Three Wicked Nights with a Notorious Earl, page 24
Never would she have thought a marriage arranged in her childhood would eventually lead to her discovering the love of a lifetime, a man who challenged and aggravated and motivated her at every turn, but one who would give her the world if she would ask.
Life could often be a prison but experiencing it could also bring freedom. It was all in the way one thought about it.
Epilogue
August 18, 1816
Evangeline shifted on her bench in the traveling coach. Despite it being lushly squabbed and the vehicle well-sprung, she was wildly uncomfortable. It would be another hour until they reached London, where they’d planned to stay a few months in the Reddingham townhouse, visit with her parents, and perhaps take in the opera a few times before returning home ahead of winter’s approach.
It would be the first time her parents would meet their grandson.
She glanced at the bench across from her, and as her gaze landed on Sebastian while he held a sleeping boy in his lap—who’d just turned two-years-old last month—her heart squeezed, and her chest tightened with so much love she didn’t think she could breathe. Their son possessed a riot of curls in a blond-brown shade like his father, but his temperament took after her... unless he wanted something and then he had an arrogant, demanding streak much like Sebastian’s.
They’d named him Charles Francis for obvious reasons, and though he held his father’s courtesy title of Viscount Alderson, while at Lionsgate Hall, they called him Charlie. After suffering two miscarriages, she’d finally managed to carry a baby to full term, and when Charles had come into the world, all those disappointments had been immediately forgotten.
Sebastian glanced up from the book he’d been reading. “Is all well?”
“Yes. Merely thinking how fortunate we are.” She pressed a finger to her upper lip until the most recent bout of sickness passed. Traveling didn’t sit well when one was enceinte.
“We truly have been.” He closed the book and laid it on the bench next to him while Charles slept on with a flush in his little cheeks, for it was a tad warm in the coach.
“Are you pleased with how life turned out for us?” Above all, she wanted to make certain he was happy.
“How could I not be?” His sensual lips curved into a grin. Satisfaction reflected in his brown eyes. “I have everything I’ve ever wanted, even when I never knew I did when we first married.” His hand smoothing Charlie’s hair played havoc with her heart. It was impossible for her to have more love than she did right now, but life was always showing her she could expand that capacity.
“What if you could have more?” Again, the urge to retch assailed her, but she took a few deep breaths to stave it off.
His chuckle loosed a few butterflies in her lower belly. “I honestly don’t know how that would be possible.”
“Well, you could have a daughter.”
“True.” His grin deepened. “But that would mean you’d need to be increasing again, and you had such a difficult time with sickness and various things the last round...” He stared at her with eyes rounded with shock. “Do you mean to say...?”
“Yes.” With some pride, she nodded. Tears sprang into her eyes, for she hoped he was as thrilled as she. “At least I think so. The symptoms are certainly there, and I have been queasy throughout this trip—I’m fighting the urge to retch now—so it’s a strong possibility.”
“Oh, Evvie!” Unfettered joy lined his face. “That’s wonderful! I never would have thought to have such a boon.” When their son murmured in his sleep, he made a face and settled him more comfortably in his arms.
“You are pleased then?”
“So much. Gods, so much. Another child. When?”
She shrugged. “Perhaps February, depending. I’ll have a midwife in once we’re settled in London.”
“Ah.” As their son held onto his forefinger in his sleep, tears sparkled in her husband’s eyes. “I am in awe of you.” Then his grin was back. “Tonight, I will show you the depth of my regard and happiness. If you’re feeling more the thing, that is.”
As her pulse accelerated, a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “I honestly cannot wait. It has been a bit since we were together.” Just now she felt like casting up her accounts—a sure sign she was increasing—but then, travel had never really agreed with her, and she missed the constant sound of the waves crashing against the Cornish shore. It always brought her calm. However, the trip was needed, and she did wish to see her parents. “I have one request, however.”
“Hmm?” He stared at their son with so much tenderness in his expression her heart squeezed. “I’ll do what I can to meet your needs.”
As of yet, he hadn’t failed in that regard. “Did you bring at least one toy?”
Slowly, his head came up. “Yes, in the event you might—”
“I do.” She nodded and frissons of need twisted down her spine. Though it had been a few weeks since they’d brought that forbidden edge to their play—or had even come together carnally due to a busy and full life—she continually craved him. “I want all of you, Sebastian, unashamedly, every piece. That has not changed since we were first wed.”
“That is good to know.” The look he sent her promised wicked pleasure.
“Regardless of the babe I carry, I want to feel everything. Make me lose control and forget about my responsibilities for a bit.” She dropped her voice. It wouldn’t do to give their driver an earful. “Restrain my wrists, torture me with sensation until I cannot stand it and beg you for release but let me know beyond a doubt you still fancy me, need me, want me.” Long ago she’d left embarrassment behind, for there was no shame in how they loved each other, and it was no one’s business besides.
“I will. I promise.” He touched her foot with his. “For as long as you have need.”
