To Tempt an Irish Rogue (29 page)

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Authors: Kaitlin O'Riley

Tags: #Romance, #General, #Historical, #Fiction

BOOK: To Tempt an Irish Rogue
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Chapter 33
Homecoming
“So, you’re the one,” Lucien Sinclair, the Marquis of Stancliff, said as he shook Declan’s hand in greeting.
Paulette watched in amusement as Declan finally met her brother-in-law. Thrilled to show her handsome new husband and stepdaughter to her family, she beamed with happiness when they arrived at Devon House. In celebration of her marriage to Declan, Colette hosted a wonderful party in their honor.
Declan smiled at Lucien with a slight nod of his head. “Yes, and so it would seem.”
“You had us all worried there for a while,” Lucien continued to say.
“Not half as worried as I was,” Declan responded. “And I thank you for all that you did to help my case.”
“I wouldn’t have done anything less for my sister-in-law,” Lucien said, patting Paulette’s shoulder.
“I’m just happy that she’s married,” Yvette added with an impish grin. “I was afraid she would never find a husband.”
Declan chuckled at the youngest Hamilton sister. “Well, I suppose she more than made up for that now, didn’t she?”
“Yes, for now she has a new little family!” Yvette exclaimed. Then she lowered her voice and added, “And if I hadn’t become involved and told Jeffrey, Paulette might be on her way to America!”
“I wasn’t really going to go!” Paulette protested.
Declan gave Yvette a hug. “Then I must thank you, Yvette, for helping Paulette to see the sense in marrying me.”
“I’m happy someone recognizes my good intentions!” Yvette quipped.
Returning to London with Declan’s name finally cleared for good and Mara speaking again, Paulette knew they could put the past behind them and move forward with their lives. Although the events of the last few weeks had been more than a little overwhelming, Paulette welcomed the change from a young woman working in a bookshop to the wife of an earl, the mother of a four-year-old daughter, and a mother-to-be with a baby on the way.
Happy to have her family around her, sharing in the joy of her own new little family, the only thing left for Paulette to do now was to apprise her mother of her impending condition. With a heavy heart she crossed the room to where her mother sat in an alcove of the parlor.
“How could you marry someone I had only met once before? How could you marry without me there with you? How could you not tell me?
Comment ne pouvais-tu ne pas me le dire?”
her mother demanded to know, a look of hurt on her face. “How could my daughter marry without telling her mother first? I ask you! It breaks my heart that you would rush off and not tell me anything.”
“There is a very good reason for that,
Maman
,” Paulette attempted to explain as she sat beside her. She had dreaded this moment since she had last visited her mother in Brighton and learned the truth of her condition.
“I should love to hear it.” Her mother gave her appointed look. “I would love to know how this marriage came to be. Explain it to me please.
S’il te plaît, explique-moi. J’aimerais entendre chaque mot.
Why was I not part of this?”
Paulette hesitated briefly then just blurted it out. “I’m going to have a baby in the spring, so Declan and I thought it best to marry as soon as possible.”
Paulette then braced herself for the expected emotional outburst from her mother, demanding to know how Paulette could have let such a thing occur, how she should know better, what a complete disgrace she was to the family, and how Lord Cashelmore could not be any kind of gentleman to allow this to happen to her daughter. Her mother would probably feel faint from the shock and need to lie down.
Instead her mother stared at her for a moment or two, her pale blue eyes looking intently into hers. Then Genevieve La Brecque Hamilton did a most astonishing thing. She placed her hand over Paulette’s hand and said most calmly, “Yes, then that was the wisest course of action,
ma petite
. That was a very wise decision.
C’était une bonne decision à prendre. Oui, vraiment, une bonne décision.
”
“
Maman
?” Paulette managed to ask in surprise.
“No. Say no more. I understand completely. Do not explain.
Il n’est pas nécessaire d’en dire plus.
It is clear that you love him, and now you are married. I am happy to have another beautiful grandchild on the way.
Et un autre beau petit-enfant en route.”
“I love you,
Maman
. Thank you for understanding.” Pleasantly surprised by her mother’s reaction to her news, Paulette relaxed a little.
“I understand all too well. Do not tell your sisters. Never tell them.
