A Woman Made for Sin (4 page)

October 8, 1816

Chase flung the front doors of Hembree Grove wide open and marched down the halls,
barking orders for someone to find Lady Chaselton and have her immediately join him
in his study, uncaring how openly angry he appeared. When Elda Mae had come in the
previous night, her face drained of blood, he had assumed one—if not all—of the Daring
Three had been goaded into something innocuous, like gambling, and had lost quite
a tidy sum of money in a bet. But upon seeing Millie bedraggled, dressed like some
street urchin, her hair askew and tears streaking down her face, he had known something
far more serious had occurred.

Entering his study, he tossed his coat onto the couch and wrenched off his cravat.
He then rubbed his scalp vigorously, unaware of how it made his chocolate brown hair
unruly and his overall appearance fearsome. A large man, with hard, dark features,
he was a naturally imposing figure. But when he detached himself from his emotions,
his eyes, despite their warm golden color, grew distant and quite cold.

Since last night when Millie haltingly explained how the three of them had gone to
catch Reece pretending to be W & H Shipping’s mysterious thief, Chase had continuously
berated himself for his naïveté, for it was he who had given Millie the idea. That
previous morning, Chase had accused his friend of being the one sneaking around taking
odd items from the office and ships. Reece had then cheerfully returned the allegation,
thinking the prank a rather unusual one, but deciphering its purpose would have to
wait until after his return.

It had been foolish to speak so openly with Millie in the room. Chase and she had
been talking about their plans for the day when Reece had arrived and encouraged her
to remain, stating his visit was to be short and uninteresting. That night he was
leaving on the
Sea Emerald
for Savannah and then a few other places. He had also asked Millie to tell Aimee
of his lengthy voyage and that he had meant what he said. Millie had asked “About
what?” but Reece said Aimee would understand. Chase had seen that Millie was unsatisfied
and was going to probe for more information, so to help out his friend, he asked Reece
about the thief—an incredibly shortsighted solution. But Chase’s true folly was not
having procured from Millie a promise of silence on the subject.

The lack of such a vow had practically been an invitation to gossip. As a result,
she had predictably not only disclosed Reece’s parting comments to her friends but
also all that she had heard concerning the thief. Never could Chase have dreamed what
the Daring Three would do, armed with such information. Not a sane man in the world
would have anticipated the three of them being so foolish as to venture to the London
Docks in the middle of the night, all in the futile hopes of catching his best friend
having one last lark before he left for America.

Chase sank down onto one of the padded hearth chairs and fought the inclination to
assure his wife that he was almost certain Aimee was safely aboard the
Sea Emerald
and not in immediate danger.

Based on Millie’s description of the pinnace and scarf she had seen, he had suspected
which ship had his sister. Less than half a dozen ships had left the Hermitage Basin
before Chase was able to order it closed for a search. Aimee had not been found, but
just two of the ships that had departed prior to the search had pinnaces. Only the
ones belonging to the
Sea Emerald
were painted green and white.

He had been talking to the captain of the
Zephyr
when one of the dock managers escorted two night laborers, who had witnessed the
abduction but were “too far away to do anything about it,” over to see him. They said
a thin man was being dragged into a green and white pinnace, but that the man neither
fought his captors nor struggled for his freedom. Neither worker could recall hearing
any cries for help.

Chase had encountered enough liars to recognize when a man was hiding something, and
those men had been too scared to lie convincingly. He believed their story, mostly
because he could just see his little sister, with her claims to be madly in love,
seizing any opportunity to be with Reece.

So after sending the two workers away, he ordered the
Zephyr
’s captain to quickly remove much of the ship’s cargo and leave immediately. Chase
knew there was little chance of catching the
Sea Emerald
, despite the
Zephyr
’s lightened load. Reece had his ship especially built by a man in the colonies working
on a new design for swifter, more maneuverable ships. So far, the
Sea Emerald
was proving to be one of the fastest on the Atlantic. If pressed, Reece could get
to the West Indies and back in less than two months, but Chase expected to see his
friend in port long before then. The minute Reece discovered Aimee aboard, the
Sea Emerald
would be on its way back to London.

