She’d no chance to respond, for by then a noisy procession could be heard at the back of the house. Lorena grabbed her father’s arm.
“I haven’t time for long explanations, Papa, but be forewarned. Brogan is going to ask to speak to you in confidence, and when he does, he will make a shocking confession. You’ll be surprised to learn he is the one person we never expected to surface when we brought Drew into our home. The widow’s husband was underestimated by us all, for as it turns out, she was not a widow at all.”
“What?” Papa’s eyes held many questions, but with a squeeze of his forearm, Lorena halted them and continued on. “Brogan is true and fiercely faithful to those he cares about.” She smiled in reflection. “You were wise to put your confidence in him. Still, you’ll be angry when he tells you his reason for coming to Duxboro. But, remember, he was a victim as much as Drew. Be compassionate. Drew loves him. And so do I, Papa. I hope to marry him.”
“Marry?” Papa sputtered under his breath, his expression a mask of shock and confusion, before his attention was claimed by Drew’s squeal of joy.
As Papa turned, Lorena glanced down the hall to where Brogan strode hand in hand with the child. Drew had retained his crown of fat buttercream curls, except now they lay closer to his head in respectable fashion. Brogan’s shaggy hair had been trimmed to the nape, parted slightly off-center and combed forward to frame his lean cheeks and long side whiskers.
She took a careful look at him.
He wore a pair of gray broadcloth trousers with a strap passing under the heel of his black boots. His crisp linen shirt was not tied with either cravat or neckcloth. Instead, ruffles of an even finer linen adorned the front of the shirt as well as his wrists. The effect made for a stark contrast. Soft ruffles on a thoroughly masculine man. White fabric against his darkened skin. Tender blue eyes shining out a rugged face.
As Lorena held him in her admiring gaze, they exchanged smiles.
Drew meanwhile broke away from Brogan and jumped into her father’s arms, where he proceeded to bend Papa’s ear with embellished yarns of their adventures.
Papa stepped forward, Drew clinging to his coattails, and offered Brogan his hand. “God bless you, good fellow. I sincerely cannot thank you enough. I had every confidence you’d bring my children safely back to me and you have.”
As they exchanged a handshake, Lorena caught Brogan’s wink. “As it turns out, sir,” he said, “it was my pleasure.”
Papa beamed with pride and pleasure. “Captain, I insist on housing your entire crew in one of my boardinghouses for the duration of your stay. This evening a celebration supper shall be served them in the dining hall. As for yourself and Mr. Smith, you will dine with my family and me and shall spend the night as honored guests in my home. Mrs. Culliford, please see to their rooms at your first opportunity.”
The housekeeper smiled warmly. “Sir, from the day you first informed me of your wishes, all these details were arranged, awaiting only the arrival of the Yankee Heart. Now that she has arrived, Temperance and I have anticipated your desire to gather at the table with your children and hear of their adventure. So, before the meal we’ve prepared grows any colder, may I suggest you continue this conversation in the dining room?”
Papa’s eyes crinkled at their corners, shining with the warmth of his smile. “Excellent. A cup of tea would be most welcome. I can tell you, Mrs. Culliford, I am prepared to allow plenty of time for family in the future, devoting myself less to business and even abandoning my plans for a shipping enterprise, if necessary. How well I have learned the importance of that, suffering as I have without my children.”
He glanced again at Lorena and Drew, almost as if he found it impossible to believe they were actually sharing the same space.
Lorena felt Brogan’s eyes upon her and turned. A lump caught in her throat. Despite the gravity of the confession before him, his expression shone with the hope and repentance he carried in his heart. A man of justice and honor and loyalty, he stood prepared to humble himself before her father with the truth.
She slipped a hand into the pocket of her apricot gown and closed her fingers around the silver thimble he had given her. Smiling her love, she gave him a nod of encouragement.
“Sir, before I accept further of your generosity, it is imperative I share a private word with you,” Brogan announced. “There is much you don’t know about me, and it cannot wait any longer to be revealed.”