Page 33 of His Abandoned Duchess (Unwanted Brides #1)
Two Years Later
“I am fine! Would you stop fretting over me as if I might shatter like a piece of porcelain.”
Amelia chuckled but glared playfully at Richard as he stole her away from their bedside to sit once more. Her back did ache slightly, certainly a result of her rounded abdomen. It was just over halfway through this pregnancy, and she was showing much sooner and grander than she had with Lilly. Perhaps it was a boy…
“I am only wishing to keep you from dragging more luggage around. You are well into your time, and you have already been chasing Lilly around the house for hours.”
Amelia waved him off, offering a slight smirk and head shake. “She is two. I can’t imagine what more you expect of her but to be a menace. And I insist that I am well. I have done all this before, and it is easier this time around.”
Richard sighed, folding his arms across his chest as he eyed her. He knew there was no winning a battle against Amelia. If their relationship had taught the man anything it was surely that.
“Might I, at the very least, then convince you that a third case is not required for a simple weekend trip?”
“I only wish to be prepared. What if something should happen to my gown or it is not suitable for the dinner party?”
Richard walked over to Amelia, taking both of her shoulders in his hands. “Hugh and Sophia will be thrilled just to see us. They are not expecting you to don some elaborate gown as if you were going to court. It is just us and our friends.”
Amelia sagged in his grip. “I am aware. I only…I only wish I did not look like a rounded swine at just over five months with child.”
Richard gasped through a laugh. “Amelia! You do not look like cattle of any time. You are beautiful. Seeing you carrying another of my children is as incredible as it was the first time. It is a feat of strength to produce offspring, and you are doing it for the second time!”
With a grin that she fought only for a moment, Amelia pressed up onto her tiptoes to kiss Richard. He was quite good at finding the right words for her. Yes, it had taken him some time, but the Duke was a quick study, and he was now as refined at complimenting her as he was playing a hand of cards.
“Thank you.” She smiled a moment longer, lingering in his gaze, but then turned back to the case on the bed. “But I still need this bag.”
He laughed at her but gave up the fight so that she could finish packing up what she required. Several more preparations needed to be completed prior to their departure, and she was still uneasy about leaving Lilly alone for the first time.
Of course, not truly alone, she would be in the company of her nanny, with whom she got along splendidly.
“Are you still worried over leaving Lilly for the weekend?” Richard asked insightfully.
“Yes.” She frowned. “It is the first time she’ll be without either of us. The first that I shall be without her.”
Richard walked to the door, pulling it open. Amelia furrowed her brow as she watched him, and then he called down the hall for Jane.
“Jane, do come to the room now!”
It wasn’t long before her stalwart maid appeared with a bag in her hand and Lilly in tow, a slim coat placed over her little body.
“I had a feeling you would not settle on the matter, so I asked Jane and Nanny Emily to join us on the weekend trip. Hugh possesses a smaller guest home on the property where they will stay. They will see us during the day and be able to retire for the evening and Lilly’s naps whenever they require.”
Amelia clapped her hands over her mouth. “You are…You are the most amazing husband I could ever have asked for.”
Her eyes stung for a moment as she approached Lilly and scooped her up in her arms. Richard met the pair, and Amelia kissed him as Lilly snuggled against her mum’s rounded belly—a new favorite pastime of hers.
“I have my occasional stroke of genius, yes.” Richard turned the corners of his mouth down, a playful expression of his welcome jesting. “And now, my dearest, you shall be able to enjoy the weekend with our friends. If, that is, we can get into the carriage and on the road before it comes to an end.”
Swatting at him, Amelia agreed to finish up with her things. They did, in fact, make it to the carriage and onto the road for Hugh’s country home in the nick of time. Traveling at night was to be avoided, of course, and it was a lengthy trip. Still, with a bit of luck and her family all around her, they made their way to the welcoming estate in the countryside.
Sophia and Hugh were at the door to greet them, and their flurry of servants swept about them and the coach, gathering their things and carrying them off to their proper destinations. Lilly was taken by Jane and Emily to the guest house on the property, and shortly after, Amelia’s dearest friends arrived.
Charlotte and Magnus were the first to appear, followed by Ethel, then Frederick, and then Selina. It was a delight to see them all together again, and the energy of the space reached into the sky for its joyous enormity.
“I simply must get out of these riding clothes before our dinner, Richard. I am damp and overheated.”
Amelia glanced up at Richard as she whined, and he gave her a smile. “Of course, dearest. I am sure our room is ready for us.”
“William will be happy to escort you to your room so that you might freshen up before tea and refreshments in the drawing room,” Sophia said with a grin, and Amelia nodded gratefully.
“Thank you. I should most appreciate that.”
Following the butler, Richard and Amelia climbed the estate’s set of central stairs and kept up with his brisk pace only just as he led the way to their room for the weekend.
“Thank you,” Richard tipped his head to the man, “would you see to it that a fire is set to keep the room warm for the evening. I would not have Amelia catch a chill.”
“Of course, Your Grace.” William’s wrinkled face crinkled into stark lines as he grinned, bowing and then turning back down the hall.
“There you go again, treating me like I am ill or the like.”
Richard walked over to Amelia, wrapping his hands around her waist as best he could. “No such thing, dearest. I am simply being cautious. Now, should we discard these riding clothes you are so dreadfully tired of?”
The darkness behind his eyes was all that Amelia needed to understand Richard’s meaning, and Amelia looked up at him from beneath her lashes as she chewed on her lip. Her husband read the gesture correctly as her agreement and strode to the door to lock it.
Over the years, Richard had become quite skilled—some might say more than even Jane—at helping Amelia to undress. His quick fingers made easy work of removing her layers, and she eagerly did the same to him. Together, for even this brief moment in the midst of the chaos of it all, Amelia was charmed by the Duke all the more.
“I adore you, darling.” She kissed him gently while still lingering in the embrace. “You have made my life such a joy—each and every day.”
“And you,” Richard kissed her back but trailed his caresses down her neck to her chest and then breast, teasing her, “make every day of my life feel as if it’s the best one yet.”
Amelia moaned into his touch, allowing herself the all-too-short moment of feeling good in her skin instead of being stretched and weighed down. Pregnancy was no small task and a great trial on the body. Right now, it felt comforted, raised to a place of pleasure that Richard milked out of her so easily with his dexterous fingers.
They found their way between her legs as Richard guided her to the bed. The softness was a delight, but none so much as the thrilling coil of energy that built within her as her husband played her sensitive nerves like a violin.
“Richard, ugh, oh yes…”
“Shhh, my love,” he held his free hand to her mouth, “we wouldn’t want to draw attention with just these precious few moments. Just lie back and allow me to take your mind away from all the aches and pains.”
Amelia smiled, looking down at him as he lay between her thighs. “I am at your disposal, Duke Blackford.”
Richard was all grins as he gazed up at her, and then his face disappeared as he carried out his essential work as her husband. And Amelia did permit herself to simply lie back and enjoy. Life was a carousel of twirling movements, and in this beat of stillness and enjoyment in it all, Amelia knew without an iota of doubt that she was the luckiest woman on the planet.
The End