I heard an accented voice. “Lord Strang’s bride.” I met a pale blue, pop-eyed gaze, so typical of the Hanovers. The Duke of Cumberland and his wife took the Drawing Room for today while the King was in Hanover again. His status as a widower meant he could not take these occasions in any case. Intelligence lay in the duke’s pale eyes, though and kindness, surprising in a man of his cruel reputation. I smiled and bowed my head. “I have that honour, your highness.” As a royal duke, Cumberland was above mere princes.
“I might have known he’d choose a supremely elegant woman.”
I wished he hadn’t said that. I still had to walk back. “Thank you, sir.”
“Have you the brains to keep him?” He studied me closely. It would have been impolite to look away. “I think you do,” he said, after what seemed like an hour. “We will see you again, Lady Strang, we look forward to it.” He turned to my mother-in-law. “Lady Southwood? You must be proud of your son’s choice of bride.”
Her voice was colourless but I expected nothing more. “Indeed, your highness.”
The duchess smiled at me and gave me her hand to kiss. It was my dismissal. Carefully I slid my foot back, feeling the heavy folds give way and my secret weapon held. I walked backward at my own pace and made it look elegant by using the timing Richard had taught me and the unseen clip Nichols had provided. It was made out of light, split bamboo and it fitted onto the bottom of the gown, holding the first few inches of the skirt rigidly back. I hadn’t told anyone about it and I didn’t intend to but I felt more than grateful to my resourceful maid. It gave me the confidence to smile easily and bow lightly again when I walked to where Lord Southwood and Richard waited.
The duke bowed to Richard, who bowed low in acknowledgement, then it was someone else’s turn. Richard regarded me warmly. “Well done. You were exquisite.”
I smiled back and for a brief moment let him see my triumph before I took his arm and stepped back with him. The hoop shook a little but I controlled it. We watched several others take their turn. “It must be boring for the duke,” I whispered to Richard behind my fan.
“It isn’t his favourite pastime.” We saw Mr. and Mrs. Steven Drury approach the royal presence.
“Do we acknowledge them?” We watched Julia curtsey low.
Richard’s voice was low. “A bow if we have to. If we cut them here, it will only create gossip but we don’t have to speak to them. It should be easy enough to avoid them in this press without too much comment. Besides, all you have to do is swing round and you’ll bowl them over like skittles.”
That made me smile but I managed not to laugh. To do so as the Drurys were carefully retreating would have been to invite the comments we were anxious to avoid. I suspected Richard of trying to overset me on purpose but when I glanced at him, all I saw was bland boredom.
Lizzie and Ruth both joined us, buzzing with their triumph and equally anxious to avoid the Drurys. Ruth had never seen Steven’s wife before and she wasn’t impressed. “Cold, isn’t she?”
“You should have seen her with Richard.” I remembered how they looked together, the frostiness they exuded. “They would have frozen fire at twenty paces.” Richard glanced at me and smiled as Ruth studied him doubtfully but he didn’t mind in the least. He had not cared for Julia when they had been betrothed and now he loathed her.
Similarly, Steven held no attraction for me any more. He’d courted me in Devonshire and Yorkshire and I had for a short time taken him seriously but his naked ambition became more apparent as time passed. Then I had fallen in love with Richard and recognised my feelings for Steven for what they were—infatuation born of desperation. Steven Drury had resented it and probably still did, despite bagging an heiress. He could now afford all the things he had wanted through me.
He looked handsome these days, dressed in the finest clothes, at the height of fashion but to my prejudiced eyes, Richard made by far the better figure. Richard had finer taste and his natural elegance enhanced it. The ease he demonstrated in this setting gave him the air of belonging that Steven didn’t have. Richard also possessed a quality that made people look, a personal allure I have observed in some, which I believe is bestowed at birth. Gervase had it too but Richard had taken what he was born with and developed it. I had none of it but people took notice of me now because of him.
The Drurys glanced at us but walked off in the opposite direction, towards the valiant quartet, still playing its heart out, with as little result. We didn’t need to acknowledge them after all. A great relief to me but a source of indifference to my husband.
We stayed for a while now my dreaded presentation was over, talking and being introduced to a great many people. Lady Southwood introduced me to those of her friends and acquaintances who were there and I wondered how I would remember them all. I tried hard to commit their faces to memory. Some stared at me curiously, some welcomed me in a generous way and all the time Richard remained by my side, as he had promised.
One or two asked about the Drurys but we said nothing of note about them. As far as society was concerned, Julia was the girl who had insulted Richard by running off with a penniless curate while she was contracted to marry him, the fault all on her side. They weren’t aware of the suddenness with which we had fallen in love, nor of my previous involvement with Steven.
We had been on our feet for a long time and I wore new shoes that pinched my toes. The heat and the tightness of my stays added to my discomfort but I pinned a smile on my face and continued to exchange small talk.
We walked into the other rooms but I was concentrating on staying upright and didn’t notice anything but the heat. As we went through to another chamber, I swayed and would have fallen if Richard hadn’t caught me under my elbow and found a nearby chair. He seated me quickly, before anyone noticed my distress, then took my fan and spread it with a practised crack. I smiled at him with gratitude as he fanned me.
