Samantha James (4 page)

He surveyed her a moment, his expression cool and disinterested, as if the exchange had never happened. “You may go, Yank. A wench who is unwilling is as much trouble as one who is untried. I’ve no taste for either.”

She had been dismissed. He now stood at the window, hands behind his back, staring out in the stark blackness of the night. Hatred blazed within her, for it was very apparent he’d already forgotten her.

Slowly she began to back away. She swore, every vile curse she’d ever heard in the taproom, scarcely knowing what any of them even meant. But if he heard, there was no sign of it. He did not turn, nor did he speak, and that gave Cassie the very chance she needed…

She snatched his watch from the dresser and fled.

I
n the attic, Cassie rushed to the crooked table in the corner to light the stub of candle there. Her hands were shaking so that she dropped the flint thrice before the task was completed. The flame flickered and wavered, casting an eerie reflection on the wall behind it.

Only then did she examine the prize clutched tight within her palm.

In all her days, Cassie had never seen such a finely crafted piece. The shell-shaped case was elaborately carved; it shone bright and golden as the sun on a warm spring day. There was writing on the back side, but Cassie paid no heed. With the ragged edge of her nail, she released the catch on the hinge. Opposite the face was a cleverly painted scene of a woman and a young boy, standing amongst a garden of flowers.

Her mind raced apace with the thunder of her heart. The watch was no doubt worth a great deal of money. Perhaps not a fortune, but enough to take her far, far away from Black Jack’s Inn—and Charleston. Enough to see her settled in a decent boardinghouse. Enough to tide her over while she sought work, perhaps as a seamstress.

You can’t
, cried a voice inside.
What if the earl discovers it missing? He will know you stole it
.

You have nothing to lose
, urged another voice.
You dare not trust the earl to keep his word. And you know what Black Jack said—he will turn you out when he finds out you refused to lay with the earl
.

Hours later she lay huddled on her pallet in the corner.

She was half-afraid the earl would appear at any moment, spewing anger and shouting for his watch, with Black Jack at his heels. The din from downstairs had long since died down. Nell did not come to seek her bed. Cassie was secretly glad she chose to warm someone else’s rather than her own.

Gradually her fears began to recede. As the night grew darker, her hopes grew stronger. By now the earl was surely long since abed. Likely as not, he would not rise ’til the hour was well past noon. Lord or no, no doubt he was just like every other man—fond of cards and brandy and cigars—and women.

Daylight arrived at long last. A meager sliver of light sneaked through the dust-coated windows of the attic as Cassie eased down the stairs. She crept through the inn slowly, for fear of making some sound that might give away her presence. The quick hard pounding of her heart seemed to jolt her entire body as she inched past Gabriel’s door, praying all the while that her luck would last…that he wouldn’t notice the watch was missing until he had awakened, long into the day…

As was his habit, Gabriel opened his eyes to the first faint glimmer of dawn creeping through the
draperies. He did not linger abed, but thrust off his covers and rose naked to his full, impressive height. A frugal smile touched the hardness of his mouth. He briefly entertained the notion of calling for a bath, that the girl Cassie might attend him. Would she resist, as she had last night? No matter. Her protests were a thin disguise for the response he’d tasted in lips that were startlingly sweet and warm.

His jaw hardened, then he forced a dry chuckle. It was really rather vastly amusing—a mere servant had spurned him—the future duke of Farleigh. He regretted that she’d not been willing. He’d have liked nothing more than to strip away those drab faded rags and discover the bounty of creamy pink flesh that lay beneath. Aye, the wench heated his blood—and his temper. Yet her very coolness merely made her all the more intriguing.

Perhaps he should have pressed the issue—warmed her ice to fire. Turned her fierce resistance into smoldering excitement. Indeed, he suspected lying with such a fiery wench as she might have proved quite satisfying…for both of them.

But there was much to be done this day. If all went as planned, the crew would finish loading the hold with indigo and tobacco to be taken back to England. With luck, they could set sail by noonday.

Five minutes later, he stood before the window, simply dressed in a loose white shirt, dark breeches, and shiny, high-topped boots. Fog lay over the harbor, a mysterious shroud of silver. The city was just beginning to stir. He glimpsed only a few trailing plumes of smoke curling from the chimneys.

