That would be troublesome, considering that there was no such man, and no such ship. "Josefina," Sebastian said, reaching for her hand. Slowly he drew her closer, enfolding her in a hug. "I"m so sorry."
"Yes, I suppose we"re finished here now," Embry grunted, his muscles still rigid with fury. "We"ll leave for Costa Habichuela tomorrow. Come Maria, Josefina. We have packing to do."
Sebastian"s heart stopped. "I understand where your duty lies, Your Majesty," he said, "and the urgency of your departure. But I also know where my heart lies. If Josefina will stay, I have no wish to postpone our wedding. As you said, you have no country to rebuild. Your daughter, though, has a new life to begin."
Embry stared at him. Clearly the man had no idea that the duke he"d thought he owned had been anything but tricked into a union. The idea that genuine feelings might be involved, and that they might be significant, had probably never occurred to him. His gaze flicked over to his daughter. "Josefina?"
Her gaze, though, was on Sebastian. "You said you would ask me again," she breathed.
His nerves skittered as he silently sank onto one knee, taking her hands in his. "Josefina," he said, "I don"t care whether you are the princess of a paradise, or a soldier"s daughter whose house has been washed out to sea. You challenge me, you amaze me, and you showed me that a place I thought had vanished, was only misplaced." His voice shook, and he cleared his throat. "You helped me find it again. I love you, Josefina, with every ounce of warmth you"ve reawakened in my heart. Will you marry me?"
Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks, but she was smiling. "I"m very glad I slapped you that night," she quavered. "I love you, too, Sebastian. Very much. Yes, I want to marry you."
Blowing out his breath, he removed the Melbourne signet ring from his finger and placed it on hers. It was far too large, but she and everyone else understood the significance of the gesture. Applause erupted, deafening, and at least in the case of his own family and friends, sincere.
Sebastian stood up again and swept her into his arms. "Then nothing else matters," he whispered softly in her ear. "Nothing."
Prinny himself walked them downstairs and onto the front drive. That in itself was the best a.s.surance they could ask for that Sebastian"s plan had been successful. Josefina sighed again. Everyone had believed the story. And after tomorrow, when the same letter appeared on the front page of the London Times, no one would be setting sail for Costa Habichuela.
In one evening they"d unraveled two years" worth of her father"s plans. She glanced at him again, walking up to their borrowed coach and being consoled by the Regent. She couldn"t imagine how he must feel, how angry he must be with her.
"You"re not going home with him," Sebastian said in a low voice, her own apprehension echoing in his deep voice. He hadn"t released her hand since he"d stood to hug her.
"I"m not going home with you," she countered in the same tone, then tried a smile. "I"d ruin your reputation."
"Very amusing. I know you"re anxious. So am I."
"Don"t expect me to say farewell forever to my parents with three minutes of warning." Her voice caught. Not everything had been set back the way it was before.
"I"m not expecting that," he shot back. "But your father was willing to risk other lives. I"m not willing to risk yours."
While she truly didn"t think that her father would harm her, she also understood quite clearly that Sebastian had lost his first wife and that he would do anything to protect her. "What do you suggest, then?" she asked, conceding to his worry.
"Nell," he called, and his sister approached. He whispered something to her, and a moment later she nodded.
"Josefina," she said, "I would love if you could stay at Corbett House while your parents make arrangements to return home."
Her father immediately turned around, his eyes narrowing. "I don"t-"
"A splendid idea, Lady Deverill," her mother broke in, nodding. "And a good opportunity for you to become better acquainted with your new position, hija."
Gruffly her father nodded. "Yes, of course."
"We"ll come and see you in the morning, Your Majesties," Sebastian said. "I"ll have my solicitors a.s.sist you in expediting the return of the land sale funds. And the loan money, I suppose. No need for improvements to San Saturus, now."
"Indeed." Prinny offered his hand, and her father shook it. "I will see to it that the bank forgives any interest due."
With a last glare at her, the rey climbed into the coach. Her mother kissed Josefina on the cheek. "I will send Conchita to Corbett House with some of your things. Please do come by in the morning." Surprisingly, she took Sebastian"s free hand between hers. "Both of you."
"We will, Mama. Yo te amo."
