by Aston, Alexa
It was time to tell him.
A shadow loomed and she turned, seeing Miss Wight had arrived.
“I’m here to take the children inside,” the governess said. “It’s time for Viscount Warren’s nap. I’ll bring him to his nursery governess and then give the girls their music lesson.”
“Thank you, Miss Wight,” she said, knowing the woman was a treasure and helped life run more smoothly than it should with three active children.
“We’ll be riding afterward, my lady. Will you be joining us?” Miss Wight asked.
Charlotte accompanied them a few times a week on their rides but said, “No, I have another engagement this afternoon. Go ahead without me.”
Miss Wight rounded up her charges and left. Charlotte lay back on the blanket. Gray did the same, lacing their fingers together, and they watched the clouds floating by.
“I hope your engagement this afternoon is with me,” he said huskily.
She pulled her hand from his and propped up on her elbow, facing him. He did the same, though his free hand lightly touched her face.
“Will you love me when my face is lined with wrinkles and my hair has gone to gray?” she asked.
He leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose. “You are the most beautiful woman I know, Miss Nott,” he said huskily.
Charlotte smiled. It was in their most tender moments that he still called her Miss Nott.
“I love more than your fair face and figure, though. It’s your essence from within that makes you truly beautiful to me. That is what I love about you. Your selflessness. Your compassion.” He grinned. “And that truly inimitable, indomitable, incredibly efficient governess that still lurks deep within you.”
“Will you love me if I grow fat?”
Gray laughed. “I doubt you ever will. And even if . . .” His voice trailed off and she saw understanding dawn in his eyes. “Wait. Are you—”
“Yes,” she interrupted, ready to share her joy. “Come next spring, Lord Crampton, you will be a father again.”
He pulled her to her feet and then framed her face with his long fingers and kissed her, long and slow. Charlotte melted against him.
Gray broke the kiss. “I hope it’s a girl this time. A little Miss Nott who will boss all of us around. Especially her papa.”
“You don’t get enough of that from me?” she teased.
He growled and kissed her again. “I can never get enough of you, my love.”
His eyes darkened and she saw the need of her in them.
“I think we should celebrate,” he declared.
“And how might we do that?”
“By me doing every wicked thing I can think of to you,” he replied.
Charlotte burst out laughing.
Taking her hand, they strolled back to Gray Manor. After they entered the house, Gray swept her into his arms.
“Yes, it’s daylight,” he told her. “And yes, the servants will see and figure out what we’re up to.”
“I don’t care,” she said airily.
“Neither do I.”
Her husband carried her up the stairs and to their suite of rooms, locking the door to keep the world at bay.
Their celebration lasted all afternoon—and into the night. When it finally ended, Charlotte thought what a lucky woman she was.
THE END
About the Author
Award-winning and international bestselling author Alexa Aston’s historical romances use history as a backdrop to place her characters in extraordinary circumstances, where their intense desire for one another grows into the treasured gift of love.
She is the author of Medieval and Regency romance, including The Knights of Honor, The King’s Cousins, The St Clairs, and The de Wolfes of Esterley Castle.
A native Texan, Alexa lives with her husband in a Dallas suburb, where she eats her fair share of dark chocolate and plots out stories while she walks every morning. She enjoys reading, Netflix binge-watching, and can’t get enough of Survivor, The Crown, or Game of Thrones.
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