“Does pleasing have to do with pleasure, as in what I’m doing to your earlobe right now?”
“Perhaps it does,” she said, her hands caressing his neck and shoulders.
“Will you forgive me for all the pain I’ve caused you?”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t know of any other way.”
“But there was my anger, so uncontrolled, so unfair, and I lost our child, Julien.”
“That’s quite enough about that. Look at me. Your miscarriage was an accident, Kate. If there is to be blame attached, it must rest upon my shoulders. Do you understand me?”
“Oh, no, that isn’t right.”
“Do be quiet, Katharine. No more guilt for either of us, all right? We must both of us bury all the ghosts, else we’ll spend our days in silent recriminations. I’m sorry for the child, but my first concern was and always shall be with you.” He touched his fingers to her mouth to silence further protests and added in a lighter voice, “If you wish a future earl of March and many beautiful daughters, you may be certain that I shall most willingly oblige you.”
“Will you really?”
“You know these things take time, Kate, many times, all of them fun, all of them filled with joy and laughter and pleasure. Shall I give you your second lesson?”
“What lesson?”
“Breathing, so you may kiss me properly without swooning from lack of air. Or at least if you do swoon, it will be from the pleasure I give you.” He pulled her against him and kissed her. When he released her a few moments later, she looked at him and said with a sigh, “Oh, dear, it seems I’m so very slow to learn some things. Perhaps, in this instance, you won’t find my backwardness a trial?”
“With your lovely mouth, soft and warm? No, I think not, sweetheart.” He traced the curve of her lips with his fingertips.
“All right, Julien. Now, you must answer my question. You really didn’t, you know. You just went ahead with your kissing lessons.”
“What question?”
She kissed him and began to busily unbutton his white shirt. “I hope you won’t think me too much a hussy, if I remind you of your promise to most willingly oblige me?”
“Oblige you in what exactly? I can’t seem to remember.”
“I must ask George for a pistol, my lord. Now, I want you obliged for many times. We have a duty to perform and I think we should begin to attend to it.”
“Ah,” he said, as he helped her unbutton his shirt. “The future earl of March?”
George chanced to look up and see the earl and countess of March emerge from the parlor and stroll arm in arm down the long carpeted corridor, his lordship’s fair head bent close to the countess’s cheek. If he wasn’t mistaken, his lordship’s shirt was unbuttoned.
A slow smile spread over his face as he watched them disappear from his view. He decided that he should inform François that the succulent sirloin of beef, so lovingly basted with herbs and red wine, would undoubtedly not be called for this evening by the earl of March.
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