Page 36 of Starlight and the Duke (Cherish and the Duke #5)

Shoreham Manor

Near Brighton, England

R ob had expressed no objections when Fiona insisted on holding another of her summer house parties, since it had been a long-standing tradition at Shoreham Manor.

Last year, she had ceded the annual party to her cousin Gawain and his wife, Cherish, because they wanted to show off their newly refurbished home, the neighboring Northam Hall.

But Fiona was eager to be back in full force as hostess.

“Sure, love,” Rob had said when she first brought up the topic. “Who do you want to invite?”

“Well, I was thinking…” She had shown him a neatly written list, obviously something she had been giving thought to for weeks, possibly months.

And now their guests had begun to arrive.

Fiona was smiling broadly, glad to have reclaimed the role of hostess.

But this year’s party would be more of a family affair rather than a crush of debutantes and bachelors hoping to make advantageous matches.

Bromleigh and Cherish now had a newborn daughter, while Reggie and Margaret were the proud parents of a son.

Ramsdale and Ailis had sent their regrets because she had just given birth to twin girls and the trip to Brighton was simply too much to undertake.

Lynton and Eden had come down with Lynton’s children, who seemed to thrive under Eden’s nurturing.

His sons had made fast friends with the Milbury boys, which proved a little hard for Priscilla, Lynton’s youngest, for she was the only girl among them and feared she would be left out of all the fun.

However, Milbury’s boys turned out to be very kind lads and went out of their way to include her in all their adventures.

Eden and Lynton went along to supervise the children, because adventures usually meant trouble, and this was something they were eager to avoid.

Jocelyn and Camborne were the last to arrive at the week-long party, happily making the trip down from Scotland to be among friends.

They would stay on for an entire month before returning home because it was nonsensical for them to come all the way down here just to turn around and head north again.

“This might be the last trip we make in a while,” Camborne announced with pride.

“With the Lord’s grace, we may have a little bairn before the end of the year. ”

“Congratulations,” Rob said with hearty enthusiasm, grinning at Camborne, whose buttons were about to pop because his chest was so puffed up with pride.

Jocelyn stood smiling beside her husband. “The midwife told us it’s to be a boy. I have no idea how she can tell, but she claims it is obvious by the shape of my body. If the weight gain is all up front, it is a boy, she insists. I’ve heard she is never wrong.”

Rob spared a glance at Fiona, worried that she might be feeling some heartache now that so many of their friends had started families of their own. But she seemed fine and surprisingly at ease with all of this domesticity.

A schedule was developed, the children dining early and then being sent upstairs under the watchful eyes of two of Fiona’s most trusted maids.

The Milbury boys often slept over, which proved easier, since the Lynton children and Milbury boys got along famously and never tired of playing with each other.

Nighttime treats were plentiful—milk and cakes, biscuits, fruit, and hardier fare if any of the children were particularly famished, which they always were.

The adults dined later on their own, and it was on a balmy summer evening with the full moon aglow that they sat around the table discussing what the ton was to do now that there were no more Silver Dukes on the Marriage Mart.

“But you’re forgetting Lord Aubrey,” Rob said. “We have kept up a correspondence. His father passed away a few months ago, and he is now a duke.”

“The Duke of Weymouth,” Eden added. “He’s kept in touch with us, as well. Sadly, his father faded fast and left poor Trajan a bit overwhelmed. But he’s a capable fellow and will handle the responsibility. He had already taken over most of the duties while his father was alive.”

Lynton snorted. “He’s kept in touch with you . We all know he’s been holding a torch for you ever since you were first introduced.”

“Not true,” Eden insisted. “He has moved on. He never loved me. I was merely an infatuation.”

Rob was not certain about that, but he hoped Eden was right.

After all, Aubrey had shown a more than passing interest in Florence Newton.

Yes, that interest had been mostly because he believed her to be a thief, and this was why he had been following her around like a hound on the scent.

But that misunderstanding had been cleared up, and Rob sensed something could have developed between them.

Well, what did he know? His heart had been claimed by Fiona from his earliest days, and he had never had serious feelings for anyone else.

His experience with women came from inconsequential dalliances. Sometimes a lot of dalliances, especially after he had graduated from university, entered Society, and realized Fiona was the only woman he would ever love.

But she was married to Shoreham at the time.

Lord, he’d suffered over those years.

He had never considered seducing her. She was a good person and took her marital vows seriously. Violating them, even with a man who truly loved her, would have shamed her, and she might never have gotten over that feeling of sin.

But now, she was his to love and honor.

“Aubrey?” Bromleigh muttered, rubbing his hands together in glee. “He’ll be the perfect target.”

“Aye,” Camborne said, holding up his wine glass. “A toast to the next Silver Duke—once Lord Aubrey, and now he must get used to his new title, Duke of Weymouth.”

Rob raised his glass. “Who will open the betting book on him?”

“I will, of course,” Lynton said, grinning at his wife when she gave him a light poke in the ribs. “Do not maul me, Eden. I only wish to see him happy. What is so wrong with that?”

“You wish to see him happily away from Eden,” Fiona jokingly retorted. “But it is a fine idea. I think everyone deserves to find love. I sincerely hope he meets his perfect match.”

