Page 104 of A Scandal for the Beastly Earl

"Even though I'm going to be doing this every morning for weeks?"

"Especially then."

"You're very strange."

"You married me."

"Best impulsive decision I ever made."

"Diving into the lake?"

"Marrying the beast who pulled me out."

He kissed her forehead. "Rest. You've had enough excitement for one day."

"But the house gathering?"

"Can continue without us."

"Cassandra?"

"She is leaving."

"The Duchess?"

"Will understand."

"But..."

"Arabella, you're carrying our child. Everything else can wait."

She settled back against the pillows, one hand moving to her still-flat stomach. "Our child. That sounds impossible."

"Everything about us is impossible."

"True." She yawned. "Lucien?"

"Yes?"

"What about Cordelia?"

The non sequitur surprised him. "What about her?"

"Your aunt is being horrible to her. We saw it at dinner."

"Aunt Agatha is horrible to everyone."

"But Cordelia doesn't deserve it. She was kind to Thistle."

"That's a low bar for rescue."

"It's my bar." She looked at him with those eyes that had been his downfall from the start. "We could help her."

"How?"

"Invite her to stay with us. Give her a season in London. Find her a husband who isn't horrible."

"You want to rescue my cousin."