Page 75 of Wedding the Widow

“Jemmy.” She smacked his arm, eliciting a yelp from him. “No wonder your ears turned pink.”

“You have found out my best secret.” His eyes were merry, despite their tired appearance. “Whenever I tell a falsehood, my ears turn the color of one of the roses at Blackham.”

“I hope I shall have little occasion to see that display, my dear.” Elizabeth laughed as she stopped at his chamber door. “I’ll tell Porter, my father’s valet, to come see to you.”

“Lord, I shall have to track down Fellowes and send him to Lyttlefield Park to fetch the rest of my things. Thank goodness I didn’t take everything to Blackham or I’d never get them back.” He drew her to him, and she reveled in his nearness. Had he not appeared when he did, she’d now be Lady Robert Naylor. A shudder wracked her.

“Are you all right?” He cupped her face and her fears fled.

“Now I am.” She grasped his face and melded their lips together, sinking into him once more, like coming home. When she finally broke the kiss, his eyes were dark, eager to continue. “I’m afraid we shall have to wait until after the wedding for anything more, my love,” she said with a rueful smile. “Unfortunately, this house has no secret passages.”

Chapter 28

Next morning, Christmas Eve dawned chilly and overcast, with a promise of snow in the damp air. Given her current circumstances, with Jemmy under the same roof and her marriage to him imminent, Elizabeth gazed out the window at a beautiful world. She finished brushing her hair, smiling to herself, and turned for Weller to pin it up in a simple style for the day.

It promised to be a busy day. She must get Jemmy to take her shopping, for with all the distractions recently, she had no Christmas gifts for the children or her family. The prospect of doing something so domestic with him filled her with an inner happiness that she’d sorely lacked in the past week.

Her toilette complete, she headed down to breakfast, hoping Jemmy might be there by now. Her heart lifted as she heard his rich baritone voice in the breakfast room as she approached.

“So I was dangling from a rope of twisted sheets—”

“You never did, Lord Brack. Weren’t you terribly frightened? Didn’t you think you’d be killed?” Dotty held Jemmy captive, apparently, as he told her about his recent adventures.

“I was more afraid I wouldn’t be in time to keep your sister from marrying another man.” Jemmy looked up as she entered, his face brightening as if the sun had emerged from behind a cloud. He bolted to his feet and hurried over to her. “How are you, my love? Did you sleep well?”

“Better than I have since I left you at Lyttlefield.” That was certainly true. She’d retired shortly after dinner and slept like the dead, awakening refreshed this morning.

“Then I declare we must never part, for you must always enjoy a full complement of rest.” He escorted her to the place next to his. “I’ll be most happy to assist you with that, my love.”

Elizabeth cast her gaze down at her lap and slipped a napkin onto it. Her body tingled with the thought of his next to hers again in her bed. Soon. Very soon.

“Why are you turning red, Elizabeth? Is it too hot for you in here?” Dotty peered at her with concern.

“No, dear, I’m fine. Perhaps I came downstairs too quickly.” Lord, she hadn’t had these kinds of problems when she and Dickon had lived here. Of course, her younger sisters had been in the schoolroom then, not often seen at all. She would have to learn to control her face better.

“What may I get for you this morning, my dear?” Jemmy hovered over her, a smile playing over his lips.

“Just tea and toast this early, thank you.”

“Nonsense, Elizabeth. You must keep up your strength.” He strode away to the sideboard.

She sighed and motioned to a footman. “A pot of tea, George, please.”

“Is he always so forceful?” Dotty whispered to her behind her napkin.

“Sometimes.” Elizabeth shot a glance at her betrothed busily piling a plate high. “It depends. Good Lord, Jemmy, I couldn’t eat all of that if I tried.”

He set the plate, brimming over with poached eggs, ham, beans, muffins, and a smattering of potatoes, in front of her.

“And where is the toast?”

“No room for it.” He grinned. “Finish that lot, and I’ll go back for more.” He seated himself between her and her sister and dug into his own half-finished plate, as full as her own.

“If I finish all this, I won’t be able to move for three days.” Elizabeth contemplated the food items with distaste. She could rarely stomach more than toast when she was first pregnant before. This time the nausea had been less distressing, but if she ate more than the salty ham, she’d be fleeing the room in search of a chamber pot. “I’ll make a bargain with you,” she began, cutting a small piece of the ham. “I will eat this piece of ham and then you will go shopping with me. Won’t that be a more pleasant way to spend the day than hearing me groan in misery?”

“Come again, love?” He cocked his head, making him look like a puzzled beagle.

“We can have luncheon out, and I will be happy to eat more after noon. Before will make me ill, Jemmy. Trust me on this.” The ham, with its salty taste and chewy texture, was good, though she’d have preferred her toast instead. “I thought we would start out at the Pantheon Bazaar, since we have but little time, and if I cannot find everything there, then we can try Howell’s. I have a list upstairs.”