“You said hurt
your
father, but … The child looked from Cyprian to Eliza, then back to Cyprian. “Does that mean … is my father also … also
your
father?”
Cyprian took hold of Aubrey’s shoulders then squatted down before him. “We are half brothers, Aubrey. I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t know how you would feel about it.”
“But … but I don’t understand.”
“It happened long ago, before your mother married your father.”
Aubrey frowned for a moment, then his eyes widened in sudden comprehension. “Oh. But then, who is your mother?”
Cyprian’s hands moved up and down Aubrey’s thin
arms and he released a slow, drawn out sigh. “Her name was Cybil and although she was a lovely woman, she was not the sort of woman your father had planned to marry.” He paused and Eliza saw a muscle flex in his jaw. To state the situation so mildly to Aubrey clearly took a huge effort. “But she took good care of me,” he added.
“That’s why you stole me, isn’t it? Because my father didn’t marry your mother. He married mine.”
Aubrey backed away, his young face a mask of confused emotion. “That’s why you hate me.”
“I don’t hate you—”
“But you did. You did at first.”
“I tried to hate you,” Cyprian admitted. “But you made such a good cabin boy.” He grinned at the child and received a small answering grin in return. “You worked hard. You made yourself get better. And besides—” Again he paused and Eliza caught her breath. “And besides, you’re my brother.”
“Your half brother,” Aubrey corrected, his face still vulnerable.
“My
only
brother,” Cyprian stated.
For a long stretched-out moment the boy and man stared at one another. They were so alike, Eliza thought as love for both of them swelled in her heart. Dark hair, blue eyes. Both determined—hardheaded, really.
Then Cyprian opened his arms and Aubrey charged into his older brother’s embrace.
“I always wanted a brother,” Aubrey whispered in a voice that trembled with emotion.
“Me, too,” Cyprian replied hoarsely, holding Aubrey tight.
Tears rose in Eliza’s eyes at the sight of the two. Who could ever have predicted such an emotional scene between captive and captor? But then, she should have guessed, for hadn’t she been as much Cyprian’s captive as Aubrey? And hadn’t she become as inexorably involved
with him? Unlike Aubrey, however, she did not have any ties to Cyprian. He was not her brother. He was not even her cousin, at least not by blood. He was just the man who’d taken her virginity—and her heart as well. But that didn’t mean as much to him as it did to her, she reminded herself.
She hugged her arms around herself, when what she really wanted to do was throw her arms around Cyprian and Aubrey. As if he sensed her emotional state, Aubrey pulled a little back from Cyprian and looked over at her. Chagrin and joy and a tiny bit of accusation showed in his little boy’s face.
“Why didn’t you tell me before, Eliza? Why did you keep it a secret?”
Eliza glanced from her young cousin to Cyprian, searching for an answer that made sense. For now that the truth was out, it seemed foolish to ever have hidden it from Aubrey. It was Cyprian who answered the child’s question, though his fathomless eyes remained locked with hers.
“Eliza thought she was protecting you, and I … I had a hard time accepting the fact that I was using my own brother to get even with my father.”
Eliza’s heart began to pound in her chest, to race with painful speed. Was he trying to say that he was sorry, that he’d been wrong to seek this sort of revenge against his father?
“But … but why do you want to get even with my father?” Aubrey asked, drawing Cyprian’s attention back to him. “He’s your father too.”
Cyprian released Aubrey and stood up, and before her eyes Eliza watched him transform back from caring brother to vengeful son. From apologetic captor to piratical sea captain.
“He’s never been a father to me,” he said stiffly. He glanced at Eliza. “Whether he knew about my existence or not doesn’t matter. He ruined my mother’s life.
Though I was unwise to involve you in my revenge, nothing has changed.”
“But you don’t have to take his money,” Aubrey argued. “One day it will be yours anyway. You’re the oldest son.”
“I’m his bastard, Aubrey. Not his legal heir. And anyway, I don’t want or need his money.”
“Then why did you demand a ransom—”
“Because it pains him to give it to me!”
He snatched up the heavy satchel Xavier had left beside the door and flung it violently across the room. It struck near the hearth and burst open, spilling a clattering, glittering array of coins and jewels out onto the planked wood floor. Truly it appeared a pirate’s booty.
In the awful silence that followed his outburst, Eliza and Aubrey stared dumbfounded at Cyprian. He was, Eliza thought, more furious in that moment than she’d ever seen him, for he actually shook with the force of his rage.
Then, as if he could not stand there one more moment without exploding, he jerked around, yanked open the door, and quit the house. The fact that he left the door standing open seemed somehow more depressing than if he’d slammed it right off its iron hinges.
“
C
ome along, Aubrey. I’ll find the driver and tell him to take us back to Lyme Regis directly. Go find your coat now, and let’s get on our way.”
“But what about supper? Ana made supper. And what about Xavier?”
“We’ll tell them goodbye. I’m sure Ana will give us something to take with us to eat in the carriage.” She took his elbow and urged him toward the door that Xavier and Ana had left from. “Hurry, Aubrey. We have to hurry.”
