Kimberly Nee - The McKenzie Brothers (5 page)

“Very well.”

“I expect to be back in time for supper. Please dress accordingly.”

“As I did last night, when you did not return?”

He almost smiled at the hint of temper poking through her sudden reserve. “It was unavoidable. Besides, you said it wasn’t your place to question? Didn’t you say that? So, consider yourself lucky I don’t request you to await me in my cabin stark naked.”

His amber eyes locked with hers and he felt the jolt crackle through him. Her flush returned, adorably creeping its way up along her neck. It stained her cheeks, disappeared into her hairline to set entire her face aglow with a beautiful blush. He chuckled as she dropped her gaze to the tabletop. “Of course.”

Drew left it at that, striding from the room. He slammed out of the townhouse, his voice sharp as he snapped, “Eagleton’s office,” to the driver and threw himself into the carriage.

He leaned back, eyes closed, as he replayed the scene in the drawing room. What the devil was going on? Which was the true Heather Morgan? The fiery spirit who’d returned his kisses with such passion or the mealy milquetoast with whom he’d just shared tea?

He tried to think of any reason to explain her sudden change of character. It made sense that night at Coal’s, for he was certain she’d been instructed to accept whatever orders she might be given by the man paying for her. It didn’t make sense now, at least not to him. He had no aversion to the occasional disagreement, no aversion to her speaking her mind.

He smiled as he thought about his mother, Rebecca, and his younger sisters. Emma, the older of the two girls, was married now, and the mother of a daughter herself. It would be nice to see them again. He had missed his family during his absence, for they were a close-knit group.

“Well, we’ll be there soon enough,” he muttered, rubbing his eyes with one hand. “Although, I do not relish the questions Heather’s presence will bring. I haven’t a clue how I’m going to explain her presence here, with me.”

How the devil
would
he explain her?

His family was no stranger to scandal. After all, scandal was what landed Emma her husband. But this was different. He had no idea how they would react should they learn how he’d met Heather in the first place. Drew didn’t think his father or Garrett would be overly troubled.

At least, he hoped not.

He’d worry about that when the time came. He had more pressing matters at hand and one of them concerned one greedy harbormaster and a restless crew. He needed to settle up with the former and round up the latter, then he could set sail for home.

Chapter Nine

The next two days were a blur of activity as Heather’s time in London drew to a bittersweet close. Anticipation mingled with regret at the thought of leaving her home, but she tried not to dwell on it.

Her spat with Drew had gone by the wayside since he was so busy preparing his ship for their return to America. She saw little of him during those two days, but when their paths crossed, at least he smiled, or had kind words for her. These filled her with a sense of relief. At least their quarrel changed nothing.

Finally, it was her last day in London. It was a gray, misty morning and it didn’t take long for her to finish what little packing she had to do.

Drew returned at noon and told her they would be leaving with the evening tide. The entire staff was busy stowing the last of his trunks, making certain he left nothing behind, and getting Heather’s trunk tucked in with the others.

When it was time to leave, Heather said a quick goodbye to the maids she barely knew and to the housekeeper who still radiated hostility. She lingered over Jameson only, giving the older man a warm embrace that clearly moved him.

“Take care of yourself,” he whispered, giving her a squeeze. “Don’t let that boy push you around any.”

I won’t,” she told him, stepping back and blinking back tears. She would miss the kindly old man.

“I tease you. I’ve known that boy for several years now and his heart is always in the right place. Just take care to watch his temper. It’s fierce, but then, most of the passionate ones are. He’s a good man, Captain McKenzie is. A good man. He will take care of you. Good care of you.”

Heather wasn’t certain how to respond. She was quite sure the man had no idea how she came to be in Drew’s company, and she wasn’t about to enlighten him.

Drew came into the front hall. Ever the gentleman, he had dressed for the trip to the harbor in black trousers and dove gray shirt, complete with cravat and a sapphire blue frock coat. “Are you ready then?”

She nodded. “I am.”

“Let us get moving, shall we?” He offered his hand to Jameson. “Take care of yourself, Jamie. Watch out for the ladies. They’re nothing but trouble.”

Jameson gave Drew a warm smile. “Of course. I might warn you of the same, sir.”

Drew gave Heather a roguish smile. “Don’t you always?”

“Don’t worry, sir. Lord Sheffield will be home soon to keep me in line.”

“Tell Sheffield I’ll catch him on my next trip through.”

“Of course, sir. Safe voyage and Godspeed.”

Drew offered Heather his arm. “Shall we?”

