Malia Martin (13 page)

“Rumors, all,” answered Leslie. “Or, perhaps he has some sort of rule that he does not conduct affairs when he is on an assignment. I’ve heard men are very much distracted by the deed, and sometimes abstain when they need to keep their minds duly focused on one thing.”

Leslie shook her head and cradled her teacup in both hands. “Truly, Pru, we both know that men have absolutely no imagination. You ask them to do two things at once and they panic.”

Pru nodded quietly. “So true.”

“They think they are so superior, but if you ask me, I think men have something wrong with their brains.”

Pru knew exactly of whom Leslie was thinking. “Oh, Les, aren’t we a pair?”

“More like
they
are a pair of idiots.”

“Of course they are! With women like us just waiting for them to beckon.”

A long silence followed that statement, then Leslie said, “Well, now, that makes us sound somewhat pathetic.”

“Hmm, yes, sorry.”

“More tea?” Leslie asked, holding up the pot.

Pru stared dejectedly down into the tepid brown liquid still in her cup. “No, thank you.”

Leslie put the pot down with a clank, stood, and without saying another word, left the room.

Pru just waited for her friend.

“I have just the thing,” Leslie said when she returned, holding a bottle of brandy aloft.

“Oh, yes!” Pru laughed, and held out her teacup. “Of course,” she said, as Leslie tipped some brandy into Pru’s tea. “I have a higher goal here, you know, and I really must think of a way to keep the captain occupied. He is not the sort to be bought off.”

“And, it seems, he’s not the sort to be distracted.”

Pru sipped her drink and sighed deeply. “I did have such high hopes for my plan.”

Leslie laughed. “Oh, yes, there is nothing like a plan with a bonus.”

Pru rolled her eyes at her friend. “Still, perhaps I should continue my pursuit of the good captain. Even if he continues to reject me, I shall be a distraction, don’t you think?”

Leslie downed her share of the brandy in one swig. “Oh, yes, dear, there is no arguing with that. The man cannot keep his eyes off you.”

Pru leaned back in her chair. “What a strange thing this attraction business is. It is very exciting, isn’t it? But it also makes me sad at the strangest moments. ’Tis probably a good thing I never had to deal with it during my marriage. It seems to me that I would have gone decidedly mad.”

Leslie sobered, her green eyes darkening with a touch of sadness. “Yes, it makes you mad, mad in love. And, dear Pru, it is very much worth it.”

Pru dropped her gaze to the boarded floor for a moment. She could feel tears threatening the backs of her eyes, and so she breathed deeply and swallowed them away. She felt as if she had begun to live in the last two years, and she absolutely adored her life, finally.

It was not as if she had lived horribly up until two years ago. On the contrary, Prudence had always been taken care of very nicely. Her elderly parents had adored their only child. She had loved them, too, and had been very sad when they had died within a year of each other just after her marriage to Lord Farnsworth.

But, of course, they had known they would probably not live until Pru reached her majority. That had been their reasoning in marrying Pru off early to an older gentleman who could care for her.

And Lord Farnsworth had definitely taken care of her. She had lived with her husband very much as she had lived with her parents: quietly, sheltered, and with nothing to do that would tax her.

With her husband’s passing, though, Prudence had been left alone in the world. And because Lord Farnsworth had not anticipated his death, his responsibilities had landed in Pru’s lap.

That had been two years ago, and that had been, really, the beginning of Pru’s life.

Suddenly, she mattered. Suddenly, Prudence Farnsworth was needed. Suddenly, she made a difference to people. Suddenly, she was really, truly living.

Now, though, a bit of darkness had edged into Pru’s bright world. She had thought that she was living life fully, but could she, perhaps, be missing something else entirely? And could that something else make her happier than she ever dreamed?

“There’s nothing like drinking the profits,” Leslie said lightly, interrupting the pained silence.

Pru glanced up at her friend and smiled slightly. “Especially when you’ve got idiots to deal with.”

“Hear, hear.”

I
t had taken James rather longer than he had expected to get out of town that evening. Mrs. Witherspoon had come toddling after him wanting to know how the tonic had worked, and before he knew it the old woman had talked his ear off for nearly an hour. She had promised some other cure-all as he finally made his good-byes.

He had to smile as he left the road and went to the edge of the cliff. He was actually starting to like Mrs. Witherspoon. It was odd to have someone who actually seemed concerned for his welfare. Odd, and disquieting, and really rather nice all at once.

With a sigh, James closed his eyes and listened. Nothing. The beach below him was quiet. James opened his eyes and scanned the horizon. Nothing.

And then the hairs on James’s neck stood on end. Unfortunately the sensation had nothing to do with smugglers, but rather with the memory of Prudence Farnsworth’s caress.

Damn. He could not get the woman out of his mind. Anger warred with downright lust as he thought of how she had thrown his
reputation
in his face.

The irony of his life was hideously funny, really.

James made a small sound halfway between a laugh and a growl, but then bit his tongue. He closed his eyes again and listened. Yes, a sound. Someone was coming along the road. James crouched stealthily in the underbrush and waited.

In the darkness, James could just barely make out the form of a person on horseback. Rather late to be out riding.

“Captain, finally, I have been looking all over for you.”