“Do you think it could be my friend, Florence?” Jocelyn asked, raising her wine glass in toast. “If bets are to be taken, then my wager is on her.”

Cherish frowned. “But how will they get together? She purposely avoided him last year at my house party. I don’t think she liked him all that much.”

Rob exchanged a grin with Fiona.

“Aubrey will be busy running the Weymouth holdings for years to come. It is possible they will never meet again,” Cherish continued with some dismay.

Margaret also had her glass raised. “They will, if they are truly destined to love each other. Love always finds a way. And I did sense something between them.”

“I surely did not see it,” Reggie muttered, but he cast his wife a doting glance. “However, if Margaret noticed a spark, then there’s a spark. Open up that betting book as soon as you return to London, Lynton.”

Lynton nodded. “Eden and I will be taking the children there as soon as we leave here.”

“The thornier issue,” Camborne remarked, “is how are we to get them to meet again? I doubt either one of them plans to return to London anytime soon.”

“We cannot get involved,” Fiona insisted. “If it is meant to be, then as Margaret said…it shall be.”

Rob rose and held up his glass. “To Aubrey and Florence—may they not merely find love but crash into it headlong.”

Bromleigh laughed heartily. “Hear, hear!”

They all repeated the joke and had a hardy laugh over it.

As the hour grew late, the men stayed up to play billiards and share rounds of brandy while their wives retired early.

Rob tried to be quiet as he stumbled into their bedchamber in the wee hours, but Fiona was awake. “Sorry, love. I didn’t mean to make so much noise.”

“You didn’t,” she said, slipping out of bed to assist him in undressing. She laughed as she untied his cravat and the slight tug on the fabric made him tip toward her. “Can you stand up straight?” she asked as he planted a kiss on her forehead.

“I don’t think so. I keep tilting toward you. It’s that magnetic attraction.” He hiccuped, realizing he might have imbibed a little too much. “Do you know that you grow more beautiful with each passing day? Gad, you’re so beautiful.”

“I did not know that.” She smiled and helped him out of his shirt.

“Well, you do. And you are.” He kissed her on the nose. “Because you are my fairy princess and I love you.”

She had him sit on the bed and helped him off with his shoes. “I love you too.”

“I know.” He hiccuped again. “I’ve never been happier. Have you?”

“Never happier, my love. I have something to tell you. I’m not sure you will believe it. I’m not sure I can believe it myself. Are you sober enough to listen? Perhaps it is best left to tomorrow.”

He took gentle hold of her hand and drew her onto his lap. “I’m sober enough. What is it, love? Something troubling you?”

She let out a shaky breath. “I’ve been counting the months.”

“Since we married?” He groaned. “Gad, have I missed our anniversary?”

She laughed. “No, that’s not for another two weeks yet.”

“I knew that… Yes, I did. Happiest day of my life.” He kissed her again to prove it, only realizing as he ended the deep, sloppy kiss that his breath must reek of brandy.

But Fiona was looking at him in that magical way and smiling.

Lord, he loved her.

“ Happiest day,” he insisted, and kissed her yet again because she did not seem to mind that he was a little drunk, and willingly kissed him back with heartfelt sweetness. He gave her another kiss, this one tender. “What is it, love?”

“It has been three months, Rob.”

He blinked.

“Three months since my last monthly courses,” she explained as tears filled her eyes. “Rob, can it be possible? I had to tell you. I’m so excited and yet so afraid I might be mistaken.”

He inhaled sharply. “How do you feel, Fiona? Any unsettled stomach issues?”

“Only a little. Nothing like Margaret experienced.”

He shook his head, completely sober now. “Oh, love. Everyone is different. Whatever happens, we’ll work through it together. It is early days yet, isn’t it?”

She nodded. “And it might just be a mistake, just my being very late.”

“No mistake. You have been looking particularly magical lately. Glowing. And your bosom…” He cupped a breast, holding it lightly to show her how it filled his hand more than usual. “Is it tender?”

She nodded again.

He laid her gently on her back and stretched out beside her, placing an arm under her shoulders with exquisite care and drawing her into his embrace. “I noticed, and yet dismissed the cues.”

“Me too. Assuming there are any and I am not misreading everything.”

“You aren’t. Your body doesn’t lie. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. We are in this together no matter the outcome,” he said with a soft growl, turning toward her to caress her cheek.

She nestled against him. “I love the way you look at me with your gorgeous panther eyes.”

“How could I not? You’ll always be my fairy princess.” He kissed her softly on the lips, then grinned. Was it possible that chunk of lapis he’d kept in his undergarment drawer all this time had worked its magic?

He could hardly credit such myths. But what a miracle if Fiona truly carried his child. Just the possibility of it gave him a hope beyond imagination.

“Do you wonder what we’ll have when we cross a panther with a fairy princess?”

Fiona’s laughter was lilting, and she smiled at him. “Isn’t the answer obvious?”

He shook his head, still feeling a little foggy. “Some guidance, please.”

“You and me? Panther and fairy?”

He nodded. “And…”

“Starlight, Rob. Always starlight.”

THE END