Her soft laugh steered him back from that darkness, and she was looking up at him with those implausibly beautiful eyes. “I truly shall be well. You will wear yourself out with excessive worry.” She turned to her sister. “Please, tell him to not worry.”
Lady Darpley smiled demurely. “Do not worry, Your Grace. Her condition might not be as we all think. It might be something very pleasant.”
His eyes snapped back to Anna’s face as her sister’s implication hung in the air. The lady’s maid quietly stood and left the room, and Anna was the first to speak. “What do you mean?”
Lady Darpley smiled. “Would could I mean, of course?” She gave both Anna and Colin a knowing look.
“It is too early,” Colin said.
“Time has a way of revealing these things,” Lady Darpley said.
Anna squeezed his hand, and he could see her eyes brightening at the thought of being with child. He would be happy if she was, but if he was truly honest with himself, he did not want her to be with child so soon. It would shorten their time together and he was rather unprepared for that.
He kissed her hand and moved to sit in the chair adjacent to hers, but then the foreign emotions threatened to overwhelm him. He stood. “I should see if the physician has arrived.” It was a weak excuse but he was confused, and giving Anna a faint smile, he turned and exited the drawing room.
Dr. Quentin had not confirmed anything but Anna was hopeful, especially because she knew it could occur from the time her marriage was consummated. The physician had been unable to find the cause of her swooning and weariness but he advised her to rest and eat well.
She ensured she ate all her meals, and dinner tonight was very pleasant. Nathaniel had joined them every night since Catherine arrived five days ago, and they had quickly become friends. Her bedchamber door opened and Colin walked in, holding her squirming cat. “Do you know where I found him?”
“In your dressing room?” she jested.
“In my bed.” He came and set the cat down on her lap. “I cannot understand why he pesters me so.”
“He is fond of you.” She stroked the cat’s soft ears, while Colin sat at the edge of the bed. He must have just had a bath, because his hair was damp and he smelled like his sandalwood soap.
“I am afraid I cannot return his sentiment.”
“You cannot or will not?”
“Both.” He shrugged, then pushed a lock of hair that had fallen over his brow away. “How do you feel?”
“I feel fine,” she replied, picking up the carroty ball of fuzz from her lap and setting him down on the floor. He sprinted toward a chair and began to scratch the leg.
“Lord! That thing is going to ruin my furniture,” Colin grumbled.
“Love him and he might behave,” Anna giggled.
“Might,” he murmured. “That is not assuring.”
She moved closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. With some reluctance, but less than before, Colin extended his arm and wrapped it around her, drawing her close. She closed her eyes and kissed his neck, content for them to simply remain as they were.
Anna remembered what Catherine had told her about love, and she wondered if the tenderness she was feeling in her heart at this very moment was love. He leaned back so they were lying down, and his free hand idly traced circles on her bare arm.
“What are you thinking?” she asked, her eyelids growing heavy. She was so warm and comfortable.
“My thoughts are costly, Anna.”
“Name your price.”
He looked down at her. “A kiss.”
Reaching to run the tips of her fingers against his stubbled jaw, she tilted her head and touched her lips to his.
He cupped the back of her neck and kissed her deeply, rolling her onto her back and covering her body with his. Reaching into his banyan, she ran demanding hands over his bare chest, moving downward until she reached the waist of his breeches.
He pulled her nightrail up over her head, then his banyan followed. She began to undo the fastenings of his breeches but he stopped her. “Not yet.” Kissing her neck, he began to descend slowly, kissing every inch of skin he encountered.
Anna grasped his hair and bit her lip, her body tightening with anticipation. A hungry half-groan left her throat when he kissed her center. Her heart skipped excitedly, driving her pulse to every part of her. Her senses slipped away as his tongue stroked her heated flesh.