She accepted and out they went to meet the waiting carriage. He helped her in, and as she settled back against the cushion, she couldn’t help but wonder how soon he planned on returning to England.

There was no chance to ask him however, for he settled in beside her and said, “You are certain you have everything?”

“I didn’t have all that much to begin with.”

“Ah, I forgot to tell you, didn’t I? Jameson made a trip to Madam Cartwright’s this morning while you were still asleep. There are two chests tucked safely into the captain’s cabin of the
Triton
. You will have plenty once we are on board.”

She was touched that he remembered the wardrobe, but surprised that the seamstress could have everything ready so quickly. “How is that possible?”

He stretched out his long legs, crossing them at the ankles. “Gold is a powerful persuader.”

She could only imagine the seamstress’s response when confronted with the option of finishing the order within two days, or risk losing it altogether. Mary Cartwright must have spent several sleepless nights sewing away, most likely with several disgruntled employees toiling with her.

“I can imagine how happy she must have been.”

Drew gave her his most charming grin. “Could you argue with this face?”

“Am I in the position to argue with you?”

“I’ve told you, several times now, that if you wish to disagree with me about something, feel free to do so. I like a woman with spirit. Sometimes, there is nothing quite like a good argument. The making up part is usually enjoyable.”

She wasn’t entirely certain how to respond to
that
, but assumed the blush climbing into her cheeks was answer enough.

Drew must have thought so as well, for he threw his head back and laughed. “Ah, we do have to do something about those blushes, love. They give far too much away.” His eyes lingered on hers for a moment. “Then again, perhaps we don’t. They are adorable.”

Her blush grew hotter still and she wished — not for the first time — she hadn’t been blessed with such fair skin. They spent the rest of the ride to the docks in comfortable silence. When they arrived, Drew exited the coach and turned to offer her his arm.

Heather slipped her arm through his and allowed him to steer her in the direction of the berths. This was her first trip to London’s docks and although she could barely stomach the smells, the ships berthed there fascinated her. She’d never seen a ship up close, and craned her neck to take it all in. Her gait threw off her balance, and she stumbled, nearly falling clear into the gutter as she was too busy gawking up to look ahead.

Drew caught her. “Careful, love.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, still staring up. “This place is amazing. I’ve never seen such bustle.”

“I imagine a lady such as yourself has not spent much time at the docks.”

“It wasn’t high on my list of places to spend my leisure time.”

Drew moved briskly through the throng of people milling about. Heather held tight to his arm, afraid that if they were separated, she would never be able to find him. It was silly, for he towered over most of the men in the crowd, but the fear plagued her just the same.

“G’day, love. Buy a drink for a lady?”

Heather twisted her head. A heavily rouged blonde strutted toward them. The gown she wore reminded Heather of the one she wore for the auction. More negligee than dress, it was extremely low-cut, in the fashion of an earlier decade, and the woman had dampened the worn muslin to make it cling to her bony figure. The woman reminded Heather of the portrait of her grandmother that hung in the drawing room at Waterbury. Helene Morgan had been something of a scandal in her day — when it was all the rage for women to dampen their muslins to make them clingier.

The woman sidled up to Drew as if Heather was invisible, slipping her arm through his. “Buy a drink for a lady, love?”

He untangled her arm from his. “Not interested.”

The woman pouted, refusing to let go of him. “It’s only a drink.”

“Take your hand from me for if I have to, trust me, you will sail without a ship.”

The woman frowned at him. “No need to be nasty.” She tossed her stringy blonde hair over one shoulder and sauntered off, calling out, “Buy a drink for a lady?”

Heather shook her head. “Sad creature.”

Drew scowled. “Annoying creature. They swarm these docks, preying on sailors fresh off of ships and desperate for any sort of female attention, no matter how low.”

She bit the inside of her lower lip, not wanting to remind him of where he first met her. Only twisted luck saved
her
from having to troll the docks as a common strumpet.

She glanced up at him to see his eyes still glittered with irritation. “You don’t know the reason she is walking these slips, Drew. Perhaps she has no other means to support herself. Or — or perhaps she has children to think of.”

Drew shrugged. “Or, perhaps not. You don’t know either.”

“Oh! Men are all alike, aren’t they? It’s fine for you to leap into bed with whomever catches your eye! But when a woman does there is something wrong with her.”

“I never said that. This is your first venture into this part of London, but I pass through here on a somewhat regular occurrence. Which of us would know better?”