“I think,” he said, after one look at my face, “I shall take you home. When you’re ready to go out to the carriage, let me know.” He beckoned a footman over and asked for our carriage to be brought. I watched the man scuttle away, still feeling dreamy. “How do you feel now?” A note of anxiety shaded his voice but he still wore his expression of polite boredom so no one would have noticed anything amiss.
“A little dizzy. It’s just the heat—” I stopped, struck by a sudden realisation. No, it couldn’t be that.
His polite smile turned into one of tenderness when he gazed down at me. “I wondered when you’d realise.” His voice was a low, intimate murmur, out of place in this desperately public arena. I’d missed a month’s courses, but I often did so, except—except that since my marriage I had not. Regular intimacy had seemed to make me more regular in other ways, too. I had merely assumed I was reverting to my old pattern, never daring to hope that I had taken.
With great presence of mind, I kept my smile and let my stays hold me upright, leaving me to concentrate on breathing steadily. Gervase approached us and said I was looking pale. “Rose isn’t feeling too well,” Richard told him. “I hope you don’t mind us taking the carriage home. Would you like us to send it back for you?”
Gervase shook his head, still regarding at me with concern. He had his back to the room, so he let his natural feeling show but when he turned away, his face was smooth and untroubled, like his brother’s. A life spent living scandals in the public eye had given the brothers superb control over their facial expressions. “After this heat, I’d prefer to walk back to my lodgings for the fresh air. I’m not surprised Rose isn’t well. Two ladies have fainted dead away in the queue and attendants had to revive them with strong spirits.”
Richard chuckled. “Are you sure it wasn’t the spirits they were after all along?”
The footman came back and told us the carriage waited outside. Leaving Gervase to explain the situation to Lord and Lady Southwood, Richard helped me out and into the vehicle, supporting me much more firmly than he appeared to be doing.
I had done it. I was a fully fledged member of polite society. But that wasn’t the thought uppermost in my mind now.
Chapter Seven
WHEN WE GOT HOME, RICHARD immediately sent for Nichols. She helped me , undress me much more quickly than I’d been dressed earlier. She didn’t seem concerned and spoke little, for which I was grateful because I still felt dizzy, though the fresh air had helped to revive me on the way home. She washed and brushed the powder out of my hair and helped me into a nightrail. I went to bed. Our evening was full of engagements and I hoped to be well enough by then to attend.
I slept for two hours and when I awoke I saw Richard sitting in a chair by the fire. We exchanged a smile and he came to sit on the side of the bed. He took my hand in his and we stared at each other in silence for a while.
“This is the first time I’ve seen you in a nightrail for nearly two months,” he said. “And it isn’t for the usual reason.”
I took my lower lip between my teeth. “I thought—with all the anxiety and excitement, perhaps—”
He shook his head, still smiling. “Since we married you have worn your nightrail for the same week every month. You haven’t missed once. We’ve travelled through Europe, been shot at, lost a wheel off the coach and nothing caused you to change your habit.” He took a breath. “I think we can safely assume you’re in the family way, my precious love.” He bent to kiss me, so gently he made me feel precious.
I sat up and put my arms around him, felt the warmth of him through his shirtsleeves and rested my head on his shoulder. “When did you suspect?”
“When I counted up, the day before yesterday.” He put his hand on my back and slid it up into my hair, holding me safe.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I could have been wrong.” He drew back. My eyes were wet and he drew his thumb under one, wiping away the tear, then slipped his arm back around my waist. “But after today, I think we can be sure, don’t you?”
I nodded, still too full to speak. When I’d regained control of my wayward emotions, I asked him if he was pleased. “Mostly. I know we have to but I’m concerned for you. You must take care now and not do too much.”
“I’ll manage. I’m sure it was the heat today and the fact that I didn’t have much to eat before we came. I’m not ill, my love, just enceinte.”
He kissed me again. “It changes our plans a little, doesn’t it?”
“Why? You don’t want to spirit me away to the country, do you?” Concern filled me that he might be one of those men who won’t let their wives turn a hair for nine months. That would drive me crazy.
“Far from it. The best care is available here in London. Should you object to a man-midwife, as well as the usual attendants? They have an excellent reputation but we should bespeak one soon if we decide on it.”
The thought of a man seeing me in the state I’d seen Martha in a couple of times made me pause but Richard was right; this new kind of birth attendant would bring the best care. They were trying to take the birthing chamber out of the Middle Ages, to apply some much needed science and most people who could afford it were coming to prefer the man-midwife.
I made up my mind. “If I like him. But don’t you mind? Wouldn’t you object to a man seeing me like that?”
“No more than I mind Carier attending you when you’re ill.” He lifted his hand from my waist and brushed my cheek with his finger. “I love you so much. I couldn’t bear it if you were in any danger through this. Through me.”
I smiled, feeling much happier than he did at this, now I was getting used to the idea. “I’ve seen more births than you have, I’ll wager. It seems to be hard work but I’ve never been afraid of that. I love you, too and it makes me so happy I can do this for you.” I kissed him. “I’ll take care, I promise.”
