Samuel Colbourne, four years younger than Alexander, was similar enough in looks to his older brother that the two of them could be mistaken for each other at a short distance. The same height and build, dark brown hair complete with disheveled curls that refused to be tamed, deep brown eyes and strong brows, the sudden smile that had charming repercussions on the female heart, the sensual and sonorous voice and clipped perfection in their diction – all were characteristics that marked them indelibly as brothers.

But Samuel's eyes were set just a bit further apart, his nose a slight distance wider, his lips not so full nor compact, and until recently, he was thought to be more prone toward cheerfulness and good nature than his often-serious and taciturn brother. The fact that Alexander had been transformed of late into a more optimistic version of himself would come as a surprise to Samuel when again he saw him – which would be, in fact, in less than an hour.

Looking out of the window of the carriage, Samuel watched the familiar landscape as it moved away from the buildings of London, transitioned to the greenery of the south country and now into the yellow and brown grasses of the south cliffs that told him they were nearing the sea. Early spring was in the air, and as he always did when he traveled closer to Sanditon, Samuel felt it had been too long since he had been home.

And Sanditon was truly his home. No matter how many years he lived and worked in London, it would always be home.

Samuel had inherited a great deal of money when his father had died, as had Alexander, but his profession as a barrister had also offered him an excellent living. His London townhouse in Mayfair was of the finest available, though he lived modestly within it. Having just celebrated his thirtieth birthday, he was considered one of the most eligible bachelors in the ton, and although he had been seen squiring some of the most beautiful women of the city's elite to various functions, he had not yet found himself smitten by any of them.

The truth was, Samuel still thought of himself as a boy of the country. To be successful in business, he had been forced to live where the clients would find him, but for the most part he would always much rather be riding and walking the cliffs of Sanditon than attending garden parties and balls. In this way, he and Alexander were very much alike.

The boys' childhood was marked by diametrically opposing influences — on one side a too-harsh father augmented by an uncompromising governess, and on the other, the loving hands and family feeling of Eva Wheatley and the slaves' quarters. Added into the mix were the thousand acres of hiding places, trees to climb, horse stables and of course, the ocean beyond the cliffs — and Samuel and Alexander's memories of Sanditon were conflicted, to say the least.

Now that their father and the governess were no longer present to torment them, Samuel found Heyrick Park a place of pure joy — at least he would if his brother were happier. He had often wondered why he continued to go back to London at all. He certainly didn't need the money, and he found the endless round of petty legal rivalries among the rich to be tiresome at best.

When Alexander had left home for university all those years ago, he refused to leave Samuel behind to endure their father's anger alone. So at eighteen, with the help of some friends of his mother's who had watched Jonathan's descent into madness, he managed to bring the fourteen-year-old Samuel with him to London, setting him up in a small townhouse they shared, and procuring some of the best tutors available for him.

The tragedy of their young lives was that their father hardly noticed their absence. And the joy they felt at finally being free of the frequent beatings allowed them the first sense of peace they had known since Abigail died. But they both missed Heyrick Park, and the ocean and the cliffs, and riding through the rain, laughing together. "We stand as one, against the world!" they would call out, mounting their trusty steeds and raising swords of carved wood. "Once more unto the breach!" was what they took from their deadly-dull study of Shakespeare with a teacher of little imagination, but they would trade off playing Henry the Fifth and riding like the wind into battle.

Alexander and Samuel's tumultuous early lives had matured them quickly. Their natural intelligence, a still-valid pedigree despite the dissolute life their father lived, coupled with the motivation to escape, found both boys at Cambridge – Alexander to the science laboratories and Samuel, four years later, to the law. With a year remaining before graduation and a degree in the natural and life sciences, Alexander had been charmed into marriage by Lucy Montrose after a whirlwind courtship — while Samuel had stayed at his books and finished school as a lawyer.

It was, in fact, the example that Alexander set for Samuel that served as a cautionary tale for his younger brother as far as women were concerned. Lucy's twin sister Lydia had married the love of her life at only eighteen, and from that moment forward, Lucy jested that she was the spinster sister, and set about finding a husband post-haste. To Samuel at sixteen, Alexander's marriage felt hurried and rash, and he watched unhappily as his brother was swept up in events that looked to be completely out of his control.

