Page 42 of Romanced By the Orc

Izzie’s words were tinged with a care Diana found touching.“Speak plainly, please.”

“I wondered if you were aware of how … I shouldn’t go poking my nose in things,” Izzie continued. “Only there are ways to not have children.” She lowered her voice. “If you don’t want them, that is. At least not right away.”

Under ordinary circumstances, her sacred duty as Albion’s wife was giving him as many children as her body could produce, their laughter and little sorrows making for a proper home. This duty was drilled into her from the time when her first baby dolls were provided for play. Even the papering on the nursery walls was designed to mirror her future role as a mother. That her own womb had failed her after but two children, and daughters at that, played no small part in both her mother’s reliance on drink and the failing nature of her parents’ marriage.

Which meant that the question of children inevitably sprang to her mind. Yet Albie had mentioned nothing of the sort when he proposed the “fun” marriage might entail. Though she knew comparatively little of the Hidden Realm, she safely assumed such intimate affairs were handled differently there.

When Diana composed herself and looked up once more, she caught Izzie’s eye in the looking glass. Isabel was quite right. Her mother had never initiated such a conversation.

“No harm in knowing as much.” Diana’s voice trembled slightly. “Do tell me more.”

After this discussion, Diana took a short but brisk stroll outside her set of rooms. Such was hardly her practice before bed, in a state of half-dress, no less, but she wanted space to contemplate Izzie’s words.

She’d had no idea how simple it was to prevent a child from coming. A pessary seemed astounding upon first hearing but sensible on reflection. And Izzie had been more than willing to agree to a discreet trip to an apothecary she knew, whose wares were not among those to be found in the modish areas of London.

The idea of taking pleasure freely with Albion intensified her excitement such that she halted at the head of the staircase to catch her breath, grasping the stone newel post and staring at the foyer below.

At first blush, the color of the paint and the strangely empty walls had appeared bland to her eyes. However, she had only seen them during the day. At present, moonlight filtered through the tall windows, casting shadows on the walls opposite. The leaves on the tree branches outside were crisply outlined and quivered gently in the breeze, creating portraits far grander than those in any gallery. Temporary yet lovely and ethereal as only nature could be.

Even were they to decide to part ways, as so many married couples in thetondid, she could enjoy whatever time she didhave with Albie. And take from it a memory to cherish for the rest of her life.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The next morning, Diana changed into the bare minimum necessary to stay respectable—a soft muslin dressing robe to cover her sheer night rail. She clasped the chain around her throat that held Albie’s gift, the sapphire, in the event she should see him. Heart pattering, she tip-toed down the stairs to fetch a plate of fresh fruit and a rasher of toast.

A newly minted married woman, Diana could break her fast in bed with a meal brought by her lady’s maid. Customarily, however, she was hardly what one might call an early riser. So she had instructed Izzie not to worry about her breakfast tray until eight of the clock at the earliest.

By the by, Diana hadn’t managed to get much sleep, thoughts all a tumble. Wide awake at five in the morning and seeing little point in lazing about, hoping for a return to slumber that never came, she resolved to get some food in her stomach.

As she made her way to the breakfast room, Diana hesitated before an east-facing drawing room. The door was ajar, and shecaught a glimpse of a fire already flickering in the hearth and a white riding coat thrown carelessly over a pedestal stool. Was Albie already in there preparing for a business call regarding some family affair?

“Husband?” she called playfully. “What on earth commands you to rise so early?”

She stepped inside and then halted.

Albion stood facing a side window, dappled light from the early sunrise seeping through the panes, overlooking a trellis with lattice woodwork of starbursts and diamonds, which afforded privacy from the townhouse on the opposite side. His arms and legs were outstretched, legs bent slightly, and he had twisted his oblique muscles so that he looked out the window while his body faced the doorway.

A most admirable callisthenic.

Diana took a moment to appreciate her husband’s striking face in profile, fit to embellish a gold coin of the ancients. Its aesthetic value was only amplified by the thick horn and jutting fang visible from this vantage point.

Her husband was shockingly naked from the waist up, his dark green chest and powerful neck exposed. The great span of his shoulders and sinewy strength of his biceps were so attractive she caught herself goggling and quite at a loss for words.

“Wife!” he said, abruptly breaking the pose. Albie cast an anxious glance at the wall clock ticking away. It was only a quarter of six. “You are an early riser, then?”

“Rarely.” Any further comment muddled in her mind as she tried not to stare at the black hair threading in such an enticing manner from the center of Albion’s chest to his naval, bisecting the delineated muscles of his midsection.

“I asked Miss Isabel to permit me to deliver your breakfast.” He headed for the pedestal stool to grab the shirt he had thrown over it. “If you prefer to come down—”

“Wait.” Diana grasped his wrist, her fingers covering a mere portion of its diameter. Then, hardly believing her boldness, she added: “I see no reason you should stop your exercises, my good husband. Rather, why don’t you show me your practice? I shall endeavor to follow.”

His broad smile returned, the one that dazzled thetonbut was now hers alone.

“So be it. But I expect you to dress suitably for this effort.”

“You must provide instruction on the proper attire.”

“Removing your robe as a start.” He hesitated, drawing a breath. “If you so please.”

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