Page 92 of The Moonstone Major
He emitted a short bark of laughter. “Announce it at the tea? The entire village will know the moment we are seen walking to the church. Nothing stays quiet around here. Half the village will be peeking through the church windows as we recite our vows.”
She smiled. “All right, it will not be a surprise to anyone. But Hen would be delighted if her tea did double duty as our wedding breakfast celebration.”
“At no expense to me,” he muttered.
“I can assure you, neither Cain nor Cormac will ever allow anyone to pay for something they consider their responsibility. Even had I married Lord Claymore—who is due back in town any day now, by the way—they would insist on all of the cost being theirs.”
“Is that so?”
“It is. My brothers-in-law take their responsibilities seriously, and the wedding cost was always going to be theirs. But the expense of claiming your heritage, should you desire to pursue it, will be something you and I will need to work out.”
“Chloe, I am not taking any of your inheritance for that purpose or any other. That offer is off the table.”
“Well then, I shall simply have to put it back on the table,” Chloe said.
“No, I am not going into further debt to you and your family over this.”
“But how will you afford to pursue it without our help?”
“I may not move ahead with the claim.”
“And spend the rest of your life eating your guts out? Can you stop being so pridefully stubborn for a moment? When you marry me, you will not only be acquiring a wife but an entire family. A very supportive, loving family. You are no longer alone, Fionn. You will be a part of us, and we will extend whatever help you need. You would do the same for us, so why should we deny you?”
“I’ll have to think about it,” he replied. “I am not marrying you to become your family’s charity case. You know this is the thing I dreaded most. But since we are speaking of families, you’ll soon be meeting my ragtag clan. Ducky, Muskrat, and Squirrel.”
“Ah, your loyal band of brothers. They called you Guv and made you their leader even though you were the youngest of them. See, they knew your worth even back then. When do they arrive? Any chance it will be in time for the wedding?”
“Hell no,” he said with a hearty chuckle. “I don’t want them anywhere near Moonstone Landing until I am certain they will not be picking pockets. Those bad habits die hard.”
“I look forward to meeting them, especially Ducky. We owe him a great debt of gratitude whether or not your claim to the title ever comes to fruition.”
“Gad, it horrifies me to admit you are right. He is such a scoundrel. I had to save his stupid arse so many times over the years. And now…” He cleared his throat. “I’ve promised the three of them jobs here.”
Chloe’s eyes lit up with mirth. “You look downright pained. But we shall add them to our family and help them settle in. I would never break your little band apart.”
“Squirrel is not a boy, by the way. Although she was as tough as any of us.”
“Good for her.”
“I suppose. I don’t know what she’s had to do to survive. She may be a little too coarse for your liking. The others as well. Muskrat is called that because he thinks his father was from the Americas, so he chose an American animal as his street name.”
“Fionn, I am not going to pass judgment,” Chloe said. “Nor will my sisters. We came close to having to face ugly choices ourselves. If not for Cain falling in love with Hen and coming to our rescue, our circumstances might have been quite different. If they want a chance at a respectable life, we will give them all the help they need.”
He took her hand and put it to his lips. “Have I told you how much I love you?”
She smiled up at him. “It feels like forever ago, but it was probably no more than in the last five minutes.”
“That is far too long.” He drew her up against him and kissed her softly on the mouth.
They heard a distant cheer.
He glanced back toward the fort. “Bloody hell, is every blessed soldier under my command watching us?”
Chloe nodded. “Do you mind terribly?”
“No, love. Let’s give them something to really cheer about.” He swallowed her in his arms and crushed his mouth to hers, kissing her with a scorching heat that turned her body liquid.
The cheers became a deafening roar.
