The Duke s Baby

by Rebecca Winters

  “There’s a lot to explore here. After the baby’s born we’ll be able to push him in the stroller all we want.”

  As long as the three of them did everything together, she couldn’t possibly complain.

  They drove across the river to the outskirts. Once they’d reached their house and turned in the driveway he said, “It’s time for you to be off your feet and in bed. It’s been a big day.”

  He came around to open her door, then followed her inside with the packages. “Shall we go up?” With each step on the stairs her heart pounded faster.

  Like clockwork she made a visit to the bathroom and changed into one of her new nightgowns and robe. When she came out into the bedroom she noticed Lance had put the packages on one of the upholstered chairs.

  Andrea found him still dressed, propped against his pillow with the book in his hands. He lay there with his shoes off. It might be her nightly ritual to climb into bed with him, but each time she did lately, she found his nearness almost too much to handle.

  Since the night he’d asked if he could kiss her and she’d turned him down, he’d treated her like he might a cherished sister. Andrea couldn’t fault him for anything, yet her frustration level was over the top.

  His glance swerved to hers. “Are you ready for a bedtime story, Madame Du Lac?”

  “I’m all ears.” She arranged the pillow to support her head, then turned on her side to face him. The combination of the heat of the day and his fit body made her awareness of him that much more potent.

  “This was my favorite book as a child. My copy is somewhere at the château, but I’d like our son to have his own.”

  Andrea made an impatient sound. “You’ve intrigued me to the point that I’m going to burst if you don’t tell me what it’s about.”

  He turned it so she could see the cover.

  Goupil by Samivel.

  The drawing of the fox was so marvelous, Andrea reached for it and found herself devouring every page of pictures in the book.

  “Oh—look at the giant trees and the toadstools—”

  All the little forest creatures set in medieval times had been drawn with such energy and originality, she was awestruck.

  “No wonder that little chair caught your attention. This is fantastic. The author has created a mood that pulls you in, even if you don’t understand the story.”

  “I used to study these drawings for hours. I still get lost in them,” he murmured.

  “I can see why.”

  “Goupil is a funny word.”

  “It was the original French word for fox. The story of Goupil Renard appeared in the late twelfth century. Do you know he became so popular, a thirteenth-century abbot complained that the priests in the monastery preferred to decorate the chapels walls with the animals in Goupil’s world rather than with images of the Virgin?”

  “What?” Andrea burst out laughing.

  Lance broke down, too. “It’s true,” he said, wiping his beautiful blue eyes. “Goupil was meant to mock our perception of the heroic knight and courtly tradition. I developed an affection for him because of his cleverness and charm.

  “He’s always battling the stupid greedy wolf, Ysengrin, and his unfaithful wife Hersent. But he also pulls pranks to humiliate the other animals in the forest. In spite of his somewhat malicious intent at times, Goupil always manages to capture your sympathy.

  “The story’s a balancing act between animal and human attributes. Our son will have to be older to appreciate it, but he’ll love the drawings.”

  “He’ll love his chair.” She looked up at him. “Will you read it to me now?”

  For the next half hour she lay there entranced, not only by the story, but by Lance’s voice. He was a natural narrator who knew the tale so well he would emphasize certain parts making the story come alive. She never wanted him to stop.

  “Did I put you to sleep?” he whispered.

  “No. Don’t let my closed eyes fool you. You’re the best storyteller in the world.”

  “Is that so.”

  “Yes.”

  “No one’s ever told me that before.”

  She opened one eye. “Have you ever read to anyone?”

  “Not that I can remember.”

  “You’re going to have a full-time job after Geoff arrives on the scene. I could never compete with you and that accent.”

  “What does the accent have to do with anything?”

  “You’d be surprised.” He wouldn’t believe her if she told him how seductive he sounded just being French.

  He changed positions. It brought him closer to her. “Would you like to be left alone now so you can sleep?”

  She’d thought he was going to ask her something much more personal, and felt fierce disappointment that he hadn’t.

  “No. Actually I’m wide-awake and would like to know what that interruption at the château today was really about? You didn’t fool me or your father. It had to do with Corinne didn’t it? Were you afraid to tell me in case it would upset me?”

  His fingers played with a lock of errand curls pooled against her neck. It spread fire through her veins.

  “We weren’t going to think about her today. Remember?”

  “You’re avoiding answering my question. I’ll be a lot more anxious if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”

  “Andrea—”

  “Please don’t ask me again if I trust you. You know I do. Now that we’re married, you don’t have to shoulder this alone. Confide in me. Use me for a sounding board.

  “A month has gone by while we’ve waited for her to make her next move. Now that she has, I have to know. I’m not a fragile creature.”

  Shadows darkened his features. “If I thought that, I would never have involved you in anything this precarious. Unfortunately the situation has gotten uglier. I’m considering sending you back to the States right away as a precaution.”

  “Against what?” she cried. In the next instant she’d gotten up on her elbow to face him.

  His eyes held a glint of pain she couldn’t mistake for anything else. “If I tell you, I risk losing your trust in me.”

