His heart gave a painful lurch. ‘I don’t deserve that you should but I’m glad all the same.’
Elena regarded him in heart-thumping silence for some seconds, then returned a quizzical look. ‘How glad exactly?’
He took her in his arms and proceeded to show her with a lingering kiss that removed every last trace of doubt.
* * *
Later that morning Jamie arrived. They joined him in the private parlour. Elena thought his face had more colour now than it had erewhile, his eyes more sparkle. His whole manner seemed generally more animated. Perhaps the previous day’s meeting had been good for him too. She hoped so. Her own happiness was such that she wanted everyone else to be happy.
‘Would you like to talk alone?’ she asked.
‘No, please stay,’ replied Jamie. ‘Since what we must discuss now involves you as well.’
‘As you wish.’
When Elena had sat down they followed suit.
‘I’m glad you are come,’ said Harry. ‘Quite apart from the pleasure of seeing you, we need to discuss what happens next.’
Jamie smiled. ‘Yes, we do.’
‘Will you be returning to England with Elena and me?’
‘I regret not, although I hope I shall not be far behind you.’
‘The loose ends you mentioned yesterday?’
‘Just so.’
‘Very well.’ Harry paused. ‘I trust this won’t involve you in further danger.’
‘You need have no fears on that score.’
‘That’s a relief.’
‘I plan to keep a whole skin, I promise you.’ Jamie held his brother’s gaze. ‘The important thing now is to let the family know I’m alive and to expose the fraudulent claim to the title.’
‘Trust me for that. We should be back within a month at the outside.’
‘You should have no difficulty in getting a passage. Ships regularly ply their trade between here and England.’
‘So I believe.’
‘The sooner this scheming upstart is confronted the better. We need to know who masterminded the plan. He’s the real villain of the piece.’
‘We’ll find out all right.’
‘What will happen to the culprits?’ asked Elena.
‘They’ll hang,’ said Jamie.
She shivered inwardly. ‘I wonder if this woman was aware of that when she agreed to the plan.’
‘If not she’s about to be made aware of it.’ He eyed Harry. ‘That may just be the leverage required to get the whole story.’
Harry nodded. ‘Exactly what I was thinking.’
‘I’ll leave the matter in your capable hands for the time being.’
‘Don’t be too long.’
‘I won’t. In the meantime, we need to organise your passage home.’
Chapter Twenty-Three
A week later they left Cádiz on a merchantman bound for England. As the ship slid out of harbour Elena stood at the rail watching the coast recede. Now that they were under way she experienced a strange sensation in which anticipation was mingled with sadness. There was no way of knowing if she would ever see her homeland again. It seemed unlikely in the scheme of things.
‘Are you all right, darling?’
Harry’s voice broke the train of thought. She turned and smiled.
‘Quite all right, I thank you.’
‘Not too cold?’
She shook her head. ‘To be on board a ship is a new experience.’
‘I hope the experience will be a positive one.’
‘Do you fear we shall be wrecked?’
‘No, but we do have to negotiate the Bay of Biscay. It can be rough.’
‘We have weathered worse, you and I,’ she replied.
Harry eyed her keenly. ‘With you beside me I believe I could weather anything that fate might throw.’
‘So we’ll take Biscay in our stride, then.’
He grinned. ‘We may not even notice it.’
‘It’s exciting. Do sailors feel the same, I wonder, when they set forth on a new voyage?’
‘I suppose they may. All the same, it’s a hard life with lengthy periods away from home.’
‘That must be the worst part of it.’
‘Speaking of home,’ he said, ‘where do you wish ours to be?’
‘Somewhere in the countryside. A farm, perhaps?’
‘I think we can do better than that. I’m a reasonably wealthy man, after all.’
Elena threw him a mischievous look. ‘Really? You didn’t tell me this before.’
‘I wanted to be married for myself, not for my money—hence our lengthy courtship.’
‘I’m glad you took time to think carefully.’
‘It was an important decision,’ he replied. ‘Besides, I hate to be rushed.’