exhausted dreams when Sergeant Travers entered the room the following morning. “Mr. Croft,” he said in a whisper so as not to wake her. “Will you be returning to London with us?”
“No. If Lord Ponsonby wishes to speak to me, he’ll just have to haul his officious arse to Clovelly.”
Sergeant Travers cleared his throat. “I’ll let him know...not in those exact words.”
Gideon grinned. “As you can see, I have more important business at the moment. I’ll remain here until reinforcements arrive from Plymouth. Leave half your men with me until then. The local magistrate doesn’t have enough to properly guard The Dolphin’s captain and crew. But I want you to return to London with all haste with Viscount Winthrop and Lord Leinster’s nephew. They may have friends close by. I want them out of here before any plots are hatched to free them.”
He saluted Gideon. “And congratulations, Mr. Croft. I wish you and Lady Genalynn every happiness.”
“Thank you.” When the sergeant left, Gideon took a moment to study Genalynn’s sleeping countenance. He couldn’t take his eyes off her beautiful face.
“Face of an angel,” Throck said in a muttered rumble.
“Indeed.” Gideon was surprised he was awake and still alive. “I’m going to marry her as soon as you are better, Throck. So you had better hurry up and recover. I’m not a patient man.”
“Marry her in a church?”
“No. I have a special license. I can marry her at your beside if she’ll agree to it.”
“Do it.”
“I have your blessing?”
Throck was silent for a very long moment. “Yes.”
Gideon breathed a sigh of relief, knowing how difficult this was for him. “Earlier, I gave you my oath to protect her. I give it to you again now. I’ll never break it. I love her, Throck. Nothing and no one will ever keep me away from her again. I’ll love her always.”
He nodded. “Don’t tell me, you arse. Tell her.”
Gideon laughed. The rumble of his chest must have awakened Genalynn. She blew a soft breath against his neck as she began to stir. It took her a moment to realize her bed was actually his body. When she did, she blushed and attempted to rise. “Were you just talking to Throck?”
He wasn’t ready to let her out of his arms yet. “Yes, sweetheart.”
She looked beautiful in her sleepy haze, her lips soft and pouty, and her cheeks stained pink. She had a smile on her face and her eyes held warmth and adoration. Indeed, she was sweet. His sweetheart. “Throck just gave me his blessing to marry you.”
Her smile turned dazzling. “You really mean it?”
He patted his breast pocket. “I have the special license. You just say the word and I’ll fetch the minister. We can hold the ceremony right here.”
“In this bedchamber?” A dozen expressions crossed her face. Delight, concern, confusion, but ultimately she settled on happiness. Throck was her family. He needed to witness their wedding. “Yes.”
Gideon understood the pain Throck must have been feeling beyond the physical pain of being shot. He had always been in love with Genalynn. Gideon appreciated just how hard it was for this big, lonely man to watch her give her heart to another.
“I will miss her,” Throck said and drifted off to sleep again.
Chapter 15
Clovelly, England
Three months later
“Good morning, my love,” Genalynn said, nestling her warm body against Gideon’s and smiling up at him. “Or should I now call you my Lord Winthrop?”
It hadn’t taken long for her uncle to be convicted of treason and stripped of his title, the royal grant to all the entailed holdings immediately rescinded. What Gideon had not expected was the bestowal of the title of Viscount Winthrop upon him. Apparently, Lord Leinster’s rebellious plot to seize the northern Ireland lands held by the Crown was quite serious and had progressed much farther than anyone in London realized.
As Genalynn’s uncle began to spill his guts to his interrogators - none of whom had lifted so much as a finger against him to make him talk - he began to name names. He immediately gave up the identity of the double agent. But this only confirmed what Aislin and Abigail had figured out while scouring through the agent records provided by the home office.
“Yes, I am to be referred to as Lord Winthrop from this moment on,” he teased, kissing Genalynn heartily on her rosy lips before proceeding to rain softer kisses down her warm and delectable body. He’d always slept naked, but it had taken a few weeks for Genalynn