Kiss From a Rogue (27 page)

Tony stroked his thumb over the back of her neck. “We could change things again, though.”

“How?”

“The idea I mentioned. Though I’m not sure how well everyone is going to take to it. It will be quite a change from what they’re used to. Hold off on telling them about the ship, until after we see what they think.”

Sylvia was pretty sure she knew what had brought Tony to her side. “I think I like your idea,” she said. Her heart swelled.

“I haven’t even told you yet.”

“That’s all right. I’m sure the answer is going to be yes.”

Trent came up to the railing and peered over the side, at the longboats ready to go. “Meet you at the Happy Jack for a mug of ale?” he said to Tony.

“Looking forward to it.”

Everyone began climbing down into the longboats, though Corwin, Monroe and a few others stayed behind to make certain the
Polly Anne
didn’t go anywhere. Doyle ordered Ruford to precede him down the ladder, and Tony helped Sylvia down.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Tony said when he saw Nick descending the ladder.

“I’m dying to meet your Mrs. Miggins.”

Alistair came down next. “As am I.”

Doyle and Sawyer pushed away from the cutter and began rowing. Soon the boat skidded up onto the beach.

Nick was the first one out, and offered his hand as Sylvia stood. But instead of just helping her keep her balance, he grasped her under the arms and swung her high into the air before setting her gently down on the beach. She couldn’t help laughing at the sensation.

Tony stood up, hands on his hips as he glared at Nick. He cleared his throat. Loudly.

“Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to keep you waiting.” Nick hoisted Tony up and out of the boat, though he didn’t swing him quite as high.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it, you blockhead.” Tony smacked Nick on the back of his head. “Keep your hands off her.”

Sylvia felt a tiny thrill at his display of jealousy.

“You’re lucky he didn’t puke on you for that,” Alistair said, stepping onto the beach without any assistance. The others spilled out of the boat, as well.

“There’s nothing left,” Nick said. “Couldn’t possibly be.”

Tony clapped his hand to his forehead, closed his eyes, and took deep breaths. His lips moved as though he were silently counting to ten.

Sylvia stood on tiptoe and gave Nick a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you for bringing him to me so quickly.”

“Happy to be of service, my lady.” He winked.

Jimmy, Trent, and the others pulled ashore in their boat, and started up the cliff path.

Tony held his arm out for Sylvia, his warm brown eyes full of promise. As soon as she tucked her hand in his arm, he started up the path to the inn, too.

“What about us?” Nick called.

Tony waved for them to follow. “Ale’s this way.”

“Right-o.”

Sawyer met them in the yard of the Happy Jack. “We’ve put Teague down in the cellar next to Tipton, my lady.”

For a moment, her blood ran cold. Two bodies to dispose of now.

Tony patted her hand. “If you haven’t already made plans for them, may I make a suggestion?”

Sylvia made an encouraging gesture.

“Take both bodies to Danielson, Tipton’s supervisor in Weymouth. Remind him that Teague shot Tipton. He’ll see to it there’s no trouble with an inquiry.”

Sawyer nodded. “We’ll take them at first light.”

Sylvia heaved a sigh of relief.

Soon after, they stepped into the inn’s taproom. The loud buzz of conversation turned to cheers and applause when those gathered realized who had entered. Tony took a step to the side, joining in the applause. Jimmy’s cheeks flushed a bright red, but he made an elegant bow. Sylvia curtsied, her cheeks heating at the unexpected praise.

People started to quiet down and take their seats again. In the corner, Doyle guarded Ruford, who was sulking. “Damn pirates,” he muttered. Baxter leaned on his crutches, near Hayden with his arm in a sling.

“How soon are we going to sail for Cherbourg, my lady?”

“Do we know who we’re going to get the brandy from?”

“I want to be part of the crew.”

“Me, too.”

The questions and comments flew faster than Sylvia could answer them, or even identify the speaker. The noise started to get out of hand.

Tony pierced through the hubbub with a two-fingered whistle. She’d have to get him to teach her how to do that. “Let the lady at least take a seat before you bombard her with questions.” Tony ushered her toward a spot that suddenly became vacant.

Spencer hustled over with three full tankards and set them down on the table. “Something to wet your whistle, my lady, my lord. Sir.”

