Desire In His Eyes (6 page)

Opening every cabinet, drawer, and chest in the room, Juliette ignored the slight pang of guilt at rummaging through his personal items by reasoning that if Harrison hadn’t wanted her to go through his things, he should not have locked her alone in his cabin in the first place.

Harrison was surprisingly neat and organized, unlike Juliette who could never be bothered to take the time to put her possessions away properly. All of his clothes were neatly folded in drawers and arranged in closets. She lifted one of his shirts from a drawer and inhaled the scent. She suddenly realized that she could now recognize the distinct scent of Harrison: a mixture of sea and salt air, soap, and an utter masculinity. She breathed deeply again, holding it close to her, then replaced it very carefully. Juliette made her way back into his office.

She rifled through the stacks of papers and maps in his desk drawers, ignoring most of it, deeming it boring and inconsequential. She wanted to learn about the man, not his ship. Frustrated by the lack of any personal memorabilia, Juliette continued her search. Inside one drawer she found a small black leather case. Opening it, she paused at the daguerreotype photographic card of a woman. A very lovely woman, who possessed fair curls and somewhat sad looking eyes.

Now this was something. Juliette lingered over this particular find, wondering who the lady was and how Harrison knew her. Was this his sweetheart? She did not recall Harrison mentioning any family during his visit to Devon House, but then she had not paid him too much attention. Harrison did not seem to be one who was overly eager to divulge personal history anyway. She was positive he was not married, for Lucien surely would have shared that information when they were first introduced, and she certainly would have remembered something like that. But perhaps he had a fiancée? Maybe this sweet, fair girl was his intended bride? It was not entirely out of the range of possibility.

Perhaps that is why Harrison stopped kissing her so abruptly. And left the cabin. Had he been riddled with guilt for kissing her when he had a fiancée?

Staring at the face on the photograph, Juliette realized she actually knew very little about Captain Harrison Fleming. Not that they had had much opportunity to discuss his life since she had been aboard the
Sea Minx
. He was too busy either ordering her about or kissing her.

She mentally recounted what she could recall being told about him.

He hailed from New York and had built his own shipping business. And she knew next to nothing about either New York or shipping. She wished she had questioned Jeffrey about him. Jeffrey would have told her anything she wanted to know about him. But then he would have wanted to know why Juliette wanted to know such things. She had feared arousing Jeffrey’s suspicion by her interest in Captain Fleming so she had prudently kept her mouth closed.

What did she really know about Harrison?

She surmised that he had to be a successful businessman or her brother-in-law and Jeffrey would not be involved with him in the first place. She knew he was strong and handsome. She knew his crew respected him. She knew he cared enough about her to make her wear a proper hat while out in the sun. She knew he was capable of kissing her senseless.

And now she also knew Harrison kept a special photograph of a beautiful woman in his desk.

Slowly, she turned the sepia-toned photograph over. Anderson’s Photographers with an address in New York City was printed on the back. And scrawled in pencil was written the name Melissa and the year 1870. Who was Melissa? Whoever she was, she must be important to him to have this picture in his desk, for photographs were a rarity. Only last year, Lucien had arranged for a family photograph to be taken on his and Colette’s wedding day and that had been a very special event.

The sound of a key rattling the door set her heart to pounding. Goodness! Had Harrison returned? Juliette hastily placed the leather case with the photograph back in the drawer and scurried away from the desk. She certainly had no wish for Harrison to catch her in the act of snooping. Shaking, she sat herself in a chair and clutched the front of her shirt closed just before the door opened.

A sigh of relief escaped her when Robbie entered the cabin, carrying a cloth sack. He gave her a sheepish smile, his freckled face lined in apprehension.

“Hello, Robbie,” she said, relaxing somewhat. “Have you come to let me out?”

He shuffled his feet awkwardly. “You made the captain pretty angry there, Miss Juliette.”

She laughed in spite of herself. “Oh, I don’t care that he’s angry. I just hope I didn’t get you into any trouble.”

Robbie shook his head. “I wouldn’t worry about me. The captain doesn’t stay mad for long. He was more worried about you than anything else. You gave us all an awful scare watching you climb up that rigging.”

Juliette had no regrets over her actions. “I’m sorry for worrying you all. I did have a grand time though.”

“You did fine up there,” he said in admiration. “I would think you’d been on a ship before.”

“Thank you for being man enough to admit that to me.” A feeling of pride coursed through her.

