Silver Sea (46 page)

"The house looks splendid," he said when his son came into the room.

"Oh—yes." Smiling, Nathan nodded. "That's Adrienne's doing, of course."

"So I surmised. And it goes beyond mere appearances; there is a different feeling in the air."

"Yes. I think it may be joy."

As Retta came in with two planter's punches on a tray, Andre sniffed the air appreciatively. "What is that delicious smell?"

"Callaloo, sir," she replied.

"What?"

"It's a kind of stew," Nathan explained. "I think it is made of okra, crab, coconut—"

"An' pork fat," Retta interjected.

"Adrienne loves it, and I think she's in there helping with the preparations now." Nathan led his father to the settee of Barbadian mahogany. "Before we eat, I would have a word with you in private."

"Without your wife?"

"For the moment. You see, Father, I would like you to change your plans about taking the
Golden Eagle
on a trading voyage. We may tell people that you have sailed for Europe, but I have something else in mind." He paused and they both drank from their glasses. "I believe I've thought of a way to catch Xavier Crowe in the act."

The white scar along Andre's jaw seemed to stand out for an instant. "You have captured my interest."

"In the past, he's known in advance when ships were approaching and he could lay his plans and make certain that he was visibly present elsewhere. That has always been the speech made by his defenders: 'Xavier Crowe was not even near the eastern side of the island when the ship in question was lost!' However, if we use the
Golden Eagle
as bait, and send word to Crowe's Nest very suddenly that a ship is approaching, he'll have to be involved."

"I think it's a brilliant plan." The elder Raveneau's eyes were agleam. "If we prepare the entire crew for the confrontation, he won't have a chance. His success is based on taking ships by surprise!"

"Of course, I'll have to come along—and Zach. You'll need as many men as possible, and it would kill me to miss it."

"I understand completely," his father replied, nodding.

Just then Adrienne came out of the dining room. "Well, I don't understand! Nathan, how can you conceive of such a dangerous plan when you have been married only a short time? I could be a widow while I'm still a bride!"

The two men exchanged glances. "Darling," Nathan said, going to her and clasping her hands, "nothing is going to happen to me. Just the opposite, I can assure you."

Adrienne could see the unswervable determination in his eyes and knew that all her arguments would be wasted. Sighing, she leaned into his chest, then took a different tack. "Well, if you are going to do something outrageous and dangerous, then you will have to let me rescue Lady Thomasina."

"What's this all about?" her father-in-law asked. His eyes swept appreciatively over her buttermilk-colored round gown and the wild orchids in her hair. "You look particularly fetching today, my dear. Can you tell me while we eat? I am ravenous."

Hortie appeared then to oversee the service of luncheon. After the trio had taken their seats in the dining room, Retta brought each of them a pineapple half along with a tray of freshly baked bread. There was jam made of native cherries, and sweet butter.

"Now then, lovely daughter," Andre said, "tell me what you're up to."

"I'm terribly worried about Lady Thomasina. Although she was always a bit eccentric—"

"She's barking mad!" Nathan put in. "You saw her, Father!"

Adrienne gave him a quelling stare. "As I was saying, her ladyship is odd, but at the Carringtons' ball I became concerned that she might be drugged. She didn't recognize me, and her eyes were so strange-looking! Furthermore, Huntsford behaved very badly when I mentioned his mother's health. Something in his manner gave me chills!"

"I hate to admit it, but you may have a point," her husband said. "I've feared from the moment I heard that she and Hunty had come to Barbados that Crowe might try to get at her money. It would be like him to bend Harms to his will and try to get rid of Lady Thomasina so that Hunty could inherit. Drugging her ladyship would be a logical first step." The callaloo was served then and Nathan inhaled its fragrance appreciatively. "Have I told you about Crowe's brother? He and his brother, Francis, jointly owned the land where Xavier's mansion now stands. Francis and his wife, Jane, drowned together while swimming off Cobbler's Reef. Xavier was left to raise their five-year-old son, Martin, who was Francis's sole heir."

"Do you mean that a little boy owns half of Crowe's Nest?" Andre asked in amazement.

"Yes. And many believe that if Eloise hadn't appeared on the scene to take Martin under her wing, he might be dead now as well!"

