The Duke s Baby

by Rebecca Winters

  The impact of his words was so painful, her heart plunged to her feet. She pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle her cry, but it escaped anyway.

  They stared at each other while streams of unspoken words flowed between them.

  “You’re the one person I know who understands how it feels to learn you’ll never be able to create a life from your own body. In fact you’re the only person in my life I’ve told,” he admitted soberly.

  She groaned remembering Geoff’s excitement that Lance had come home for good. His expectations of grandchildren had put a new light in his eyes.

  Those ever ready tears stung hers once more. “Oh, Lance—How did it happen? When?”

  After a sharp intake of breath he said, “During one of my assignments in the Middle East, I was exposed to a chemical agent that put me in the hospital for a while. That was seven years ago. After I recovered, I was told I’d never be able to have children.”

  To be told that was like being given a death sentence of sorts. She understood. Oh how she understood.

  He would never know the joy of seeing himself in one of his own children. There’d be no flesh and blood baby who would grow up to look like the Malbois family.

  “If you hadn’t gone in the military…”

  “But I did.” His barely leashed anger revealed his pain. “Unlike you however, there’s no miracle that can change my condition.”

  Andrea had nothing to say to that. There weren’t any words to give him the smallest hope. She’d never felt so helpless.

  “Suffice it to say, not many women of childbearing age want to marry a man who can’t give them a child.”

  Right now wasn’t the time to assure Lance there were plenty of women out there who’d give anything to be his wife if he were in love with them. They’d agree to adoption. In any case, the woman who wanted to be his wife wouldn’t make children the issue.

  Yet with hindsight she could see that her being infertile had mattered to Richard. He hadn’t even wanted to discuss adoption. If she’d heard she couldn’t have a baby before she’d married him, he would have lost interest in her and walked away. He liked a well ordered life, everything in its place. Anything less than perfect didn’t suit.

  Andrea had turned out to be less than perfect. Maybe that was why their sex life had suffered in their marriage. It could explain why he’d ended up burying himself in his books.

  When she looked back, she realized she’d been the one to reach out to him on the day he’d died, hoping to ignite that missing spark.

  She buried her face in her hands. “Your father’s going to feel terrible for you. You’re his raison d’être.”

  “He’ll deal with it.”

  “But what about you, Lance? Honestly…” With her heart aching for him, she lifted her head to look at him.

  “For a few moments in the clinic today when Dr. Semplis congratulated us, I felt as if you and I had made your baby together. I liked the feeling. So much in fact that I’d like to be its father on a permanent basis.”

  She sat up straighter. What was he saying?

  “You’ve asked for an honest response from me, so let me ask you a question. How would you like to marry me?”

  For the second time in one day, her world stood still. It took her a minute before she could speak.

  “You’re talking a marriage of convenience?” she asked in wonder.

  “I guess that’s one way of putting it,” he drawled. “From the outset it’s been clear you and your husband enjoyed a great marriage. I realize a love like that only comes once in a lifetime.

  “Life has dealt us both a great blow to our dreams, so I’m not going to ask for the impossible. But if you’d let me, I’d like to give you my name. Then I can be there to help you through your pregnancy, and after. I’ll provide for you and the baby for the rest of my life. Everything I have will be yours.

  “I can promise you it won’t be hard to say it’s mine. After listening to its heartbeat, I already feel a bond. What are the chances of that happening again? This will be the closest I’ll ever come to playing the role of father right from the cradle.

  “Think about it, and we’ll talk more tomorrow after I’ve come back from Rennes. If you’re feeling up to it, we’ll take a drive into the country for dinner.

  “In the meantime, do me a favor and mind the doctor. I’ll instruct the kitchen to send up your meals tomorrow. That way you can give those pills a chance to do their job while you rest.

  “Bonne nuit, Andrea.”

  Still in shock, she watched him leave, knowing there’d be no rest for her from now on. Not when the future Duc Du Lac had just asked her to marry him so he could have a baby.

  Richard’s baby.

  But Richard wasn’t alive, and Lance, who was very much alive, yet could never get a woman pregnant, was prepared to step in and father her baby.

  It meant she’d never have a financial worry. She could be the total stay-at-home mother she’d dreamed of being, and her baby would have a daddy who would raise him and love him.

  Andrea had no doubts about Lance’s devotion to her child. His reaction at the clinic, the excitement in his eyes when he’d gone out to buy her the gifts, let her know he’d be a natural when it came to fatherhood. After all, he was Geoff’s son. What better role model could any man have.

  Her baby would inherit a grandfather who would lavish his love on his grandchild.

  Three people who’d known loss would dote on her baby. What a lucky boy or girl to be the recipient of so much love.

  The only way the decision to marry Lance wouldn’t be convenient was if he eventually met a woman and fell madly in love.

  Andrea had no doubts he would always be there for their child, but he would feel trapped in the marriage he’d entered into with Andrea. That would be the risk she’d be taking if she said yes to him now, and then further down the road he wanted out.

  For the rest of the night she tossed and turned, wishing she couldn’t feel or understand his pain that he couldn’t procreate.

