"I don't suppose you can row a boat, too," he said after a moment, the words punctuated by gasps as he tried to catch his breath.

"Are you expecting me to do everything?" sheasked, that same teasing quality in her tone once more.

"If you don't..." he began, and realized midway through the sentence that he really might not have breath to finish it.

Despite her arms locked around his waist, his legs gave way as if the bones had suddenly turned to water. She went down with him as he fell, helping him slow that ungainly descent. And when he was on his knees in the sand, still she held him, putting her hand against the back of his head and pulling it against her shoulder.

"My poor beautiful Sebastian," she whispered.

"Hardly...beautiful," he said, closing his eyes, mainly to keep the world from spinning around him.

"So beautiful," she said again, her lips moving against his hair. "And the answer is yes."

There was a long silence.

"Forgive me," he said truthfully, "but...I seem to have forgotten the question."

She laughed, despite everything.

"It has been several hours since you asked me. I knew the answer then, but you wouldn't let me tell you."

"That question," he said, finally understanding. "And you are saying yes?"

"I don't want a marriage that has been arranged or bartered or contrived, but I very much want this one.Legal or not. Blessed by the church or not. Approved by your brother or not."

"Consummated or...not?" He was relieved to find that his voice seemed stronger. Perhaps not that strong, he acknowledged.

"I don't want a marriage of convenience, either, my darling. That, I assure you," his Spanish bride said softly, "was never an alternative."

"Then we bribedJulian's men to row us back. You had given Sebastian the money, I think."

"I'm delighted he found it useful," the Earl of Dare said with a small bow.Pilar acknowledged the gesture by inclining her head. "I confess I'm surprised that you found them amiable to bribes."

"At one time they had been my father's men. I knew them both. I think they were embarrassed by what they had helpedJulian do.And sorry for it. Their loyalty to him was always based on fear. WithJulian dead..." She shrugged.

"Of course," the earl said, as if everything she had told him, including the fact that she had shot and killed her guardian, was not in the least extraordinary.

All in all, she admitted, Dare had proven to be a most satisfactory ally, in spite of the objections she believed he still harbored about her marriage. She certainly could not have asked for anyone more efficient at disposing of the inconveniences of their current situation.

She didn't meanJulian's body. The outgoing tide had carried that away as surely as it had swept up the ships bound forFrance . And she thanked God she had not been aboard any of them.

As soon as they'd returned toGravesend , she had sought out the innkeeper Sebastian had directed her to. In a matter of minutes, her husband had been ensconced in the inn's best chamber, one of the kitchen boys had been dispatched to bring a surgeon and the groom sent toLondon to fetch theSinclairs .

The earl, however, had not arrived until this morning. That had been due, she now understood, tohis own efforts on her behalf.

He had immediately lent his support to her strong objection that Sebastian should be bled. He had rather rudely sent the local surgeon on his way, although he had given him a gold coin for his trouble.

Then he had sent toLondon for his own physician, who was with Sebastian now.

"May I ask what your plans are," Dare continued, "now that you are free of the danger your guardian represented?"

She was free, she realized. There was nothing to prevent her from returning toSpain . WithJulian dead, it was possible the king might even see fit to restore her father's lands to his rightful heir.Which could, she realized, make her more acceptable to Sebastian's family.

Of course, it didn't matter whether they found her an acceptable wife for a Sinclair or not. Her name and her heritage were as old and honorable as theirs. Perhaps the exchange of vows between her and Sebastian had been unconventional by their standards-- Actually, she admitted, they were even more unconventional by her standards. However, they were vows, and sincethey both intended to keep them...

"To live inEngland with my husband, of course," she said.

She held Dare's eyes, expecting to see some indication of disappointment or perhaps even anger within them.

"I take it then that I will be forced to continue my search for a suitable governess for my son."

"I thank you for your kind offer, my lord," she said, suppressing an inexplicable inclination to smile at him, "but I regret that I will be unable to accept that position. My husband has informed me that he intends to set up his own nursery very shortly. He is of an age, you see."

"What a pity," the Earl of Dare said, with what she could have sworn was a twinkle in those Sinclair blue eyes. "Not Sebastian's nursery, of course. He is, as you say, of an age."

She expected him to explain, but he watched her instead, that small enigmatic tilt at the corners of his lips.

"Then...a pity, my lord?" she prompted finally, giving in.

"I rather fancied my son having a governess who is considered to be 'a good shot.' Even in the moonlight," he added, "and using a pistol with which she was unfamiliar."

There was an unmistakable admiration in the last, and despite their rather difficult relationship,Pilar found she was flattered to hear it.

"I'm sure there are few women who could have fought so well as you did last night,DonaPilar ," he went on. "Fewer still who wish to become governesses."

Pilarlaughed aloud and was surprised when her brother-in-law's laughter joined hers. It was reflected in his eyes, she realized, just as Sebastian's often was.

"There are probably more of us than you imagine," she said. "Perhaps the others have been advised that being a good shot is not a skill one should tout when seeking employment."

She was rewarded again by his laughter. Before she had time to respond, the door to the inn's parlor, which the earl had made his own, opened to reveal the Scots physician who'd been brought out fromLondon .

"He'll do," Dr. McKinley said."Constitution of a horse, despite those years of war.Or perhaps because of them. If you'rePilar , he's asking for you," he added, glancing at her for the first time.

"Is it all right for me to see him?"

"If you hurry.I've given him something to make him sleep. That's the best remedy for blood loss.Lets the body replenish the supply. Go on," the doctor advised. "Unless, of course--"

He looked at the earl, his brows raised in question.