"That's ghastly!" Adrienne cried. "No child should be raised in such a home!"

"Well, you can't just burst in and start rescuing everyone, dear chit. For one thing, they may like their lives there. It's entirely possible that Lady Thomasina is just teetering a bit farther over the edge than she did before. She is incredibly old, after all."

Andre had finished his bowl of callaloo and Hortie signaled Retta to serve more. Adrienne, meanwhile, was not in a mood to be placated by her husband. "Why is it that your suspicions deserve to be acted upon but mine do not? Your plan is
much
more dangerous!"

"Let's discuss it later, shall we?"

"I shall follow through this week with my promise to invite Eloise Crowe to lunch. Perhaps I can learn more from her."

The elder Raveneau spoke then. "Adrienne, I have been wanting to ask you if Nathan told you how he got his name."

Remembering her duty to be a charming hostess, she smiled. "No. No, in fact, there are still a lot of stories I haven't heard. I begin to think I'll only hear them from his family." She leaned forward, dimples winking. "How
did
Nathan get his name?"

"Devon, my wife, was raised in New London, Connecticut. She went to the little village school, and a fellow named Nathan Hale was the schoolmaster." He held up his hand before she could speak. "Devon always loved books, and so she became very attached to Master Hale and was sad when he went off to fight in the War for Independence—"

"Where were you then, Andre? In France?"

"No, in New London, actually. I was the captain of a privateer, helping America, and I met Devon in 1775, when she was only thirteen—and I was rather older, and still very French." He laughed at the memory. "It wasn't until 1781, when the British attacked New London, that we were thrown together for good. In the meantime, Nathan Hale had been captured while spying on the enemy."

"He was hanged, wasn't he?" Adrienne said. "I may have been raised in France, but my parents were American, and I learned all the stories of the war." She turned to look at Nathan, awestruck. "You should have told me that you were named for Nathan Hale! It's terribly sad and romantic to think of him being your mother's schoolmaster."

"I didn't know I had to divulge every detail of my life before your twenty-first birthday! I can assure you that there are still plenty of adventures left, and I'll relate them one at a time for the rest of our lives."

Over coconut pudding, they talked about the next crop of sugarcane. Nathan said that he and Zach had decided to wait before planting any more, to give the ground a rest. He added, "I can see now that Owen Horner's methods served only the present, not the future."

"And I don't doubt that the field slaves need a rest as well!" Adrienne straightened her shoulders. "It makes me ill to say that word—'slaves'—and realize that we believe we can own human beings!"

"Adrienne—"

"Don't furrow your brow at me! All right, I will give you credit for at least
saying
the right things at the ball...."

"I intend to follow my words with deeds, but there are plans that must be laid first."

Andre finished his drink and observed, "You two will never be bored! I don't understand where you get the energy, though. This island and the rum make me feel like lying back in a planter's chair and dozing all afternoon."

"You are welcome to borrow ours!" Adrienne said. "I hope our squabbling hasn't spoiled your afternoon. I know that I have a lot to learn about being a proper planter's wife... and I am not certain I'll ever master the role."

"Nonsense. You are utterly delightful just as you are," Andre replied.

"Quite true," Nathan agreed. "Barbados has long been in need of a hellion hostess."

They all began to laugh, then Andre took a velvet jewelry case from his coat pocket. "I happen to have a gift for my new daughter's birthday. It is also a wedding present."

"Where's
my
wedding present?" Nathan complained good-naturedly.

"Hush," Adrienne said, and accepted the box with a reverent expression. Slowly lifting the lid, she glimpsed a sparkling collarette of sapphires and tiny diamonds. Tears sprang to her eyes. "Oh, Andre, it is too beautiful! I—"

"I gave it to Devon before our wedding, and she has always wanted Nathan's bride to have it. When she knew that I was coming here, she packed it with my things—hoping against hope that you might have come into his life."

Dabbing her eyes with a fragile lawn handkerchief, Adrienne could scarcely speak. "I am honored. This will be precious to me always." She rose to embrace her father-in-law, and he put the choker around her neck and closed the clasp. "It's the most beautiful piece of jewelry I've ever seen!"