Samuel still had not forgiven Lucy for the changes she had wrought in his older brother. He knew that Xander had been a willing victim, but Samuel continued to believe his brother was bewitched and had lost his sense of who he was and where he was headed. Samuel had never spoken those words to Xander, and never would. His beloved older brother had already endured enough pain without hearing that criticism from Samuel.

Samuel had always joked that he wanted to become a lawyer to save the family exorbitant legal fees, and through hard work and unshakeable ethics, he got his wish of being the family lawyer by proving himself to be trustworthy, knowledgeable and confidential.

So it came as no surprise when, after four years of marriage with no children, Lydia and Duncan Markham had enlisted Samuel's assistance in finding a child to foster and adopt. He found a seven-year-old girl in an orphanage whose parents had died of the fever when she was four and after a felicitous meeting between the girl and the Markhams, Samuel arranged for the adoption. They named her Augusta after Lucy and Lydia's mother, and educated her in the finest schools, giving her every possible advantage. She soon forgot her life at the orphanage and grew into a bright, happy young girl.

When Lucy died and Xander brought Leonora back to Heyrick Park, Samuel had abandoned law for a time. With all that his brother had done to rescue him from their father, he felt he owed it to him, but he soon realized that Xander had made a decision to retreat from life and would not be swayed. Finally, Samuel had kissed Leonora goodbye and had gone back to work, leaving them both in Eva's very capable hands.

Then the family was dealt another blow. Duncan and Lydia Markham perished suddenly and tragically after the wheel of their carriage severed from the axle on a dark and windy night returning from a country party. The carriage had tumbled over an embankment, killing the two occupants and the driver, and they were not found until days later. Augusta had been safe at home with the nanny. The Markhams had failed to update their wills after Lucy's death, thinking they were young and strong and had an abundance of time, and so Augusta's guardianship reverted to Alexander as Lucy's husband. Samuel was brought in to handle all the arrangements and to put Augusta's substantial inheritance into a trust until she reached the age of twenty-one. Now Alexander had two girls to raise without the slightest notion of how to go about it.

Augusta had lost two sets of parents, and though she only remembered snippets of her life at the orphanage, and remembered her birth parents not at all, the girl of sixteen-and-a-half that Samuel delivered to Heyrick Park was broken and cynical and felt her life was cursed. Samuel despaired for her future but hoped that Eva's ministrations would help her to find her way.

He had never missed a Christmas or the girls' birthdays, and had tried to return to Heyrick Park as often as his work would allow it. And whenever Xander had come to London on business, the brothers had connected, but Samuel never saw the light come back into Xander's eyes.

The recent season that Alexander, Augusta and Leonora spent in London saw many opportunities for Samuel to interact with his brother and the girls, and he had certainly heard quite a lot of Miss Charlotte Heywood from Leonora, who clearly adored her. Both Augusta and Xander were strangely close-lipped about the former governess of Heyrick House, but the melancholy of their aspects when they spoke of her was very obvious. Samuel knew something had happened, but he never pressed to find out what it was.

What had given him great joy was seeing how Augusta had thrived recently in a new and close relationship with her uncle Alexander, and that she was growing to be a beautiful young lady. He had also observed that Xander had found his way toward being a father to Leonora and was affectionate in a way that he had never seen before. In fact, his brother was entirely changed, although he was admittedly still sad. From the time of Lucy's death up to the present, Xander had been simply going through the motions of life. Samuel could see with his recent visit that he now had purpose, and the girls were at the center of it. But as far as the brother Samuel had known in younger days, he assumed that he would simply have to say goodbye to the witty, congenial, and outgoing man that Xander had once been.

Until now. The letter he had received yesterday from Xander had astonished him in its optimism and its hopefulness — quite apart from the two monumental pieces of news it held.

His brother being engaged brought caution with the disclosure, because until Samuel actually encountered Miss Charlotte Heywood in the flesh, he would imagine her as simply another version of Lucy Montrose. From the sound of Xander's letter, there was no doubt in Samuel's mind that his brother was again bewitched.

The second piece of news — that of Georgiana Lambe's parentage, felt as if it had sprung full-blown from the pages of a novel. As a naturally skeptical man of the law, Samuel would need to hear all of the evidence before he would swallow that fish whole.

