Jack Chiltern's Wife (1999) (25 page)
‘Thank God. Now he will not lose his arm. We can send the doctor away again.’ She looked down at Kitty. ‘Oh, this is so wonderful. Happy Christmas, daughter.’
A small sound from the bed made Kitty turn startled eyes towards it. Jack was looking straight at her, his dark eyes clear and bright.
‘You still here,’ he murmured, just as if there had not been four full days since the first time he had uttered the phrase.
It was a second chance. She had a second chance to frame her reply. It was worth fighting for, she told herself. If fate had been kind enough to give you what you most desired, then you would be a fool to throw it away for want of a little honesty. ‘It is the only place I want to be, the only place I shall ever want to be.’ She smiled and bent to kiss his forehead. ‘I am afraid, my darling, you are stuck with me.’
He grinned. ‘You mean that? I cannot drive you away, however boorish I become?’
‘No. I love you.’
‘I do not know what you are talking about,’ the Countess said brightly. ‘Why should you drive Kitty away? And you are never boorish. Why, you are the most even-tempered of men.’ She paused and gave a light laugh. ‘Most of the time, anyway. I own you were dreadfully ill-tempered when you arrived, but that was
because you were so ill. I am sure Kitty has forgiven you, for I ‘ave.’
‘Have you?’ he queried, looking at his wife.
‘Yes.’
He raised his eyebrow at her. ‘For everything?’
She knew what he meant. ‘For everything.’
He grinned lop-sidedly. ‘Love is the strongest force of all, isn’t that what you once said to me?’
‘Yes, though you said it was a tyrant.’
‘I was wrong. And you were right. I love you, Lady Chiltern. I have loved you since the moment you berated me at the Paris
barrière
, a veritable fishwife.’
‘But you were not at all pleased with me for that.’
‘Oh, indeed I was. I thought you were wonderful.’ He reached out and put his good hand up round her neck, drawing her face down towards him so that he could kiss her. ‘My little tyrant.’
The Countess crept from the room. They hardly noticed her go.
T
he sun was shining and the daffodils were nodding on the day Justin James Chiltern was christened. Wearing the christening robe Jack himself had worn, he was taken to the church by his proud parents in the family coach, where the ceremony was witnessed by his doting grandparents, his Uncle James, who had provided one of his names, and his Aunt Nanette, determined to be present though the birth of her own child was imminent.
Great-aunt Anne-Marie was also present, and Great-uncle William and Kitty’s stepmother, who, unusually for her, was overawed by the grandeur of the occasion and had little to say, apart from cooing over the baby. Captain Trent and Edward Lampeter also arrived, both resplendent in uniform. And all along the way almost the whole population of Beauforth stood to cheer the new heir.
It was a day on which to be happy and Kitty was happy. She could hardly believe there had been that appalling quarrel on her wedding night. Her first wedding night, for there had been a second that was very different.
When Jack had been sufficiently well to speak of what was on his mind and had been on his mind ever since it happened, he had once again begged Kitty’s pardon. It was the first time he had dressed and come downstairs and, though he was still
pale and a little weak, he was making rapid strides towards a full recovery. She had wrapped a rug about his knees and put a cushion behind his injured shoulder, before sitting in a chair beside him.
‘I was so sure you wanted an annulment and that was the last thing I wanted,’ he went on. ‘It made me feel so frustrated and confused, I wanted to lash out against it, against the circumstances that had brought us to such a pass, at myself for being such a fool as to think I could win your love after we were married when I had not succeeded before. It was a feeling that was new to me and I suppose I needed to prove I was my own master. Instead, I lost control.’
‘Why did you not say so? It was a strange way to ensure the marriage endured. And so unnecessary. I would have given myself to you willingly.’
‘I did not know that. I thought you had agreed to the marriage simply to help us get out of France and keep your reputation intact.’
‘Jack, that was how you put it to me when you suggested it. It was not what was in my mind. I wanted a true marriage. And when you … when you …’ She could not bring herself to put into words the horror of that night.
‘I must have been out of my mind, there is no other explanation. And I knew, as soon as it was over, that I had forfeited your love for ever. Nothing I did afterwards could redress the wrong.’
‘So, instead of trying to work things out, you brought me home and disappeared again. Jack, we were so worried about you and, when the War Department as good as said you must be dead, we almost lost hope.’
He smiled wryly. ‘Only almost?’
‘I could not bring myself to accept it. I had this strange feeling that we were joined in some way, and that if the thread that bound us had been severed by death, I should know it when it
happened. I know that sounds fanciful, but I was right, wasn’t I?’
‘Yes, thank God. When I found you still here …’
‘Where else would I be? I am your wife. This is our home. It will be the home of our child.’ She paused. They had to be open and honest with each other, or any doubts they had would never be quite erased. ‘But the question is, do you want to be bound to me?’
‘Do you need to ask? My bonds are easy to live with. I loved you in France, I love you now, I will love you in a hundred years if we should live so long.’
‘Oh, Jack, how I have longed to hear you say that!’
‘In spite of what I did to you?’
‘I cannot believe the marriage bed is always like that.’
‘Oh, believe me, it is not. If only you would forgive me, then I could show you a very different husband, one who cares deeply for you. I would hope, in time, to expunge the memory of that dreadful wedding night.’
She looked at him shyly. ‘Jack, it was a proper wedding, wasn’t it? Legal, I mean?’
‘Yes.’ He looked at her sharply. ‘You surely do not think I contrived it to—’
‘Now, don’t fly into the boughs, all I meant was that we could make doubly sure. It was your papa put the idea into my head. He said we could have a second ceremony, here, in Beauworth church, and then there could never be any doubt about it.’
‘And you would like that?’
‘I should like it very much.’
‘Then, this time, I must do the job properly.’ He flung the rug from him and slipped from his seat to kneel in front of her, taking both her hands in his. ‘My darling Kitty, I adore you, I cannot live without you. Will you make me very happy and consent to become my wife?’
‘La, sir,’ she said, entering into the spirit of the occasion. ‘I shall have to think about it and give you an answer later.’
‘How much later?’
‘Oh, I think thirty seconds will suffice.’
He waited the prescribed time, his eyes dancing with happiness, while she smiled down at him. ‘And your answer?’
‘Yes, of course, silly. And do get up, you will soil your beautiful clothes.’
He stood up, drawing her to her feet to kiss her very gently, very tenderly, afraid of being too forceful. ‘When, my love? Tell me when.’
‘As soon as maybe.’ She laughed. ‘After all, our child must be born in wedlock.’
The ceremony, witnessed by Lord and Lady Beauworth, took place a week later, a year almost to the day since they had first met. And that night, in spite of her ungainly bulk, he had taken her in his arms in their bed and kissed her tenderly, beginning with her face and working his way down to her throat and breasts, putting his hand to her swollen stomach and laughing delightedly when he felt the baby kick. ‘I am half afraid to touch you,’ he murmured.
She lifted his head in both her hands and smiled at him. ‘He is tougher than you might think. He will not mind.’
‘You are sure it will be a boy?’
‘No, but it does not matter in the least, there will be others. We are going to be one big happy family, God willing.’
‘Amen to that.’
He kissed her rounded stomach and stroked her breasts and thighs, gently and tenderly, taking infinite pains not to alarm her. But their love was not to be denied; she was as passionate as he was and she had waited too long already. Instinct told her what to do and instinct served her well. It was all about loving
and being loved and when they came together in one glorious frenzied peak of fulfilment, they both knew that this wedding night was one not to be forgotten.
ISBN: 9781472015495
Jack Chiltern’s Wife
© Mary Nichols 2013
First Published in Great Britain in 2013
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