Ne le dis à personne. C’était pareil entre ton père et moi.
But it was the same situation with your father and me. We too had to marry quickly.”
Paulette’s jaw dropped.
“Close your mouth.
Je comprends tout à fait, ma chérie.
It is not a new story and many a marriage has begun that way.
C’est la vie.
Although I have a feeling you shall be happier in your marriage than I was.
Je t’aime.”
Her mother kissed her forehead, then sat up straight.
Startled by her mother’s admission, Paulette was too shocked to say anything else. She never could have imagined such a thing of her father and mother!
“Now,” her mother commanded, “bring him here to me.”
At her mother’s request, Paulette caught the attention of her new husband, who was on the other side of the room talking with her brothers-in-law and Jeffrey Eddington. Five very charming and handsome men stood there talking as if they were old friends. And with the exception of Declan, they all were. Declan and Jeffrey were beginning to move beyond their mutual distrust and become friends and already Declan seemed a part of them, and Paulette’s heart swelled with pride at the sight. Her husband was the handsomest by far, looking very tall and broad, his green eyes flashing with merriment as Jeffrey told some joke. She knew he would fit in with her family and they would grow to love him for his own sake, not simply because she loved him.
As the men in her life laughed together, Declan returned her gaze and Paulette signaled for him to come join her. With a smile, Declan excused himself from the group and came to Paulette’s side to face her mother.
Genevieve looked him up and down. “So Lord Cashelmore, you are the one who has swept my sensible and serious daughter off her feet. Yes, I can see why that would happen.
Vous êtes vous-même un belhomme. Tout est clair à present.
You are quite handsome. Ah, I understand everything now.”
To Paulette’s surprise, Declan’s face grew slightly red at her mother’s words. Her husband was blushing and did not know how to answer her.
Genevieve continued, disregarding her son-in-law’s embarrassment. “But you must be good to her.
Occupez-vous bien de ma fille.
You must take very good care of my daughter.”
Declan said, “I intend to do nothing but take good care of her, Mrs. Hamilton.”
Genevieve nodded her head in approval and favored Declan with a smile and motioned to Paulette. “All of my daughters are special, Lord Cashelmore, but this one, she is a treasure. You are lucky to have her.
Elle est sensa-tionnelle.
She is magnificent.”
“Mother!” Paulette protested.
“Oh, I know that already, Mrs. Hamilton. That is why I married her.” Declan placed his arm around Paulette’s shoulder.
“That is a good thing. I am happy.
Je suis heureuse. Quatre filles mariées, il ne m ’en reste plus qu’une.
Four daughters married and only one left. Now we wait for that one, eh?” Genevieve motioned toward Yvette, who stood talking with Lord Jeffrey Eddington.
Watching her younger sister, Paulette laughed a little. “Knowing Yvette, she’ll be married before we know it, and in the most lavish wedding ever. That’s if she could ever make up her mind which of her many suitors to marry!”
Epilogue
As Declan held the baby in his arms, Paulette smiled at him. “Is he asleep?”
“I don’t think so . . .” he whispered with a shake of his head. “No, not quite yet. He just opened his eyes again and looked up at me. He has your blue eyes, you know?”
Their son had Declan’s facial features and was still too bald to determine his final hair color, but Declan kept insisting that the child had Paulette’s eyes. In either case, he was a darling baby and Paulette was ridiculously in love with him. He slept like an angel all night long and had such a calm temperament. In other words, he was a complete and utter joy. She loved motherhood even more than she could have imagined.
“Ah, there he goes now. At last. I think he’s finally asleep,” Declan said softly.
Paulette watched her husband place their sleeping baby in his cradle with great tenderness and for a moment she thought her heart might overflow with all the love she felt for them.
Declan returned to their bed and drew Paulette into his arms. “Oh, and he’s a fine Irish boy.”
“That’s because he has a fine Irish father,” she said.
She snuggled into him, not caring about the warmth of the June evening. The birth of their son, Thomas Hamilton Reeves, named after her father, a month ago had brought Declan much joy. Paulette already knew what a good father he was to Mara but she delighted in watching him handle an infant so gently. He wasn’t afraid or awkward holding a baby as some men were.
“And the most beautiful mother in all the world.” He placed a kiss on her lips.
