Epilogue
Ash had beena husband for only three months, and he was already a father twice over.
His fatherhood was not, however, because of his inability to await the consummation of his marriage. Of which, of course, he had been guilty. And not just on the one occasion, either. There had been the initial night he had slipped into Pru’s chamber, but after they had been forced to wait three weeks for the banns to be read, there had also been that time in the library, those two times in the west wing salon, a fifth indiscretion in the false ruins, not to mention that hasty coupling in the holly maze, which had been deuced cold but worth every second of freezing air on his ballocks…
Curse it, if he was not careful, Ash was going to be sporting a cockstand, which was decidedlyde tropfor a gentleman standing on the threshold of the nursery, admiring his lady wife as she rocked their twin daughters to sleep. Jane and Mary and been the newest additions to her brother’s foundling hospital. Left behind by an overwhelmed young mother with no means of providing for two infants at once, the babes had been named by the hospital, and were about to be separated, sent to two different wet nurses.
When he and Pru had returned to London following their nuptials, the babes had stolen both their hearts, and neither of them wanted to see the sisters torn apart. Meanwhile, twins had been a daunting prospect for the already crowded foundling hospital. Ash and Pru’s decision had been easy and swift. And over the last few weeks, Ash had come to discover an equally beloved role, alongside that of Pru’s husband.
That of papa.
“How are our angels?” he asked softly.
Pru looked up at him, a tender smile of welcome on her lips. She held one babe in her left arm and one arm in her right, and he did not think he had ever seen a more wondrous sight than the three ladies he loved most, all together in the soft glow of the evening candlelight.
“They are sleeping at last, I do believe,” she murmuredsotto voce, so as not to wake the slumbering infants. “How is the new foundling hospital coming along?”
He had just arrived back home from his tour of the progress of the foundling hospital they were building alongside the existing building her brother patronized. Although Devereaux Winter had been more than generous with his fortune, and the hospital was large, clean, and well-run by a compassionate staff, there remained more babes in need of homes than space for them. Children were admitted on the basis of a balloted system. With the addition of a new building, Ash and Pru hoped no children would need to be turned away.
“Construction is almost complete,” he reported to Pru. “I expect in the next sennight, we will be able to have the furnishings moved in and the staff you are selecting will be able to begin as well.”
“Thank you for all the work you have done on behalf of the hospital and the children,” she told him, love shining in her eyes.
“It gives me a purpose,” he said easily, for it did.
Who could have guessed that Lord Ashley Rawdon, one of the most scandalous rakes in London, would have found happiness in being a husband and father, and in surrounding himself with abandoned children? He had never supposed such joy was possible for him. But it was, all thanks to the goddess he had found quite unexpectedly one Oxfordshire Christmastide.
“Speaking of purpose,” his wife said, raising a brow at him. “Would you take one of the girls and settle her in her crib for me?”
Ash was at her side in a trice, lifting Jane from Pru’s arms. He held the precious little bundle to his chest. She was sleeping so soundly, she did not even stir. Love, profound and strong, hit him as he stared down at the sleeping face of his daughter.
“There is Papa’s angel,” he murmured softly, before kissing her brow.
He settled her in her crib with ease, then gave her bottom a soothing pat before drawing the blanket over her. She made a sigh of contentment and raised her tiny fist to her mouth, sucking on it in her sleep.
Pru settled Mary in the crib alongside her sister, then fussed with the blankets. Ash watched his wife with a mixture of pride and love. She was a wonderful mother, just as he had known she would be. He felt immeasurably blessed. Undeserving of the happiness in which he found himself, but appreciative of it. So very thankful for Pru and the family they had begun.
“There we are,” his wife said gently, giving the blanket a final adjustment before turning toward him. “Since the girls should be soundly sleeping for the next little while, perhaps we might retire for just a bit. Supper will not be for another hour.”
The hint of wicked suggestion in her voice was all he needed to hear. “Lead the way, my love.”
Pru had scarcelymade it over the threshold of her chamber before her husband’s hands were on her waist. She had news to share with him, but it could wait, because she was suddenly ravenous for him. He nuzzled her neck, planting a kiss there and inhaling deeply.
“You smell so damned good,” he told her. “Every time I smell a flower, my cock gets hard.”
She chuckled and reached back to thread her fingers through his soft, thick hair. “It is soap from my brother’s factory.”
He hummed his approval before tonguing the sensitive hollow behind her ear. “Do me a favor, love, and do not mention your brother when I am about to fuck you. It rather dampens the mood.”
She laughed again. “You, sir, are a rogue.”
“Unapologetically,” he agreed, his hand gliding from her waist to her bottom, before giving her derriere a squeeze. “A rogue who cannot wait another minute to be inside his beautiful wife.”
His words sent a furl of molten longing through her. “Then you should not wait.”
Her voice was breathless with anticipation. Because she was every bit as eager for him as he was for her. She turned around in his arms, and then, they were kissing. Their lips met and held, tongues tangling as they began stripping each other of their garments. Her gown fell away. So, too, his coat and cravat. Their shoes were next, followed by her stays and petticoat, his waistcoat and shirt.
When every piece of fabric had been haphazardly strewn across the Aubusson, they fell into the bed together. Ash tore his mouth from hers and positioned her on all fours, leaving her rump high in the air. It was a position they both loved, for it allowed him to drive deeply inside her.
