Amethyst (47 page)

HALF AN HOUR AFTER
the charades game began, Colin and his siblings were interrupted by the head butler announcing the unexpected delivery of a crate. They all hurried to the stone hall to see what it might be.

The crate was enormous, standing taller than Colin himself, and his name was scrawled across the front. There was no indication of where or whom it had come from.

"Do you suppose it's a wedding gift?" he asked, coming up to stand beside it.

"Open it and see," Jason suggested.

The buoyancy in his voice had Colin turning to him sharply. "It's from you, then?"

"I didn't say that. Just open it."

"It must be furniture. A nice thought, Jason, but much too generous—and besides, I have no place to put anything yet."

Jason laughed. "Look, it's not from me. Just open it."

Colin considered. "Very well, but Amy should be here. Perhaps she's feeling better now. I'll just go and check."

"Let her sleep," Kendra said. "She felt beastly. "Checking might wake her, and you mustn't do that."

"I'm not sure what to do, then." Colin twisted his signet ring on his finger. "I expect this can wait until morning."

"It's addressed to you, not Amy," Kendra said. "She can see it in the morning. Open it, please—or I'll do it for you. I want to see what's inside."

"Well…"

"I'll fetch some tools," Ford offered, rushing off before Colin could protest.

Not that he really wanted to—he was at least as curious as Kendra.

A minute later, Ford was back, and together they pried off the front of the crate—only to find another box enclosed inside. They pulled the remaining three sides of the crate apart, but there was still no clue to the contents. The new box was unmarked.

"It must be fragile," Colin remarked uncertainly. "Let's be more careful opening this one."

The second box revealed nothing more than a slightly smaller version of itself hidden inside.

He threw his siblings a sidelong glance and silently set to opening it. When a fourth featureless box was revealed, he grinned at the profusion of lumber littering the hall. "What the hell is going on here?"

"I'm sure we don't know," Kendra protested.

"We were just minding our own business, playing charades," Ford offered.

"Just open it," Jason said.

Colin shrugged, trying to hide a smile. He loved a joke played on himself almost as much as being the perpetrator of one. "I think I'll wait until morning, after all," he said blandly, turning to leave.

Kendra lunged at him, tugging on his shirt. "Colin Chase, you open that box right now. I'm—I'm
dying
of curiosity."

He turned back and fixed her with an innocent look. "Well, then, I suppose I must. I wouldn't want you to
die
on account of me."

They laughed as he pulled the box apart, and he was not at all surprised to find a fifth box inside. This one had a sign on it, though, spelling out the words
CONTAINS THE EARL OF GREYSTONE
in neat block letters.

"It should say '
Contents for
the Earl of Greystone,'" he pointed out. "Somebody doesn't know how to spell."

His siblings shrugged.

"It cannot contain the Earl of Greystone," he insisted, staring at their blank faces. "
I'm
the Earl of Greystone, and I'm quite obviously not in that box. I'm not certain I would even fit," he added as an afterthought.

A cough came from within the box.

Colin swung around. "What the devil…"

The top was hinged. He threw it open. Amy slowly rose, completely captivating in a soft peach gown, a dazzling smile on her lips and in her eyes.

"
You!
Uh—aren't you ill?" Colin sputtered.

"Do I look ill?"

"No. And you don't look like the Earl of Greystone, either."

Laughter came from behind him, and he turned, confused. Kendra tilted her head. "Don't you like your Christmas present, Colin?"

A grin of amusement twitched on his lips as he turned back to Amy. "You're lovely, but you're not a present, love. I have you already." He grasped her under her arms, effortlessly lifting her out of the box. "It was a good trick, though," he conceded as he set her on her feet. "Even if the sign was spelled wrong."

"No, it was spelled correctly," Amy said.

He remained silent, his brows drawn together in puzzlement.

"The box contains the
next
Earl of Greystone."

Colin could sense all their eyes on him, but his brain refused to work. His head felt completely blank. He leaned over a little, gazing into the empty box.

"It
contained
the next Earl of Greystone, I mean," Amy clarified. "He's not inside the box anymore."

Colin blinked stupidly.

"You'll have to wait to see him, though—about seven months, I suspect."

His heart faltered in his chest.

"He's inside
me
, Colin," she finished softly.

His mouth opened, closed, then he let forth a whoop of joy as he swept her up and swung her around and around in a wide circle. Jason and Ford both laughed, while tears brightened Kendra's eyes.

Suddenly, Colin stopped and set Amy down with exquisite care. "Have I hurt you?" he asked earnestly. "Either of you?"

"No, we're not that fragile. Though it's a good thing I don't seem prone to morning sickness."

Ford snorted. "You'd have gotten it straight in your face, I expect."

"Ford!" Jason and Kendra shouted together.

"Forgive him," Jason continued to Amy. "He's hopelessly uncivilized."

"
I
think he's funny," Amy declared between giggles. "And quite handsome, besides."

"Well, Colin, I reckon the honeymoon is over." Jason's smile belied the seriousness of his tone.

"Come again?"

"She played a joke on you. She's challenging your virtuosity as a prankster already."

Colin looked at his bride, his heart swelling with emotion. "
Au contraire
," he said slowly. "The honeymoon is only beginning." He swept her up, bearing her slight weight as one would a sleeping child, his arms beneath her shoulders and knees. Cradling her against his upper body, he strode toward the stairs.

"Wait!" Kendra shouted. "The games!"

"Go ahead, children," Colin called over his shoulder. "We have our own games to play."

COLIN KICKED THE DOOR
closed behind them and gently deposited Amy on the bed. The sudden apprehension in her eyes made his gut clench.

