That being the first remark from Edward, and hardly what Jason was expecting from his closest brother, particularly since he’d been the one most vocal against his divorce, Jason asked, “No comment about an impending scandal, Edward?”

Edward looked a bit embarrassed as he admitted, “We’ve muddled through all the other scandals this family has created. I imagine we’ll muddle through this one just fine.” And then he grinned. “Besides, now that you’re finally marrying for the right reasons, I couldn’t be happier for you.”

“There doesn’t have to be a scandal,” Reggie said. “Or have you all forgotten The Present so soon? I don’t see why we can’t take a leaf from those old friends of Sir William Thompson’s. Gossip is an amazing thing, after all. If so many conflicting things are heard about the latest major on-dit, then no one can really point to the truth and hold it up as fact. No one knows for sure what is the truth, thus what will be believed is what one chooses to believe.”

But Molly was shaking her head. “My case isn’t the same as your great-grandmother’s. People around here knew my father.”

“Yes, but did they know his father, or his father before him? For all you know, Molly, you could have a lord or two up your ancestral tree. It’s a rare family that doesn’t have a few ancestors conceived on the wrong side of the blanket in one century or another.”

Derek chuckled at that point and told his mother, “You know once Reggie latches on to an idea, she rarely lets go of it. Might as well let her have her fun with the gossips. After her success in Kelsey’s case, she will anyway.”

Molly sighed, having had her one stipulation to the wedding, that no one else should know about it, taken out of her hands. Jason, understanding, pulled her closer to his side to say for her ears only, “Remember what my grandfather Christopher had to say on the subject?”

She glanced up at him in surprise, but then she smiled. “Yes, point taken.”

“Good. And I hope you’ve noticed, not one objection from my family.”

That reminder got him a poke in the ribs. “Rubbing it in is not allowed. And besides, they aren’t objecting because they all love you and want you to be happy.”

“No, it’s because you’ve always been part of this family, Molly. We’re just going to make it official now—and about bloody time.”

Home for the Holidays

Home for the Holidays

Dedication

Dedication

They don’t need ribbons nor pretty wrappings, they need only be delivered, a smile, a hug, to share with someone you love.

Chapter 1

Chapter 1