Will She Be Mine (6 page)

Chapter Twelve

Dressed in her prettiest white gown of sprigged
muslin—adjusted at the front hem to allow for her added bulk—a lavender
corduroy Spencer fitting snugly over her bodice, and a silk bonnet adorned with
lavender satin ribbons covering her curls, Amelia waited on the porch for
Thaddeus. He had sent word around this morning to be ready for ten o’clock.
She’d been ready for ten minutes. Inside her York tan gloves she could feel her
palms begin to sweat.

She moved toward the street when Thaddeus’ Tilbury drew up.
He jumped down and came around to meet her. As soon as she reached the street
she saw that a fair number of villagers had managed to find excuses to be out
in the street today. Amazingly, when Amelia caught the eye of this one or that,
they either dipped a small curtsy toward her or touched their caps in respect.
Thankful tears gathered but she blinked them away and gave them all a smile.

“You look very pretty today, Miss Horton,” Thaddeus praised.
She smiled at him. With apparent ease he lifted her up into the open carriage
so that she did not have to climb. “I’ve put the top up so that you will feel
more secure.”

“How thoughtful.” The sporty vehicle did feel safer with the
folding top raised.

“I thought we would drive through Ellerby and then circle
back toward Hinderwell by Runswick Bay. Does that meet with your approval?”

“Delightful, Mr. Milborough,” Amelia said, conscious of
their audience.

They spoke of nothing of import until they had passed
through the village and were into open countryside.

“Did you wish to speak to me of something in particular,
Amelia?” Thaddeus asked, glancing away from the lane for a moment so that he
could see her expression. She had sucked her full bottom lip into her mouth and
looked very grave.

“I cannot find the words,” Amelia lamented. “I have thought
and thought, but every entrance into this subject seems barred to me.”

“Is there any way I could make your revelations, if
revelations you mean to make, any easier for you?”

“You are all kindness, sir,” Amelia remarked in a choked
voice. “I wish to speak to you of the circumstances that resulted in my coming
to live in Hinderwell.”

“As I surmised. Let us hold off this conversation until we
reach Runswick Bay. There is a spot I know where we can pull up and talk
without distraction.”

In spite of what lay ahead, Amelia enjoyed being out in the
sunshine, away from her cottage. They reached the cliffs overlooking the bay
too soon for her liking, but she was determined not to put off the dreadful
task any longer. Thaddeus pulled the horse to a stop within the shade of a
mature bird cherry tree. Gulls cried and wheeled above them before they swooped
down over the sea.

“Shall we step down? Do you feel up to walking? There is a
fallen tree not too far away that the locals have transformed into a bench,”
Thaddeus explained. Amelia agreed.

After lifting her down from the carriage, Thaddeus would not
release her hand, but tucked it into the crook of his arm as he led her down a
path. At the rustic bench, he first laid down the blanket he had brought, then
assisted her to sit before sitting too. He waited. At last she turned from her
contemplation of the whitecaps to look at him and found Thaddeus watching her
patiently with eyes that glowed with love for her. There had been no such glow
in her former lover’s eyes. Her inexperience had colored his expression with
whatever feeling she’d been longing for. Now, in the midst of the most
difficult interview of her life, she saw clearly what had been missing before.
An immense sob struggled to get free and when she attempted to stifle it the
sob turned into a hiccup.

Thaddeus watched Amelia’s valiant efforts to contain her
tears and knew that this would not do. He took matters into his own hands and
untied her bonnet. He lifted it off, placed it to the side then pulled her
unresisting into his arms. He tucked her head under his chin and stroked her
hair while she cried into his shoulder.

“Speak no more of this incident, Amelia, love,” he murmured,
resting his cheek on her soft hair. His words caused a shuddering sob. He
smiled and pulled her onto his lap. Not for nothing did he have four sisters,
three sisters-in-law, one mother and a vast number of female cousins. Tears had
no power to frighten him. “I know enough.”

“Miss Sadie s-said I h-have t-to tell you,” she managed to
get out.

“What Miss Sadie doesn’t know will not harm her,” Thaddeus
swore. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “All I want to know is if you
still care for him?” Thaddeus felt the shudder pass through her even as she
violently shook her head. “Good. Then I am content. Pray, cry no more.”