But one thing was certain. Samuel Colbourne had not seen the word "love" written in his brother's hand in over fifteen years. And in one letter alone, he had used it six times. Six times. Twice with regard to Miss Heywood, once each for Leonora and Augusta, once in describing Miss Lambe, and once concerning Samuel himself. He was still shaking his head about it.

Samuel smiled as he saw the ocean come into view. There were whitecaps dotting the expanse of deep blue that stretched all the way out to France, just visible in the hazy distance. He took a deep breath and felt the familiar calm fill his senses.

He was going home. And this homecoming clearly promised to hold some surprises.

Leonora was laughing so hard that she could hardly speak, and as anyone with even a passing acquaintance with Miss Colbourne knew, speechlessness was not a natural state for her.

The Mastiff puppy was not a great deal smaller than Leonora, and had taken her to the ground – he now sat astride her stomach to give him the best access to her face with his very long and extremely wet tongue.

His smooth, apricot-colored coat was loose in great folds that would tighten as he grew but now gave him the appearance of nothing so much as a bunched-up blanket with two sparkling black eyes and an exceedingly moist and cold pink nose protruding from a merry little face.

Leonora's giggles were completely infectious, and Charlotte, Alexander, Augusta, Georgiana and Arthur could not help laughing themselves as they watched the happy spectacle.

"I believe he has quite taken to you, Miss Leo!" Arthur said, holding his hand at his waistcoat to try to contain his mirth. He had brought the puppy from a breeder who was one of the donors to his theatre. Her prize Mastiff had just birthed a litter and this pup was of just the size and age to join a family with children. Mastiffs were known to be good-natured, affectionate, protective, calm, and courageous. This one looked to have all of those qualities and more.

Finally, Augusta lifted up the puppy to give Leonora a break from the impromptu bath she was receiving. "You are incorrigible!" she laughed, as she quickly became the new object of the dog's affection.

"What will you name him, Leo?" Charlotte asked.

"I shall call him Turk," she said proudly, standing up and wiping her face with her skirts. "Like the Swiss Family Robinson's dog in my book."

Alexander smiled. "That is a good strong name, Leonora. And very fitting."

Luna was sitting a short distance away, assessing whether the new interloper was friend or foe. She seemed intent upon keeping her dignity in the face of all this unbridled affection.

"The carriage is coming, Mr. Colbourne," Eva called out from the kitchen door. She steadfastly refused to call him by any other name in the company of anyone outside the family, and Arthur's presence today still qualified, although he was rapidly becoming a member of the family's close circle.

"Uncle Samuel!" Augusta and Leonora cried out joyfully at the same time. Augusta pressed the puppy into Alexander's arms and ran after her cousin toward the front drive.

Alexander laughed and put one arm around Charlotte's shoulder. "So much for the irresistible newness of a puppy," he said, shaking his head.

Charlotte rubbed Turk behind the ear, "Aww, well, you cannot expect to compete with a beloved uncle, little one."

Georgiana and Arthur flanked them on either side as they followed the girls around the house. "I am so looking forward to meeting my other brother," Georgiana said with excitement in her voice.

Alexander smiled at her. "There is much for Samuel to take in, and remember he is a barrister. He relies on the evidence of his own eyes." Raising an eyebrow he said, "He may start out cautiously, but he will warm to the idea in no time."

By the time they arrived at the carriage, Samuel had been greeted enthusiastically, and he held Leonora in one arm and had the other around Augusta's waist. "You are both growing like lovely English roses," he said, kissing Leo on the cheek. "I can hardly believe it has only been weeks since I have last seen you."

When he saw Xander with his arm around Charlotte's waist and holding Turk, who was currently chewing on a lock of his hair, and Alexander was, of all things, laughing, Samuel stood in complete astonishment.

His brother was back. Samuel felt his chest expand and tears suddenly came to his eyes. After a decade of mourning the loss of his dearest friend, his other self, the one who had been by his side through the worst of times and the best of times – here he was again. The light was back in his eyes.

Xander handed Turk to Charlotte and went to his brother with his arms open. "Sam…" he said, feeling the same emotion in the way that brothers do, and the two hugged for long moments, while the rest of the assembled party looked on with great affection.

