Once a Scoundrel
Page 16
He set down the letter he’d been reading, one from Mary assuring him that she and Jeremy were doing wonderfully well with the Llewellyns, that they’d fully accepted her and legally acknowledged Jeremy as their grandson. They adored the child, and they loved Mary as a daughter. Everything had worked out perfectly in the end.
He pushed himself to his feet and circled the desk toward Faith. When he lowered his head to give her a kiss, the cat hissed and swiped a paw at his chin.
“That’s enough from you,” he chastised and risked another scratch by setting the beast on the floor.
The animal, which had grown during the past year from a snarling kitten into a snarling cat, gave his boot an indignant bite before turning on Charlie and chasing the cowardly wolfhound into the hall.
“Now then.” He slipped his arms around her waist and drew her against him. Her heart jumped into a fast beat, and he grinned at her eager arousal. “You were looking for me?”
“I was.” Her arms encircled his neck. “And I’m glad I found you.”
“Me, too.” He lowered his mouth to her ear and brushed his hands up her sides as he rakishly murmured, “So why don’t you forgo whatever plans you have and join me in bed for the rest of the afternoon?”
She sighed. “Oh, that is so tempting...”
Stilling his hands in mid-caress, he raised his head to gaze down into her face and prompted knowingly, “But?”
“Something has come up.” She bit her bottom lip with a wary expression. “I’m needed in the stables.”
“I see.” He released her and leaned back against the desk, folding his arms across his chest before he grabbed her into his arms and carried her upstairs anyway, drama in the stables be damned. “What is it this time?”
She lowered her guilty gaze to the floor. “A cow.”
“A cow?” he blurted out. Well, that was new. Since they’d been married, she’d brought home nearly a dozen stray cats and dogs, two geese, and a rooster. Apparently, though, today she’d graduated to herd animals. Strathmore was certain to have a good laugh over this, now that her kind-hearted rescues had become Stephen’s headache.
“It was tangled in the reeds in the river, and the men helped me rescue it. The poor thing was so exhausted from struggling to free itself that I couldn’t just leave it there in the field.”
He arched a brow. “Cows live in fields.”
She wisely ignored his grumbling. “So they brought it back to our stables—”
“They?”
“I brought it back,” she amended with a sigh. “I want to care for it until I find its owner. Only until then. After all, it has to belong to one of our tenants.”
His eyes narrowed suspiciously, knowing her too well. “What aren’t you telling me?”
She ground her toe into the rug, refusing to look up at him. “Well, there’s a little...you see...just a little...” She hesitated, then admitted in a rush, “It has a calf.”
“Of course it does,” he mumbled.
“Two of them, actually.”
He fought back a grin. Dear God, how much he loved her! “I suppose we’ll just have to make room for another mouth to feed,” he capitulated. “Or three.”
Beaming a grateful smile, she threw herself into his arms with a soft laugh. Then she whispered into his ear, “Or four.”
“Four?” he blurted out. “Good Lord, Faith! What else did you bring home?”
“I didn’t.” She pulled back just far enough to look up into his eyes, her gaze shyly hidden beneath lowered lashes. “At least, not yet. Not for another seven months.”
Confusion swirled through him. “What do you mean? If you haven’t found another stray to bring home, then...then...”
His eyes widened as the realization of what she was saying sank through him. She smiled up at him, an expression of such pure joy on her beautiful face that she glowed.
He whispered, unable to find his voice, “A baby?”
She nodded, her eyes glistening with happiness. “I’m increasing.”
Letting out a shout, he grabbed her into his arms and swung her around in a circle, then kissed her with all the love and joy bursting from inside him. A baby...He was going to be a father! At last, he would have everything his heart desired, and all because of Faith.
When he sank into the chair and pulled her down across his lap, she twined her arms around his neck. Her fingertips traced lovingly through the hair at his nape as she smiled at him.
“I love you, darling,” he whispered. Then he placed his palm against her belly, although it was still as flat as ever. “And I’m going to love this baby, and all the others we’ll have.”
“All the others?” she squeaked out.
He gave her a grinning wink. “Well, we’ve got to keep up with the cows.”
With a happy laugh, she nuzzled her lips against his neck. Then she rested her cheek lovingly against his.
“Why did you never give up on me?” she asked softly. “Even when I’d given up and resigned myself to a life without you, you came back and fought for us, for the happiness and future we could have together.”
He folded his arms around her and held her so close that he could feel her heartbeat pounding against his. Every joined beat of their hearts declared their love for each other. And now for their child. “Because I had faith.”
“You certainly did,” she agreed in a breathless whisper. “And you always will.”
Discover More by Anna Harrington
The Secret Life of Scoundrels Series
Dukes Are Forever
Along Came a Rogue
How I Married a Marquess
Once a Scoundrel
Capturing the Carlisles Series
If the Duke Demands
About the Author
I fell in love with historical romances and all things Regency—and especially all those dashing Regency heroes—while living in England, where I spent most of my time studying the Romantic poets, reading Jane Austen, and getting lost all over the English countryside. I love the period’s rich history and find that all those rules of etiquette and propriety can be worked to the heroine’s advantage…if she’s daring enough to seize her dreams.
I am an avid traveler and have enjoyed visiting schools and volunteering with children's organizations in Peru, Ecuador, Thailand, and Mexico, and I have amassed thousands of photos I unleash on unsuspecting friends who dare to ask about my travels.
I love to be outdoors! I've been hiking in Alaska, the Andes, and the Alps, and I love whitewater rafting (when I don't fall in!). I earned my pilot’s license at Chicago Midway (To all the controllers in Chicago Center—I greatly apologize for every problem I caused for you and Southwest Airlines), and it is my dream to one-day fly in a hot-air balloon over Africa.
I adore all things chocolate, ice cream of any flavor, and Kona coffee by the gallon. A Doctor Who fanatic (everyone says my house is bigger on the inside), I am a terrible cook who hopes to one day use my oven for something other than shoe storage. When I'm not writing, I like to spend my time trying not to kill the innocent rose bushes in my garden.
http://www.annaharringtonbooks.com/
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