A Wicked Conceit (Lady Darby Mysteries #9) - Anna Lee Huber Page 0,36
over whom he might have no sway.
Gage’s expression tightened with remembered grief at the recent passing of his grandfather, and I lifted a hand to cradle his warm cheek.
“The decision is yours. I will support you in whatever you decide.”
He pulled my hand from his face and placed a gentle kiss on my palm. “As of now it’s merely a threat. The king may very well balk at the suggestion. And even if he doesn’t, if the Tories catch wind of the scheme they may sooner relent than have the House of Lords flooded with Whigs.”
“I know, but it speaks highly of you all the same that they asked Philip to approach you,” I reminded him as I stepped back, reaching for the bedchamber door. “Though I’m certainly not surprised,” I added, tossing a flirtatious smile over my shoulder.
The corners of his mouth lifted in an answering grin and then he turned his feet toward the door to the adjoining bedchamber where Anderley would be waiting to help him with his evening attire. I found Bree waiting for me as well, my night rail already laid out across the counterpane covering our four-poster bed.
“Good evening, Bree,” I proclaimed with a weary sigh. “Will you help me out of this dress first?” I requested, turning my back to her. “It was comfortable enough earlier this evening, but if I have to wear it another minute, I think I shall scream.”
“Too tight, m’lady?” she asked as her deft fingers began their work on the buttons.
“Perhaps a little.” I rested my hands over my rounded belly. “Another week or two and I suspect I shall not fit into it.”
“Aye, bairns do grow right quickly at the end.”
“I suppose I shall have to consider remaining home in the evenings after the first of the month,” I acknowledged as equably as I could manage. For I possessed no gowns larger than this one.
“Ye could always try wearin’ that set o’ stays Lady Hollingsworth brought ye.”
I glanced up at our reflection in the mirror to discover that her eyes twinkled with teasing. “No, thank you. Honestly, I don’t know how Caroline stands it.”
I knew Philip’s aunt, Lady Hollingsworth, meant well, but the elaborately boned stays she had gifted me which covered the body from the shoulders to below the hips, compressing the body into a more slender line, seemed more akin to a torture device than an article of clothing. She had insisted her daughter wore one and found it helpful. If that was the case, I could only feel pity for Caroline, who had wed our family friend, Michael Dalmay, a month after Gage and I were married and was also now expecting. I found it more likely that Caroline donned it when her mother visited her and Michael at their estate north of Edinburgh, and the rest of the time it sat tucked in a drawer. At least, I hoped so.
I allowed my shoulders to slump as the gown loosened. Bree reached up to remove the velvet toque from my hair before pulling the satin gown up over my head. In short order, I found myself enveloped in my lace-trimmed nightdress and indigo dressing gown, and seated at my dressing table while Bree pulled the pins from my hair and then began to plait it. I fidgeted, finding it difficult to find a comfortable position in which to perch, and she gently scolded me.
“I’ll be done just as fast as I can, m’lady.”
I exhaled a tired chuckle. “I’m no worse than my nieces and nephews, am I?” I gazed at my reflection. At the luster of my hair and the lush cleavage revealed through the gap in my wrapper, at the plumpness of my cheeks and the shadows under my eyes. “But no one warns you how awkward you’ll feel in your own body or how disconcerting that can be.”
Bree’s expression softened. “Aye. My mam always said that was nature’s way o’ makin’ ye eager for the birth.” Her teeth flashed in a grin. “’Tis hard to be fearful when ye simply want the bairn oot o’ ye.”
“And you have seven brothers and sisters?” I verified, for Bree’s stories about her family—when she could be coaxed to share them—were often rambling and slightly confusing. Every generation seemed to repeat the same names, and often cousins shared variations of those, so I became lost in figuring out exactly who was who.