A Love Laid Bare by Constance Hussey

Author:Constance Hussey
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: regency era, historical english romance, regency set historical romance, regency period romance novel

Chapter Twenty-four

Halcombe wanted a drink. He was just enough under the hatches to threaten his hard-won control, but not enough to fully erase the sight of his wife smiling at the much-too-handsome European. He suspected the man was Victoria’s lover, which said something about her protestations of love for him. But he had quickly learned that she was not a woman to allow her bed to remain empty for long. Thank God he had come to his senses years ago, when he discovered the sort of female she was. The scene she had subjected him to after his marriage to Frances—in his own house no less—had been the final chapter in their already precarious relationship.

Why in God’s name had he taken Frances to task for her incivility when, in reality, he had nothing but admiration for her quick response to Victoria’s cuts? His wife’s set-down had been delivered in so sly a fashion that the slight itself lay buried under a seemingly innocuous comment.

Damnation! His sweet, child-bride had grown into an out-going, engaging woman who seemed comfortable in any situation, with a charming manner that would appeal to almost any man. Where had she learned all that? In France, buried amongst uneducated villagers? By her accounts she had been doing little more than cooking, cleaning and hauling buckets of water. All while big with his child. He could not help but picture her in a more appealing state…her breasts full and ripe…her tender nipples ready for suckling…

Blast it all to hell. He should have been there with her, anticipating the birth of their daughter. It should have been his head at her bosom, his hand resting on her belly, feeling the tiny, precious life moving within. He had been denied the opportunity to experience so many of the intimate moments that every father had the right to cherish for himself.

He had missed hearing the unique cry of a newborn babe when Flora took her first breath. Missed seeing her nestled securely in his wife’s arms as they celebrated together the blessed arrival of a healthy little girl.

You can still have it—the chance to relish nature’s gradual transformation of Frances’ body…the chance to savor the taste of mother’s milk for yourself.

Get her with child.

Halcombe clenched his teeth. He couldn’t escape the vivid images of he and Frances alone together…their bodies entwined. He all but leapt from the carriage when it halted at the bottom of the broad manor steps. His grip on Frances’ arm was firmer than courtesy allowed and he almost dragged her inside.

“Richard,” she whispered urgently. “What are you about?”

Halcombe paused in the entryway, struggling to regain his composure, with little success. He snapped an order to Benson for some brandy and hurried Frances up the wide stairs and into his sitting room. “I want a nightcap…with my wife,” he snarled. With a jerk that caused her to flinch, he pulled the wrap from her shoulders and tossed it aside.

“You had but to ask,” Frances bit out.

“Did I? I have not found you especially accommodating of late.

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