The Duke s Baby

by Rebecca Winters

  Needing to cover her emotions, she handed him his tea, which he drank in one go.

  “Papa—One more thing. When Corinne phones and asks for you, the doctor suggests you let Henri handle those calls. Just until the situation improves.”

  Geoff nodded. “It’s a good plan. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to be the one to talk to Père Loucent.”

  “Go ahead. Andrea and I are leaving for Lyseaux right now. We won’t be long.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “I NOW pronounce you husband and wife. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

  Andrea heard Brigitte sniff before her brand-new husband’s mouth descended on hers. A few days ago he’d kissed her hard in front of Corinne. This time he was kissing her as if he meant it for his father’s sake.

  She let him coax her lips apart, but she wanted Lance to get the message that she wasn’t reading more into this than he intended.

  When she thought it had gone on long enough, she eased herself out of his arms without looking at him, and turned to thank the priest for officiating.

  “It was my pleasure, Madame Du Lac. Félicitations on your nuptials. May you and Lance live a long happy life together.”

  “Thank you, Father.”

  Lance shook the older priest’s hand. “It won’t be long before you’ll be christening our baby.”

  He nodded his balding head. “Geoff told me you were expecting. I’ll look forward to the event. May I inquire where you’re going on your honeymoon?”

  “We’re not taking one,” Andrea spoke before Lance could. “We don’t want to leave Geoff while he’s still recovering from pneumonia.”

  Lance’s arm tightened around her waist. “I’ll be taking her away after the baby’s born and she’s well enough to travel. Then we’ll let grand-père baby-sit for us.”

  Geoff got to his feet with ease. Yesterday Andrea feared the news about Corinne’s accident and the horse would set him back, but that wasn’t the case. This afternoon he seemed more like the Geoff she’d met at Easter.

  “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for Lance to give me a daughter.” He walked up to Andrea and gave her a kiss on both cheeks. “And what a daughter. You’re a blessing to this family.”

  Andrea couldn’t hold back from hugging him. “I couldn’t love you more if you were my own father,” she confessed for his ears alone.

  “I told Lance the same thing about you the first day he arrived home,” he whispered back.

  Once they’d let go of each other, she thanked Henri and Brigitte for standing up for them. They were all smiles as they wished them well before leaving the room. Père Loucent followed them out.

  The three of them were finally alone. Geoff eyed his son. “What are your plans?”

  “I’m taking Andrea to the house. We’ll spend the night and be back in the morning. If you need us for anything, all you have to do is call.”

  Andrea put a hand on his arm. “Will you be all right?”

  “Don’t you worry about me. Yves and Helen are coming over for dinner.”

  “I’m glad. You shouldn’t be alone.”

  “Have you forgotten I’m no longer an invalid? Go on—forget everything and everyone except each other. There’ll never be another night like this again in your lives.”

  “Thank you, Geoff.” Andrea couldn’t refrain from hugging him one more time.

  She felt Lance tug on her arm. He acted anxious to leave, but they weren’t in any hurry now. With the marriage behind them and the baby on the way, everything could settle down.

  Certainly Andrea should have been relieved. Yet she felt a strange letdown that made her angry at herself.

  Lance hadn’t married her because he was in love. Therefore she shouldn’t be having any feelings at all except to be glad that the formalities were over.

  He helped her into the car. Showing great care, he moved the hem of her new dress out of the way so the door wouldn’t close on it. It was a sleeveless silk jersey in a cream and café-au-lait color that fell from the shoulders. She’d be able to wear it to the end of her pregnancy.

  She’d bought it and several casual outfits yesterday when they’d gone into Lyseaux. The shopping had taken longer than she’d supposed, so Lance had only driven her by the house to give her a glimpse of it.

  After getting dressed for the wedding, Lance had come to her room and surprised her with a garland of orange blossoms for her hair, which she’d decided to leave loose.

  “Wear this for me?”

  The perfume from the petals made her feel bridal.

  “I had it specially made up. You’ll notice in the May painting that Guinevere is wearing the one Lancelot made for her. There’s something utterly feminine about a woman with fresh flowers in her hair.”

  So saying, he lowered it over Andrea’s head, then studied her for a moment. Maybe she just imagined the sudden darkening of desire in his eyes.

  “I’ll be in Papa’s sitting room waiting for you.”

  Her heart refused to quiet down after that. It was still galloping as they drove away from the château.

  “A centime for your thoughts, ma femme.”

  She really was Lance’s wife. Her gaze fastened on the new gold wedding band adjoining her diamond ring.

  “I think I’ve been waiting for Corinne to appear out of nowhere and interrupt the ceremony.”

  “No talk of Corinne today.” He reached over and grasped the hand closest to him. “We’ve become a family. You, me and our baby-to-be. That’s all that matters.”

  “No, it isn’t, Lance. When you phoned the hospital earlier, what did the doctor say about Corinne’s condition?”

  He kneaded her fingers. “The attending physician says she can be released tomorrow. Her psychiatrist would like to transfer her to the psychiatric unit to begin treatment, but he can’t do anything without Odette’s approval, or Corinne’s birth father.

