by Rebecca King
“Do we smell?” Connor asked with a grin when Joseph sniffed.
Joseph nodded and wrinkled his nose up.
“You melly,” he declared with blunt honesty.
Tahlia smiled and flicked at the smudges of dirt they had left on the little boy’s top.
“I think we had better get a bath then because you are all mucky now too,” she informed him.
Joseph’s excited squeal deafened Connor. His wince was enough to make Joseph grin, but he apologised by covering daddy’s cheek with plenty of sloppy kisses. Connor bathed in them all. Each one was a breath of fresh air, wiping away the shadows of his darkened past. In that moment he realised how dark and barren his life had been, and how much he had sacrificed facing hidden enemies.
Now it was full of sunshine and laughter. He suddenly looked forward to each new day that lay before them with a joyful anticipation that nothing could ever dim.
His life was complete; it was as simple as that.
“Are you sure you can cope?” Tahlia asked only half-joking.
Connor nodded enthusiastically. “I have already quit London and now, having seen this little fellow-” he paused enough to lift the tot over his head and nuzzle the boys’ belly resulting in lots of squeals and laughter.
Tahlia laughed as Joseph sat on Connor’s lap and immediately demanded he do it again.
“He needs you,” Tahlia assured Connor gently.
“As I need you,” Connor replied frankly. “I love you, Tahlia. I always have. Whilst I don’t condone what I did back then; in fact, it was the very worst thing I have done in my life. I have to consider whether I was ready to be a father back then. I think I needed to go through this period of missing you dreadfully to realise the importance of what I had lost, and be able to appreciate it more. I will spend the rest of my life making my mistake up to both you and Joseph; if you will let me?”
Tahlia froze and turned to look at him. She wasn’t sure what she had just heard. Her heart began to thunder in her ears. She didn’t want to assume he had suggested marriage, but then he hadn’t asked the question outright.
“Marry me,” he whispered, placing another kiss on her lips right there in front of everybody.
“I would love to,” she laughed, delighted.
Connor grinned and kissed her. This time, though, he was aware of a pair of very curious eyes watching them rather more closely than Oscar, Cecily and Alice. They broke off and turned their heads to look at Joseph, who grinned at them both and threw himself forward so he could join in with their kiss.
“God, I love you both so much,” Connor growled as he held them close.
He made no attempt to keep the emotion from his voice. He knew that if there were a few people in the world he was able to lower his barriers around; it was the people in this kitchen. Oscar and Cecily too had strangely become extended family after what they had all experienced together. He didn’t know Alice yet but, given the adoring way Oscar kept looking at her, and the cherubic joy on Joseph’s face, Connor knew he wouldn’t have any issue with the woman. Anybody who could help raise such a happy, rambunctious youngster as confident in his own world as Joseph was had Connor’s vote.
“There is one request I would like to make before we go any further,” Connor added as he placed Joseph on his feet beside them and stood up. No sooner had he got to his feet than Joseph threw himself at Connor’s legs, demanding to be picked back up again.
Connor happily obliged and settled his son in his arms as he placed a kiss on his chubby cheek.
“Dada,” Joseph gurgled.
“Yes, son, Dada,” Connor choked out.
He shook his head at Tahlia and drew her into his arms.
“You have a request?” Tahlia prompted when Connor simply stood and held them both.
“Hm? Oh, yes, I think that we should have at least three more.” Connor grinned and looked at Joseph.
“More what?” Tahlia asked, confused.
Connor looked at her lovingly and placed a kiss on her lips before he turned and lifted his brows at his son.
“Would you like a sister?”
This time, Tahlia’s laugh was smothered by the kisses of both men in her life, and she didn’t mind one bit.
EPILOGUE
“What’s that?” June asked with a frown.
“What?” Victor jerked when he received a sharp jab in the ribs. He scowled at the young girl opposite and waited for her to repeat herself.
“What’s that?” June demanded patiently.
She stopped in the middle of the road, and pointed to the thick strip of blue running across the horizon.
They had been walking for hours through long, winding country lanes. They were both exhausted, and in much need of rest, but that didn’t dampen June’s curiosity.
“It’s the sea, June,” Victor replied with relish. He eyed the blue haze of the ocean and knew then that they had made it. They had left London, and it sooty, grimy streets, far behind.