She stopped in her tracks. “Is that how you see me, then? After all, I might have been in a fancier setting, but what she is selling is no different, is it?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You know
exactly
what I am talking about.”

“You are nothing like that woman, Heather. Nothing at all.”

“Oh, is that a fact? Need I remind you of how I came to be in your company?” She stared at him with hard eyes, hands on her hips.

Drew blushed, the color rising in his swarthy cheeks. “No,” he replied with a sigh. “No, I don’t suppose you need remind me.”

“So is that how you see me?”

“Do you truly need me to answer that? Do you think I would have asked you to accompany me to America if I saw you as nothing more than a whore?”

The words hit her like a blow to the chin, and for a long, painful beat, she forgot to breathe. She could do nothing but stare at him, unable to believe he’d just tossed that at her.

He must have realized how he sounded, for he reached for her. “Heather, I didn’t mean it that way and you know it.”

“Really? I’m not so certain you
didn’t
mean it that way. How else
could
you mean it? I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s the truth, isn’t it?”

He sighed. “Heather — ”

She turned away from him to stare straight ahead. “Where is your ship?”

“Heather — ”

“Your ship, please.”

Muttering something beneath his breath, he pointed to a three-masted vessel bobbing in the next slip over. “That is the
Triton
.”

She gazed up at the ship. Although she knew nothing about them, she couldn’t help but think it beautiful. Its hull gleamed proudly, and she could almost imagine the snowy white sails billowing as the wind swept along the docks, urging the ships to leave their slips. High above, the decks were alive with activity. Men swarmed them, reading the
Triton
for the voyage across the Atlantic.

Drew led her to the gangplank and she set foot on board a ship for the first time in her life.

Almost immediately, one of the men came up to them. “Afternoon, Captain McKenzie. Beautiful day to take to the sea, don’t you think?”

Drew returned the man’s smile. “Couldn’t ask for better, Mr. Aldridge. Is everything ready?”

“Just about, Captain. Me and Scottie have the last few crates to batten down, and then she’ll be ready to go.”

“Good. Get on with it, then.” He turned to her. “Miss Morgan, this is Bobby Aldridge. Bobby, Miss Morgan.”

Bobby’s keen blue eyes lingered on her for a moment. “A pleasure, miss.”

“A pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Aldridge.”

Bobby’s smile put her at ease and she returned it. Drew’s arm tensed and he cleared his throat. “The crates?”

“Oh, yes. Of course, Captain.” Bobby jerked to attention as he turned back to his captain. “We’ll get right on it, sir.”

“Good. Now, fetch Henry and have him escort Miss Morgan to my cabin.” Drew turned to her again. “I’ve a few loose ends to wrap up on shore, Heather. I shouldn’t be gone more than an hour or so. Make yourself comfortable and let Henry know if there is anything you need. Bobby, while I am ashore, keep an eye on Henry and make it clear to him that Miss Morgan is to have anything she asks for.”

“Yes, sir.” Bobby dashed off, returning several moments later with a tall, sinewy man who was at most only a few years older than she was.

“You wished to see me, Captain McKenzie?”

“Henry, escort Miss Morgan to my cabin.”

“Aye, Captain.”

Heather shrank beneath Henry’s penetrating icy-blue stare. He didn’t look happy with his assignment. “Come along.”

Drew caught Heather’s arm, leaning close to brush her lips with a quick kiss. “I’ll return as soon as I can.”

Before she could reply, he was striding across the deck and disappearing down the gangplank, leaving her with Henry. Was his kiss for Henry’s benefit? A smirk rose to the man’s lips and a nasty gleam lit his eyes.

“So it’s like that, is it?” he sneered, all politeness gone now that his captain’s eyes were no longer on him. “Well, let’s get you down, shall we?”

Heather felt a twinge of apprehension as she reluctantly followed him through a doorway and down one flight of narrow steps, then another. Henry remained silent, not troubling to even peer over one shoulder to make certain she was still there.

Finally, he stopped before a closed door. Taking a brass ring from his belt, he flipped through the numerous keys until he found the one he was looking for.

He unlocked the door and, with a flick of his bony wrist, swung it open. “Captain McKenzie’s cabin,” he said shortly, giving her an unfriendly look. “And don’t think to be takin’ anything of his, either. I know what’s in here, and where everthin’s kept. I’m going to know if anything’s missin’.”

She couldn’t believe the man’s cheek. Lifting her chin slightly, she mustered up as much dignity as she could. “And you can rest assured,
sir
, that you’ve nothing to worry about. I will, however, be speaking to Captain McKenzie about your insinuations.”