  “So far Odette is in denial about her daughter, and Odette’s ex-husband washed his hands of both of them a long time ago. I doubt he’s even in the country.”

  “What about Geoff?”

  “He’s not her legal guardian.”

  Andrea’s head served around. “But Corinne said she was a Du Lac.”

  “Father certainly made her feel that way, but he never adopted her. She has no legal claim on our family.

  “In any case Odette is outraged that Papa would think Corinne has mental health problems. My guess is she doesn’t want any interference from him, not if it means she has to be under a psychiatrist’s scrutiny, too.”

  “No wonder Corinne’s been currying your father’s favor over the years. If she couldn’t have you…”

  “There’s only one woman who has me.” He squeezed her fingers before letting them go so he could make a turn into a lane lined with old graceful oak trees.

  They’d come to the outskirts of Rennes already? She’d been so involved with Lance, she hadn’t noticed anything else.

  At the end of the street she spied the rose colored bastide with sky-blue shutters she’d seen yesterday. They flanked tall windows with their small windowpanes, all symmetrical and set off by an imposing entry at the center of the house. Talk about enchanting…

  “Why don’t we take Papa’s advice and concentrate on each other for tonight. We can eat dinner in or out. Whatever pleases you.”

  The minute he drove around the side and she saw the terrace, she knew what she wanted. “I’d love to eat out here.” It overlooked an overgrown garden filled with roses. There was a stone bench and a little fountain. “I can’t believe how beautiful this is.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that. Louise will have made one of her delicious galettes au veau with fresh peas from her vegetable plot.”

  Before they even went inside, Andrea insisted on exploring the exterior. “I’ve never seen walkways like this.”

  “These are river pebbles chosen for their colors. Water runs off them easily. T
hey’re placed next to each other in a kind of mosaic that’s been popular since the 1600s.”

  Her gaze flew everywhere, landing briefly on the wrought-iron furniture, then flicking to urns of potted ranunculus and poppies.

  The Château Du Lac was a small castle built for an aristocrat. But this French house draped in wisteria and bougainvillea was the embodiment of her dream of the perfect home.

  A half hour later Lance had given her the grand tour. The smaller bedroom upstairs across the hall from the master bedroom would make a perfect nursery.

  The main floor’s common rooms were full of light and so delightful she couldn’t find the right words. She loved everything so much it frightened her. Already her heart had taken root here.

  In the alcove leading to the doors bordering the terrace, Lance gripped her waist and pulled her back against him. “Welcome to your new home, Madame Du Lac. I swear I’ll do everything in my power to make you and our baby comfortable and happy.”

  Trembling, she turned in his arms and looked up at him. “You already have. A person would have to be made of stone not to be affected by all this beauty. I swear I’m walking in some kind of dream.”

  His hands slid to her shoulders. He pulled her closer. “I feel the same way.”

  Blood sang in her ears.

  “You’re very beautiful, Andrea. I want to kiss you.”

  He probably did. There was definite chemistry between them. But she had the feeling that whatever moves she made from here on out, she would end up paying the consequences for down the road.

  More than anything in the world she would love to know his kiss. Not the angry one he’d given her in the kitchen that first night, but the one a new husband would like to give her out of normal male desire.

  Yet to succumb to her own burning needs would be her first false step. His regard for her could diminish if he thought she had more feelings for him than her husband.

  Though guilt ridden because it was true, she was terrified Lance might think less of her for responding to him when she was still mourning her marriage. Andrea simply couldn’t take the risk of him thinking less of her.

  “C-could you give me time, Lance?” she stammered.

  He didn’t so much as move a muscle, but she felt his tension.

  “Are you remembering your honeymoon with Richard?” His voice sounded like it had come from an underground cavern.

  The heat of guilt rose from her neck to fill her cheeks.

  No. It was this man holding her who commanded her thoughts.

  “No. I think it’s a combination of everything that’s happened since his death. Meeting you brought me out of the cocoon I was living in. I’m still trying to assimilate the fact that I’m your new wife, yet I’m carrying his child. I’m not sure what I’m feeling. Can you understand that?”

  Slowly his hands fell away from her shoulders. “Better than you can imagine. Let’s go out on the terrace. Jean and Louise are anxious to be introduced.”

  Oh, Lance—it would be so easy to give in to her attraction for him. But she didn’t dare.

  Losing Richard had changed her life, yet somehow she’d been able to move on.

  Instinct told her that if she were to lose Lance, she’d mourn for the whole of her life, baby or no baby.

  Lance stood in the doorway off the terrace. The house had grown quiet. By now Andrea ought to be in bed. He’d given her enough time to get ready.

  In his gut he knew she wasn’t indifferent to him.

  The way she’d hugged him in the kitchen when he’d come in from the stable—her reaction in the bedroom while they were talking about Lancelot and Guinevere—the throbbing in her throat whenever he got too close to her—All that telling behavior indicated there was a fire burning beneath the surface.

  She’d agreed to marry him so she wasn’t going away. He just needed to be patient. Not his strong suit.

  Even Lancelot had been forced to bide his time until the stars were aligned in his favor.

