Jacintha smiled and tried not to cry as Harmonia threw her arms around her, having clearly been in a state of panic over what had become of her sister.

“I am quite all right,” Jacintha whispered, as Harmonia sobbed quietly. “Henry found me.”

Harmonia wiped her eyes and shook her head, releasing her. “I was so afraid.”

“What about papa?” Jacintha asked, urgently. “Does he know?”

“No, but he must,” Henry interrupted, putting one hand on her arm. “Come and sit down, Jacintha. Harmonia, might you go and ask your father to join us? It is best he hear all of this.”

Jacintha looked back at Henry as he continued to reel off orders to the two maids who had joined them. A tea tray was sent for, a warm cloak and a fire to be stoked in the drawing room. Given that Jacintha and Harmonia’s maids were the only two staff in the house – apart from her father’s manservant – Jacintha appreciated that they were so willing to do as they were asked.

“Where are the rest of the staff?” Lord Musgrove, Henry’s uncle, asked, as Henry led Jacintha into the drawing room.

“Gone,” Henry muttered, sitting down next to Jacintha. “They clearly knew of what Lord Slate was doing and have either left his house in case they were implicated – or because they knew he did not intend to return.”

Lord Musgrove shook his head, his eyebrows furrowed. “No matter. We have enough evidence on Slate regardless of their testimony.”

“What is going to happen to him?” Jacintha asked, her fingers tightening in her lap as she twined them together. “To Lord Slate, I mean?”

Henry grunted. “That will be for the judge to decide. He will lose everything, however, I have no doubt, after what he did to you. Transportation, most likely.”

“Death is not for noblemen,” Lord Musgrove murmured. “Then again, it depends if the rest of them are willing to talk about Lord Slate’s involvement in order to save their own hides. I would guess that they will.”

Jacintha made to ask whether or not all the smugglers had been taken to the local jail, only for her father to enter the room in a state of worry and confusion. Jacintha was wrapped in his embrace for a good minute or so and it took some time to calm him down long enough to explain exactly what had occurred.

Thankfully, a snifter of brandy helped the Duke to settle, although his face remained grave as Henry explained all that had occurred.

“But I thought Lord Slate to be such an amiable man,” the Duke protested, his eyes widening as he looked over at Jacintha. “Did he not treat you well?”

Jacintha tried to smile, grateful that Harmonia was pouring the tea. “He did whilst we were in London, papa, but not here.”

Her father’s eyes dimmed. “I should never have come here. I knew I should have returned home. I am certain I would not have become ill at home.”

Harmonia took her father’s hand, her expression gentle. “None of us had any expectation that Lord Slate would behave in such a way, papa. This is not your doing.”

“No, indeed,” Henry repeated, firmly. “You must not blame yourself, Your Grace. None of you should take on any unfair responsibility.”

“But to take you out to the ship, to take you to another land where I would never see you again!” the Duke exclaimed, his eyes on Jacintha. “I cannot bear the thought of it! And I thought he was nothing more than a gentleman – a gentleman who would set you up for the rest of your days.”

“I am quite well now, papa,” Jacintha replied, even though she still felt rather weak from all that had occurred. “Henry was the one to find me. He took me home. I am grateful to him for all that he did, as well as to you, Lord Musgrove. Without you, I might never have returned to my family.”

Henry put his hand on hers, ignoring the lack of propriety that this action brought. “You are stronger than I ever knew,” he said softly, as Jacintha turned to look into his eyes, feeling warmth spill into her heart. “I cannot tell you how relieved I was to find you on board, hiding from that despicable man.”

Jacintha’s throat closed up, the words she wanted to say dying on her tongue. She wanted to tell him just how much she had thought of him, how the memory of him had sustained her when she had lost almost all hope. When he had first called her name, she had thought herself dreaming, lost in a haze of sorrow and fear – but when she had realized that it truly was Henry, her limbs had burst to life and she had scrambled to her feet, desperate to run to him for safety. The sight of him standing there, looking as terrified and as desolate as she felt had spoken to her heart. He had been lost without her, just as she had been without him.

To be in his arms again had been the most wonderful moment of her life.

“I owe you a great debt of gratitude,” the Duke said, firmly, getting up to shake Henry’s hand, followed by Lord Musgrove’s. “You have given me my daughter back.”

Jacintha smiled as her father took her hand again, dismayed to see his expression growing sorrowful. “I thought Lord Slate was an excellent match,” he muttered, as he went back to take his seat. “How could I have made such a poor judgment of his character?”

