“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 and a half 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 got 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.”
Ford’s neck turned red.
“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 staircase
“Wait!” Kendra shouted. “The games!”
“Go ahead, children,” Colin called over his shoulder. “We have our own games to play.”
“Colin!” Amy chided, shocked at his indelicacy. But she kept laughing all the way up the stairs.
SIXTY-NINE
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 me so?” He lowered himself to the bed and turned her face toward him with a fingertip. “A babe…a family…”
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. “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, on our wedding night.”
“But you said nothing until now.”
“It’s been too soon to tell till now, only six weeks,” she defended herself. “Besides, I wasn’t sure you’d be happy. Our wedding happened so quickly, and now this…”
Colin suspected she was thinking they hadn’t been meant to wed. He’d manipulated her by bringing Robert’s threat into the equation. And look where it had landed 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 irrational. 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.” She 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? You’re not vexed we conceived so soon? Because, heaven forgive me, I cannot find it in me to be sorry. I want your son more than anything in the world,” she finished on a sigh.
What had he done to deserve her? And how—heavens, how—could he manage to keep his promise and save Greystone, too?
And 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 rough. “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.”
Colin laughed, the sound bubbling up from deep in his chest. “Not yet,” 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.
He kissed a trail to her ear. “First, I would meet my child.”
“Your son. But he won’t be arriving for many months.”
“That doesn’t signify. I shall meet him anyway.”
His heart soared with anticipation. Though he hoped he’d never be forced to spend
