Theo couldn't take his eyes off of Adelaide, hunched in front of the window. He wasn't sure what she could possibly be looking at, considering that London had been cast into a dense fog, leaving the world around them masked from view.

It wasn't likely safe to be traveling in this weather, but he knew that he couldn't let Addie remain in town. The positive side was that the fog would restrict any search party who might have attempted to follow them. It provided some measure of comfort.

His eyes traced the arch of her back which was covered in thin, dusty rose silk. The buttons fell one by one along the curve of her spine, teasing him. He was a wretch of a man, but all he could think of at the moment was touching each and every one. Or rather, undoing each and every one. After months apart, he wanted nothing more than to hold her close.

Sliding along the bench of the carriage they had hired to make an unmarked exit from London, he made his way toward Addie. Slowly, Theo wrapped his arm around her torso, feeling the swell of her belly beneath him. He felt, instead of heard, a slight intake of breath as he pulled her tightly against him before leaning back against the carriage bench again.

She relaxed into him, her soft body resting along the lines of his taut one.

His other arm wound around her so that both hands could spread the width of her bump. The act of possession could mean nothing other than: mine.

Theo was in shock. He had felt, and continued to feel, a blissful numbness at the news of becoming a father. He never would have imagined being so content at such knowledge. But he was in awe of the feeling.

Adelaide nestled deeper into his embrace and his heart, full again for the first time since the day he had left her. Fuller, if possible, with his child beneath his hands. Christ, he had been so scared for her when the bells had begun to ring for George's death. And then to see her show up, her pregnancy bared for all to see.

Of course, he wouldn't have faulted her for it. If it had been George's child, that is. But his relief, nay his sheer joy, when she had announced that they had never been intimate, it had been palpable.

"What are you thinking?" Addie whispered, speaking into the carriage.

He leaned forward, so his lips brushed her ear as he spoke. "I'm thinking about how selfishly relieved I am that you are in my arms once more."

She nodded, her golden hair rubbing against his clean-shaven chin. "I know. I am so terribly grieved by George's death, but cannot help myself for feeling happiness in being here with you." Her hands met his on top of her stomach. "I despaired that I would never get the chance to tell you about him."

"Him?" Theo questioned with a chuckle.

"Yes, I do believe it is a boy." He could almost hear her smile. And then he could hear when the smile vanished. "You needn't feel obligated, you know," she said. "Toward the babe and myself."

Theo jerked back as if struck. He lifted his hands to her upper arms, deftly turning her where she sat. She peered at him in surprise.

"Addie. Adelaide. What did I tell you before you left to marry the prince?"

Addie began shaking her head, her eyes leaving his. Her arms still grasped in his hands, he shook her until she looked up again. "Addie. What did I say?"

"You said that you loved me," she despaired in a small voice. Despaired?

"And have you any doubt that has changed?" he demanded, feeling angry that she would even have to pause to think that his love for her was anything but the deepest.

"Well..." she started, and Theo thought he would go mad. "It is just that you know I have not been...with anyone since you. And I couldn't... I wouldn't blame you if the same were not true for you."

"Bloody hell, Addie. Really?"

She just shrugged. That slight lift of her nearly bared shoulder alone made Theo mad with lust, and she thought that he would have been able to sleep with someone else? He raked his hands through his tangled hair.

"No. Absolutely not. The only woman that has been in my bed has been you. Every night since we've parted, you've joined me in my bed. Taunting me in my dreams. Making me wild for you. Only you." He emphasized the last part and waited. He longed to lift her chin to meet his gaze, but in the spirit of being less controlling, waited for her to do it on her own.

He was damned when she did, her eyes revealing a questioning glance. Still.

"This morning," she said calmly, firmly, "I arrived at your house to see Lady Humphries just leaving. She was the one who told me where you were. She told me that you had left earlier that morning. Earlier, being the keyword. It was early, Theo. If something is going on between you two..." the words trailed off, her confidence with it.

Comprehension dawned on Theo, and he gave way to a chuckle. "No, Addie. No. Lady Humphries was there for Emilia."

