Page 15 of The Duke and the Hellion Bride (Duchesses of Convenience #7)

Chapter Fifteen

“A nd what of an heir?” Diana’s mother asked her, pivoting into the question from nowhere, as her mother so often did.

“Wh -- what?” Diana stammered, her saucer of tea halfway toward her mouth, nearly spilling down her front in shock from the question.

“An heir, dear,” her mother said simply, taking a small sip from her own saucer, no sense that she said anything untoward or strange. “Have you and His Grace discussed such things?”

“Mother... that is not... I do not think that... this is not the time or place for --”

“Do not give me any of that nonsense,” her mother cut over her. “The two of you are married, yes? So do not pretend that the topic of children is uncalled for. It is only right that you and His Grace begin the process – for it is not such an easy thing as you might think. Not everyone falls pregnant right away, so delaying it is foolish.”

Diana felt her cheeks flush. “We have Magnus’ nieces to contend with, for the moment. And I promised him that I would help raise them.”

“But not as your own,” her mother insisted rightly. “Honestly, Diana. Do you mean to sit there and tell me that you and His Grace have not once discussed the need to produce an heir? I find that impossible to believe!”

If you knew anything about mine and Magnus’ relationship, you would eat your own words, mother. Not only is it possible, but the likelihood of us discussing it at all is as unrealistic as Evelyn suddenly sprouting wings and flying.

That the topic had never even occurred to Diana spoke to the strangeness that now surrounded her relationship with her husband. Until yesterday, her sole focus had been concerned with the possibility that her husband hated her and what she might do to survive such a tumultuous relationship as that. Obviously, she now knew without a shadow of a doubt that he did not hate her... yesterday proved that . Not that this made things any simpler.

Magnus was a closed book. Even prodding him ever so gently about his past yesterday had caused him to leap to his feet and flee the room as if it was on fire. Diana could not imagine how he might react if she dared to ask him about children.

More to that point, she did not know how she felt about the matter either. Logically, she knew that she should want them, and where she was growing to love Josephine and Adeline well enough, they were not her own children, and they never would be. She was more of an aunt to them than a real mother, and that was how it should be.

Did that mean that she and the duke should have a child of their own? And would he even want such a thing?

The question aroused confusion inside of Diana and she came to decide that for now, it made little real difference. This marriage... it was still in its infancy, and she guessed that until her husband was able to speak to her about anything beyond the surface level, it would remain as such.

Did she want children? What she wanted was a husband who spoke to her as husbands were meant to do.

“Promise me you will speak to him,” her mother pressed. “Please, Diana. I know it is not any of my business, but it is important. Speak to your husband,” she pressed again, as if it was the easiest of things. “You might be surprised at what he says.”

Surprised at what he says? I would be surprised if he did not turn tale and flee.

Try as she might, Diana could not shake her mother’s question from her head. And where the need for an heir was an important conversation to have, still she reasoned that before she broached that topic with Magnus, she needed to improve the tenants of their relationship significantly.

As to how she planned on doing that? It was the following morning when an idea struck her.

The day was Saturday, and she and Magnus and Josephine and Adeline were breaking their fast together for the first time. The presence of the girls provided a comfort to the setting, as they were able to keep the conversation simple and without cause for alarm.

“I do not want to spend all day indoors learning,” Josephine opined as she poked at her plate of food. “It is sunny! I want to go outside.”

“Me too!” Adeline joined in. “Diana -- Lady Albury,” she corrected. “Can we? Can we, please?”

It was telling that she and Josephine looked to Diana for confirmation, clearly understanding that of she and Magnus, Diana was the one most likely to allow it. Diana caught Magnus eyeing her, no doubt wondering at what she would do.

If she was trying to impress Magnus, she might have curbed this idea and suggested that they do as they ought and spend the day with Miss Brooks. If she was trying to further win the girls to her side, she might have encouraged their disobedience – what was more, she was just a little curious to see if Magnus had come around to her way of thinking, willing to give her a chance at her own style of mothering, as he had promised.