His face flushed again. “You’re welcome.”

She eyed him closely. “Does Captain Fleming want me back up on the deck scrubbing now? Is that why he sent you?”

“No…” Robbie hesitated nervously and gave a little shake of his head. “No, the captain wants you to stay in here for a while. He thinks you’ll be safer this way.”

So he intended to keep her locked up in his cabin for the duration, did he? Well, she would just see about that! Just as she became irate at the prospect of her enforced captivity, she paused for a moment as an idea occurred to her. If she was to remain in Harrison’s cabin, she could not scrub the decks. If being inside freed her from manual labor, she truly didn’t mind. And she
was
being kept in the nicest and most luxurious cabin on the
Sea Minx
. For all that she had stowed aboard, Juliette truly could not complain about their treatment of her.

Robbie handed her the large burlap sack.

Curious, Juliette peered inside. The bag held an odd assortment of worn shirts, wrinkled trousers, socks, and what looked like men’s underclothes. With her mouth open, she stared at Robbie as realization slowly dawned.

“He says you’re to keep yourself occupied by mending some of the fellows’ clothes and things,” Robbie explained, confirming what her intuition had already told her.

“He wishes for me to become the seamstress of the
Sea Minx
, does he?”

“Well, it would keep you busy and safe inside. You’d be helping out us fellows too. And the captain thinks you’d be earning your keep at least.” Robbie, who thought the situation well settled, nodded in agreement with his captain’s philosophy.

Harrison thought he had found a way to put her to work after all. Juliette suppressed the laughter that bubbled within her but could not hide the grin on her face.

It truly was a shame that she had never learned how to sew properly.

Lord Jeffrey Eddington hugged Colette Sinclair one last time, her pretty face full of worry and her unwieldy frame making him slightly uncomfortable. Women in the family way always caused him to feel nervous, especially when he was not supposed to remark upon their state of being according to society’s dictates. With ladies in such a delicate condition, he feared hurting or injuring them in some way. Seeing his closest friend’s wife this way only intensified his awkwardness.

Colette whispered in his ear, “Please find her, Jeffrey.”

“Of course I will find her,” he reassured Colette, patting her back briefly as he released her. He wondered how it was possible for her to look any more beautiful carrying a baby than she did the first day he met her. Her skin positively glowed. Her blue eyes, although tinged with anxiety, beamed with an inner radiance. Of course, he could never say that to her, but he wished he could. The errant thought that perhaps one day a woman he loved would bear his child and look lovely doing so caused his heart to constrict.

“We appreciate you taking this journey for us,” Lucien added.

Lucien’s words dragged Jeffrey back to the task at hand. He had hardly needed encouragement to search for his beautiful and headstrong friend, for he had been frantic and consumed with worry since he first learned of Juliette’s disappearance. After a thorough search of the London docks and numerous inquiries, he and Lucien could find no sign or trace of her. This led them to the only conclusion that they could bear to contemplate; Juliette had successfully boarded Harrison Fleming’s ship in spite of numerous obstacles. Jeffrey secretly prayed that was the case, for he knew she would be safe in Harrison’s care.

Any other possibility of Juliette’s whereabouts was too horrifying to entertain.

Through his connections with the crown, he had immediately made arrangements to sail on the fastest steamship to New York. With Colette about to have a baby, Lucien could not in good conscience leave his wife. So Jeffrey had volunteered to make the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to bring the wayward Juliette back to her family.

He could do nothing less.

Aside from being afraid for her safety, Jeffrey was filled with admiration for her gumption and spirit at doing something so outrageously daring. To his complete astonishment the chit had actually made good on her threat to sail to New York City one day. Only Juliette could do such a thing.

It was what had always intrigued him the most about Juliette. She had no fear and she would go after exactly what she wanted. However, he had a feeling that this time she might have gotten more than she had bargained for.

“You must make sure you stay safe, as well, Jeffrey,” Lisette said to him.

“And you must come back home to us,” Paulette announced with a worried frown. “We can’t lose you to America too!”

Yvette piped up, “Oh, that would be dreadful!” Her wide blue eyes sparkled with tears.

Jeffrey glanced at the three younger sisters. They had all come to the dock to see him off. Lisette, another Hamilton beauty, had charmed him with her sweet and unassuming nature. With her dark blonde hair and steady eyes, she possessed an innate calmness that the others lacked. The fourth sister, Paulette, about sixteen years old now and on the verge of womanhood, would be a stunner to match her sisters. Intelligent and lively, she had a quick mind and a lovely face framed with blonde curls. Yvette, the youngest at fourteen, still had the youthful look of a child about her, but Jeffrey had a feeling she might be the most beautiful of all the sisters one day.

