Rebecca swallowed hard, feeling close to tears as all her emotions bubbled to the surface. But then she thought about her future and she smiled. She was going to be a wife and a mother. She was going to go to bed each night with this magnificent man and awake each morning with him lying beside her.
She was going to have a partner to share all of life‘s joys and sorrows, a lover to bestow her passions and emotions, a companion with whom she could grow old and live with in peace and harmony.
Well, maybe not perfect harmony.
Rebecca‘s laugh rang out loud and clear as she realized she truly would not want it to be any other way.
Epilogue
One year later
Rebecca entered the drawing room. The glorious smell of fresh evergreen assaulted her and she eagerly inhaled the aroma. “Oh, Cameron. You‘ve lit the candles. It looks wonderful.”
The earl turned, smiled, then stepped away from the Christmas tree so his wife could gain the full effect of his efforts. “I wanted to make sure I put enough candles on before lighting it. Do you like the way it looks?”
“‘Tis beautiful. Even more spectacular than last year, I think.” The glow emanating from the lit candles on the branches shimmered throughout the room, reflecting off the glass ornaments and satin bows that were tucked onto the limbs. “Lily will be very excited when she sees it tomorrow.”
“I do hope the sight of such a pretty tree will soften her mood,” Cameron said.
Rebecca smiled. “Tomorrow is Christmas Day. Lily will be beside herself with delight. The house will be filled with even more guests and there will be singing and dancing and presents and more trifle than she could consume in a week. Plus, there is this marvelous tree.”
Cameron leaned forward and kissed his wife‘s forehead. “I‘m afraid our daughter was rather petulant tonight when she went to bed. I‘m not sure her disagreeable mood will be entirely gone by morning.”
“But why? We had a lovely evening.”
“Lily did not get her Christmas Eve wish. Again, as she reminded me several times when I tucked her into bed.”
Rebecca frowned. “What wish?”
“To sleep in the stables.”
“Oh, no,” Rebecca groaned. “So she could hear the animals talk? I could strangle my brother for telling her that tale.”
“Don‘t blame Daniel,” the earl said. “He said it all in harmless fun, last year. One would have hoped she had forgotten it by now.”
Rebecca laughed. “Lily is not someone that easily forgets something so important. I imagine one of these years we will have to give in and allow her to sleep in the stables.”
“Yes, and we shall force your brother to join her.”
Rebecca leaned forward, pressing herself against her husband‘s strength. She was so pleased that Cameron and her brother had grown to be friends, as well as business partners, over the past year. It made every family gathering more enjoyable and helped ease the sting of social exclusion Daniel and Charlotte experienced on occasion.
“At least Lily had an important role in this year‘s nativity play,” Rebecca said. “Recalling that might brighten her spirits tomorrow.”
“Being promoted from an angel to the mother of the newborn savior was quite a coup,” Cameron agreed.
“Not throwing a tantrum helped also,” Rebecca reminded him.
She was proud of the progress and maturity Lily had achieved, yet knew there would be stormy times ahead. A volatile, emotional spirit was too much a part of Lily‘s nature to ever be totally tamed and Rebecca secretly loved her daughter even more because of it.
Rebecca was even more delighted to have the child call her Mama, proof that Lily had accepted her as her mother. Perhaps one day they would reveal the truth about her parentage, but it was no longer a burning need tearing Rebecca apart, for she had the joy and privilege of fulfilling that role.
Cameron positioned himself behind his wife, then put his arms around her, nestling his hand over the slight swell of her belly. “What do you think? Shall we tell Lily about the baby tomorrow?”
Rebecca‘s breath caught. The baby. Though she was entering her fourth month of pregnancy, she still had difficulty believing she was going to have another child. Cameron‘s child. The very idea filled her with an amazing sense of love and excitement.
“I‘m unsure if we should announce our news to Lily on Christmas Day,” Rebecca confessed. “I worry she will not think it much of a gift.”
“It is by far one of the most incredible gifts I have ever received,” Cameron promptly replied. “Second only to winning your love.”
Rebecca looped her arms around his neck and hugged him close, breathing in his familiar scent. “This is delicate news. I‘m not sure how she will react. I was thinking we need to wait until just the right moment to tell her she will be a big sister by next spring.”
Cameron‘s warm hand gently caressed Rebecca‘s bump. “We cannot wait all that much longer. You, my dear, are starting to show.”
Rebecca rapped her knuckles on his arm and prepared to give her husband a royal set-down for saying she was getting fat, but then she caught his eye. He was gazing at her with such adoration, with such love and tenderness, she blushed instead. “Lily will not realize what my bulging stomach means, except that I am eating far too many of Cook‘s delicious cream cakes.”
“You forget that Charlotte gave birth less than two months ago and my cousin Marion had her little boy in late summer. Lily now knows an ever rounding stomach on a lady means a baby will soon be here.”
“My stomach is not bulging!” Rebecca retorted. “Well, not all that much.”
“You are more beautiful to me than ever, Rebecca,” he declared softly.
The tenderness in his eyes melted her heart and she felt a wave of emotion that seemed to so easily claim her these days rise in her chest.
“I worry how Lily will react,” Rebecca admitted, wiping at her damp eyes.
“True, our daughter has not precisely mastered the art of sharing, but I know she will come to love the baby. She delights in Charlotte‘s daughter and Marion‘s son.”
“That is because they only come to us for a brief visit. This baby will be staying.”
Cameron stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Maybe it would be best if we tell her a baby brother or sister is something Jane Grolier will never have, no matter how hard she wishes for one.”
Rebecca smiled. “Ah, my love, you do know how to phrase things in such a manner as to make us all content.”
The earl visibly preened. “My survival depends on expertly managing the spirited women in my life and keeping them both very happy.”
She cupped his handsome face in her hands. “My lord, I am very pleased to tell you that you have accomplished your task most admirably.”
Rebecca stood on tiptoe to reach his mouth. She paused just before their lips met, glorying in the love that filled his eyes, knowing her own were reflecting the same commitment and adoration.
At that moment the drawing room clock chimed the midnight hour. Cameron‘s eyes brightened with merriment. “Happy Christmas, my love.”
Rebecca kissed him, her lips lingering on his, her body nestled against his strength.
“Happy Christmas, Cameron.”
“Have I ever told you that Christmas is my very favorite time of year?” he asked.
Rebecca smiled. “You might have mentioned it once or twice.”
“Well, it bears repeating.” Still holding her in his arms, he softly kissed her forehead. “I enjoy the Yule log and wassail and the carolers and the good company of the many friends and family who gather with us to celebrate the joys of the season.”
“And your Christmas tree,” she prompted.
He laughed and her heart skipped a beat. He truly was a remarkably handsome, incredibly loving man.
“Yes, I do adore all those things. However this time of year holds a special place in my heart, because Christmas brought you to me,” Cameron dec
lared, before taking her lips in yet another tender kiss.
ZEBRA BOOKS are published by
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Copyright © 2008 by Adrienne Basso
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
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ISBN: 1-4201-0764-X
The Christmas Countess Page 30