James let out the breath he had been holding. “Lady Farnsworth,” he said, standing. Frustration, lust, and a bit of confusion tumbled about his head. “How on earth did you see me?”

“Oh, I have excellent vision at night,” she said merrily, and dismounted. “Clifton teases that I must have an owl in my family tree.”

If there was something he could not imagine Clifton doing, it was teasing someone. “You were seeking me out?”

Lady Farnsworth dropped her horse’s reins, and the animal seemed to take that to mean she should not move an inch.

“I brought you a bit of something to eat,” Lady Farnsworth said, handing him a cloth-tied bundle he had not even noticed.

James took the offering and just stared at it for a moment.

“I thought you might get hungry skulking about out here.”

Skulking?

“Have you seen anything?” she asked, and walked to the cliff’s edge.

“Be careful, there, Lady Farnsworth. ’Tis a dangerous place to be in the dark.”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about me.” She smiled at him over her shoulder.

That was debatable.

“Looks like nothing is happening here.” She turned and came toward him. “Would you like me to take you to the bay where your ship went down?”

James winced.

“I think that is where the smugglers usually conduct business.”

Actually, he had been trying to figure out exactly where that had happened. The two excise officers were useless. It seemed they spent most of their time at Harker’s or asleep. And they had looked at him with openmouthed, vacant stares when he had asked where most of the smuggling activity took place.

“Of course, before we go, you will have to apologize to me for this afternoon.”

The woman was obviously mad. “Apologize, Lady Farnsworth?”

“Yes, Captain. You implied that I would have a tantrum because I was not given what I wished, and it was terribly rude of you.”

For a moment, James nearly laughed. Dear God, he wanted to lie down and roll with mirth. “I am sorry, Lady Farnsworth, for upsetting you,” he said instead.

“Oh, no, it didn’t upset me, really, I just found it rather a rude statement.”

“Right, well, I fear I was a bit taken aback by your proposition and thus acted rashly.”

“I understand completely.” She came close to him and patted his arm. “Now, we shall be friends again, yes? And I can show you Gravesly Bay.” Lady Farnsworth went to her horse and gave the animal a slap to her rump. “Home, Beauty.”

The mare whinnied and trotted off. “Captain?” James turned his gaze from the retreating shadow of the horse to find Lady Farnsworth standing in the road, her arm held out to accept him. “Shall we?”

No matter that she was sacrificing herself as a diversion for the good of the Wolf, Pru could not remember having a more lovely evening. It was May, and should have been rather nippy out, but instead the air was still and, if not warm, definitely not cold. The sky was clear, with a sliver of a moon and a million stars.

“It is beautiful tonight.” She sighed, enjoying the night as well as the feel of the captain’s strong, warm body next to hers. It was really too bad that he was so adamant about not doing anything to further their relationship.

“Hmm.”

She steered them off the road and over to a small winding path that cut down the cliff to the sea. She started to descend, but James stayed her with a hand on her arm.

She really did love his hands.

“I will go down first, Lady Farnsworth,” he said in that commanding but polite tone he had.

She nodded, but twisted her arm and snagged his hand. And just like that they were holding hands as they took the steep path to the beach. She had never, ever held a man’s hand before. It was truly a wondrous thing.

She could feel his strong fingers wrapped around hers, the pulse point at his wrist intimately cupped against her own. Mmm, it was better than clotted cream on warm scones.

They reached the sand, and Pru made sure she held tight to the captain’s hand so he could not shake her off. “Does it look familiar?” she asked, pointing out to sea. “That’s where your ship went down.”

He stood very still. And then he turned slowly and looked up behind them. There on the highest point of land above them and to the right was Gravesly Castle, with its defensive cannon pointing right at them. “I don’t remember much of what happened, actually, after the
Defender
went down.”

“Yes, I’m sure that was quite a shock.”

“Quite,” he said with a bit of sarcasm.

“Especially after all the battles you had won against the French.”

“So, this is the most likely spot to catch the smugglers?” he asked, obviously uncomfortable with the subject.

Pru smiled into the darkness. “I’ve heard it said so.”
When they’re not loading wagons four miles inland in the marsh
. “Where do you hail from, Captain? Every once in a while I detect a rather strange intonation to your words, but for my life I can’t place it.”

He glanced down at her. It was just light enough that she could make out the darkness of his hair and the planes of his face, everything else was in shadow. “I was born and raised in India. I am surprised you didn’t know, seeing that you’ve heard all the other rumors about me.”

“Ah yes,” she nodded, and started walking toward the water. “I remember. But now you have a home in London that you don’t enjoy.”

The captain said nothing, so Pru continued, “It was bandied about that you were looking for a wife last season. Did no one pique your interest?”

“That would be the gossips’ conclusion, I’d say.”

Pru frowned at James’s rather strange answer. “I think you are out of luck, Captain,” she said. “There doesn’t seem to be anything happening at all along the beaches this evening.” She stopped and sat in the sand.

James stayed standing and their hands separated. She sighed as she gathered up her skirts and started rolling down her stockings. “I enjoy holding your hand, Captain. You have lovely hands.”

Obviously the man could think of nothing to say to this, for he stayed silent. Pru kicked off her shoes and began rolling down her other stocking. “Take your boots off, James. We can wade.”