Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 82982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82982 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
He had married me out of pity, for heaven’s sake. I had been naught but a maid when we met. What had I expected? Oh, what I fool I was to think the time had come to confess my feelings. He desired me, but love and desire were two discrete feelings. Could one be had without the other?
“Maddie.”
His voice was deep. Beloved.
I still didn’t dare look at his face for fear of what I’d see.
“Maddie mine, look at me.”
It was the gentleness in his tone and the endearment he used for me that granted me courage. I tore my gaze from the wall.
And my heart leapt.
Alexander was looking at me with raw admiration. With such tender caring. With love.
“You love me? Truly?”
I was sure my answer was already written on my face and likely had been this last month at least.
“Yes. I’ve fallen in love with you.”
He drew me against him and cupped my face in his hands, hands that touched me with such worshipful reverence. “My darling wife, now you have made me the happiest man in all the world. For I love you too.”
I had to cling to his shoulders to keep from swooning. Perhaps it was my condition, or perhaps it was simply the joyous surge within me.
Alexander loved me.
This man. This beautiful, caring, compassionate, wonderful man. My husband. My lover. The father of this precious babe I carried. The Marquess of Wheaton. He loved me.
“Oh, Alexander.” My vision blurred, and suddenly, hot tears were rolling down my cheeks as I sobbed.
“Why are you weeping, my love?” He dotted kisses over my cheeks, drying my tears with his lips.
I sniffled. “Because I am also the happiest woman in the world.”
His mouth found mine, and we kissed furiously, feverishly, laced with the salt of my tears.
When I was breathless, he raised his head, gazing down at me with dark, glistening eyes. “I shall have to buy you pencils and watercolors more often.”
I laughed. “I would be happy without another pencil or paint for the rest of my life as long as I had you and our babe.”
“Our babe,” he repeated softly, wonder in his voice.
He dipped his head, his lips unerringly finding mine, and I kissed the man I loved.
For the first time in my life, I had everything I had ever wanted.
CHAPTER 17
ALEXANDER
TWO MONTHS LATER
Iwoke in the early morning, blinking my eyes open to the dawn breaking through the large windows.
Maddie had begged me to allow her to move the bed to the wall that faced the arched panes and remove the heavy draperies that covered the glass. Although I felt it unneeded, I was unable to refuse, and now, I had to admit she was correct. The view when we woke in the mornings was spectacular. She loved to lie in our bed and see the stars and the sun. Having spent so many years in a windowless room under the neglect of her father, I understood her longing. The joy on her face as she stared outside brought a boon to my chest I could not explain but no longer denied.
Her happiness was now my happiness.
I turned my head slightly, smiling at the sight of my little wife asleep beside me. Neither of us could fathom not being in the same bed every night. She was a small bundle of warmth curled next to me, her hand resting on my heart, the heat of our bodies melding and comforting us. The lace strap of her shift hung from her shoulder, the pearl of her creamy skin glimmering in the growing light. She was peaceful and content in her repose, a slight smile on her face as she slumbered. The feel of her beside me brought me great peace. A sense of belonging.
Another benefit of our sharing a bed was that her bad dreams no longer plagued her. She told me she felt safe for the first time in many years with me next to her, and I was determined she never feel unsafe again.
Reaching over, I stroked her cheek, smiling as she leaned into my caress even in her sleep. I drifted my hand down to her stomach, feeling the slight swell of her belly under my fingers. Knowing our child, my child, was growing inside her gave me a thrill I could not describe. I cared not if it was a boy or a girl, only that it was ours. A symbol of the love we shared. I had never thought of children that way before. They were simply something I knew I had to do in order for my line to continue. But with Maddie, the meaning of them, of family, had become so much more.
I was grateful the morning illness that had plagued her seemed to have passed. She was tired, requiring naps at odd times of the day. I often found her asleep over a book, even over her partially eaten luncheon. Once while tending her garden, I discovered her asleep on the bench, her small bucket of flowers still clutched in her hand. She hadn’t stirred as I carried her upstairs, settling her on the counterpane of our bed and watching her, feeling the love she stirred within me grow. Every time I thought my heart could not possibly contain more love for her, it developed and expanded with more affection.