How he had come to be so involved in their lives, he was not quite sure, but he now loved them as if they were his own sisters. Last year when he and Juliette had wildly conspired to force a stubborn Lucien, his trusted friend since childhood and the closest thing to a brother he had ever known, into admitting his true feelings for Colette, Jeffrey had unwittingly made himself a part of the Hamilton family. Colette and Lucien’s marriage had solidified his position in their family, for the Hamilton girls had welcomed him with open arms.

This little band of sisters had given him a sense of family Jeffrey had never known. Lord knew his father, the Duke of Rathmore, hadn’t bothered to. Jeffrey had spent most of his childhood and adult life alone, living down the terrible shame of his illegitimacy and trying to prove his worthiness to the world. So Jeffrey would go to New York gladly and drag Juliette, most likely kicking and spitting fire the whole way, back home. He owed at least this much to the Hamiltons for all they had given him.

These women stood before him, hopeful and anxious, placing their trust in him. Jeffrey, for the first time in his life, could think of nothing witty or amusing to say to lighten their somber mood. He felt his cheeks redden under their regard.
Good God!
He was actually blushing.

“I’ll do my best,” he said to all of them.

He only hoped he could find Juliette, for their sakes as well as Juliette’s.

For three days Harrison managed to avoid contact with Juliette. Not an easy feat on a ship, but he had deftly kept his distance from her at all costs. For three days he had only gone to his office when he was assured that Juliette was walking the deck with Robbie. For three days he had thoroughly occupied himself with the business of sailing the
Sea Minx
.

And for three very long nights had slept on a bunk in the third mate’s cabin and had thought of nothing but the feel of Juliette’s silky skin and the passion of her kisses, the sweet scent of her dark hair, the sensation of her breath on his cheek. For every one of those nights he had been tortured by sensual images of Juliette lying willing and eager beneath him, naked, in his bed.

He had come dangerously close to crossing a line with her that first afternoon. A line which he had no intention of crossing. He regretted that encounter with her after he carried her to his cabin, and he was a man who rarely had regrets in that area of his life. The last thing he needed now was to be entangled with a woman like Juliette Hamilton. He had a little over a week left to endure before they reached New York, where he would send her safely back to London on the
Freedom
, one of his fastest steam packets with one of his most trusted captains. Then he would be rid of her.

Then he could breathe easily once again. Only one more week to survive.

There were too many issues that needed his complete attention. Once he returned to New York, he would meet with his shipping manager and then head straight to his new farm in New Jersey and see Melissa. His worry for her had continued to grow. He could only imagine the state she would be in by now. Annie’s last letter had been full of foreboding and Harrison sensed her frustration and concern in dealing with Melissa. He only wished he had answers or knew how best to help her.

Now Harrison remained on deck watching the sky and enjoying the quiet solitude of the ship. Except for those on watch, most of his crew were below deck or already in bed and Charlie had the wheel for the night. Harrison would retire soon himself, but he felt too restless to go below just yet.

He leaned over the mahogany railing and inhaled the bracing sea air as his elegant ship silently cut through the dark waves. Looking up at the sky, he noted that an eerie cloud ring had formed around the waning moon and he knew bad weather was ahead. Harrison could sense it, feel it in the very fiber of his being. He could smell the change in the air and had had it confirmed by the mahogany and brass barometer that indicated falling pressure, a sure sign of rain. Bad weather would only slow them down and cause difficult sailing conditions. If they were very lucky they would avoid the brunt of the brewing storm.

And he’d be very lucky if he could avoid the dangerous little storm in his cabin.

Who
was
this woman on his ship?

Yes, he was acquainted with her family. Well, at least he had known Lucien Sinclair and Jeffrey Eddington for years. He had spent a few weeks at the Sinclairs’ beautiful home and had a few brief conversations with Juliette while in the company of others. He noted her remarkable beauty, for who could not? She was stunning, but he knew better than to become involved with a woman like that, and he had not sought her out. Nor had he sensed any overt interest on her part.

Now, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. And to make matters worse he was responsible for her welfare and safety.

