The Duke's Inconvenient Bride (Regency Romance)

by Eva Grace

  And although this may seem ridiculous when considering the circumstances, that was exactly how Catherine felt. She feared for what Raff would do and say when he strode through that door, and so she paced, unable to sit down and calm herself.

  It was the news of her child's existence that made her fret the way she was. Somehow, her husband had found out that she was with child, and although this was an eventual inevitability, she just wished that it was she who had told him of it.

  She had been planning it all out too. She was going to ensure that he was in the best of moods. She was going to treat him like a King beforehand. She was going to pamper and laud him until he was ready to burst, and then she was going to tell him the truth.

  But now that he knew, without her having been the one to tell him, she could not even begin to imagine how he might feel. In fact, given his prior examples as to how he felt about having children, she didn't have to imagine too hard as to what he might say and do.

  It had all just happened so suddenly. He had rescued her, they had embraced, he had mentioned the child and then Lady Drakefield had taken their attention away from the moment. Once she was dealt with, Catherine expected he to bring the subject of the child back up, but instead he sent her back home with Ambrose, whilst he had dealt with the wounded Lady. It had been two hours since then, and with every passing moment, Catherine's state only became worse and worse.

  It was as she strode across the bedroom carpet for what must have been the fiftieth time that night – or one thousandth, if she were being honest – that the door opened and her husband walked through.

  Catherine froze on the spot when she saw him; she was mid-stride, her face flushed red, hands entangled in one another. She didn't know what to do or say, and so she did nothing.

  But as worried as she was, it took her less than a moment to notice the smile cresting her husband's face; reaching almost from his chin to his brow. When he spotted her, standing in the middle of room like a startled deer, he made straight for her, his arms held wide as if hew was going to pull her into a hug. But when he did reach her however, he did something most unexpected. He dropped to his knees and actually planted a kiss right on her stomach; right where the baby lived inside of her.

  Catherine, caught totally unawares by the act, remained planted to the spot as her husband then climbed back to his feet, his arms moving up her back and wrapping themselves around her in a warm embrace.

  "What was that?" she finally managed. The way she spoke the words, one would think it was the first time she had ever spoken in her entire life.

  "A kiss, for what I hope to be a beautify baby —our baby." He kissed her on the forehead.

  "You're not angry?" she asked in disbelief, looking up and into her husband's sparkling eyes for a hint of his felling betrayal, or of his anger and wrath.

  "Heavens no," he chuckled. "Surprised, yes. But angry? How can I possibly be maddened by the idea of starting a family with the woman I love?"

  An explosion like none she had ever felt suddenly erupted within Catherine's stomach. It spread like a fire, engulfing her in its warmth. So strong was this sensation, that for a moment she forgot herself, relishing in the feeling of relief that this fire signalled.

  "Is that OK?" Raff asked with a smirk. "I assumed you wanted the child too, no? And more than that... I assumed that I was the man you wished to start a family with?"

  Catherine opened her mouth to answer in the affirmative. She opened her mouth with the intent on telling him that yes, she loved him too, and yes she wanted to start a family, and that yes she planned on growing old with him as well. But then she closed her mouth.

  Instead of saying the obvious, she chose to stand on her toes, lean into the man that she loved and answer him with a deep, passionate kiss on the lips. And as expected, he returned said kiss in kind.

  It was not their first kiss by any means, nor would it be their last. What it was instead, was a kiss that signalled the beginning of a new chapter in the lives of the Duke and Duchess of Albright. What was to come next, Catherine did not know. All she did know was that so long as she had the man that she loved by her side, she would relish in it.

  And something told her – the way he kissed her back especially – that he was going to be by her side for the rest of her life.