He kissed her again, then gently stroked her cheek. “During breakfast, shall we discuss where to live and how to go about forging our future together? Are you up to that, my love?”
She smiled up at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “I do not care where we live or what we do, as long as we are together and as happy as we are at this very moment.”
“I adore you, my precious swan,” he said in a rasping whisper, his heart and soul teeming with relief, thankfulness, and more love than he ever thought possible.
“I adore you more,” she said, then pulled him down for a long, slow kiss. As he went to lift himself off her, she pulled him back. “Once more before hot chocolate and toast?”
“As many times as you like, my love—as many times as you like.”
Epilogue
Rydleshire Manor
Calais, France
June 1823
“And the littleboy thanked the pirate king for seeing him safely home.”
Sitting beside Sophie in the nursery, Nash tried his best not to smile at their five-year-old son’s obvious displeasure as his mother closed the book and returned it to the nightstand shelf. The perpetually adventurous lad with hair as fiery as his mother’s and a healthy share of both their stubborn personalities hated when bedtime stories ended because it meant he was expected to lie still and go to sleep.
“Solly did it, Maman! I pwomise he did!” Charlotte Lavinia Sistine, Solomon’s precocious three-year-old sister, shouted the accusation from her cot in the opposite corner of the nursery. “I saws him!”
Nash clenched his teeth and didn’t dare meet eyes with Sophie or he’d laugh. They both knew Solomon had stolen the last bowl of raspberry crowdy off Cook’s shelf, even though he had already devoured one for dessert. The enterprising young lad had erred and left a trail of the sticky raspberry drippings that led to his favorite hiding place under the stairs. When presented with the evidence, he had stood in front of his tinylair and unabashedly blamed his sister, vowing to one and all thatSissy did it. The only problem was that Sissy couldn’t reach Cook’s shelf, nor did she yet possess the coordination to push one of the stools across the kitchen floor, climb up and retrieve the bowl, then successfully descend without a sound or dropping her stolen treasure.
“Sissy, my cherub, it is time to sleep.” Sophie gave her daughter a loving smile and kissed her on the cheek as she tucked her back under the covers.
“The piwate king didn’t lie like Solly does,” the golden-haired moppet vowed with a harsh glare in her brother’s direction.
Nash kissed his beloved daughter on the forehead, then gave her a wink as he whispered, “Maman and I know. Go to sleep, my sweet girl.”
“Maman?” Solomon called out.
Sophie arched a brow at Nash, signaling that perhaps their son was finally ready to confess. “Yes, dear one?”
The child clasped his hands together on top of the covers, wringing his little fingers as if trying to pop his knuckles like his mother. “I understand that the pirate king never lied, but that was just a story. You and Papa lie sometimes. Don’t you?”
“When have we ever lied to you?” Nash asked, unable to imagine where his son had gotten such a notion.
The boy shrugged. “Well…maybe never to me or Sissy, but to old people like you. When you needed to—right?”
“Have you been sneaking over to the academy again?” Sophie asked with motherly sternness.
Solomon twitched another shrug, which meant that he had, in fact, slipped into the spy classes again even though he knew he wasn’t supposed to.
Nash scrubbed a hand across his face while blowing out a weary snort. He had to admit, though, that the lad retained every tidbit he heard—even better than many of the students. A senseof pride laced his frustration with his stubborn child. “An agent pretending to be someone else to protect our country and our sovereign is not a liar. They are assuming a role for the greater good.” He leveled a stern glare on his son. “And you have been told several times that you are not to go over to the academy. I shall have a word with Nanny and Miss Amy as soon as we leave this room.”
“Sorry, Papa.” Solomon had the good sense to look ashamed, but Nash knew it was an act. The imp would be back over to the training rooms as soon as he found a more creative way to slip away from poor Nanny and the maid assigned to help her. The boy lifted his gaze to his father, then cut a sly glance over at his mother. “But Papaneverlies to you? Not ever? Arby’s papa lies to his mum and gets in trouble whenever he gets caught.”
Sophie looped her arm through Nash’s and gave it a loving squeeze. “Papaneverlies to me. I trust him completely.”
Nash’s heart swelled near to bursting, making him send up a prayer of gratitude. It had taken time, patience, and a great deal of understanding to get their love to where it was today, and he cherished every precious moment he had been granted with this wonderful woman. “We would like to trust you, Solomon, because we love you.” He hugged Sophie closer and rested a hand on the pronounced swell of her rounded middle. “You are the eldest, my son, and must protect and set a good example for Sissy, and for this one too.”
“Solly lies!” Sissy sang out.
“Shut your gob, Sissy!” Solomon shot back.
“Solomon,” Nash said. “Did you take the dessert after being told you had already eaten enough sweets for the day?”
