Page 64 of A Royal Kiss & Tell
“Very good,” he said with a nod, and continued walking.
He had not forgotten what he had to do, the stirring interlude with Caroline notwithstanding.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The Duke and Duchess of Norfolk are pleased to announce the duchess has been delivered of a healthy baby boy. The news was met with joy across Sussex and London, as it represents a new beginning. Perhaps the duke and duchess can put behind them the terrible row the night of the birth, the likes of which sent pets and servants scurrying for cover. Gentlemen would be well reminded that a lady’s nerves are at their most frayed the hours before a birth.
Ladies, it is not practical to invest in belt buckles of various shades and colors. Silver and pearl complement all styles of dress. The investment of a buckle with a sturdy clasp is well worth the cost if it keeps one’s belt tightly fastened when a husband has fallen into his cups.
—Honeycutt’s Gazette of Fashion and
Domesticity for Ladies
CAROLINEWASSTARTLEDout of a very restful sleep when Beck suddenly burst into her room. He strode in and stopped with his legs braced apart and very nearly shouted, “Why are you still abed?”
“Why? What time is it?” Caroline asked groggily.
“Time for you to be awake, madam.” He strode for the window, throwing the drapes open. “Lady Norfolk is giving birth.”
She abruptly sat up and looked around her.“Now?”
“Yes, now. All night, as it happens. Haven’t you heard them running back and forth? More towels, more water!” he said, gesturing for her to get up. “The midwife says anytime now. Get dressed, get dressed, Caro! You should be helping!” He moved determinedly out of her room.
“I should be helping what?” she mumbled as the door closed behind him.
Nevertheless, she threw off the covers. She was awake now, attuned to the day, even as the memory of last night flooded her thoughts. She shivered when she recalled the way his hand had felt against her skin, the way his mouth worked on her body. She shivered again when she recalled how dark his blue eyes had turned when she found her release, and time and thought and even air had been suspended.
She smiled as she padded across to the bellpull. She’d never experienced anything like what Leopold had shown her last night. She’d heard of it—Priscilla’s older sister once told them that her husband put his mouth “down there.” Priscilla and Caroline, who were much younger at the time, hadn’t believed it. But then Eliza had confirmed that the sort of thing was true between man and woman and really quite enjoyable. Now Caroline could report—
Wait. She couldn’t report any such thing. What was the matter with her? It would not do to talk about it. No, this was a delicious secret she would need to keep to herself. Lord, how would she look at Leopold again, now that this had transpired between them? She’d blush wildly, and everyone around her would suspect the truth, she was certain.
She was still smiling when Janey entered her room to help her dress.
“Good morning, milady!” she said brightly. “What a glorious day it is, isn’t it, with another child to be born? They’ve sent for the duke, so it must be nigh.”
“When did the birthing start?”
“Oh, just before midnight,” Janey said. She held up a dress from the trunk Caroline had brought. “If you ask me, it started in earnest this morning, just before the kitchen fires were started.”
Caroline laughed. “What were you doing about at the hour?”
“Didn’t you hear? It’s a wonder anyone slept a wink, what with all the shouting.”
“What shouting?” Caroline asked as she stepped into her crinoline, and Janey tied it at her waist. She’d slept like a baby—a deep slumber, a contented slumber, she mused, as Janey prattled on. Caroline was slipping back into the memory when something Janey said caught her attention. “Pardon?”
“The midwife,” Janey repeated.
“No, before that.”
“Oh, aye. My poor mistress, she saw the duke come up the stairs from the kitchen, and I suppose she thought he ought to have been close by, I don’t know, but she picked up a vase and threw it at him. The midwife, she said it didn’t go far, as it was heavy, and the duchess had very little strength.”
“From the kitchen?” Caroline repeated. Her buoyant feeling began to dissipate. She looked at Janey’s reflection in the mirror. “Why would he go to the kitchen in the middle of the night?”
Janey pursed her lips and pretended to be fussing with Caroline’s dress.
Caroline glanced over her shoulder at her. “There must have been a reason, Janey.”
Janey paused in the smoothing of the skirt of Caroline’s gown. “I don’t rightly know, milady. All I know is that this morning Cook said there was an awful row between the prince and the duke, and...” She quickly looked over her shoulder, as if she thought someone else was in the room. And then whispered,“The girl Jacleen has gone missing.”
