribly fond of David, but not the next. I was thinking of the name Colin, what do you think?”

  “You wouldn’t,” he gasped, paling ever so slightly.

  She shrugged again. “I just might, you never know.”

  Derek growled and swept Kate up into his arms, making her screech in surprise.

  “Derek, what are you doing?” she asked, giggling helplessly.

  “We are going to play with our son and our niece and my ridiculous brother, Lady Whitlock. It is time we prove just how fun we are.”

  “I see,” she replied with a nod. “And what role will I play?”

  “Why, the damsel in distress, of course!”

  “Ah. And would you be the villain carting me off or the knight saving me?”

  He snorted in derision. “The knight, naturally. Don’t you see the shining armor?”

  Kate brushed back his hair fondly and smiled. “Why, yes, I do. Forgive me, sir knight, for doubting.”

  “Never fear, fair damsel. It is a great fool who would be offended by so beautiful a maiden he is fortunate to hold in his arms.”

  Kate smiled softly at his jest, but couldn’t help looking at her husband as he carried her towards the game. Their marriage had not been perfect, but she would not want it any other way. Happily ever after took some effort, after all, and how happy was the effort!

  A swift kick from her unborn child brought a smile to her face, and she admitted silently that the child would probably be a girl after all. Derek would get his wish, and he would slay dragons for them all. What an ending they had managed from so wretched a beginning. Every morning held new promise, every month held new delights, every year held new adventures. Every supposed ending was only a new beginning, hopeful and bright and shining.

  And there was no true end in sight. Nothing to dread, nothing to fear, nothing to regret.

  “Now, my love, look weak and swooning,�
� Derek whispered in her ear. “You have just been rescued, remember.”

  “Yes, I have, darling,” she sighed, taking on the appropriate air, but putting real emotion behind her words. “Yes, I have.”

  About the Author

  Rebecca Connolly has been creating stories since she was young, and there are home videos to prove it. She started writing them down in elementary school and has never looked back. She lives in Ohio, spends every spare moment away from her day job absorbed in her writing, and is a hot cocoa junkie.

  Coming Soon

  Secrets of

  a Spinster

  “Never underestimate a wallflower.”

  by

  Rebecca Connolly