He gladly joined her, acting as if he expected her arrival. Walked with her to the corner of St. James and Jermyn Streets and then kissed her in front of the gods and everyone else who took notice of them.
Thank the gods she didn’t slap him, for he proposed right then and there.
Well, not really.
He merely announced rather loudly and happily that she had said, “Yes.” A smattering of applause followed his antics, and he felt a good deal of satisfaction.
Poor Diana had looked as if she was going to faint.
She was a ‘ten’ in his estimation, secretly glad Fennington had found her to be only a seven in his.
Fennington was a fool, but then it wasn’t long before he was smitten by another young woman who was apparently a ‘ten’ by his standards.
Adam had never regretted his odd proposal, even when he discovered Diana was an instructor at Warwick’s Grammar and Finishing School. There might have been a twinge of hesitancy when he learned she taught mathematics, but even then, he must have known how helpful she would be in the operation of an earldom. How her skills at arithmetic would benefit the Aimsely ledgers.
Then, finally, there had been another twinge upon learning she was the illegitimate daughter of James, Duke of Ariley. Not because she was illegitimate, but because her father was a duke.
Never once had he wondered what might have been had he simply tried the more traditional manner of finding a wife by meeting and courting a young woman. He would have had to attend the annual Season’s entertainments on a more regular basis. Dance with eligible young ladies. Ride with them in the park. Converse with them atsoirées.
If not for Diana, he never would have found a wife for whom he would give up his roguish behavior.
Daphne’s giggle had him shaking off his thoughts of the past. “Where are you off to now?” he asked, wincing when he realized his back was twinging from having been bent over for so long. He slowly straightened, a grimace replacing his expression of good humor.
He hated getting old. He could hardly believe he would be one-and-fifty this year.
“Home, sir. Mother is expecting us for tea,” James replied.
“Oh, well, be sure to give her my regards. Your father as well,” he added, remembering he would be joining George in the House of Lords the following week.
“We will, Uncle Adam,” Daphne replied, dipping a perfect curtsy. “We’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Good-bye, Uncle,” James said as he gripped Daphne’s hand and pulled her to the vestibule.
Hummel saw to their coats and head coverings before he opened the front door and watched them skip to the town coach parked at the curb.
“I’m going to kidnap Daphne. Adopt her as my own daughter,” Adam stated as he crossed his arms and watched the children climb into the coach.
“Very good, sir,” Hummel replied, ignoring the earl’s claim. “Two letters arrived for you today. I put them on your desk in the study.”
Adam blinked, realizing even his own butler had no regard for his plans. He thought of going to his study to see what the post had delivered, but then remembered what the children had said about his wife.
Diana was up in the classroom.
Before he quite knew what he was doing, Adam climbed the stairs, taking some two at a time despite the painful twinges his knees sent out. By the time he made it to the third floor, he had slowed his steps in an attempt to catch his breath. When he made it to the classroom, he paused on the threshold, and his breathing stopped.
The sight of his wife did that sometimes. Dressed in a poppy colored day gown, she was bent over the small table in the middle of the room, cleaning a slate chalkboard with a linen. When she sensed his presence, she straightened and stared at him. “Is something wrong?” she asked in alarm.
He shook his head as he inhaled deeply. “Not at all,” he replied, his mind going back to a time when she had been caught unawares as he found her leaning over a library table. How when she sensed his presence, she hadn’t straightened but tucked her elbows beneath her. How she had regarded him with eyes that darkened with desire.
Who was he to consider turning down such an overt invitation?
Adam was fairly sure the twins had been conceived that day in the library.
“Adam?”
Pulled from his brief reverie, Adam gave a start. “The children said you were up here.”
She grinned as she joined him at the door. “Daisy asked if I might take on some of their schooling. She’s not very impressed with James’ tutor, but she’s not about to send her son to Eton, either.”