  She should never have listened to him—never have given him the chance to broach the subject with her. Something had told her there’d be a price to pay if she did.

  There was a price all right.

  He’d stripped her of her of peace of mind. Lance knew she’d become emotionally involved and had purposely left her to writhe while she considered the pros and cons of his outrageous marriage proposal.

  It was a desperate measure on the part of a very desperate man. If she agreed to it, what did that make her?

  Every kind of a fool for even entertaining something that could bring untold pain and anguish down the road.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “THIS is a lovely old inn, Lance. What does the name of it mean in English?”

  He studied Andrea’s oval face in the candlelight. She had the classic features of a true beauty. He doubted she wore anything but lipstick.

  “It’s called the Gold Chestnut Tree. If you hadn’t become ill the other day, I would have shown you the real one.”

  She blinked. “Real one?”

  “In 1990 there was a fire here in the Valley of No Return. It burned for five days. Afterward thousands of donations poured in from around the world to help save the mythical heritage that abounds here. Papa was one of the people instrumental in spearheading it.”

  “Five days—”

  “It was devastating. You may have heard of the Parisian sculptor, François Davin. He created a huge golden chestnut tree with pure gold leaves to pay tribute to international cooperation. The tree symbolizes the immortality of the dreams of men of goodwill.”

  “I believe Richard did mention something about it. The branches are supposed to resemble a stag’s antlers.”

  “That’s right. It’s to commemorate the wild animals who led the knights through the enchanted forests, and to remind us of the power of man’s love of Mother Nature.”

  “How lovely,” she mused.

 
The personification of loveliness was seated across from him. “How was your crêpe?”

  “As you can see, I ate most of it. Combined with the cider, everything tasted delicious.”

  “No nausea spells this afternoon?”

  She shook her head. The golden-brown strands glistened against her shoulders. With eyes dark as poppy throats, she had an enchanting color scheme.

  “I spent part of the afternoon with your father in the garden and kept waiting to be sick, but it didn’t happen. The medicine has worked wonders.”

  That was good news.

  Since driving away from the château with her, Lance had purposely kept up desultory conversation to put her at ease. To his chagrin she’d seemed so comfortable with him throughout dinner, he had the premonition she’d made up her mind to turn him down hours before. As a result, she was enjoying their evening out without any accompanying nervousness.

  Lance on the other hand found his appetite had left him. Once having asked her to consider his proposal, the idea that she might turn him down was getting harder and harder to accept. In fact it was quite unthinkable.

  Baby or no baby, he discovered he wanted to be with her all the time. His physical attraction to her had been immediate. Knowing she was pregnant made her even more desirable.

  Tonight she looked lit up inside. In the simple black dress and strand of pearls, her curvaceous body moved with a femininity that made him ache to touch her. He was charmed by her soft laughter. She was a person who enjoyed the small moments.

  Andrea wanted nothing from him. As a consequence, he was prepared to give her his name. So far no other woman had meant enough to him that he wanted to live with her on a constant basis, let alone be responsible for her.

  No longer able to enjoy the evening when he didn’t know her decision, he announced they were leaving the restaurant. She went along without demur, which probably meant she was tired and wanted to go home.

  On the way back to the château, he drove her past Paimpont abbey to the pool nestled in the foothills his father wanted her to see. He shut off the engine and glanced at her profile.

  “One night after your baby’s born and you’re able, I’ll bring you here for a swim. Merlin fell madly in love with Viviane in this spot. They used to make love here. When the moon is full, it reflects off the water like the silver chalice Perceval sought.”

  She put down her window, allowing the sultry summer night air to filter through the car. “This place could be right out of a fantasy. Ever since I’ve been in Brittany, I feel as if I’ve been caught in a spell.”

  Lance liked the sound of that. “It’s because you’ve entered the sanctuary of the wicked fairy Morgan-le-Fay, Arthur’s half sister. Remember those red rocks we passed earlier where the waters are turbulent? She would lure fickle knights here, then imprison them.

  “Motivated by his love for the queen, Lancelot braved untold dangers to break those poor souls from Morgan’s evil spell. In the process he found the way out through this enchanted pool.”

  “You’re part of that same enchantment,” Andrea spoke up. “Like a shapeshifter you take on a different form depending on the moment. I never know who’s going to appear next.

  “Will it be the loving, devoted son? The battle scarred military man? The impeccable host? The knight in modern armor still rescuing damsels in distress? The wounded soldier who believes he’s lost his manhood? The boy-man yearning for his idyllic childhood? The Duc-elect of Du Lac fame? The unofficial fiancé of his stepsister?”

  Mon Dieu.

  Except for her not knowing about his history with Corinne, she had him figured out better than any psychiatrist.

  “If I’d wanted to marry her, I would never have joined the military. Enough said?”

  She was staring out her window. “Then it was always her fantasy?”

  “Always.”

  “What about your father’s?”

  “Naturally he wants me to settle down and be happy. But just so you know, the choice of bride has always been up to me.”

  His hand resting on the seat behind her dug into the leather upholstery. Any hope he’d held out that Andrea might go along with his plan was fading fast.

