Surrender Your Grace (16 page)

“But you love it, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do Andrew. I love all that you do to me.”

He sank in slowly and she moaned at the new sensation. There was stretching and a mild burn, but she was producing so much liquid that he easily began to glide in and out of her. The sight of his hard cock sliding between her freshly spanked cheeks and her body spread open and beautifully submissive beneath him made him ready to climax. Not wanting to leave her behind, he worked furiously at her shimmering pearl adding two fingers into her dripping wet center. “Come with me, Cici.”

Before he finished the words, her body shuddered as sensation overwhelmed her. Distantly she heard Andrew moan at the same time she felt her muscles begin to spasm around him. The slight pinch as she clamped furiously around him was nothing compared to the jolt of ecstasy that swept through her body simultaneously shooting to her thighs, cleft, belly and breasts. She arched her back and cried out in a frenzy of sensation as the first jolt was followed by another. The aftershocks rippled through her body until she lay spent and limp beneath him.

She opened her eyes to his intense stare. His hips continued to languidly pump in and out of her body. “Are you still bored and lonely, sweetheart?”

“Heavens no, I’ll need to sleep for the rest of the afternoon, husband. You have exhausted me.”

“Excellent. I’ll plan to make it home for luncheon more often. Or, maybe I’ll just do all of my work from my study and have you pose naked for me. I won’t get much work done, but I’m sure to be kept entertained.”

“His Grace is insatiable,” she whispered to herself, but he still picked up on it. Giving her a couple of sharp swats as he withdrew from her body, she yelped in surprise.

“His Grace is your husband and expects to be called Andrew.”

“Eighteen years of deportment lessons are hard to undo. I suppose you’ll have to beat it out of me.”

“Asking for another spanking already? Now who's insatiable?”

She giggled as he lightly swatted her bottom which turned into a delighted squeal as the last swat landed on her heated and tingling cleft. “I must get back. When I get home tomorrow evening we will pick up where we left off here, my sweet.”

“I should like that, Andrew.”

He moved away, setting his clothes to rights before gathering her garments and returning them to her. Once he had them both properly dressed he gave her a tender kiss on her lips.

Cici looked at her husband lovingly. He was even more incredibly handsome with a slight flush from his recent labors coloring his cheeks. “I’m having tea with mama tomorrow afternoon, I’ll have Cook plan a late supper at nine o’clock if that suits you.”

“Let’s make it eight and plan to retire early.” They both had silly grins on their faces as they stared into each other’s eyes. This part of their relationship was easy, now if they could just find the same contentment in their public lives.

Chapter Twelve

A
ndrew flew through the door throwing his hat and cane at Benton’s butler. “Where is she?”

“She’s in her old rooms, Your Grace, and Dr. Wadsworth is attending.”

He ran up the stairs before the man had finished his sentence and came to an abrupt halt outside a bedchamber door where his mother-in-law was wailing in her husband’s arms. Her sister Elizabeth was also present and appeared oddly composed despite the emergency.

“What happened?”

Cici’s father answered, “She fell down the stairs at the opera. One of the other ladies attending found her at the bottom. She was unconscious.”

“How is she now?”

“She hasn’t woken yet; the doctor thinks she is concussed.” He stopped and gave Andrew a sympathetic look. “She was bleeding by the time the doctor arrived.” His father-in-law reached out and clamped a firm hand on his shoulder. “He says she’s losing the baby. I’m so sorry.”

Andrew stood in silence for a long moment then took in a deep steadying breath before entering his wife’s old bedchamber. He had to be strong for her. As he opened the door his eyes flew to the bed where she was just beginning to stir.

“Andrew?” She called to him, her voice weak and raspy. Her hand flew to her head as she turned to search for him.

“Lie still, Your Grace. You took quite a nasty fall.” The physician was standing at her bedside, as the maids flitted around his wife, straightening her covers. Andrew knew by the grimness of the man’s expression and the pile of soiled and bloody linens on the floor that she had lost their child.