In this, Diana realized there was a way to do both.

She clicked her tongue. “You really should spend the day on your studies...” She saw their faces drop, and she saw Magnus smile. “However,” she then said quickly. “I do not see why you can’t do both.”

The girls frowned.

“Diana...” Magnus began gently. “Is it such a good idea to disrupt their studies so regularly? Perhaps tomorrow they can play outside?”

“I plan on disrupting nothing,” she said as she looked at Magnus, raising her eyebrows in a way that was meant to say, ‘trust me.’

He frowned. “And how do you plan on not doing that?”

She held up a finger. “I will tell you only if you agree to join us. What do you say, girls?” She looked at them both and pumped her eyebrows. “Should your uncle join us?”

“Diana...” Magnus began again.

“Trust me,” she said quickly, turning on him again. She softened her expression, even pouting. “I know what I am doing.”

It said a lot about how far the two had come these past two days that she knew immediately that Magnus was going to relent. That he wanted to trust her. Ironically, they had not come far enough for her own liking. But then again, that was the entire point.

It was thus that ten minutes later the four of them found themselves standing in the middle of the garden. Diana chose the spot specifically, a patch of grass that stretched ten feet in each direction. On one side were hedges. On the other was a row of small trees. There were also benches and shrubs and even a fountain if one was to go far enough... if they got that far.

“Listen up because I am only going to explain the rules one time,” Diana announced. The game itself was made up, but she pretended that it was one she knew well. “Girls, stand here, thank you.” She indicated to a spot in the center of the grass. “And Magnus, you can stand here...” She then guided him to a spot right by the girls.

“What on earth are you doing?” he asked her.

She grinned but said nothing. Rather, she walked ahead and stood before the three of them, hands on her hips.

“The game is hide and seek, but with a twist. As you can see, there are plenty of spots available for hiding...” She swept her arms over the scene, indicating the various places. “The challenge is reaching one of these spots faster than those you are pitted against.”

“How do we do that?” Josephine asked immediately, her eyes already scanning for a good spot to hide.

“By answering questions, of course,” Diana said. “I will ask each of you a question in turn – a quiz. If you answer correctly, you may take one step forward. If you answer incorrectly, you stay put. Once I can no longer see you, you are allowed to run and find a spot to hide anywhere outside – but if I see you running, I can call out and you must come back to the start. So, you must be sneaky.” She pumped her eyebrows at the two girls.

“I don’t understand,” Adeline said with her face scrunched. “Why the questions? Why can we not simply hide?”

“The idea is to get a head start,” Diana answered. “If say you answer all your questions correctly, and Josephine misses a few, it will give you several minutes to hide. Oh, and the moment the last of you escapes my view, I am allowed to seek. So, you do not want to be last either.”

“Ohhhhhh,” Josephine nodded her understanding. “Yes! Yes, I see.” She then braced herself, face turning determined.

“What sort of questions?” Adeline asked excitedly.

“Hmm...” Diana tapped her chin in thought. “Adeline, what is four plus four?”

Adeline’s eyes turned wide. “Eight!” she screamed.

Diana chuckled. “Very good. Take a step forward – but before you do, plan where you wish to disappear. The shortest route to something to hide behind.”

Adeline did just that. She looked about, locked her eyes onto a shrub ten feet away, and took a step forward.

“Josephine,” Diana then said. “Spell the word... orange.”

Josephine grinned. “O-r-a-n-g-e.”

“Very good,” Diana clapped. “Take a step.”

Josephine took a step in the opposite direction to her sister, aiming for a row of trees.

“Now, Magnus...” Diana turned on him, her grin cocky and playful at the same time. “How old are you?”

He frowned. “Really? That is your question?”

“Unless you cannot answer it...?” She shrugged and the girls giggled.

“I am thirty and three,” he sighed.

“Well done,” she said with exaggeration. “Although I had no idea you were so old.” Again, the girls giggled. “Come now, a step forward.”

He took a small step forward.

