“Thank you. That’s what it felt like.” His eyes warmed, and he leaned in to give her a kiss sharp with peppermint. “Now what else is in here?”
She sat back and enjoyed his childlike glee as he opened his gifts. The fruitcake. The Christmas pudding. More bonbons. A parcel of recent novels. Pens and writing paper, included purely out of self-interest. Several cakes of the soap she knew he liked. Tonight when she’d lain in his arms, the sandalwood scent had been hauntingly familiar. Handkerchiefs she’d sat up late finishing only last week, when she’d decided to hold onto the box until she had a confirmed address.
He sat back, surrounded by bounty. “You put me to shame.”
She smiled, elated with the success of her gifts. She’d never suspected this boyish side of his nature existed. What a night of revelations this had been.
“I know these last years, you haven’t been in a position to buy me presents.” She dared to tease him. “Although next Christmas, I’ll expect you to start making up for it.”
Amusement brightened his eyes to silver. “So you don’t want this year’s present?”
Surprised, she stared at him. “This year’s present?”
Edmund laughed with a light-heartedness she hadn’t heard since his return and shifted his gifts aside so he could stand up. Hardly limping at all, he crossed to his valise and was quick to locate what he sought.
As he approached, he held his hands behind his back. “Close your eyes.”
She did.
“No peeking. Put out your hands.”
She obeyed.
“Closer together. Do you think I bought you an elephant?”
“Edmund,” she protested, but she moved her hands together.
He’d given her a horse as a wedding gift. A fine chestnut mare she rode every day. Avid curiosity gripped her. “What is it? A shawl from Spain? Some lace from the Low Countries?”
“Was that what you wanted? If only I’d known.”
Keeping her eyes shut, she reached forward into empty air. “You’re a beast.”
“Undoubtedly.” His voice lowered, until it reverberated in her bones. “Happy Christmas, my lovely wife. This is the best Christmas I’ve ever known, and I hope it’s the first of many glorious Christmases to come.”
Something in his tone made her open her eyes, despite his strictures not to look. For a lost moment, she stared into features so vivid with feeling that she wondered if she’d misjudged him all these years. Perhaps he did love her.
“Edmund…” she whispered in a completely different tone. Then he placed a flat red velvet case in her hands, and that aching, intimate connection snapped.
His expression was smug. “It’s not a shawl.”
The case’s weight surprised her. “So I gather,” she said unsteadily. She’d seen enough of the Countess of Canforth’s jewels to guess what was inside.
“Open it.” Watching with unwavering attention, he settled against the pillows again. The expectation in his eyes made her smile, even as she regretted the loss of that instant of silent communion. Her hands shook so badly that she couldn’t manage the box’s clasp.
“Here.” Edmund took it from her. With a couple of flicks of his long fingers, he unfastened the lid and lifted it.
Awed, Felicity surve
yed the sparkling contents, before she glanced up at her husband. “Goodness gracious.”
He looked pleased. “Goodness gracious indeed. I bought them in Vienna a couple of months ago, and I’ve been carrying them around ever since. I always had a yen to see my beautiful wife in rubies and diamonds.”
“But what rubies.” As she lifted the magnificent necklace from its bed of purple silk, her hands still trembled. Edmund had given her a complete parure. Tiara. Two bracelets. Brooch. Earrings. When she held the necklace up to the candlelight, the stones sparkled as if they were alive.
“Do you like it?” he asked, and she caught a flash of uncertainty in his expression. Another of tonight’s miracles. She knew him well enough now to recognize his diffidence for what it was.
“How could I not? They’re spectacular. I should say that you’ve been dreadfully extravagant, but I love them too much to object. Instead, I feel completely overwhelmed. And very grateful.”