  She shook her head. “That could never happen.”

  “You have no comprehension of what it is I have to tell you. It’s my word against somebody else’s.”

  “If you’re talking about Corinne, we’ve already been down this road before.”

  “It’s not Corinne.”

  “Then who?”

  His eyes grew veiled. “Remember the woman who gave me this scar?”

  “How could I forget?” she asked with a pounding heart, fearing what she was about to hear. “Please go on,” she implored him.

  “After I left for good, she had a charge of rape brought up against me, and got two of her buddies to testify that they saw it happen. I was taken before a military tribunal.

  “After a month of brutal interrogation, I was sent back to active duty for lack of evidence because one of the officers under my command was able to prove that he was with one of her friends that night. She couldn’t possibly have seen what supposedly transpired.

  “That evidence made the other bogus witness’s testimony less credible. Also, the judge advocate defending me brought in a surgeon who testified that the cut she made to my neck was too precise to have been inflicted by a woman struggling against a rapist.

  “When I left the service, I didn’t receive a commendatory medal because I’ll always be under suspicion. In my country, you’re assumed guilty until you’re proven innocent.”

  Her eyes filled with tears.

  Without conscious thought she threw her arms around him. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered into his hair, getting him wet. Wanting to stop the pain, she couldn’t hold back from kissing his face and neck.

  “You’ve been through too much,” she cried against his eyes and cheeks. “It isn’t fair. Not for you of all people.”

  She’d found his mouth.

  In wanting to prove that
she believed him, she kissed him over and over again. Short kisses, long kisses. “I know you’re innocent, Lance. I know it.”

  At first she didn’t think she was getting through to him. Then there was a gradual change in him until he began returning her kisses. Suddenly she was the one being engulfed.

  “Do you have any idea what those words mean to me?” his voice shook. He crushed her to him, revealing a deep seated hunger that spelled so many things.

  She found herself caught up in the thrill of desire overtaking both of them. For a little while she lost her head. The exquisite feel of his mouth tasting hers had become a permanent craving.

  He drank deeper until they seemed to be devouring each other. She wanted this ecstasy to go on and never stop.

  That was because she realized she’d fallen irrevocably in love with him. But she wasn’t naïve enough to think the desire on his part translated to her level of feeling.

  Lance had kissed her out of sheer male need, but she’d been the one to initiate it. He felt gratitude that someone believed in him. More, she was carrying the child he planned to father.

  Mix all those feelings and emotions together, but they didn’t necessarily add up to love. He’d never said the words. In fact when he’d proposed marriage, he’d been careful for her to understand love hadn’t motivated him.

  The few flawed women from the past he’d been unlucky enough to tangle with had made the terrible mistake of pretending he was in love with them. When faced with the truth, they hadn’t been able to handle it and were still attempting to crucify him.

  Andrea wasn’t anything like them. Most women weren’t.

  She would prove she could be trusted to honor her commitment to him and never change on him.

  When he allowed her to take a breath, she eased away from his body. The expression on his handsome face changed to one of alarm. “What’s wrong, Andrea? Did I hurt you by accident?”

  He was referring to the baby of course.

  “Heavens no,” she assured him. Out of self-preservation she got to her feet before she changed her mind and threw herself at him again. “I’m afraid I need to go to the bathroom.” It was the perfect excuse that wouldn’t hurt him.

  When she came back in the room he was standing at the window overlooking the garden. He jerked his dark head toward her. His mouth had formed a grimace.

  “You were with me all the way just now,” his voice rasped. “Then something happened. Is there still someone else sleeping in our bed?”

  If he only knew, Richard hadn’t been there for some time.

  “No, Lance,” she answered honestly. “I’m afraid my mind is on that horrible woman who scarred you.” She moistened her lips nervously. “What does she have to do with Corinne? I know there’s a connection.”

  Across the width of the bed he stood there facing her like an adversary. She could feel his struggle to tell her.

  “What goes on in those tribunals is supposed to be top secret,” he began. “Yet somehow through a military contact of Odette’s, Corinne found out what happened. She’s using that information in the rape case she has brought against me.”

  “She’s already built a case?” Andrea was incredulous.

  “Corinne always covers her options. The first hearing is next week.”

  Rage consumed Andrea. “She’ll never win.”

  “That isn’t her purpose.” He folded his arms across his chest. “She’s doing this for the negative publicity to ruin me and my father socially.”

  “I can’t comprehend any of it. Does Geoff know about that tribunal?”

  “No. I’d hoped to God he would never find out. Thanks to Corinne, it’s going to be all over the news the moment the prosecuting attorney levels the charge against me. As my wife, you’ll be hounded by the media. You can’t stay in France, Andrea.

  “If the attorney I’ve hired can perform a miracle and prevent this case from going to court, then Papa won’t ever have to know. But it means I’ve got a lot of work to do in Paris. That’s why I want you to go back to New Haven.”

  “You’re serious!”

  “Deadly.”

  She weaved in place.

  “I’m sending Louise with you so you won’t be alone. She’s grown very fond of you in the last month.”

