Parker tugged on his waistcoat, examining the fit in the cracked glass at the far side of the room. “It’s just as well you said nothing. I wouldn’t be at all pleased if you had.” He withdrew a few coins from the pocket of his jacket and laid them on the table beside Annie’s bed, then slipped on his coat.
Annie wrapped the sheet around her and got out of bed, going to Parker’s side. “Will I see you again?”
“Not for a while.” There were other matters that required his attention, and now that Brandon had married, other plans to be made. Without Cody, there was no place for Annie in his life. He cupped her face in one hand, recalling that she had served him well enough. There were worse ways to spend his time than immersed in Annie’s musky scent. “Perhaps later, sweetings.” He kissed her thickly lashed eyes and took his leave, exiting as he always did by the tavern’s rear door.
Brandon encouragedhis guests to continue their revelry after bidding them good night. Their ribald suggestions that he was anxious to be with his waiting bride were naught but the truth, and he made no effort to deny them. Pausing on the stairs as his friends returned to the dining room, Brandon counted himself a fortunate man to have so many supporters. He was flying in the face of every social convention by marrying Shannon so soon after Aurora had been killed, yet those whom he counted among his friends had rallied to support him. He detected Sir James Harrity’s fine hand in the matter, lending his countenance and influence to squash rumors that Brandon was responsible for his wife’s death. Thomas Maine had done his part also, and Davey French as well.
Aurora’s death had shocked a great many people who knew precious little of what was happening at the folly and chose to create their own conclusions. The funeral service had been brief, and because it was impossible for the Marchands to arrive quickly, it was useless to delay the burial. The hasty service led to the commonly held belief that the master of the folly had something to hide. Without the assistance of his friends, Brandon knew he would have always been regarded with suspicion.
Brandon’s allies all expressed concern when he announced his intention to marry Shannon, but no one discouraged him. Persuaded by his reasoning that there would be scandal no matter when he wed Shannon, equally certain of his innocence, they insisted that his marriage should not be the quiet affair he had planned.
Brandon turned on the stairs and resumed mounting them, agreeing that on this occasion his friends had been correct. Shannon had been forced to confront in a single day every fear that she had regarding her introduction to Tidewater society. Without exception, she was able to lay every one of them to rest.
“You were a success,” Brandon said as he came to stand behind Shannon. She was sitting at the window in his chamber, gazing at her reflection in the glass as she idly brushed her hair. He took the brush from her hand, laid it to one side, and lifted her heavy mane of hair. His mouth nuzzled the bare softness of her neck.
Shannon’s eyes closed as delicious warmth spread through her. “Was I?” she asked.
“Mm.”
She smiled when his teeth caught her earlobe and tugged gently. “It was because of your friends. They were very kind. They didn’t seem to resent me at all.”
Brandon eased himself down on the padded seat behind her, making a space for Shannon between his thighs. His palms massaged her arms in a comforting gesture as she leaned against his chest, welcoming the shelter of his embrace. “There was never any reason they should resent you,” he said, resting his chin against her hair.
“I thought at the very least they would draw comparisons.”
Brandon was certain it had happened, just as certain that Shannon had not been the sister found wanting. It would be small comfort to Shannon now, and Brandon held his thought. “More likely they saw how happy I was and looked no further than that.”
“And your happiness is all-important,” she said dryly.
“Of course. Have I given you reason to think otherwise? That I cared so much as this”—he snapped his fingers—“for your feelings?”
Shannon touched the back of his hand as it lay on her forearm. When she spoke, her tone was serious. “I’ve accused you of such these past weeks.”
Brandon answered her in kind. “And I deserved it. I listened to your objections, your feelings, and in the end, did as I wanted. I know our wedding so soon after Aurora’s death offended your sensibilities. Dare I ask if you’ve forgiven me?”
“I married you today, didn’t I? No matter that you think otherwise, I always had a choice. I could have left you.”
“You don’t know how many times I wondered if you would. I told myself to be patient, even cautious, but I always knew I would never settle for anything less than your agreement to marry. Why didn’t you leave?”
“I never said that leaving was a good choice,” she said. Shannon twisted her head and kissed the underside of Brandon’s jaw. “And there was Clara. I don’t think she would have understood if I had gone. Then Cody began making noises that he wanted to see us wed before he went away.” She felt him stiffen and sensed his hurt. “Dear, foolish man. I love Cody and Clara, but I love you more. You are the reason I stayed. The only reason.”
His embrace tightened. “I needed to hear that,” he whispered fiercely. “God, how I needed it.”
“I cannot believe you doubted the strength of my feelings.” It had never occurred to Shannon that Brandon might think she loved him less because of her objections to their hasty marriage. “I have loved you since—”
“Since when?” he asked. “Do you know you’ve never told me?”
Shannon turned in his arms until she was kneeling in front of him and placed her hands on his shoulders. She watched his eyes drop to her mouth, then raise almost immediately to meet her own. “It was the day I required rescuing from that greedy kite-eating tree. Do you recall? A certain gentleman risked all manner of injury to help me down. And when he reached the ground, he gallantly offered me protection against the folly of my mad leap.”
“As I remember, you took me quite by surprise when you jumped.”
She nodded, smiling at the memory. “And still you made certain that you took the brunt of my fall. I loved you then. I knew it when we lay there, catching our breath. No one before you ever thought to spare me pain before the fact.”
“It may have been gratitude you felt then.”
“No, it was love,” she said certainly. “I remember thinking how silly you looked. Your face was flushed, and my braid was lying across your eyes.” Shannon laughed as Brandon looked away in embarrassment at the image she created in his mind. She turned his face toward her with the tip of her finger. “You lifted my braid and stared at me. I thought my heart would stop beating. There was never any doubt that what I felt for you was love.”
“How did I stare at you?”
