Chapter 44

Dawn had already broken over the horizon when Colin trudged up the steps to his front door. They'd captured the spy and with Colin's identification of the man, his days as a threat to England were over. Now all he had to do was try to salvage his marriage.
He went first to his own bedroom to change out of his bedraggled evening clothes and stopped short at the sight of Augusta, curled up and sound asleep in the big wing chair by the dwindling fire. She'd changed into her nightgown and was wrapped in a large tartan shawl, faded and worn. When Colin slumped into the chair across from her, her large brown eyes flew open wide.
"I wasn't sure you were coming home," she said, rubbing her eyes. "You've never been this late before."
"I'm sorry..." he began.
Augusta shrugged. "The children and I are leaving for Scotland tomorrow. I won't stay here and be pitied, Colin. I just wanted you to know that."
"Leaving?" He stared in shock - he hadn't imagined she would go that far - literally or figuratively for that matter. "You can't leave."
"I know you're an honorable man, Colin. You set your duty ahead of your own wants and needs, which is admirable, if a little daunting to those of us who are mere mortals. You didn't have to marry me, but you did. I even believe that you meant to stay true to your vows. But I can't compete with that woman. She's sophisticated and lovely, while I'm simply a sturdy Scotswoman, whose greatest skill is stretching a penny into copper wire."
"Augusta, that isn't true..."
She held up a hand. "I know what I look like. I'm too curvaceous, too plain and I can't see more than a few feet without my spectacles - the new ones arrived today, by the way - thank you for that on top of everything else. But even though I'm no diamond, I do have some pride. I can't stay here and watch you have an affair with another woman."
"It isn't what you think," he said wearily. "On my honor, that encounter in the garden was the first time I've seen Celia Warden since we came to Town. I've no interest in her and if you'd listened a moment more, you'd have heard me tell her so, quite bluntly. For god's sake, Augusta, it's you I love. Why the hell would I want anything to do with a tramp like that when I have you?"
"You...what?" He watched her throat work as she swallowed hard. Her hands clenched down on the arms of her chair. She shook her head. "You've never said a word...you've barely spoken to me since we arrived in London."
"I love you, Augusta MacLeish Fordyce. I think I have since I opened my eyes and saw you looking down at me. There's no other woman for me, not now, not ever. Till death do us part, remember?"
"But you've been gone so much - and you've never said anything to make me think you wanted more than a normal marriage - the kind where we only come together in the bedroom or the dinner table." She bit her lower lip and Colin wanted nothing more than to kiss it and make all her pain go away.
Instead, he leaned against the other chair, watching her intently as he began to explain. "It never occurred to me that you didn't know. I see you as beautiful, Augusta. I always have. Any man would be lucky to have you for a bride. Honestly, it never occurred to me that you'd doubt that."
"So where were you tonight - if you don't mind my asking?" He could see the doubt warring with hope in her beautiful brown eyes and it shamed him that it was there because of his neglect.
"I was...working. You were right about me putting duty before anything else and this was a commitment I'd made long before we met. Before I inherited the earldom, I used to do some work for the Foreign Office. Occasionally, I still consult with my former employers and tonight was one of those nights. I'm not supposed to tell anyone about this, even you. But I trust you, with my life as well as my honor. I've been working for the last several nights to help identify a spy and tonight he was arrested. None of my time has been spent with other women, I promise you. And I've informed my superiors that my service is now ended. From now on, my first and foremost duty is to be the best husband I can be to you. I will never, ever break our marriage vows, my love. You're the only woman for me, now and forever."
"I see." She nodded gravely, then turned to stare into the fire. Then she smiled. "You're a very good man, Colin. I'm sorry I doubted you. You have my word to never speak of this to anyone. Just as you have my word that I will never break our marriage vows either, though I'd assumed you already knew that."
"Thank you - and of course I did, though I'd expected you to trust me in that regard as well. More importantly, though, I meant what I just said, dearest. I do love you, with all my heart. Do you think you can ever manage to return that love, even a little?"
The tiny laugh that bubbled out of her throat was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard. "A little? Oh, you poor, deluded man. I've been head over ears in love with you since the day we met. When you married me, I considered myself the luckiest woman in the world."
"Thank God." Without even realizing he'd moved, he found himself on his knees in front of her chair, his arms going around her waist. She hugged him back, sliding down into his lap, her legs straddling his thighs, the hot, damp flesh of her mound rubbing against his engorged member, inflaming him even through their clothes.
They kissed, frantically, mouths and tongues dueling in furious need to absorb the other's touch. Moments later, her hands scrabbled at the buttons of his trousers and he pulled her nightgown up over her head. Once his cock was free, he lifted her up, then lowered her to impale herself on him. God, she was already slick and open for him - he slipped inside with ease, though as soon as he was seated, her inner muscles gripped him snugly. He palmed both her breasts, kneading them lightly. His callused palms rasped against her diamond-hard nipples. She was so responsive that he felt her walls tighten around his shaft each time he squeezed. With their mouths fused, she rode him to a swift, heady climax, her nails digging into his skin as she shattered around him. Her spasms triggered his own and he poured long ribbons of seed into her welcoming body, filling her with his essence as well as the heart she already owned.
Long moments later, he lifted her and carried her to his bed, then swiftly stripped off his clothes and joined her beneath the covers. "Now get some rest, my lady. You've seemed so exhausted lately, I feel guilty for depriving you of even an hour's sleep. You're not ill, are you?"
"Oh yes," she sighed into his shoulder. "I meant to tell you about that. It's perfectly normal for me to be tired, darling. It will pass in a few months."
"In a few months?" Terror gripped him by the throat, stronger than any he'd ever felt, even when fighting for his life. "What the hell is wrong with you, woman?"
She laughed softly. "Not a thing. We're having a baby, you nit."
A baby? Relief, joy and even more terror flooded Colin as he pulled her more snugly into his arms and buried his face in her hair. His entire world was right here in his arms. He didn't even care that there were tears on his cheeks. "I love you, Augusta. I truly am the happiest man in the world."
"Mmm." She kissed his chest and snuggled up sleepily. "I love you too, Colin. Love you too."

End Part Three