“But why?” He dug in his heels and twisted out of her grasp. “Why do we have to hurry? Didn’t you hear him? He’s my brother.” His small face crumpled suddenly into tears. “He’s my brother and if we leave now, I know I’ll never see him again.”
The onset of Aubrey’s tears, when he was struggling so hard to restrain them, brought fresh tears to Eliza’s eyes as well. Damn Cyprian Dare for finding a new way to hurt Aubrey! And damn him for managing to bring her to tears more times in the past weeks than she’d done in her entire life!
She gathered the weeping child in her arms, then sat down on a rush-bottomed settee, holding him still. “Please don’t cry, Aubrey. It’s all for the best, anyway.
You’ll see. Think about your mother and father and how happy they’ll be to see you again. Your sisters too.” She finger-combed his dark unruly hair. “And Oliver came with me. He’s waiting at the Bear and Claw right now.”
“Oliver?” Aubrey raised his head and wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeve. “Yes, I would like to see Oliver.” Then he met her concerned gaze with his damp blue stare. “You know, if Oliver found out he were Cyprian’s brother, I bet he wouldn’t let Cyprian go off forever. He’d find a way to stop him.” His chin jutted out stubbornly and for a fraction of a moment he was the very image of Cyprian at his most frustrating. It brought a grudging smile to Eliza’s lips.
“You see?” he continued. “Even you must admit he would. Ollie’s like that. And so am I,” he decided.
He stood up and crossed to the forgotten spread of riches on the floor, then knelt and began to gather everything back into the much abused satchel. “If I take the ransom with me, Cyprian will have to follow us, won’t he? Then perhaps I can convince him and Father to be friends.”
Eliza shook her head in dismay. “I don’t think that will work, Aubrey. Besides, perhaps Cyprian is entitled to some of your father’s wealth.”
Aubrey glanced up at her though he didn’t pause in his self-appointed task. “If you were to marry him, that would probably help to smooth things out even more.”
“Marry him?” Eliza pushed out of the settee and began to pace. “Marry him! Aubrey, the fact is, Cyprian does not wish to marry anyone. Least of all me,” she added in a smaller voice.
“Xavier says he does.”
“Xavier is a complete and foolish romantic.”
“Ana says so too.”
“That figures,” Eliza muttered, pacing the length of the cozy parlor. “Hurry up, Aubrey. It’s past time we left this place.”
“You’d marry him if he agreed, wouldn’t you?” Aubrey persisted, ignoring her last words. “You keep saying
he
won’t, but you never once said
you
wouldn’t marry him. You want to, don’t you? You do!”
“So what if I do!” she exclaimed. “It takes a bride
and
a groom, in case you aren’t familiar with the process!”
He scowled at her sharp tone and for a moment he looked like the petulant little boy who’d flung his drawing of the white cliffs over the railing of the
Lady Haberton.
But then his face cleared and he became the bright, mischievous boy he used to be—and had become once more. “I’m not ready to go,” he stated. “First I’m going to put this satchel in the carriage. Then I’m going to have my supper. Then I’ll bid everyone a proper goodbye. It’s only polite, Eliza. You know I’m right.”
They ate in the kitchen at a massive oak table that had, no doubt, seen a century of meals served on its scarred surface. Eliza was too jumpy to eat. Or so she thought. But the warm cheer of the old-fashioned kitchen, the fragrance of soup and bread, and the golden glow and soft popping of the generous blaze in the huge fireplace did much to soothe her shattered nerves. Added to that, Xavier’s hearty good humor and Ana’s ever-present serenity were like a balm to all Eliza’s wounds. How she wished she could settle into this delightful cocoon of love and security they managed to create, no matter what the circumstances.
As Cyprian’s friends they understood the perverse workings of her heart—why she was so drawn to the vengeful sea captain. But they foolishly attributed more caring on Cyprian’s part than actually existed. They refused to understand that she had to leave. Of course, once home, she would then become the recipient of her mother’s doleful stares and her father’s regretful ones. Everyone would treat her as if she were some fragile doll, just as they’d always done, though this time it
would be for entirely different reasons. Her body was strong now. It was her heart that suffered.
The thought of the dull and depressing existence awaiting her in London was too horrible for Eliza to contemplate, and she set her spoon down in her half-empty bowl of soup.
“Have you had enough?” Ana asked, studying Eliza with almond eyes that always seemed to see too much.
Eliza swallowed and nodded her head.
“I suppose you want to leave now,” Aubrey said. “Well, I want to write down my address first. So Cyprian can find me.
And
the ransom,” he added belligerently.
“That’s a very good idea,” Xavier said solemnly. “Write down Eliza’s address too.”
“Oh, stop it!” Eliza cried. She pushed away from the table then stood up and leaned forward, bracing herself on her hands and glaring at them all. “He knows your address, Aubrey. He knows everything there is to know about you and about your father. If he truly wanted to be a brother to you, nothing would stop him. But he doesn’t. All he wants is to hurt your father—
his
father. And he doesn’t care who else he hurts in the process!”
She took an angry breath. Then as abruptly as it had come, her anger gave way to crushing despair. “Come along, Aubrey,” she finished in a somber tone. “It’s time to leave.”
