The snickers he heard told Hugh he could spin a false tale all he wanted, but none of his friends would believe him. They were well aware that had it not been for Nellie, he would be an unhappy bachelor.
“Very well,” Hugh said. He wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulder and brought her close to him. “I can’t imagine how miserable I’d be if I hadn’t fallen at Nellie’s feet. She changed me from the wastrel I was and has given me more than I ever thought I’d have.”
Hugh kissed his wife’s forehead, then turned to Jeb. “At least I didn’t have to travel to Scotland to find my wife. I only had to fall over a terrace wall.”
Hugh laughed as he added wine to his glass, then his wife’s glass, then passed the bottle to Jeb. When Jeb filled his glass and Mariah’s, he passed the bottle on.
“But how many men can say they went to Scotland empty-handed and returned with a fortune in the Queen’s jewels? And that the jewels weren’t half as valuable as the woman who brought them back with me?”
“And Her Majesty offered you one of the jewels as your reward?” Eleanor asked.
“She offered me something much more valuable. She gave me two of her prize thoroughbreds.”
“Your stable has earned quite a reputation for breeding some of the best horses in England,” Hugh said.
“I owe Mariah for that,” Jeb said. “Without her at my side, none of this would have been possible. When it comes to breeding, she makes the best decisions on which horses have the strengths the client prefers.”
Jeb leaned down and kissed his wife.
“Jeb gives me too much credit. All I do is agree with him when he’s right. And disagree when he’s wrong.”
“Which I hardly ever am,” Jeb added.
Another round of laughter rang out. When there was a lull in their conversation, the sound of children’s laugher could be heard in the distance.
“I have to admit that you surprised me the most, Caleb,” Jeb said as they listened to the happy sounds. “I always knew you had a soft side, but I never imagined that you would be so happy being father to scores of children.”
“That’s because of their mother,” Caleb said, wrapping his arm around Eleanor’s shoulder. “How could I not be happy when I’m married to the most wonderful woman on the face of the earth?”
“We all feel the same way,” Ford said as he lifted his glass of wine. “To the men of the Traitor’s Club and the women who turned us into much better men than we ever thought we could be.”
The four traitors lifted their glasses in a toast, then kissed the women they loved.
And the children they’d made and gathered and rescued frolicked ’round, heirs to the world opened to them by four former traitors and the women who’d shown them what love is.
About Laura Landon
Laura Landon enjoyed ten years as a high school teacher and nine years making sundaes and malts in her very own ice cream shop, but once she penned her first novel, she closed up shop to spend every free minute writing. Now she enjoys creating her very own heroes and heroines, and making sure they find their happily ever after.
A vital member of her rural community, Laura directed the town’s Quasquicentennial, organized funding for an exercise center for the town, and serves on the hospital board.
Laura lives in the Midwest, surrounded by her family and friends. She has written nearly two dozen Victorian historicals, thirteen of which have been published by Prairie Muse Publishing and are selling worldwide in English, one in Japanese, and several in German. Two are Scottish historicals.
In October 2012, Laura experienced an amazing day when Amazon’s Montlake Romance published not one but three of her newest novels. Two of these have been optioned for publication in Russia and Turkey. Several are also available in German. To date Montlake has published seven of Laura’s Victorian historicals and Kindle Press three.
Always beautifully set and with a mysterious twist or bit of suspense, Laura’s books average a million pages a month read by her loyal readers.
LAURA LANDON IS A PRAIRIE MUSE PLATINUM
KINDLE PRESS AND AMAZON MONTLAKE AUTHOR
WWW.LAURALANDON.COM
Also from Laura Landon
by Prairie Muse Publishing
SHATTERED DREAMS
WHEN LOVE IS ENOUGH
BROKEN PROMISE
A MATTER OF CHOICE
MORE THAN WILLING
NOT MINE TO GIVE
LOVE UNBIDDEN
KEEPER OF MY HEART
THE DARK DUKE
CAST IN SHADOWS
CAST IN ICE
CAST IN SCANDAL
(novella in Her Majesty’s Scoundrels boxed set)
JADED MOON
THE DEVIL’S GIFT
ONE MYSTICAL MOMENT
(The Nutcracker Reimagined boxed set)
A SCOUNDREL AT HEART
From Laura Landon
by Montlake Romance
SILENT REVENGE
INTIMATE SURRENDER
INTIMATE DECEPTION
THE MOST TO LOSE
A RISK WORTH TAKING
BETRAYED BY YOUR KISS
RANSOMED JEWELS
From Kindle Press
THE SECRET ROSE
DARK RUBY
DECEPTION IN EMERALDS
THE TRAITOR’S CLUB
FORD | HUGH | JEB | CALEB
novellas
WHERE THE LADY BELONGS
NOVELLA
RANSOMED JEWELS SERIES
Ransomed Jewels
Dark Ruby
Jaded Moon
Deception in Emeralds
A Scoundrel at Heart novella
(The Scoundrel Who Loved Me)
See all of Laura’s books at Amazon.com