From the second he found her on his ship, he was haunted by thoughts of her. He could not think straight. He had misplaced his maps and misread the barometer. He had been unreasonably short-tempered and quick to anger with his crew, barking at them for the pettiest of reasons. Robbie practically hid from him. Even Charlie had remarked on his foul mood and wondered at his distractedness. Just that afternoon Harrison had made a careless error in his calculations with the sextant, almost sending them off course. Harrison had laughed off his blunder, blaming his temporary and uncomfortable sleeping arrangements for his distractibility and foul humor.

Although Harrison suspected the true reason for his bothered state rested deeper within him.

Juliette Hamilton had somehow gotten under his skin, causing him to act out of character. He never had such a problem with a woman before, yet this one made him crazy with desire. She had only to look at him with those wild blue eyes and he became aroused. After their last encounter, when he had recklessly ripped open her shirt like some callous youth, he had to lock her in his cabin and give his key to Robbie to keep himself from her. The fact that he could not dally with her, made his plight that much more painful. Juliette was not a woman he could have. In any sense of the word.

Besides, she was already in love with someone else.

What kind of man could claim a wild heart like hers? Did the man have any idea of how reckless she was? That this beautiful woman was crossing an entire ocean to be with him? What would it be like to have the love of a woman like that?

“What are you looking at?”

The feminine voice shot like fire through him. Harrison did not move an inch, nor did he turn to face her, but a muscle tensed along his jaw. Silently he wondered how Juliette had managed to escape the cabin. Robbie had been very diligent about locking the door. She must have sweet-talked him into letting her out. Damn the fool.

Harrison answered her slowly. “I’m observing the stars and clouds to predict the weather.”

She paused a second before asking in an amused voice, “And just what is it you see in them?”

Harrison sensed her stepping closer to him, but he still did not turn to her. “We’ve had fair weather so far, but I think we are in for some rain by morning.”

“A little rain would be most refreshing.”

“Oh, it will likely be more than a little rain,” he said, his tone ominous.

She leaned against the railing next to him. A long silence ensued.

“You’ve been avoiding me, Captain Fleming.”

“I’ve more important things to do than to attend to your needs.”

“You’ve been avoiding me,” she repeated, her voice throaty and low, sending an extraordinary wave of desire crashing over him.

Harrison then made the monumental mistake of looking at her.

Staring intently at him, Juliette smiled triumphantly, her face luminous in the pale glow of the moon and stars. No longer wearing the men’s clothing, she had on one of her own dresses, a pretty confection that outlined her numerous charms. He swallowed hard. Her long black hair hung loose around her shoulders, blowing in the breeze. Looking like she should be the figurehead on the bow of the
Sea Minx
, he sucked in his breath at the sight of her. He steeled himself.

“After what happened between us, it’s best if I avoid you, Juliette,” he managed to reply.

She nodded her head gently. The exact reason why he needed to stay away from her hung unspoken in the air. God help him, but he fought the urge to take her in his arms and kiss her sweet mouth again right then and there.

“When will we reach New York?”

He felt himself relax as she changed the subject. “If we can manage to bypass this storm, we should be there in little over a week.”

She turned her face toward his. “This is a very fast ship, isn’t it?”

He grinned at her. “One of the fastest clippers on the sea.”

“It’s a beautiful boat.” She glanced out over the water and breathed deeply. “The ocean is so dark at night and something about it terrifies me. The vastness and mysteriousness of it, perhaps. But I’m sure you’re not afraid of the ocean anymore.”

“It is a very foolish man that does not possess a healthy fear of the ocean.”

Juliette turned back to face him again. “You have been sailing since you were a young boy, haven’t you?”

He nodded in agreement. “When I was thirteen, I started working on the docks on South Street. When I was old enough I became part of a crew on a tall ship.”

“And now you’ve traveled all over the world and have had great success with your own shipping line.”

“Yes, that’s true,” he admitted. “I’ve come a long way from where I began as a boy.”

“You must be very proud of your accomplishments.”

“Proud enough.”

“Do you ever intend to stay in one place and settle down?”

Noting the highly inquisitive tone in her voice, he held back a smile and gave her a noncommittal shrug. “Perhaps.”

“Do you want to have a real home on land someday?”

“I have that already.”

“What about marriage?” she questioned.

“What about marriage?” he countered evenly.

“What about having a wife and children?”

