Read To Capture a Duke's Heart Online
Authors: Jennifer McNare
It was just a few seconds later, as they rounded the final bend in the road and the entirety of the house finally came into view, that Penny turned her enthusiastic gaze back to the window. However, as she did, her eyes went wide in astonishment once again; for much to her surprise it appeared that the estate’s entire staff had lined themselves along the graveled drive at the front of the house, their number totaling at least sixty as they stood in obvious rank from the tall, silver-haired butler standing at the head, to the adolescent stable boy positioned at its end. “Oh my,” she breathed, turning back to Gabriel.
Seated across from her, Gabriel grinned as the driver slowed the horses and the coach wheels rolled to a gradual stop. “It would appear that the staff is eager to welcome their new duchess.”
“Just a few more, Your Grace,” Meg informed her as she struggled to fasten the last of the buttons that ran along the back of Penny’s apricot-colored dinner dress.
Penny sucked in a deep breath, holding it as Meg worked to secure the final closures.
Having traveled with Bertram, Gabriel’s valet, in another of the Ashcroft coaches, Meg had arrived at Ainsworth Park just shortly after her and Gabriel; and after meeting briefly with the housekeeper, Mrs. Hobbs, she had promptly set to the task of unloading Penny’s trunks. And whilst Meg had busied herself in Penny’s small suite of rooms, Gabriel had taken her on a leisurely tour of the estate. Of course with the size of Ainsworth Park, that had taken the entire remainder of the afternoon. Thus, it was now only a short while before the evening meal was to be served in the main floor dining room.
“There, that’s got it.”
Exhaling, Penny turned to Meg with a frown. “I don’t understand,” she said with a puzzled shake of her head. “This gown fit perfectly when I wore it just a few weeks past.” Now however, not only was it a bit snug around the waist, but the bodice felt tighter as well.
Meg eyed her hesitantly, looking as if she wanted to say something, but wasn’t entirely sure that she should.
“What is it, Meg?”
“Well… it does seem that you may have put on a pound or two these past weeks. And as you haven’t had your courses in months, well… I was just thinking… that is…. could it be possible that you’re expecting, Your Grace?” she stammered awkwardly.
“Expecting?” Penny regarded Meg in surprise.
A baby?
No surely not, for while Meg certainly couldn’t know it, she and Gabriel had only just consummated their marriage a mere month ago. Besides, even if she
had
conceived during that time, which
was
possible she reasoned, experiencing a tiny little thrill at the thought, she would hardly be putting on weight so soon.
“Hmm. It is possible, I suppose,” she replied, more for Meg’s benefit than anything else. “Although, considering my past irregularities, I am inclined to think that I may have simply developed too great a fondness for Cook’s chocolate croissants,” she continued light-heartedly.
Meg nodded consideringly. “Perhaps that’s it,” she mused, “for if you were anything like my three older sisters you’d likely be heaving the contents of your stomach into a basin each morning.”
No, she certainly hadn’t been doing that. “In any event,” Penny replied, affecting a dramatic sigh as she ran her hands over her satin-covered waistline, “I think I shall be forgoing dessert for the next few evenings.”
As it turned out, it had been far more difficult to forgo the scrumptious-looking dessert than Penny had imagined, especially as she sat there now, all but salivating as she watched Gabriel enjoy his second serving of the rum-glazed French chocolate cake.
“If you’d like,” he said, between bites, continuing their conversation “we can take the horses out tomorrow, perhaps ride down to the lake. That way you can begin to familiarize yourself with the property.”
Tearing her eyes from Gabriel’s dessert plate, Penny met his gaze with an eager smile. “Yes, I’d love to.” As they’d brought both Apollo and Gabriel’s mount, Necho, from London, she’d been looking forward to the opportunity to ride out and explore her new surroundings.
“The park and surrounding woodland encompasses approximately twenty-thousand acres, so there’s quite a bit to see,” Gabriel informed her.
“My goodness, twenty-thousand acres?” Her father’s estate, which was considered quite large by conventional standards, was less than half that size.
Gabriel nodded. “My great-grandfather sold nearly a third of the original property shortly after he inherited, but fortunately my father was able to purchase nearly all of the land back in the years before he died.”
“I would like to have met your father,” Penny remarked. “He sounds like such a remarkable man.”
“He was,” Gabriel replied, his expression slightly wistful. “And while much of his time was focused upon rebuilding the family fortune, in addition to the pursuit of his own, individual interests, he was a good father as well.”
“I’m sure that he was,” Penny replied with a gentle smile. “For it is clearly reflected in both you and your brothers.”
He returned her smile. “I’d like to think so.”
“Of course I can only assume that much of you and your brothers’ delightful natures can be attributed to your mother as well,” she stated in a lighthearted tone.
“Indeed. And ‘tis an estimation our mother would agree with wholeheartedly, I’m sure,” Gabriel affirmed with a light chuckle.
“Do you think that I might have the opportunity to make her acquaintance in the foreseeable future?”
“She mentioned in her last letter that she would like to spend Christmas here at Ainsworth Park, so yes, I would imagine so.”
“I’m sure it must be difficult for her to be so far away from you and your brothers.”
“It is, and for us as well, though knowing how happy she is with Edgar makes it far more bearable.”
“Have you ever been to America?” she asked, wondering why she’d never thought to ask the question before.
“I have actually,” he surprised her by saying. “It was years ago, however, before I inherited the title.”
Penny’s eyes instantly lit up, for she’d held a long-standing fascination with the American culture. And once Gabriel had finished his cake and they’d moved to the nearby drawing room, he seemed more than happy to drink his after dinner coffee and assuage her curiosity about the infamous
Wild West
as she peppered him with one enthusiastic question after another.