Sylvia gratefully took a sip, as did Jimmy and Tony. It seemed that at least half the village was gathered in the taproom, in addition to Ruford and Tony’s two friends. Mrs. Miggins was seated between Alistair and Nick, a broad grin on her face.

Tony leaned close. “Mind if I tell them about my idea now?”

Here? Now? In front of everyone? She took another sip. “Go ahead.”

T
ony cleared his throat and stood up. After a moment, everyone looked at him expectantly. He had done so much and earned their trust and friendship in such a short period of time. Sylvia’s heart swelled with pride. Everyone had all but forgotten the disagreement over stealing Ruford’s ship.

“I realize I am a newcomer to your way of doing things,” he began. “But perhaps that gives me the ability to see things from a different perspective. I know smuggling is a time-honored tradition around these parts, and offers the potential for great profits. I’ve also seen how dangerous it can be. I want to propose an alternative.”

This
was his idea? Sylvia had expected an entirely different kind of proposal. She tried to not let her disappointment show.

“In selling the brandy to your inland customers, you essentially have a transportation and distribution business. I propose that you simply transport and distribute a different product. Cheese.”

She had been trying for months to convince the villagers to try alternatives. But her recipe experiment had gone horribly, horribly wrong. Cheese could not be the answer.

There were whispers and mutterings, and a few outright laughs.

“Your double Dorset blue vinny has a wide and growing reputation for excellence.” He ignored the snort from Ruford in the corner. “Even the folks up in Shaftesbury have heard of it. With a small investment, you could expand your facilities and herds, and increase production. You can sell to a much wider market than you have been with the brandy. And it’s legal.”

Mrs. Pitsnoggle stood up. “That’s a fine idea, laddie, but we can’t even replace all the roofs we lost in the last storm yet. Where are we going to get the coin to make improvements?”

“Me.”

There was a moment of shocked silence.

“I have the coin. Just, ah, not with me at the moment. I’ve been looking for a new investment opportunity. I’d much rather invest it in expanding a dairy than buying a ship.”

There was renewed whisperings and mutterings. Several people shook their heads.

Nick stood up. “Our boy here has been hiding his light under a bushel. I can attest that not only does Tony have the coin to invest, but so does his brother, the Earl of Sinclair.”

There was an awed hush, followed by more whisperings, as people looked at Tony in a new light.

His brother was an
earl
? Sylvia slid down in her seat. She’d known from his clothes that there was money in his family, but never suspected they ranked so high. How foolish, thinking he was planning to marry her, the widow of an insignificant country baron. Since she had succumbed to his charms, he was probably planning to make her his mistress. Sylvia buried her face in her hands.

“And I’d like to be your first customer,” Nick continued. “I’ll take fifty pounds of cheese for my ship. Today. I might even share it with my crew.”

There were a few laughs.

Ruford stood up, hands on his hips. “Have you even tasted the vile concoction they call ‘cheese’ around here?”

“Excellent point.” Tony gestured for Alistair, who retrieved the round of cheese from his haversack. Tony withdrew the knife from his boot and sliced into the cheese, and passed a chunk to Ruford. “The piece you were offered the other morning was an aberration. There was a slight error with that batch that has since been corrected.” He glanced at Sylvia for confirmation. She nodded. “Try a taste from this batch.”

Tony kept cutting until everyone had a piece. The noise level dropped while everyone tasted.

“Damn, that’s good.”

“There’s something else in it.”

“Herbs?”

“Best I’ve ever had.”

Sylvia finally took a bite of it herself. She looked at Tony in surprise.

He looked exceedingly pleased with himself as he smiled back at her. “This is from the batch that’s aging in Lady Montgomery’s stillroom. I believe it’s her own variation of the local recipe.”

Sylvia reluctantly nodded.

Tony pulled a slip of paper from his pocket. “I’ve done some initial calculations, and figured that you could be running Lavender Hill Farms as a profitable venture within a year.”

“Lavender Hill Farms?”

Tony glanced at her. “Just a suggestion.” He looked back at the crowd. “By fall, there should be enough to go around for everyone’s cottage to have been repaired before the winter storms set in, see to it that your cellars are well stocked, and perhaps even replace the lost fishing boats. There should also be enough for Lord Montgomery to return to school and finish his education.”

Jimmy looked up. “Me, go back to school?” He beamed.

