A Woman Made for Sin (28 page)

“Defeated?”

“No,” Millie countered softly. “I would say sad. As if the only way to preserve your
honor was to leave.”

Devlin looked into his empty glass, wishing it was full to the brim. Ellie understood
him. It was as if their souls recognized each other. He thought his destiny had been
ripped from him seven years ago, but had God sent him another? “You guess correctly.
I was banished.”

Millie sighed. Of all the things she understood, being cast out of your home was something
she knew all too keenly. “I too was asked to leave my home.”

Devlin blinked. Did he just hear her right? “You aren’t hiding from someone?”

The idea that she was hiding from someone puzzled Millie and she shook her head.

“So you came
here
? You had no other options but working at a tavern?” he blurted out with obvious disbelief.

Millie felt the need to defend herself. “While I have no desire to be found, I came
here intentionally, Mr. MacLeery. I . . .” Millie swallowed and decided that if she
were ever going to get his help in finding Aimee, then he would need to know at least
something about why she was there. “I . . . am looking for something.”

Devlin cocked his brow, encouraging her to continue.

Millie swallowed again. “Do you know which ship has a green and white pinnace?”

Devlin blinked at the very unexpected and extremely odd question. Was that what happened?
Did the man she love leave her? Was she trying to chase after him? He looked at her
and realized she was waiting for an answer. “I do not.”

The hope he saw stirring in her lavender eyes faded away and Devlin felt his heart
wrench.

Millie rose to her feet and clasped her hands in front of her. “Thank you, Mr. MacLeery,
for your time and the drink. If by chance you ever do learn of the ship’s name, would
you let me know?”

“Of course,” Devlin responded, wishing he had something else to say.

He watched her walk away and begin to tidy up the near-empty tavern, vowing to learn
exactly who owned a green and white pinnace and why such a fact would have great meaning
to a beauty who was slowly taking over his heart.

October 27, 1816

It was the early morning hours before Aimee realized what JP’s parting comment had
meant.
Maybe something or someone will convince the captain to change his mind.
He could have only been meaning her. She was the someone who needed to change Reece’s
mind about sequestering her for the rest of the trip. But how?

Aimee glanced at the door. If she truly put her mind to it, she suspected she could
convince Hurlee to let her out. However, it would be her one and only chance. Reece
would barricade her in and not risk using his men again as guards. So whatever she
planned to do, the end result had better resolve things between them once and for
all.

Aimee began to pace. How was she going to convince Reece to let her out and mingle
with the crew? The idea seemed impossible in his current state of mind. Why did men
have to become so soppy at the idea of a woman getting hurt? Chase was practically
nauseating, the way he worried over Millie. Unfortunately, that was not the primary
reason Reece was keeping her inside this cabin. Not fear of her getting hurt, but
fear of her getting to his men—and most of all, to him.

Aimee stopped in midstride and began to tap her finger against her chin. She was thinking
about this all wrong. Her freedom was a byproduct of what she had been seeking in
the first place—a claim to Reece’s heart. She did not need to convince him to let
her out, but that he loved her. This voyage was her one chance. If she had not secured
his love by the time they reached Savannah, it would never happen. For once they arrived,
he would quickly put her on another ship, and any future opportunities to be alone
with him would vanish.

Aimee began to pace again, this time trying to conjure up Millie and Jennelle beside
her. What would they advise? Jennelle would tell her to have a well-thought-out plan.
Millie would agree and say that it should be something shocking, in order to capture
Reece’s attention. Her mother, however, would tell her to think like a Wentworth.

Wentworths preferred order, and minimal disruption to themselves, friends, and family,
but
if something did threaten those they loved—then laws, rules, and conventions were
ignored. Her brother had thrown Millie over his shoulder and marched out of Almack’s
when he decided that he loved her. Aimee had no intentions of throwing Reece over
her shoulder, but she did have an idea about how to make him admit the truth: that
he loved her and it was not his lack of title or choice of profession standing in
their way, but his own stubbornness.

If she failed, her reputation would be ruined. But then, wasn’t it already?

Jennelle entered the parlor and stared accusatorily as Chase rose to his feet. He
had arrived nearly half an hour ago, and though it was unheard of for a baron—let
alone a baron’s daughter—to leave a marquess waiting so long, Jennelle had done just
that. She was not just angry, but terrified, and had been for weeks. She had pledged
to not say a word until she had to, but that had been more than a week ago. Now that
Chase was here, she had no idea where to start.