In the ensuing week, Penny and Gabriel spent the majority of their days out riding, exploring the grounds, visiting the local villages and further occupying themselves with a host of other activities both in and outside of the house. Each and every night, however, was spent in the midst of Gabriel’s bed, the two of them wrapped in each other’s arms, glutting themselves on the carnal pleasures that would be denied them upon his leave-taking and throughout the long weeks ahead.
For Penny the time was both wonderful and bittersweet, for while it was becoming increasingly apparent that Gabriel’s feelings toward her were changing for the better each and every day, the heartening realization made his looming departure and the mindfulness of their upcoming separation all the more difficult to bear. And despite her efforts to maintain a brave face, on more than one occasion it seemed nearly all that she could do not to burst into tears, throw her arms around him and beg him not to go.
It was on the morning of his departure, as Penny lay dozing at his side with her head nestled in the crook of his shoulder and her hand resting lightly upon his chest, that Gabriel awoke early and lay silently pondering the events of the past month and the drastic, entirely unanticipated change that had occurred in his relationship with Penelope. Considering that it had been a mere four months since he’d been all but forced into marriage, at the time deriding himself as every kind of fool whilst cursing her for the perfidious deceit she’d enacted upon him, he’d never imagined that they would be lying there now within the midst of his tangled bedsheets, both of them spent and utterly satiated after yet another exceedingly enjoyable and profoundly gratifying, passion-filled night. Perhaps even more surprising, however, was the fact that even now, with nearly four weeks having passed since they’d shared that first, extraordinary night together, he couldn’t seem to get enough of her, despite having repeatedly kept her awake into the wee hours of the morning in the futile, though decidedly pleasurable, attempt to slake his fierce, unremitting desire.
Of course that wasn’t the only change that had caught him unawares, for he’d never anticipated the ever-increasing affability that existed between them now, or the steadily emerging and entirely discomfiting feelings of genuine affection that he was developing for Penelope. And it was
that
in particular, that progressively deepening affection that had him in a near constant state of turmoil, for while allowing her into his bed was one thing, allowing her into his heart was another matter entirely. Yet despite the warning bells that rang determinedly within his head, their silent peals urging caution and reminding him that he had been made to look a fool once before, he was beginning to fear that it might already be too late.
“What time is it?” Penny murmured sleepily, distracting him from his musings as she slowly began to stir.
“It’s early, go back to sleep,” he whispered, gently tightening his arm, pulling her more closely against the warmth of his side.
She snuggled into him. “I’m not tired,” she professed in a drowsy tone.
Gabriel’s mouth curved into a smile at the obvious untruth, for considering that he’d allowed her scarce little sleep throughout the long night, she was doubtless exhausted. “It’s barely daybreak and I won’t be leaving for several more hours,” he assured her, even as he felt the sudden and entirely selfish stirring of his cock. “Get some more rest.”
“I can rest later,” she replied in a delightfully stubborn tone, her hand already drifting downward from his chest as her fingers moved slowly and unerringly toward his rapidly swelling manhood.
Gabriel chuckled softly, making no move to stay her hand. “Yes, I suppose you can at that.”
_____
Despite paying strict attention to her diet and riding nearly every day, in the three weeks following Gabriel’s departure Penny had slowly but steadily continued to gain weight, enough so that Meg had been forced to loosen her corset strings, as well as letting out the bodices in a number of her gowns. And the week after that, when she’d felt the first odd little flutter within her stomach, she’d come to the startling realization that she
was
in fact expecting a baby. But despite filling her with joy, the realization had been disconcerting as well, for even with her woefully limited knowledge on the subject of fetal development, she’d been fairly certain that at only two months along she should
not
have been developing a noticeable protrusion in her abdomen, nor should she have been able to discern her baby’s faint movements.
And so it was now, yet another week later, that she waited anxiously for the physician she’d had summoned from the nearby village to complete his examination, in the hope that he could provide her with an explanation. Unfortunately, however, the one he provided her with just a short while later was the very last one she had expected to hear.
“Did you say five months?” she queried, her eyes wide with a combination of shock and disbelief.
“Approximately, yes.” Noting her obvious bewilderment, the kindly, middle-aged physician regarded her inquiringly. “You seem surprised, Your Grace,” he remarked.
“Yes, I…” Penny shook her head in confusion. “But I can’t possibly be that far along.”
Dr. Goddard’s expression grew increasingly curious as he studied her face.
“I mean… that is... my husband and I were married just five months ago this past week,” Penny hastily amended, as she had purposefully omitted the fact that her marriage hadn’t been consummated until much more recently from the information she’d provided to Dr. Goddard prior to her physical examination, mindful as well of Meg’s silent, unassuming presence on the other side of the room.
The physician promptly nodded in understanding. “While it’s true that it can often take months for a newly married couple to conceive, it certainly isn’t unheard of for conception to occur much earlier, as early as the wedding night itself even,” he informed her.
“I see.” Penny’s head was spinning. “And you’re quite certain about the timing?”
Dr. Goddard smiled reassuringly. “Considering the past irregularities you mentioned earlier I can well understand your surprise, but yes, Your Grace, I am quite confident that you will be entering into your third trimester within the next three to four weeks.”
But how? How was that even possible? “And the baby?” she asked instead.
“Appears to be progressing exactly as it should be, Your Grace,” he assured her with yet another encouraging smile.
“Yes, well, that’s quite a relief,” Penny replied, somehow managing to return his smile despite the chaotic and altogether mindboggling thoughts whirling frantically within her head.