Page 27 of The Moonstone Major
The sea captain had managed to rescue all of the children off the damaged sloop before getting hit on the head by a cracked mast and falling to his watery grave. After that, Chloe’s aunt had acquired the beautiful home and bequeathed it to her nieces when she passed away.
Chloe was one of those nieces, the youngest and only one as yet unmarried.
Ever the romantic, she insisted her aunt and the sea captain had fallen deeply in love and their hearts were now bound together for eternity. Fionn did not want to believe such a thing was possible. He wasn’t a cynic so much as desperately in love with Chloe and struggling to keep that fact a secret even from himself.
Why did she have to torment him by coming up here now? And why allow himself to hope for the impossible? He and Chloe were not the sea captain and her aunt.
He did not even believe in eternal love… Well, perhaps he did with Chloe. She was in his blood and in his soul. In the very air he breathed. In every beat of his heart.
How long before she accepted Lord Claymore’s proposal? He wanted to hate the viscount, but he could not. The man was a decent fellow and not at all condescending.
“Take all the time you need in here,” he said, his heart in palpitations as they continued to stand side by side on the bedchamber’s small balcony, their arms almost touching. “I shall leave you to your thoughts.”
“No, please don’t go. Stay just a moment longer. There can be no harm in it.”
He gave a gruff laugh.
He really had to go before he did the unthinkable. That bed was the perfect size for them.
Not to mention, Chloe was irresistible.
The sun struck her features in such a way that her eyes sparkled a particularly bright green and her hair was soft and molten.
He ached to pull those pins out of her hair and allow it to tumble around her shoulders, to slip the gown off her luscious body and delve… No, that thought needed to remain buried.
She turned away a moment to peer out the window, her gaze resting on the magnificent cottage garden and beyond to the shimmering expanse of sea, lost in her thoughts and unaware of his own. “This was the captain’s bedchamber first. Then it became my Aunt Henleigh’s chamber. After she died, we moved in and my sister Hen took it over,” she said, her manner wistful. “She was the eldest, so by right the largest bedchamber went to her. Then she married and moved out, so Phoebe took it over. When she married, they realized I could not be left to live here alone. I was too young.”
“It was the right decision. You were only fifteen. Not even of marriageable age. But you are of an age to marry now.” Even if by some miracle Lord Claymore did not win her hand, it was only a matter of time before someone else came along and took her from him forever.
Fionn had no doubt she would be lost to him before the Season was even fully underway. Who would not want this beautiful girl?
She groaned lightly. “I dread being shoved onto the Marriage Mart. I cannot think of myself as living anywhere but in Moonstone Landing beside my sisters. Indeed, I would be happiest remaining a spinster so I can live out my days here.”
“Has Lord Claymore not stolen your heart yet?”
“Do not mention him. You will only make me cry.”
He inhaled sharply. “Chloe, has he said something…done something…?”
“No, nothing like that. He isn’t so bad.” She shook her head and laughed. “He’s all right, just not for me.”
“Too low a title? How about an earl? Your sisters have already claimed a marquess and a duke.”
“There is more than one duke out there. Although Hen did claim the best one in the Duke of Malvern. And the Marquess of Burness turned out all right, despite his wicked reputation. He and Phoebe are so much in love.”
“And you wish this for yourself?”
She nodded. “I do, but I doubt I will find this deep, abiding love in London. I see my sisters when they are around their husbands, and it is as though they cannot breathe for the joy of being with them. It is the same for their husbands with them. I think this is what Aunt Hen felt for her sea captain.”
“And he for her.” He had been looking at her as she spoke, but now turned to peer out across the scenic cove and its sparkling waters. “Your family will never force you to do anything you do not wish to do.”
“I know. Well, I am not going to think about anything beyond this summer. Cormac’s nieces are here, and we are going to have a lovely time. You are welcome to stop by whenever you wish. It can get lonely out here all on your own.”
“You’ve kept Mr. and Mrs. Hawke on to look after the place. I won’t be on my own. Even if I were, being alone has never bothered me. I have been on my own since the day I was born.”
She nodded. “Until your benefactor took you in.”
“He was the kindest man alive, but the members of his family are all repulsive creatures. They had yet to seal the lid on his coffin before tossing all my possessions out of his home and warning me never to return.”
