10. The Final Decision #2
He remained in his position, though his hands loosened from his back, and one came to play with his chin.
“My name has brought me here, to this moment,” he started to say, then took a step forward.
She held her ground, lifting her head to meet his eyes.
“I believe yours can take me further.”
He did not smile. And Kate wondered what kind of man accepted adopting a second name so easily.
“Very well then,” she said at last. “It’s settled.”
She was already turning when he took a second step toward her, claiming her full attention before she was gone.
“I also bring conditions, Miss Sullivan, if I may.”
Kate’s gaze sharpened. “Go on.”
“Mary. My housekeeper. She will be joining us.” He paused, weighing his words. “She’s far too invested in my mistakes to let me go alone. She’s… attached.”
“Mary I can handle.” Kate’s response was immediate, almost dismissive.
Mr. Moore’s slight hesitation told her there was more. “There’s also… a boy.”
Kate lifted an eyebrow. “A boy?”
This was the moment. The first real truth he would offer her.
Mr. Moore met her eyes steadily. “Since you value honesty, Miss Sullivan, allow me to be honest in turn.”
Minutes later, Kate and Mr. Moore had transitioned into the study for the sake of privacy, a more fitting place for the conversation that followed.
Kate settled behind her father’s desk, her fingers tapping a quiet rhythm against the polished wood as she watched Mr. Moore carefully.
He stood opposite her, one hand resting lightly on the back of a chair, and she could see he was choosing his words with care.
“You spoke of a boy,” Kate said, breaking the silence. “This… lad. He’s a thief, you say?”
“He was, Miss Sullivan. But he’s corrected now.”
Kate’s lips twitched, a sound escaping her that was more a dry huff than laughter—yet it held the faintest trace of irony, even warmth. It surprised Mr. Moore, who watched her with growing admiration.
“And you expect me to believe an Indian lad who’s already stolen twice since he sneaked aboard ‘my’ ship has been ‘reformed’ now?”
“Indeed, Miss Sullivan.” He paused, considering his words. “I’m not naive, but I believe he can change. With time, perhaps. And proper rules.”
Kate raised her eyebrows again. “And you expect me to allow him to live here with… us ?” The pause on the final word did not escape him; it seemed to strike her as much as it did him.
Mr. Moore didn’t look away. He stood firm, though. “I expect you to trust that I will keep him in line. That I will be responsible for him.”
Kate leaned back in her chair, her gaze assessing. “Trust may be too strong a word, Mr. Moore. But I’m willing to see if you’ve earned it.” She hesitated. “As for the boy—I trust him even less. Still, if you’ve taken responsibility for him, I won’t interfere. This is your life, after all.”
“That’s fair,” Mr. Moore said after a pause. “Trust isn’t given lightly. I’ll prove worthy of it, in time.”
Kate didn’t respond immediately, but leaned forward though, her elbows now resting on the desk.
“You seem to be full of surprises, Mr. Moore. You keep surprising me more and more every day.”
Mr. Moore didn’t reply with words. He simply smiled, and Kate found herself thinking that perhaps surprises weren’t entirely unwelcome—nor, for that matter, was this smile of his.
* * *
The next morning brought Mr. Phillips with documents spread across the desk like battle plans. Kate sat in her father’s chair—her chair now—reviewing each page with extra care.
Mr. Moore stood nearby, arms crossed over his chest, listening intently as a man who understood the importance of details.
“The marriage contract is straightforward, Miss Sullivan,” Mr. Phillips was saying, adjusting his spectacles.
“All assets remain under your control through the marriage settlement, with Mr. Moore granted nominal authority in name only. A courtesy directorship within Sullivan Shipping, with full executive authority remaining yours as principal partner.”
“And the clause regarding… private arrangements?”
Phillips cleared his throat delicately. “Unusual, but the language is sound. The document states that the nature of the marriage remains private between the two parties, and no claims of neglect or abandonment may be made by either party.”
Mr. Moore’s expression remained neutral, though Kate noticed his fingers tighten slightly around his right arm.
“Good.” Kate signed the document and slid it toward Mr. Moore. He took the pen and signed without hesitation. Then put the pen down on the desk.
Phillips produced a second document from his portfolio. “The partnership deed amendment, Mr. Moore. This formalizes your position within the firm and records the name arrangement.”
He placed it before Mr. Moore and indicated where to sign.
Mr. Moore read it through once, unhurried. Then picked up the pen once more.