“I told you that we should have taken a carriage. We have enough money,” June protested when Victor nudged her onward.
“We can’t be travelling around in a carriage,” Victor protested. “People will look at us. This way, we can arrive on foot and nobody will notice.”
“They will notice strangers in a village like this. Why are the houses so small?” June asked with a frown as she studied the tiny doorway to the small fisherman’s cottage they passed.
“I dunno,” Victor shrugged. “But they ain’t the kind of people you are going to go beggin’ off so there ain’t no point sizin’ their doors up. We have left that kinda life behind us.”
“And mama,” June added without any hint of regret.
Victor grinned. His goal was to rid themselves of their problems in London, and they had – completely. That included abandoning the old harridan who used to pretend to be their mama, and leaving her to wend her own way in life. Neither Victor nor June had ever been able to earn money and keep it because of her. Neither of them had ever had the opportunity to decide how the money was spent, or what they should do with their day. Whatever the weather, their mother had always shoved them out of the door with orders not to return until their pockets were full. Come hail, rain, sleet, or shine, they had both been cast out into the streets, and would only be allowed back into the tiny, dirt-laden basement they called home, and shared with three other families, when they had money in their hand.
All that had changed now that Victor had successfully bartered a good price for the jewels he had stolen. He had pocketed the money and used some of it to purchase post chaise tickets out of London. His plan had all worked perfectly.
“We can’t go back now,” he muttered.
The broadsheet tucked into the waistband of his trousers held the headlines that had, by now, had warned Sayers of Victor’s duplicity. He couldn’t read it himself. He had asked an inn keeper to read the headline for him, and had heard all he needed to know.
“What? Back to that?” June asked with a nod behind them that Victor took as reference to London. “Not when we have places like this to stay in. Look at this.”
They both stopped to stare at the small, square cottage tucked away in a quiet corner of the sleepy little fishing village far removed from the hub of a grimy city.
“Aye, that’s home,” Victor whispered.
He couldn’t read the paper the man had given him when he had bought the house, but had marked his name with a ‘x’ where he had been told to, and had accepted the keys along with the note. He had managed to find his way to the village through asking people and heading in the direction they had pointed. Now, he was totally lost.
“’ere, mister,” June called when she spotted an elderly fisherman coming out of a cottage further down the road. “Can you please tell us where Ivy Cottage is?”
“Aye, it’s that one you further down the road a ways. It’s on the bluff o’er there.” The fisherman pointed to the far end of the village about half a mil
e away, to a small cottage situated on the hill-top.
“Come on,” June cried with a grin. “Race ya there.”
Victor stalled long enough to lift a hand of thanks to the fisherman before he took off after his sister.
His new life had begun, and it was one of hope, money, and the ability to make whatever decisions he wanted. He had been careful leaving London. Nobody knew where to find them. As long as they kept their heads down, didn’t contact anyone they had left behind, and looked only to the future, they had nothing to worry about.
“Come on,” June called impatiently when she realised he wasn’t running after her.
Victor looked up and studied the happiness on his sister’s face. He had never seen her smile at all now that he came to think about it. She had really only ever been a ghost of a child, sucked under by the raw need to survive the harsh streets that was city life.
Whatever the future held for them both, he couldn’t regret the happiness their current situation had brought them both. This new beginning brought with it a release of the stress and fear they had both lived with, and replaced it with happiness and excited anticipation.
Still, he frowned down at the headlines.
Although he was starting a new life, he couldn’t help but worry what would happen if the old life caught up with him.
With a sigh, he lifted his gaze to the endless sea. Drawing his hand back, he used all of his might to throw the broadsheet at the waves. Seconds later, the news of his true nature was swallowed by the sea, and disappeared without a trace.
Just as swiftly as Victor Mainton had disappeared from London, a newcomer, Harrold Banbury and his sister Lucy, had arrived in the village of Boscastle.
The End.
HOPELESS HEART
COMING SOON
Georgiana Bentley is tired of being a good girl. She is fed up of doing what her parents, and her brothers, have always told her to do. Her life is stifling, and she yearns to be free of it, especially now that her heart is shattered beyond repair.
