Page 54 of What's an Earl Gotta Do?
“It certainly is.” They fell into a companionable silence. After a few minutes, he said, “Could I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Had you really never had a climax until last night?”
She blushed. “I had not.”
He ran a thumb over her flushed cheeks. “It’s just that... you’re so good at it.”
She laughed. “I think you’re the one who’s good at it, as you put it.”
“Believe me, you’re good at it too. Very good. You made me forget myself. I didn’t take any precautions, didn’t wear a sheath, or even remember to withdraw. You could conceive,” he said carefully.
She sat up, her hands going to her stomach. She was beaming. “I hadn’t thought of that! Do you really think so?”
“You never know.” He smiled. “You would be excited about the possibility—here I was thinking you would be worried about a scandal.”
She laughed. “What scandal? I’ve an appointment this morning, but we can be married by special license this very afternoon, as far as I’m concerned.”
“I love the way you’re thinking,” he replied. “Although perhaps we should allow a few days so we can send word to our families. I know my father would be disappointed to miss his only son’s wedding.”
“You’re right, our families must be there. Although I don’t know that we should wait for Caro. I almost don’t even want to send her word. She would feel she had to come back, and I hate to interrupt her bridal trip.”
“We’ll figure it out,” he said, pulling Anne down to lie with her head upon his chest. “We’ll have the ceremony sometime in the next week. Then we can leave for Canada the week after.”
Anne blinked and lifted her head from Michael’s chest. Surely she must have misheard. “Canada? What do you mean, leave for Canada?”
He grinned at her. “You’re going to love it there, Anne—it’s so beautiful, and every day is an adventure. I can’t wait to show you everything I’ve built.”
Oh, thank goodness—he just wanted to show her what he’d been doing these past four years. “You mean as a bridal trip?”
He laughed. “We’ll be there a bit longer than your standard bridal trip.”
Of course, it took so long just to cross the Atlantic, it would only make sense to stay for a few months. Such a long trip would require extensive planning. She would have to find friends to oversee the various functions of her charity while she was gone.
She would need at least a month to prepare.
“How long did you have in mind?” she asked.
“That depends, of course, but I hope we won’t be coming back for thirty or forty years.”
“Thirty or forty years?” she cried, sitting up. “What do you mean, thirty or forty years?”
“My father is as healthy as a horse and thank God for it. I’m in no hurry to ascend to the marquessate. But of course, we’ll have to return to England once I do.”
“But Michael, surely you cannot be thinking to move to Canada until you inherit? You’re the heir. You belong in England. Your father needs you. I need you—we all need you!”
His smile was fond as he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “And I need you too, Anne. But you’ll always have me. You need never worry about that. We’ll always be together. In Canada.”
“But I cannot move to Canada!” she cried.
Michael had been so excited imagining what the next couple of weeks held that he’d been paying scant attention to Anne. He looked at her now and was surprised to see that she was genuinely in distress. He sat up and took her hands, and said carefully, “I see that this has come as a surprise. It will be a big adjustment, to move away from all your family and friends. I see that now. But give yourself a few days to get used to the idea and it won’t seem so daunting. After all, the only thing that matters is that the two of us are together.”
“No, Michael, that is not the only thing that matters!” she exclaimed. “It’s not just a matter of my family, although I cannot imagine leaving them for thirty or forty years. My society is here. There are so many people depending on me.”
“Now, Anne, I know your society is important to you. But I need to be in Canada. So you’re going to Canada, too.”
Anne swallowed and looked sadder than he could ever remember seeing her. “If that’s the case, Michael, then I cannot marry you,” she said, her voice breaking.
