Scandal

by Heather Cullman

  Gideon stood, scooping her up to cradle her in his lap as he took her seat. She struggled weakly against him, but he crushed her to him, stilling her. Kissing the top of her head, his hand moving soothingly on her back, stroking and massaging it, he crooned, "Hush, love. No one will ever learn the truth."

  "But if they do-"

  "If they do, there is bound to be a scandal, true, but I doubt if it will have a lasting effect on your family," he interjected. "Your father wields far too much power in society to suffer the repercussions a lesser man would be forced to endure in a like situation. Furthermore, everyone knows that there are a great many noble bastards in the ton, and as long as no one talks about the fact, no one really cares."

  She sniffled. "But this is different. Most of those bastards are products of their mothers' indiscretion, born within a legal marriage. Since their mother is married to a man who chooses to claim them as his own, there is no real scandal. Besides, no one can truly prove that they are not their father's children. But my father was married to someone other than our mother when we were born, so there can be no question as to our legitimacy." Sniffle!

  Gideon felt in his waistcoat pocket for his handkerchief. "At least you can take comfort in the fact that your father is now legally wed to your mother. That might help matters, should the secret ever come to light." He pulled out his handkerchief and presented it to Julia.

  She blew her nose. "And I have you to thank for that. It appears that I have a great deal to thank you for." Fresh tears welled up in her reddened eyes. "Oh, Gideon! You truly are the best man on earth, a perfect gentleman. While I-I-" She shook her head, a sob fracturing her voice. "All those weeks in London that I spent looking down on you, all those times I belittled your common blood and lorded my nobility over you ... it was I who was not worthy of you. And I never shall be. I-I-" Her voice ruptured into another sob, and she resumed weeping in earnest.

  The wrenching sound of her anguish ripped through Gideon's heart, making it bleed at her pain. Gathering her in his arms to hold her close, he murmured against her hair, "But of course you are worthy, sweetheart. You are the perfect lady and you are perfect for me. We are perfect for each other. Nothing can ever change that fact, just as nothing will ever change my love for you. You promised me that we could work out whatever troubles arose from me telling you the truth, and I expect you to honor that promise."

  "But Gideon-" She began to protest, tipping her head back to meet his gaze.

  He silenced her with a kiss. After lingering over her lips, rejoicing at her passionate response, he lifted his mouth from hers to stare down at her blotchy face. Smiling tenderly at the sight of her red nose, he said, "We have laid the foundation for truth in our marriage now, so I see no reason why we should not build on it. Unless, of course, you do not forgive me for allowing myself to become entangled in your father's lie."

  She sniffled. "Of course I forgive you. How could I not when your intentions were good? For all that you are too humble to take credit for your gallantry, I see that you wed me for my own protection."

  "And I will continue to protect you for as long as we both might live, if you will allow me to do so."

  She smiled then, albeit wanly, but it was a smile nonetheless. "There is nothing on this earth that I would love more, except you, of course." With that, she twined her arms around his neck and kissed him.

  Gideon had just deepened their kiss and he was considering snubbing their company in favor of carrying her upstairs, when there was the sound of footsteps running down the hall. A moment later there was a pounding at the door, and a voice he identified as belonging to his normally reserved majordomo, shouted, "Mr. Harwood! Mr. Harwood! You have an urgent message from Liverpool."

  Julia and Gideon pulled from their kiss in unison to stare at each other. "It has to be news of Caleb," Julia exclaimed, her formerly forlorn face transfusing with excitement. Slipping from his lap, she tugged him up onto his feet, urging, "Well? Do go see."

  Without further prompting, Gideon went to the door, returning with a sealed message and a bottle of port. When he had read the letter, pausing once to study the bottle, he could not contain his whoop of joy.

  "Well?" Julia eagerly quizzed.

  "We have found Caleb." He more laughed than uttered his response in his happiness.

  "Where? How?" she cried, snatching the letter from his hand.

