Page 99 of Rakes & Reticules
Callum leaned over and whispered in her ear once breakfast was done. “Are you ready, Amelia? Time to resume our lessons.”
She was certain she had imbibed too much champagne, for her head was spinning and her legs were not very steady by the time she and Callum returned to the music room to continue the hopeless endeavor. But perhaps it was not so hopeless, for she now felt as light as a cloud floating across the sky.
Obviously, she was inebriated.
Perhaps this is what she needed to finally loosen herself up enough to allow Callum to guide her. “How am I doing, Callum?”
His gorgeous eyes glittered with mirth. “Spectacular, love.”
She laughed. “I am not so drunk that I do not recognize a well-intentioned lie when I hear it. Oh, I’ll never get this dance.”
“You will. We’ll have a lifetime together to figure it out.” He dipped his head to hers and kissed her as they continued to waltz.
He made her melt.
He made her heart flutter.
She could not have asked for a better choice of ‘someone’ for herself.
She gazed up at him in wonder as he ended the kiss. “I love you, Callum.”
He cast her a steamy look that set her cheeks on fire.
Oh, dear.
All of her was on fire, for that look promised of more lessons to come...and those would have nothing to do with dancing.
EPILOGUE
Cotswolds, England
September 1818
Amelia burst into Callum’s study in Marston Hall, raced behind his desk where he was seated while digging through a pile of documents, and flung herself into his arms. It was late morning and she had been about to go into the village to do a bit of shopping, but what she found in her reticule had her running downstairs to seek him out. “You are the best husband ever!”
He laughed while wrapping his arms around her. “And to what do I owe the honor?”
She held up a folded parchment. “You know very well what this is. I found it in my reticule this morning.You are the sun that lights the dawn and the dearest treasure of my heart.”
“Took you long enough to find it,” he said with a deep chuckle that shot tingles through her. But everything about him seemed to affect her in this way. His smile. The very look of him. Dear heaven. Waking to the man each morning was a feast on the eyes, especially since he slept naked, his upper torso exposed because his body was a furnace and his skin always deliciously hot.
He was dressed now and still a feast on the eyes. No matter his state of attire, she could not drink enough of him in.
“I put that note in there three days ago.”
“A love note,” she said with a nod of sublime satisfaction. “Is it really from you?”
He laughed again. “Yes, love. Short, sweet, and all by my own hand. Unless I have competition for my wife’s affection?”
She kissed him on the cheek. “I think you have chased all those hopeful scoundrels away. Not that I ever had anyone interested in me but you. Thank goodness you turned out to be the ‘someone’ meant for me.”
“I could not think of a better way to tell you how much I love you. The romantic poets will not consider me much of a challenge to their art, but my sentiments are sincere. I love you, Amelia.”
She snuggled on his lap. “I love you, too. I never believed such happiness could exist. I wish there was a way to bottle up this feeling and preserve it for always.”
“I know.” He rubbed a hand along her slightly swollen belly, his eyes widening when he felt the slight flutter of their child kicking inside her. “In my younger, rakehell days, I would hear others refer to some men as ‘happily married’ and did not think much about it. I had no concept of the depth of devotion, the trust and commitment between a husband and wife that went along with that term. Happily married also means unbreakable...inseparable...for this is what we are. No longer two separate hearts, but two pieces of one heart to encompass us both in love.”
“You shall make me cry if you continue to say such sweet things to me.”
