The Rogue Prince (27 page)

“Our
—”

“Aye. Our home when Lady Blackmore becomes my wife.” He allowed no more conversation, but drew Maggie away as two footmen joined Mr. Mickles to ensure that there was no delay in her family's exit.

Her knees felt weak, but Thomas supported her as they went into the drawing room. He bade her to sit down, and then went down on one knee before her. He raised her hand to his lips. “It's over now. We've dealt with Shefford, and you need not have any contact with those vipers ever again. Once we leave, they never need know where you've gone.”

For the first time in years, Maggie felt as though she could breathe freely. “After all this time…” She gave him a watery smile. “It doesn't matter anymore. None of it.”

He pressed a kiss to her hand and stood. “Wait for me here. I'll go get the children.”

 

Tom didn't think he'd ever seen such a shaggy cur, or bigger paws on a pup. But Zachary squealed with glee when he saw it, and the delight seemed to be mutual. The dog took to Zac like a long lost friend, and Maggie looked up at Tom as though he'd just given her a mountain of riches.

Her sweet gratitude humbled him. “I would give you the world if I could, Maggie.”

“I don't want the world, Tom. Only you.”

Zac laughed. “Look! He can do tricks!” The dog was running after a stick Zac had thrown. “That shall be his name! Trick!”

Lily stood next to Maggie, clapping her hands happily, uncertain how to approach the exuberant pup. Tom wasn't sure how they were going to manage Trick on the ship, but he'd gotten more than a dozen horses across the Atlantic. Surely they could deal with one small dog on the trip back to New York.

For the first time in years, he was not thinking about plans and schemes to bring Shefford and Danvers down. There had been something in Edward Ochoa's story. Tom knew that he was not the one to mete out justice, and it was a surprising relief to relinquish that task. He felt complete.

He had his family now. And the possibilities for them in America were limitless.

My absolute gratitude goes to Shannon Donnelly, who knows everything there is to know about horses and horse racing, without whose advice and suggestions I would have been lost. I'd like to thank Nancy Mayer for her unerring knowledge of regency-era law, and Delle Jacobs for knowing so much about sailing ships and sea travel during this time period. These lovely ladies provided me the information—any errors of interpretation are mine.

My thanks to my editor, May Chen, for her thoughtful insights on this and all of my work; and to my agent, Paige Wheeler, for her enthusiastic support.