“I think you know the answer to that.” But she smiled, for he usually anticipated her every whim. Never did she think on the day of her wedding that her life would be as sweet or as fulfilling as it was by taking a notorious earl for a husband. “I love you, Sebastian. Never forget that.”
The same sentiment reflected in his eyes along with a delicious promise that made her shiver even though the temperature inside the coach was quite steamy. “I love you too.” He smoothed the curls away from Charlie’s brow. “Love you both to distraction, and I look forward to whatever else we will take on.”
Truly, there was nothing else to say, and perhaps there were times when words were overrated anyway.
The End
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Regency-era romances by Sandra Sookoo
Willful Winterbournes series
Romancing Miss Quill
Pursuing Mr. Mattingly
Courting Lady Yeardly
Teasing Miss Atherby
Guarding the Widow Pellingham
Bedeviling Major Kenton (coming August 2023)
Charming Miss Standish (coming November 2023)
Singular Sensation series
One Little Indiscretion
One Secret Wish
One Tiny On Dit Later
Duchess of Moonlight
One Accidental Night with an Improper Duke
One Scandalous Choice (coming July 2023)
One Thing Led to Another (coming October 2023)
One Track Mind (coming January 2024)
One of a Kind (as part of the Gentleman and Gloves anthology coming February 2024)
One Suitor Too Many (coming April 2024)
One Whispered Plea (coming August 2024)
One Christmas Disaster (coming December 2024)
One Night in Covent Garden (coming February 2025)
Mary and Bright mystery series
An Affair at Christmastide (coming December 2023)
An Intriguing Springtime Engagement (coming April 2024)
Autumn Means Marriage... and Murder (coming October 2024)
Diamonds of London series
My Dear Mr. Ridley
The Lady’s Daring Gambit (coming June 2023)
Catch Her if You Can (coming September 2023)
Magic for Christmas (coming December 2023)
When the Rogue Fell (coming February 2024)
Along Came Tess (coming June 2024)
A Ghostly Affair (coming September 2024)
Spending Christmas in Hell (coming November 2024)
The Duke’s Accidental Mistress (coming January 2025)
Only Spring will Do (coming April 2025)
Not His Usual Style (coming May 2025)
The Duchess Problem (coming July 2025)
The Recalcitrant Lady (coming October 2025)
A Bit of Christmas Fiction (coming November 2025)
If a Spinster Wishes (coming January 2026)
Hasting Sisters
The Devil’s Game (coming March 2024)
A Second Summertime Courtship (coming May 2024)
An Impossible Match (coming July 2024)
Disreputable Dukes of Club Damnation
Ravenhurst’s Return (coming November 2024)
His by Sunrise (coming February 2025)
Promised to the Worst Duke in England (coming April 2025)
The Devil’s in the Details (coming July 2025)
The Duchess’ Damning Letters (coming August 2025)
Buckthorne’s Secret (coming October 2025)
A Duchess for Christmas (coming December 2025)
Pursuing the Duke of Hearts (coming February 2026)
In Hell by Default (coming April 2026)
To Woo a Duke (coming June 2026)
Three Nights with the Devil (coming August 2026)
To Hell with the Duchess (coming October 2026)
Boxers of Brook Street
With Love in Their Corner (coming March 2025)
Go Down Swinging for Love (coming June 2025)
On the Ropes of Scandal (September 2025)
Colors of Scandal series
Dressed in White
Draped in Green
Trimmed in Blue
Wrapped in Red
Graced in Scarlet
Adorned in Violet
Embellished in Mauve
Clad in Midnight
Garbed in Purple
Resplendent in Ruby
Cloaked in Shadows
Decorated in Christmas
Tangled in Lavender
Persuasive in Pink
Disguised in Tartan
Attired in Highland Gold
Hopeful in Yellow
Imperfect in Peridot
Christmas in Crimson
Outrageous in Orchid (coming November 2023 as part of the Earls and Pearls anthology)
Storme Brothers series
The Soul of a Storme
The Heart of a Storme
The Look of a Storme
A Storme’s Christmas Legacy
A Storme’s First Noelle
The Sting of a Storme
The Touch of a Storme
The Fury of a Storme
Much Ado About a Storme (as part of the Duke in Winter anthology)
Author Bio
Sandra Sookoo is a USA Today bestselling author who firmly believes every person deserves acceptance and a happy ending. She’s written for publication since 2008. Most days you can find her creating scandal and mischief in the Regency-era, serendipity and happenstance in the Victorian era, or historical romantic suspense complete with mystery and intrigue. Reading is a lot like eating chocolates—you can’t just have one book. Good thing they don’t have calories!
When she’s not wearing out computer keyboards, Sandra spends time with her real-life Prince Charming in Central Indiana where she’s been known to bake cookies and make moments count because the key to life is laughter. A Disney fan since the age of ten, when her soul gets bogged down and her imagination flags, a trip to Walt Disney World is in order. Nothing fuels her dreams more than the land of eternal happy endings, hope and love stories.
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Sandra Sookoo, Three Wicked Nights with a Notorious Earl
