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"Sit down!" John bellowed.
"I'll not allow you to shout at my wife," Ian replied.
"She is also my daughter, young man, and I'll shout at her all I please."
"Not in my presence you won't, or we shall have to leave," Ian insisted.
Rachel placed her hands over her ears. "Please, I can't bear the sound of strident voices. Let's all sit down and discuss things calmly."
Alanna wondered if she ought to go, after all, the discussion at hand didn't really concern her, but she was too curious to excuse herself, and when her uncle didn't demand that she leave, she moved to the closest chair. Ian and Melissa chose the settee, and John and Rachel took the chairs across from them. For a long moment, the two couples simply stared at each other, but then John spoke in a more reasonable tone.
"How many people know of your marriage?" he asked.
"The chaplain who performed the ceremony, and the two soldiers who served as witnesses, but I asked them to keep our wedding a secret until you'd been informed," Ian explained. "We've not told anyone else. Have you?"
"Certainly not," John quickly denied. "Lieutenant Tyler and Randolph O'Neil helped us look for you, but when I found the note you'd left with Andrew, I told them Melissa had been taken ill and gone home."
"You lied to them?" Melissa asked.
"Of course, I lied to them," her father scoffed. "Do you think I'd brag about the fact you'd run off with a soldier?"
"I am an officer, sir, not a common foot soldier."
"I'll agree. There's nothing common about you, Lieutenant, not from your bright red hair to your total lack of regard for my daughter's reputation."
"I have the highest regard for your daughter's reputation, but must I remind you that I'll not allow you to criticize my wife?"
John waved aside Ian's feisty defense. "You're a virile young man. May I assume having the marriage annulled is no longer an option?"
"Father, how could you?"
"Hush, Melissa. It's Ian who has to answer."
For an instant, Ian wished there were bloodstained sheets he could flap in his father-in-law's face. Instead, he squeezed his bride's hand more tightly, and replied with a knowing smile, "We're legally wed."
"Where did you spend the night?"
"In the green guest bedroom," Melissa volunteered.
"My God!"
Rachel reached out to pat her husband's arm. "Please don't shout, darling."
Astonished, John eyed his wife with an incredulous glance. "This is a sad day for the Empire, if Ian is a fair sample of the King's officers!"
"It was my idea," Melissa rushed to explain. "We wanted to be here to speak with you today."
John mumbled a string of unintelligible curses before regaining what little hold he had on his composure. "Outside of this room, there are only three men who know of your marriage. Is that correct?"
"Yes," Ian agreed.
"Then you will tell them to maintain their silence, and we shall simply announce your engagement," John said. "After a suitable interval, you'll be wed in a proper ceremony, and no one need ever learn that it is your second wedding, rather than your first."
Not having expected such a reaction, Ian was taken aback for a moment, but then he turned toward Melissa, and spoke before she could object. "You know I'm concerned about what people will say. I think we should give your father's suggestion serious thought."
Melissa had a major objection, and she didn't mince words in voicing it. "As my father so tactlessly asked, we are husband and wife, Ian, and I may have already conceived a child. Our elopement may cause a stir, but it will be minor compared with my marrying you in a few months when my condition might be noticeable, and the subsequent birth of our first baby occurs prior to our nine-month anniversary."
John Barclay fixed his daughter with a piercing stare. "Is this the real reason you and Ian were in such a great hurry to wed? Are you already with child?"
