She nodded thoughtfully. “Sadly, it’s my nature. I have another confession . . .”
“You’ve told another falsehood?”
“Not exactly. But twice now I schooled myself to pretend I was Caro so that I could aggressively secure that which I wanted most.”
The very idea that
he
was what she wanted most nearly debilitated him with pride. He drew her into his arms and held her tightly.
Twice?
The first, the day she came to him to solidify this marriage. The second . . . he drew in a breath at the memory, last night. “Then I am indebted to your sister, and I’ll never again ill-judge her authoritarian ways.”
“Now that I’m the most fortunate woman in the kingdom, I will no longer have to resort to such a performance.”
He lowered his brows in mock outrage. "Surely my lady was not performing last night."
Her lashes lifted, and she bestowed a glorious smile upon him. "When I'm in your arms, I am not Caro, not even mousy Margaret. Then I am Lord Finchley's lady."
He kissed her hand and spoke from his heart. "Who's made Lord Finchley the happiest man in the kingdom."
Their coach turned off busy Piccadilly and began to wind its way through quieter neighborhoods toward Bloomsbury. “What were you doing that day at St. George’s?” he asked.
“I prayed that I could be married. I prayed that I could emulate Caro.”
“Did you pray to marry me?”
“I asked the Lord to guide me to a decent man.”
“And at the time you believed I was a profligate?” Which he supposed he was.
“I thought perhaps you were. But Our Heavenly Father knew you were honorable, and he sent you to me.” Her lids lifted. “I returned there, to St. George’s, yesterday to ask for help in my Caro imitation last night, for help in seducing you.”
He groaned. “Pray, no more talk of seduction. You’ve disturbed my sleeping cannon.”
She giggled.
“As many times as we made love last night, there’s a chance that . . .” He thought of her holding a babe of her own. His babe.
“I could be breeding?”
He nodded. “I owe so much to George Weatherford. He always knew what was best for me, and now I believe he knew that by asking me to see to his son’s needs I would come to learn what things in life were truly most important.”
“Like a son of our own?”
He nodded. “You will be the most wonderful mother a child ever had.”
She giggled again. “I’m so happy.”
“It’s a pity my friends cannot understand that making love to one's own wife is a million times more satisfying than tupping a trollop."
To his astonishment, when their coach arrived at Number 7 Trent Square, Perry’s luxurious coach was already there. John lifted a brow and regarded his wife. “My friend must be truly smitten with your sister.”
Maggie shrugged.
As he and his wife were approaching the home’s entry, the door opened, and out marched Perry, Arlington, and Knowles, all of them carrying cricket gear and followed by a flock of excited lads.
Perry eyed him. “Keeping all the fun for yourself, haven’t you, old boy?”
“I didn’t think you’d be interested.”
“Who wants to be cooped up in a musty fencing studio when one can be playing cricket?”
Knowles came abreast of the other two. “Why did you not tell us you were guardian to Weatherford’s lad?”
Before he could respond, Arlington closed in on him. “Why did you not tell me how stunning Weatherford’s widow is? You know how enamored I am of copper-haired beauties.”
“You could not do better than to get shackled,” John said. “I’ve come to recommend it highly.” He turned to Perry. “Is Lady Caroline trying to slip the noose around you?”
“I will own, there is a strong desire in that quarter, but Lady Caroline's a woman who would demand fidelity.”
“I’ve come to recommend fidelity most heartily.” John turned back, his eyes glittering with love, and met Maggie’s gentle gaze as she stood watching him, Mikey in her arms.
How long would it be before she would be holding their son?
One Year Later. . .
The Haverstock and Aldridge families were all gathered at the duke's Glenmont Hall for the baptism of Ann Clair Rothcomb-Smedley because Clair wanted her first child to take the sacrament at Glenmont's medieval chapel, as had she and her prodigious number of siblings.
John had never been at a family gathering that included so many babies, though he supposed little Simon Morgan was no longer considered a babe. The Duke of Aldridge's son—the Marquess of Ramsbury, who was called Ram—had just started walking, and he flitted from following about his slightly elder cousin Charles Upton, the future Marquess of Haverstock, to hovering over his only female cousin, whose little whimpers fascinated him.
Just a month earlier the family had gathered here for the baptism of John's own son, named Frederick in honor of the family's first earl. Little Charles Upton had little opportunity to hover around baby Frederick because Frederick's own parents practically fought over the privilege of holding their son.
Christopher Perry, the guest of Lady Caroline, ambled up to stand beside John, his eye going to the sleeping babe in his friend's arms. "I fail to see what's so blasted fascinating about having a babe. It's not as if they can even play cricket yet."
"One year ago I would have wholeheartedly agreed with you." John's tender gaze whisked to his Maggie, who was striding toward them, no doubt to steal Frederick from his arms. He'd known she would be a wonderful mother, but the capacity of her heart was even more boundless than he'd thought possible. He now knew what it was to be loved with an unquenchable passion, knew what it was to love her in the same way. He peered down at their son, and his chest expanded. No man could ever be happier.
He eyed Perry. "Loving a good woman and having a son of one's own trumps having a horse win the Derby, breaking the faro bank at White's, or any other pleasure-seeking activity I can think of."
Perry shook his head, a sour expression on his face. "I have fallen in love."
"With Caro?" John asked.
"Yes. But as much as my family would like the connection with a duke, I'm terrified of Aldridge. How do you cope?"
John's voice gentled. "We've become brothers. We want the same things." John's affection for Aldridge was every bit as great as it was for Perry. By marrying Maggie, he
had
acquired a brother.
"Next you'll want me to stand for Parliament," Perry said, narrowing his eyes.
"I will never presume to tell you what to do—not when Lady Caroline is so adept at that."
Lady Caroline and Maggie approached them, and Perry and Caro walked off toward the folly on the distant hill. John wondered if this was the day Perry might ask for Caro's hand.
Maggie did steal her sleeping infant from him and proceeded to press soft kisses over the top of his dark, downy hair. "I wish I could always keep him so small."
John settled an arm around her. "I promise once he's old enough for cricket, I'll keep you supplied with babes in arms for the next twenty years. I always wanted to have a large family."
He pressed a kiss at her temple. "Another bonus from marrying my Maggie. I love your family."
"It's
our
family now, my dearest."
"I am so happy I want to spread the joy. I've been thinking of how much I owe to Miss Margaret Ponsby for answering my newspaper advert. Had it not been for her, the coincidence of the names, finding you at St. George's would never have occurred." He paused. "Would you object if I settle a small annuity on her?"
"I think that's a wonderful idea."
"Have I told you the luckiest day of my life was the day I found my heart's delight at St. George's?"
"It's time you realize what I've always known."
The End
Win a $50 Gift Certificate
I hope you enjoyed
Countess by Coincidence
. If you did, would you please consider posting a review by the book's listing at Kobo or another site where you might have read it? If you do, please send me an email at
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House of Haverstock series
If you enjoyed
Countess by Coincidence,
(Book 3 in the House of Haverstock series)
you may also enjoy
Lady by Chance
(Book 1 in the series) and
Duchess by Mistake
(Book 2). These books are available at Kobo.com and other eBook retailers.
Brides of Bath series
If you enjoy Regency romances, you may also like my six-book Brides of Bath series: Currently, you can get the first book in the series,
The Bride Wore Blue
, free at Kobo.com and other eBook venders.
The Brides of Bath Series
(available in eBook and paperback formats):
The Bride Wore Blue
With His Ring
The Bride’s Secret
To Take This Lord
Love In The Library
A Christmas in Bath