Again, she asked the two girls their questions, easy ones, but still with a slight degree of difficulty so that it was not so obvious what she was doing. They both answered their questions correctly, which brought her back to Magnus.

“Dear husband,” she began. “How old were you when you travelled to the Americas?”

It was only then that he seemed to realize what she was doing. His face dropped and then hardened. He looked at her warningly, a hint of panic behind his eyes.

“Uncle!” Adeline cried. “Answer her!”

“I was...” His jaw clenched. “I was twenty.”

“Well done,” she said and clapped. “Take a step.”

He glared at her as he did so and she held that glare, letting him know she was not going to back down. Not with this.

Again, she moved onto the two girls. Their questions were geography based, and both answered correctly. That brought her to Magnus, once more.

“Magnus...” She clicked her tongue and tapped her chin. “What is your earliest memory?”

Magnus’ glare was fury. Jaw clenched, leg shaking, Diana was quite sure it was only the presence of his daughters that kept his temper in check. “I am not sure.”

“You are not sure?’ Diana pretended to act confused. “Come now, surely you have an answer.”

“I do not,” he said stiffly.

She shook her head and went back to the girls. Again, they both answered their questions correctly. Only three in and Josephine was already nearing the edges of the grassy patch, having taken larger steps than her sister could.

“Husband.” Diana was back on her husband. She met his steeled gaze, her stomach fluttering because that stare didn’t so much as frighten her as it did excite her. She knew she was walking on thin ice, but she also knew she had little choice but to do so. “What is the last thing you remember saying to your mother?”

His eyes lit up and he very nearly turned and walked away. He did not, again because his two nieces were watching him. She could see him sweating visibly, still glaring at her, temper rising...

“Uncle!” Josephine cried. “Answer her!”

He took a breath, jaw still clenched as he spoke. “I told her...” Another deep breath. “I told her that... that... that I wanted to play outside. She would not let me.”

It was such a simple answer, but it struck Diana in a way she had not expected. His mother had died when he was a boy, clearly. Her death must have also been sudden. And from the pained looked in Magnus’ eyes, the memory of her still stung.

Suddenly, this little idea of Diana’s didn’t seem nearly so clever.

“Diana!” Josephine cried. “My turn!”

“Wh -- oh. Yes. Sorry.” She tried for an apologetic look at Magnus, but there was none returned, such was his annoyance. Quickly, she asked the two girls a new question, one to do with history. Josephine got her question right and the moment that she did, she stepped behind a tree and was off. Adeline was correct also, but she was still one step away from cover.

“Uncle’s turn!” Adeline said excitedly, wishing to get to her own turn so she could hide. “Look how far back he is!” she giggled.

Diana hesitated, not sure at all what to ask now. Not wanting to push too hard. Not wanting to upset the duke. Learning more about him was all well and good but in her eagerness to do so, she had not considered why he was so closed off. One question answered and she was beginning to understand that reason.

“Ah... what is your favorite fruit?” she asked him lamely.

“Apples,” he said stiffly and took a step forward. This one brought him closer to her, less than a foot away. She felt the sudden need to step back and create some distance, but his eyes locked onto her own and she could not break free.

“Adeline... who is the King?”

“George!” she cried out and then darted behind the nearest hedges, giggling hysterically, the sound fading as she rushed through the garden and found someplace better to hide.

The moment she was gone, Magnus turned and stormed away.

“Magnus!” Diana cried out and ran after him. “Wait! I’m sorry --”

“Are you?” he spun back around, still furious. Diana came to a grinding halt, as if the wrath that spewed from him created an invisible wall. “Or are you just worried that your little game didn’t go quite as planned?”

“I...” The words caught in her throat. “I... I did not think about... I did not realize that... that... I just wanted to learn more about you. That is all.”

“I am aware of what you were trying to do, Diana,” he snarled. “I am not an idiot. But did you stop to think that maybe there is a reason I do not like talking about it? Did that even occur to you?”

She winced. “No... I did not consider that.”

He shook his head. “And to make things worse, you used the girls against me. You knew with them present, I would have no choice but to answer. It was a dirty trick.”

