Harmony waited for the full, sobering effect of what she had done to come crashing down on her like a load of rubble, but all she could feel was elation. It swelled in her breast until she thought she might burst with the strength and power of it. And then it turned into liquid happiness and flowed through her veins. She looked at Anthony, skirts gathered in his left fist, bonnet askew, and suddenly burst into gales of hysterical laughter.
“Oh, you … you’ll regret this,” Anthony warned, but there were no teeth in his bite. He whipped off his hat and took Harmony into his arms, stifling her laughter with his mouth.
Chapter Twenty-eight
He kissed her for a long, long time. Then he held her at arms’ length.
“If this hadn’t happened to me,” Anthony said, “I never would have believed it. You are the bravest, smartest, most beautiful woman in the world.”
“I love you,” Harmony replied simply.
“I can’t believe you did this, risked your life for me.”
“I really love you.”
“I really love you, too.” He kissed her swiftly on the tip of her nose. “But we have to talk.”
“I know.”
“Let’s get out of these clothes first.”
“Anthony, I don’t think we …”
“It’ll be all right. I promise. I also promise that I cannot talk to you, say what I have to say, dressed like this.”
A giggle tickled at the back of Harmony’s throat, threatening to send her back into paroxysms of
laughter. “I think you look kind of nice.”
“You look better, a lot better in blue than I do. My Lady Blue.”
“The bandit Lady Blue. It does have a certain ring to it,” Harmony said lightly. She regretted it the instant she saw the expression on Anthony’s face.
“Now, come over here and sit down,” Anthony said. “There’s something I have to talk to you about.”
It was hardly surprising. They were fugitives from the law. They were on the run. They had a great deal to talk about. She sat down beside him at the base of a large and ancient oak tree. Anthony took her hand.
“I mean it, Harmony,” Anthony began. “What you just did for me is the bravest thing I have ever heard of, much less experienced. If I ever had any doubts about how much you love me, I certainly don’t now.”
“Well, that’s good. Because in your whole life, no one will ever love you more than I do.”
“I believe that,” Anthony replied humbly. “I hope you know I feel exactly the same way about you.”
Harmony merely nodded. A lump was trying to form in her throat.
“I also have no doubt,” Anthony continued, “that you and I will have a long, happy, and successful marriage.”
“Oh, Anthony! You mean we can still—?”
“Of course we can still get married,” he interrupted. “I think we’ll make a great team.”
This time it was Harmony’s face that fell. She hadn’t actually thought about it before. But if Anthony lived the life of a thief, she supposed she would have to also.
“You mean I’ll … I’ll have to steal, too?” She could have bitten her tongue off the instant the words were out. She didn’t want him to think she would do anything, anything, to remain by his side.
So it was true. Anthony felt something profound happen deep inside of him. They all thought him a jewel thief. Harmony as well. Yet she had risked her life for him, rescued him. Was apparently even willing to live a life of crime for him. The power of her love rocked him.
“No, Harmony. You won’t have to steal,” he said quietly. “I would never ask you to do such a thing.”
She breathed a small sigh of relief.
“Your life is not going to be particularly easy, however. You know that, don’t you?”
“I’m a big girl. I knew what I was doing when I strapped my holster on. I’ve chosen to live my life with you, no matter what that life is.” Harmony drew a deep breath and sighed. “I never would have thought I could do any of this, Anthony. I have to admit it. But I did it because I love you with everything I have, everything I am, with all my heart and soul. You are my life. I will share whatever life you live. Willingly and
without hesitation or regret.”
It was Anthony’s turn to sigh. The breath he exhaled was shaky, however, and he realized he was very close to tears. He swallowed and cleared his throat before he was able to continue. “I do believe—no, I know—you’re perfect for that life, Harmony, my love, my heart.”
“Could you answer me just one question, please?”
“Anything, my lady.”
“Could you tell me where, exactly, we’re going to live? I mean, is there a … a place? Or do we, you know, have to keep moving? Or …”
At last. She had freed him. Her love had freed him. Anthony laughed. Long and hard, as he had never laughed before.
Harmony wasn’t quite sure how to take his response to her question. But at least he was happy. She persisted. “What’s so funny?”
“Yes, there’s a ‘place,’ Harmony. I never lied to you about that. My home is north and west of Lancashire. I raise horses and cattle, as I said. Among my other pursuits. And my mother lives there, too, as I also said.”
“But you … you’re a … a … I mean … how can you stay in one—?”
“Sssshhhh, my love.” Anthony kissed her quickly to still her lips.
Harmony, however, was not to be hushed anymore. She pulled away from Anthony. “You’d better tell me, right this second, what your name is and who you really are, Anthony Allen. Anthony Allen, I think.”
Anthony sighed again. Everything that had ever happened to him in his entire life was exhaled and expelled forever in that single breath. When he inhaled, it was to absorb Harmony’s essence. His gift. His life.
“All right, my sweet.” He cleared his throat. It was time. Time at last. “Have you heard of a man named Bluefield?”