  Oh, Lance.

  “After she’s helped you get settled, then I’ll pay for someone to take over for her so she can come back. If you lost our baby, I wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

  There was no way under heaven she would leave Lance now, but while he was insistent on protecting her, she wouldn’t argue with him.

  “How soon do you want me to go?”

  Andrea must have surprised him because he was silent for a moment. She watched him brush his bottom lip with the pad of his thumb as if he’d expected an argument. That dark, remote look had crept into his face.

  “Tomorrow. There’s a noon flight leaving Rennes for New Haven. I’ll put you on board, then head for Paris. When I think it’s safe, I’ll fly over and bring you back. If worse comes to worse and you have to stay there until the baby’s born, then I’ll visit you when I’m able.”

  He had it all planned out.

  Well, she’d come up with a plan of her own. One she had no intention of telling him about.

  “In that case I’m going to go to sleep now and get as much rest as I can in preparation for the trip home. I’m afraid I’m one air traveler who stays awake the whole time.”

  She watched his hands make those telltale movements into fists. Did she dare read into it that he wasn’t happy at the prospect of her leaving? Or was he simply worried for her health? Most likely the latter.

  “While you do that, I’ll have a talk with Louise and Jean. Bonne nuit, Andrea.” With those words, it meant he wouldn’t be coming to bed for a long time.

  “Let me thank you again for a memorable day.” If she could hear the throb in her voice, surely he could. “Bonne nuit, Lance.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  ONCE Andrea was seated in first class next to Louise, Lance leaned over and pressed a hard kiss to her mouth.

  “Don’t let anything happen to you. I bought you that satellite phone so you can call me day or night from wherever you are. You know my cell number. I want a call the moment you’ve landed.”

  “I promise. When are you going to tell your father I decided to fly home to surprise my family with a visit?”

  “I’ll phone him from Paris tonight.”

  Good. She still had time.

  Andrea lifted her eyes to his. “Bonne chance, Lance.” Louise had been teaching her a few phrases.

  “I’m going to need it.” He lingered long enough to press his lips against the side of her neck. “Now I have to go. My plane’s ready to board.”

  Passengers were still boarding hers.

  “Please be safe.”

  He’d spent all morning helping her get ready. They’d talked about everything she was going to do when she got back to her condo. She felt sorry for every woman who didn’t know what it was like to be taken care of by him.

  “À bientôt, mon amour.” He squeezed her shoulder, then he was gone.

  What she’d give if those gruffly said words hadn’t been for Louise’s benefit, but for hers and she really was his love…

  After he’d been gone five minutes she turned to the housekeeper. “Do you think we’ve given him enough time?”

  “I hope so. Otherwise if he sees you, oh-la-la—I dread to think what his reaction will be.”

  Louise and Jean were in on her plan. They’d emptied the things she needed most from her suitcase before putting it in Lance’s car.

  “I guess I’ll just have to take the risk.”

  She got out of her seat and headed for the doorway of the first class compartment. Louise followed. After explaining to the flight attendant she wasn’t feeling well and would book another flight, they left the concourse and went outside where Jean was waiting for them in his car.

&nbs
p; Another forty minutes and they arrived at the château. She gave them both a kiss before hurrying inside with an overnight bag Louise had packed for her.

  Henri met her in the foyer. He told her Geoff was out on the lawn giving Percy some exercise. Perfect.

  She raced out the west entrance as fast as she could go in her pregnant condition. Geoff saw her coming. “Over here, Andrea—” Percy romped up to her and rubbed his head against her legs. “How nice for this unexpected visit.”

  She kissed his cheeks. “Do you have time for a talk?”

  He studied her for a moment. “Daughter to father?”

  “Yes.”

  “There’s nothing I’d love more. Shall we sit down?”

  Andrea had been ready to suggest it. They walked over to the bench bordering the flower garden. Once they were seated, she leaned forward. “I’m not going to beat about the bush, Geoff. I have something very serious to discuss with you.”

  “I already sensed that. Otherwise you’d be home with Lance on a lovely Saturday like this.”

  She nodded. “I’m going to tell you some ugly things Lance confided to me that he’s never told anyone else. Some of it’s old news, some of it much more recent. You have to know it’s because he loves you so much that he’s tried to spare you. But he’s in terrible pain, and only you and I can help him.”

  “Go on.”

  For the next twenty minutes Andrea unburdened herself about Lance’s demons. Geoff’s eyes glazed over. She left nothing out. By the time she’d finished, he clung to her and wept. It wrenched her heart.

  She finally sat back and wiped her eyes. “I felt an attraction to your son from the moment we met. Over the last month I’ve learned to love him with every fiber of my being. He’s guilty of nothing!

  “You and I both know that, but this trial is going to slander the name of the Du Lac family. That’s what is killing him. For myself I don’t care.”

  “Nor I—” Geoff suddenly blurted and got to his feet. It was the first time she’d ever seen him angry.

  She looked up at him. “In that case, I have a plan to end his misery.”

  “I’d love to hear it.”

  After she’d explained, he said, “It’s so simple.”