Lionel barked a laugh that was in direct contrast to his usually preternaturally calm manner. “And pigs will be flying by Easter,” he said. Though Lenore noticed that his gaze shot directly to his friend and business associate, Mr. David Wirth, with a look of longing that Lionel wasn’t quick enough to hide. Lionel had brought the handsome, dark-haired, clever Mr. Wirth along to the reception as his guest, though Lenore wondered if he had other intentions in socializing with the man. She knew full well what Lionel’s interests were, but she hoped for his sake he was careful about it.
“Miracles can happen,” Phin said with a shrug. “We managed to convince Hazel to let Mrs. Merriweather mind Father for a week so that she and the girls could come down for the wedding.”
He nodded across the room to where Hazel was in deep discussion with Fergus O’Shea. They made quite a pair, Fergus in his wheelchair, a patch covering the eye he’d lost, and Hazel with her new gown carefully constructed to downplay her missing arm, her hair styled to draw attention away from her burned face. Knowing the two of them, they were comparing battle scars and arguing over which of them had gained more independence, in spite of their injuries.
“Maybe Lionel could work his magic and find her a suitor with a title?” Lenore suggested, buzzing with happiness to see Hazel actually enjoying herself.
“Hardly,” Lionel laughed. “Hazel has much more rugged tastes. And I don’t blame her one bit. That blacksmith she has her eye on is like cake smothered with honey.”
Lenore raised a hand to cover her snorting giggle. Lionel was shameless, and she loved him like a brother for it.
“Oh, dear,” Lionel sighed, his blue eyes sparkling with fondness as he glanced back to Mr. Wirth. “David looks completely out of his depth. I really should show him how this whole socializing with nobs thing is done.” He arched one eyebrow, cheeks glowing pink, before breaking away from Lenore and Phin and crossing the room to join Mr. Wirth’s conversation with Lord and Lady Campbell.
“He’s going to land himself in hot water someday,” Phin said with a wry grin.
“Knowing your brother, he’ll probably enjoy the hot water and treat it as a spa,” Lenore laughed, hugging his arm.
“But he’s the one who uncovered the proof that your marriage to Swan wasn’t legal, wasn’t he?” Freddy asked, stepping up to take the spot that Lionel had vacated, Reese by his side.
Lenore let go of Phin long enough to hug each of her friends in turn. “He was,” she said, mischief bright in her eyes. “I should have known Bart didn’t follow the proper channels to file the marriage license.”
“And I should have guessed that Lionel would find a way to prove he didn’t, even if he actually did,” Phin added in a wry tone.
“So which is it?” Reese asked, grinning. “Was your marriage to Swan legal or not?”
“I’m not sure I’ll ever know,” Lenore said, sobering a little. “But from what Papa said in his last letter, it’s fairly likely Bart will hang for the murders he committed. So in the end, it’s a moot point.”
“And no one is going to question the legality of our marriage,” Phin added.
Lenore stepped back to his side, hugging his arm. Even if someone did question it, she rather relished the idea of the scandal that would erupt, should it be discovered that she and Phin were living in sin instead of being legally married. She’d married him in her heart, and that was all that mattered. But the prospect of a second, lavish wedding to make things legal wasn’t entirely unwelcome. Only the future would tell if they would have that new scandal on their hands.
“What is it that Shakespeare says? And I know how you Brits love Shakespeare,” she added. “All’s well that ends well?”
“It does and it is,” Phin said, gazing down on her with enough love to light the skies with fireworks. “Although with us, the ending is probably only the beginning of an entirely different adventure.”
I hope you’ve enjoyed Lenore and Phin’s story! They really are each other’s match. The savvy History nerds among you might notice that I shifted the dates of the Wyoming Range Wars—also called the Johnson County Wars—forward by a couple of years. The bloody and shocking confrontations in Wyoming that accompanied the consolidation of smaller ranches into much larger, almost corporate ranches actually began in 1887 and lasted for several years. They were every bit as horrific and murderous as Lenore reported them to be. And seeing as the members of the WSGA and their associates more or less were the government of Wyoming, in actuality if not in name, during that time, it’s entirely plausible that one of their number could railroad the legal channels responsible for marriage to bind Lenore to Bart. Which means it’s equally as plausible that the legality of that marriage wouldn’t hold up in any other court of law.
Just a note on Victorian erotica, while we’re at it…. Guys, I’ve read some of the stuff, and if you think the steamy Romance novels we write in the 21st century are salacious, you ain’t seen nothin’! In spite of having a reputation as prudes and moralizers, the Victorians were actually pretty dirty and open-minded, particularly in the upper classes. So don’t be tempted to think that my characters are too modern or progressive in their thinking for the time period I’m writing about! Those late-Victorians got around!
If you’ve fallen in love with the character of Lionel Mercer as much as I have, be sure to check out my gay historical romance series The Brotherhood, which begins with Just a Little Wickedness. Lionel and David Wirth are recurring characters in that entire series, and they have their own romance in the book Just a Little Seduction.
And if you happen to be curious about whether Lady Beatrice will get her proposal from Lord Harrison in time for Christmas, you’re going to love the next book in The May Flowers series, ’Twas the Night Before Scandal, which is available for preorder now! Will the proposal come off without a hitch or will there be all sorts of mad-capped Christmas hijinks before they get there? (I’ll give you three guesses as to the answer to that one!) Keep clicking to get started reading ’Twas the Night Before Scandal!
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