"Te amo, querida".
When they arrived at Branbury House in the morning, Sebastian half expected to see all the doors and windows opened and the house completely gutted. Instead, servants scampered about like ants, carrying obscene amounts of luggage into several leased coaches. Briefly he wondered how much of England"s money Embry had spent.
Keeping silent about that, he helped Josefina down from the coach. He"d been tempted to spend the night at Corbett House, himself, but refused to confuse his desire to be protective with the perils of stifling and overwhelming her. "Ready?" he asked, kissing her fingers.
Squaring her shoulders, she nodded. "If I can convince them to stay, at least until the wedding, would that still be acceptable?"
"It would-"
"No, don"t say it," she cut him off. "They can"t stay. There"s been a flood; they need to hurry back to Costa Habichuela or face too many questions."
"I"m sorry for that." Sebastian nodded as the butler pushed aside a stack of hat boxes to allow them entry. "If there was a way, I"d like them to stay. For you."
"Curious way to go about it."
He looked up. Embry stood at the top of the stairs, gazing down at them. "Your Majesty," he said for the benefit of the servants, trying to keep the sarcasm from his voice and unsure whether he"d succeeded. "I trust my solicitors have been of help?"
"Oh, yes. Hardly a need for me to do anything but produce the currency and sign my name several hundred times." He backed away from the railing. "Join me in the office. Both of you. I wouldn"t dream of separating you."
Good thing, that, because at the moment he had no intention of letting Josefina out of his sight. "Certainly."
"Where"s Mama?" she asked, as they climbed the stairs.
Embry made a dismissive sound and gestured somewhere into the depths of the house. "Packing. Your things, probably. I told her you were the one in no hurry, but my word doesn"t seem to count for much, these days."
Sebastian closed the door behind them as they entered the office. "I might have let you get away with it, if it had only been the bank"s funds you liberated," he said.
"Arrogant b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Yes, you outmaneuvered me. Congratulations. It"s not just me you"ve destroyed, though; two dozen people rely on me for their livelihoods." He faced his daughter. "Did you ever consider them, Josefina?"
"You didn"t," she retorted, then bit her lip. "I asked you, over and over, not to put people"s lives at risk. Did you ever consider them? And their families? Their children?"
He slammed his fist into the desk top. "I was considering my child. You were my priority."
"Then congratulations to you, Embry." Sebastian took a half step forward, putting himself between Josefina and any route her father would have to take to get to her. "She"ll be a d.u.c.h.ess within a month. And I promise you that I will spend the rest of my life giving your daughter the life you always wanted her to have." He glanced at the paperwork still cluttering the desk. "If you haven"t noticed, there"s one piece of paper that hasn"t been revised. Ten thousand pounds a year will enable you to live very comfortably anywhere. Even with two dozen people relying on your...skills."
Embry eyed him. "Ten thousand a year, eh? Is that the going price for a d.u.c.h.ess-to-be? What if I cancel this deal and take her with me when we go?"
"I"m not going with you, Father. Papa. You"ve given me a wonderful life, and wonderful opportunities. I will never dispute that. But I"m grown, now. I don"t want to travel with you any longer. I want...I want Sebastian."
A muscle beneath Embry"s eye twitched. "Will you give my daughter and me a moment alone, Your Grace?" he asked.
"No."
"Please do, Sebastian. I would like to say goodbye."
He nodded stiffly. "I"ll be close by."
Josefina watched him out the door. At least he closed it behind him, though she wouldn"t be surprised if he had his ear pressed to the other side.
"He"s a bit possessive, isn"t he?" her father commented. "I should have noticed that."
"He knows that I nearly left London yesterday," she offered, deciding that didn"t jeopardize any of the story they"d concocted. "I appreciate someone ranking me above anything else in the world."
"That"s easy to do when the "someone" is the most powerful man in England and has an income of over a hundred thousand quid a year. Some of us have to work for what we have."
"That"s not fair." She drew a breath. "I don"t want to fight, Papa. I want to wish you well. Where will you and Mama go?"
"Prussia, I think. They"ll appreciate a friendly colony in Central America." He studied her for a moment. "It would be helpful if you were along to wed a Prussian lord."
"You"re actually going to attempt this again?"
