He took her face between his hands, his thumbs brushing across the wet path. “I do mean it. I love you. I can’t live without you. Don’t make me, Bliss. Please, don’t make me live without you.”
A gust of wind blew back the edge of her shawl and she caught it, but not in time to keep Caine from learning her secret. His gaze slid down to her stomach and his long fingers pushed back the shawl as her hand unconsciously shifted to her belly.
For endless moments he stared, a mixture of awe and shock on his face before his bewildered, questioning eyes lifted to hers. The naked emotion reflected there was so real, it hurt to look at him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked in a raw voice.
A broken sob welled up from the depths of her. “I couldn’t.”
His gaze returned to her belly, his breathing shallow, until finally, shaking, he reached out and put his hand on top of hers. The babe shifted restlessly beneath their fingers, as though knowing its father was there.
“Our baby.” The words were filled with reverence as he squeezed her hand and looked up at her. “Don’t take this away from me, Bliss. I need you. Both of you. Come back to Devon with me. I’ll build you an art studio overlooking the cliffs. You’re all I have.”
Bliss closed her eyes. “Caine…”
“I know. I hurt you, and I’m sorry. And if I have to spend the rest of my days making it up to you, I will.”
She stared down at their joined hands. “Are you asking me because—”
“Of the baby?”
She nodded.
He captured her chin between his fingers and lifted it to face him. “No. God, no. I came here for you. Finding out I’m going to be a father only means I’m twice blessed.” His smile was filled with tenderness. “It seems the maiden is real, after all. She answered my prayer.”
“The maiden?”
“Over Chopin’s grave.” He gestured toward the winged angel perched in flight above the musician’s tomb.
“But that’s just a lovers’ tale.”
“Not to me. Go read what I wrote.”
Bliss hesitated and then rose from the bench, her legs not quite steady as she came to a stop in front of the maiden, who seemed to look down at her with approval. Taking a deep breath, she unfolded the small scrap of paper tucked beneath her heel. The words were slightly faded, but the message was still clear.
All I ask is for the privilege of loving Bliss for the rest of my life.
Tears streaming down her face, Bliss looked up and met Caine’s gaze.
“Do you forgive me, Bliss?” he quietly asked, walking toward her, everything he felt for her there in his eyes.
Bliss knew then that her own prayers had been answered.
As she brought his head down for her kiss, showing him how she felt, his hands gently cradled her belly, their child, nestled beneath her heart, warm and safe and loved.
The same way she felt, being held in his arms.
Epilogue
What love is, if thou wouldst be taught,
Thy heart must teach alone—
Two souls with but a single thought,
Two hearts that beat as one.
Friedrich Halm
“Is our patient all right, doctor?” Bliss asked anxiously as she watched the bald veterinarian probe Ciara’s belly.
He glanced at her through thick spectacles that magnified his eyes ten times, making him look like a hoot owl. “Just fine, my lady. Coming along quite nicely. No fears.”
Bliss breathed a sigh of relief. This birth was an important one. The entire future of Northcote depended on the outcome.
“And how is our girl today?” came a voice from behind her.
Bliss turned to see her husband leaning against the stable door, smiling that heart-wrenching smile that always warmed her from head to toe.
Ten glorious days they had been married, hieing off to one of the quaint chapels in Paris and speaking their vows in front of the people who meant the most to them. François had been Caine’s best man and Lisette, the girl Bliss had once taken off the streets, her maid of honor; Lisette’s three children had sprinkled rose petals down the aisle.
They had made it through adversity and come out the other side better for it. And together, they could face anything.
Bliss watched Caine walk toward her now. She loved the way he moved, in bed and out. And the look in his eyes, as he came to a stop in front of her, told her they would not be waiting until the evening hours to make love. In that, his appetites were as legendary as gossip had claimed. He had taken her in nearly every room of the house, at almost any hour of the day. He seemed to find her unwieldy state a further stimulant to his ardor; he said she glowed. And Bliss suspected she did. She was that happy.
Sighing contentedly, she leaned her head against her husband’s shoulder. His arm encircled her, his thumb drawing little circles on her neck while his other hand brazenly teased the outer swell of her breast, making her shiver with anticipation.
The doctor seemed oblivious to her husband’s antics as he packed his instruments away and then straightened. “I can’t wait to see the jewel of your new Arabian line, my lord. The little dickens should be quite spectacular.” He plunked his hat onto his head. “Well, good day to you both. My felicitation on the upcoming birth of your child.”
Bliss’s gaze followed the doctor’s retreating form until he vanished in a haze of morning sunshine. “He’s a nice man.”
“He’s a dawdling old bugger,” Caine groused. Bliss chuckled, knowing what troubled him. “Took him bloody long enough to finish. I’ve been itching to tumble you in this hay since the first day I saw you in here, causing trouble.”
Bliss frowned up at him. “You, sir, have mistaken me for someone else.” He laughed and tucked her head back against his shoulder. She sighed. “You’re still a terrible wretch, you know.”
He smiled broadly. “And you love me, don’t you?”
“With all my heart,” she answered, reaching up on tiptoe to kiss him, their breathing unsteady by the time the kiss ended.
He gathered her close, his hand absently stroking her hair. “Everything’s pretty damn perfect, isn’t it?”