"It suits you, my dear."

As Nathan watched them, his throat closed with emotion. He'd never dreamed how meaningful it could be to begin a real family of his own and to feel the ties to his parents and siblings strengthen. Adrienne really did seem to be the mate God had created for him, and he silently gave thanks once more that they had found one another.

"I have a gift for you also," he said softly. "Come into my—I mean
our
library."

The trio walked together, Adrienne fingering her choker and looking in passing mirrors. At the library door, she told Andre the story of Nathan's early efforts to keep her out of his masculine sanctuary.

Enjoying herself, she added, "He was selfish and arrogant—"

"Hardly surprising." Andre laughed. "Devon would tell you that it runs in the family."

"Not anymore," Nathan vowed as he slipped an arm around her waist. "I have changed."

When the door swung open, Adrienne beheld a completely new piece of furniture that had been placed in front of the garden window, opposite Nathan's desk. It was a mahogany chaise with a double shell-shaped base that curved up at either end. Upholstered in blue silk shadow-striped with gold, it was both lovely and inviting.

"Oh, Nathan, it's beautiful!" She hurried over, plucked a book from a shelf, and practiced reclining on her new chaise.

"I couldn't decide whether you'd rather have it here or upstairs in our bedroom. But this seemed a more symbolic location, and the ocean is visible from the window." He grinned. "I liked the shell motif and the idea of you lying between the two halves."

"Why," Andre complained, "do I get the idea that there is some hidden meaning in all this?"

Adrienne's color heightened and her green eyes sparkled. "You two come over here and sit with me." When they had complied, she put an arm around the backs of father and son and beamed at each of them in turn. "I adore my gifts, and I thank you, but of course I didn't need presents. I am already enormously blessed, to have so wonderful a husband and father-in-law. Today my very life is a priceless gift."

Raising a finger, Andre said, "I predict that the next time I visit here, you will give
me
a gift—the announcement that you and Nathan will be presenting Devon and me with a grandchild!"

Nathan laughed, and Adrienne joined in, hiding her face in his shoulder so that he wouldn't notice her rapidly deepening blush.

* * *

Eloise Crowe watched her husband's nephew from the entrance to the dining room. Martin didn't see her, as he was sitting alone at a Sheraton rent table, engaged in a game of chess that required him to play both white and black.

It was a shame, she thought, that virtually no one was able to enjoy the trappings of this magnificent house. The ornamented plaster ceilings, the intricately carved staircase and the mahogany columns that divided rooms, the dining table for twenty-four with brass lion-claw feet, and the priceless portraits; all were rarely seen by anyone but the lonely band of misfits who inhabited Crowe's Nest.

"Martin," she called, "it's quite pleasant today. Wouldn't you like to go outdoors?"

He glanced up. Through two sets of double doors, he could see the lawn that glided past gardens and fountains down to the beach where Crowe had built a turtle crawl. There, beyond the coconut palms, swept the stunning ocean with its froth of white surf. Martin stared, then frowned. "No. I don't think Uncle wants me to go outside. He said that something might happen to me, just like my parents."

"I don't think he could have meant for you to stay indoors all the time!"

"I like this, Auntie. I am enjoying myself."

It broke her heart to see a child behaving as if he were a stuffy old man. However, everyone seemed to bend to the force of Xavier's will, and she was no exception. For four years, she had drunk his laudanum-laced tea that helped ease the pain in her heart. This week Eloise had summoned new strength and had begun weaning herself off the stuff.

Slipping her hand into a pocket hidden in her gown, she fingered the invitation to tea from Adrienne Raveneau, that had arrived three days ago, hand-delivered by a charming freed slave named Philip Smythe. At the time, she had been relieved that Xavier was away from Crowe's Nest. If he knew that she and Nathan's wife were in contact, there was no telling what might happen.

And of course, tea was impossible.

"Ah, there you are, Mrs. Crowe. You are ravishing as always."

Eloise turned at the sound of her husband's voice, leaving Adrienne's note in its hiding place. Xavier's incessant charm had an edge that made her feel as if he were taunting her. Before she could reply, he had clasped her arm and guided her onto the wide stone verandah that spanned the front of the house.