After her sobs had been reduced to sniffles, Thaddeus
offered her his handkerchief. He felt a movement against his stomach and he
laughed softly.

“What is it?” Amelia asked, pulling back from his chest so
she could look at him. He steadied her and smiled down at her stomach. The look
of joy on his face caused her to catch her breath.

“I believe the babe kicked me.”

“She’s a saucy one.”

“I hope she’s a girl,” Thaddeus whispered softly, placing a
hand on her belly. “A little girl who looks just like you.”

“Thaddeus?”

“Hmm?” he murmured, clearly enthralled by the feeling of her
child moving beneath his hand.

“Did you not say that you wanted to kiss me?”

“Oh, yes,” Thaddeus replied eagerly.

She took off his spectacles, set them aside, then lifted her
lips for him to kiss. When his warm, searching lips covered hers she felt as
though she would swoon. He deepened the kiss and she opened her mouth to him.
His tongue swept in to taste her. Amelia twined her arms about his neck and
leaned in to him, wanting more, longing for more. When Thaddeus finally broke
the kiss they were both gasping for air.

“Amelia,” Thaddeus groaned, pressing his cheek against hers.
“I love you with all my heart. Please say you will marry me.”

“Thaddeus?” she said, her chest heaving against his, her
body yearning to be touched, but most of all her heart wanting to own the gift
he offered. “Are you certain?”

He pulled back so that he could look her in the eyes. She
knew he would see fear there. He stroked her cheeks with his knuckles and
brushed her hair out of her face as if she were precious to him. “I am. I know
that I am not the most handsome man. I must warn you that my hair is thinning,”
he pointed out, smoothing his fringe back. She smiled at him and shook her head
soulfully. “It is true. At only thirty, too. I like to muck about in the garden
for hours and hours. I sometimes read at the supper table, though I suppose
that would change if I had someone to talk to while I ate,” he conceded. He
appeared to think about it for a moment, for then he added, “As long as that
person loved me. For my wife, I would stop reading at the supper table.”

“That is a great concession,” Amelia accepted. She
tentatively put her hand out and pressed her palm to the side of his beloved
face. He leaned in to her touch and half-closed his eyes in contentment. “Since
you are certain that you love me, then I will marry you, because, you see, I
love you too.”

Her response deserved a celebratory kiss.

Chapter Thirteen

They were married a week after the special license arrived
from London. Everyone in the village who could attend did. The bride had no
family attendees, for her parents could not arrive in time. The groom, on the
other hand, had so much family arrive for the wedding that the Women’s Guild,
who were providing the wedding breakfast, moved it from the guild hall onto the
church green.

The wedding, though planned with much haste, occurred
without a snag. Not so the breakfast.

Halfway through the excellent repast, a chaise-and-four
bowled into the village. At first everyone thought that more of Mr.
Milborough’s relatives had arrived—too late for the wedding but there was
plenty of food left. However, the man who exploded out of the chaise caused the
bride to collapse onto her husband’s shoulder.

“It’s him,” she whispered, horrified. “Oh, Thaddeus. It’s
him.”

“Is it, indeed?” he said grimly. He nodded to Mrs. Edley.
She rushed to their side. “I have something to attend to, Mrs. Edley. Please
look after my wife.”

By this time the unwelcome guest had spotted them and was
pushing his way through the crowd. Before Thaddeus had time to meet him away
from everyone else, the bastard stood before their table. Thaddeus saw how
Amelia could have succumbed to this man’s wiles, for he was darkly handsome
beyond what any human being had the right to be. He appeared to be a few years
older than Thaddeus and his physique was impressive. Thaddeus felt a twinge of
jealousy but ruthlessly squashed it. He trusted in Amelia’s love.

“So, my dear, you’ve found someone to marry you after all,”
the man said. He smiled the kind of smile fallen angels must have. “Darling. If
only you had waited.” He held out his arm and beckoned to her. “Come. This
marriage can easily be annulled and we can be married, just as you wanted.”

“Go away, my lord.” Amelia’s repudiation of him caused his
smile to tighten.

“You heard her,” Thaddeus said. “You are not welcome in this
village.”

“Lord Inness,” a voice said from farther down the table.