  "He is in Portugal. The ship that sailed for Portugal the day Caleb is thought to have left England arrived in Liverpool two days ago, and Christian had the opportunity to interview the captain. The wounded man the captain described as sailing with him on that voyage not only matches the description of Caleb I gave Christian, but the captain showed him this." He held up the bottle.

  When she glanced first at the bottle, then up at him, frowning her incomprehension, he lifted her left hand, placing her wedding ring next to the emblem etched into the bottle. Her eyes widened and she gasped. "It matches perfectly."

  "Do you not remember me telling you that the original Harwood wedding ring disappeared with Caleb?"

  "Yes, but"-she made a helpless hand gesture-"but how? And why is a copy of the ring etched into the bottle?"

  Gideon shook his head. "I cannot explain the etching. However, Christian was able to learn that Caleb has assumed the name Jonathan Iverson, and that he is now a winemaker in the Douro Valley. It seems that he married the widow of a port winemaker with a vineyard there. According to the captain's account, the woman assisted in nursing Caleb on his voyage to Portugal and they fell in love then."

  Gideon's already wide grin broadened at the thought of his headstrong brother falling in love and settling down. "At any rate, the captain encountered Caleb on his last voyage while at"-he paused to peer at the letter in Julia's hands; when he found what he sought, he nodded-"it was at a lodge in Villa Nova. I assume from the letter that the Portuguese call their shipping warehouses lodges. Whatever the instance, the captain thought highly enough of the port Caleb was selling there to purchase a large quantity to import to England, and has contracted to buy more. He is scheduled to return to Portugal in a fortnight, and Christian has secured passage for us on his ship."

  "Oh, but this is wonderful news!" Julia exclaimed, throwing her arms around him in an enthusiastic hug.

  "Of course we must go."

  Gideon grinned and hugged her back. The news was more than wonderful. It made his life complete.

  Epilogue

  Portugal

  "So the woman the innkeeper reported seeing in your company that night was Lady Silvia, and the man was her footman," Gideon clarified.

  Caleb nodded. "I did not know who else to turn to when I found myself wounded and pursued by the law. Lady Silvia had always been kind to me, so I took the chance and went to her."

  "And of course she helped you," Gideon interjected.

  Another nod from Caleb. "Yes. It was she who removed the bullet and arranged for my passage to Portugal. Without her aid and that of her manservant, I most certainly would have died ... if not from the lead in my belly, then at the end of a rope." He paused then, a shadow passing over his face. "I am grieved to hear of her death. She truly was a great lady."

  "Indeed she was," Gideon murmured.

  "As is my darling Hannah," Caleb added, kissing the dainty blond woman who sat by his side. "I owe my life to her as well. I doubt I would have survived my wound without her care."

  Hannah smiled, a sweet, loving smile that instantly transformed her ordinary face into one of breathtaking beauty. "And I doubt if I would have survived this past year without you by my side, dearest."

  "I believe that you two met on the ship to Portugal?" Gideon quizzed.

  "That is correct," Hannah said. "I was returning home to Portugal after burying my husband in England. Like me, he was English, and I thought it only proper that he should be buried in his homeland."

  "How did he come to own a vineyard here?" Julia asked. The woman was her newest sister, so of course
she wished to know all about her. Julia could not help smiling her pleasure at the addition. One could never have too many sisters to love ... or brothers, she added, glancing at Caleb.

  That he and Gideon were brothers was obvious from their remarkable height, strong physiques, and boldly sculpted faces. Yet unlike Gideon, whose features were unrelieved by the slightest softness, Caleb's were tempered by the same beauty that Bethany had inherited, something that made him appear almost pretty in contrast to Gideon's starkly masculine looks. Like Bethany, Caleb's eyes were a deep sapphire blue, and his thick, wavy hair was the same chocolate brown as hers, though his was liberally streaked with honey and gold from long hours spent toiling beneath the hot Portugal sun. And when he smiled, Julia could not help noting that he possessed the excellent Harwood teeth. All and all Caleb

  Harwood was an exceedingly handsome man.