“Bluefield?” Harmony tasted the name on her tongue. “Well, yes. Yes, of course. Even in America he’s famous. Or infamous, depending on how you look at it.”
“What do you know about him?”
“As much as anyone else, I guess. Which isn’t much. He’s rumored to be the wealthiest man in England, possibly in the world. But very little is known about him in general because he’s so reclusive.”
“Yes, that’s right,” Anthony said. “He travels, and does much of his business incognito, so he won’t be taken advantage of. He’s rather shrewd that way. It’s how he made most of his fortune. And because so few people know what he looks like, he can occasionally also dine in a public place without being … well, importuned for money, for instance. Or date a girl and get to know her before she finds out who he is and goes after him just for his money.”
The world stood still. Absolutely still.
Then it hit her. Full impact.
Harmony scrambled to her feet. Her jaw dropped open. She gasped for breath, heart beating wildly, and backed up against the bole of the aged tree to support her quivering body.
“Anthony Allen Rutherford-Smith, Lord of Bluefield,” she whispered, stunned. “That’s his whole name … I remember …”
“Better known, simply, as … Lord Blue.”
No more charades. No more hiding in the shadows. He had everything. Life was complete.
When Anthony took Harmony in his arms, she was unresisting. He lowered his mouth to hers.
“I love you,” he breathed against her lips. He flicked them with his tongue. “I love you.”
She leaned into him, totally helpless, as usual, in his embrace.
“Will you still marry me?” he whispered.
“I … I’m not sure,” Harmony stammered. Pressed against him as she was, she was aware of every inch of his lean, hard body. She snaked a hand downward to the hardest part of all. “You are, after all, armed and dangerous.”
Fog swirled around her, dimming her vision and chilling her bones. The richest m
an in the world. A man whose burden was so heavy he had to masquerade as someone else, even going so far as to test her love by letting her believe he was a thief. And, in doing so, nearly losing his life.
This man, this incredible man, loved her. Loved her bigger than she had ever imagined love could be. Coupled with the day’s events, all they had been through together, it was almost more than she could comprehend.
“Harmony?” Anthony prompted, a tiny worm of fear crawling beneath his flesh. “Harmony, are you all right? Are we all right? Will you please, please, marry me?”
Her very soul sprouted wings and took flight. Happiness was a living thing in her breast.
If he didn’t do something, anything, immediately, Anthony knew he was going to cry. His joy could not, would not be contained. Arms wrapped around his love, he sank to his knees and laid her back on the ground.
“Please, just say yes.”
“Yes …”
The world went away.
Epilogue
Bluefield. Harmony let her gaze caress the rolling, green hills of her home. How aptly the land was described with its name. The grass was so green that at some angles, and in some light, it appeared nearly blue.
“Lost in thought, my love?”
Harmony turned in her saddle to gaze adoringly at her husband. For old times’ sake he had ridden out with her on the chestnut, while she was mounted on the gray.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized quickly. “I simply cannot get over how beautiful it is here.”
There was more to it than that. He knew her so well. “And what else, my love?”
How did he always manage to sense her every mood? “I … it made me recall something my father once told me.”
“About …?”
“About a state called Kentucky,” Harmony explained. “My father told me it was called the Bluegrass State because the grass was so green it almost appeared blue. He had planned to take me there sometime because so many horses are bred there. He knew I would have loved it. But he … he never got the chance.”
Anthony reached across the space between them and took his wife’s hand. “Then I shall take you,” he said. “Although I cannot replace your father, I shall endeavor to make sure none of your dreams are unfulfilled.”
A lump immediately formed in Harmony’s throat. It mattered not at all that she was now very possibly the richest woman in the world. What mattered was that she was the luckiest. And the happiest. She squeezed Anthony’s hand until the tears had loosened their hold on her throat and allowed her to find her voice.
“I never want to leave Bluefield, Anthony,” she was finally able to reply. “You, and our home, are all of my dreams come true.”
He knew she meant it with all her heart, all her being, and it was his gift, his every dream come true.
He had to clear his throat before he spoke. “You mean you don’t even want to leave here to accompany me to London when I have to go on business?”
“Oh, don’t be silly,” Harmony replied tartly. “You know I’m never letting you out of my sight again. But no more secrets. Ever. Tell me where we’ll be staying. Do you have a home there?” Memory suddenly intruded and she clapped her hands in glee. “Oh, tell me, tell me. Is it in Mayfair? I love Mayfair. Is it near your friends?”
“I am terribly sorry to disappoint, my love, but my London residence is not in Mayfair, but on the outskirts of the city.” He watched the merest hint of disappointment touch her exquisite features, and swiftly acted to banish it.
“You’ve been to my London home, actually. At least to the gardens. Don’t you remember it? We strolled there together late one evening after dinner in the city.”
Harmony’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t help it. “Oh,” was all she could say. And then she was speechless. She watched her husband’s eyes twinkle with amusement.
“Ride back with me now?”
Harmony didn’t have to give it much thought. The expression on Anthony’s face, in his eyes, said it all. And she loved their huge four-poster bed. “Of course, my darling. Let’s go home.”
