His to Hold (Regency Scoundrels Book 1) (21 page)

“Aye, now I know what has caused the fever. If I do not draw out the poison, he may die. We don’t have the time to wait until the doctor sobers up. Help me to take his shirt off.”

Rafe added his help by lifting Charles, while she slipped the shirt over his head.

“This is very interesting,” Rafe said, motioning toward a weirdly shaped birthmark, on Charles’s left shoulder.

“It’s nothing but a birthmark,” she said, not investing any more time into it. She did not have the time to waste on inspecting such trivial matters.

Long ago, when a child had been born with a birthmark, it had been seen as a mark of the devil but now, no such ideas of idiocy were to be had. At least, not in any of the circles that she frequented.

“Aye, but a birthmark could tell you a great deal about a person, don’t you think?” She met his gaze, and recognized the thoughtful glint in his eyes.

“I suppose,” she said, she was so distracted that she barely even noticed him move away from the bed, and stand to gaze out the window with his hands clasped behind his back.

“Rafe, I told you that I needed some help,” she said impatiently, and she felt like walking over to him, and swatting him soundly.

She regarded him fervently, and was surprised even more when he turned around with a boyish grin plastered across his features. His eyes were lit with nothing but relief. He seemed ten years younger already, and there was a spring to his step that she found disconcerting.

“Have you finally decided to absolve yourself, and tell me your true identity and past?”

“Give me some more time,” he swallowed, and then smiled again. “Yet, I do have a discovery to tell you about, and it has nothing at all to do with my past. Let us get this boy into calm waters before we talk any further.”

“Yes, but I can hardly take the suspense. You must tell me, now.” Her hands tended to Charles’s wound in an effortless easy manner, and she could see that Rafe followed her every move.

“I know Charles’s sire.” She stopped midway, and licked her lips.

“I don’t follow. I thought you were his father?”

“Did I not tell you time and again I highly doubted that confession of Chastity’s?”

“Aye, you did.” She had finally managed to draw out the whole poison, and she was wrapping the bandage around it as he spoke.

“I am not his father, but you know his true father well and good.”

“Well, tell me who it is,” she prompted.

Charles awoke for a brief moment and stared wildly around him. “Charles Phillip, do not handle that rope that way,” he cried out, in a relatively good imitation of Chastity’s voice.

All of the life drained out of Elizabeth, and she had to lean on the mattress for support. Her mind reeled, and she now felt as if she were about to retch. This could not be!

“Oh, my God. Don’t tell me. I already know.”

“How would you know? I know only because of the birthmark.” He scrunched his face up into a confused expression, and she nearly blurted out the whole truth about her secret identity as a man. She only assumed the identity of Evan Beaumont when she wanted to gain access to White’s or one of the more popular gaming hells.

“Let’s just say that it’s woman’s intuition.” She plopped down on the side of the bed, and groaned. “This does not bode well.”

“Aye, when that sad imitation for a Spanish Don discovers that we have his brat, he will be ready to tan our hides.” He ran his hand through his blond waves, and when he was finished they were more wayward than they had been before. He looked like a little boy. A little boy who anticipated a monster beneath his bed.

“Do you think Phillip knows?” She did not want to jump to conclusions. But if Phillip knew…well, they would be in for a world of trouble that they certainly did not need.

“You mean, Antonio,” Rafe said, shaking his head. “I would suspect, though I daresay that if he does not, he soon will. Chastity has probably already told him the whole sordid incident. She was always a woman that had a forked and well-greased tongue.”

“Why would she claim Charles to be yours, when he wasn’t?” She couldn’t wrap her mind around the idea of knowing such a ridiculously manipulative woman.

“Because, my dear, as I’ve already tried telling you, I have something that both Chastity and Antonio have always secretly coveted.”

“And what would that be? A lost Aztec treasure, perhaps?”

“No, you silly goose. I have a title.”

Her mouth dropped open, and she nearly fell off of the mattress.

Now he had gone and done it! Mallory’s goose was cooked, and there was no getting over it. But to his chagrin and surprise, Elizabeth started to laugh. It started off as a small hesitant sound, and then turned into something that echoed off of the walls.

“I know that you hold a title, you buffoon! No doubt in England you are known and revered as The Clever Corsair.”

She was doubled over now, and Mallory frowned. He wasn’t entirely sure that he liked her flippancy, concerning such a serious matter.

“It is true. I am a titled English nobleman.”

She stopped laughing long enough to let out a few hiccups. “Oh, Rafe, you are too much!”

“I told you, Miss Elizabeth,” he said storming over to kneel in front of her. “I am not in jest.”

“What are you The Baron of Thievery?” her face was turning red, and he feared that she was about to suffocate herself from lack of air. Gripping her shoulders, he shook her just enough to catch her attention.

Her laughter died away, and she took her finger and traced it along his jaw line. He shivered and felt himself melting at her touch. She was like bloody opium, for God’s sake. He did not know if he would ever get over his insatiable hunger for her. Her sherry brown eyes were filled with tears, and she was smiling so widely it nearly encompassed her entire face.

