Historical Romance Boxed Set (23 page)

For several minutes, she had her wish. Then he broke the silence. “We’ll reach Bristol today. I have to make arrangements to trade Lord Clifton for Richard, but then I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

Alexandra opened her mouth to argue. The tenderness she felt for Nathaniel at that moment, and the night before, had destroyed a good measure of her reserve, and she thought it best if they parted sooner rather than later. But she didn’t say so. Her words might cause him to let go of her and get out of bed, and she wasn’t ready for that. Not yet.

Part of her wondered if she ever would be.

* * *

Nanchu had just finished taking a final look at the marquess’s arm when Nathaniel entered the sick bay.

“I want to send a message to your father,” he told his half brother, keeping his eyes carefully averted from the boy’s right arm, which now ended in a white bandage where his hand should have been.

“My arrival in this condition will be message enough.” Clifton sent him a scornful glance. “You will pay for this. Mark my words.”

Nathaniel ignored the threat. The boy had brought the injury on himself through his own stupidity. “There will be no arrival unless your father releases Richard,” he replied. “So you’ll only help yourself by cooperating. Where do you think we can find the duke? At Bridlewood or at Greystone House in London?”

“He’s not at Bridlewood.”

“So he’s in London. Buying another shipment of rifles to send to Russia, perhaps?”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Lord Clifton’s voice grew passionate. “My father would never do anything to hurt England.”

“Treason is by its very nature injurious. But he will pay the price. You see, I’m a bit of a patriot at heart.”

“My father is a powerful man with friends in very high places. You can do nothing to hurt him.”

Nathaniel gave a sardonic laugh. “Then you have nothing to worry about.”

* * *

When the
Vengeance
finally arrived in Bristol, Alexandra was eager to stretch her legs on land and to eat some decent food. And she couldn’t wait to wear something more attractive than the baggy men’s garb she’d had on since the storm. She decided to visit a bakery on her way to buy fabric—and then she frowned. A dress was no small expense. She certainly hadn’t anticipated such a need when she planned to strike out on her own from Madame Fobart’s.

She quickly plaited her hair into one long braid that fell down her back, and cinched up Nathaniel’s belt for what she hoped was the last time. She was just about to head up on deck when Nathaniel entered the cabin.

“I’m ready,” she announced, overcompensating for the twinge of shyness that the memory of their time together in his bed, though completely innocent, evoked. In a way, his kindness had forged a bond between them as strong or stronger than if they had become physically intimate, and she no longer knew how to treat the pirate captain. “I can already taste a fresh bun. And oh, for some butter and clear water—”

Nathaniel scowled. “How soon are you expecting such fare?”

“As soon as possible.” She smiled at him. “Can I take the first lighter to the dock?”

Shrugging out of a damp coat, he threw back the lid to his sea chest and withdrew a fresh one. “I’m afraid not. You’ll need to stay here with Trenton.”

She blinked at him in surprise. “But why?”

“I have to take care of some things.”

“Which has nothing to do with me. I’m not your prisoner anymore. You’ve said so yourself, remember? You said you were going to release me.”

“I didn’t say when.”

Despite his answer, Alexandra had to struggle to keep her gaze from drifting over the cotton shirt that stretched taut as he moved. How well she remembered the feel of his muscles moving beneath her hands when he held her earlier.

“You’re just being difficult,” she said. “Surely there is some way to convince you…” She stepped closer and offered him a sultry smile. She felt a little deprived that he hadn’t tried to kiss her while she was in his bed. He had never been indifferent to her before. Had his interest waned while her desire for him only grew stronger?

He cocked a dark eyebrow at her and dropped the coat on the bed. “That depends on what you’re offering.”

Alexandra felt her pulse quicken. She’d caught his attention all right, but wasn’t it foolish to tempt fate? “What is it you want?”

His gaze roved over her, leaving little doubt as to his answer, but at last his eyes focused on her lips. “I’ll settle for a kiss.”

“For a kiss you’ll take me to shore?” she asked, his ready acceptance of her offer making her suspicious.

“Not such a hard bargain, eh?” He spread out his arm, the planes of his face softening with a smile. “I’m waiting.”

Alexandra twisted her hands, suddenly wishing she hadn’t started this bold little game. “Could you at least close your eyes and pucker up or something?”

He laughed softly and closed his eyes. “Your wish is my command.”

Butterflies fluttered in Alexandra’s stomach as she gazed at his handsome face. He had the look of a rogue, with his long hair falling from the thong in back and a small scar near the cleft in his chin. And he could play the role of a rogue better than any man she had ever met, which only made her more nervous. “This is ridiculous—”

“Don’t you want that bun you mentioned?” The corner of his mouth quirked up, but his eyes remained shut. “And some clear water?”

“Fine. Just kiss me,” she said, stepping closer.

“No, you set the price yourself. You’re going to do the kissing.”

Alexandra took a deep breath. It was only a kiss. How difficult could it be? Placing her hands on his chest, she stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his. Planning to deliver a quick, pristine peck, just enough to satisfy her end of the bargain, she gasped when his arm pulled her roughly against his hard frame.

He parted her lips with his tongue, kissing her thoroughly, until her lips burned from the warmth and the movement, then set her away from him. “That’s one of the better bargains I’ve made,” he said, looking as though he’d kiss her again if she so much as leaned toward him. “Consider me convinced—”

“Wonderful!”

“—to take you to town in the morning.”

“In the morning?” Alexandra’s mouth gaped open as his words sank in. He didn’t plan to take her ashore now any more than he had when he’d told her no in the first place. “You deceived me,” she accused.

