Bea dropped a kiss on George’s linen cap, love for him so strong, for a moment, she found it difficult to form words. “He needed me.”
Merrick gave her a sweet grin. “Just as I needed you. As I still need you.”
“I love you,” she told him, gratitude rushing over her. She had the life she had always wanted—the man she loved, all his support of her independence, and their babe in her arms. What more could she want?
Nothing.
“And I love you.” He dropped a kiss on George’s brow. “You were not matchmaking this evening at the ball, were you?”
Bea bit her lip as she considered her answer. The truth was, she and her sisters, along with their sister-in-law Emilia, had decided to aid in matchmaking their illegitimate half siblings—Blade, Demon, Gavin, and Genevieve. Thus far, they had only succeeded with Blade and Lady Felicity Hughes. However, there remained great hope amongst them all for Genevieve and the ne’er-do-well Marquess of Sundenbury.
“Bea?” Merrick prodded. “I saw you speaking with Lady Felicity, and do not doubt for a moment that the men of the family have not taken note of what our women are about.”
“I was merely relaying the story of our own unusual courtship to Lady Felicity,” she said.
“May I hold him before we take him back to the nursery?” Merrick asked, holding out his arms for their son. “It was an unusual courtship indeed. I do hope you did not mention the bathtub incident.”
Their courtship had involved the rest of her family leaving for Oxfordshire without her. She had been alone with Merrick. Deliciously alone.
She cleared her throat and handed the sweetly sleeping George to his doting papa. “Of course I would never mention something so improper. I was reminding Lady Felicity that sometimes a lady must seize what she wants, regardless of the repercussions. If she does not, she will spend the rest of her life wondering what would have happened if she had.”
And Bea did not regret a moment of the manner in which she had laid siege to her husband’s defenses. She would do it the same again tomorrow, if need be. She could only hope the words she had offered to Lady Felicity this evening mattered to her.
“Lady Felicity and Blade Winter,” Merrick said, as if he were considering the match himself.
“They are perfect for each other,” Bea said. “We all agree. One but needs to see the manner in which they look at each other to know.”
Merrick gave her a tender smile, the one that never failed to land directly in her heart. “And how is it they look at one another, my love?”
“The way you look at me,” she said softly. “And the way I look at you. A man and woman in love, who fall more deeply by the day.”
“Mmm.” He dipped his head and gave her another swift, chaste kiss. “I cannot speak for Lady Felicity and Blade, but I do know I love you more and more each day.”
She smiled. “And I do not know about you, Mr. Hart, but I do believe it is time to return our little George to the nursery so we may get some…rest.”
“If byrest, you are inferring something far more intriguing, I wholeheartedly concur.” He winked.
And Bea fell a bit more in love with him in that moment.
Blade paced thelength of his chamber, clad in nothing more than a banyan, cursing himself for a fool. Lady Felicity was not going to accept his offer. And yet, he could not sleep. Because whilst the smallest chance remained and there were hours left in the night, he could not settle for slumber. Not until he knew for certain she had made her decision.
He ought to have filched a brandy bottle to keep him company this evening. If he could not have her, at least he could have tamed the wild yearning for her that had seized him relentlessly in its grasp. Giving the bottle a black eye would have gone a long way toward quelling his restlessness.
He was Blade bloody Winter, curse her. Since when did he find himself so enamored with any woman—and an innocent lady, at that—that he had to go chasing after her?
Stupid sod.
He had learned to dance for her.
His hands fisted at his sides as he paced.
Had twirled about and strutted like a goddamn peacock for her.
He ground his molars.
He had dared her to be bold and reckless, had invited her to his bed, and she had denied him.
A knock sounded at his door. So low and quiet, he would not have heard it had he been standing at the opposite end of the chamber. Everything inside him tensed and froze. Three strides and he was at the portal, yanking it open.
