The Price of Pleasure (44 page)

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Fleur protested.

“I’m not taking any chances with my future wife.”

True to his word, Reed sent Updike for the physician and had a worried Lisette put Fleur to bed the moment they arrived at the townhouse.

Lisette and Peg helped Fleur wash and ready herself for bed.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were ill,
ma petite?
” Lisette asked as she fluttered about Fleur.

“It’s not the first time my lady has been ill,” Peg ventured.

Lisette sent Fleur a concerned look. “You’ve been sick before? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was sick yesterday morning, but then I felt fine.”

Lisette and Peg exchanged knowing looks.

“Ma petite,”
Lisette began. “Is it possible . . . Could you be . . . ”

A knock on the door interrupted Lisette’s question.

“The physician is here,” Reed called through the door. “May I come in?”

“Come in, Reed, but truly, I feel fine now.”

Reed opened the door and ushered a dignified man carrying a black bag into the bedchamber. “This is Doctor Fielding. He’ll take a look at Fleur to make sure nothing serious is wrong with her.”

Lisette swallowed a smile. “I’m sure it is nothing serious, my lord.”

“Please leave me alone with my patient,” Fielding said, shooing everyone from the chamber and closing the door behind them.

Reed paced the corridor outside Fleur’s chamber, his concern palpable.

“Do not worry, my lord, I am convinced Fleur is not ill,” Lisette said. “In fact, Peg and I believe that Fleur is . . . ”

The door opened. Doctor Fielding stepped out into the corridor and closed the door behind him. Reed’s heart jumped into his throat. What if Fleur was seriously ill? How could he bear it?

“How is she, Doctor?”

“No need to worry, my lord. Your lady is in good health and will get through this with flying colors. I understand she’s been under a great deal of stress lately.” He wagged his head. “Not good. Not good at all for a woman in her delicate condition.”

Panic seized Reed and refused to let go. “How serious is it?”

The doctor smiled. “Most people count it a blessing. See that she stays calm, eats well, gets plenty of rest and exercises in moderation.” He sent Reed a stern look. “You do intend to wed the lady, do you not?”

“Of course, as soon as it can be arranged.”

The doctor leaned close. “I suggest sooner rather than later. By my estimation, your fiancée is two months into her pregnancy.”

Reed staggered backward. “Fleur is pregnant? She’s carrying my child?”

He heard Lisette and Peg tittering behind him and realized they had already arrived at that conclusion.

Reed grasped the doctor’s hand and pumped it vigorously. “Thank you, Doctor. Updike will see you out and pay your fee with a little extra for arriving so quickly.”

Reed rushed headlong into Fleur’s bedchamber and closed the door behind him. He found her sitting up in bed, a dreamy smile lighting up her face.

“Did the doctor tell you?” Fleur asked, bursting with excitement.

Reed searched Fleur’s face. She looked more radiant than she had a right to after her terrifying ordeal. There was no sign of the sickness she had suffered earlier. He reached the bed in three long strides and gathered her into his arms.

“He did. Didn’t I tell you your worries about being barren were premature, that the fault could be Pierre’s?”

“I’m so happy that I can give you an heir,” Fleur said.

“Marrying you makes me happy. I love you, Fleur. It didn’t matter to me if you were barren. That’s how important you are to me.”

As if to prove his words, he lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her. His emotions were so raw, so close to the surface that Reed struggled to contain the tears that threatened to fall. Fleur didn’t even try. Her tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

Tenderly, Reed brushed the moisture away with the pads of his thumbs. “Don’t cry, sweetheart.”

“These are tears of happiness. I love you so much. It frightens me to think that I almost drove you away.”

Reed chuckled. “I wasn’t going anywhere. You couldn’t have chased me away, no matter what you did or said.” He laid her back against the pillow. “And now, my love, you need to rest. Peg will bring a tray up to you, and then I want you to get some sleep. While you’re napping, I’m going to make my report to Porter. Then I intend to obtain a special license and call on Grandmamma to invite her to a wedding. How does the day after tomorrow sound?”

Fleur sighed happily. “It sounds wonderful. But how can you possibly arrange it in so short a time?”

Reed laughed. “With determination and a great deal of luck.”

Peg knocked on the door and poked her head into the room. “Cook fixed my lady something to tempt her appetite.”

“Come in, Peg. I was just leaving. Make sure Lady Fleur cleans her plate; we don’t want her fainting from hunger. And then she’s to rest.”

Reed placed a tender kiss on Fleur’s forehead and strode out the door.

Lord Porter listened intently to Reed’s explanation of the past events and expressed his gratitude for Reed’s help in capturing the traitor and unmasking a spy. He assured Reed that Dempsey and Duvall would likely hang for their crimes. Reed invited Porter to his wedding two days hence and took his leave.

The special license was easy to procure when one had the blunt to pay for it. In a surprisingly short time, Reed had the license tucked in his pocket, had arranged for a clergyman to perform the ceremony and was on his way to pay his grandmother a visit.