That stung as if he had driven a knife through her chest. She leaned back, turning away from shame and embarrassment. “I was only trying to get to know you better. That is all I want.”

“Why? Why is it so important that you ask me these questions?”

To that, she frowned. “Because... because we are married. We should know these things about one another. That is what a marriage is.”

“That is what most marriages are. I thought I made it perfectly clear that this is not most marriages.”

“Clear?” Diana looked at him with confusion and a touch of frustration. The shame she had felt was fading, replaced now with anger because this was an argument they’d had already. “Nothing about this is clear. Nothing . And to pretend otherwise is not only foolish but ignorant.”

“Careful, Diana. I do not appreciate being insulted in my own home.”

“Our home, you mean.” She stormed toward him, putting herself right in his face. “This is my home now, just as much as it is your own. We are married . I understand that you might not wish to tell me everything about your past, but you must understand that if this marriage is to progress, even a little, you must tell me something .”

“And who said I wish for it to progress?”

“You did!” she cried. “You did! The other day. Was that not the entire point? When you came to me, I thought that --” She bit her tongue, feeling herself getting a little too worked up. So much so that if she let herself keep going, things would be said that she could not take back. She took a deep breath and tried again. “I was not trying to trick you. I was certainly not trying to upset you. But Magnus...” She attempted to soften her expression and her tone. “Surely, you must understand where I am coming from? Why I am so desperate to find out anything about you? Anything at all. Like you, I do not know what I want from this marriage. But unlike you, I am at least willing to try and figure through what I do want. And I can’t do that if you insist on keeping me in the dark.”

Typically, Diana expected a firebrand response. Defensive. Aggressive. The usual, for Magnus and herself.

But his face softened. His head tilted as he looked at her with an expression she recognized; one that made her heart race and her chest flush. And then, a smile. “You really are pretty when you’re upset, you know?”

“Wh -- what?”

“I said --”

“I heard you.”

His smile grew and he reached for her hand, taking it. She tried to pull back, but he held on. “You are right, Diana. As remiss as I am to admit it, nothing you have accused me of right now is wrong.”

“It’s not...” She was suddenly very aware of her hand in his. How warm it was. How comforting. There was a strength in his grip, a sense of power that made her feel protected.

“And I want to do better. Like you, I do not know what this marriage is or what it might be. I do know, however, that if I do not at least try, it will die on the vine and that will be entirely my fault. I cannot promise that I will suddenly open my heart to you...” He chuckled and shook his head. “But I promise that if you are patient, well...” He shrugged.

She met his eyes, seeing in them that he was speaking the truth. Ironically, he was being honest with her in the exact way that she wanted. “That is all I ask.”

“And as to your little game just now...” He clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Very naughty.”

She grinned. “I thought that was what you liked about me?”

His eyes flicked over her in hunger. “I think you know what I like about you...”

A pulse ran up her arm from where he held her hand. They were standing less than a foot apart, so close that if she closed her eyes she could feel the warmth of his breath. He stood over her, nearly blocking out the sun, wrapping her in his presence in a way that made her feel trapped... but in a way that she loved .

No need to say what was on his mind. No need to say what was suddenly on her own. He stepped in closer, his body now pressed against her, his spare hand taking her by the waist.

“The... the children...” She didn’t move to pull back because she did not want to.

“They are hiding, yes?” he breathed, his grip on her waist tightening.

“They are.”

“It is a shame they are such good hiders...” He leaned in, whispering into her ear; the hairs on her neck stood up as his breath traced her skin. “We may not find them for hours.”

“Hours?”

“ Hours...”

He released her hand and cupped her under the chin. He moved her head, her lips, his own finding the side of her neck. He kissed her then and there, gently, nibbling as he then licked up her skin and moved to her lips. She took a sharp breath, catching it in her throat because suddenly her mouth became very busy.

Their fourth kiss. Their most passionate one yet. One that spoke of more than mere desire and want. One that felt personal in ways the others hadn’t because this one meant something. Attraction, yes. Arousal, of course. But also, an understanding that finally the two were on the same path.