"Emilia?" Addie's face scrunched up adorably. "But Emilia is living at Lord Trotten's."

"She was," Theo agreed, "until two days after the Baxley ball. She moved back to Kingfield House, unbeknownst to anyone but Trotten and myself. Lady Humphries had been doing her best to conceal any gossip around where Emilia had been living. She arrived this morning to inform me that she hasn't had any news of Emilia reported to her recently. She came early to avoid any gossip herself, I'm sure. I left her with Emilia shortly after because I thought a female companion would be good for her. She's been moping around the house ever since she returned."

To Theo's relief, Addie's face seemed to relax. Not just her face, but her whole body seemed to soften against him. "Emilia wasn't there when I arrived. She likely ran out of the house when Lady Humphries arrived."

"She wasn't?" Theo was surprised to hear that and slightly alarmed. "Wait, why would she do that?"

Addie shook her head. "Emilia found out that Lady Humphries was Madame Mischief right before my wedding. She was less than pleased, considering what had been written about her after her engagement ended."

Theo blew a stream of air out through his teeth. "I didn't even think about that."

"She might have been there this morning. I just didn't see her. Only Lady Humphries. "

Theo forced himself not to worry. "We informed Trotten of the situation. He assured me in his response that Emilia would be well taken care of in our absence. There are many things I don't trust about that man, but I believe he has convinced me of one thing."

"What's that?"

"He won't let any physical harm befall Emilia. Not to mention," he forced himself of the reminder, "Emilia is a strong woman. I am certain she will be fine. Andrew will also ensure her safety." He said the words not to convince Addie, but rather to convince himself. He must have seemed uncertain, however, because Addie put her small arms around him gently.

"I agree," she said softly. "She will be fine."

Minutes later, Addie was snoring lightly against his chest. Theo had a thousand more things he wanted to say to her. But the moment was peaceful, and with so few of those available recently, he did nothing to jeopardize it. He marveled at the weight of her against him. His eyelids threatened to droop themselves, but he couldn't allow himself to miss a single moment of this bliss.

With the foggy weather, it took until long after night had fallen to reach Rosecrest Manor, Lord Trotten's estate. Normally, if there weren't the possibility of being violently pursued and likely suspect in a royal death, Theo would have suggested they stop at a coaching inn to rest. But the current situation didn't warrant such a possibility. They made one quick stop to change horses before pushing forward.

In the dark, Rosecrest Manor looked rather ominous. As they pulled up, the large stone facade greeted them with little welcome. However, once Addie and Theo stepped inside, they were received with a warmly lit entrance hall and comfortably furnished rooms.

Lord Trotten's staff were very well trained, not asking any questions or giving questionable glances. Theo didn't think it would have been possible for them to have heard of their arrival ahead of time, and so he handed the note Trotten had sent back to them at Weston House, stating his approval for the plan. It seemed the butler, Thomas, barely acknowledged the hastily scripted message before bowing to accept them inside.

"Your Grace," the short but seemingly stalwart man said.

Theo nodded in response. "Thank you for receiving us on such short notice." Addie came to stand next to him, sleepiness still touching her features. He motioned to her, unable to keep his heart from his voice. "This is my wife, the Duchess of Kingfield."

He expected some type of reaction, a protest perhaps, to come from his left. But Addie just flashed a kind smile toward Thomas and ignored Theo completely. So much did she not react, he could almost pretend that it was real.

Theo rushed Addie upstairs to the suite they had been assigned and ordered her a bath. Alias or no, well-trained staff or not, the fewer people she could interact with, the better.

Hot water filled the tub by a team of quiet housemaids. As soon as they were done, he dismissed them. Turning around from the door, he spotted Addie sitting on the luxurious counterpane, her eyes trained on her feet.

His feet barely made a sound as he padded across the room and knelt before her. Carefully, he took each foot in his hands and removed her dirtied slippers. Her foot attire was undoubtedly never meant to be worn on walks through the grime of London in the morning, and her feet were red and blistered inside.

Addie didn't seem to notice.

"Would you like a bath?"

