The Virgin Huntress (8 page)

“You are quite mistaken, Captain Hew. This was my own doing, and it is no jest. I assure you, I am in complete earnest,” Vesta said.

“But this is his ship.”

“I have only borrowed it.”

“You
borrowed
a yacht?”

“Yes,” she said. “I intend to return it.”

“Then DeVere
does
know of this?”

“Not exactly,” she said, with infuriating evasiveness. “But he did tell Winchester to grant whatever I asked.”

Hew clawed a hand through his hair. “And you thought that included appropriating a ship?”

“He never said it
precluded
a ship,” she argued.

“This is inconceivable!” Hew erupted in a loud and mirthless laugh. “The valiant war hero, Captain Hewett DeVere, abducted by a school miss!”

“I am
not
a school miss!” Vesta stomped her foot.

He gave her a disbelieving scowl, whereby she immediately looked chagrinned. “How long ago did we sail?” Hew demanded.

“About thirteen hours ago,” she said. “You are quite a heavy sleeper.”

“I was bloody drugged!” he shouted. “What the devil did you give me?”

“Just a small sleeping draught.”

“Tincture of opium, perhaps?”

Vesta nodded mutely. “That’s why I had to add all the lemon and honey—to disguise the bitterness.”

“You planned to abduct me all along? What the deuce for?”

“So you would not marry Diana,” she said.

“You silly child! You kidnapped me because you feared I would take your aunt away, just as Phoebe took your father?”

“Of course not! I am a grown woman! I didn’t want you to wed her because you belong with me!”

Hew’s jaw dropped. “I can’t possibly have heard that right. What did you say?”

“It’s you own fault, you know. I was forced to take drastic measures because you can’t see what’s under your very nose. But it will all be made right very soon,” said Vesta. “We only have three days, after all.”

His head was spinning again, and it had nothing to do with the ship. “How is that?”

“We will be at sea together and in this very cabin for the next three days.”

“The devil we will! We will be turning back at once!”

“No, we won’t.” Vesta crossed her arms over her chest. “We will not return unless I am convinced that you don’t love me.”

“Then we can resolve that question right now! I
don’t
love you, Vesta!”

“But you will!” she insisted. “You only need time to know it.”

Hew rose. “Where are my clothes?”

“I had them taken away.”

“You conniving creature! How can you possibly think I could ever love such a spoiled, petulant, self-absorbed, and scheming little wretch?”

Her eyes misted; her lower lip quivered. “But you don’t understand at all! You could never have been truly happy with
her,
Hew, when you were meant for me! It was fated, don’t you see? I knew it from the moment I saw you, just as Mama knew she loved Papa.”

“Foolish chit! What can you possibly know of love?” He scoffed. “You’re barely out of the schoolroom, have been coddled and pampered your entire life. You’ve seen nothing of the world, yet seem to think you can control and order others’ lives like some imperious little martinet! Moreover, you know absolutely nothing about me!”

“But I
do
,” she insisted. “I know all about you from Pratt. I know where you grew up and that you like to hunt and fish. I do too, you know. I can shoot a fowling piece as good as Papa and even know how to tickle a trout.”

“You do?”

“I do! I’ve done it many times! I know that you despised Latin and left your studies early to join the dragoons. You are an avid turf man and never miss a race meet if you can help it, although you have missed many while away in the American war. I know you are brave too, Captain Hew. But no one needed to tell me that. I just knew. You are also a magnificent rider, and riding is what I enjoy most.”

His gaze narrowed. “And I understand you are quite as proficient at it as you are at playacting.”

Vesta had the grace to look chagrinned. She licked her lips and continued her inventory. “Pratt said you were the terror of Tarleton’s legion in the war, yet you saved many men’s lives—”

“Many more died,” he interjected bitterly.

“But you did not. I thank God that you lived,” she murmured. Her solemn expression and the earnestness in her wide, hazel gaze put him off balance. Vesta continued in a soft, plaintive tone, “What I
don’t
know...is how you got this.” She reached her fingers toward his cheek. He shrank back, catching her wrist.

“Don’t, Vesta.”

“But I touched you earlier,” she said. “You didn’t mind then.”

He felt the heat of embarrassment flush his face. No, he had not minded. He had been bloody eager for much more than that too, but that was when she was just a figment of his imagination, a siren in a dream.

She shrugged. “I also know that you don’t sweeten your tea.”

His gaze narrowed, and then the corner of his mouth lifted involuntarily. “So you already knew that, did you?” She gave him a mischievous smile that lit her entire face. Against his will, he found himself softening toward her. “Then why would you think I would drink that concoction?”

“It was a safe wager because I also know you are a gentleman,” she said. “But not priggish like Papa can be sometimes.”

On safer ground now, his temper flared anew. “On the contrary, I think your father has been far too lax where you are concerned.”

Vesta’s smile vanished.

“Indeed, we will not only turnabout at once,” Hew said, “but I intend to personally see you on the first coach back to Yorkshire where I shall strongly suggest your father lock you away for the next five years...or however long it takes for you to grow up! Now, will you fetch my clothes, or must I parade out the door bare arsed?”

“I’m sorry, Hew, but I cannot do that,” she replied firmly.

“And why is that?”

“Because the door is locked, and Pratt has the key.”

***

“The devil you say!” He strode toward it, jerked the knob, and then pounded with his fist.

“Don’t worry,” she said calmly. “We have food and drink enough for two more days.”