“Because he hid it well,” Jacintha replied, softly. “Even I was taken in, papa. I believed he held some affection for me but, once I came here, I discovered that he saw me as nothing more than a requirement. He thought he needed a wife in order to gain more respectability – as well as producing the heir,” she continued, with a slight blush to her cheeks, “and that, since he had chosen me, he intended to fulfill his intentions.”

Henry shook his head, his jaw set and fire burning in his gaze. “The man is a scoundrel and a rogue.”

“He cared nothing for me,” Jacintha murmured, her heart growing painful with the memory of what he had said to her so fiercely. “He had put in so much effort with me that he did not want to return to London in order to choose another. Besides, I found the passageway, which I was not meant to.”

“The passageway?” Lord Musgrove murmured, his eyebrows lifting just a little. “Where is that, if you please?”

“In the library,” Jacintha replied, frowning as she tried to recall exactly. “There is a small portrait of a lady which, I believe, I bumped and, somehow, it opened the door to the passageway.”

Lord Musgrove got to his feet, clearing his throat. “I should find it, to ensure that we have all of our evidence written up,” he said, with a slight incline of his head. “Do excuse me.”

Jacintha saw her father look up at Lord Musgrove for a moment, a slightly confused expression on his face. Clearly, there was a lot to take in and Jacintha could not blame her father for being rather befuddled by all that had gone on whilst he remained here in bed, recovering.

“Papa, Lord Musgrove will not mind if you accompany him,” she said softly, seeing Harmonia glance over at her in surprise. “Go and see the passageway and ask as many questions as you need. I shall be quite well here, I assure you.”

Lord Musgrove indicated his agreement at once and, after ensuring that Jacintha would, in fact, be quite all right, the Duke rose and followed after him, already asking about how Lord Slate had taken Jacintha out to the boat.

Jacintha looked over at Harmonia, who was studying Henry with a careful eye, a small smile on her face.

“I think I shall get some more tea,” she murmured, her cheeks a light pink. “I shall only be a few minutes.”

“Thank you, Harmonia,” Jacintha replied, leaning back in her seat as a great tiredness swept through her. “You are very kind.”

Silence swept over Jacintha and Henry as Harmonia’s footsteps died away. Jacintha looked up at him, aware of his presence beside her. His eyes were fixed on hers, as though fastened there, and Jacintha found she could not look away. Her heart was filled with him, the regret she had once felt at turning away from him in order to choose Lord Slate dying away steadily.

“Jacintha,” Henry began, hoarsely, taking a hold of her hand again. “I am glad to see you so restored to your family. Are you feeling any better?”

“Stronger, yes,” she replied, despite the exhaustion flowing steadily through her. “Although I confess I am rather tired.”

“How much you have endured,” he murmured softly, his fingers running over the back of her hand. “And yet you are as serene as I have ever seen you.”

She laughed then, her expression soft. “That is only because you cannot see my very soul tremble.”

He did not laugh, his eyes grave. “I should have made more of an effort to speak to you,” he said, his eyes lowering for a moment. “When Lord Slate turned myself and my uncle away at the door, I should have demanded to see you. Then none of this might have happened. I would have kept you safe over charging him for smuggling.”

Wanting to relieve his anxiety, Jacintha leaned forward and ran her hand lightly down his cheek, her breath hitching as he looked up, intently, into her eyes. “Henry, you saved me. Forget what might have been or what could have happened, you rescued me from Lord Slate and from a life that would have been nothing more than misery and torment. I cannot tell you how grateful I am to you.”

She saw him swallow, his eyes drawing her ever closer.

“I have never forgotten that moment in the garden,” he whispered, one hand wrapping lightly around her waist. “I lost my way for a time, I forgot about who I was supposed to be, but I assure you that I will never turn that way again.”

Aware of what he was saying, aware of what he was offering, Jacintha could not help but respond. Leaning forward, she touched her mouth to his, feeling her body ignite as she did so. Their kiss was long, slow and sweet, filled with promises and healing.

“I have never forgotten that moment either,” she whispered, as he rested his forehead gently against her own. “I have always wondered what would have become of us should we not have been interrupted. For a long time, I convinced myself that marriage based on nothing more than convenience and practicality was what I wanted – but I know now that it is not to the case. I want love, Henry. I want to be with the man I love, who loves me as much in return.”

“I can give you that,” he promised, his voice hoarse. “Jacintha, will you truly have me? Will you be my wife?”

Her heart filled with such happiness that she thought it might burst from her chest. “I will, Henry. Of course I will.”