"DonaPilaris my brother's wife," Dare said.

"It's quite acceptable for her to visit him, I assure you."

"You don't have any other brothers who are likely to be shot, stabbed or bludgeoned, do you, my lord?" she heard McKinley ask as she began to make her way across the room. "If so, I had thought I might move into your household. Save us both a deal of to-and-fro-ing."

"I'm sure you'll be pleased to hear that Sebastian is the youngest. Pull him through, McKinley, and you will have seen the last of theSinclairs .Except for confinements, of course. I have a feeling there will be a number of those in the next few years. Perhaps you should move into Sinclair Hall after all."

"Frankly," the Scotsman said, "I prefer a less volatile practice, but I shall keep your offer in mind, my lord. Do call on me at any time. I shall be fascinated to see if the next generation ofSinclairs proves as interesting as this one."

"I think you may be assured of that," Dare said.

"That you'll call me or that the upcoming generation ofSinclairs will be interesting?"

"Both, I should think," the earl said. "In fact I'm absolutely sure of it."

"You're awake,"Pilar said as she eased the door open.

He had been, thinking about all that had happened, while the drug coursed soothingly though his system. Despite the doctor's prodding and poking, the pain was even beginning to ease.

"For the time being," he said truthfully. "There's no guarantee how long I'll manage to keep awake. Stay with me?"

That had sounded like a plea. Perhaps she would blame the weakness of will that prompted it on the laudanum, but in truth, he wanted her where he could see her. He had been far too complaisant before, and they both had paid the price. He didn't intend to be careless again.

"Of course," she said, crossing the room to take the hand he held out to her.

"IsDare still downstairs?"

"He's taken over the inn. No one seems to object. I suspect he has paid well for the privilege."

"He always does," Sebastian agreed, deciding as he looked up at her face that he didn't want to talk about his brother.

The effects of the sleepless night she'd spent were evident. The skin beneath her eyes was smudged with exhaustion, her skin almost gray beneath the touch of sun.

He wanted to take her into his arms and cradle her against his body while she slept. He had done that, he remembered. The night he'd abducted her. The night he had known that he was falling in love.

"He gave me permission to come up to you,"Pilar said.

Distracted by the memory of holdingPilar in his arms, for a moment he didn't understand who she meant. Only when he had put the pronoun together with what they had been talking about before, did he understand.

"Dare gave you permission?" he asked in disbelief. Not that his brother would permit her to come to him, but that he might think it was his right to decide something like that.

"As your wife.Apparently the earl has accepted our marriage."

"He had better," he said, deciding he'd bloody well had enough with trying to please his brother.

At the moment it seemed almost too much trouble to worry about his family and their reaction to the steps he'd taken to protectPilar . That was his business and his alone.And if he had no regrets...

He didn't, he decided, looking up into those dark eyes. Perhaps what he had done had been as rash and impulsive as Dare and Ian always accused him of being, but in this case, that recklessness had stood him in good stead. He would never have found anyone better suited for him than this woman.

"Lie with me," he said, using the hand he held to pull her nearer.

Her eyes widened, and he realized what she must think.

"You're exhausted," he explained. "You need to rest."

"Lie down with you to sleep," she said, the inflection questioning and relieved.

"For now," he acknowledged.

"And for later?" she asked softly.

"We are husband and wife.With Dare's blessing. There are some conventions I assure you I don't intend to flout. For now, all I want to do is hold you close against my heart," he added.

The dark eyes were briefly touched with moisture, which was quickly controlled.

"Against your heart.How very strange,"Pilar said. "That is exactly where I have been longing to be, mi corazon ."

*Epilogue*

"And tonight, we are privileged to celebrate yet another homecoming," Dare said, raising his glass toward his younger brother and again then toPilar . "And if it were not for you, my dear..."

"Hear, hear," Ian said, raising his glass to join in that salute.

"Hear, hear," Sebastian repeated softly, his eyes meeting hers. "Thank you seems completely inadequate in the situation, but...thank you for saving my life."

"It was quite self-serving, I assure you," she said, returning his smile before she looked around the table. "I have been more than repaid by your many kindnesses. I don't suppose any of you can understand what it means to someone who has lost every member of her family to be welcomed so warmly into another."

"To theSinclairs .Rogues and scoundrels all," Anne said, her gaze touching on the earl's face before it returned toPilar's . "Believeme, I know exactly how you feel. I, too, was an orphan, and they took me in," she said, turning to smile at her husband.

"I had no choice," he said. "You were practically left on my doorstep."

"Which is why, I suppose, you drove halfway across the country in a snowstorm to fetch me home,"

Anne said with spirit.

"A simple case of doing my duty," Ian said.

"He thought I was four, you see," Anne explained toPilar ."And in need of a trinket in my Christmas pudding."

"He thought you were four?"

"How Ian and I met doesn't matter, I suppose. I've thought from the beginning, however, that you really should be told the truth about the previous Sinclair marriages. You seem to have the idea that--"

"I'm surePilar isn't interested in the dull details of our courtships," Dare interrupted.

Despite the earl's tone, which had clearly been intended to quell the discussion she proposed, Anne seemed undismayed by his objection and certainly undeterred from her intent.

"She might be interested. If she knew that they were as irregular as hers," Anne said."Perhaps even more so."

"You said something to that effect the nightPilar was abducted," Sebastian said. "I confess I'm curious, whether she is or not.Especially since I've always been considered the black sheep of this family."