“Brittles stood at attention until Jack looked at him, then he bowed slightly. “I’m sorry to disturb you, sir, but an Inspector Swindler from Scotland Yard wishes to speak with you. Are you home?”“Of course, I’m home, man. I’m sitting right here.”

“You must love her very much to be willing to do all this.” He twisted his head slightly and held her gaze. “I’m not doing anything for her that I’ve not done for her before.”

“He took the hand that wasn’t holding the bou­quet of wildflowers and stared at it, holding it so tightly that she thought he might crack her bones. Then his hold gentled. He slipped a gold ring onto her finger and lifted his gaze to hers.“I’m not a brave man; I’ll never be a hero, but I love you more than life itself, and I will until the day I die. With you by my side, I’m a better man than I’ve ever been alone. I’m scared to death that I’ll let you down, but I won’t run this time. I’ll stand firm and face the challenge and work hard to see that you never have any regrets. You told me once that you wanted to share a corner of my dream. Without you, Amelia, I have no dream. With you, I have everything I could ever dream of wanting.”Tears burned her eyes as he glanced back at the preacher. “I’m done.”-Houston to Amelia as his wedding vow.”

“This time James Swindler strode into the room. It had always irritated Jack that Swindler had the uncanny knack to give the impression he belonged, regardless of the surroundings. He’d probably look comfortable strolling through Buckingham Palace.”

“Because I would very much like to kiss you, Miss Darling, and unlike you, I’m not in the habit of taking what rightfully belongs to someone else.”

“Expectations were never inshort supply.“Do you want to know?” he asked.“I suppose it depends on the answer.”“Which answer would you prefer?”“I’m not really sure. Both leave a lot to be desired.”

“I’d close those eyes again if I were you.”Sterling jerked his head to the side to discover his worst nightmare sitting there.Swindler’s gaze bore into him.“It would be unfortunate if Graves misjudged the seriousness of your injury, and you were to suddenly expire on the spot. Frannie would be terribly disappointed,” Swindler said.”