Finally, Samuel had to pull away and hold Alexander at arm's length, to be certain he had not been mistaken in his first assessment. And yes, there it was, the joy that he remembered, the easy smile, the bright intelligent eyes of his brother.

Samuel tilted his head and looked at Charlotte. She was now the recipient of Turk's excessive ministrations, and was laughing while trying to extricate him from her beautiful chestnut hair. Her sparkling brown eyes looked back at him, and Samuel understood. If his brother was bewitched, then in this instant so was he. He looked over at Xander, who was now gazing at Charlotte with the deepest, most profound love Samuel thought he had ever witnessed, and the skeptical barrister evaporated on the wind. The loving brother could see it all, and he had never been happier.

Walking toward her, Samuel said, "And you must be Charlotte," dispensing immediately with any nonsense of calling her Miss Heywood. He lifted Turk from her arms and handed him to Xander, and then enveloped her in the warmest brotherly hug she had ever received, and with five brothers, that was a high bar to meet.

"Thank you," Samuel said, his gratitude overflowing and choking his voice. "Thank you for bringing him back."

Eva Wheatley could not remember being happier. Xander and Sam were together and laughing as they used to, there was a full company of guests and family at the large table in the dining room, and she gazed at her newly-polished silver and the fresh flowers with unmitigated joy. Delicious aromas filled the house and the pianoforte had been brought downstairs to the drawing room, where it could be heard playing a happy duet under the moderately skilled fingers of Augusta and Leonora.

For a moment, she simply stood with her hands clasped in front of her and she closed her eyes. Miss Abigail, look at your boys, she thought, with tears in her eyes. Just look at them.

"And then," Arthur said, barely able to contain his laughter, "Lady Denham asked if we had yet cast Titania in Midsummer Night's Dream, as she had been reading the play again, and thought she might do exceedingly well in the role. She allowed as she had never studied the theatre, but if she had, she was certain she would be quite the proficient…"

Georgiana said, "With no thought to the fact that she is fully three decades older than the character, and that is being charitable!"

Arthur raised his eyebrows and said, "The only saving grace would be the privilege of watching Lady D. fall in love with an ass…" At which point, the entire table erupted in laughter.

Charlotte covered her face, still laughing. "Oh, we should stop. This is just cruel," she said, shaking her head.

Alexander reached out and pulled her toward him. "Always my sweet Charlotte, thinking of others' feelings." He kissed her lightly on the temple. "Even you must admit that Lady Denham has been horrible in her treatment of those around her."

Charlotte sighed and nodded. "Yes, there is that. Both to you and to Georgiana, two people I love so dearly."

From the other room, Leonora called out, "Aunt Georgiana, come play with us!"

At the sound of the appellation of Aunt, Georgiana closed her eyes momentarily and smiled. "I will never tire of the sound of that," she said softly, and Arthur squeezed her hand. "I am coming!" she said, standing up from the table and laughing.

In the way of young people, both Leonora and Augusta had accepted Georgiana into their family circle with open arms. Leonora had asked a few cursory questions and then simply smiled and told Georgiana that she had beautiful skin just like Mrs. Wheatley's. Augusta had worked the situation through in all its permutations without needing to be overly inquisitive, for she had heard stories of Jonathan Colbourne's dissolution. Her overall feeling was that she could not be happier than to have Georgiana as a part of the family – in truth, it made what she had once felt to be her own tenuous connection, that of an adopted niece to Alexander, more normal in the grand scheme of things.

If looked at on the surface, they were a family that had been cobbled together by circumstance – adoption, infidelity, drunkenness, and tragedy – and it was a glorious sight to behold how they had all opened their hearts and were as tightly-knit and fiercely loyal as any family on earth.

And this was what Samuel Colbourne saw as he looked down the long table at Xander, sitting where Jonathan Colbourne had once sat. Instead of fear and despair as he had felt as a child, Samuel felt nothing but love and joy. He knew that he would fight anyone to the death to defend this family.

And now that absolutely included Georgiana Lambe.

"More tea, Sir?"

Arthur flattened his hand over his china teacup and shook his head. "Ah, Mrs. Wheatley, if I have another cup I shall simply float away. Delicious as always, of course." He leaned in and whispered, "Though if you happen to have another of those exquisite lemon cakes, I would not turn you down." He smiled up at her charmingly and Eva patted his back and nodded.