“My lord,” she said and followed it with a formal curtsy.

Chase raised a brow but followed her formality. “Miss Perrin.” In truth, he had forgotten
her real salutation, for Millie and Aimee had acted as if she were their titled equal
since childhood.

“I assume you came with news of Aimee?”

Chase frowned and looked behind Jennelle to see if Millie would soon be following
her. When she did not, he assumed she was waiting in the shadows for an answer.

“While I cannot unequivocally confirm her safety, all information that I have been
able to gather—which is a considerable amount—leads me to believe that she is indeed
with Reece on the
Sea Emerald
and not in immediate harm.”

Jennelle closed her eyes and relief flooded her expression. “I
told
you that Aimee intentionally had herself captured.”

Chase’s jaw hardened at Jennelle’s genuine surprise at the news. Not only had Millie
not written back to him, she had not even deemed it necessary to read his letters.
“It was in my correspondence to my wife,” he growled.

Jennelle’s blue eyes flashed in anger. “How would I know? I am not in the habit of
opening mail that is not my own.”

Chase was done playing word games and being patient. The time for retaliation was
over. He wanted to see his wife. “Please send for Millie immediately. I wish to see
her.”

Jennelle glared at him. “I wish I could, my lord, but I cannot because she is not
here.”

His golden eyes suddenly went cold. “Explain.”

“I have no more information to give you other than that, my lord. Your wife is not
here. She left here over a week ago to London,
in a hack
.”

Chase could feel his heart begin to pound so hard he suspected Jennelle could hear
it from where she was standing. If so, she bore him no sympathy. Her unflinching stare
frightened him more than anything. If she knew Millie was safe, Jennelle would be
indignant; but she was not annoyed. Her bright blue eyes were full of fear. And she
blamed him for it.

In two strides, Chase moved to stand right in front of her. “What the hell is going
on, Jennelle? What do you mean, Millie is not here?
Just where in the hell is she?
”

“
I do not know!”
Jennelle stepped around him and hugged herself, feeling her composure begin to completely
unravel. Finally, she could share this burden. But the relief she had hoped to feel
was not forthcoming. If anything, she felt only guilt at seeing the same terror she
had been feeling for days take over Chase.

Chase did not move. “You must have
some
idea.”

“I have none. She made sure that I would not be able to follow and join her, for I
would have done just that.” Jennelle closed her eyes and shook her head. “I caught
her just as she was leaving. The driver called her ‘miss,’ so wherever she is, it
is under another identity.”

“You let her go?” Chase growled out, half in anger and half in pain.

Jennelle whirled about. “No, I did not
let
her. It was you who practically forced Millie into whatever insane plan she has embarked
upon.”

“Me!”

“Yes, you!” Jennelle yelled back. “Just what did you think Millie would do after receiving
not a single word from you when it was clear the
Sea Emerald
was not returning? She assumed you had exhausted all your resources and had nothing
to tell her. And you
know
her! You know Millie would not be able to stay home waiting, if she believed there
was even a small chance that she could be out there helping. So damn you for not telling
her sooner and putting her in a position of believing she had to do things on her
own.”

Chase felt every accusation almost as if it were a lethal blow. He knew Jennelle was
right, but at the same time his mind rebelled at the idea that Millie was alone and
vulnerable and it was his fault. “I did not give her any such ideas. I sent her to
her father’s! If anything, I begged her to stop all this foolishness because of this
very reason!”

“Oh, Charles, is it possible that you still don’t understand your wife?” Jennelle
asked as she collapsed on the settee and buried her face in her hands. After a moment,
she looked up. “Do you not recall what you said to her? You told her repeatedly that
Aimee’s abduction was
her
fault. If Millie is told that she has caused a problem, what do you think she is
going to do? Sit back and let others fix it?”

“Good God.” Chase sank onto the settee next to her. The blood drained from his face.
If Jennelle was right and Millie had left to discover what happened to Aimee, then
she was more than just alone and vulnerable. If she was snooping around the London
docks and anyone discovered her real identity, she was in grave danger. And they would.
Millie might like to think herself wild and untamed, but compared to the poor who
found work around the wharfs, she was a polished and refined diamond.

“You have to find her, Charles. She told me she would be back by now, and not only
is she
not
back, I have only received one brief note stating she was close but needed more time.
Nothing else.”

