by Cheryl Bolen
"That priceless thing from your father?" Lord Haverstock asked.
The marchioness nodded.
He took her hands in his. "I'm buying it back, my dearest. It's all you've got left from your father. I had hoped perhaps - -"
Caro knew he had meant to say that he hoped the necklace would one day go to a daughter of theirs, but he'd stopped out of sensitivity to his wife's fears that she would never again conceive. Everyone—including the Haverstocks themselves—had almost lost hope that she would ever bear the Haverstock heir. It had taken two pregnancies and almost four years.
Anna Haverstock smiled. It wasn't an everyday smile but one that could cast a beacon on a dark night. "I have an announcement to all our family and those we love most." Her happy gaze went around the table and came to settle on her doting husband. "We shall once again be blessed with another child—God willing to see me through these next seven months."
Caro watched the marquess swallow back his emotions. She wasn't sure from where she sat some distance away, but Caro thought there was a tear in his eye.
"And I have an announcement to make," Morgie said. The joyful expression on his face was the exact opposite of what it had been the night before when Caro had faced him just outside Lady Lydia's lying-in room. "Lyddie has agreed to allow me to name our beautiful baby girl. She shall be called Lydia—after her beautiful mother."
No one at that table would have considered Lady Lydia a beauty—no one except someone deeply in love.
Every face shone with happy smiles. The dowager Lady Haverstock said, "A good choice. I've always loved the name Lydia. That's why I gave it to my firstborn, my beautiful baby daughter."
Everyone’s smiles went even deeper, and happiness filled the chamber like an uplifting cloud.
"John and I have an announcement to make," Margaret said shyly.
Margaret must be increasing! And she'd not told Caro? It had always stung that Lord Finchley had supplanted her in her sister's affections. They were still the closest of sisters, but Lord Finchley was always first in Margaret's heart.
Will Christopher and I be like them? She did so hope that they would.
Margaret and Lord Finchley exchanged adoring gazes and then Lord Finchley nodded. "Yes, my wife is once again with child. I hope it will be a little girl as beautiful as she is."
Now Caro had a tear in her eye. She was so happy the sister she loved so dearly had for a husband a man who adored Margaret as she deserved. Caro's gaze went from the happy couple down the table to the dowager Finchley, whose happiness could not be suppressed. "It's about time we have a little girl in the Finchley family! Whatever it is, I shall be most thankful for another great-grandchild."
* * *
Christopher didn't care how bloody cold it was. He was going to take a sleigh ride through the snow with his Caroline before the sun set. His eyes shimmered as she came to him, wrapped in her red velvet cloak, the pure ermine haloing her lovely face. Her hands were stuffed in an ermine muff.
She moved silently to him and slipped her arm into his, and they left the house. She insisted on holding the reins to spare his injured hands, and they slowly plowed through the snow. No words were necessary. They were together. They loved each other. That was enough. They came to the same thicket where Aldridge had found the Yule log. They stopped and he drew her into his arms.
Though every time he'd ever kissed Caroline had been magical, this was the most potent kiss ever. They both felt it. He wasn't sure where he left off and where she began. It was as if they had blended into one warm, passionate being.
He held her for a long time afterward, and then he said quite simply. "I'll get a special license tomorrow. I don't give a fig about contracts. You're going to be my wife in two days."
She nodded. "I'd marry you today, if we could. It's all I've wanted since the day we met."
He nodded. He'd always known that what she felt for him was more profound than what she would ever feel for another man, but somehow he'd never thought Society would approve of their match. After all, she was the daughter of a duke. But that no longer mattered. It mattered not to her. Not to Aldridge. Apparently not to anyone but him. "I've been a fool," he finally said. "I should have married you the moment I knew I loved you."
"And when was that?"
"I think I loved you from that first day. I didn't know it until . . ."
"Until you couldn't make love to your mistress anymore?"
His eyes widened. "How did you know?"
"I didn't. Unbelievably, it was Lord Finchley who worked that one out. He told Margaret you must be in love with me because a man truly in love with one woman could not make love with another. At least that's how an honorable man like Lord Finchley thinks."
Christopher nodded. Finch was an honorable man. "I didn't want you to know about that business. It's you and only you I've ever loved."
She kissed his bandaged hands. "I know."
"And how does a maiden know about things like a man desiring a woman?"
She spoke huskily. "This maiden is most passionate. But only for you, my darling. Always and ever, it's been you."
His lips settled softly upon hers. "I promise you, my love, next Christmas you'll have our child. I know how much you long to be a mother."
She slipped her gloved hand from her muff and gently stoked his face. "I do, but even if I prove to be barren, I'll never be unhappy as long as I have your love."
The End
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Ex-Spinster by Christmas. If you would like to keep up with my new releases and other writing news, you can subscribe to my occasional newsletter here.
House of Haverstock Series
If you have not read the other books in the House of Haverstock series, you might enjoy reading Lady by Chance, the first book in the series:
The Marquess of Haverstock is incensed when he learns the money he needed to buy crucial war information for the Foreign Office has been lost at cards to the illegitimate daughter of an English duke and French noblewoman. When the bewitchingly beautiful woman informs him the only way to reclaim the funds is to wed her, he has little choice but to agree.
Shunned by the ton, Anna de Mouchet agrees to a bizarre proposal that has her using her skill at cards to force the marquess – whom she’s been told is a traitor – to marry her. As his wife, she will be free to spy on him and prove her patriotism to England. But once she marries the handsome lord, she’s less sure of her loyalties. Especially when she feels her husband’s silken touch.
Read an excerpt here.
House of Haverstock Series available at Amazon.com:
Lady by Chance (Book 1)
Duchess by Mistake (Book 2)
Countess by Coincidence (Book 3)
Brazen Brides Series
You might like to check out another of my historical series, Brazen Brides.
Counterfeit Countess (Book 1):
Maggie thought she was married to an earl . . . but it seems that her late and unlamented husband lied to her from the day they met. Now—penniless and stranded in London—she has thrown herself on the mercy of the real Lord Warwick. What's a counterfeit countess to do?
Edward, the Earl of Warwick, desires only to get rid of the beautiful woman who arrived at his house with no less than fourteen trunks, a younger sister, a maid, and a very large cat. Her preposterous explanation is of no importance—but her late husband held the clue to the identity of England's greatest traitor, a clue the Foreign Service must get at any cost. Edward will have to guard her night and day—but he cannot guard his heart.
Read an excerpt here.
Series available at Amazon.com:
Counterfeit Countess (Book 1)
His Golden Ring (Book 2)
Oh What a (Wedding) Night (Book 3)
Marriage of Inconvenience (Book 4)
Other Series
Brides of Bath Series
The Bride Wore Blue (Book 1)
With His Rin
g (Book 2)
The Bride’s Secret (Book 3)
To Take This Lord (Book 4)
Love in the Library (Book 5)
A Christmas in Bath (Book 6)
The Regent Mysteries Series (a romance in each book)
With His Lady’s Assistance (Book 1)
A Most Discreet Inquiry (Book 2)
The Theft Before Christmas (Book 3)
An Egyptian Affair (Book 4)
Win a $50 Gift Certificate
I hope you enjoyed Ex-Spinster by Christmas. If you did, would you please consider posting a review by the book's listing at Goodreads and/or Amazon. If you do, please email me at [email protected] and I will enter your name in my quarterly drawings for a $50 Amazon gift certificate. Each time you review one of my books, let me know, and you will get another entry.
Thank you from Cheryl Bolen