  It was a fact that was clearly appreciated by Hannah, who gazed at him as if he had hung the moon and stars as she answered Julia's question. "My first husband determined that there was a fortune to be made in producing port wine, so he purchased this vineyard. He was a London wine merchant, you see, so he understood the wine business. What he did not know was how grueling it would be to tend the vines." She sighed and shook her head. "In the end it proved to be too difficult, and I was left a widow with only this house and vineyard to my name. Fortunately, the purchase of the vineyard included pipes of aged port that proved ready to bottle, and with Caleb's help I was able to bottle and sell it at a fine profit." It was her turn to kiss her husband. "Our darling Caleb has turned out to be an excellent businessman. I daresay that my first husband would have been pleased by the success he is making of the vineyard."

  "I must say that it is some of the finest port I have had the pleasure to taste," Gideon commented.

  Julia nodded. "Gideon sent a case of it to our good friend Lord Shepley. He is certain to recommend it to the ton, which will make it all the rage in London."

  Gideon chuckled. "I do hope that you are prepared to keep up with the demand."

  Caleb and Hannah exchanged pleased grins. "Most assuredly, brother," Caleb replied. "After all, I have a wife and family to support now." The family to which he referred was Hannah's two young sons from her first marriage.

  "I must say that Caleb was most fortunate to meet you as he did, Hannah," said Bethany, who had been listening to the conversation in silence. "It is just too bad that it had to be under such sad circumstances. Please do accept my condolences on the death of your first husband."

  Hannah inclined her head in acknowledgment of the other woman's sympathy. "It was indeed a very sad time for me, but caring for Caleb helped to ease my grief somewhat."

  "Was that when you began to fall in love?" Bethany shyly inquired.

  "Not exactly," Hannah countered with a soft laugh. "We started out as friends. Being as that I am some years older than Caleb, I naturally never expected a romance to blossom from our friendship. All I knew was that he needed a place to stay, and I needed a strong back to help run the vineyard. So I proposed a bargain that we help each other. He accepted and, well, I suppose that you can guess the rest."

  Caleb coiled his arm around his wife's shoulders to draw her near. Kissing her cheek, he said, "I must admit that I loved Hannah the moment I saw her leaning over my cot. However, it was only right that I allowed her a suitable period for mourning before declaring my feelings."

  "What a lovely tale," Bethany exclaimed on a sigh.

  Caleb grinned. "It is also an amazing one in that she accepted my proposal. After all, I was a highwayman running from the law with only a golden ring to my name."

  "Ah, but you truly were not a highwayman, darling," Hannah retorted. "You never actually robbed anyone."

  Caleb made a droll face. "That is because I was shot before I could do so."

  "Nonetheless-" Hannah began.

  But Caleb interrupted her, interjecting, "Nonetheless, I rode with the intention of committing robbery, and in the eyes of the law I was guilty. Had I remained in England I would have lived in fear of being discovered and hung."

  "There is no proof that you were there that night, Caleb. Even my flock of Bow Street Runners was unable to find any real evidence pointing to that fact. So if you and Hannah desire to return to England to live, you are perfectly free to do so," Gideon said.

  Caleb and Hannah exchanged a quick glance; then Caleb replied, "Our life is here now, so we will remain in Portugal. However, I promise that we will return to England soon for a visit."

  Gideon nodded. "I suspected that you might feel that way, and I must say that I am thrilled that you have found such happiness here."

  "It appears that we have both found great happiness," Caleb returned, nodding at Julia.

  Gideon flashed Julia a smile that quite took her breath away. "Indeed it does."

  "What I want to know is whose idea it was to etch the Harwood family emblem into your port bottles." This was from Bethany, who was gazing at the happy couples with a rather wistful expression.

  "It was Hannah's," Caleb said, gazing at his wife with obvious pride.

  Hannah nodded. "When all of our letters to you and Bliss were returned, and your neighbors either did not respond to our queries or could not tell us your fate, I began to wonder if perhaps Gideon might have returned from India and taken you away. From what Caleb told me, Gideon had acquired the wealth to live as a gentleman, and all proper English gentlemen drink port. It was my hope that he might someday see a bottle of our port and recognize the emblem, which would in turn lead him to us here."