He was just about to turn away when he saw it—there, in the street just outside the inn. From the murky shadows he picked out the slight figure of a woman, hurrying down the boardwalk. Her back was to him so he could not see her face. Her hair lay hidden beneath a scarf. In one hand she clutched a small pouch. Was it his imagination—or did her pace quicken? Gabriel’s eyes narrowed. There was something almost furtive in her manner.

He whirled. His pile of coin still lay mounded on the dresser, untouched.

But there was no sign of his watch.

He swore, a vivid, blistering curse. Not only was the girl Cassie immensely desirable, maddening, and aloof…

She was also a thief.

Only when Cassie had stepped out into the damp morning chill did she dare to breathe again. She did not stop to say a tearful good-bye to the inn where she’d spent nearly half of her life. She had no regrets about leaving. She had only hopes that the future might hold far better than her wretched memories of Black Jack’s Inn.

But she must hurry. There was a shopkeeper between the chandler and the baker. She’d heard Black Jack say the man dealt in used goods as well as new. She prayed he would purchase such a handsome watch for a goodly sum. And indeed, the winds of fortune seemed to be blowing her way. She hoped to catch him as soon as he opened his doors.

And then she would be free.

Shivering a little against the chill, she tugged her shawl from her head to her shoulders, pulling it tightly around her. She was scarcely upon the next row of buildings when she heard footsteps echo behind her. An eerie prickle tickled her nape. She glanced back, then froze.

Gabriel Sinclair’s dark visage swam before her.

No, she thought numbly. It could not be him…it could not! Surely her mind played her false!

A choking panic climbed high in her throat. She turned and began to run. This time she knew she did not imagine the footsteps thundering behind her. Yet still she ran, her breath rasping and sobbing in her ears.

A hard arm snagged her by the waist. She felt herself borne free of the ground and caught against an unyielding muscular form. She struck out blindly. “Let me go!” she cried.

He whispered in her ear, his laugh a cold whisper. “We went through this only last night, Yank. Did you learn nothing from the outcome? I will free you when I am ready—and not before.”

Cassie flung back her head and screamed at the top of her lungs. “Help! Help, I beg you! Please help me!”

The arm about her ribs tightened so that she could scarcely draw breath. Gabriel swore softly when a balding merchant poked his head through his doorway.

“Pay no mind to the lady,” he called out. “She suffers from brain fever and fancies she is being persecuted.”

Cassie gasped with outrage. Weak in the head, was she? She renewed her struggles but it was
no use. He half-lifted, half-dragged her to a dingy alleyway, then backed her up against a hard brick wall. For one terrifying moment he held her there with the pressure of his body. His features displayed no emotion, though she knew instinctively he was fiercely angry. Her whole body jerked when he snatched her pouch from her hands. Withdrawing a step, he thrust his hand inside.

Cassie gaped, but only for an instant. “What do you think you’re doing?” she cried. “That’s mine! You have no right to touch it!”

He spared her not a glance as he pulled her threadbare nightgown from the pouch. “You have something of mine in your possession,” he said coldly. “That gives me every right.”

“Bloody hell it does!” With a cry she launched herself at him. But before she could do any damage, an unpleasantly strong arm wrapped around her once more. She was dragged frighteningly close to him once again.

“Yank, you seem determined to attract attention. Why, someone might be tempted to call the constable to see what is amiss.”

The glitter in his eyes foretold the possibility only too well. Cassie went rigid but struggled no more. He let go of her, his countenance fierce and unsmiling.

“My watch, Yank,” was all he said.

Cassie wet her lips. “You—you’re too late. I-I sold it.”

“Indeed,” he stated calmly. “Forgive me for doubting you, but I fear I must find out for myself.”

His smile was so pleasant, it was a moment before she realized what he was about. She tried to launch herself past him; he was too quick for her. With the back of his forearm he held her in place against the brick, barring her from any escape route she might take it in her head to find.

His gaze drilled into her like the point of a knife. He ran his fingers down her arms. And then that accursed hand slid deep inside her bodice, skimming the tops of her breasts, sliding over smooth, rounded flesh that no man had either seen or touched. Shocked beyond measure, Cassie gasped.

“Stop!” she cried.

He did not. Everything within her rebelled at his boldness, his intimacy. She drew a deep, fractured breath.

“Dear God, stop!” She gave a tearing, half-sob. “It—it’s in my stocking! Turn around and I will give it to you!”