Tony flipped the paper over. “I’ve done some sketches of changes to make to the barns and production rooms, some things that should improve efficiency. The operation will still require pretty much everyone in the village to be involved, to make it successful.”

“Everyone will have work?” Hayden said.

“If they want it, yes.”

There was an excited buzz of conversation. Trent snagged the paper from Tony, and held it out so he and Baxter could study it by the fire. Several other men crowded around, studying the drawings, discussing the document.

Tony sat beside Sylvia. “Well, what do you think?”

“You’ve just suggested a viable alternative to smuggling, something I’ve struggled to come up with, in vain, for months. And you’ve only been pondering the problem for a day or two—”

“Week and a half. I started thinking about it the night you introduced me to Ruford.”

“I’m not sure if I want to hit you or kiss you.”

He grinned. “I know which of those two choices
I
favor.”

His expression was eager yet worried, as though his entire happiness depended on her approval. “I was right. I like your idea,” she said at last. It wasn’t the idea she’d hoped for, but this idea would benefit many more people. She would just have to swallow her disappointment.

With the majority of men in the room still chattering over Tony’s notes, Nick and Alistair moved to the table and helped themselves to more cheese. “You were right about Mrs. Miggins,” Nick said around a mouthful.

Tony grinned. “Get you, did she?”

“Got us both.” Alistair popped another piece in his mouth.

“Can’t say I didn’t warn you.” Tony turned in his seat to face Sylvia and took her hands in his, some of his eagerness fading. “I thought you would be more excited.”

“I am excited. This is an excellent idea.” She tried to force more enthusiasm into her voice.

Tony still looked troubled but plunged ahead. “We could spend the winters at my estate in Berkshire. It’s not that large, but it produces enough to keep me, and the tenants, comfortable. Or we could live here in Lulworth year round and just make periodic visits to my steward there. Whichever you prefer—just so long as we keep an eye on both the estate and the cheese production.”

“We?”

Nick leaned over Tony’s left shoulder. “I think you may have left out one facet of your brilliant plan, Sir Genius.”

Tony’s brow furrowed. “I don’t think so.”

Alistair leaned over the other shoulder. “Why would Lady Montgomery go with you to your estate in Berkshire?”

“Because she—” Tony’s eyes widened. “Oh.”

“Precisely.” Alistair grabbed Nick by the elbow, and dragged him, protesting, across the room.

Sylvia and Tony were left in a quiet bubble, separate from everyone else’s excited chatter. Her heart began to beat faster again.

Tony tightened his grip on her fingers. His smile was tinged with apprehension. “I’ve made a muddle of this, haven’t I?”

“Muddle of what?”

“I never thought I’d be doing this so soon, so early in my life.” He took a deep breath. “But I don’t want to wait a moment longer.” He slid out of his seat and down on one knee, and pulled a small jeweler’s box from his waistcoat pocket.

Sylvia couldn’t help but gasp at the sight of the ring—an emerald, surrounded by small diamonds—and more importantly, what the ring represented.

The noise level in the taproom suddenly dropped, but Sylvia had eyes only for Tony. Her heart was pounding so hard, surely everyone could hear it.

“I love you, Sylvia. Would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”

Now
this
was an idea to get excited about. With tears of joy blurring her vision, she wrapped her arms around his neck.

“I think that generally means yes,” Nick announced.

Sylvia nodded. “Yes,” she whispered against Tony’s neck. “I love you, too.”

He stood and carried her up with him, until her feet left the floor and he spun in a circle. Her skirts flared out, but she didn’t care. She was in Tony’s arms. He loved her. He set her down and cradled her cheeks in his hands, and claimed her lips in a tender kiss.

Gradually she became aware that the roaring in her ears was the cheering villagers.

“This is all well and good,” Ruford shouted. The crowd quieted and moved closer to him, the men reaching for their weapons. “I’m happy for you both, really I am. Very touching. But what about my ship?”

Sylvia considered. “It would seem I have no need for it after all.”

“You’re just going to give it back?” Doyle asked in shock.

Sylvia tilted her head to one side. “I don’t know how to sail it. Do you?”

“Well, no, but…”

“After all the effort you went through to take it, that’s it?” Baxter said.

“After all the effort
we
went through, you mean,” Jimmy groused. His left eye was swelling, and the bruises were starting to show up on his jaw. The other men were also beginning to show signs of the fight they’d been in.