“Your Grace,” Inness gasped, his smile slipping. His Grace,
the Duke of Lipton, had risen from his seat. Beside him a younger man also
stood. “Leakesly.”

“Now I understand why you’ve been disinherited. Your
grandmother could not stomach another scandal, eh?” the duke said, a mocking
sneer clearly evident. “Did you think that you could come here and marry my
cousin-in-law’s wife and make all things right with your own family?”

“I—” Inness started, but then could not finish his sentence
because he finally glanced among the other important guests and realized he was
surrounded by enough of the
ton
to ruin him socially. He pulled himself
together and stated loudly enough for the entire green to hear him, “Amelia’s
baby is my child. I only want to do my duty by it.”

“That there’s our Mr. Milborough’s bairn,” a man called out
of the crowd.

“That’s reet,” said another.

“If that is what they told you then you have been lied to,”
Inness said, smiling his most charming smile. This earned him only an ugly
growl from some of the men and more than a few of the women.

“Farley. Mr. Smith.” Thaddeus motioned to their solicitors,
who sat together at the end of a nearby trestle table. “What does our good
English law say? Is this my child?”

“It is, sir,” they both said. Mr. Smith added, “English law
favors legitimacy. Any child born within wedlock is considered to belong to the
mother’s husband.”

“But he cannot possibly be the father,” Inness objected.
“Amelia’s only been living here for five months.”

“And?”

“She’s clearly more than five months along!” He flinched as
the crowd muttered angrily.

“Twins,” a woman cried from the back of the crowd.

“Triplets,” stated Mrs. Teasel, the butcher’s wife. She
pushed through to the front of the group and restated her assertion. “Triplets.
Isn’t that reet, Dr. Bacup?”

The doctor who had been attending Amelia straightened and
glared at the interloper. “It would definitely have to be a multiple birth.”

Inness gaped at him. His desperation came through when he
turned to the vicar. “Surely you do not believe this nonsense?”

“Ahem,” the vicar began, then caught a glower from his wife.
He started again, “My lord, there’s many a young couple who’ve allowed their
passion for each other to overcome their good Christian sense.” Here he paused
and looked hard at Lord Inness. “Marriage is the answer and we’ve had a wedding
here today. You should go away, my lord, and let us continue with our
celebration.”

“We’ll escort you,” Lord Leakesly offered, accompanying
Raven to stand before the broken man. Other cousins joined them until a wall of
gentlemen separated him from his goal. “It’s too late to make it right,
Inness,” he said quietly. “Best if you went to live on the continent. Or the
Americas. Go there. That might be far enough away that there are no members of
our family to dog your every step. What say you, Raven? Would the Americas be
far enough away?”

“Just barely, son. Just barely.”

While Amelia recovered, the breakfast resumed.

“What happened?” she asked.

Thaddeus, who had his arm around her, smiled down at her.

“Did I faint?” He nodded.

“Lord Inness met more opposition than he counted on,” he
revealed, chuckling lightly. “He thought that since your family had abandoned
you, you would have no champions. However, now he knows that not only must he
contend with my amazingly numerous family, he must also fight off the
Hinderwell villagers.” She looked adorably confused. He kissed her on the
forehead and helped her to sit up. “I will explain everything you’ve missed. I
think my father is going to make a speech welcoming you to our family. Oh. No.
No tears, my dear.”

“I’m just so happy.”

“I hope to make you happier than you have ever been,” he
promised.

* * * * *

That night, after all the guests had departed, Amelia sat at
the dressing table in her new home. Thaddeus had had her things moved over
during the day and Beth had put them away. She wore a fine white lawn nightgown
and wrap. When a knock sounded at the door, she jumped and looked into the
mirror to see who would enter. Thaddeus slowly opened the door and smiled at
her. She tried to smile back. He came in and quietly closed the door.

“May I brush your hair?” he asked.

Numbly, she nodded. Only a dressing gown covered his
nakedness. She swallowed thickly and handed him her brush. Amelia shivered when
his fingers stroked her neck as he gathered her hair together and began to
brush it. She’d already worked the tangles free, so no painful tugs disturbed
the strangely sensual quality of this act of service.