He smiled tenderly. “We’ll stay in the house in Hampstead. Or our own, here in town. And one more thing—”
“Anything.”
“I don’t think we should tell anyone yet.”
I was shocked. “Certainly not.” We could easily be mistaken, after all but I knew inside that he was right. I would spend the next eight months in company.
“I don’t want my mother to know yet.” His arms settled around me, mine around him. “If she finds out before we’ve found somewhere else to live in London she’s bound to insist we stay here. She has lots of good arguments on her side but I want to see you established and happy somewhere else, not under her jurisdiction.”
I saw his point immediately. It would suit Lady Southwood if the child was born in Southwood House. Once we had charge of the new heir, we wouldn’t be allowed to escape so easily. However if we moved earlier, or at least put matters in train before we told her, she couldn’t object quite so easily.
“Shall I pray for a boy?” Something else occurred to me. “Or two?”
He stared, dumbstruck. The possibility of twins couldn’t have occurred to him yet. Richard and Gervase were not the first twins in the family, so the chances were strong. I didn’t tell him my mother had been a twin. Her sibling had died at birth. He gazed at my face, fear in his eyes. “Dear God, I hope not. Not the first time, not twins.”
I remembered his mother’s constant reminders that Richard and Gervase were the main cause of her constant ill health and I felt sick. Not because I believed her but because of what it might do to Richard’s confidence, to find out I was to go through the same ordeal.
I kept my arms around him, looking at him determinedly. “I’m bigger than your mother, taller and probably stronger. And worry is bad for me, so I won’t.” I stopped, remembering some of my own history. This wasn’t the time to remind him my own mother had died giving birth to my brother Ian—currently notable by his absence. He’d retreated to his studies in Oxford, something he frequently did to avoid situations he disliked. “Richard, if I promise to take the greatest care, will you do something for me?”
“Anything.”
“Don’t be a stranger to this bed. I know we’ve talked about it before but I need you now and neither of us can manage for nine days much less nine months without—” Blushing, I broke off.
His expression lightened and he smiled down at me. “I don’t intend to give anything up unless I’m ordered to do so by the midwives. I don’t think that’s likely.” He laughed a little when he saw my alarm. “When a man has married expressly to beget an heir, then he may quit his wife’s bed in relief but we didn’t marry for that. I’ve no intention of going anywhere else.”
I remembered our conversation of the other day and I held him a little closer. “Not even when I’m as big as a house?”
“Not even then.” He kissed me more deeply.
I responded to his kiss, felt a glow inside. There was some time before we had to dress for dinner. “Prove it.” I began to undo the buttons on his waistcoat. “We should celebrate.”
He laughed. “So we should.” I pulled the nightrail over my head and threw back the covers for him to join me. Richard undressed quickly, looking at me all the while. When he came to bed, he ran his hand gently over my stomach but said nothing more. He didn’t need to. I put my hand over his and he slipped his other arm around my shoulders and drew me close. His kiss held such passion it took my breath away, delving into my mouth to explore and caress.
I needn’t have worried. Richard’s ardour wasn’t tinged by any concern. His loving was as all-consuming as ever. He forgot everything else when we made love and so did I, joining him in our own private world where nothing else existed. He caressed me into joy, kissed my mouth, my throat and my breasts, loved me with his voice and his body. Sometimes I would control our lovemaking but not today. I shuddered when his lips touched my stomach, opened my legs wider for him when he pushed his shoulders between them and gave me the most intimate kiss of all. He didn’t relent, using his talented tongue and fingers to drive me up, high and fast, not stopping when I cried out as I came, but he drank from me and still seemed t
hirsty for more, lapping me up until I grew so sensitive I couldn’t bear it any longer. I squirmed away from him, urging him back up to enter me.
He paused above me, supported by his elbows, his shaft so close to my opening one breath would unite us. His eyes, burning with passion, but with more, with love, met mine. “I love you, I’ll always love you and to do this for me means all the world.”
“For us,” I whispered as he slid his body into mine.
We were everything to each other, husband and wife, lovers, friends, and united in passion, even closer. He drove hard inside me and I knew this to be a new act for us, no longer any pressure to procreate, but a celebration and a pure act of love. I arched up to him and heard his soft groan as he thrust even deeper, but at that point I didn’t care. Tingles suffused me and I felt my peak tantalising me, close but not there until, at last, the world exploded in a shower of light, and I clutched Richard as I rode out the waves.
Gasping my name, he reached his ultimate pinnacle of joy just after mine, and lay over me for a scant few seconds before rolling away, only to take me in his arms and hold me tight as the clouds drifted away and we came back to ourselves once more. We lay together, happy in the familiarity and closeness of our bodies, absorbing our news and setting it in its rightful place in our minds.
Richard chuckled. “In some ways, I want to tell everyone, to show how clever you are. It must be the little boy in me saying ‘look what we did’.”
It made me laugh, to think of him as a little boy. “I’m so happy. I can do something for you at last, something you really need. For us.” I leaned up on one elbow, kissed him, then stayed to look at him, caught by his expression. He gazed at me tenderly, smiled sweetly, an expression few people were ever privileged enough to witness.
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