It was a dismal company that trekked out to the carriage. A dreary mist hung in the air, not quite rain, nor could it properly be called a fog. It fit Eliza’s mood perfectly.
Aubrey had insisted on carrying the heavy satchel, though its broken hinge made it awkward. Xavier helped him, a faint frown shadowing his dark face. But once they reached the carriage which stood beneath a shed and devoid of any horses, he grinned. “I’ll have to find the stableman. It may take awhile. And it’s getting
late, almost dusk. You shouldn’t be setting out so late—”
“If you can’t find the stableman you’ll have to harness the team yourself,” Eliza ordered in her most haughty tone. She was sick to death of dealing with Xavier’s ceaseless matchmaking. Didn’t he realize it was not going to work?
“I’m a sailor,” he said, drawing himself up regally. Then he winked at Ana. “I don’t know a thing about harnessing a team of horses.”
“Well, Aubrey does,” Eliza retorted.
“My foot hurts,” the boy responded, sitting on the folded down carriage step. He began earnestly to rub his ankle above the worn cuff of his brogans. “It hurts in the worst way.”
“Oh, botheration!” Eliza glared at the two of them, then turned to Ana in final appeal.
But that one only raised her brows in mild response. “Cyprian knows how to harness a team of four. He worked as a stable boy once. Perhaps he’ll help you.”
“Perhaps he would, if he were here,” Eliza snapped back. “But he’s gone—”
“I think
fled
is a better word. He has fled your presence, just as you are fleeing his.”
Eliza opened her mouth to retort, then shut it. She wanted to deny that she was fleeing, but they’d all know it for a lie. She
was
fleeing Cyprian. But he could hardly be said to be fleeing her. Could he?
She stared at Ana as quick doubt assailed her. What was it that Xavier had once said of Cyprian? That he had much pain in his heart.
Xavier tossed the heavy satchel into the carriage and at the solid thud of weighted leather against wooden floorboards, Eliza turned to stare at it. Cyprian did not want the huge amount of riches contained within that broken satchel. Not really. He wanted revenge—or at least he thought he did. But look how quickly he’d
warmed to Aubrey. They were brothers though Cyprian had fought the idea at first. Maybe it was as she’d once speculated: what Cyprian Dare really needed was to belong to a family.
Maybe if she tried just one more time … .
“Where did he go?” She turned back to face Ana and Xavier. “Where did he flee to, as you call it?”
Xavier shrugged and worry showed on his downcast features. “That I do not know. The horse he hired is gone from its stall. But I’m certain he’ll be back if you will just wait awhile.”
“Yes,” Ana put it. “You wait for him here, Eliza, while we deliver Aubrey to the Bear and Claw.”
“I want to wait, too—”
“We
will
be waiting,” Ana cut Aubrey off. “But we’ll wait with Oliver at the Bear and Claw. I’m sure Eliza can bring Cyprian around if she has a little time alone with him. Besides, your parents must be desperate to see you by now.” She rumpled the boy’s hair fondly. “Think how surprised they’re going to be when you walk up to them.”
Aubrey grinned at that. “They will be, won’t they? All right, then, let’s be off. But what about the ransom money?” he added.
“Better leave that with me,” Eliza answered. “Your father owes Cyprian that much at least.”
“I don’t think he’ll want it,” Xavier said. He smiled at her, the gentle smile that was so at odds with his otherwise fierce appearance. “He’s been seeking treasure all his life, but I don’t think it’s the kind of treasure you can carry in a satchel.”
Color crept into Eliza’s cheeks despite the bitter cold of the gray December afternoon. Xavier meant her, of course. But though she wished fervently that he was right, she just was not sure. There was so much against it—primary among them Cyprian’s hatred of his father.
Only it wasn’t really hatred, she realized. It was all that pain in his heart. Maybe Xavier had been right all along.
But as Xavier finally searched out the stableman and Aubrey roused the driver, Eliza nevertheless was paralyzed by fear. Cyprian might be hurt by his father’s neglect, but that didn’t mean she was the one he could find comfort with. She and Ana hauled the ransom back into the house while the horses were put into their traces. Then the driver boarded and it was time for them to leave her all alone to wait.
“You need not fear Cyprian,” Xavier whispered as he enfolded her in a smothering hug. “He will come around.”
“That’s right,” Ana added, planting a farewell kiss on Eliza’s cheek. “After all, Xavier came around, didn’t he?”
Eliza met Ana’s knowing gaze. “If I thought Cyprian could care for me even half so much as Xavier obviously cares for you—”
She couldn’t finish. But then she didn’t need to, for Ana knew. “He will,” she whispered. “He will.”
Eliza’s last hug was for Aubrey. “I’m glad you’re finally going home. Your parents will be overjoyed.” She fingered his dark curls fondly. “I only wish I could be there to see their reactions when you walk up to them unaided.”
“I intend to run—or perhaps skip,” he said, his blue eyes dancing. “While you are working on Cyprian, Eliza, I shall work on Father. And I shall look forward to the day when they are reconciled with one another.”
If that day ever comes,
Eliza thought as she waved them off. If that day ever comes.