He tasted like wine, spicy and addictive, and soon, she was drunk on his lips and his scent, yearning to burrow into his arms and never leave.
“Me too,” she admitted breathlessly when they pulled apart. “I want nothing more than to have a family with you, my love.”
It might be soon, it might be later, but Nancy couldn’t wait for what awaited them in the future, longing for more moments of love and healing to blossom between them.
As long as they had each other, they would be fine.
* * *
“My goodness, Nancy, it all looks marvelous!”
Nancy had to agree with her mother. This ball had turned out much better than the first one, and it was something of a mystery to the Duchess how that came to be.
After all, it was she who planned the first one as well.
Perhaps it was because her heart was lighter as she oversaw the preparations for the event. Perhaps it was because she had been given an incentive, prior to planning it.
Regardless, she already loved how the night was turning out to be, completely enamored with how beautifully the decorations and ambiance seemed to flow seamlessly, promising a memorable night to all in attendance.
“I think so too,” she agreed with her mother easily, smiling as she watched her sisters talk excitedly, admiring the dresses women on the dance floor were wearing.
They all looked so relaxed now, and Nancy couldn’t help but revel in the relief and joy that washed through her.
“Where is your husband off to now? I just saw you two together on the dancefloor! I need to thank him for securing your sister’s dowries from your father’s cousin,” her mother said.
“You know how it is now, Mama. Everyone wants a word with him nowadays,” Nancy responded.
Richard had kept his promise so far and had danced with her twice since the ball had begun, only stepping away to get her a refreshment. He had stolen a quick kiss and given her his word to return, and as silly as it was, Nancy found herself missing him.
“Well, I am his mother-in-law. I should be the very first in that line,” her mother huffed.
She tried to distract herself from it by conversing with her mother, but her gaze kept wandering, searching for him with every minute that passed without him by her side.
“Mama,” Nancy said with lightly scolding tone, “he’s done so much for us already.”
“I know, my dear. I merely wish to express my gratitude to him. If it weren’t for him—and you, of course—we’d be at the whim of that terrible cousin.”
Ever since Nancy had returned to Wexford, her mother refused to refer to her father’s cousin by the Suttington title. She had expressed more than once, in the privacy of Wexford’s parlor that is, that he was not worthy of it.
It wasn’t that Nancy disagreed, but she couldn’t care less about the new Lord Suttington. Now that her mother and her sisters’ futures were secured, he was nothing but a black spot in their family history, a thing of the past.
“Why you even invited him here escapes me, though,” her mother mumbled under her breath.
“Despite his unwillingness,” and generally swine-like behavior, Nancy added inwardly, “he is part of our family. It would be uncouth of me not to, Mama.”
“Always the virtuous one, my child,” Lady Suttington responded and tucked one of Nancy’s loose curls behind her ear, “I am ever so proud of the woman you have become.”
“Thank you, Mama,” she beamed at her mother.
“It is a testament to your influence that even more people were willing to attend this. You have done splendidly well again?—”
“Your Grace?”
Nancy turned around expectantly, her smile dimming slightly when she realized who was standing behind her.
“Oh, Lord Whitwood.”
The Earl nodded, looking nervous. He glanced at her mother and said, “Pardon me, am I interrupting?”
