Two Months Later

“Have you always been the sort of person who thinks this much?” Charlotte sounded resigned, perhaps a tad bit frustrated. It brought a smile to Louisa’s face because it was something rarely seen—and something she reveled in trying to bring out of her.

“Only when it concerns a certain person and you know it,” Louisa said by way of response.

Tereza froze in the motion of lifting her teacup to her lips, grimacing. “Goodness, I thought I had escaped hearing about love and such with Selina. Must I come here to be faced with that too?”

“Don’t mind her, Louisa,” Selina said, rather calmly. She nibbled on the end of a crumpet. “She is only jealous.”

“Yes, I am, and I have not denied it.” Tereza sighed. “I cannot wait for my own debut.”

Louisa and Charlotte laughed at that. Louisa had invited her sisters over to have tea with her while Jerome was away on a business trip and the moment they walked through the doors; they’d fallen into their usual practice despite the time they’d been apart. Louisa was happy for the company. She missed having her sisters with her, but, above all, she was happy she could suggest her ideas to them.

“Well, then what do you think about this?” Tereza said. Sunlight pouring in from the open window in the drawing room made her hair glow. “Why not have the physician tell him the good news while you are present? I am certain that will shock him.”

“Any way she does it, Tereza,” Charlotte said, “it will shock him. Jerome will be learning that his wife is with child, after all. What Louisa is looking for is the perfect way to shock him.”

Tereza sighed. “This sounds like far too difficult a discussion for me to partake in.”

“Yes, perhaps you should remain silent for this one,” Selina said, raising her chin. She gave her sisters a triumphant smile. “After all, when it concerns matters of the heart, I know best.”

“Do you now?” Louisa asked, raising her brow.

“Certainly! It takes a hopeless romantic such as myself to be able to think of such ideas.” Louisa and Charlotte shared a look before Louisa gestured for Selina to go ahead. Selina sat up a bit straighter with an eager smile. “It is perfect, Louisa! All you need to do is hire a bard to sing the news to him!”

“Sing?” Charlotte echoed before she descended into a fit of giggles, Tereza joining her without remorse.

Selina’s cheeks went red. “Do you not think it is a marvelous idea?” she asked Louisa. “It is quite romantic being serenaded to; I shall have you aware!”

“Perhaps it is,” Louisa responded with a nod, holding back her own laughter as much as she could to speak. “And perhaps one day, you will have a bard serenade your own husband when you are with child. But I do not think that option shall remain open for me.”

Selina sighed. “I am not so dramatic as you are to think up elaborate news to tell a man he will be a father.”

Louisa knew she was acting quite out of sorts, but she didn’t care. When it came on to Jerome, she hardly acted her usual self and she was willing to explore every bit of that side of her if it meant making him happy. “Jerome, though he will not admit it, longs for a son. Perhaps not so soon, but I am sure he wants on one day. Considering his father hopes to have an heir born for the Dukedom, I think it is quite fitting for me to be a little dramatic in letting him know the good news.”

“Letting me know what good news?”

With a gasp, Louisa shot out of her seat, whirling to face the door just as Jerome strolled in. He looked at the King sisters in surprise. “Ah, forgive me,” he said. “I did not know there were guests.”

“Jerome!” Louisa stepped out to greet him. “I didn’t think you would be returning so soon. How much did you hear me say?”

“Only the last bit.” He frowned, looking from Louisa to her sisters—who had all gone silent and were looking anywhere but at him. “I take it I am the one who will receive this good news. What is it about?”

“Oh, heavens, couldn’t you have delayed your return for a few hours?” she chided gently.

“And here I believe you would have been happy to have me return so soon.” Jerome tiled his head to the side, studying her face. “What is it, Louisa?”

“I…” Louisa glanced at her sisters and saw them urging her on. She faced Jerome again, taking both his hands in hers. She gazed into his hazel eyes, feeling her love spread throughout her. She’d missed him dearly and, had she been prepared for his return, she might have thrown herself into his arms once he walked in through the door. But standing here with him, even with her sisters looking on, was enough for her. “I am with child.”

Jerome’s brows lifted slightly at that, as if he hadn’t heard. And then he frowned. “Are you certain?” he asked.

“Unless Mr. Wilmott is not quite as proficient as he says and my sickness in the mornings are due to some other ailment.” She grinned broadly, squeezing his hands. “We will have a child, Jerome!”

Jerome crushed her against him, wrapping her in a tight hug. Louisa hugged him back. His reaction was all she needed, she realized. Had she been dramatic in her reveal or not, seeing him so happy was all that mattered.

“God, I’m so happy!” he exclaimed and then he pulled away, and then pressed his lips against her in a heated kiss. Louisa broke away, breathless. “Jerome! Do you forget that we are not alone?”

“I haven’t,” he said with a careless grin. “So, you’d better tell them to avert their eyes if they do not want to see us kiss again.”

Before she had the chance to say anything, Jerome delivered the kiss. He slid his hand around to the small of her back, pulling her closer to him. It was softer this time, but it lacked none of the heat from before. By the time they broke it, Louisa no longer cared that her sisters were in the room either.

“I missed you,” he murmured to her, resting his forehead against her. He seemed unwilling to let her go just yet and Louisa was content to remain in his arms.

“As did I,” she murmured back.

Jerome slid a hand over her stomach. “I cannot believe this. I’ve returned to find that my wife will bear my child. Surely, I have all the luck in the world.”

“No, it is I that was lucky enough to have found such a wonderful husband,” she responded with a smile.

“Do you think they remember we are still here?” Louisa heard Tereza whisper, followed by Charlotte quick shushing.

“Oh, do you think I will find love like that one day?” Selina sighed. “I can hardly wait.”

Louisa smiled, but she didn’t turn to face them. For now, she wanted to remain in her husband’s arms, where felt like she truly belonged. Just as he’d made her feel safe and comfortable, so too would he make their child love him. He would be a lovely father and Louisa couldn’t wait to have that new beginning with him.

“I think it is that time of the week where I tell you I love you,” she whispered to him.

“Is that so?” he whispered back. “I am almost certain you told me that last night, but I will gladly accept another.”

“You should, because I plan on saying it again. I love you, Jerome, and I always will.”

She said it again that night, the words ringing truer than ever. I love you, and I always will.

If you want to know what lies ahead in our story, you may want to get the sequel…

Selina had sworn to give herself only to love, but rakish Lord Caney is the magnet she cannot pull away from. Now, she finds herself in a rather compromising situation with him and marriage is the only way. But caring for her libertine husband who teaches her the pleasures of the marital bed, entails great danger. Because there are things about him that she is not aware of. Can love grow where secrets have been planted? Or is it just betrayal that will bloom in the end?

Seduced by the Brazen Baron