Instantly at her side, Andrew sat cautiously on the edge of the bed trying not to stir or agitate her. “My head hurts terribly and I’ve a cramping.” Suddenly her eyes flew to his, then to the doctor who stood behind him. “The baby… Is the baby alright?”

The physician turned, leaving Andrew to break the awful news. Gathering her hands in his, knowing there was no easy way to say it he spoke softly. “You lost the baby in the fall, sweetheart. I’m so sorry.”

“But there will be a chance for others, Your Grace,” the physician callously assured her as if she could easily get over this baby and move on to the next. He then turned to instruct Andrew. “There was no traumatic injury apart from a sprained wrist, a lump to her head and the jarring to the babe in the womb. It was early still so the bleeding was minimal. I’ll leave instructions for her care which will include lots of rest, fluids and a meaty diet for a bit. They are easy to follow.” Lowering his voice, he moved closer to Andrew and murmured low for his ears only. “The bleeding will stop in a few days but if it doesn’t please contact me again. Sometimes we have to do a procedure. Well, I’ll explain that if the time comes. Otherwise, no uh, relations until I see her back in two weeks.”

Andrew listened to the physician with one ear as he hugged and rocked his distraught wife in his arms. He was ready for the man to leave them to their grief. She was only eighteen so there was plenty of time, but that didn’t help right now when she was hurting so. Her gut-wrenching sobs pierced his heart. He wanted the baby, too.

“Hush, you need to rest now.” He pulled back and looked at her pale face. She looked inconsolable at the moment.

“Please, will you stay with me Andrew?”

“Of course, nothing could tear me away.”

What he said was true. He supervised her care during her recovery and made sure someone kept almost constant watch on her to ensure she ate, drank and rested as the physician recommended. He had his new secretary either manage his appointments or cancel them for the first few weeks.

The Dowager had arrived the next day with Maggie in tow and both had helped with her care. Despite all the attention, her recovery had been delayed by a fever for a few days. Still, their physician had been in to examine her and declared her fit several weeks ago and she still had not emerged from the melancholy that followed their loss.

Andrew was supportive, but he worried the she continued to feel weak and was burdened with a persistent sadness. Except for family, Cici had declined all invitations and visitors for the past two months. Even with Maggie as her constant companion and her mother visiting daily for tea, she remained pale and withdrawn. Her sister Elizabeth even visited and regaled her with the latest gossip when her social calendar was free. Andrew was convinced that if she didn’t break the grip her grief had on her, she would become a veritable recluse in their home. Therefore, he made plans to get Cici out of the house for the first time since the miscarriage.

“Do we have to go out, Andrew? It's so hot.”

“No, it's a delightful summer day, the sun is out but there is a breeze. This is the first break we’ve had in the oppressive weather in weeks.” He walked up behind her and settled his hands on her shoulders before turning her. “So, you are going to put on your bonnet and take in the fresh air. I hope to get a little color back into your cheeks.”

She opened her mouth to protest further but he stopped her with a look. “Don’t argue with me about this. You will not win. I’ll pick you up and set you into the curricle if I have to.”

“I was just going to say I forgot my parasol upstairs.” She giggled at his stricken look. It was the first sign of positive emotion she had shown since losing the baby.

He hugged her close and kissed her beneath the wide brim of her bonnet. “I’m sorry for the scolding, sweetheart.”

“No, don’t apologize. I’ve disagreed that the grass was green and the sky was blue in the past few weeks. I’m sure you expect an argument from me at every turn now, Andrew.”

“You’ve had every reason to be upset and out of sorts lately. But I’m eager to put this behind us and move ahead. We won’t forget our loss, but we cannot allow ourselves to wallow in our grief.”

“Of course you are right, but it’s been so very hard. I really wanted our baby, Andrew.”

He kissed her trembling lips and held tightly, oblivious to the servants who waited with his topcoat and her maid who had hurried upstairs to collect her gloves. “I did too. I am here for you, Cici, always.”