He winked. “Aye, and it was well worth the damage to my character.” Smiling as smugly as the cat who swallowed the canary, he turned to rummage through his desk and retrieved a roll of bills from a drawer where they’d been cast inside as carelessly as trash. “This is a quick stop,” he explained, counting the money. “I can’t afford any complications.”

Alexandra’s hands clenched into fists. Truth be told, she had enjoyed the kiss as much as Nathaniel, but a bargain was a bargain, and getting cheated did not sit well with her. Especially when it meant another night of drinking slimy, brackish water. “Do you think I would turn you in?”

He pulled on his fresh coat and shoved the money into his pocket. “How do I know what you might try in some misguided attempt to help the marquess? You nearly got us all killed with that schooner. My father is a very powerful man. In most regards, he owns this town, and I’ve done little to endear myself to you.” He grinned. “One kiss hardly guarantees your loyalty. But I’m willing to let you try again, if you think you can convince me otherwise.” He closed his eyes and puckered up.

Ignoring the mocking gesture, Alexandra crossed her arms over her chest. “I want to get off this boat,” she said. “And only if you refuse me will you have reason to worry.”

He opened his eyes to consider her threat, then infuriated her further by giving her a careless shrug. “I’m capable of providing my own insurance, thank you.” He dipped his head in parting.

“Why are you being so stubborn?” she asked, her voice rising with her temper. “Are you doing something with Lord Clifton I might not agree with?”

Nathaniel paused at the door. “I’m taking him to London with us. We’ll go by carriage while Trenton gets the
Vengeance
ready to sail again. So now you know. Are you satisfied?”

“No, what are you going to do with him in London?”

“Eat him for supper—right after I finish with you.” Laughing, he walked out.

“I hope you get caught,” Alexandra shouted after him, but the closing of the door was her only response.

By midnight the guns were safely deposited in a warehouse not too far from shore. Nathaniel thought it a perfect location, given the constraints of time.

After Tiny and the rest of the small party he had brought from the ship had left, he sat on the last of the crates, exhausted, thinking about Alexandra. The vision of her face made him long to return to his cabin and kiss away her anger, to take her to his bed and become one with her before he lost her forever. Part of him argued that a single night wouldn’t matter. But deep down he knew if he went that far, he would never be able to let her go. He was already feeling protective and too possessive for his own good.

“Cap’n?”

Nathaniel turned to find Tiny standing just inside the door of the vast, hollow-sounding building. The moon silhouetted his large bulk. “What are you doing back here, my friend? I thought you’d be enjoying a good booze up by now.”

Tiny ran a hand over the prickly new growth on his head, which was now barely a quarter of an inch long. “I was ‘opin’ to catch ye before ye went back to the ship. I ‘eard somethin’ at the Yard’s Arm I thought ye might want to know about.”

The tone of Tiny’s words caused Nathaniel’s stomach to tense. “What’s that?”

“England’s gone to war. The infantry embarked to Malta March twenty-eighth, but the first shots weren’t fired until April twenty-second, when our warships attacked the port of Odessa. Everyone’s talkin’ about it.”

That England and France had finally, or rather, officially, backed Turkey in the fight against Russia came as a shock, even though Nathaniel had been expecting it for some time. Now that English blood was being spilt, his father’s intentions to sell arms to the enemy became that much more distasteful to him, especially because the Minie rifle was more accurate and far-carrying than the smooth-bore firelock, which was still the regulation weapon in line regiments.

Fleetingly, Nathaniel wondered why a man with so much would commit treason, but then, he had never understood his father. His desire to do so had been the bane of his existence.

“That raises the stakes a bit, doesn’t it?” Nathaniel asked.

Tiny nodded. “Aye.”

Allowing himself no more time to rest, Nathaniel got to his feet. He had to stop his father from shipping any more guns to Russia, which meant he had to get back to the
Vengeance
so they could leave for London at dawn.

Chapter 11

The carriage Nathaniel rented was an ordinary black conveyance that seated eight people. Alexandra was squished between Tiny and the pirate captain himself; Garth was on the other side of Tiny. John, Samuel, an average-looking fellow with a thick head of hair, and Shorty, a tall, heavyset man with a tattoo on the bald pate of his head, sat with the marquess on the other side.

They started out shortly after dawn, traveling in silence as they passed the elegant squares and graceful crescents of Bristol. Alexandra had never visited the city before. She loved the Georgian architecture, complete with its colonnades and terraces.

“That’s Royal York Crescent, the longest crescent in Europe,” Nathaniel pointed out as they passed a long building of flats that curved like a half-moon. “It was started before the turn of the century, but wasn’t finished until 1820 or so.”

“Isn’t Blaise Castle around here somewhere?” Alexandra asked. “My mother once mentioned having seen it.”

“It’s in Clifton,” the marquess said, speaking for the first time. “So is Bridlewood, my father’s home.”

Nathaniel glanced at his half brother without responding.

“Then you’re familiar with this area,” Alexandra said.

“The air and the water of Clifton are unsurpassed.”

“So I’ve heard. So are the beautiful hills and dales.” Alexandra smiled, wondering what the marquess was really like. He was not unhandsome with his short, sandy-colored hair and green eyes. His nose was rather wide, and his stocky build was enough to suggest a preponderance of weight as he grew older, but he had sensual lips and straight, nice teeth. She marveled that, other than the lips, there was so little resemblance between Nathaniel and his younger brother.

“Is the Clifton Suspension Bridge as spectacular as they say?” she asked.

“Yes, though it’s not finished yet. The Severn is one of the most beautiful rivers in the world.”

Nathaniel had brought Alexandra a basket of fresh buns that morning, together with a small crock of butter, and she took two out now, offering one to Lord Clifton. She was sure the marquess had eaten nothing but hard-tack biscuits and salt pork since coming aboard the
Vengeance.
They’d had nothing else.