  “How about viewing me as a simple man who would love to be a father, and can see a way to helping himself and you at the same time?”

  “There’s nothing simple about you.”

  He leaned closer to her. “Is that the overwhelmed mother-to-be talking? The widow who’s still in mourning for the husband she’ll always love? The girl-woman who never felt she belonged? The student of the world wishing she had her degree? The grieving daughter who never knew her parents? The woman who’s on her own for the first time in her life and is afraid she likes it?”

  A minute must have passed before she turned her head to look at him. “Touché.”

  “Would you be willing to take the plunge with me into unknown waters and see what happens? With my money, you’ll never have to worry about going to work. Your child will always have my name and protection. Best of all, you’ll be able to be a full-time mother to your baby, and I’ll be there to give support.”

  A troubled sigh escaped her lips.

  “What else is on your mind?” he prodded. “Now is the time to unearth it.”

  “I didn’t say anything.”

  “Yes, you did,” he whispered. “Let me ask you a question. Do you trust me?”

  She lowered her head. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have come out to dinner with you, and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

  The tight band constricting his chest burst, allowing him to go on breathing. “Then let it be your answer. Promises are only just that anyway. You and I will be going where neither of us has gone before.

  “Your sense of adventure is as great as mine, or you wouldn’t have come to Brittany a second time. For the sake of the baby, let’s agree to make the most of every second of it.”

  He felt in his suit jacket pocket. “Give me your hand.” When she didn’t react fast enough, he reached for it. She trembled as he slid the engagement ring on her finger without problem.

  “I bought it this afternoon. The minute I saw the pear shape of the stone, it reminded me of the lake where we met. What do you think?”

  She spread her fingers in front of her eyes. “I think it’s the most exquisite diamond I’ve ever seen. I can’t imagine how you got the fit right.”

  “After telling the clerk your height and weight, I added that you were pregnant. He figured out the rest.”

  In spite of the tense moment, her mouth curved in a seductive smile if she’d but known it.

  “After the baby’s born, you can get it resized so you don’t lose it,” he added.

  “The stone’s so large, it would be impossible to miss.” New energy hovered around them like a livewire. “But I can’t accept it.”

  The breath froze in his lungs. “So your forgiveness of my sins stops short of matrimony, even if it’s for the baby’s sake.”

  “No, Lance. That isn’t what I meant.”

  His guts clenched. “Then explain it to me.”

  “This is the kind of ring you give the woman you love. I’d prefer something more modest.”

  A shudder of relief passed through his taut body. “If that’s the only thing bothering you, do me a favor and wear it until I can get you another one.”

  Afraid she’d take it off and break the enchantment of the moment, sending him back to the black hole where he’d been living for so long, he started to turn on the engine. That’s when he saw something move at the edge of the pond.

  “Andrea—” he murmured. “Don’t make a sound. Just turn your head slowly toward the water.”

  She did his bidding.

  One of the things he enjoyed most about her was her acceptance of the unexpected. She had an inner calm, no matter her shock or fear. Not many people possessed that enviable trait.

  He had trouble tearing his eyes from her long enough to watch t
he stag who’d come to the pool to drink. The woman at his side drew in her breath, letting him know how much the scene delighted her.

  They watched for a few minutes. Then Lance heard the sudden hoot of a nearby owl. It startled the stag who threw back his head and pranced off into the foliage.

  “I’ve never seen a deer with such a huge rack, and yet he was so graceful. Majestic…”

  “That one’s been around a long time.”

  “To think I’ve been trying to get a picture of the animals, and tonight I’m without my camera.”

  “We’ll come tomorrow night about this same time and wait for him.”

  “He was beautiful.”

  So was she…

  If he stayed here with her any longer and did what he felt like doing, he could frighten her off.

  “Let’s go home. If my father’s still up, we’ll tell him our plans. Otherwise it will have to be tomorrow.”

  “I think it would be better to wait until he’s had a good night’s sleep.”

  “Then that’s what we’ll do.” Now that she’d agreed to marry him, he wasn’t about to argue a minor point.

  Once they were headed back to the château he turned to her. “While I was in Rennes the other evening, I bumped into Helene Dupuis who often plays hostess for Papa. She wants to give me a homecoming party. I’ll tell her to go all out since we’re already engaged and want it to be our wedding reception.

  “I’d like to schedule it soon. To wait any later in your pregnancy might not be wise. I wouldn’t want to endanger your health. Two to three weeks ought to give your aunt and uncle time to come.”

  “Oh, I don’t know about that. I’m afraid they wouldn’t be able to afford the plane fare.”

  “I don’t expect them to pay for anything. That’s my privilege. I want your friends to come, too. Anyone on the faculty you feel close to.”

  “Lance—”

  “This will be my one and only wedding. I’d like to meet the people in your life. So will my father. Your family did an outstanding job of raising you. If your parents were alive, there’d be no question of their coming.

  “Don’t be concerned about other social engagements. Because of your pregnancy, we’ll limit the number of parties to our wedding day and the christening. When you and I get better acquainted, you’ll learn I’m not a social animal like my father.”