Page 156 of How to Love a Duke in Ten Days

He chuffed. “You say that sentence so often, I’m starting to suspect its verity.”

She lolled her head to the side. “You doubt me?”

Sweeping above her, he pressed a kiss to her nose. Her eyelids. The corners of her soft mouth. “No. I don’t. I trust you.”

It was a terrifying thing, to trust someone so entirely. It did not come easily at first. But as their marriage grew, he came to accept that her penchant for honesty wasn’t merely an endearing trait, but an inexhaustible virtue. She had to be the most loyal person he’d ever met, and that loyalty was returned by those who loved her in kind.

Sighing, she wrapped her arms around her middle, nuzzling into him as he rested beside her.

“You can come out now,” she prompted the baby before huffing away a strand of her hair. “So many people are eager to meet you.” They each stared for a moment, though he wasn’t certain what they expected.

“Probably is a boy,” she muttered. “One as stubborn as you are.”

“I hope it’s a girl.”

She lifted her brows. “Oh?”

“A little girl with black hair and amber eyes. Someone who calls me ‘papa’ and trails rivers of ribbons all through the castle.”

Her smile could have lit the night sky. “You’ll spoil her, terribly.”

“That’s the idea. She’ll be the new Terror of Torcliff. A more fearsome creature than I could ever be.”

“Don’t you dare!” She jabbed at his ribs with a cruel finger. “If you create a monster, you’ll have to deal with the raising of her. I’ll have none of it.”

His happiness flickered. “Do you think she’ll fear me? Looking as I do?”

Alexandra caressed him with all the tenderness the world contained. “She’ll love you, as I do. Your face will be the dearest sight, because to her it will represent homeand love and safety and acceptance. Our children will be proud to have such a handsome, fearsome father.”

Piers cleared a gather of emotion from his throat, deciding to lighten the moment. “We can call her Katherine,” he suggested. “Kitty. After the animal who changed the course of my life for the better. Without him, I’d have married Rose.”

He caught her jab this time, not that it wasn’t deserved. “Don’t even speak like that,” she admonished him. “I can’t fathom it.” Her features fell. “I almost pity her. She’s lost everything. Her reputation, her title, what little fortune she had.”

He made a face thinking that Rose could rot in the drafty dowager house she’d been relegated to in some cold corner of Blighty. Just so long as he never had to see her again.

Freeing her hand, Alexandra ran a finger down the scar on his jaw, distracting him. “The beast that put this here was more than a mere kitty.”

“You’re right, as always,” he acquiesced. “Would you allow me to name our child Panther? Or Jaguar?”

She made a face “You’re right, Kitty is perfect.”

“You’re perfect.” He kissed her.

“We both know that’s a lie. I’ve been an absolute beast to you for a month.” She struggled to turn over, to find a comfortable spot.

“Only two weeks by my count,” he teased, chastised when her brow pinched into that endearing frown. He reached up to smooth it away. “You’re an adorable beast.”

She leaned her cheek into his palm. “When the baby can travel, where would you like to take her?”

He pulled her in tightly, fitting her lovely bottom in the crook of his body. “Let’s go home for a while. Let the staff meet our child and invite your parents from Hampshire.I’d like to take some time to see Mercury’s new foals. Besides, the Redmayne remains will be returning from the museum.”

“I love that idea,” she readily agreed. “I think I’ll miss a Devonshire summer by then. Less hot.” She brushed a damp curl back from her brow.

She shifted again as the distinct outline of a foot rippled above her navel and he pressed his hand to the little thing, wishing he could meet its owner more than anything in the world.

“I think I’ll go find Cecelia.” Alexandra yawned and stretched her naked body with an indolent grace. “We’re both going to swim beneath the waterfall today. The feeling of weightlessness is indescribable. It’s the only time my back doesn’t cause me conniptions.”

“I’ll come with you.” He heaved his body from the bed with great effort.