What a Lady Most Desires by Lecia Cornwall

Author:Lecia Cornwall
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2014-08-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 38

Delphine descended the stairs in a rush the next morning, late for breakfast. It had taken her far too long to get out of bed. She hadn’t wanted to leave the quiet cocoon of her blankets, wished she could lie in bed all day and marvel that every inch of her body ached, and she had never felt better, happier, or more feminine.

Fortunately, everyone had instantly decided Stephen and Delphine’s state of disarray yesterday was due to being caught out in the rain. Browning had whisked Stephen away to check his wounds, and to help him change into dry clothing, but she knew he’d be fine. He was a strong, healthy man. She blushed at the memory of his body on hers, and her toes curled. She couldn’t wait to see him this morning.

When she reached the foot of the stairs, the clock told her it was only nine-­thirty. She had half an hour to wait until the time she usually met with Stephen in the library. Her heart leaped in her breast. “To read,” she whispered to the stately timepiece. “Just to read.”

She glanced into the mirror in the hall, wondering if everyone would be able to tell, to see that she was different. Her maid hadn’t said a word, but Delphine had seen the changes in the mirror. There was a new glow in her cheeks (the sun perhaps?), a gleam in her eyes (the glint of the river?), and her lips were pink and plump (they might blame that on bees, perhaps, or a sensitivity to strawberries). Surely she moved differently, more gracefully, as if she’d learned the steps to a new dance she’d never done before. She giggled, and it echoed through the cavernous hallway. She was happy. Very happy.

She smoothed a hand over her hair and opened the door to the breakfast room.

Meg was laughing at something Nicholas was saying, her face every bit as flushed and glowing as Delphine’s own, lost in the light of Nicholas’s eyes.

“Good morning,” Delphine said, and slipped into her chair.

“Good morning. I trust you are none the worse for your adventure yesterday?” Nicholas asked.

Delphine’s stomach clenched. “My adventure?”

“I hear you were caught in the thunderstorm.”

Oh. Delphine looked down at the plate the footman set before her—­eggs, ham, sausage, and toast. “No, none the worse.” She couldn’t resist a bright smile. “Actually, I quite like the rain,” she said to explain the grin, and crammed a forkful of food into her mouth.

“You certainly look well this morning,” Meg said, studying her, and Delphine felt her cheeks heat under her friend’s scrutiny.

“I must look a sight,” she said. “I lost my bonnet, and I have freckles on my nose.”

“I remember when you always had freckles on your nose, Del. Though you were only ten or so at the time,” Nicholas said.

“And you were tall, skinny, and awkward, if I recall,” she teased him back.

“You followed Sebastian and me everywhere—­up trees, over fences, into rivers,” Nicholas mused.

Rivers? Her stomach leaped, and she set her fork down.

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