Page 69

“Obviously I need to prove it to you—so we’ll share nothing more than kisses from now on. Until you beg me.”

“I shan’t beg you!” she said, turning pink.

An hour later, when Miles walked up the steps to his house, one hand held his daughter and the other his wife’s hand.

Hobbs opened the door, stepping backward and bowing. “My lady, welcome back!”

Daisy smiled at him. “Your comment about my husband’s irascibility when exhausted was helpful, Hobbs. Thank you.”

Miles looked down at his wife. “I informed Hobbs that next time you run away, a footman should jump on the back of the hackney.”

Daisy turned pink. “Miles!”

“I’m sure I’ll do an impulsive, stupid thing or two in the next fifty years,” he said, grinning at her. “You’ll need to straighten me out.”

“Hopefully not,” Daisy said. She twinkled at Hobbs. “In that event, I’ll turn a blind eye to a man in livery following me out the door.”

“Just so, my lady,” Hobbs said, not bothering to hide a grin.

“I’ll be the man following you,” Miles growled, dropping a kiss on her lips even though the butler and two footmen were watching. He turned to Hobbs. “Rather than spend the night in London, we shall leave for the country immediately. Our trunks have been sent ahead, haven’t they?”

Hobbs nodded. “I’m happy to say that I have engaged a respectable nanny, who comes with the highest references. Nanny Plum is already in residence and prepared to travel with the household.”

“Belle will travel in our carriage,” Daisy said firmly.

The baby had slept the whole time they were in Frederick’s house, making up for her sleepless night. Now she looked around at Hobbs, the footmen, Ada, and Miles. “Boo, boo, boo!”

“That’s a new sound!” Daisy said, her eyes lighting up.

“Boo, boo,” Belle repeated, and then, thoughtfully, “Moo.”

Miles bent his head and kissed the baby soundly. “Moo to you, sweetheart.”

Eight hours later, as the Devin carriages trundled up the drive to his lordship’s country estate, Belle was sleeping in Miles’s arms, and Daisy was curled up at his side.

He ran a light finger down his wife’s nose, vowing to himself that his life’s goal would be to make her happy. Raw desire struck him so desperately, so ferociously that he swallowed hard and reminded himself that courtship was next. He wanted Daisy to know in her bones how much he loved her before they made love.

In the last years, he had lost over and over, as criminal cases he had prepared were dismissed by the House of Lords, voted down by men more interested in protecting the reputation of their peers than seeing justice done.

Wooing Daisy meant more to him than any of those cases.

He refused to lose this time, which meant he had to be patient.

They climbed from the carriage in the dark, the courtyard lit by flickering gas lanterns and stars far above. His wife tipped her head back, staring at his house. Its tall, narrow windows glowed with golden light, showing glimpses of elaborately plastered ceilings.

“Welcome to Devin Manor,” Miles said.

“It’s so large,” she breathed.

“King Henry VIII built the house as a residence for his eldest son, Henry, but the child only lived a few weeks. When His Majesty lost the house to my ancestor in a card game, it was said that the king purposefully threw his cards, as he wanted no reminders of Henry’s death.”

“A royal abode,” Daisy said. “Goodness.”

Miles handed Belle to Nanny Plum, picked up Daisy, and began to stride toward the door. “A fitting place for my queen to live.”

“Miles! I told you that you mustn’t pick me up like a bag of laundry!”

“Laundry?” he paused, letting the hand on her bottom tighten. “You don’t feel like laundry to me.” He dusted her lips with his. “You feel like my delectable, utterly desirable wife.”