How good that sounded. She would never get tired of hearing it or saying it.
They cantered slowly back to their magnificent manor home, enjoying the sights as they went: grazing herds of Highland cattle with their distinctive horns and long hair; fields of brood mares, foals at their sides. Finally, cresting a last, wildflower-bedecked hill, Bluefield Manor came into sight.
Gooseflesh raised on Harmony’s arms.
They rode past his mother’s “cottage” first, then the elegant sprawl of the stables and adjacent paddocks. Halting by the stables’ wide double doors, grooms instantly appeared to hold their horses while they dismounted. Hand in hand they strolled across the broad, curving drive to the manse’s front steps.
The heavy, intricately carved oaken doors opened as if by magic, although Harmony knew either the liveried butler or a uniformed maid would be standing there to greet them.
She was right. And wrong.
“Lady Alice,” Harmony exclaimed with delight.
“Mother.” Anthony took her hands in his and leaned down to kiss her cheek. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your company at this time of day?” He pulled off his riding gloves and handed them to his butler.
“You have company,” Lady Alice replied. “I was entertaining until your return.”
“Company?”
Harmony heard the alarm in her husband’s voice and tried to read her mother-in-law’s expression for a clue to what might be happening. But Lady Alice’s demeanor remained serene. Harmony next examined her attire: a morning gown of pale peach satin, complementing her creamy complexion, and black, black hair streaked with white. It was, as usual, pulled into a classic chignon. Her casual dress told Harmony the guests were not of social import. So who could they be?
Guests were infrequent and always invited. Harmony’s own alarm bells were beginning to clang. Following Anthony’s lead, she pulled off her gloves and handed them to Patrice, one of the downstairs maids.
“I didn’t see any horses, Mother, or a coach. Nor do I recall issuing any invitations,” Anthony said in a tightly controlled voice.
Lady Alice put a gentle hand on her son’s forearm.
“They came on horseback, my dear, and the animals are being cared for in the stables. They were hard ridden.”
Aha. A clue at last. “All right, Mother, where did they come from? London?”
“Quite near.”
If his upbringing hadn’t been what it was and there weren’t servants watching his every move, Anthony would have lifted his diminutive parent off her feet in a bear hug. He loved the little games they had always played like this. It was a special way they had developed over the years to convey a great deal of information while saying little. It ensured the privacy
they held so dear in a very public world.
Translation: the riders were from Millswich; he wouldn’t like it when he learned who they were, but their visit was benign. He glanced at his wife, who was just beginning to learn their language. By her relaxed appearance, it seemed she had gotten the message as well.
“My love?” Anthony offered Harmony his arm. “Shall we go and greet our guests?”
Harmony actually looked forward to discovering what their “visitors” had come to say. Like her husband, she understood they were from Millswich and meant no harm. Would she find out at last what had happened to all the players in their little drama following their precipitous departure from the stage and the revelation of the characters behind the masks?
Simply walking to the salon was an exercise in enjoyment. Harmony let her gaze linger lovingly on all she saw on their journey through the massive entry toward their destination.
The cavernous foyer was a room unto itself. Much like an extremely large hotel, comfortable furnishings were centrally arranged to form several different and intimate seating areas. Numerous side tables were covered with antique collectibles and bric-a
-brac from around the world, and hand-painted scenes of historical importance graced the ceiling twenty feet above them. Lambent light was cast over all from an enormous and magnificent crystal chandelier.
At the end of the foyer was a wide, red-carpeted stairway, split into two at the first landing. Along the perimeter of the grand hall were six huge arches, three on each side, leading to the music room, dining room, library, salon, ballroom, and grand salon. Bosworth, the butler, gestured to the salon then followed them into the room.
Although Harmony favored the colors in the grand salon, gold and pale blue, she appreciated the soft green tones and slightly more comfortable furniture in the salon. Her eye was drawn to a grouping in front of the carved stone fireplace and the tall, lean gentleman who rose to his feet when they entered the room. She thought the other two men who quickly followed suit looked vaguely familiar.
“My son, Anthony Allen, Lord of Bluefield, and his wife,” Lady Alice said graciously.
The tall man approached, hand outstretched.
“Anthony, my dear, may I introduce Clive Bishop, the new constable of Millswich?”
The two men shook hands.
“So,” Anthony began, coming right to the point. “You replaced Mr. Henry.”
“Indeed, I did,” Bishop promptly replied. “I took the liberty of coming here uninvited to deliver the news to you personally. I hope you will forgive me, your lordship.”
“I not only forgive you, I congratulate you, Bishop.”
“You are most kind. May I also tell you then, that Henry was not only dismissed in disgrace, but will be prosecuted?”
Harmony could not control the little hiss of breath that escaped her lips. She saw her mother-in-law smile and her husband pressed her fingers lightly.
“You have more news, I’m sure, and I would like to know who the other two gentlemen are,” Anthony said.
“Of course.” Bishop turned to gesture the men over, but they had already started on their way. Before they could reach the group, however, Harmony’s rigid composure dissolved into a bubbling fountain of giggles.
Lady Blue Page 22