He turned on her like a predator, backing her into the corner. He grasped her shoulders, pinning her in place. Hew stood head and shoulders over her, making Vesta more aware of her diminutive stature than ever before. He glowered down upon her with blue fire flashing in his eyes. Her heart beat an erratic tattoo against her breastbone, part fear and part exhilaration.
He surely takes notice of me now.

“You intend to keep me confined in here with you for three days?” His voice was low and ominous.

“It doesn’t
have
to be three days,” she said. “It just depends how long it takes for you to come to your senses.”

“
My
senses?” He shook her so hard she thought her teeth would rattle. “It is
you
whose mind is disordered if you think you can tame me like some pet! Is that what you think, Vesta? That you can somehow turn a man like me into your little lap dog?”

“No.” She stiffened her spine and spoke, as earnest as she had ever been in her life. “I could never imagine
you
as a lap dog. Ever. You are a mastiff. Big, powerful, dignified, brave, and yet gentle.” She nodded with a look of self-satisfaction. “Yes. Most definitely a mastiff.”

Hew gaped at her, speechless.

C
HAPTER
N
INE

“You must be hungry by now,” Vesta said. “There is a lovely basket here with bread, cheese, meat pies, and wine.”

“No, thank you.” He snarled but then in almost the same breath, snatched up a bottle of wine, pulled out the cork with his teeth, and took an angry swig. Vesta seated herself alone at the table and nibbled on some cheese.

“Do you intend to share?”

He only glared his response and continued pacing with pauses only to pull on the bottle.

She shrugged and opened another one, making a great production of pouring it into a glass. She took a sip and made a face.

“What is it?” Hew asked.

“Nothing, really. I’m just accustomed to drinking it with water. Papa does not approve of young ladies drinking spirits of any kind full strength. Would you care to play some dominoes or cards?” she asked. “I know All Fours, Casino, and Piquet. I am also quite adept at Matador too, but my favorite games are backgammon and chess. Although luck is a great part of the former, I find that one really cannot win without also employing a stratagem in the long run.”

Hew chuckled despite himself. “I can see how games of strategy might be your forte.”

“Do you care to play?” she asked brightly.

“No, I would not.” He growled in answer.

She sighed. “Then I suppose it shall have to be Solitaire.”

For the next hour, Vesta dealt cards to herself and sipped wine while Hew paced the confines of the cabin, feeling like a caged tiger until he suddenly spun on her. “With us locked in like this, what do you suppose would happen if the ship were to wreck?”

She replied as if he was a simpleton. “Then I suppose you would have to break the windows if we really needed to escape. But I agree. This arrangement is much more tedious than I had imagined it would be. I’ve never been on a sailing ship before and would very much like to be above deck,” she said wistfully.

“Then what is to stop you?”

Vesta considered the question and suddenly brightened. “Well, I hadn’t considered it until now, but given we are well at sea, there’s nothing, I suppose! It’s not likely that you would jump into the ocean now, is it?”

“Then you
can
open this door.”

She grinned. “I only needed to ring the bell.”

He looked flummoxed. “The bell?”

“Over there.” She indicated the bell pull he had overlooked in his agitation. Before Vesta could even rise, Hew had already given the cord a violent tug. “
Et tu, Brute
?” Hew exclaimed when the elderly jockey answered the call. “Even
you
knew about this?”

“Aye, Cap’n Hew,” Pratt said, looking mighty green about the gills. “But when my lord commanded I was to be Man Friday to the little miss, I ne’er imagined ‘twould be shipboard.”

“You get no sympathy from me, old fellow. Let the punishment fit the crime, I say. Now, pray bring me my clothes!”

Pratt handed the captain a bundle with a rueful look. “I was expectin’ ye might be callin’ for ‘em.”

Hew snatched them with a glare and then turned back to Vesta. “Some privacy, please?”

“But I’ve already seen—”

“Out with you!” he bellowed.

“Fine then.” She threw her cards down with a scowl. “I’ll be up on deck with Pratt.”

Hew mumbled, “And may a great whale come and swallow you up.”

***

Although well accustomed to sea voyages, the lingering effects of the opiate, combined with the rolling of the ocean, soon had Hew swaying on his feet. Although the wine he’d imbibed didn’t help his balance, it had served to dull the throbbing in his head. The gust of damp sea air blasting his face as he ascended from below did wonders to dissipate the rest, as well as soothing his black temper.

If he wasn’t so damned incensed about it, he might even have been flattered to have made such an impression on the girl. Were he five or ten years younger and without the experience he’d gained in the dragoons, he would certainly have been mesmerized by her alabaster skin, glossy dark ringlets, guileless hazel eyes, and impish smile. Based on her good looks alone, certainly some unwary fool would take her. Why the devil she’d latched on to
him
with such ferocity before she’d even ventured out into society was beyond his comprehension. Didn’t young girls dream of balls and parties and all that nonsense?

Yet, here he was captive on a ship sailing God-knows-where because Vesta Chambers had set her cap for him. He shook his head in incomprehension. The girl was a deceptively powerful force of nature in a very tiny package, but if she thought for a moment to force his hand into marriage with this escapade, she had another thing coming.

While Hew considered himself a gentleman through and through and knew well the rules of conduct and the protocol to be followed where compromising virgins was concerned, he failed to see how those same rules applied when
he
was the one being compromised. He had kissed her, certainly. There was no denying that fact, but Vesta had said he’d not laid a hand on her. Strange, that. Hew certainly was in no position to refute it, given his dubious state of consciousness while they were alone together. If she had desired to force the issue of marriage, she’d only to say he had and be done with it, but she had
not
. Hew feared puzzling out the Vesta enigma might be well beyond his understanding.