He strolled over from the window and took a seat next to Toby on the sofa. Keeping his distance from people he cared about had to be a thing of the past, of that he was determined.
“You see, my father was your father,” said Stephen.
There was silence for a time; and he could almost imagine how those words might be rolling around in Toby’s brain while he tried to make sense of them.
“Which makes you my little brother,” he added.
Toby’s mouth opened in surprise. His head turned and he met Stephen’s gaze. A look of wonderment sat on his face.
And then his big, beautiful smile stretched from ear to ear.
Stephen wiped away a tear. Emotion welled up inside him. All those long, lonely years he’d secretly wished for a sibling, and now this little boy had come into his life and made his dreams come true.
He lifted Toby onto his lap. “And that also makes me your big brother,” he said, giving him a tickle.
Toby squirmed and giggled in the way only small children do—honestly and from the heart. “Harry says you are a big lump, so that makes you my big lump of a brother.”
Trust Harry Steele to be putting those ideas into young minds. He would be having a word with his friend about not corrupting his younger sibling. “Well, I don’t know about the lump bit, but yes, we are brothers you and me. And we will stick together forever. Master Toby Moore, I am so very happy that you have come to live with Bridget and me. And that we are now a family.”
Toby placed his small hand in the middle of Stephen’s palm. “The night Sir Robert died, they brought me to his room. When it was just him and me, he said that a big man would visit soon, and he would become my family.”
Stephen swallowed a large lump of emotion. Any moment now he was going to turn into a watering pot and cry a river.
Toby lifted his head and met Stephen’s gaze. “And he was right. You did come for me, and now we are a family.”
Stephen wrapped Toby up in his arms and let the tears fall.
Chapter Forty-Five
Amonth later
Lady Bridget Moore would never tire of the lustful, hungry look on her husband’s face whenever he arrived home and discovered her lounging naked in their private sitting room. Nor did she ever protest at what always followed. Life at their home with Stephen was never dull.
And it was their home. With the income from Stephen’s estate and the proceeds of his flee box, they were officially the owners of number 12 Berkeley Square.
At the sound of footsteps in the hall, she hurried over to the chaise lounge. By the time the door opened, she had thrown off her silk dressing gown and was reclining in naked splendor, waiting.
“One of these days it is going to be a servant who finds you in such a compromising position, Lady Moore,” said Stephen.
Her maid had informed Bridget that the rest of the household had put two and two together and deduced the reason for the extra coal deliveries. The room was kept very warm during the evening. And with the servants aware that private encounters went on in this room, not one of them was going to be foolish enough to come knocking on the door.
Bridget draped her arm over the back of the couch, allowing him a full view of her breasts. They were plump and rounded—one of the many benefits that being pregnant had bestowed on her.
Stephen’s gaze settled on her peaked buds, and he licked his lips.
“So how is Gus?” she asked.
The smuggler might have only been her patient for a few hours, but she was always wishing to hear news of his recovery.
Stephen stirred from quietly ogling his wife. “Bored. But other than that, he is fine. Recovering well. And if the number of nautical books he is currently reading is any indication, getting ready to set sail again soon.”
You could take the sailor out of the sea, but not the sea out of the sailor.
He crossed the floor and came to kneel before her. “Enough talk of other people. I am far more interested in you.”
Bridget gently ruffled Stephen’s hair. “And how was your day? I was expecting you home hours ago. Toby was disappointed he missed you before he left to spend the night at my parents.”
Grandma and Grandpa Bee were always keen to see Toby. Lord and Lady Linton had unofficially adopted Toby as their grandchild. He had taken to calling Bridget, Bee, so the name had been given to the rest of her family. Tristan found being called Uncle Bee highly amusing.