Until then, Aimee would be uncomfortable without the luxuries of a soft bed, good
food, and servants, but she would be safe. More than likely Reece had locked her in
a room for the entire trip, making his younger sister quite repentant by the time
her feet touched shore again. It was up to Chase to find a way of making his wife
just as repentant and finally willing to end her penchant for being reckless with
her life.

It was one thing to be venturesome, daring, bold, and even a little rash, but only
the most senseless of people would go out in the middle of the night to the docks
with no ability to protect themselves. And yet the Daring Three had done just that
and would continue with such foolishness again and again if he did not do something
to discourage this behavior immediately.

It has to stop
, he told himself as he mentally replayed last night’s discourse.

He had spoken to Millie in a way he had never spoken to anyone. Fear unlike any he
had ever known had flooded through him, washing away his supposedly perfected self-control.
Even so, it was nothing to what it could have been. What Millie did not understand
was just how much he loved her; that if any harm ever came to her, he would be a terrifying
man to be around. He had gained too many deadly skills in the war and his restraint
would cease to exist.

Millie might be smart and resourceful, but she thought herself invincible and she
was not. Worse, her ignorance of the world also made her vulnerable. Fortune had watched
over the Daring Three last night, and thankfully none of them had been hurt, but if
he relayed the good news about his sister’s safety, Millie and Jennelle might then
see last night’s escapade as a success.

When the rap on the door came, he had not yet decided whether or not to tell her.
All he knew was that he would do whatever it took to ensure Millie never caused him
to fear for her well-being again.

Jennelle entered the study first, letting Millie follow. She knew her presence had
not been requested and she should not join a married couple’s discussion about a highly
private matter, but she did not care. This time she would be at Millie’s side and
not on the other side of the door, cringing, unable to do anything but listen to the
fiercest tongue-lashing Jennelle had ever heard. She had waited for Millie to defend
herself, but she had uttered not one word. Jennelle vowed that would not happen again
today.

Charles had assumed last night’s foray was not only Millie’s idea, but a direct result
of her recklessness. And with the exception of one scathing comment about how
she
, “Jennelle, the sensible one,” should have stopped Aimee or told Chase what Millie
was planning, all of his stinging assaults were aimed at his already suffering wife.

He never once considered that Millie might be terrified about losing her best friend.
Not one word of comfort did he offer. And though he never raised his voice, never
yelled or shouted one word, his low, menacing tones whipped out one harsh statement
after another. And based on the barking orders he had just bellowed the moment he
came back home, it appeared Millie was about to receive a second serving of the same.

Jennelle practically had to bite her tongue in an effort to keep her promise. Millie
had practically forced her into a solemn vow to never correct any of Charles’s erroneous
assumptions about just who had perpetrated what part of last night’s events. Jennelle
knew that Millie incorrectly blamed herself for what had happened, but mostly Millie
believed she was somehow protecting Aimee by keeping the focus of Charles’s rage on
her.

Jennelle’s royal-blue eyes glared murderously at Chase and it caused him to blink.
After what happened last night, why the hell is she mad at me?
He took a deep breath and watched his wife come in the door to stand next to Jennelle.
His heart lurched again in pain and fear, knowing just how fortunate his wife was
to have escaped uninjured.

Millie licked her lips. “Were you able to find your sister, my lord?”

Chase’s jaw tensed. He wanted to pull her into his arms and plead for her to stop
calling him my lord, but even more, he needed to discourage any future reckless behavior.
“The boat with Aimee aboard left port before I arrived,” he answered honestly.

Millie let go a soft cry. Her hand flew to her mouth and she sank into a nearby chair.
“I’m so sorry. I never should have—”

“No, you should not have,” Chase began, his voice full of growing reproach. He raked
his fingers through his hair. “What were you
thinking
, Mildred?” he asked her for the umpteenth time.