She had loved Will practically all of her life; ever since he tugged her pigtails when she had been eight years old. As she had matured into a young woman, her love for him had grown with her. To discover that he is now to be married to someone else leaves her world broken. Determined to save herself the pain of having to attend his wedding, she decides to retire to the country to live with her aunt.
Before she goes, though, she sets about experiencing each of the activities on her list of lifetime achievements, regardless of the consequences. What she doesn’t expect are the surprises it brings her.
Will has never stopped to consider Georgiana as anything other than a rather pesky friend whom he has always bailed out of trouble. When her wayward behaviour scandalises those around her, it is Will who is sent to speak to her. Unfortunately, he is unable to stop her scandalised pursuit of pleasure. Instead, he is left to watch her race headlong into situations no lady should experience, and do everything in his power to limit the damage to her reputation.
What he sees in Georgiana, is an entirely different woman to the one he thought he knew. Georgiana is wild, carefree, funny, charming, and downright beautiful. He is soon left to battle with his own jealousy when a rather determined suitor sets his sights on her.
When the rather determined exploits of the suitor challenges Will’s place in her life, he has to face the horrible prospect of losing her. Is it too late to cancel the wedding, and persuade the woman he really wants to be his wife?
When events surrounding Georgiana turn sinister, Will faces the fight of his life and it isn’t to persuade Georgiana to consider him as her future husband.
Their race across the country leaves them facing entirely different futures to the ones they thought they had mapped out – but can they ever be together? Will he be forced to go through with the wedding already planned to someone else? Or will Georgiana’s suitor succeed in ensnaring her first?
HIDING ROSE
Saved By Desire Series
Book Five
COMING SOON
Having witnessed another of his colleagues marry, Barnaby Stephenson is left to ponder the wisdom of his own choices in life. The last thing he needs is to have to babysit the Star Elite’s primary witness of the murder of one of London’s most hardened criminals.
Tasked with hiding Rosemary ‘Rose’ Higginbotham, Barnaby quickly realises that this seemingly delicate flower has a hidden side to her, especially when their lives are threatened.
When they find themselves hunted, their fight to keep Rose free of Sayers’ clutches takes them from the south of the country to the north. With each move, Barnaby finds himself losing another piece of his heart. This time, though, not even the safe houses and the support of his colleagues from the Star Elite can keep them safe.
When they are cornered, Barnaby and Rose find themselves fighting for more than their lives. They battle for a future together.
Left with no alternative but to put into action the Star Elite’s most audacious plan yet, Barnaby’s determination to keep Rose hidden may well lead him to capture not only London’s most notorious criminal mastermind, but his very own bride.
OTHER BOOKS BY REBECCA KING
Further details on all of Rebecca’s books can be found on her website:
Rebeccaking-author.co.uk
SAVED BY DESIRE SERIES
One Penny Surprise – Released March 2016
To Catch a Thief – Released April 2016
Mistaken Identity – Released July 2016
A Scandal Most Daring – Released October 2016
Hiding Rose – Coming Soon
OTHER BOOKS
Shattered Dreams
Lies and Misdemeanours
Eloisa’s Adventure
Wishing for Rainbows
Redemption
Devoted To You
Hopeless Heart – Coming Soon
TIPTON HOLLOW SERIES
Harriett (Tipton Hollow Book 1)
Beatrice (Tipton Hollow Book 2)
Tuppence (Tipton Hollow Book 3) (Coming soon)
Constance (Tipton Hollow Book 4) (Coming soon)
STAR ELITE SERIES
Capturing Sir Dunniciffe (Book 1)
Smuggler’s Glory (Book 2)
His Lady Spy (Book 3)
Lord Melvedere’s Ghost (Book 4)
The Lady Is Innocent (Book 5)
My Lord Deceived (Book 6)
Captive Surrender (Book 7)
Ghost of Christmas Past (Book 8)
THE CAVENDISH MYSTERIES
If You Were Mine (Book 1)
Cinders and Ashes (Book 2)
Chasing Eliza (Book 3)
The Gallows Bride (Book 4)
Lord Cavendish Returns (Book 5)
CHILDREN’S BOOKS
Archie and the Battleflat Adventures: The Harriman Mystery