“I’m just happy he’s healthy and sleeps when he’s supposed to.”
“Mara certainly loves him!” Declan said with a laugh.
And indeed, Mara had taken tremendous pride in her baby brother and had been a great help in caring for him. She would kneel at his cradle and sing little songs to him.
“Everything has turned out so well for us, Declan. What a year it’s been!”
“Certainly a lot of changes,” he remarked dryly.
“A year ago I didn’t even know you. Then there you were, with Mara. Your name has been cleared for good. And now we have Thomas. I couldn’t be happier.”
“And don’t forget the bookshops.”
The bookshop was doing well and Hamilton Sisters’ was doing even better. They had a full-time staff at both locations even though Paulette and Colette still oversaw the business and went to the shops almost daily. They were thrilled that the Hamilton bookshops had become the premier booksellers in the city.
Declan paused for a moment, his tone growing serious. “I am proud of you for all that you and your sisters have accomplished. But I do need to return to Cashelmore soon.”
Paulette tried to hide her reluctance at his words. Aware that this day would come eventually, she had bided her time as they spent the remainder of her pregnancy living in Declan’s townhouse in London so she could be near her family. The thought of making Cashelmore Manor their permanent home weighed heavy on her heart. The house was too big, too cold, and too filled with memories she did not wish to recall. But she and Declan were the Earl and Countess of Cashelmore and the grand estate would belong to their son one day. It was their duty to live there and care for it.
“Yes, I know,” she said.
“We’ve been so preoccupied with preparing for the baby, we haven’t really discussed our plans for a home. But I was thinking we could leave at the end of the summer, spend the fall in Ireland at Cashelmore Manor, and then come back to London again to be with everyone here at Christmas,” he suggested.
“That’s a wonderful plan. And that’s just when Lisette is due to have her baby! So I would love to be here for her.” Paulette smiled at her husband, although the thought of living away from her sisters was difficult to bear. In truth she would become accustomed to the distance between them, especially knowing they would all visit often. It was being away from the bookshops that hurt the most. She would miss the day-to-day running of the shop. However, she knew her duty as Declan’s wife and as the Countess of Cashelmore and all that entailed.
“We can make any changes we want to Cashelmore Manor,” Declan added thoughtfully. “It needs to be updated, which is something I never had any interest in before. You can make it however you like it, Paulette, so it feels more like a home and less like a museum.”
The house certainly needed to be updated. It was Declan’s ancestral house, and now her son’s. Paulette would do all that she could to make it a warm and inviting place. “I would love to make it our home.”
“We don’t have to live there all year. We can spend half the year here and half the year in Ireland.” Declan paused and cupped her chin, tilting her face up to look at him. “And I thought that might suit you more if you had a bookstore to take care of, so I purchased an empty shop for you in Dublin.”
Paulette sat up, her heart racing. “What?” she cried, then she lowered her voice, afraid of waking the baby. “What did you say?”
“I think it is high time the Hamilton sisters opened one of their bookshops in Dublin, don’t you?”
“Oh, Declan!”
“What? Do you not think it a good idea?”
She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly to her, this wonderful man who loved her enough to make her the happiest woman in the world. This man she loved with all heart. She loved his green eyes, his handsome face, every dark hair on his head, the lilt of his voice, the touch of his hand, the purity of his soul. She loved him more every single day.
“Thank you, Declan. Thank you so much. I would love to have a bookshop in Dublin. I’m sorry I didn’t think of it myself. But you did and I love you for it!” She kissed him.
He captured her face in his hands and stared in her eyes. “It’s the least I can do. You rescued me, Paulette, when I didn’t even know I needed saving. When I met you, looking so beautiful in the bookshop, I was buried in grief and an unwillingness to deal with the circumstances around me. Your spirit and absolute faith in my innocence saved me. I love you and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”
Placing her hands over his, she gazed back in his eyes. “I love you, Declan Reeves, and I don’t think I can thank you enough.”
He grinned wolfishly at her, his eyes filling with desire. “Oh, I think you can.”
“I might just at that.” She giggled, and he kissed the laughter from her lips.
“You can spend your life trying,” he said low.
She kissed him back. “I promise I will.”

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