Reed was ushered promptly into Grandmamma’s sitting room. She greeted him warmly, stretching her hand out to him. “Dear boy, you have sorely neglected me. Have you brought your fiancée? She and I were to plan your wedding.”

Reed kissed his grandmother’s wrinkled cheek. Then he pulled up a chair and sat down beside her. “I have startling news to tell you, Grandmamma, some of it bad but most of it good.”

The old lady eyed him warily. “Don’t keep me in suspense. What is it?”

“Gallard Duvall hired thugs to kill me. He wanted the earldom. He failed and is now in custody. The man who betrayed me in France is also in custody. It’s over, Grandmamma. I can wed the woman I love and live happily ever after. My service to the Crown is finished. Henceforth, I will devote my life to my estate and my family.”

Grandmamma shook her head. “I never did trust that Frenchman. Please do not tell me the details of Duvall’s machinations, for I fear my poor heart cannot stand it.”

“Are you ready for the good news?” Reed asked, grinning. Grandmamma nodded. “Fleur and I are to be married at Hunthurst the day after tomorrow. The gathering will be small—just you, Lisette, Lord Porter and the servants. You will attend, won’t you?”

Grandmamma searched his face. “Why the hurry? I was so looking forward to planning a grand affair.”

Reed cleared his throat, hoping his grandmother would understand. “There is a need for haste, Grandmamma.”

The dowager’s eyes lit up. “Ah, now I understand. You and your bride anticipated the wedding night and are now expecting the consequences.” She batted his arm playfully. “You sly dog. And here I was concerned that your lady was barren. It turns out she simply didn’t have the right partner. Nothing short of death will keep me from your wedding, dear boy.”

Reed took his leave, eager to return to Fleur. He found her sitting in front of the fireplace in her bedchamber when he arrived. She looked rested and radiant, much to Reed’s relief.

“I asked Updike to serve our supper in your bedchamber tonight. Is that all right with you?” Reed asked.

“Perfect.” Fleur sighed. “Did you call on your grandmother?”

“I did, after I procured a special license and arranged for a clergyman to perform the ceremony. Grandmamma was a little put out that she couldn’t plan a grand affair, but she soon came around. She’s thrilled for us. I also invited Lord Porter. Is there anyone else you’d like to ask?”

A mischievous glint appeared in Fleur’s green eyes. “I’d like to invite Lady Helen and Lady Violet.”

“Why? They tried their best to destroy our relationship.”

“But they didn’t. You cannot fault me for wanting to gloat.”

“I’ll see that they receive invitations. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“Oh, yes,” she said a little breathlessly. “Make love to me, Reed. I want that more than anything right now.”

Reed didn’t have to be asked twice. He loved her with all the passion in his body, with his whole heart and soul, with every fiber of his being.

Fleur responded in kind, her heart soaring with happiness. Her future with Reed and the children they would share stretched before her in endless harmony and timeless love.

Epilogue

Fleur’s wedding day couldn’t have been more perfect. By some miracle, she didn’t experience morning sickness and the sun shone brightly, with no sign of rain on the horizon. The ceremony was blessedly brief and the wedding breakfast following the ceremony delightful.

Grandmamma smiled ecstatically throughout the ceremony and breakfast. Before the ceremony, she had whispered to Fleur that she hoped to live long enough to see the birth of Reed’s heir. That had produced a round of tears over Jason’s death, but her happiness soon overcame her sorrow.

Reed had no intention of telling Grandmamma that Duvall had hastened Jason’s death, for he doubted the old woman could take the shock. But Porter knew, and it would be brought up at Duvall’s trial. As for Lady Helen, she gave no indication at the wedding that she and Fleur had been anything but good friends. Helen had found herself in an awkward position. Her friendship with Gallard Duvall had been duly noted and remarked upon, causing grist for the gossip mill. She needed to be on her best behavior. Lady Violet chose not to attend.

Fleur and Reed planned to leave for their country estate the following day to await the birth of their child. When they walked hand in hand to their honeymoon suite that night, Reed presented Fleur with a wedding gift. He surprised her with the jewels he was supposed to have pawned. His thoughtfulness brought tears to her eyes, which Reed promptly kissed away.

Seven months later, Reed and Fleur’s son arrived with little fanfare and a minimum of pain. The new viscount was christened Jason Edward three weeks later. A grand celebration was held at Hunthurst Park in his honor, with neighbors, friends and tenants feasting and reveling until the wee hours of the morning.

No one was more pleased than Grandmamma. She had achieved her goal. She had lived to see her great grandson and the heir to the earldom. Little did she know on that happiest of days that she would live to see two more sons born to Reed and his wife.

Hand in hand, the happy parents bid their guests goodbye and climbed the stairs to their bedchamber, where they celebrated their miracle child by making love.