“One of my cousins is a doctor,” Thaddeus commented. She
watched him in the mirror as he leaned over and smelled a handful of her hair.
He closed his eyes and rubbed the strands across his cheek. The cold anxious
knot in her stomach unclenched. “He said we could consummate our marriage
tonight, if you wish it.”

Amelia released a long shuddering sigh when her husband
pressed a butterfly-light kiss to the side of her neck.

“How?” she whispered, pressing her hands to her abdomen.

“He suggested that…”

Amelia watched her reflection in the mirror as she flushed
fiery red when he whispered the doctor’s suggestions into her ear.

“And then, we could try…” he continued, trailing his
knuckles down her cheek, along her jaw, following her neck until he paused at
the top of her nightgown, all the while explaining the method in exquisite
detail. His fingertips caressed her exposed skin, tantalizingly close to
touching her aching breasts. “And if we find that we still have the strength,”
he whispered in a husky voice throbbing with desire, “I’ve a few ideas of my
own, my lovely Amelia.”

“Oh, Thaddeus,” Amelia gasped, turning in her seat so that
she faced him. His mouth came down on hers and captured her longing in a kiss
that seemed to go on forever. Somehow, when the kiss had ended, she found
herself standing at the side of the bed, her robe off, her nightgown pooled
with Thaddeus’ dressing gown at her feet.

Before she could feel embarrassed, he had her settled on the
sheets. He knelt on the bed above her and adjusted the pillows so that she
would be comfortable. His member, ragingly erect, fascinated her. She licked
her lips, reached out a tentative hand and touched him. He groaned. She
snatched her hand back. He chuckled softly, leaned over and seized her lips
again even as he took her hand and placed it on his turgid length. He moaned into
her mouth, passion evident in every line of his hard body.

Amelia almost came off the mattress when her husband pressed
kisses along her spine even as his hands gently cupped her full breasts and he
rubbed his thumbs across their pebbly tips.

“Thaddeus?” she cried out softly, surprised at the strength
of her reaction. “I feel… I feel…”

“Love?”

Thaddeus traced the shape of her abdomen around until his
fingers caressed her soft bottom. She trembled and pushed back against him. His
hot breath tickled her nape as he whispered once more what he proposed. She
nodded violently. His instructions created as much fire inside her as his
actions. His fingers teased her thighs apart, seeking the hot, moist core of
her.

“Ah, love,” Thaddeus whispered in a ragged voice. “You feel
amazing. Soft and utterly delightful.” He fondled her until she writhed beneath
his touch.

Amelia thought she would die of want when she felt the
velvety tip of him pushing into her. She opened to him, welcoming him into her
with a soft cry of pleasure. Each steady, careful stroke felt like exquisite
torture. Thaddeus’ strong arms encircled her, held her still while he continued
to make her his. They found their release in tandem, each shuddering and
gasping out their joy.

They dozed in each other’s arms. At one point Amelia woke to
discover Thaddeus looking at her. The only illumination came from moonlight
sneaking through a gap in the curtains.

“What is it?” she asked. He reached out and brushed her hair
gently out of her face.

“I was contemplating the vagaries of fate,” he murmured,
dipping to kiss her swollen lips. “If you had never moved here, I might never
have met you.”

They both caught their breaths at that and shook their heads
in fearful wonder.

“If your roses had not been infected with a fungus, then I
might still be watching you through my dining room curtains, longing to talk to
you, to be with you.”

“I love you, Thaddeus,” Amelia whispered, pulling him down
to her for a more satisfying kiss. He steadied himself on her stomach. The baby
objected and gave a mighty kick. They laughed against each other’s lips. “I
want to name her after your mother if she is a girl. And your father if he is a
boy.”

“They will be thrilled,” Thaddeus promised in a voice full
of all the love he felt for her and their child.

“Um,” she said, a twinkle shining in her eye. “I promised
your father that I would do something for him.”

Thaddeus rubbed her bare stomach, hoping for another kick.
“What would that be?”

“He asked me to promise to buy you a different sun hat.”

“But I like my hat!”

Amelia reached up and pressed her palm against his cheek. He
immediately capitulated. “For you, love, anything.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you happy?”

“Very.”

Thaddeus sighed and snuggled down so his head rested on her
chest. “Me too.”