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“I didn’t want the captain to take you away from me,” Mama wept. “I knew you’d fallen in love with him, and one only has to look at Captain Steele to see he’s mad about you too.”

“Oh dear,” Celestia murmured beneath her breath.

“Oh, Mama.” Lenora sank to the settee and gathered her mother’s hands in hers. “Surely you must know that wherever I go, you will too. Just like Ruth and Naomi. I would never leave you behind nor abandon you.”

She raised her eyes to meet Jason’s.

Smiling tenderly, he gave a slight nod.

Of course, he understood. He, above all others, had always understood her.

“Forgive me, Lenora.” Her mother dabbed at the corner of her eye. “I was selfish. These last few days, I’ve seen how miserable you are.” She sniffed and wiped her nose, then patted Lenora’s face. “I want you to be happy, my dear. I shan’t stand in the way any longer.”

“And neither will I,” Landry said, further astonishing Lenora.

From Jason’s flummoxed countenance, her brother had taken him aback as well.

“You don’t object anymore, Landry?” Lenora asked. “Why the change?”

“Anyone willing to toss aside my dire warnings to stay away from you and take on Teeven is a man who would do anything for you.” A hint of sadness creased the corners of his eyes. “That’s all I ever wanted for you, Lenora. It’s what you deserve.”

Celestia cleared her throat. “Yes, well. Why don’t we give Lenora and Captain Steele a few moments of privacy?”

“Ten minutes,” Landry conceded grudgingly, aiding his wife to her feet.

Jason canted his head in acknowledgment.

Mama rose too and offered Jason a wobbly smile. “Please forgive me, Captain Steele. I am not a vindictive woman by nature. I was afraid. Not a good excuse, but an honest one.”

“Think no more on it, Mrs. Smith. Consider it already forgotten.” He gave her a genial smile, and Lenora loved him all the more for his kindness. “You will always be welcome in our home.”

“Thank you.” Managing a weak upward tilt of her own mouth, Mama followed Landry and Celestia from the room.

The door closed with a soft snick.

Before the clock pendulum swung back and forth, Lenora was in Jason’s arms.

~*~

“Lenora, my very own love.” Jason buried his face in Lenora’s hair. Honeysuckle and orange blossoms perfumed the satiny strands. “I almost made the worst mistake of my life.”

His voice had gone ragged with emotion.

Trailing his lips from her ear to her jaw, he spoke between hot kisses. “As I stood on the Windswept Dream’s deck, I realized a voyage anywhere wasn’t what I wanted. You, Lenora Audsley, are all that I want. You are all that I need.”

Her arms encircling his waist, Lenora angled her head away from his searching mouth.

“I love you too, Jason. So much that I was willing to let you go if that was what would make you happiest.”

A groan throttled its way up his throat. “My unselfish, darling. That is so like you. But I can’t imagine a life without you now. I don’t want to contemplate such a dreary, lonely existence.”

He swept his mouth over hers, gratified when she opened her lips for him. At once, Jason plunged his tongue inside the honeyed cavern of her mouth. She tasted of tea and spices.

A barely audible moan escaped Lenora as she arched into him.

Cupping her bottom, he pressed her belly into the evidence of his arousal. “See what you do to me, my love?”

A few moments later, Jason reluctantly lifted his head. “Your brother only gave me ten minutes, and I’m positive I’ve used up at least half of that allotted time already.”