"Are you truly pleased?" she asked in a small voice. "I mean, it's so soon…and maybe I should have told you first, privately…"

She looked away, staring up at the underside of the canopy.

"Oh, love, how could you doubt it?" He lowered himself to the bed and turned her face toward him with a fingertip. "A family…a babe…"

Amy's breath rushed out, and she offered him a shaky smile. "A son," she said. "I don't know why, but I'm sure of it, Colin."

He didn't care whether she carried a son or a daughter. Either way, his throat tightened as he thought of their child growing within her. But he knew better than to argue with a pregnant woman. "A son," he echoed, suppressing a chuckle. "How long have you known?"

Her fingers toyed with a lock of her hair. "I think it must have happened the very first time, at Greystone. I first thought of the possibility when I was…stuck in that awful room with with Robert." At Colin's wince, she rushed to add, "It was that thought that kept me going, made me fight."

"But you said nothing."

"It was too soon to tell, barely more than a fortnight," she defended herself. "Besides, I would never have trapped you into marriage that way."

No, she wouldn't do that, Colin agreed silently. She was much too honorable to pull such a stunt.

He wished he could say the same for himself.

She'd known they weren't meant to wed, but he'd manipulated her by bringing Robert's threat into the equation. And look where it had gotten him: He was happy beyond belief, but those days were numbered. A year—one precious year—until that buzzard's debt was due.

He laced his fingers with hers. He'd been right all along: marrying for love was illogical. A mistake. But one he couldn't bring himself to be sorry for—yet.

"Go on," he said, squeezing her hand.

She took a deep breath. "When I became convinced—and don't ask me how, I just
know
—I didn't know how to tell you. I wasn't sure whether you'd be pleased. After all, it's so soon, and…the baby will come early, before we've been married nine months, even," she blurted out in a rush, then bit her lip. "But I wanted to give you a Christmas present, and this was all I had." Her mouth curved in a tiny smile. "Since you won't take my diamonds and gold."

"My Amethyst is the most precious gem of all," Colin teased. "Why would I want any others when they all pale in comparison?" He brushed a gentle kiss across her lips.

"Then you're really, truly pleased about the babe? You're not vexed that he'll come early?" Amy wiggled closer, pressing the length of her body against his. "Because, God forgive me, I cannot find it in me to be sorry we conceived. I want your son more than anything in the world," she finished on a sigh.

What had he done to deserve her? And how—bloody hell,
how
—could he manage to keep his promise and save Greystone, too?

Her amethyst eyes still radiated worry. "I'm more than pleased," he assured her. "I'm overjoyed…delighted…enchanted…elated…" A kiss punctuated each word, and his voice grew husky. "Ecstatic…intoxicated…"

"That's the buttered ale, I think." She giggled.

"No, it's you," he protested.

She blushed and cleared her throat. "Well, now that you've relieved my fears, we may as well go join in the games." Belying her words, she arched herself nearer, her fingers exploring seductively on his skin.

Colin laughed, the sound bubbling up from deep in his chest. "I think not," he said flatly, one arm coming around to hold her hostage.

"But I've never before had a large family to play games with."

He nuzzled her neck, smiling when he felt her pulse speed up.

"I-I was so looking forward to it," she stammered out, her eyes closed.

His tongue traced a trail to her ear. "I have much more interesting games to teach you," he whispered there. "But first, I would meet my child."

"Your son. But he won't be arriving for many months."

"That doesn't signify." Coming up on his elbows, he set about removing the embroidered stomacher from the front of her gown. "I shall meet him anyway."

He dropped the stomacher to the floor and unlaced her bodice, placing small, damp kisses on each bit of skin as it was exposed. Her body seemed to melt bonelessly beneath him. "Dear God," she breathed. "It's like your mouth sends messages to…"

He smiled against her cleavage. "To where, love?"

"Mmm." Her breath came quicker. "Mmm…never mind."

Chuckling, he spread her bodice wide. Her breasts had always been pleasingly full, but did they now seem especially lush? He couldn't be sure, veiled as they were by the diaphanous fabric of her chemise. Lifting her a bit, he drew the gown over her shoulders and down past her waist. Her stomach was as flat as ever, he marveled, skimming one hand over the thin material.

All at once, his heart soared. Though he hoped to God he'd never be forced to spend her inheritance, now, thanks to this miracle, he'd have something to bind her to his side. Their baby…surely she'd stay with him always for the sake of their child, even if he lost Greystone or depleted her gold in saving it.

Sweet Mary, he was so damned lucky to have her. Suddenly he was overcome with a desire to see her unclothed, to touch the body that harbored his child, to feel her smooth skin against his. With impatient hands, he tugged off her gown and chemise, removed her shoes and stockings.

After making short work of divesting his own clothing, he took a deep breath and leaned over her, running his fingers through her dark tresses and arranging them artistically on the pillows before his mouth met hers in an ardent kiss.

"Ahh," he said with a long, drawn-out sigh. "I haven't been able to touch you properly since morning."

"Improperly, you mean." Amy giggled, feeling light-hearted for the first time since she'd decided she was pregnant.

He smiled, that devilish grin that made her heart flip-flop. "It's deucedly inconvenient having the family around." His stern voice didn't fool her. "I warned you."

She lifted her head for another kiss. He tasted sweet and spicy: buttered ale and plum porridge and Colin, all mixed together. "It has its compensations," she said, watching the firelight play over his perfect features. His body against hers felt impossibly warm and masculine, she thought blissfully.

"Such as?"

"Such as…" Colin's fingers played over her sensitive breasts, making concentration difficult. "They're quite helpful with practical joke arrangements."

"I see." He cupped one breast in his large hand, squeezing experimentally, as though gauging its expanded weight.

"They…make interesting supper conversation," she managed to say.