Kate watched him. She had expected something, a pause, a tightening of the jaw, some small physical acknowledgment of what he was committing to on that line.
His name, rewritten. She had lain awake the night before turning the fourth condition over in her mind, wondering if in the daylight and the cold formality of documents he might find a reason to hesitate.
He didn’t. He signed with the same steadiness he brought to everything, set the pen down a second time, and looked up.
She found she didn’t know what to do with that.
“Then it’s settled,” Phillips said, gathering the papers. “The banns will be read this Sunday.”
“No.” Kate’s voice was firm. “We’ll obtain a special license. I won’t endure weeks of gossip.”
Phillips looked surprised for a moment. “That’s… rather hasty, Miss Sullivan.”
“My father’s will gave me three months. I won’t waste them.”
Mr. Moore met her gaze, his expression unreadable but supportive. “The sooner, the better.”
Phillips nodded reluctantly, making notes. “Then I’ll arrange it immediately. The ceremony could take place as early as next week?”
Kate nodded.
After the solicitor left, she remained at the desk, staring at her copy of the signed contracts. The reality of what she’d committed to was beginning to settle, bringing with it a mixture of relief and uncertainty.
“Second thoughts?” Mr. Moore asked gently, clearly reading her mind across distance.
Kate looked up at him, this man who would soon be her husband in name, who had agreed to her terms without argument, who asked for nothing but the chance to help her maintain her independence.
Who was he really? That question remained unanswered in her mind, perpetuated by this man’s uncanny ability to dismantle her defenses like no other person had managed before.
But she supposed she would have the time now to figure him out, once and for all.
Time to study the subtle contradictions in his words, to decode the meanings behind his witted remarks, his respectful behavior toward her, and perhaps to reflect on why he alone could reach past the walls she’d so carefully constructed around herself over the years.
“No,” she said at last, and meant it. “No second thoughts.”
* * *
In the quiet of his townhouse that evening, far from Kate’s watchful eyes and the world’s expectations, the facade of Jason Moore fell away, yet for another time.
The room was dimly lit by candlelight, giving him the mystique quality of someone whose long-held secrets had finally become too much, weighing him down despite years of practice at bearing their burden.
Mary stood before the chair where her employer sat, working silently to remove the thin beard that had become as much a part of the disguise as the tailored clothes.
As the spirit gum loosened under Mary’s careful ministrations, the sharp angles of Jason Moore’s face softened, revealing Gina’s natural elegance.
“This spirit gum is ruining your skin,” Mary muttered, dabbing at the reddened area with a damp cloth.
“A small price,” Gina replied, wincing slightly as the adhesive pulled.
Mary worked in silence for a moment. When she finished, she sighed. “You’re really going through with this.”
“I am.”
“And when she finds out?”
Gina didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she reached up to unpin the styled masculine hairstyle, letting golden waves tumble down her shoulders, hair that had been hidden for so long it felt strange to feel its weight again.
“She won’t.”
Mary shook her head, exasperated. “You think a woman like Kate Sullivan won’t notice her husband is a woman?”
“She’ll see what she expects to see,” Gina said, meeting Mary’s eyes directly. “A man who respects her, who doesn’t interfere with her business, who asks for nothing she isn’t willing to give. Nothing more.”
“What about the boy? What happens with him?”
“Vikram stays with us. He’s part of our family now.”
“You’re risking everything for two people who don’t even know who you are.”
Gina smiled faintly, running a hand through her loose hair, feeling its texture against her fingers.
“Doesn’t everything worthwhile come with a price?” she stated with a simplicity that overtook Mary’s concerns.
Mary exhaled sharply but didn’t argue. She’d learned long ago that once Gina set her mind to something, opposition only strengthened her resolve. Instead, she picked up a brush, rounding Gina to settle at her back for combing her hair.
“Then let’s make sure Jason Moore is flawless on his wedding day.”
As Mary combed her hair smoothly, Gina watched her feminine reflection in the mirror.
In a few days, she would stand beside Kate Sullivan and make vows that were both entirely false and completely sincere.
She would promise to honor and protect a woman who didn’t know her real name, or her real gender, while offering the most honest version of herself she’d ever dared to give to another person.
The contradiction should have troubled her more than it did. Instead, Gina felt something she hadn’t experienced never in her life: the possibility that she might finally have found a place where both versions of herself could exist, hidden in plain sight. But still so fundamentally her.