“I will find my wife and I will find her well and unharmed,” Chase announced, just
before he shut all his emotions down. He instinctively shifted into the man he had
been for years working as a spy in the war. Feelings were sometimes an asset, but
in times like these, fear and worry drove men to poor decisions and actions. No longer
was he Charlie, who adored his beloved wife, but the Marquess of Chaselton. There
was no power, means, persuasion, or force he would not employ to find what he sought.

“Start from the beginning and tell me everything that you know.”

Jennelle stared at him for several seconds and then began. “First, my lord, you need
to know just who was behind the events of that awful night. For it was not your wife.”

“Hello, Reece.”

Reece closed the door behind him out of habit and then froze. His gaze moved over
her body slowly before becoming riveted on her green eyes. There was no mistaking
their dark look. Every nerve ending immediately responded to their unspoken message.
“What are you doing in here?” he barely choked out as he visually devoured her.

Aimee lifted her arms to swirl the diaphanous material she was wearing around her.
“And I thought I was being obvious. I intend to seduce you.”

Damn, she sounded calm. Even confident. He felt neither. What he did feel was his
lower body tightening to a painful level. His heart began to pound and he clenched
his fists, determined to remember all the reasons why he did not want to do what his
body was demanding.

As soon as they returned to London, the pressure for them to marry would be incessant,
and it would come from everyone who knew either of them. But Reece fully intended
to resist. He refused to be punished for the situation Aimee had alone created. He
would look Chase in the eye and swear on everything that he valued that his sister
had been returned untouched. But, damn, if she was not making it very hard.

Only that morning, Aimee declared that not only did she believe she was being treated
like a prisoner but so would Charles, Millie, Jennelle . . . and her mother. He had
pointed out that prisoners did not have quarters, beds, decent food, or many of the
other amenities she had been allowed. And yet he also doubted many would think it
tolerable that he had locked up a woman—especially the daughter of a marquess—without
letting her see or speak to anyone. So he had agreed to let Aimee out of her room
and waited for her to reveal her real intentions. And once she tried to enlist help
from his crew, he would be well justified in locking her back up.

All day he had spied on her, waiting and watching for her to recruit his men into
doing something he had forbidden, but Aimee approached no one. She had been friendly
to everyone she encountered. Kyrk had been grateful to receive her company and Collins
had been shocked when she had apologized, stating that he had been correct and she
should have heeded his instruction about staying away from the crew. She also apologized
for usurping his cabin. When lunchtime came, Reece had thought she would seek him
out, and when she did not he had gone to look for her, only to find her
in the kitchen
with JP. Soon afterwards, she had retired to her cabin.

Aimee shifted her stance slightly and the material shimmered, once again drawing attention
to her figure. His whole body instantly constricted with desire, remembering just
what it felt like to hold her in his arms. He took a step forward and her hand went
up. Without thought, he stopped.

Aimee tilted her chin up slightly. “My heart is yours, Reece, and I can say confidently
that it will always be yours. Whether you are aware of it or not, I
have
met other men. I have fulfilled my social and familial responsibilities of being
introduced into Society. I have danced, and conversed, and even flirted with the most
eligible bachelors seeking a wife.”

Every word Aimee spoke felt like a fist being driven into his stomach. But Reece refused
to let anything in his stance or expression show what he was feeling at the thought
of other men around her.

“Not all were titled, but most were,” Aimee continued. “A few of the men were dandies,
some disturbingly old, and a handful were idiots, unable to carry on even a dull conversation.
But there were several gentlemen who were intelligent, witty, and unusually charming
in both looks and manners. I was surprised to learn how many men of leisure are secretly
ambitious, discontent to live off their inheritance. And yes, a few of these gentlemen
have pursued my hand with remarkable persistence.”

Jealousy. That was the root of the twisting pain eating Reece. Any sane man with means
and a title would seek her hand, but he had told himself she had been ignoring them
in order to cling to her childhood fantasy. He had not realized how much that belief
had enabled him to stay sane, because deep down Reece suspected that once Aimee did
meet some eager, witty, and available gentleman, he would become a distant memory.

“And while the
idea
of marrying tempted me after seeing Millie so happy with Chase, I realized something.
When I looked into my future and envisioned the father of my children, I could see
only you. Despite everything, I have wanted, and still want, only you.”

Reece swallowed. It was not often he dreamed of being a husband and father. For the
only woman he could imagine making a commitment to was Aimee—and she was an impossibility.
Women like Aimee did not become sea captains’ wives. They were not content to wait
for weeks, sometimes months, to see their husbands.