Miss Lavigne's Little White Lie (19 page)

“Daniel, may I offer a word of advice?”

He nodded.

“You have mourned my daughter long enough. It’s not right for you to stop living just because Cecily is gone.” She stopped and turned to face him. Her intense ice blue eyes bore into him, making him squirm inside. “You mustn’t mask your sorrow with rum and whores any longer.”

Damnation.
He really wished the lady possessed less boldness, not to mention fewer spies around Port Albis.

“Please, release my daughter’s memory to me. I will keep it safe in my heart always.” She squeezed his hand, fresh tears in her eyes. “It’s time to love again, my boy, and I think that young lady, Lisette, deserves more than you’ve been willing to offer her.”

Daniel snapped his mouth closed. He didn’t wish to discuss Lisette. She was his concern alone, and he would do right by her. He certainly didn’t require anyone to hold his feet to the fire to encourage him to offer for her.

***

Louis reclined in his chair and sipped his brandy. “Would you care for a drink first, Monsieur Baptiste?”

The gentleman’s expression remained blank. What was going through his mind? Louis might attempt to draw it from him, but he suspected nothing but air resided between the man’s two ears.

Eventually, Baptiste gave a sharp nod.

Pascal hurried to the decanter when Louis glanced his way. From his vantage point behind his desk, Louis studied Charles Baptiste’s appearance with a disdainful sniff. His jacket sported worn elbows and a button dangled from his waistcoat. It was hard to believe Lisette could care one whit about Baptiste.

“I’m unconvinced you will be of any service to me. Perhaps I should toss you overboard to reserve our rations.” Louis leered over the rim of his glass when Baptiste recoiled. “Convince me you have influence with my fiancée, and I shall spare your life.”

Pascal plunked a tumbler of brandy on the table in front of Baptiste. The man tested the glass with his fingertips before closing his hand around the container and taking a sip.

“Miss Lavigne listens to me on most occasions,” he said in a raspy voice. “I’m like a father to her.”

“Let’s hope you are correct. If you fail to produce the desired response from Miss Lavigne, you are no use to me. The sharks, however, will consider you a tasty morsel.”

Baptiste frowned and grabbed the glass from the table.

Louis held his empty tumbler out for Pascal to refill. “Robert Lavigne was your business partner. What did you know of his dealings?”

Baptiste’s glass halted halfway to his lips. “I kept his books. He ran a profitable sugar plantation. This is all I know of his business.”

“You were more than his bookkeeper, Monsieur Baptiste. I had you investigated.”

His eyebrows lifted. “Investigated? For what purpose?”

“I’m a careful man. I probe into the backgrounds of all my associates.”

Baptiste grunted and took a gulp of his drink. “We are hardly associates, sir.”

“Yet you will help me bring my fiancée back to New Orleans where she belongs, will you not?”

“If the
Cecily
has already departed when we reach Port Albis, will you abandon your chase?”

“No.” Louis shrugged one shoulder. “We shall catch her in open sea. She is too clumsy to escape the
Mihos
. Where we catch her makes no difference to me. I will return with my property, every piece of it.”

“And what, pray tell, will you do with Miss Lavigne?”

“I will wed her, of course. And then she will learn to become an obedient wife, even if I must deliver a stern lesson every day of our marriage.”

“And the boy?”

Louis sneered. “What concern is it of yours what becomes of the idiot? He pleases my future wife, so I suspect he will be useful in convincing her to bend to my will.”

Baptiste frowned but refrained from speaking, which demonstrated wise judgment in Louis’s estimation.

***

Serafine threw her belongings in the new trunk she had purchased in town. Captain Hillary had sent word midmorning the
Cecily
would depart within the hour and anything not on the ship at the appointed time would be left behind.

Her family would not be one of those things stranded in Port Albis.

The captain’s change in plans had caught everyone off guard, but Serafine didn’t mind leaving her humiliation behind on the island.

Gracious.
What a fool she had made of herself by offering to sleep with the captain. She had known the risks involved, but she hadn’t prepared herself for his rejection. Even Isaac had deigned to
bed
her. She hadn’t been good enough to marry, but she made for an adequate partner between the sheets.

For three months she had been his mistress and fooled herself into believing Isaac Tucker loved her. When it was time to take a wife, she had felt certain he would offer for her. Never mind that young white men never married outside of their culture. She had believed Isaac was different.

The room blurred as tears filled her eyes. Why did she hurt after all this time? Isaac left for the Continent weeks ago, and she had received no word from him, not that she’d anticipated she would. She had hoped for a letter begging for her forgiveness and proclaiming his love, but she had never expected it.

Their last encounter should have extinguished any optimism that he might realize his mistake in leaving her. As he had said, his parents demanded he marry a lady of good breeding, and her Creole lineage didn’t fit with their dreams of upward mobility. Isaac had always been too quick to heed his mother’s wishes. Serafine was better off without him.

A light knock shattered her musings. Lisette wandered into the chamber with a sly smile.

“Are you packed already?” Serafine asked, reverting to French.

“No.” Her cousin strolled to the window seat. “I have been otherwise occupied with a caller.”

“Then return to your chambers at once and finish the task. What about Rafe’s belongings?” Serafine tossed the last of her things in the trunk and closed the lid. “Come along. I can assist.”

“There’s no need.” Lisette picked up the book Serafine had borrowed from the governor’s library. Serafine must remember to return it.

“Of course there is a need unless you plan to leave everything behind. Now, let’s go before we run out of time.”

She started for the door, expecting Lisette to follow.