He escorted her to the curricle where his magnificent pair of black horses were waiting in harness. Andrew lifted her into the carriage and climbed in beside her. It was a mild August afternoon and she turned her face up to the sky to catch the light breeze and soak up the sun. “This was a wonderful idea, Andrew. I have been cooped up in that house for entirely too long.” She slipped her arm through his and leaned into him.

He called to his team and started off at a brisk pace toward Hyde Park. It was well before the fashionable hour which was Andrew’s intent. His plan was to take her driving while there were fewer people in the usually crowded park. For her first outing, she just needed to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine without the pestering of busybodies who were looking for more idle gossip. Although there would be some genuine well-wishers, he wanted to ease her back into the social scene gently.

Turning down Park Lane he entered the park through the Stanhope Gate, purposefully avoiding The Ring which was always crowded with members of the Ton. The fashionable wanted to be seen while promenading which was more of a social event. Cici didn’t need that just yet. Turning south he drove the team at a sedate pace past the Serpentine and towards Kensington Gardens and the West Carriage Drive.

“Thank you for taking such good care of me these past few weeks, Andrew. I know you put a lot of business aside so you could dance attendance on me.”

“You are my wife, Cici and are my top priority. Where else would I have been but at your side during this trying time?”

“Well, I am grateful all the same.”

They rode along in companionable silence for a while. Cici looked at the Serpentine and the swans floating gracefully on the water. She watched couples strolling leisurely along the walking path and frowned as she saw one lady trip. She would have gone careening headlong into the bushes if her gentleman hadn’t caught her in time. Something ocurred to her then.

“Do you think my fall was really an accident, Andrew?”

“What?” Startled, Andrew jerked reflexively on the reigns causing the horses to toss their heads at the unexpected treatment. After a moment of calling to them to calm them, he looked at her in amazement. “Why would you think otherwise? Have you remembered something and neglected to tell me?

“No, its just that in all my eighteen years I have never tumbled down a flight of steps.”

“Are you saying someone intentionally pushed you? Who would do such a thing?”

“Maybe it's just my wild imaginings. I just wish I could remember, but it all seems so fuzzy.”

“The doctor said some memory loss is common with a blow to the head. What do you remember about that night?”

“The last thing I remember is feeling nauseated and needing some air. Who ever coined the term morning sickness was sadly uninformed. Mine struck any time of day or night. Anyway, Elizabeth said she would attend me but I brushed her aside. Maybe if I let her…” Cici stopped abruptly, she had been over and over this before.

“It was an accident, sweetheart. No one is to blame, certainly not you. However, I still cannot believe they let you go to the ladies room alone. Especially if you were unwell. Your mother said you were complaining of a headache all evening.”

“Its not there fault and Elizabeth did offer. I supposed the headache or the pregnancy could have made me dizzy. I just don’t know.”

It was Andrew’s turn to frown. Could someone have planned her injury, wanting to hurt her and their unborn child? It seemed an unpredictable plan, to find her alone in a hallway in a crowded opera hall was surely happenstance. Although if it had been the villain’s intent for her to miscarry, the means had been successful. It was fortunate that she hadn’t broken her neck and died in the fall. But there were other ways that would have been much more efficient and reliable.

Who would gain from Cici’s death? If he didn’t produce an heir, the dukedom would become extinct and return to the crown. He had no male heirs even distantly. His mother’s estates and titles would fall to his sister Maggie as well as the unentailed Sommerville properties, but the titles would not. Maggie would be the one to benefit the most but he trusted his sister without fail. No it had to be someone else, if it wasn’t in fact an accident.

“Can you think of anyone who would wish you harm, Cici?”

“No one, I have thought about it from all angles and cannot come up with anything. Elizabeth was unusually spiteful after the wedding, but since the miscarriage she has been much better. I can’t believe she would do something so cruel and actually harm me.” She squeezed his forearm, “I must be mistaken. I’m sorry I mentioned my silly notions, Andrew.”

“Your safety is of utmost concern to me so your notions are anything but silly. We will be extra cautious from now on and you will always be escorted by me or one of the footmen from here on out. No more excursions with just your maid. And if you attend the opera or the theater, you will not go anywhere alone. Understood?”