She nodded, absentmindedly. "Yes, please." Scanning the room, she seemed to notice for the first time that they were alone. "I'll have to ring for a maid to assist me. I can't get this dress off on my own."

"Nonsense." He moved to sit behind her on the bed. "I can attend to my own wife."

Theo could almost feel her blush on the back of her neck.

"I'm not really your wife," she said in a small voice. "And I can never be your wife, Theo."

He decided to disregard the pang he felt at the comment. They would discuss that topic later. For now, he needed to get her out of these clothes and into something more comfortable. He kissed the back of her neck where the warmth had spread from her cheeks and began to undo the row of buttons that had teased him in the carriage.

"Perhaps not, Addie. But for tonight you are," he said.

She didn't protest that. A small moan escaped her lips, vibrating beneath his own.

His caresses followed her spine down the row of each undone button.

"I missed you," he heard her whisper softly as she leaned into his touch, allowing him to continue his act. The dress was soon draping off her, her creamy skin exposed to him. He couldn't help but drag his lips up the expanse of her back until they were back where they had started. He pressed one final kiss to her neck before moving to whisper into her ear, his lips grazing the flesh there as he did so.

"To say that I missed you too seems too small a statement to how I really felt."

He began to undo her corset strings and she took an unrestricted breath. As soon as her garments were loose enough to slide off, she stood and let them fall to the floor, leaving her standing in a sheer shift.

Striding to the hot water, she stripped the gauzy fabric off over her head and lowered herself tantalizingly into the bath.

Theo's mouth went dry, watching every movement with bated breath.

Addie sank into the soapy depths, covering herself entirely with the steaming water.

Walking over to the tub, Theo kneeled next to her and placed a kiss atop her hair. Without saying a word, he cupped the soapy liquid in his hands and slowly let it wash over her. Addie tilted her head back, allowing the water to drip down her, looking appeased.

Theo gathered more soap from nearby and lathered it in his hands before massaging it into her head. She gave a sated sigh. After several minutes of quiet ministrations on her scalp, Addie sank back down into the water, attempting to rinse the suds away. But when she came back up, they still clung to her blonde strands, and Theo chuckled.

He reached to grab the pitcher of water from the washing stand and tilted it over her head.

"Brace yourself," he warned.

The crisp, clean water washed over her, raising goose flesh on her skin. But she didn't protest.

"Not too cold?" Theo questioned.

She shrugged, her bare shoulders breaking the surface as she did. "I'm too tired to truly care."

"I know, darling. Let me help you up."

Theo grabbed a towel and raised it up in front of her with one hand while he lent the other for assistance. She grasped it with strong, small hands, pulling herself up. Water and soap dripped its way down her perfectly shaped body. Theo restrained from groaning.

He regretfully wrapped the towel around her and then swiftly reached down to tuck an arm beneath her knees, swinging her up against his chest. Theo carried her to the large poster bed, the wetness of her skin soaking his clothes as he did. She tilted her head to look at him, lifting a hand and placing it gently against his cheek.

Their eyes met, blue and green colliding, and within an instant so did their lips. Theo sunk into her as he pressed her into the mattress. She tasted sweet, so very sweet as he brushed his lips over hers over and over again. She melted into him, wrapping her arms around his neck, pushing her fingers into his hair. He had been longing for this feeling, this completeness she brought.

Breaking their kiss with a sigh, Theo moved to position her next to him, drawing the covers up as he did. She protested the loss of his embrace, but he only laid a finger against her lips.

"You need to rest," he said soothingly. He chucked his wet shirt to the floor and then pulled Addie close to him, tucking her neatly beneath his arms. His whole body hummed with the awareness of her so near, but he knew it wasn't the time.

"I thought you were letting me make the decisions," she said, sleepily.

Theo laughed, loving the way her cool hair brushed against his face as he did.

"You're right. What would you like to do, dear?" he asked.

But by the time the words were out, she was already breathing deeply against the pillows. Theo smiled to himself and pulled her closer so that no space was left between them. And soon, he had fallen into a deep sleep himself, resting against her golden hair.