Diana’s hands were on Magnus’ waist. His were on her face. He pressed his tongue between her lips, coaxing her mouth to open to him, letting him taste her, consume her. He pulled her in and held her close, breathing her in as she melted into him.

The problem, however, became apparent almost immediately.

They were outside. Exposed. The sun was shining overheard. Surely, that should have given them cause to stop this at once. It was not as if they were in any sort of rush?

And perhaps under different circumstances they would have considered this. Alas, even if Magnus had suggested it, Diana felt herself so overwhelmed by her state of arousal that the world could have ended around them and she still would have insisted they not stop.

Magnus pulled away but did not let go. She gasped and tried to follow his lips; eyes closed because she did not want the moment to end.

“No,” he said. “Not here.”

“But...”

She opened her eyes and saw the wicked grin on his face. Then, he took her hand and silently he led her across the patch of grass toward the row of hedges. She knew what he was thinking, and her heart beat heavy with fear and excitement. The danger inherent in what he wanted. The thrill of it, also.

“Not dissimilar to where we first met,” Magnus joked as he led her around the round of hedges and pressed her back against them.

“Shall I attack you again?” she joked.

He grabbed her hands and held them to the side. “If you can.” She pretended to try and bit him. He snapped back. And then, they were locked in a passionate kiss once more.

Diana was still new to this, but she felt herself growing more confident by the second. As the duke kissed her, memories of their last entanglement flashed through her mind. On the bed, her legs spread, his head between her thighs. Oh, how she wanted it again. Just the thought had her legs shaking...

And yet, she also knew that this time, perhaps it was on her to return the favor. She did not know what that meant, exactly. Stranger still, her mouth salivated at the thought. As if her hand was being guided by an innate desire, she moved it from Magnus’ hips to the front of his pants, which she was delighted to find were very stiff.

“Diana...” He gasped and pulled away.

She flashed her eyes at him. “Do you... is this... may I?”

He frowned. “Are you asking?”

“Unless you are telling me to?”

She could see in his eyes that he wanted it. A thrill flashed behind them. A smile rose up his lips. His mouth found her lips again, but his hands went to the front of his trousers. She could not see what he was doing, but she heard him undo them and she heard them dropping to the floor. Then, his hand took her right hand and guided it down...

... what it found was thick and hard and pulsing. She wrapped her hand around it and the duke’s body stiffened and he groaned. He pulled his mouth away, eyes closed, jaw clenched, soft moans escaping his lips as she gently squeezed.

“Like... like this?” she asked as she began to move her wrists.

“Just like that... oh... God...” His head fell onto her shoulder and he just about collapsed. “Do not... do not stop.”

“I wouldn’t dare,” she purred as she continued to stroke his member.

Diana enjoyed it more than she thought she would. Not just the feel of his manhood in her hand. Not just the way it made his body shake. But the power she got from it. The control she had over her husband in that moment. She moved her wrist faster, her grip tightening, relishing how his entire body spasmed.

“Diana,” he groaned. “Right there... right... oh... right...”

“Your Grace!” a voice cried suddenly from the other side of the hedges.

Diana froze. As did the duke.

“Your Grace!” it was the voice of one of the staff, sounding panicked.

“Do not move,” Magnus commanded in a whisper. Diana still held him in her hand, he was still pressed against her, and oh how she wanted to finish him, even if it meant getting caught.

“Your Grace!” the voice cried. “Please! Your Grace! It’s your grandmother, Your Grace! The Dowager Duchess! She is here, Your Grace! She has just arrived!”

The duke turned soft in Diana’s hand. And Diana too, all sense of arousal left her as if it had never been. She looked at the duke, saw the panic in his eyes, and despite herself, she began to laugh.

“What?” he said. “This is not funny!”

She could not stop herself from grinning. “On the contrary, Your Grace. It is rather hilarious. Now, you best put your pants back on before you grandmother sees. How embarrassing that will be otherwise.”