Millie forced herself not to flinch at the bitterness attached to each enunciated
word. “I only thought to help.” Jennelle went to stand beside Millie’s chair and clutched
her friend’s hand in her own.

Again Chase fought the urge to be the one to give her comfort. His instincts wavered
between wrapping his arms comfortingly around her and protecting her.
No, not this time,
he warned himself.
I must be hard if she is to learn that she can never again be so foolish
. “Do you not realize even now the severity of the insult you give me?”

Millie looked up; her eyes, a strange color of lavender, widened, stunned by his accusation.
“But I—”

Chase cut her off. “But what, Mildred? Do you ever think about the consequences of
your schemes and thrill-seeking exploits? Bloody hell, you are the Marchioness of
Chaselton now! How do you think it makes me feel to know that my own wife believes
that I am unable to handle an inconsequential thief without her assistance?”

Jennelle squeezed Millie’s hand, urging her to argue, to say something, but Millie’s
back only slumped further. Again anger singed the edges of Jennelle’s control. It
was near impossible to stand and do nothing as her friend, who was always so full
of life, vibrant and diverting, was whittled away by her husband’s cruel tongue. And
still the man did not stop.

“Not to mention the damage to the Chaselton name. Did you consider my mother, Millie?
How is she going to feel when she discovers that you risked, and may have harmed,
her only daughter
in one of your schemes?”

Jennelle could feel Millie recoil and again mentally begged for her to do something—cry
and yell that Mother Wentworth had
three
daughters, not just one, and for him to say otherwise was heartless. And yet, Millie
refused to defend herself. She just silently absorbed each blow, unable to stop the
tears streaming down her cheeks.

Chase squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he could withdraw his last words. Millie’s face
had become etched with such deep pain and regret, his heart had wrenched. He had not
needed Jennelle lancing him with her piercing blue eyes to know he had gone too far.
His mother would not have placed blame, and she certainly would have not used the
situation as a chance to teach a lesson. There were other ways for reining in his
wife’s boisterous temperament. This was not the way.

Chase was about to walk around his desk to her side when Millie rose to her feet.
Shakily, she extended her hand and he saw what she clutched—a rolled-up piece of paper.
He took it. “What is this?”

Millie raised her chin to answer, not in defiance but in preparation for his next
verbal blow. “The real thief dropped it.”

“The
real
thief?” he repeated. He unrolled the parchment and saw that it was a map.

“Yes. He was there. We hid until he left. Then when we tried to leave, Aimee was .
. .” Millie could not finish the sentence, afraid that if she did she would start
crying again, and this time she would not be able to stop.

“Describe him.”

Not bound by a promise on this topic, Jennelle answered. “The man was average height.
We could not see his face, but he had dark hair that was somewhat long. He also had
a limp but was quite agile in spite of it.”

As Chase listened to Jennelle, the full implications of what she was saying dawned
on him. He had truly believed Reece behind the odd thefts. First, the
Sea Rebel
was rifled, leaving maps and charts everywhere. He and the
Sea Rebel
’s captain had thought a drunken seaman looking for a bottle of whiskey the culprit.
Then the W & H Shipping office, by the London Docks, was broken into. After the raid
on the
Intrepid
, Reece had identified what had been taken at each site—an old, worthless chart. It
was then Chase had suspected his friend was playing a prank. But whoever had been
on the
Zephyr
had not been Reece.

Chase studied the map. Part of a large assortment of ship equipment they purchased
at an auction, the collection of charts had been buried underneath several items in
a chest. They had almost thrown them away because they were old and unlabeled, but
Reece had wanted to study them some more. So along with the other items, the charts
had been divided among their company ships. Reece’s interest in the charts as well
and it being his recognition of what had been taken were the two primary reasons why
Chase had truly thought his friend was behind the missing items.