A Priceless Gift: A Regency Romance Read Free Page B

with her spoon, staring down at its yellowish surface. “I am trying to get over that. But it was a lot to cope with so quickly. This time last week I still thought I merely had some passing stomach ailment, and none of this seems quite real. Being here with you, a countess, expecting, having my mother reject me so cruelly. That was the worst.”
    That she could talk to him of her feelings was encouraging. “I always thought your mother a kind and sensible woman, if a little rigid in her notions of propriety. Was her attitude completely unexpected?”
    “It hurt, that she would not believe me, that she would rather consider me a liar than her brother a, a—”
    “Rapist,” he supplied harshly. “Villain. Monster. There are more of those about than virtuous, sheltered women like your mother suspect. They even prey on children of both sexes.”
    “Children? Boys, too? I don’t see how that would even be possible.”
    “It is not a suitable subject for your first dinner in your new home. Forgive me,” he said. “I had been planning to return to London after the weekend. You will need different clothes, suitable to your new position.”
    “Not many,” she said ruefully, “if my figure is going to change soon.”
    “As many as you want. We are rich, you need not stint. I shall put a notice about the marriage in the Morning Post , but I’ll leave the exact wedding date vague. We want people to think it was some weeks ago, if possible.”
    “Does it really matter?”
    Her lips were rosy in the candlelight. He had to remember that she was forbidden fruit for the time being, and too young. Much too young, even if she sat there with pathetic dignity and clearly had a will and desires of her own. He liked her despite the prickliness. The straight way she looked at him reminded him of Mark, though her colouring and features mostly came from Ellen.
    “It will matter to your child if society considers him or her a bastard. Do you really want that? It may affect my friends’ attitude towards you as well.”
    “I see. You are the expert in what society does and expects. I shall follow your advice.”
    “I also need to see my solicitor, to settle a dower on you for when you are a widow. It is likely that you’ll outlive me for quite a few years.”
    “Will you be annoyed if I say that I hope so? Childbirth can be dangerous. You may become a widower instead.”
    The thought was disturbing. Especially that Amanda, so young and bright, might die as a result of her own uncle’s crime. “I shall do all I can to prevent that, but as you say, life is always uncertain.” With proper care, surely odds were better than even that, a year from now, both she and the babe would be alive and well.
    “As for the other thing you asked earlier,” from her blush he saw she instantly understood what he meant, “there is no hurry to decide now. We can wait until after the birth of your child before we come to any decision. Your decision, rather, for I shall never force you to submit against your will.”
    “Yet it is your right, as I understand it.”
    “A right I have no interest in exercising if you are going to hate me afterwards. The truth is that, right now, you are too young for me, and I am too old for you.”
    “Right now? You think that will change?”
    “I shall not get any younger, but you will mature and may look at things differently.”
    “I suppose that is possible.” She gnawed her pink lips in deep thought. “But I am not sure I like what you said earlier, about assuaging your needs elsewhere in the meantime. What exactly does that mean? In practice?”
    No, Amanda was not the typical mealy-mouthed young girl. A young lady brought up in fashionable society would never put him on the spot like that. At least the servants were outside, fetching the next dishes. This was not a conversation he wanted to share with his staff.
    “There are always women who don’t mind sharing their bodies for the pleasure of the