Page 102 of An Affair with a Notorious Heiress
“Not biased are you?”
“Terribly,” she assured him.
With a laugh, he turned to a man following him, said something, and the young gent rushed off.
“Dear God, I do hope our stallion wins,” Rex said sotto voice, “or we may find in a few years I have no title to inherit.”
“How can he not win when he is the progeny of Black Diamond and Fair Vixen?”
“Here he comes,” he said with pride, ducking beneath the broad brim of her hat to buss a quick kiss for luck over her cheek.
She watched as Notorious, gorgeous with his shiny dark brown coat, was paraded before them on his way to the starting gate. The odds were against the three-year-old winning his first race. But then that was to be expected when Rex hadn’t let anyone outside of those who resided at Kingsbrook Park see the colt run. Tillie had a feeling the servants had made wagers on the outcome. She did hope they wouldn’t all resign from their positions based on their winnings.
She and Rex spent most of their time at Kingsbrook, only occasionally going into London, even though she was now comfortable moving about the city and attending all the various and numerous social affairs to which they were invited. But they both loved the horses so much that they were happiest spending their days in their company, even taking a hand in training them now and then. Although truth be told, as long as Rex was with her, she was joyful to be anywhere. He was her home.
They’d traveled to New York. It wasn’t as she’d remembered—or perhaps it was just that she’d changed so much she no longer felt as though she fit as comfortably as she once had. But she’d certainly enjoyed forcing those who once snubbed her mother to address her using her title. She’d even run into Anson. A sadder looking fellow she’d never seen, and she found it difficult to believe she’d once pinned her hopes for happiness on him. Much better to be responsible for her own happiness, to secure it through her own efforts, to be with a man who wasn’t at all threatened by her independent nature, who encouraged and took pride in it.
“Notorious doesn’t seem bothered by the noise or the crowds,” she said now to her husband.
He smiled down on her. “For one so young, he has an amazing amount of confidence. He knows he’s going to win.”
“I hope so, for your sake. You’re going to lose a small fortune if he doesn’t.”
“Not to worry. I married an heiress. She has the means to see me well taken care of if need be.”
Laughing, she wound her arm around his, squeezed. He’d yet to touch as much as a penny. Still, she no longer considered her inheritance as hers, but she saw it as theirs. Everything they possessed was theirs. They shared equally in all aspects of their lives. She’d always dreamed of having this sort of marriage. The reality of it was so much better than anything she’d ever imagined.
As Notorious entered the starting gate, Tillie drew a sharp breath.
“He’s going to do fine,” Rex said.
The pistol report echoed around them. She was torn between squeezing her eyes shut and watching. In the middle of the pack, the horse was magnificent, his muscles bunching and stretching—
Moving up until he was in third place.
Then when the finish line came into view, he poured his heart and soul into his efforts, passing the other horses as though they stood still. Tillie was shouting and crying as Notorious crossed the finish line well ahead of the others.
“We’ve got our winner!” Rex shouted as he drew her against him and kissed her with as much enthusiasm as Notorious had exhibited completing the race.
She might have blushed, except she’d grown accustomed to the ease with which he kissed her in public, and those who knew them came to expect it. The Marquess of Rexton was known to be madly in love with his wife, and never missed an opportunity to show her and the world how much he adored her.
When he drew back, he shook hands with his brothers and brother-in-law, hugged his sister and sisters-in-law. Tillie embraced Gina. “I’m so glad you could be here today.”
“I wouldn’t have missed it.”
Rex slid his arm around Tillie and drew her up against his side. “Come, my lady. Let’s go down and thank our winner, shall we?”
She smiled up at him. “We have another winner on the way.”
His brow furrowed. “Fair Vixen hasn’t recovered from the last foal she delivered. I don’t see how—” He stopped, dropped his gaze to her belly, then lifted his eyes to hers. “You?”
Nodding, she held back the squeal she wanted to release. She’d been holding the secret for a while, waiting for the right moment. “Finally, I’m with child.”
His smile was so tender and loving that she felt lighthearted. After all this time, he still had the power to make her feel giddy and young, to let her know without words that nothing in his life was more precious than she.
“With you as the mother, he—or she—will most certainly be a winner.”
Dipping his head down, he once again took her mouth. She reveled in the way his arms closed protectively around her, the way he announced without words that nothing in his life was more precious than she. But then it was only fair because she felt the same way about him. He had pieced back together her heart and would forever hold it in his keeping.