“It was an act of desperation.” Sylvia smiled at Tony. “We are no longer desperate.” He pulled her close for a quick kiss. Sylvia turned to Sawyer. “Please let Corwin and Monroe know that the
Polly Anne
is free to sail at her captain’s convenience.” Sylvia held out her hand to Ruford. “No hard feelings?”

Ruford stood with his arms folded across his chest. “I lost my first mate and several crew members when you told them to jump overboard. Who knows where they’ve got to by now.”

“Crowther was an unpleasant fellow, and the others were cowards,” Tony said.

After a thoughtful pause, Ruford inclined his head in acknowledgment.

“McCutcheon is due for a promotion, don’t you think?” Sylvia said.

“Well, he has been with me almost as long as Crowther.” Ruford rested his hands on his hips.

Sylvia held her hand out again.

Ruford wagged a finger at her. “It was an act of piracy, and you don’t even have a letter of marque from King George. There is only one thing that can atone for such an act.” He had his nose high in the air again.

The men who had been eavesdropping gathered in a circle around Ruford and Sylvia. Tony straightened to his full height at her side, his hand a reassuring presence at the small of her back.

“Fifty pounds of cheese and ten pounds of smoked mackerel should cover it.”

They shook hands and the buzz of conversation resumed.

With everything else that had gone on, Sylvia hadn’t noticed until now that Jimmy was by himself in a corner, staring into his tankard.

“Jimmy? Something wrong?” She sat down next to him.

“I’m happy that you’re happy, and I like Tony—he’s great guns—but…”

“But what?”

She barely heard his whisper. “If you marry him, that means you won’t be my sister anymore.”

“Oh, Jimmy.” She pulled him into a hug. “You’ll always be the brother of my heart.”

“I’ll try to remember that when your Uncle Walcott makes me move in with his houseful of brats. He only let me stay here because
you
were here.”

Jimmy was right. Once she married, Jimmy would be alone, except for servants. Uncle Walcott took his court-appointed role of guardian quite seriously. He would undoubtedly insist Jimmy live under his roof until Jimmy reached majority status, three years away.

She shuddered.

Tony joined them. “This looks serious.”

“ ’Tis nothing.” Jimmy pasted a bright smile on his face.

Sylvia explained the situation.

“A fate worse than being keelhauled, to be sure.” Tony scratched his jaw. A moment later he snapped his fingers. “All you need do is petition the courts for a change of guardian. Offer up some sobersides married chap, a stuffy fellow with good breeding and old money. A title in the family tree wouldn’t hurt.”

“Stuffy?” Jimmy wrinkled his nose.

Sylvia bit back a grin. She squeezed Tony’s hand, barely able to contain her gratitude.

Tony nodded, his expression grave. “Think we could fool them into thinking I fit that description?”

Jimmy’s jaw dropped. “You’d do that for me?”

“Seems only fair, since you’ve been taking care of Sylvia.”

“What’s this?” Nick had wandered over. “Trouble in paradise already?”

“Seems I’m about to acquire a ward as well as a wife.” He ruffled Jimmy’s hair.

Nick’s brows rose in surprise. “A wife and a cub in one day. You don’t mess about, do you?”

“Once you know what you want, there’s no point in dawdling.” He kissed Sylvia’s hand. “Do you want to wait three weeks for the banns to be read, or shall we get a special license?”

“Or you could elope to Scotland. I can have you there in just a couple days on the
Wind Dancer
. I’ll even let you have use of the captain’s cabin.” Nick grinned. “Though I suppose it wouldn’t be very romantic if the bridegroom were perpetually sick, would it?”

Tony stood, pulling Sylvia with him. “Come, sweetheart, we’ll leave the court jester to amuse himself.”

Unfazed, Nick slung an arm over Tony’s shoulder. “May I kiss the bride? I’ve never kissed a lady pirate before.”

“No. And she’s not a pirate anymore.”

“Oh, come on, give. You kissed your sister-in-law at her wedding breakfast.”

“No.”

“But—”

While Nick and Tony argued, Alistair tapped Sylvia on the shoulder. When she glanced up at him, his normally serious expression was full of mischief, his brows raised in query. Before she knew what he was about, Alistair tipped her head up with one finger under her chin, and gave her a light, quick kiss on the lips. He winked as he pulled away.