Page 91 of The Moonstone Major
He groaned softly. “Go ahead and kick my arse. You have the right, because I have been an oaf to you. I have every intention of getting that marriage license. I love you more than life itself, and that will never change.”
“Are you sure? You have an odd way of showing it.”
“Yes, I’m sure about my feelings for you. Lady Dowling does not tempt me in the least. Do you think I would ever trust a woman who betrayed your kindness toward her by going after the man you are going to marry? I know it looked bad, but I will never be unfaithful to you. I’m sorry about last night. I did not expect her company, but the point is, I should have been with you. That is on me, completely my fault. I’m not very good at groveling.”
“You don’t need to grovel.”
“Yes, I do. Not for last night’s supper, because nothing improper happened or was ever going to happen,” he said. “You are the only woman who will ever claim my heart. The only one I would ever trust or desire to have as the mother of my children. But I’ve been avoiding you.”
“I know. It is hard not to notice your disappearance after…after I gave you my heart and my body. Why, Fionn?”
“Because of what Moonstone Cottage represents. Because of what those documents found hidden there revealed. I had to stay away until my anger cooled. I am still in a blind rage, Chloe. I want to rip each and every Brennan apart. They are monsters.”
“Indeed, but you are not like them.”
“If we are interpreting these documents correctly, then their blood flows through me, doesn’t it?” He drew her into his arms. “Their selfish, poisonous blood. I have it in me to kill them. Every last one of those heartless liars. I do, Chloe. Just thinking of them makes me ill. And I carry their name… I was so proud when I took it on.”
“At your benefactor’s urging, no doubt.”
He nodded. “I thought it was an honor, and now I can only think of it as a curse. I dread putting it down on our marriage license. Bile rises in my throat at the thought of repeating it in our vows.Brennan.This is the name you will take as my wife, and it revolts me. This is why I haven’t obtained the license yet.”
He rubbed a hand across the nape of his neck and continued. “My concern has always been to bring something into our marriage. One thing that I could look upon with pride and bestow on you. I do not even have that anymore. All I bring is seething anger and a detestable name.”
“Do you wish to postpone our wedding…perhaps forever?”
He regarded her aghast. “No, Chloe. Never. As much as I hate my circumstances, I love you and will not have you shamed. Last night, as innocent as it was, should never have happened. It is my fault I delayed acquiring the license. Lady Dowling mistook it as a sign things were not well between us and approached me.”
“But are they well between us?”
“Yes. If anything, these days apart from you have made me understand how much I need you in my life. It is so empty without you, I cannot bear it. I’ll speak to your brothers-in-law this evening and obtain the license first thing tomorrow.” He turned her to face him. “I’ve also been giving our living arrangements some thought.”
“Is that so? What have you decided?” She held her breath, worried he was going to require them to live apart.
“I know you love Moonstone Cottage, so this is where we shall reside if you wish. It is mine for the next year anyway under my lease.”
Relief washed through her, for all she heard was “we shall reside,” and she did not care about anything else after that. All she wanted was for them to be together—it did not matter where.
“I am your landlord,” she said with a wry grin. “You can end that lease whenever you like. My sisters and I will never hold you to it, especially if having to live there brings you pain.”
“I’ll get over it. Besides, I rather like the idea of sharing that big, canopied bed with you. I don’t want to break the lease. I love the place, too. Truly. I just needed a little time away from it to absorb all these revelations.”
She groaned lightly. “I have a few more for you to hear, if you are up to it.”
“Lord help me, there’s more? Yes, tell me everything. I would rather know the dreaded facts than be kept in the dark.”
She told him about the record of Fiona’s death and that of Joseph. “We now know where she was when she died, and it is very likely the same time and location where she gave birth. Cain has written to his Mr. Barrow to find witnesses who were there with your mother at the time.”
“Don’t call her that, Chloe. Whatever information we have is merely circumstantial. There’s no hard proof that I am her son. Short of finding a written confession from my benefactor, I doubt we’ll ever have sufficient proof to substantiate my claim. Even with proof, it may take years for me to be acknowledged as the rightful Viscount Brennan.”
She noticed the glint of anger in his eyes and knew this news had done nothing but further enrage him toward the Brennan family. “Do as you wish in this matter. Pursue it or let it drop. But I think it is important for you to have the question of your parentage settled in your own mind. This is what counts most. Well, other than hoping you are serious about marrying me.”
“I am.”
“What do you think about holding a quiet ceremony at the parish church this coming Friday morning?”
“Three days from now?” he asked. “What about the wedding breakfast? Your family will expect us to have one. Can you organize it in this short a time?”
“I don’t need to. Hen’s annual village tea is on Saturday. We can marry quietly on Friday and announce our marriage at the tea.”