“I am not the Baron of anything.” His voice came out more a growl than a grumble, and she arched her eyebrows in surprise.

“Were you knighted for services to the Crown? Ah, now I see. You were given a knighthood for your heroism at Trafalgar. I am sorry. I should have guessed sooner.” He was holding his head now and staring up at her in incredulous amazement. “So what do I call you now?”

“Mallory,” he murmured, hoping that she would recognize his name. He was well thought of throughout the haut ton, and he suspected that she might have a glimmer of an idea as to who he was. He was sick and tired of her calling him Rafe. When he made love to her, she always called out the name Rafe, and it made him want to throw up.

“Sir Malory, as in Sir Thomas Malory? Oh, now that is a good one.” That sound of derisive laughter was present in her voice again, and it grated against his nerves.

“My name has two l’s in it,” he muttered, closing his eyes against the smirk that played at her lips.

“I do not mean to make light of your title. It must have been a grand day for you, when you were awarded such an honour. Now, I understand why you were at the masquerade ball, where we first met. I had just believed that you had sneaked in intent on finding a willing lady to warm your bed.”

“I was there under invitation.”

“Oh, of course you were.” He looked up just in time to see her roll her eyes heavenward.

He was getting very tired of her patronizing attitude. Just because he had kidnapped her, intent on ruining her, and using her money, didn’t mean that he came from a pauper background. If she knew the sort of grand legacy that he hailed from, her mouth would hit the floor.

“Pray from now on call me, Mallory.” He would ask that much of her. After all, once they exchanged their vows, he could hardly have her calling him Rafe.

“But the name Rafe seems to suit you so much better.” She had sobered up enough now to stare at him without smirking.

“It is not my Christian name.” He stood up, and put a fairly large distance between them.

“Then you weren’t named for the Archangel Raphael?”

“No, I was not! I was named for my paternal grandmother’s family.” He clamped his mouth shut, afraid that he had already revealed too much.

“And here I had such a romantic ideal of you. I would like to meet your mother. I shall be very interested to see what sort of a woman could possibly raise you.”

He observed her for a moment, and then decided that she was purposefully trying to irritate him.

He tried to keep his voice as civil as was possible, beneath the stressful situation.

“You shall adore my mother, I am sure of it. She is a woman of beauty and wit. A woman in a class of her own.”

“I have no doubt. For you certainly do not lack physical attractiveness.”

“You do realize that Antonio will be coming back to intercept us before we reach England, do you not?”

“I doubt that he will be able to find you. We are at sea, and as soon as he took Chastity, he must have charted a different course.”

“Sometimes I fear that the man is not entirely human, for he seems to know things that others do not.”

“Complete and utter balderdash. We shall reach England in a matter of days, and you will find that we will have clear sailing.”

“Aye, perhaps you are right. But I, my dear, have learned to never bank on supposition. I prefer to let the Fates take me where they will.” He watched, as she tilted her head to the side.

“Yet, you took fate into your own hands when you kidnapped me.” Her voice was soft, and there was something resembling betrayal glimmering in her eyes. She walked slowly toward him, and placed her hands firmly on his chest. “Why do you insist on giving me heartache?”

Her voice rocked him to his very core. “I do no such thing.”

“Oh, but you do. I may have been pampered with riches untold for my entire life, but I do know there is more to life than money and jewels.”

“There is love, like my love for you.” He was waiting for her to confess her own love to him, but for some reason, she was remaining disturbingly quiet. He lowered his lips toward hers, and brushed against them, ever so slightly. She tensed, but wrapped her arms around him. Pulling her close, he lifted her off of her feet. He twirled her around and lowered one hand to cup her bottom.

“We must leave,” she gasped out. Their hunger for each other would never be abated. Somehow they made it to the next cabin, and where words had failed them, they took over in the joining of their bodies. He stared at her at the height of their passion, and wondered if she would ever be his.

“I am happy you never accepted another man’s proposal. I suppose I shall have to deal with your infernal cousin at some point in time.” He brushed a lock of her hair off of her face, and decided that he loved the way that she looked after a bout of hearty lovemaking. Her forehead shone with sweat, and her eyes filled with wonder.

“My cousin will not challenge you. My aunt, on the other hand, well, you just might have to fight a duel with her. She wanted all of my money, and wasn’t pleased when my grandfather gave part of his money to me. I can still hear her talking about me when she thought I wasn’t around. She said to her son, why did that old man have to leave anything to that little stupid bitch?

“She has it all—she’ll get all of her father’s money, what right does she have to get the money that you were owed? I knew that night that I had to leave England…even if my father wasn’t poorly, I would have left. At least with my father, I know where I stand…I couldn’t stand the way that my aunt smiled to my face and stabbed me in my back when I wasn’t around. She was a Brutus. It has only ever been about the riches I had…but I thought you were different…” Her voice trailed off, and there was a catch to it that made him give her his full attention. “At the masquerade ball, you stared at me as if I was the only woman that mattered. I could not believe that I had been given such a blessing. That was why I agreed to go out with you to the maze.”

