The Dark Regent
Page 17
That was the moment Fawn became pregnant with Crispin Wolfe’s baby and she wouldn’t have it any other way. However, there was still the matter of the child’s legitimacy.
Alone at last in the master bedchamber, Wolfe paced the floor.
She bit her lip, a frown creased her brow. “You cannot convince me a second time that you do not love me, Crispin. I fell for it once; I will not be fooled again. Tell me what is troubling you. I understand if you have doubts. A lifetime is a long time to love one person.”
He raked his hands through his hair and twisted to look at her.
“One lifetime won’t be nearly enough time with you. My happiness in this life began the day I laid eyes on you. You’ve given me all I need and now ... now you’ve given me so much more.”
His radiant blue eyes fixed on hers and held her gaze.
“You are happy then?”
He beamed from ear-to-ear. A smile that lit up the room.
Fawn’s heart burst with joy. “My dark regent, I will never turn you away again.” She lifted her arms to him.
Her words recalled their dark beginning, the nights of rapping on her door seeking admittance. Crispin fell on her, bruising her lips in a shattering kiss.
“We have to marry,” he said, breaking away with a choked gasp. “Mrs. Fawn Wolfe.” His full mouth pulled down. “Oh good God, that is a terrible name.”
Fawn burst into hysterical giggles. “Oh dear, it is! I didn’t think of that. Thank goodness you haven’t asked me to marry you. There is yet time to save myself from such a name.”
Crispin caught her in his arms with a wicked glint in his eye. “I’ve put a baby inside you. You are joined with me forever. I planned to ask you this question tonight on bended knee in front of the fire, but this news has forced me to speed things up. Fawn, will you marry me?”
His voice was firm and somewhat uncompromising.
A new and thrilling emotion swept through her. “Yes! Yes, of course I will marry you! What took you so long?” She couldn’t keep the note of impatience out of her voice.
Crispin burst into a peal of laughter. “I bought the ring weeks ago. I was waiting for the perfect moment and you have outdone me, as usual. There is no moment more perfect than this one.”
She nestled under his arm, listening to the distant sound of the waves crashing against the shore, entranced by the idea of marriage to Crispin and the baby they would have. Too much happiness, she thought. Was there such a thing?
“What is your middle name?” Crispin asked in a musing tone.
“Diana. The Huntress,” she added with a giggle.
“Oh ho! That explains so much. Diana is a wildly appropriate name for you, my love. There is a hidden side to you, I fear. I wish I’d known. You are the huntress. You certainly hunted me, Diana Wolfe. Skinned me and laid me at your feet.”
Aunt Jocelyn’s half-brother found her lips again. The dark regent of her past pressed her back against the pillows. Fawn gave herself up to the man who had won every battle and conquered every demon to be with her.
§
THERE IT WAS AGAIN.
A rapping on her door. Fawn lifted her head from the nursing babe.
“Come in.”
Crispin Wolfe entered and drew near the foot of the bed. He always took a moment when he first saw her, as though her husband could not quite believe his good fortune. Fawn experienced a similar stunned bliss whenever she saw him.
Every moment of this past year had delivered miracle upon miracle. First came their wedding in the chapel in Stokesbay, attended by local gentry and villagers who were shyly glad to see the old estate coming back to life. It was a beautiful country wedding with flowers and children running wild. Fawn loved every moment of it. Molly had stood up for her and Sergeant Welland had stood up for Crispin.
Then came the birth of their daughter, perfect and healthy, and Fawn’s recovery from childbirth had been rapid. They decided to christen her Helen Constance Wolfe after Crispin’s mother and godmother. Crispin had held his daughter in his arms after her birth and swore he would always protect her.
That meant a trip to his solicitors in London to ensure his estate passed to his daughter.
And then the restoration work began on Hawkcliffe Hall which kept her husband busy during Fawn’s recuperation. These late night feedings became the only time they could see each other alone without fear of interruption.
Crispin lifted the sleeping infant from Fawn’s milky breast and settled her in her cot. Fawn watched in awe as her husband kissed their baby’s head and then shucked off his robe.
He was magnificent. And fully erect.
The doctor said she was recovered enough to resume marital relations. Wolfe needed no further encouragement. He kissed her deeply, pressing her back against the pillows. His lips drifted over her tender breasts and suckled each sensitive nipple gently.
“I am more profoundly in love with you than ever, Mrs. Wolfe.”
“And so the wolf lay down with the fawn,” she whispered in awe as he entered her.
The greatest miracle of all was that Fawn had found her home in the arms of her dark regent.
The End
§
DEAR READER: In the age of ebooks, readers are the curators of literature. The New York Times doesn’t have as much influence! Thank you for taking a moment to leave a review of this novel and helping other readers in making a decision. ~ Catherine Lloyd ~
About the Author
Catherine Lloyd loves reading, watching great episodic television, and writing romance. Love stories that are hot and soul-satisfying are her drug of choice.
Lloyd has explored all shades of romance from small town romantic comedy to medieval adventure romance to the gritty dark love stories of Victorian Age villains. In Lloyd’s novels, the journey belongs to the heroine as her spiritual, physical and intellectual metal is tested by the man she grows to love.
The author has two grown children, two stepdaughters, a cat named Harry (who thinks he’s a dog) and five grandsons. She lives with her long-suffering spouse in the country where she enjoys having no hobbies and writes full time.
Contact Catherine Lloyd at writewoodcreations@gmail.com
Or visit: Writewood Creations
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§
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