Married to the Marquess (23 page)

The new chef arrived that afternoon, and it had taken all of their restraint to avoid going down to the kitchens to meet him and see him work, and perhaps taste something. But they were promised a fine meal for his first night, and so they waited.

Nearly three hours later, Derek and Kate eagerly made their way to the dining room, arm in arm. Nothing was on the table when they arrived, save the candlesticks and their place settings, which were in their usual places at the opposite ends of the table.

Derek frowned slightly and turned to the footman nearest him. “Can we move the place settings to the middle seats on this side of the table, please?”

Instantly both footmen in the room sprang into action and adjusted the table to his request.

Kate looked up at him in surprise, and he gave her an innocent look in return. “What? I want to sit by you.  How else am I going to sneak food off of your plate when you’re not looking?”

She rolled her eyes and smiled at the footmen as they finished. “Thank you, George. Thank you, Richard.”

True to the unspoken footmen code, they said nothing, but they did smile at her as they resumed their positions.

Again, Kate felt Derek looking at her, and she met his questioning gaze with an imperious one of her own. “What? I can be pleasant when I wish it.”

“You are full of surprises, Kate,” he murmured as he took her hand and brought it to his lips.

In spite of the warmth that spread from her hand into her chest, she managed to give him a shadow of the devious smiles her friends had shown earlier. “You have no idea,” she said quietly, which made him grin in blatant amusement.

Before he could reply, she sat in the chair before her, and patiently waited for him to do so as well.

He leaned down and whispered, “I could kiss you right now, you know.”

“You shouldn’t,” she hissed back, paling. “There are servants here.”

“What if I tell them to shut their eyes?” he replied as his lips grazed her ear.

She jerked her head back as if she had been burned and gave him a severe look. “Derek…”

“Kate,” he returned as he met her eyes.

“Not in front of the servants, Derek,” she begged through her clenched teeth. “Please.”

Sensing this was not a battle worth fighting, he gave in with a longsuffering sigh and took his own seat. “Very well,” he grumped. “But only because you said please, and only if you will make up for it double when I escort you to bed.”

“Fine,” she sighed, even as a smile quirked at one corner of her mouth. “Double. Later.”

“And stop smiling like that,” he whispered out of the corner of his mouth. “It makes it nearly impossible for me to
not
kiss you when you do that.”

“What has you so flirtatious tonight?” she replied, trying not to laugh as she looked at him.

His green eyes clashed with her dark ones, and held her captive, and suddenly, she could not have laughed even if she wanted to. “I’m hungry,” he said in a low voice.

Kate lost count of the number of heartbeats that passed, but a good part of her was quickly regretting her rule of not kissing in front of the servants. And Derek knew it, too. He saw it in her eyes. Her lips parted, and his eyes darted to them, then slowly dragged back up to her eyes.

Just then, the doors to the dining room opened and in came the entire kitchen staff, each of whom held a covered platter before them, and Hallstead, the new chef, brought up the rear, with the largest tray in his hands.

Kate inched her chair away from Derek during the commotion, but she knew the short distance would not help. The food would, but it would take a good deal more than that to make him forget. And she had promised him double the usual? She swallowed in spite of herself. She would burn alive.

The platters were placed before them, as one, all of the covers were lifted, and the most intoxicating smells Kate had ever known met her, and her stomach growled at them. The sight that met her was one of exquisite delight. There were potatoes and vegetables and bread that she instantly knew she would take second helpings of, proper or not. The goose on the table looked so tender and moist that her mouth watered. There was a pudding, and a custard, and freshly churned butter, along with some of the fruit preserves she enjoyed so much. And, as if to further her temptation, there was a mountainous plate of strawberry tarts to accompany the rest.

The moment the kitchen staff were gone, the pair of them very nearly dove at the food, taking no care for decorum or propriety as they heaped servings onto their plate. Though they were still well mannered, they could hardly have been called polite. Moaning and sighing and talking before swallowing were all a part of the next few moments as they devoured the best tasting meal they had enjoyed in quite some time.

“Best decision ever,” Derek commented as he sliced another piece of meat for himself.

“I agree,” Kate sighed as she took another spoonful of pudding. “We are never getting rid of him, I don’t care how many sins he may commit.”

“Absolutely.” He speared one if the potatoes on her plate and shoved it into his mouth, and grinned as Kate rapped his knuckles in displeasure.

A knocking at the door to the dining room halted any retaliation from her as they both stilled and looked at each other in confusion.

“What in the world?” she murmured.

“No clue,” he replied. “Come!”

Harville appeared, looking a bit confused himself. “Pardon me, my lord, Lady Whitlock, but there is a woman here who says she’s come from Lady Aurelia.”

“Did she give a name?” Kate asked, as Derek rose from his chair.

Harville shook his head. “No, my lady, but she does have a note with her. She says she must see one or both of you. I’ve shown her into the drawing room.”

Derek and Kate looked at each other, a feeling of dread welling within them. Derek pulled her seat out and Kate stood, and together they hurried off to see who had come.

The young woman waiting for them had a bundle in her arms, and looked so exhausted that it was a wonder she could stand on her feet. She was moderately well dressed, though obviously a servant. She turned to face them as they entered, her eyes a touch dull. “Jessie?” Kate said as she entered, taking hold of Derek’s arm in fear.

