A Christmas Affair (38 page)

He nodded, ducking his head to brush her tears away with a gentle kiss. “That’s when I first began loving you,” he said simply. “I’d seen so much of death that I’d forgotten what it meant to be alive, but standing there with you in those snowy woods I found myself believing in the magic you talked about.”

“Magic?” she asked touching his cheek with a gentle hand.

“Magic,” he repeated, brushing back a strand of fiery hair that had fallen across her neck. “You and the children have filled my life with magic and wonder, and I can not thank you enough. I love you, Amanda.”

“And I love you.” She pressed a kiss on his throat, and then gasped again as another pain shot through her.

“Don’t tell me that was the babe moving” Justin said, his tone anxious as he glowered down into her almost white face. “What is it?”

“That,” Amanda answered, laughing and grimacing at the same time, “is my present to you, arriving slightly ahead of
schedule.”

Justin’s sherry-brown eyes grew wide with alarm. “Do you mean . . .” his voice trailed off. “Now?”

“Now,” she agreed, clinging to his hand for support. “Do you think you could send one of the footmen for Dr. Prescott? I think I may have need of him in a few hours.”

Justin shot up from the settee and dashed for the door, calling out orders in a commanding voice that had the servants scurrying about like startled ants. While the butler, two footmen, and the burly groom went in search of the doctor, Justin carried Amanda up to her room, roundly cursing her for not informing him of her condition sooner.

The next few hours passed in a blur for Amanda. Justin stayed at her side until an outraged Mrs. Hatcher and exasperated doctor finally ordered him out. After that things were decidedly foggy, but through the pain, Amanda thought of Justin, clinging to his love with increasing desperation. Finally, it was over, and her new-born son was placed in her arms.

“Edward Daniel,” she murmured in an exhausted voice, blinking back weak tears. “I want him called Edward Daniel,” and then she was asleep with the suddenness of a candle being extinguished.

The room was in semi-darkness when she next awoke. A single candle burned at her bedside table, and she could see Justin sleeping on the chair. The drapes had been left open, and the soft, white glow cast by the snow outside filled the room with an unearthly light. She lay there a few moments revelling in a feeling of loving contentment, and then she noticed Justin was awake and regarding her with glistening eyes.

“Happy Christmas, my love,” he whispered, moving to kneel beside her. “How are you feeling?”

“Tired,” she admitted, touching a hand to his wet cheeks. “But happy. And you?”

“Happy.” He turned his head and placed a reverent kiss in
the palm of her hand. “Thank you, my beloved wife. You have given me the most wonderful gift in the world.”

“Your son?”

“Your love,” he corrected, making no effort to wipe away the tears that fell from his amber-tinted eyes. “Edward Daniel is merely the embodiment of that love. Do you feel up to a small journey?”

The question surprised Amanda, and she briefly considered her various aches and pains. Outside of a dragging exhaustion and a lingering soreness between her thighs, she felt surprisingly well, and she gave Justin a warm smile. “What do you have in mind?”

In answer he scooped her up carefully in his arms and carried her down the stairs, taking care that the blanket remained firmly tucked about her. She barely had time to wonder at all the candles that were still burning before he carried her into the parlor. The sight of the room, darkened save for the glow of thousands of candles flickering on the huge tree, brought a gasp of delight to her lips.

“Happy Christmas, my darling,” he said, and then kissed her, his kiss rife with the love and joy that would see them through all the other Christmases that they would share together.

About the Author

A winner of The Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart Award for Best Regency for her very first novel, Joan Overfield has written 23 Regency Historical Romances. In addition, she has also written two time travel romances: the ground-breaking THE DOOR AJAR and its sequel, TIME’S TAPESTRY. In 2000 Romantic Times Magazine voted THE DOOR AJAR one of the top 100 Romances of all time. Joan has made several bestsellers lists and won numerous awards for her work, including A Career Achievement Award in Regency Romance from Romantic Times magazine.

A life-long Anglophile, Joan uses her degrees in History and English to conduct research in the fascinating and colorful Regency period and has compiled an impressive library. She has also taught numerous workshops on the period and the craft of writing, is a member of the Beau Monde writers group, and is currently working on her newest novel.

“Ms. Overfield’s sense of romance is deliciously unerring.” -- -- Romantic Times