He turned away, feeling suddenly vulnerable. He had poured out his heart to her, handed her his naked soul. He was not brave enough to stay and watch her tear it to pieces. He went over to his hat, lying on the beach where he had tossed it, and, scooping it up, banged it against his leg to dislodge the sand. Setting it firmly upon his head, he whistled to his horse and waited, his back resolutely to Delphine, until the steed should make its way to him. He gasped aloud as a piece of driftwood, hurled through the air, tumbled his hat from his head and knocked it to the sand. Whirling, he saw Delphine standing there, legs spread wide, hands on hips, her jaw set in defiance.
“Sink and scuttle me, landlubber! But how am I to be happy without you?”
He grinned. “Gosse, you devil! Will you cost me every hat I own?” And he opened his arms to her.
She flew to his embrace, to the kiss that set her heart on fire, the arms that welcomed her home. He kissed her over and over again, murmuring her name, swearing his devotion forever until her head spun with the wonder of being loved so deeply, so dearly.
She stirred uneasily in his embrace. “Am I such a—devil? Such a savage, as you were wont to call me?”
He laughed and kissed her again. “You are a delight, and everything I prize in a woman!”
She bit her lip nervously. “And your—serene and gentle Marielle?”
He chuckled. “Marielle once crowned me with a boot! I had forgotten that!”
“I have no doubt you deserved it,” she said dryly.
“Indeed, yes, as I recall. But if you promise not to do the same, my love, I swear I shall do all in my power to make you happy.” He bent to her mouth, suddenly serious, and kissed her gently, his mouth sweet on hers.
She broke from his embrace and turned away, feeling overwhelmed by the old pain, the old grief. “The happiest—and most miserable day of my life—” she said softly, stumbling over the words “—was the dawn in the harbor of Dieppe. I put on a gown—and smoothed my hair—to greet my love in the morning,” the bitter tears flowed, “and the villain had fled—”
“Ah, Dieu!” he cried, turning her into his embrace and cradling her in his arms. “Not only a villain, but a fool as well! My poor Gosse. Did you love me then?”
“Then—and always,” she whispered.
“And I wondered at your hatred when we met again! Nom de Dieu. Can you forgive me?” His voice was heavy with remorse. “You said once that I had killed Gosse. God save me, you were right.”
She shook her head. “No—no. I thought so then, but—Copain said it, a long time ago. We cannot hold back time. It had to happen as it did. Gosse was so young, so trusting—how could there be aught but pain to find the world ugly and cruel?”
He stroked her hair with tender fingers. “And yet Gosse came sometimes to bedevil me, and gladden this old heart with her youth and joy—”
She touched the plaster on his cheek. “What have I done to your beautiful face?”
“If my eyes may see you, my lips kiss you, I am content. And if I may take you to wed, what more shall I need to make my life complete?”
“But your face!”
“It will heal.”
“But it will leave a dreadful scar.”
He laughed, his eyes twinkling. “Then, mayhap, the women will leave me in peace! If I am scarred, you need not fear other women!”
She tossed her head. “Pah! What care I? I have never concerned myself with your—other women. If you are attracted to that slut Marion de Lorme, if you find that whining Clémence de Vignon interesting—”
He roared with laughter. “But you never noticed or cared—of course!”
She snapped her fingers. “Not a whit!”
“I think…to keep you out of mischief—I shall keep your belly fat with children!” He kissed her firmly then stepped back, his blue eyes warm and serious. “Will you bear my children, Delphine?” he whispered.
She laughed, that deep, musical sound that bubbled from her throat and filled his senses. Without a word she pulled him by the hand, guiding him across the beach and to a narrow path that led up to the cottage. It perched on a small hill, looking out over the ocean, a solid building of rubble masonry with pale gray-green stones that echoed the color of the waves. Delphine pulled him inside and through a spacious sitting room glowing with the last light of day. She led him up the stairs and pushed open a door off the landing. In the dimming light, André saw an elderly woman standing by the casement, holding a small bundle in her arms. At their entrance, the woman turned around.
“Light the candles, Anne-Marie,” said Delphine. “We shall have supper.”
Anne-Marie put down her bundle, curtsied, and left the room, glancing curiously at André as she passed. He saw now that her bundle was, in point of fact, a small child, not much more than a year old, he guessed, with rosy cheeks and hair as yellow as hay on a midsummer’s day.
Delphine knelt and held out her arms. “Robert,” she said gently. The child gurgled and toddled toward her, his pink fists reaching for her. She swept him into her arms, kissing his forehead and rounded cheeks before handing him to a startled André. He gaped, looking into eyes as blue as sapphires, as blue as his own. He stared questioningly at Delphine.
“Monsieur le Comte,” she said, laughing softly, “your son.”
More from Sylvia Halliday
Marielle (The French Maiden Series - Book One)
Armed with only a disguise and her wavering courage, Marielle Saint-Juste goes on a perilous mission to free her brother from unjust captivity. But when she enters the prison of Louis XIII, it isn’t her wounded brother she finds, but a mysterious stranger—and her destiny.
In this French dungeon, a love illuminates the darkest shadows in two hearts. Marielle will not only face her deepest fears, but change her life forever.
Lysette (The French Maiden Series - Book Two)
Lysette, the Marquise de Ferrance, is left penniless after her husband dies. With nowhere else to turn, she ventures across the turbulent French countryside to the safety of her brother’s home. But when she meets Andre, Comte du Crillon, her plans change. She cares not that he’s married; using her beauty as her weapon, she sets out to seduce him.
But little does she know, there’s another man in her midst, waiting for the perfect time to take her for himself. It is in his arms that Lysette is destined to find that true love and sanctuary she seeks.
Delphine (The French Maiden Series - Book Three)
Unable to deny the attraction that simmers between them, Delphine and Andre fell willingly into one another’s arms on their long journey from Canada to France. But after an impassioned night, come morning, the ship has docked, Delphine wakes alone, and Andre has fled.
Scorned, Delphine soon finds herself determined to avenge her broken heart. But a love that will not be denied soon gets in the way of her journey to vengeance.
Dreams so Fleeting
Born the illegitimate daughter of a great French nobleman, Ninon knew only a harsh life of cruelty and hardship. It wasn’t until the dashing Count of Froissart, Philippe, whisked her off to a different world did she begin to have hope for a better future.
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Gold as the Morning Sun
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Jace Greer, a con-man and bank robber, is given the perfect opportunity to start over when the stagecoach carrying a mail-order groom is ambushed, leaving Callie’s future husband dead. Taking on the deceased man’s identity as his own, Jace cont
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The Ring
Prudence Allbright believes Lord Jamie’s declarations of love—so much so that she vows to follow him to the Colonies. It is onboard the ship that will take her to him that she meets the honorable Dr. Ross Manning, and a flame of passion ignites.
Ross is determined not to defile the memory of his late wife, but night after night he longs to hold Prudence in his arms. When Prudence discovers Jamie has already gone back to England without her, Ross knows he may have only one last chance to claim Prudence as his own. But can love stand against the secrets of Prudence’s past?
Summer Darkness, Winter Light
Allegra Baniard is an independent young woman who lives for only one thing—revenge. Her family had been branded traitors and banished from Shropshire. After eight years, she returns incognito to the ancestral home of her once-noble family, vowing to avenge her family. But when she meets Greyston Morgan, the new owner of Baniard Hall, he ignites desires inside of her that burn as hot as her fiery rage.
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