The dining room table had been cleared and the girls were in bed, as it was late. The remaining adults each had a candle burning near a large ledger and the only sound in the room was the turning of the pages of the fragile, decades-old books. Every now and then, a stifled yawn could be heard, or the clearing of a throat. Alexander had set up the ladder in his study and pulled down every one of his father's ledgers from their home on the top shelf. Many of them, he had never even seen before.

Suddenly, Georgiana called out, "I found it!" and the others turned and looked at her expectantly. She had her finger on a sloppily-written paragraph that incongruously sat at the bottom of many perfectly-inked lines of numbers. Georgiana had recognized Lawrence Lambe's precise handwriting, but this paragraph was in a different hand, and the page had blotches of ink to either side of it.

"Read it aloud, please, Georgiana," Samuel said, rubbing his eyes.

Taking a deep breath, Georgiana read, "Sarah Kingsley dispatched on ship with accountant to cane farm Antigua. Farm wants better managing giving all rights and good riddance. Deed transferred this day, 23rd June 1798."

Samuel stood and came around behind her. He peered at the entry and looked at Alexander. "He was most definitely drunk. It was too soon in his life for him to have shakes like this without alcohol." Those who had just met Samuel were taken aback by the vitriol in his voice when he spoke of his father. Xander understood the feeling behind it very well because he had often heard it in his own voice.

"Yes, but is it provable in a court of law?" Xander asked, leaning back and stretching after so long bent over the books.

"It could be, with enough testimony," Samuel said, sitting back down. "Unfortunately, you and I are the ones most familiar with the negative effects that drink had on him, but we are unable to testify. Although we will pass all of the money and position onto Georgiana, it will still appear as if we stand to benefit from discrediting Lawrence Lambe as her father."

Georgiana looked over at Samuel. "Under no circumstances do I want my father to be discredited," she said firmly.

Samuel reached out and put his hand gently on her arm. "I should not have used that word. We will simply need to determine that the cane farm should have stayed in the Colbourne family. Your father will bear no blame for the faulty handling of the transaction by Jonathan Colbourne."

Nodding, Georgiana said softly, "I need you to comprehend that I care less about the money than I do about Lawrence Lambe's good name. I shudder to think what my life would have been without him."

Samuel smiled. "I am glad to hear that you will be content even if we are not able to turn this around. We all need to acknowledge the possibility that Charles Lockhart may indeed end up with his uncle's fortune. Without first-hand testimony from the two involved in the transaction, this will all be supposition. But I am hoping that we can use our good reputations against Lockhart's less-than-stellar one to sway a jury."

Georgiana frowned. "Is that entirely necessary?"

Samuel leaned forward and peered into Georgiana's eyes. He spoke gently, "Do you still have feelings for Mr. Lockhart?"

Looking down at her hands, Georgiana paused. "I do not know your experience of love, Samuel, but mine is that it does not disappear as quickly as it takes hold."

Samuel put his hand on her shoulder, feeling a genuine sense of protectiveness. "I am so sorry that he hurt you, Georgiana."

Placing her hand over his, Georgiana smiled sadly. "Thank you. It seems I am more gullible than I imagined myself to be." She shook her head ruefully. "I truly believed him…" Frowning, she sighed. "I am usually a much better judge of character."

Arthur reached out and placed his hand on her other arm. "He fooled us all, my dear. His charm was undeniable."

Nodding, Samuel said softly, "My work has shown me that the desire for money can make scoundrels out of even the best of men." He leaned back and said, "We will keep him out of this as much as we can. And I make you a promise that I will not attempt any avenues of defense that you do not first approve. This is your case, Georgiana, and you will dictate how it plays out."

"Thank you," Georgiana said softly. "On the other hand, you may throw the book at Edward Denham," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"The book will be thrown," Samuel said forcefully, as he recited, "any person who maliciously commits blackmail, with a view or intent to extort or gain money, shall be punished by public pillory and a lengthy prison term, even unto death by hanging."

Georgiana smiled wryly. "Am I allowed to choose?" she asked. "I think my preference would be to boil him in oil and then feed him to the sharks."