“We are not leaving with Captain Hillary,” Lisette said, still perusing the book. “I just spoke with Monsieur Ethelbert. He booked passage on the
Lena
Mae
on our behalf. We will depart for England in three days.”

Marmalade.
Why must her cousin heed her advice now when for the first time in her life Serafine was wrong? “Do you think that is wise? At least we know Captain Hillary.”

Lisette slammed the book closed. “You were the one who demanded we part ways with the scoundrel.”

“Perhaps I was mistaken,” she muttered.

“Pardon? Speak up, please. Because surely I misheard. You? Wrong?”

“I said
perhaps
.”

“No, you were correct. I realized to what extent last night.” She ignored Serafine’s raised brows. “The deed is done. We no longer require Captain Hillary’s services. If I never lay eyes on the man again, it will be too soon.”

Serafine suppressed a sigh. This was a bit of a problem, because after last night, she knew Captain Hillary was the only man she trusted to carry them safely to their destination. “Very well. Allow me to speak with the captain on our behalf. Then you mustn’t see him again.”

Lisette started. “Never again?”

Just as Serafine suspected. Deep down, her cousin didn’t wish to be rid of Captain Hillary, but her stubbornness would never allow her to admit it. “I only wish to save you the hassle, dear. I shall go to him straight away.” She left before Lisette could protest.

Eighteen

Lisette paused outside the doors of the governor’s mansion and took a deep breath to quell her anxiety. Everything would be fine. They didn’t need Daniel to reach London. Captain Olsen, the
Lena
Mae
’s shipmaster, seemed capable and trustworthy enough from all accounts.

A carriage sat at the bottom of the long marble staircase outside the doors, waiting to carry Lisette and her family to the Black Dog Inn at the wharf. They couldn’t impose on the governor and first lady any longer now that Daniel was gone. She rubbed her hand across her nose and blinked to hold back her silly tears.

Rafe leaned out the carriage window and waved. His responsiveness wasn’t as surprising as it would have been two weeks earlier, but it gave her pause.

Under Daniel’s care and Monsieur Patch’s patient attention, her brother had blossomed. His problems might never go away completely, but he had made strides. Perhaps her decision to part company with the
Cecily
’s captain and his crew had been unwise.

The governor and his wife stood with Serafine beside the carriage, wishing them
bon
voyage
when Lisette reached the drive.

“Madame Lavigne and Mademoiselle Vistoire, what a pleasure to have had you as our guests. We do hope you will honor us with your presence again.”

Lisette blinked, confused by the first lady’s rush of warmth. “
Merci
, Your Excellency. We would be honored if we ever find ourselves in Port Albis again.”

Cecily’s mother swept Lisette into a hug and kissed both of her cheeks. “Take good care of him,” she murmured.

“I will.” She slowly extracted herself from the lady’s embrace. Her Excellency had spent hardly any time in Rafe’s company, not enough to warrant this level of concern for his welfare. The woman had grown dotty overnight.

Lisette thanked their hosts again, climbed into the carriage, and balked. “Monsieur Ramsey?”

The vicar slumped on the seat next to Rafe, shading his eyes from the sunlight. “Madame, please lower your voice. And pull the curtain before my head splits in two.”

Lisette frowned but did as he requested. Daniel had abandoned the vicar. Monsieur Ramsey had ingested a ridiculous amount of rum on the journey to Port Albis. Surely, he had drunk his fare and then some on that leg of the trip alone. From all appearances, he’d done significant damage to the governor’s supply last night as well. She couldn’t fault Daniel’s choice, but she didn’t wish to be saddled with the man either.

Serafine climbed into the carriage after Lisette and assumed the spot beside her as the door closed. She, too, pulled the curtain closed on her side and settled back against the seat with a contented smile.

When the carriage lurched, Lisette steadied herself against the side. The carriage wheels clicked on the cobbles as it moved downhill toward the wharf. Lisette lifted the curtain to take in the sights she would never see again, but the drive was quick and soon the carriage rolled to a stop on the docks.

“Our lodgings are down the way.” Irritation laced her tone. “It’s too far to carry the trunks. What is the driver thinking?”

The carriage door jerked open, and Lisette opened her mouth to issue orders to the footman.

Daniel stuck his head inside and nailed Lisette with a glare. “Jiminy. Does the phrase ready yourself to depart within the hour mean nothing to you?”

Serafine tossed a smile in Lisette’s direction and shrugged before accepting his hand to climb from the carriage.

“Traitor,” Lisette mumbled.

Serafine’s smile widened. “I fear my cousin has no sense of time, Captain. I tried to hurry her along, but she can be quite impossible at times.”

Lisette bristled. “But we are not—Captain Olsen is expecting us.”

“He was kind enough to return your fare, mademoiselle.” Daniel lifted her brother from his seat and swung him down to the dock. “Patch will take you aboard, Rafe.”

Her brother’s running footsteps echoed on the wooden slats.

“Come along, Ramsey.”

The vicar groaned as he lumbered from the carriage.

Daniel offered his hand to Lisette. “Did you believe I would allow you to travel aboard another ship, my dear?”

She scowled as she climbed from the carriage. The reason she wished to cut ties with Daniel came back with perfect clarity. He was always taking charge of her life.

“It’s not your decision to make,” she said with an imperious lift of her head. It was the same stance Serafine assumed with her to express her displeasure. Lisette wasn’t certain she had perfected it, but she didn’t care at the moment. “You have no authority over any of us. I demand you return the fare to Captain Olsen and deliver our belongings to the Black Dog Inn.”

Daniel linked arms and held her in place. “No.”

“
No?
You cannot say no to me.”