“Lady Whitlock,” she said with a tired smile. “I know this is terribly awkward, but when you sent my mistress that note the other day about being willing to watch the baby, she insisted that she take you up on it immediately. So...” she broke off and pulled the blanket away from the bundle in her arms.

They stepped forward, then gasped as one at the face of the sleeping figure she held. “Alice?”

“…here we are,” Jessie finished softly with a helpless shrug.

C
hapter
T
hirteen

“I
cannot believe this. The nerve of that woman!”

“Now, Kate…”

“No! Do not ‘now Kate’ me, Derek! This is inexcusable!”

Derek sighed and watched his wife pace around the room in agitation. He adjusted the sleeping child in his arms and found himself smiling at the way she snuggled closer to him. He was very grateful they had sent Jessie off to bed immediately, allowing her to leave the child in their care until they had prepared the room for her. Jessie assured them that Alice rarely woke during the night anymore, and she had been fed just before she had fallen asleep, so she would not need to eat again until morning, and so Derek had absolutely no qualms about being left alone with the infant. After all, she was sleeping. For the moment, at least.

“Well, you did write to her, Kate,” he brought up, still watching Alice sleep. “We did offer to take her at any time.”

“Yes, well, you did not expect Aurelia to simply drop them at our doorstep without any warning at all, did you? No!” She threw her hands up in the air and whirled away with a screech.

“Hush, Kate, you’ll wake her.”

She turned back and gave him a withering look. He only grinned in response.

That seemed to take some of the tension out of her and she shook her head. “I cannot believe this. Listen; ‘Nigel and I would like to spend a day or two with his mother again, and she does so love the boys, but the girl gives her a fearful headache’.” She dropped her hand briefly to shake her head in disbelief. “The old crone, she is the reason Nigel is so useless. Imagine Alice giving anybody a headache.”

“Ridiculous,” Derek agreed softly, amused by his wife’s indignation.

“And here; ‘As you had so kindly offered to take the infant, I know you will not object to her staying for a few days while we are away. Jessie is a slow and stupid creature, but she seems to get along well with the girl’.” Kate dropped the letter completely, letting it fall to the floor, and screeched again, but with more restraint. She placed her hands on her hips, breathing in and out rather shallowly through her nose.

“Kate,” Derek said softly, rising from his seat and coming towards her with caution.

“Don’t, Derek,” she snapped, closing her eyes. “I am so peeved with my sister right now that I am torn between strangling her and screaming my head off, and at the moment both alternatives are rather tempting. I do not want to lash out at you, so you ought to be silent. Don’t provoke me.”

“Kate,” he said again, standing directly in front of her.

Reluctantly, she opened her eyes and looked up at him.

He smiled gently and raised his brows. “It will be all right. Have we been put out? A little, yes. But once Tom and Jackson return with the bassinet, we will be fine. Take a breath, then take Alice in your arms, and see if that removes the stress from your shoulders.”

He handed the baby to her, and instantly, the worry in her face left. She looked down at Alice for a long moment, ran a soft finger along her plump cheek, then sighed, holding her closer. “I’m sorry, Derek,” she said, looking up at him again with a half-smile. “I shouldn’t have reacted that way.”

“No apologies necessary,” he replied with a shake of his head, laying a hand along her cheek. “It’s a hard thing, and we were not prepared for it. But we’ll get through, and all will be well, all right?”

She nodded without speaking and he smiled, then leaned forward and pressed his lips to her brow softly.

“No more fretting,” he whispered against her skin. “We will make do.” He stepped back and caught her watching him with warm eyes. Unable to help himself, he stroked her cheek, staring into those dark, entrancing eyes of hers for a long moment. It would be so easy to get lost in them, to let them take him captive and hold him until his will was hers, and he knew deep down that he would not have minded it at all.

“I’m sorry that our meal was cut short,” he said on a sigh. “It hardly seems fair.”

“No, it does not,” she replied, looking up at him with a small smile. “But there will be more to come, won’t there?”

“Oh, yes,” he told her instantly, cupping her cheek with his other hand as well. “Many, many more, I can assure you.”

“Good,” was all the response she gave, and it was all the response he needed. Heart throbbing in his chest, he brushed his lips against hers, and felt the accompanying shudder rush through her. It pleased him to have such an effect on her, though he was well aware that she had a similar effect on him.

Who would have thought that his little wife, the tyrant of his past, the proverbial noose that always hung over his head, would have such a powerful hold over him? Or that he would enjoy it so much?

They were friends now, and he truly enjoyed that aspect. He loved talking with her. Kate listened with an intensity that made one feel as though one were the most important creature in existence. She never said anything without careful consideration, which he appreciated, as he rarely was so cautious. She was a wise and intelligent woman, and her input was becoming very important to him.

Granted, there were still moments when she was bossy and controlling and a little bit pretentious, but he could accept that. She would not be Kate if she were always agreeable and simple and casual. He would miss the fire in her if she were any other way.

He rested his forehead against hers, exhaling slowly.

“I think I hear them,” Kate said softly.

Derek cocked an ear, and, sure enough, he could hear the two men coming down the hall. “I’ll go see what I can do to help. I think Alice deserves a proper bed tonight.” He stepped around the two of them and started out of the room, but turned back, calling his wife’s name softly.