Page 72 of Taken to the Grave
Hugh’s palm grazed the old scar from the bullet that had struck her a few summers ago. “How is it that you’re even more tempting now than you were before?”
She never felt more loved and cherished than when she was with him. During the last year, he’d shown her so many ways to love, and not just in terms of intimacy. It was in the small things, like the sly wink he’d give when she caught him gazing at her. Or how he’d leave a flower or something else he’d found out on the grounds of their Surrey estate—once, it had been an enormous pinecone nearly the size of her forearm—on her pillow or desk. It was how he’d stand close and keep his hand on her lower back whenever she was meeting someone new and was nervous. Or it was just making a comment about how delicious she smelled after he’d kissed the crown of her head.
“I suppose it is the same mystery that makes me love you more with every passing day,” she replied. He growled in appreciation and leaned up for a kiss.
“However,” Audrey said, a hand to his chest to keep him back, “It will have to wait. It’s nearly two o’clock, and I cannot allow Cassie to arrive without a proper greeting. I haven’t seen her in months.”
Hugh sighed and sat back, though his hand stayed rooted on her thigh. “Very well, I am content to wait until tonight.”
“Your fortitude is heroic, my lord.”
He groaned lightly before releasing her leg. Once his arms were back around her waist, he said, “I’ve heard from Sir Gabriel.”
“Oh?” Audrey shifted in his lap, her interest piqued. Albeit, she was a little wary too.
Sir Gabriel had asked for Hugh’s assistance on a murder case in December, and the argument that had ensued had been the low point of their first year as husband and wife. At seven months pregnant, Audrey had been close to confinement andHugh had insisted he work alone. She’d been resentful and, admittedly, not entirely reasonable. Everything had resolved in the end, but she didn’t want another incident like that again. In fact, she was rather enjoying the monotony and calm of their life at Cranleigh. Perhaps it wouldn’t always be that way, and they may eventually be drawn into another investigation together, but for now, she was content.
“He is thinking of retiring from the magistrate’s chair.”
Audrey’s fingers, which had been combing the ends of Hugh’s hair, went still. “And?”
“And he wants to speak to me about taking his place.”
Her stomach cinched. “As magistrate?”
Hugh held her eyes. “I’ve already replied.”
Audrey shifted away from him, her fingers withdrawing from his hair. “You didn’t think to discuss it with me?”
“There is nothing to discuss. My mind is made up, and the letter is sent.”
Her temper beginning to simmer, Audrey braced her hands on the desk and started to stand. But he pulled her back down and held her tight in his lap again.
“I have said no.”
She stared at him as the fire in her chest stamped out. “But…you love Bow Street. You miss it terribly.”
“I do,” he said softly, nodding. “But my life is here. It’s here with you and Cat. I know the job and how often I would be away from you, and I can’t. I don’t want it more than I want my time with you.”
Audrey melted against him, drawing her legs up. This was her favorite place to be, curled up against him, with all the time in the world stretching before them. She kissed him, relieved beyond measure.
The door to the study winged open then, and Sir sauntered in without knocking or announcing himself. Audrey sat up. “He’sbeginning to take after you,” she murmured to Hugh, getting to her feet.
Hugh groaned in disappointment. “Sir, what are you doing? Cat was sleeping.”
Now fourteen, Sir was as tall as Audrey. He walked into the study holding Catherine in one arm. She was wrapped in a blanket, the bundling so proficient and tight that Audrey knew at once Sir had done it himself. He was skilled at wrapping up babies, he’d said, while trying to show their first nanny how to imitate his method.
“She was not, she was wailing like a banshee,” he replied. “You’ve got to hire a new nanny, Lady A. I found her sleeping through all Cat’s howling, dead to the world, out like a two-penny boxer.”
He bounced the baby, who was now burbling happily with her fingers in her mouth. Audrey grinned as Sir bopped Catherine on the nose and pulled a silly face.
She bit back her smile, knowing Sir would scowl at it, and left the desk. “You are entirely too picky.”
Hugh quickly overtook her and snatched the baby from Sir’s arms before Audrey could reach them. “What’s this nanny’s name again?”
“Miss Pierce,” Audrey said with a shake of her head. “Honestly, she’s been with us for four weeks.”
“There she is!” Basil said, as he entered the study. “Sir, did you take that baby again? Miss Pierce is utterly beside herself, sobbing that Catherine has been abducted. Goodness, she’s blubbering on and on about nonsensical things like faeries and changelings. Someone, take that baby back to her.”
