The Bachelor Earl - Darcy Burke Page 0,22

or no.”

She gazed at him with such warmth that his heart swelled. “You do have romantic necessities, don’t you?”

He laughed. “My mother calls me hopelessly romantic and sees it as a detriment.”

“I disagree. Any woman fortunate enough to fall in love with you will be lucky beyond measure.”

Edmund couldn’t help but note that she didn’t speak like a woman who might be in love. But it was surely too soon for that—at least for her. “That’s kind of you to say.”

She grimaced. “I’m not helping you find a wife. I’m distracting you. I should not have come tonight.”

He cupped her face. “No. You are the only woman at this party I am interested in.”

Something—understanding, maybe—flickered in her eyes. “You want an heir?”

“It is my duty,” he said simply. He supposed he wanted children—he enjoyed his nieces and nephews. “Perhaps we just made one.” He winked at her.

Her eyes widened, and her brows pitched low on her forehead as she pulled back. She sat up abruptly, holding the coverlet to her chest. “That isn’t possible. I can’t have any more children.”

Edmund sat up with her. Any more? She’d had children? He didn’t recall, perhaps because he’d purposely not paid attention to her marriage despite being friendly with her husband. “Do you have children? I wasn’t aware.”

“I had a daughter,” she said softly, her gaze focused on the fireplace. “Eliza. She died when she was three.”

“Tell me about her.”

Genie’s eyes lit. “She was bright and funny, so quick to laugh. She loved to follow her older half brother around. Titus was so good with her. He would read her stories, especially after she got sick.” Her expression dimmed, and Edmund gently stroked his fingers along her spine. “I lost three more after her—well before their term—and wasn’t able to conceive at all the last five years of my marriage. The physician said I was past my childbearing years.”

He frowned. “Physicians can be wrong.”

She snapped her gaze to his. “I have long given up hope for any more children and would ask that you don’t speak of such things. It’s not kind.”

Anguished by her obvious heartache, he took her hand. “I didn’t mean to be unkind.”

“I’m forty-two, Edmund,” she said quietly. “I cannot give you an heir.”

He wished he could say he didn’t want one, that he didn’t need one. But the fact was that he did have a duty. Troubled, he stroked his thumb over her hand.

She took a deep breath and looked at him. “You should know that losing my daughter was even more painful than losing Jerome. I miss him terribly, but you’ve shown me there is life after him. My stepson, Titus, showed me that I could be a mother, even if the child wasn’t of my blood. If I marry again, I would hope to have the chance to mother my husband’s children.”

Her words cut into him. She wasn’t interested in marriage, at least not to him. To realize his dream and have it dashed all in the same night was a blow he couldn’t have foreseen.

Edmund rolled over and got up from the bed. He padded to the armoire and fetched his banyan. Wrapping it around his now-cold body, he tied the sash and turned. She’d also left the bed and had gone to the settee where she drew the night rail over her exquisite form.

She put her feet into the slippers that she’d kicked off at some point, then donned her dressing gown. He wanted to stop her, to ask her to stay. He’d envisioned a night full of learning each other’s bodies, giving pleasure, and blissful surrender.

But that was not to be. Not after the revelations of their stark truths.

Still, they had shared a wonderful experience. He went to stand before her as she finished buttoning her dressing gown. Several strands of hair had come free of her plait and curled gently against her cheeks and temples.

He fingered one of those curls and gave her a half smile. “Tonight was remarkable. There are two more nights left. I would count myself lucky if you wanted to share them with me.”

She stared at him, her lips parted. “I don’t know. This was…exceptional. I will treasure the memory always.” She put her palm against his cheek and stood on her toes to kiss him.

Edmund wrapped his arms around her and gathered her close. He claimed her mouth, sliding his tongue against hers, hopefully reminding her of how well they fit together, of how good they were.

When he