"It nearly worked." He offered a brief smile. "This time I"ll stop at the loan and the stocks, I think. You could be a princess again, sweetling."
"Papa, you might have been arrested. And hanged. You were very lucky this time. Why take the risk?"
"I learn from my mistakes. I won"t make any the next time."
"But you have ten thousand a year. You could buy land, or begin a trading company."
"I"m not ready to sit in a chair and count my coins. Ten thousand is a good beginning, but I can do better. I could do even better with you there."
"No. If you truly want what"s best for me, then be happy for me. You were the one who selected Melbourne for me in the first place."
"I was, wasn"t I?" He grimaced. "Come and give your old papa a hug, then. We have to be off to Brighton before nightfall."
She put her arms around his shoulders. "Promise that you"ll write to me, like you did when I was younger." She wouldn"t believe half of it, but it would still be good to see that he hadn"t abandoned his...dreams, she supposed they were.
"I will." He set her back away from him. "Go see your mother and tell her goodbye."
Tears gathered in her eyes, and she sternly ordered them gone. He didn"t appreciate weakness, and she would show none. "Please take care of yourself."
She headed out the door as he sat down to gather his paperwork. He would have to recalculate his approach without her there, and that was probably what he was doing already-making plans for his next attempt at greatness. He would still be a rey here in England, but a poor and pitied one. He would never accept that.
The farewells to her mother were more difficult, and by the end both of them were crying. Through the window of the morning room she could see Sebastian pacing in the garden, and she sighed. When it had happened, she didn"t know, but at some point in her life she must have done something good-very good-to be allowed the rest of her life with him.
"You chose well, chica," her mother said, joining her at the window. "I think he loves you very much."
"I love him very much. Thank you for helping us last night."
"I don"t think your father realizes yet how very lucky he was. Anyone else, under any other circ.u.mstances, would have been happy to see him in prison."
"I tried to tell him that. He won"t listen."
"He hears you. Acknowledging it, though, is a different matter. Hopefully this lesson will make him a bit more cautious in the future."
"So you knew how far he was overreaching."
Her mother smiled. "I know I love Stephen Embry. He tries so hard to do great things that he"s never stopped to realize what he"s already accomplished."
Josefina could dispute that he"d accomplished much of anything but a very long string of lies and thefts, but she let it go. Instead she gave her mother a last, tight hug. "Let me know where you"ll be so I can write you."
"I shall. We will come see you as often as we can. I want my grandchildren to know their abuela."
"So do I." Straightening, she cleared her throat. "We should go, so you can finish packing."
"Send Melbourne in for a moment before you leave, will you?"
Josefina nodded. "Of course."
Sebastian looked up from contemplating a beetle as Josefina left the house. "Are you well?"
"Yes. A bit sad, but also hopeful." She shook her head. "It"s very strange."
He drew a breath. "I am sorry that you have to be separated from them."
"I know. It"s important that I am, though, at least for a time. I learned some fairly awful habits."
"You learned to survive. Don"t expect me to fault that." He took her hand, drawing it to his lips. "I don"t expect you to be someone different now, either. This," and he shook her fingers, "is you. I love you."
She smiled. "You"re a very nice man."
He chuckled back at her. "Not until recently. Shall we go?"
"My mother asked to see you. She"s in the morning room."
Inwardly stifling a cringe, he nodded. "Very well."
He saw her to the coach, then went back inside the house. Maria Embry stood beside the small writing desk, her gaze on him as he entered the room. "You wanted to see me?"
"Yes. I wanted to give you something." She held out a piece of paper.
Frowning, he took it. "What"s this?"
"Read it."
Half his attention still on Josefina"s mother, he unfolded the thing and perused it. Then he read through it again. And once more, just to be certain. His heart shuddering, he shot his gaze up to hers again. "Is this legitimate?"
"Yes." She smiled, a kind, wise expression that reminded him of her daughter. "It"s the only thing that is, I suppose. Two of them exist. That one is for you."
"Does Josefina know?"
"She"s known all along. She just doesn"t believe it, any longer." Maria leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "It"s certainly not a secret, but I thought she might want to hear it from you."
"Thank you."
"Thank you. You"re giving her the life I always wanted her to have."