He released her, but he did not turn around. It was left to Cassie to shift awkwardly, aware that he surveyed her every move. Her hands were unsteady as she tugged down her right stocking. She straightened, his watch in her hand. She flung it into his outstretched palm.

“There! You have your watch back. Now let me be on my way!”

His features were grimly forbidding. “Not just yet, Yank. You cannot steal from me and think to get away with it.” He hooked steely fingers into her elbow and began to pull her back the way she had come.

Cassie choked back a cry of bitter frustration. He was headed back to the inn! A hollow despair enshrouded her heart. Had she come so far, only to be wrenched back, like a dog upon a leash?

All too soon she was back inside the taproom. The door heaved shut behind them. Cassie cringed. Christopher Marley and Black Jack were there before the huge stone fireplace.

Black Jack spread his hands wide. “Yer lordship! I saw you leave…What goes on here?”

“The girl here is a thief. She stole my watch.”

Cassie glimpsed the shock on Christopher Marley’s face. Nell, she saw, had come to stand at the head of the stairs. Oh, but she should have known the earl would spare her nothing!

Black Jack’s eyes bulged. “What! She stole it?”

“That she did. It seems she decided it was time to leave your employ. I should imagine she intended to use the proceeds from the watch as funding for her journey.”

Christopher had moved to stand near Black Jack. His gaze rested on her neck; there was the faintest puzzlement etched upon his handsome features. His gaze flickered to the earl and back to Cassie again. She realized he had spied the moon-shaped purple mark the earl had put there.

Hot shame colored her cheeks. More than anything, she longed to shrivel up and die.

Nell sneered. “By God, you’re a fine one to look down yer nose at me. Stealin’ ‘is lordship’s watch—then runnin’ off!”

Black Jack cursed. “I knew I should have shipped ye off to the orphan house when yer ma left ye behind! Yer trouble, missy, trouble!”

Cassie raised her head, undaunted. Her pride had wavered but was far from gone. “You think I’ve been better off here? I’ve scrubbed floors ’til my hands were raw and bleeding. I’ve emptied chamberpots and labored from dawn until midnight for as long as I can remember. You’ve begrudged me every bite of food I’ve ever taken. And all for a few pennies a year! Why, I’m hardly better off than the slaves in the fields!”

His face contorted. “Ye ungrateful little bitch! I think it’s time I cured that smart, sassy mouth o’ yours!”

Black Jack’s fingers curled into a meaty fist. In some far distant corner of her mind, Cassie saw that Christopher looked appalled as Black Jack raised his fist high.

She braced herself inwardly. It wouldn’t be the first time Black Jack had struck her. No doubt the earl would take great pleasure in seeing her thus defeated. But she wouldn’t cry out, not while he watched…

The blow she expected never fell.

“If you strike the girl,” the earl spoke with an almost deadly quiet, “you will answer to me. It was my watch she stole. ’Tis my right, and no one else’s, to see to her punishment.”

Black Jack appeared startled, yet even he dared not oppose the earl. He lowered his hand to his side and cleared his throat. “I meant no harm,” he said gruffly. “But the girl needs a reminder o’ her place now and then.”

Gabriel’s tone was frigid. “Sir, I believe you meant her every harm. But in this case, I shall
decide what she needs.” He curled his hand around Cassie’s arm.

Cassie’s insides knotted with sick dread. Perhaps it would have been better to suffer Black Jack’s rage. At least she knew it was quickly spent. But the earl…The cold, controlled anger she sensed in him was frightening. Her mind churning, she moved along numbly as he pulled her up the stairs.

In his chamber, he pushed her down on the end of the rumpled bed. Cassie tipped her head back and eyed him warily, her fear masked in indignation.

“You have your watch back,” she said stiffly. “What more do you want of me?”

He moved to pour himself a small glass of brandy from a decanter on the table. He did not look at her as he spoke. “I am curious as to why you took it, Yank. Indeed, I find myself wondering how many other men you have robbed.”

Cassie’s soft lips tightened. It seemed he meant to crucify her. Well, if that was what he was about, she’d be damned if she’d help him!

He turned. “Come, Yank.” This time his tone was no less than a demand. “Am I the only one so honored?”

Her eyes flashed fire. “I took the watch because you are arrogant and bold, sir.
And
for the price it would bring.”

“Why were you so determined to run away?”

Her eyes darkened. “Why, sir,” she said with a mocking laugh. “I live a life of such ease. What possible reason could I have for wanting to forever leave this place?”