  "And it worked splendidly," Julia exclaimed. "How very clever of you, Hannah."

  Hannah smiled, visibly pleased by her praise. "I daresay that I should give the Harwood family ring to you, Julia. After all, it rightfully belongs to the bride of the eldest Harwood male."

  "I have a ring of which I am exceedingly fond, so if it is all the same to Gideon, I would prefer that you keep it. It is the ring Caleb placed on your finger when he wed you, so it should stay there." She glanced at Gideon, who gave his permission with a smile and nod. Returning her attention to the couple before her, she added, "Besides, if you intend to use the ring emblem as your brand, then it belongs here."

  "Since there appears to be little danger of my name being recognized as that of a wanted highwayman, perhaps I will resume its use. With your permission, my dear"-he kissed the top of Hannah's head-"I would like to call our port Harwood's."

  "I was going to suggest that myself, since it is only right that the name should match the brand. I-" She broke off with a laugh as her stomach gave a loud rumble. "But where are my manners? It is long past time for dinner, and you all must be starved. As you can tell, I most certainly am. If you will excuse me, I shall go see to the matter now."

  When she had bustled off to tend to her duties as hostess, Caleb, too, rose. "I should go see what sort of trouble my boys are getting your girls into."

  Of course they had brought Bliss, Jemima, and Maria with them. Being as that it was London's Little Season, Julia's parents had raised no objections to Julia's proposal that she bring her sisters on the journey.

  "I believe that I will retire to my chamber and write to Christian until dinnertime," Bethany murmured. "I have so much to tell him."

  Now alone, Julia said to Gideon, "She really does love Christian, you know."

  Gideon nodded. "Yes, and Christian loves her, though neither will admit to the fact."

  "Would you mind if they wed?"

  "No, of course not. Christian is a fine man and I would be honored to have him for a brother. However, it is impossible for them to do so until he discovers his past. He could have a wife somewhere."

  "Perhaps that is what keeps him from searching for his identity," Julia mused. "Perhaps he would rather live with the hope that he might someday wed Bethany, rather than risk discovering that it can never be."

  "Perhaps," Gideon replied.

  They both fell silent t
hen, losing themselves in their thoughts. Over the past weeks, Julia had come to terms with her father's devastating secret, and had decided that Gideon was correct. Everything was indeed all right, and it would remain so as long as she had Gideon in her life. Oh, that was not to say that she no longer worried that the ton would learn the truth about her parents' marriage. She did. It was just that she had gained the confidence to believe that she could weather anything the future might bring, so long as Gideon was beside her.

  Filled with the peace of knowing that Gideon would always be by her side to strengthen and comfort her, no matter what happened, Julia gazed down at the freshly harvested vineyards that spread out below the arbor-covered veranda where they presently sat.

  The vineyards had been planted on a series of steep terraces carved into the harsh Douro River Valley wall, below which flowed the Douro River, the color of which perfectly matched the clear azure sky above. They had traveled down that river from their arrival port of Oporto, since it was the quickest route to Caleb's sprawling white quinta, as the vineyard estates where called. And if Julia lived to be a hundred, she would never forget the sun-drenched majesty of the Douro Valley, with its violet-shadowed gorges, quaint villages, and picture-perfect landscapes. She would also never forget the passion with which Gideon had made love to her as they had drifted on the current. Wishing that he would whisk her

  upstairs and repeat his magnificent performance, Julia shot him a longing glance.

  Apparently passion was not among whatever was on his mind, for he was gazing off into the distance, his eyes unfocused and his expression rather grim. Taken aback that he would look so at a time that should be filled with nothing but happiness, she murmured, "A penny for your thoughts, love."

  Gideon blinked twice before turning his attention to her. Smiling rather sheepishly, he said, "I was just contemplating the fact that Caleb will be remaining in Portugal. I know that it is exceedingly selfish of me to feel so, but I must confess to being disappointed that he will not be returning to England with us."