He pulled her closer to him. She was right. Though revenge had been on his mind, it had not been in his heart when he’d first laid eyes on her.

“I…when I first saw you…all of my lust for revenge slipped away. I was put under a spell. My mind still yearned for revenge, but my heart did not.” His voice was low, and filled with the shame he still felt about what he’d been set to do. She propped herself up on her elbows, and stared quizzically down at him.

“If you knew who I was that night, why didn’t you come back to claim me? Why did you abandon me?”

How could he answer her question? He, himself didn’t know why he’d stayed away. Perhaps, it was because he’d hated what he’d almost become. Hated what he’d almost done to her.

He could see by the intense expression on her face that she was thinking once again.

“You mentioned earlier that you knew Mary. How do you know her? Was she another one of your conquests?”

He chuckled at that ludicrous thought and sighed heavily. “No, she was not one of my conquests. She knew my brother.” His voice had become flat at her new line of questioning, and he could see that she had noticed the change.

“In what capacity did she know your brother?”

“She was his partner in crime, his partner in all things. His confidant, his everything.” He stared over at her to see if she was going to flinch at all. “You do not know much about Mary, do you?”

“Only that she is a formidable woman, and one that does not need to be protected.”

“Aye, that is what my brother soon found out. They had plans to wed you see, and I do believe that my brother would have done anything for her. I suspect that he would have even died for her, if necessary. But she had problems of her own on land, and he had responsibilities at sea.”

“What sort of problems did she have?”

“She was fighting for her land, and for her title. Fortunately, she eventually regained everything, but when it came for the time of their nuptials, my brother was killed. I did not believe that Mary would ever recover, but it seems that time evidently heals all wounds.”

“I am sorry. Ronald is a good man.”

“Aye, but my brother…my brother Malcolm was a far better man.” His voice was heavy, and he blinked back tears. He wanted to get off the subject of talking about his brother. He and his brother had been very close, and witnessing his death had nearly broken him.

Two loud raps sounded at the door, and Mallory stood up to answer it.

“Mallory?” Elizabeth whispered. Turning around, he was surprised to see the wistful expression that had taken hold of her features. “I shall never be close to another man the way that I am close to you.” He nodded his head, momentarily unable to say anything.

No matter how hard he tried, she was still unwilling to tell him that she loved him. She’d professed it once, quite unwittingly it seemed, and now, now, she seemed intent upon making the same mistake twice. Squaring his shoulders, and buttoning the last button on his jacket, he moved to swing the door open.

“They have come.” Ethan’s voice was emotionless, though his hand rested comfortably on his sword. “And this time the bastard brought more ships. They outnumber us two to one.”

Mallory bit his lip, and turned back to stare at Elizabeth.

“The men are making ready, but I do believe that we will be facing a close fight—this shall be a bloody battle.” Ethan seemed troubled, but Mallory was not worried in the slightest. Perhaps this would be the day that Antonio would finally receive his reckoning.

“Make sure that everyone is armed, right up to Old Pete.” Mallory’s mind had turned from worrying about Elizabeth’s inability to confess her love, to worrying about the welfare of everyone onboard his ship.

There would be deaths this day, and he had to make sure that he kept her safe from the carnage. A sea battle was something that could terrify the wits out of grown men. Elizabeth had fared spectacularly well on the last one, right up until the time when she had been overwhelmed and captured.

“Aye, Captain.” Ethan motioned for him to step outside, and Mallory obliged. “What if he has come for her?”

“He shall never get her.” Mallory’s voice was hard, and Ethan’s brows were raised.

“Be careful, Rafe.”

“Why should I be careful? I love that woman in there. I love her deeply, with all that I have to give.”

“Aye, and I loved her mother. Look at where it got me. Just pray take care, for you never know what she might do. If you recall, you did kidnap her. What if she is playing right into your hands?”

“Out of the question. I shall not even consider it.”

“Just watch your back, savvy?”

“Yes, I understand. I shall take great caution when dealing with her.” Mallory did not want to be on guard with Elizabeth, but he would stay on his toes, until he knew whether or not she was his forever.

“Have you told her who you really are, yet?”

“I have told her part of who I am. I will tell her the whole story soon.” He shuffled impatiently, and glanced back wearily at the door. He had to keep his answers short and to the point. Elizabeth had a habit of listening at the door. She was a well-accomplished eavesdropper.

Ethan simply did not understand the difficult situation that he was in. He was between a rock and a hard place, and he did not know what to do.

“Women really hate men that lie to them. It’s way up there on their list of most despicable men.” Ethan’s eyes searched his features, and Mallory sighed. He was annoying him to no end, but he knew that he only had his best interests at heart.

Ethan had been a dutiful, trustworthy friend, and he had to have him know their friendship was not being strained in the slightest.

“Thank you, mate. I shall keep everything that you have said in mind. You are too paranoid for your own good, sometimes, my friend.” He slapped Ethan on the back, and then turned at the sound of extra activity onboard the ship. “But I do believe that you still have to make sure that this ship is battle ready. Have you sent out the necessary signals to the other ships?”