  Lance looked up at the sky. There were none out tonight. A wind had come up which meant a storm was brewing. The elements matched his mood.

  Five more minutes and he locked the French doors. Making certain the rest of the doors and windows were secure, he walked through the alcove to the staircase in the front hall. No sooner had he taken his first step than his cell phone rang.

  He’d been expecting a call from the undercover agent before now, and clicked on. “Oui?”

  “I’m sorry, monsieur, but Mademoiselle de la Grange has disappeared.”

  That came as no surprise.

  “Tell me what happened.”

  “A technician took her for another X-ray, but she never came back to the room.”

  “That means she had help. Probably her mother.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “You’ve done everything you could. Go back to the château and we’ll wait to see what happens.”

  “Very good.”

  He rang off and phoned Henri to alert him to the situation. “You’d better tell Papa in case Odette and Corinne show up tonight. The agent should be there within the hour.”

  “Brigitte will watch for her.”

  “Thank you, Henri.”

  Lance wouldn’t put it past Corinne to come to the house looking for him in order to cover all her bases. The hospital was only ten minutes away.

  Grabbing one of Jean’s beers from the fridge, he went outside and planted himself on the bench in front where he could see anyone driving down the lane.

  A long night stretched ahead of him. He decided to phone Giles and let him know he was a married man with a baby on the way. His friend would be dumbstruck.

  As it turned out, Lance was the one boulverse when Andrea came out of the darkness toward him like a beautiful apparition. The wind whipped her new nightgown and robe around her body. She looked anxious.

  “What are you doing out here?”

  She sounded upset, like she’d been waiting for him. That was music to his ears.

  When he told her, she sat down. In the process she accidentally disturbed the empty beer can that toppled to the stones. She leaned over to pick it up.

  “I can feel rain. Go back to bed, Andrea.”

  “Why don’t we go in the living room. We’ll watch out the window together.”

  “You need your sleep.”

  “So do you.”

  “I’m not the one pregnant with your husband’s baby.” He felt reckless and couldn’t prevent the sarcasm from escaping in time.

  “You’re going to be its father,” she came back. “Or have you changed your mind?”

  Lance leaped to his feet, rubbing the back of his neck. He wheeled around. “You know I haven’t. Forgive me for taking my frustration out on you.”

  “You have every right to be upset. We’re in the middle of a complicated, dangerous situation.”

  “One you never asked for,” he reminded her.

  “No one held a gun to my head, Lance. I’m in this with you all the way of my own free will. Does that clear up some of the gray areas for you?”

  Their eyes held. “A lot of them. Come on, or you’re going to be soaking wet.”

  He drew her inside and shut the door. They went into the living room. Reaching for the throw on the back of one of the chairs, he wrapped it around her and pulled her down on the couch next to him. He could still see the road from the window.

  She nestled against him. His wedding night was starting to look up.

  “What will you do if she comes here? Honestly?”

  “I’ll detain her and call the police. She’s become a threat to herself and to others. Something should have been done about her a long time ago. I should have come home years sooner and dealt with it.”

  “I don’t know. I’ve a feeling you enjoyed your career.”

  “I did. Parts of it, anyway.”

  She lifted her head a little to gaze up at him. “Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?�
�

  “You’re my wife, Andrea. You can ask me anything.”

  All of a sudden he felt her trace the scar above the polo shirt he’d changed into after they’d come to the house. “Did Corinne do this to you?”

  He breathed in deeply. “She’s certainly capable of it. But the truth is, I became involved with a woman while I was on an assignment in the Middle East. We got together every so often.

  “She knew my life in the service didn’t permit me to put down roots. There came a point in the relationship when I realized she was getting too emotionally involved.”

  “In other words she wanted to get married and have children.”

  “Yes. I told her I wasn’t the marrying kind. Any more togetherness would only bring her pain, so I got up to leave. I couldn’t admit I was impotent, I was too proud. I just wanted to shut her out.

  “Since it would be our last time together, she begged me to stay with her another hour or two. Against my better judgment I gave in. At one point I fell asleep.

  “The next thing I knew, she was leaning over me and had carved a line down my neck with a dagger. She put her bloody fingers in front of my eyes. “This is so you’ll never forget me.”

  Andrea cupped his chin so she could look into his eyes. Hers were flooded with tears. “You mean to tell me she purposely maimed you for life because you turned her down?”

  “I was lucky, Andrea. She could have done much worse.”

  “I can’t comprehend such evil. All this time I thought you must have been injured in combat by a female soldier.”

  “She was a soldier. Our personal combat happened in a supposedly neutral zone.”

  A moan came out of her. “Between her and Corinne, I don’t know how you could trust any woman.”

  “I swore I never would again. When I returned home, I hadn’t spent one night at the château before I discovered a new woman in residence. She’d been given the honor of sleeping in a room no one else has slept in while I’ve been alive.

  “Papa trusted her with a treasure that’s irreplaceable. The staff lit up at the mention of her name. I was convinced that behind her beauty lay treachery. Convinced she was up to no good, I determined to expose her true face for everyone to see. But once I kissed her, I got snared in my own trap.”