“Well…not entirely perfect.”
He pulled back to look down at her, his gaze serious. “What’s the matter, love? Unhappy with me already?”
“Never,” she vowed.
Beyond the stable doors, a hue and cry went up, signaling a new arrival. Smiling, Bliss laced her fingers through Caine’s, and together they stepped out into the bright sunshine of a crisp fall morning.
“There’s Hap, coming over the rise.”
Through a golden prism, the stable master appeared.
The cliffs were a stunning backdrop, dappled with every hue, from the intense dark of the tideline, through the warm green and brown shadows, out of which the cracks of the strata loomed black.
Breeding gulls fluttered like snowflakes up to the middle cliff, where delicate gray faded into pink, pink into red, and red into shimmering purple. Beyond that, a knot of clambering sheep hung like white daisies upon the steep slope. Her home.
The sight stirred Bliss’s senses, making her wish she had her paints and canvas so that she could capture this moment for all time. Most especially the look on her husband’s handsome face.
“Is he riding…?”
“Yes,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around his waist. “It’s Khan.”
Caine looked down at her, confusion in his blue eyes. “I don’t understand. How—?”
“Well, we had to have the best Arabian stud if we are to make a go at breeding.”
“But Olivia—”
“Lady Buxton was more than happy to part with him—after she and I had a little talk, that is.”
A scowl began to darken her husband’s adoring face. “Tell me you didn’t seek her out. Tell me you didn’t get anywhere near that witch.”
“Mama was there,” Bliss said calmly. “I was in no danger. I s
imply summoned the marchioness for a little têteà-tête between two reasonable, mature women.”
Before her darling husband could further reprimand her, Hap stopped before them. Khan whinnied and tossed his proud head, happy to be back where he belonged, with the man who treasured him.
“Go on, my love,” Bliss softly urged. “Welcome Khan home.”
Myriad emotions crossed her husband’s face as Khan pressed his nose into Caine’s outstretched hand, two proud males reacquainting themselves. The sight left Bliss choked with tears. And when Caine turned to look at her, she saw the love reflected in his eyes.
“How did you do it?” he asked. “I never thought Olivia would consent to return him.”
Bliss laid her cheek against Khan’s soft muzzle and stroked his sleek neck. “Let’s just say that women handle things differently than men. Once I explained the situation to her, she saw the error of her ways.”
“Perhaps this will help y’ understand the situation better, m’lord.” Hap dug something out of his satchel. “Her ladyship’s father asked me to bring it to you.” He handed over a five-day-old copy of the London Post.
Bliss’s eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of the boldly lettered article. She plucked the paper from her husband’s hand and tucked it behind her back. “You certainly don’t want to bother with meaningless gossip, my lord.”
He slanted a knowing brow at her. “Meaningless gossip, hmm?” He started toward her. “Hand it over, love.”
“But—” Before Bliss could finish her sentence, Caine had backed her up against a tree, her belly the only thing keeping him at a distance. She shamelessly cradled it, staring up at him with eyes she hoped looked guileless. She had been working on those feminine tricks since becoming a married woman, needing ways to defuse her husband’s ire when she did something he didn’t approve of—which was often.
But he wasn’t fooled by her ploy, the dratted man. She was utterly and completely at his mercy. A single sweep of his fingers along her jaw and a gentle brush of his lips across hers, and Bliss melted quite ignobly.
“Don’t be angry,” she prefaced before handing over her pilfered booty.
He gave her a wary look before snapping open the paper and reading the brief, but certainly inflammatory, article. “Bliss…” he said in a warning tone as she endeavored to creep away.
Swallowing, she turned around. “Yes, my lord?” she answered, all meekness, which he saw right through.
“Please tell me you didn’t hit Olivia—again.”
Bliss nibbled her bottom lip. “I didn’t exactly hit her. She merely tripped over my foot when she was leaving. She wasn’t too happy that she had lost our wager and I won Khan back—”
“Wager!”
Bliss flinched. “Well, she wouldn’t take the money I offered. I thought that since she had a fondness for placing wagers, we could settle the matter with a single turn of the cards. Alas, she drew a two of spades. I drew a queen of hearts.” Which had seemed rather romantically apropos, though her husband probably didn’t appreciate the irony at that moment.
“And what would she have gotten if she won?” he asked far too calmly.
Bliss shrugged. “I don’t recall exactly.”
Hap, the louse, was in a talkative mood. “It was her ladyship’s hair, m’lord.”
Bliss glared at the traitor.
Far too slowly, her husband turned back to look at her. She attempted another escape, but barely took a step before Caine stopped her.
She laid placating hands on his shoulders. “Now, husband, don’t be angry. I had to do it. She hurt you.”
With a begrudging curve of his lips, he said, “You are the damnedest woman, do you know that? I’m supposed to protect you, not the other way around.”
“Can I help it that I cherish the people I love, and won’t allow anyone to hurt them?”
Caine’s expression grew somber as he cradled her head in his hand. “Would you really have cut off your hair if you lost?”
“Yes, but I wasn’t going to lose.”
“How do you know?”
Bliss twined her arms around his neck, feeling deliriously happy as she pressed her head against his chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart. Her heart, now.
“Because, my love, as long as I have you, I will always win.”
The Pleasure Seekers Page 26