“I had not given that much thought.” Which, oddly enough, was the truth. He had been so consumed with succeeding with his shipping line, making money, and taking care of Melissa that the thought of a wife and children had not entered his mind in any practical terms. He supposed in a vague, far off fashion he had assumed he would settle down one day when he met a woman he could love. “What about you, Juliette? Do you wish to have a husband, a home, and children?”

“If I wanted to be married I would have remained in London!” she exclaimed with a rueful laugh. “I don’t wish to marry. At least not now. Not yet. Perhaps someday.” Juliette sighed heavily. Changing the subject, she asked abruptly, “Have you any family? Brothers? Sisters?”

“I have a brother and two sisters.” Saving her the effort of more questions, Harrison continued in a matter of fact manner. “I am the eldest. Both of my parents are deceased. My birthday is July third. I’m twenty-nine years old. My favorite color is blue. My shipping business is quite successful. I have sailed around the world at least half a dozen times. I have a town house in Manhattan and a house and farmland in New Jersey, where I am currently building a stable for racehorses. Is there anything else you care to know?”

Juliette, looking somewhat chagrined, shook her head. “That about does it for now, although that information begs me to ask a whole host of new questions.”

“Well, let me ask you a few questions for a moment or two.”

“I suppose that’s only fair,” she conceded amiably. “Fire away.”

“How old are you?”

“I’m twenty-one.”

“And your birthday?”

“Was March eighteenth.”

A silence lengthened between them, before Harrison spoke again. “Since we are sharing information about each other, I would like you tell me something, Juliette. What is the real reason you wish to go to New York so desperately?”

Disarming him, Juliette looked directly in his eyes. “I told you the reason already.”

“I don’t think going to visit a friend on another continent is enough to lure a young lady from her home.” He gave her an assessing gaze. “Who is he?”

“
He?
There is no
he
. It is difficult for me to explain why, but I simply had to leave London.”

He stared at her for a long moment, noting the sincere look on her face. She sounded earnest enough, but he did not believe her. Her story did not make sense. This woman was on a mission and there was no doubt in his mind that it was a mission to capture a certain gentleman in New York. A woman in love following the man who claimed her heart made sense to him, but Harrison would be damned if he could figure out why any man would leave behind a woman like Juliette.

He played along, hoping to lull her into a false sense of security. He would get the truth out of her soon enough, and definitely by the time they docked in New York. “All right then. Who is this friend you are going to see?”

Juliette sighed easily. “Oh, I’ve known her for years. My father used to tutor her in our bookshop. Christina Dunbar is now married to an American gentleman and they settled in New York about two years ago. She invited me to stay with them, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to see a part of the world that isn’t London.”

Harrison could not believe this was the whole story. Surely she had dissembled or conveniently omitted certain aspects, as most women tended to do. Somewhere there was a man involved, he was certain of it. Was he a relative of this Christina person, perhaps? What Juliette did not know was that she would have no opportunity to see her friend when they arrived in New York since he would be shipping her directly back to London as soon as they docked. He humored her anyway. “Does
she
have any idea that you will be there in a week?”

“I believe so. I sent her a letter days before I left home informing her that I would be arriving before long. She will be happy to see me in any case.”

“I see.” He turned and leaned one elbow along the railing and faced her. “How long are you planning to stay in New York?”

“I honestly don’t know yet. It’s all just an adventure for me right now.” Her smile lit up the night and caught Harrison off guard.

Her lips beckoned him and he was sorely tempted to kiss her. He could do it so easily too. He already knew how heavenly her lips tasted and he ached to have her again. He knew that path could only lead to trouble for him. He cleared his throat rather loudly and stood up straight. “Well, I think it’s time to go below for the night.” He made a move forward to take his leave.

She put her hand up, gesturing to stop him. “About that.”

Harrison paused and looked at her, wishing to the good lord above that she were not so temptingly beautiful.

Juliette hesitated for a moment. “When I boarded your ship the other night, I swear to you that I had no intention of inconveniencing you in any way. I simply needed a way to get to New York. I would have stayed in that storage room the entire voyage if that was what it took. However, I do appreciate you allowing me to stay in your lovely cabin, but I never meant to put you out of your own bed, Captain Fleming.”

Harrison froze at her casual reference to his bed. The image of her sleeping between his sheets, naked and warm with her long hair spilling around her, almost undid him. He stated haltingly, “You have not put me out. There simply was no other room suitable for you.”

An uncomfortable silence ensued between them. At least it was uncomfortable for Harrison. He made another motion to leave.