Of Noble Birth (25 page)

Alexandra blinked in
surprise. To convince Nathaniel of her true identity when he
thought she was Lady Anne, she had told the pirate captain as much
as she wanted him to know about Willy. It wasn’t a subject she
enjoyed talking about. “Why do you ask?”

“I know you wanted to
leave him badly enough to steal a dress and flee. There had to be a
reason.”

Alexandra lowered her gaze
to the scarred, wooden floor, avoiding the intensity in Nathaniel’s
eyes. She wished she could just as easily avoid a recounting of the
miserable years with Willy. “Willy turned to gin when my mother
died nearly five years ago, and drinking makes him...
violent.”

Nathaniel flinched, but
whether in response to her words or what had to be a terrible
headache after last night, Alexandra didn’t know. “He hurt
you?”

She nodded.

“Often?”

“Whenever he got drunk,
which was often enough. Only, I learned to avoid him when he was
like that... most of the time.” She forced a smile to her lips to
cover the ache in her heart. Willy was the only father she had ever
known. His betrayal was not an easy thing to understand or accept.
Neither was the fact that his actions had forced her to break the
promise she had given her mother that she would look after
him.

Shoving the pillows behind
his back, Nathaniel sat up. He still wore the pants she’d left on
him the night before, but as he moved, the blankets slid down to
his waist, revealing his powerful torso.

Alexandra hoped her face
did not show the longing she felt to touch him. Now that he had
broached the subject of her background, she found she wanted to
talk about it after all. She needed someone to hold her and to tell
her that she wasn’t to blame for Willy’s hatred. That she hadn’t
earned his derision. That under the circumstances, she couldn’t be
expected to make good on her promise to stay and care for
him.

As if reading her mind,
Nathaniel motioned her to him.

Alexandra paused only a
moment before moving closer, her need for solace overriding her
usual wariness.

He held back the covers,
welcoming her into the warmth of the bed and sharing the heat of
his body by wrapping his arm around her and holding her close.
“What now, sweet Alexandra?” he murmured against the hair at her
temple.

She breathed in the scent
that was uniquely his own. “Now I find work in London,” she said,
finding his embrace and the slight motion as he rocked her
comforting in a very basic way. She’d had no one to ease her fears
or calm her troubled thoughts for so long. She felt like a starving
man sitting down to a sumptuous feast, though she thought it
strange that it would be the insolent pirate captain who knew what
she needed—and just how much of it to give.

“Why London?” he
asked.

“Why not?” She pressed her
cheek to his chest and tried to absorb every texture that was
Nathaniel Kent. Never had she imagined a man so virile and
appealing to the senses.

“Because you said your
aunt is on her way to India. Do you know anyone else
there?”

She shook her head,
wishing he wouldn’t talk, wanting him to simply hold her
forever.

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.”