Laughing, Samuel said, "That will be up to a jury, but we will be certain to apprise them of Denham's recent activities, including his poisoning of Lady Babington, and his assault on Miss Brereton. Neither of those offenses were subject to punishment due to Lady Denham's protection, but she will not be able to shield him from this." He turned to Arthur. "And you are still willing to testify that you heard him in his blackmail of Georgiana?"

Arthur rubbed his hands together in delight. "I shall relish it, sir! Nothing would give me more pleasure than to assist in putting that viper behind bars."

The clock struck in the other room, and Mrs. Wheatley stepped in and said, "I believe that is enough work for the night. It has gone eleven and we must all get to our rest." She turned to Samuel, "And you have had a long carriage ride today. You must be quite exhausted."

Samuel stood and pulled her into a warm hug. "Still caring for us," he said, kissing her on the top of her white cap. Eva's dark skin took on a slight rosy glow as she wriggled out of his arms self-consciously. "Mr. Colbourne, we have company," she said, trying to appear serious.

Arthur looked around and frowned. "Well, Mrs. Wheatley, that could only be me, and I will not have it!" He stood and gave her a hug of his own, and a bone-crushing one at that. "That is for the extra lemon cake, my dear lady, and I will not be called company ever again!"

Now Eva laughed out loud, giving in immediately. She looked at Alexander and said, "Well, Xander, if you cannot be bothered to keep order in your own house, I shall not be fighting it." She turned to Arthur and put out her hand. "Call me Eva, Arthur, and henceforth we are family."

"Ah!" he said, kissing her hand, "That can only mean more of those delicious lemon cakes, and I am in Heaven at the prospect."

Eva turned back to Alexander. "I believe Charlotte will be traveling back to Sanditon in Mr. Parker's…" Arthur gave her a cautionary glance, and she smiled. "In Arthur's carriage. I assume you would like a moment to say your farewells?"

Alexander didn't have to be told twice. He took Charlotte's hand and led her down the hall to the drawing room. "We won't be a minute," he said back over his shoulder to the group.

Raising an eyebrow, Eva said, "No, they won't be a minute. They will be ten."

Alexander closed the door on the laughter that followed, and took Charlotte into his arms.

"This has been undeniably the longest night of my life," he said, his lips going directly to her neck, which had been taunting him enticingly all evening.

Charlotte rolled her head back and sighed. "I know," she said on a long breath. "When was the last time we touched?"

Speaking between kisses, he said, "You mean, apart from my taking your hand under the table?"

"And when we brushed against each other in the hall?" Charlotte said, beginning to lose her train of thought.

"And when you leaned over to light the candle in front of me?" Alexander said, his voice muffled in her hair as his lips made their way to hers.

Finally, their lips met, and Alexander pressed her gently against the door as she pulled him closer. She tasted of sweet tea and lemon cakes and he delved deeper, wondering how he had managed to keep himself from her for an entire evening. Charlotte's arms went around him and her fingers brushed across the muscles of his back and then down to the skin of his bare forearms and up to his shoulders, feeling their strength through his cotton shirt.

When they finally came up for air, Charlotte said breathlessly, "I cannot believe that we will be married in a fortnight."

Alexander placed his forehead in the hollow of her neck, catching his breath. "We could marry tonight and then do it again in a fortnight," he said with a short laugh. "Do you think anyone would notice?"

Charlotte laughed and ruffled his hair. "Patience, my love. It will only make it that much sweeter…"

"Keep telling me that," he said, bringing his lips up to hers again. He sighed deeply and pulled her to his chest. "I fear patience may be the death of me," he whispered, laughing softly.

Pulling away and looking up into the dark brown of his eyes, Charlotte said, "We will not die. It will be here before we know it."

Alexander gazed at her. "You are so breathtakingly beautiful, Charlotte. I would wait forever for you." He let his thumb graze across the softness of her cheek as she closed her eyes. "I still cannot believe you are mine."

"Absolutely and completely," she said, and then opened her eyes. "And for always."

"Until tomorrow, then?"

"Bright and early in the schoolroom," she said cheerily.

He kissed her once more, gently, and opened the door.

Mrs. Wheatley's eyes went to the hall clock and she put out her hand. Arthur shook his head and reached into his waistcoat pocket for a shilling. "Ten minutes to the second," he said, nodding. "You are good, Eva, I will give you that!"