Charlie looked stunned. And just a bit terrified. Robert looked at him. ‘It’s a woman.’
Charlie nodded.
‘Then I definitely can’t help you. I don’t understand them at all.’
He snatched his wife from the bosom of his family and escorted her into the waiting carriage. They waved from the windows until they turned the corner at the end of the street.
Robert pulled her on to his lap and kissed her soundly. After a long while, he let her go.
She snuggled against his shoulder. ‘Your brother really would make a wonderful Zeus.’
‘No.’
She grinned up at him. ‘Then I suppose I must make do with you. Probably better,’ she added hastily at his glare.
He would do. He would do his best to make her believe that for the rest of her life.
‘I love you, sweet wife.’
‘I love you, dear R-Robert.’ She kissed his cheek and wriggled on his lap.
He groaned. ‘How long before we board ship?’
‘An hour, I think.’
It was going to be the longest hour of his life unless he found a way to fill up the time.
He untied the ribbons of her bonnet and tossed the confection aside. ‘That’s better. Now I can see your face.’
She laughed up at him, her pretty lips inviting his kisses.
He cradled her nape and plundered her delicious mouth, and many minutes passed before the need for breath forced him to raise his head. He rested his chin on the top of her head. ‘You are sure this is what you want?’ he asked. It wasn’t so much that he doubted it, he just liked the warmth her confirmation gave him.
‘I can’t quite believe it,’ she said softly. ‘It is as if every dream I ever had has come true. But, R-Robert, are you sure you won’t be bored?’
‘Not a chance. I’ll be too busy keeping you entertained. And naked.’
A laugh bubbled up from her throat. A warm, encouraging sound. ‘I can’t wait.’
Nor could he. He let his hand slide up one slim calf beneath her skirts.
She sighed. ‘But you do realise I will be occupied with classes during the day,’ she said softly.
‘I do.’ He nuzzled her neck. ‘I’ll be busy too. Father has asked me to look at some properties he is thinking of buying. And I’ve some other commissions to undertake for him.’ Robert had been delighted at the request. He could finally play a part in his family’s endeavours.
‘R-Robert,’ she said hesitantly, ‘when we come back, do you think we could buy a house in the country? A place good for raising children?’
His wandering hand stilled. A bubble of hope he never knew resided there tightened his chest. ‘I didn’t think you wanted children?’
‘I didn’t. Before. But now I think I do. We’d be a real f-family. I like the countryside. I could have a studio. You could farm, breed horses, if you’d like to, that is.’ She sounded worried, as if she feared he might not be pleased.
‘Lady Robert,’ he said, laughing, but with his heart full of tenderness, ‘you never cease to amaze me. That is exactly what I would like.’ He tipped her chin. ‘But right now I have the overwhelming desire to kiss you again.’
Looking pleased, she placed her palm against his jaw. ‘R-Robert, did I tell you I love you?’
‘Not in the last five minutes.’
‘Well, I do.’
‘And I love you, elf.’
He kissed her delicious mouth, promising her a future of love and happiness the best way he knew.
HELEN DICKSON was born and lives in South Yorkshire, with her retired farm manager husband. Having moved out of the busy farmhouse where she raised their two sons, she has more time to indulge in her favourite pastimes. She enjoys being outdoors, travelling, reading and music. An incurable romantic, she writes for pleasure. It was a love of history that drove her to writing historical fiction.
London, May 1812
Birds were stirring in the trees and dew was still on the grass as dawn began to spread its watery grey light over the deserted park. Two men shrouded in long black cloaks rode towards the seclusion of a group of trees and dismounted.
Cursing at his own folly, Alexander Montgomery, the seventh Earl of Arlington and taller of the two, glanced irritably at Sir Nathan Beresford. The two men were as close as friends could be, and as different as night and day. Nathan, with his ash-blond hair and blue eyes, was well liked, good natured and easygoing, and he lacked the aura of authority and power that seemed to surround Alex. Nathan was to act as Alex’s second, when the other party deigned to arrive for the duel.
Three inches over six feet tall, Alex was a man diverse and complex, and could be utterly ruthless when the need arose. There was a hard set to his firm jaw, and his wide, well-shaped mouth was held in a stern line. His face was clean shaven and one of arrogant handsomeness, dark brows slashed his forehead and his hair was thick and ebony black. In the midst of so much darkness his eyes were dove grey, striking and piercing. Hidden deep in them was a cynicism, watchful, mocking, as though he found the world a dubious place to be.
He possessed a haughty reserve that was not inviting and set him apart from others in society. There was an aggressive confidence and strength of purpose in his features, and he had an air of a man who succeeds in all he sets out to achieve. From the arrogant lift of his dark head and casual stance, he was a man with many shades to his nature, a man with a sense of his own infallibility.
‘You’ve tied yourself into some knots in your time, Alex, but this is by far the tightest,’ Nathan remarked, tethering his horse to a branch and scanning the park for the arrival of Alex’s opponent. ‘I only hope you can extricate yourself from this mess with some modicum of honour.’
‘I agree. It’s a damned unfortunate business, Nathan, and I bear the entire weight of this incident on my own conscience.’
‘Surely Amelia Fairhurst must shoulder some of the blame.’
‘The responsibility is all mine,’ Alex replied curtly, dismissing Nathan’s well-meaning attempt to absolve him. ‘But if ever I am stupid enough to fall prey to another pretty face, remind me to scrutinise her credentials for hidden husbands.’
‘Knowing how assiduous you are to detail, I am surprised you didn’t vet her more carefully.’
‘I must have taken leave of my senses,’ Alex replied, contemplating the irony of the situation. Here he was, one of the most eligible bachelors in England, and yet he had made the fatal mistake of taking to bed a married woman. His stupidity galled him, and he cursed himself for being a dim-witted fool.
Nathan cast him an arch look. ‘The delectable Amelia Fairhurst must be quite something for you to have overlooked the fact that she has an aging husband tucked conveniently out of the way in Yorkshire.’
Alex’s firm lips curved in a slight smile when he remembered the stunningly vivacious brunette, who had taken no persuading to jump into his bed. ‘She’s certainly an interesting, unconventional