Chapter Forty-Four
It came as something of a surprise to Adelaide that there were things she did not love about James. For example, she did not like his temper. He was a cheerful baby, but when out of sorts, his screams echoed through the house. And just now, she did not like his fascination with her emerald earbobs, which he repeatedly pulled as she dressed for tonight’s dinner party.
After the fourth tug on her ear, Adelaide sighed. “I’ll ring for the nurse.”
“No, let me have him.” Nick scooped James from her lap. He settled them both in a chair where they could watch her dress. James squirmed unhappily, but Nick shushed him. “Hush, or she’ll banish us both.”
Unlikely, Adelaide thought with a rueful smile. Since their wedding three weeks ago, she had been loath to let either out of her sight for very long.
Their wedding had been a lavish affair at St. George’s in Hanover Square. Adelaide had wanted something small and simple at Haverly, but Nick had convinced her otherwise. There was nothing the ton loved more than the ruin of a rake…except for the redemption of a rake. And la, here was both in one man!
Nick’s prediction proved accurate. His by-blow scandal had set tongues wagging for only a week—during which time he was invited to all the best balls and became a sought-after guest for dinner parties. Mothers would not want him to marry their daughters—never!—but he was so very interesting. Illegitimate children were fairly common for noblemen, but what sort of man wanted the child to live with him? What sort of man declined a marquessate in order to do so?
The wedding had been well attended, further assuring that Adelaide would not be shunned for marrying him. Even the Prince Regent had appeared, at the insistence of Montrose, who had forcefully reminded him of Nick’s service to the Crown. The royal blessing made it impossible for society to be anything but polite and accepting of the new couple.
Adelaide selected a heavy emerald-and-diamond necklace to match the earbobs.
“Look, James,” Nick said in a loud whisper. “Are those not jewels fit for a duchess?”
Adelaide met his gaze in the mirror and arched a brow. “They are lovely.”
“Next week, Alice will become Viscountess Abingdon,” Nick said as the maid fastened the clasp around Adelaide’s neck. “Does it bother you that you are only Mrs. Eastwood?”
“Only Mrs. Eastwood?” she said scornfully. “Don’t be absurd. There is no better title in my eyes.”
Nick grinned and stood, taking James with him. “The dinner tonight will be small, for there are not many left in town now that the season is over. Shall we go to Bath for the summer? A friend of mine will be staying there until he returns to India. I should like to see him again.”
Adelaide was momentarily distracted by a flying object just to the side of her vision. She turned her head sharply, but James was safely in Nick’s arms. She returned her attention to her toilette. “Did you say Bath? Lady Claire will be there with her father in August.”
“Then you will have a friend there as well,” he murmured. He paced to and fro, bouncing James as he went.
“Her father is quite interested in artifacts from India and Egypt. Your friend is from India, is he not?” she asked.
“That is quite a coincidence,” Nick said.
She narrowed her eyes. There was no such thing as a coincidence where Nicholas Eastwood was concerned. She turned to him just in time to see him hurl James into the air. “Nick!”
James squealed with laughter. Nick caught him easily. He gave a slightly guilty grin. “What? He likes it.”
She pursed her lips but didn’t lecture. Nick would never let harm come to their child. Besides, it was so good to see James finally enjoying his father. The past weeks had not been easy. Nick had been a stranger, and James had wanted nothing to do with him. But Nick had insisted on doing many of the nurse’s duties himself. He soothed James when he was hurt, fed him when he was hungry, and even changed his soiled clothing—only once, but that was more than most fathers and mothers of the ton had ever done. Very slowly, James had come to realize his father was not so horrible after all. Adelaide quite agreed.
But just now, she was quite certain Nick was hiding something. “Why are we truly going to Bath, Nick? What aren’t you telling me?”
He opened his mouth to answer, and James stuck his fingers into it. He laughed. After freeing his jaw, he said, “Angel, a former spy must keep some things secret.”
“Do you think so?” she asked pleasantly. She allowed her half-lidded gaze to drift slowly down his body, lingering at the fall of his breeches, a promise of how she could make him talk any time she wished. When, at last, she lifted her eyes to his face, he was watching her hungrily.
She smiled. She knew she needn’t use such tactics—he would give her his secrets and anything else she asked for, always. But they both enjoyed the game.
She stood and walked toward him. She planted a kiss on James’s downy cheek before turning to her husband. “So, we are going to Bath, then?”
He stroked her bare arm. “I will be good, Adelaide, I promise. So very good.”
“Oh, no.” She laughed softly, tilting her head up for his kiss. “I think I love you best when you are very, very wicked.”