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“You ensnared me from the moment I met you…intrigued me, inspired me, and I cannot bear life without you, Lady O. I have no future without you. I love you most ardently.”
At her silence, he lowered his lashes, hiding his emotions, but she was not mistaken in the flash of doubt she had seen in his eyes. How could he not realize she was passionately in love with everything he was?
“Come, Olivia, end my misery, I must have some new material for my next release.”
She laughed, launching herself at him, and with a groan of relief, he crushed her to him. “Good God, woman, you took too long to respond.”
“I love you, Tobias,” she whispered achingly. “More than my words or actions will ever express.”
His arms tightened around her. “Never leave me again, countess.”
“Never,” she promised.
“And you can cry all over me whenever you wish,” he said gruffly.
She grinned against his chest. “And swoon now and then?”
He grunted.
“I will never act with a willfulness that will taint our name,” she murmured. “I will indulge in all my passions and emotions in private. You have given up so much for me, the ton will be rabid with speculations about you, us.”
He pressed a tender, reverent kiss atop her forehead. “I do not give a fig about the ton, or anyone’s opinion but yours. All I need is your adoration and I am certain of it. I never want you to change, but my heart would appreciate the restraint.”
She laughed softly, nodding her head. “I’m with child,” she said into the soft of his neck.
He froze, and then he shifted one of his hands between them and placed it above her stomach. Emotions darkened his eyes to jade. “Are you well?”
She smiled tenderly. “Yes.”
“We will argue again. I daresay we will both have cause to find each other frustrating. But I will do all in my power to never hurt you again. I may not succeed, and I give you leave then to swoon.”
Livvie chuckled.
>
He smiled with tender amusement. “I swear I will endeavor to make you the happiest woman in all of England.”
“And I will make you the proudest man in all of England.”
He arched a brow. “Only in England?”
Tobias did not wait for an answer, nor could Livvie give him one. For he claimed her lips in a hungry kiss, which said more than even his words had done. Livvie’s fingers were already unraveling his cravat as she gloried in her husband’s love.
Epilogue
Four months later…
Livvie lay on her side with Tobias curved behind her, his hands resting on the swell of her stomach, and her head nestled in the crook of his shoulder. Their baby kicked with exuberance and she felt his smile against her hair. They had been so blissfully happy despite their notoriety. The scandal that roared through the ton after Tobias’s revelations had been unquenchable. They had been flocked with so many callers, reporters, and friends, they had departed London to Grangeville Park less than a week later. The scandal sheets had even compared her and Tobias’s scandal to the duke and duchess of Wolverton’s infamy over a year ago.
Livvie had been pleasantly surprised they were admired for their daring and originality. In fact, their new fame had done wonders with the support Tobias needed in helping those suffering in England. Many now wanted to be associated with them, and had lent their support to his and Westfall’s cause. Monies poured in and several charities were established. The demand for Tobias’s books had seen thousands of copies being reprinted, with the royalties earned donated toward his, Wolverton, and Westfall’s goal of alleviating England’s suffering.
Livvie was also in the process of launching her art gallery in London with the full support of her husband. She had done several pieces to highlight the plight of England’s children, and the art critics Tobias had gotten to view them had praised her work. Pride and anticipation of opening her gallery once again welled within her.
Tobias kissed the delicate pulse just beneath her ear. “Good morning, wife.”
“Husband,” she murmured with contentment bursting in her heart.
“I have sent word for our town house to be prepared. With Parliament opening, we must return to London, then travel to the country when it is close to your lying-in.”
