Clara bit her lip in concern, unsure what he would say.
“I told you that I grew up in an orphanage before the Kincaides took me in but prior to that I lived on the streets of Philadelphia with my birth mother.”
Clara said nothing, just listened.
“She liked the drink too much and barely had time for me. I’m not sure how I survived, probably because shop owners felt pity for me. I don’t remember much of it, but I have flashes and bits of memory of that time.”
He seemed to struggle with what he wanted to say next. Clara stood and said, “You don’t have to tell me this. I don’t care—”
He shook his head. “You see, I do. I need you to know where I came from. I was birthed in an alley and spent the first four years of my life sleeping in the same place. I don’t blame my birth mother, whatever her flaws were, she kept me alive long enough to leave me at the orphanage. The orphanage was hard but when you have nothing, hard isn’t so bad. I stole, I begged, and charmed whoever I could to survive.”
He wouldn’t look at her but when he finally did, his eyes were filled with so much uncertainty, it nearly destroyed her. He shrugged and said, “You know the rest.”
Clara touched his face with her hand. “There is no shame in your story, Sam. If anything, it only makes you more wonderful.”
“I will never have a title,” he stressed.
She smiled as tears fell to her cheeks. “No, you won’t. Do you think I care? You are the first person who really saw me, not just my father’s title. I love you and I am proud to be Mrs. Clara Kincaide. I want you to understand that I'm not just accepting of it but delighted with it. Understand?”
He nodded, too overcome with emotion to speak. She smiled and said, “I need to rest, will you sleep with me?”
Sam helped her undress, and they climbed into bed together. He looped his arm around her waist, pulling her close. “More than anything, I think I may be the luckiest woman in the world to be married to you,” Clara whispered.
“If you insist,” he said, his usual charm starting to reappear.
She elbowed him in the ribs and said, “This is where you tell me you are the luckiest man in the world.”
He laughed and kissed the top of her head. “I am the luckiest man in the world, ten times over.”
Epilogue
The Duke of Peyton’s Country Estate, Christmas, 1842
Clara sat with Sam at one of the side tables putting together a dissection puzzle. She placed her hand on her tiny bump. Sam winked at her and said, “Did I tell you how ravishing you look?”
She smiled at him. “You have to tell me that. I am pregnant with your child.”
“Pregnant or not, I can’t keep my eyes off you. I wish we were alone, piecing a dissection together in our room, naked.”
She flushed with desire, delighting Sam. “It was you who wanted to spend Christmas here.”
Sam looked around. It was him, and he couldn’t be happier. Maggie and Joseph would be so proud of them. Not because they were wealthy or because Jack had got his title back, they would be happy because they still were so close.
He glanced over to where Sophia sat with her new husband Lord Landers and scowled. They would be happy about everything but their daughter’s union. Right after they had retired from London for the season, Sophia had eloped with Landers. Lord Derry, their close friend and Lander’s relative had tracked them down and brought them home.
“Give it time. Maybe it will be better,” Clara stated.
Sam eyed Landers, who stared boredly out the window. Sophia joined him and tried to engage him with a smile. He dismissed her.
Sam looked over at Jack who was also watching them with a frown. Clara reached over and took his hand in hers. “She will find her way.”
He nodded and turned away just as Henry joined them at their little table. He selected a puzzle piece and quickly placed it into the larger dissection before bouncing away.
Sam frowned, envious. “How does he do that?”
Henry lived with them full time, and they had quickly discovered that he could put a puzzle together faster than either of them. It was at a genius level. Neither of them understood it. He was also good with numbers and would be going away to school soon.
Sam looked at his wife, feeling so lucky that he had her.
