Pleasures of a Tempted Lady (25 page)

She continued to stand by the door with her fists clenched at her sides and her torn skirt dragging on the floor, listening intently to the goings-on outside. There
was a soft scraping noise, voices speaking in low tones. Minutes passed, and she stood there, stock still.

And then the door swung open. Serena stood there, looking tired and out of sorts, but in one piece.

“Oh, thank God!” Jessica launched herself into her sister’s arms.

Serena hugged her tightly. “I’m all right, Jess.”

She didn’t sound all right. Her voice shook like a leaf in an autumn windstorm.

“I think we should all sit down,” Jonathan said from behind his wife.

“Captain’s quarters is the best place. There’s a larger table in there.” Briggs’s voice came from the darkness somewhere behind Jonathan.

They arranged themselves in Captain Langley’s quarters, Jessica and Serena sitting on the bench against the wall and Jonathan settling in one of the chairs. The lanterns that Mr. Jasper brought in lit the room cheerfully, and Briggs opened a bottle of wine for the four of them to share.

“What happened to Mr. Twining?” Jessica asked as she took her glass from Briggs.

“Gone home,” Jonathan said. “We were done with him, and the man was exhausted.”

“I promised him a reward for following the carriage Serena was in,” Jessica said. “Without him, I would have never been able to find her.”

“Good,” Jonathan said. “So did I. I told him to call on me tomorrow. He’ll be handsomely rewarded.”

Jessica nodded and took a long draught of wine, satisfied that Jonathan would see to the man’s welfare.

He reached across the table, taking his wife’s hand in
his own and speaking gently to her. “Promise me again that you’re not hurt.”

Serena took her time answering. “They weren’t kind men, Jonathan, but I’m not hurt. Not truly.”

“Did they strike you?” Jessica breathed.

Serena flushed. “A few times.” Seeing Jonathan’s expression darken, she added, “But I suffered worse as a girl at the hands of our mother. It could have been so much worse.”

Briggs finally took a seat, looking serious. “Will you tell us exactly what happened, my lady?”

Serena took a shaky breath. “Jess was looking at some gloves, and I suddenly… well, I felt like I needed some air. I’ve… often felt that way in the past two or three weeks.”

Jessica understood instantly—her sister had been feeling nauseous due to her pregnancy.

“So I stepped outside for a moment,” Serena continued. “The next thing I knew, someone was pushing me into a carriage. I fought them, but I was so surprised, so afraid… The next thing I knew, the carriage door was slammed shut, and we were moving along.”

“That’s how I knew to follow you,” Jessica said. “They closed the door on your dress, and no one on Regent Street today was wearing the same color. I knew it had to be you.”

Serena gazed ruefully down at her coral-colored dress, now torn and stained beyond repair. “I suppose it earned its keep in another way, then, since I’ll have to throw it away after wearing it only once.”

Jonathan, still holding Serena’s hand across the glossy wooden table, leaned forward. “Who was in the carriage with you?”

“Jacob Caversham and two of his men.” She looked
away, at a point somewhere beyond Jonathan’s shoulder. “He’s a sallow man… with dark hair and cold blue eyes. He smelled of pomade. He kept demanding I tell him what I’d done with Jake.”

Briggs’s eyes widened. “He confused you with your sister.”

“Apparently.”

“But you’re so different from Meg,” Jessica exclaimed.

Jonathan agreed, seemingly as surprised as Jessica, but Briggs shook his head. “No, ma’am. You and Miss Donovan look very similar indeed. I mistook you for her the first time I saw you. It’s true there are subtle differences, but I am not surprised he believed you were your sister.”

“How did he happen to know you were shopping in Regent Street today?” Jonathan asked sharply.

“Apparently, that happened only by chance. He said he and his men had been covertly watching the house and considered himself lucky when he saw Jessica and me walking out today. He followed us to Regent Street and took the first opportunity he could to grab me.”

Jonathan’s eyes narrowed, and Jessica couldn’t blame him. The idea of someone spying on their house made her insides twist.

“What did you say when he accused you of kidnapping Jake?” Jessica asked.

“I told him I had no idea what he was talking about, that I knew no one named Jake. That I was the Countess of Stratford and my husband would be looking for me… And that was when he grew angry.”

“What did he do?” Jessica asked breathlessly.

Serena swallowed. Looking away from the men, she said, “He threatened me. He said if I didn’t tell him what
I’d done with his son, he’d kill me. He said he knew I was Meg, and to stop lying to him.”

Jessica pressed her hand to her mouth. “What then?”

Serena took a moment to compose herself before she continued. “We drove for a long while. Then, we stopped, and they forced me onto the ship. They blindfolded me and locked me in a large area in the very bowels of the vessel—”

“The hold,” Briggs supplied.

Serena looked at him thoughtfully. “Yes, I suppose it was. I sat there for a few hours. Another man came in to question me.” She turned her gaze to Jonathan again. “I believe it was the Marquis of Millbridge—it was very dark and his voice was muffled, but he sounded familiar. Anyhow, he cut his questioning short when I insisted that I was Meg, the Countess of Stratford, and that I had no idea what he was talking about, that I knew nothing about this boy named Jake.”

Jessica shuddered, remembering how she’d danced and flirted with the Marquis of Millbridge. The next time she saw him, she’d poke his eyes out.

“He walked out, locking me back in the room, but I heard him arguing with Caversham outside. He called him an ‘idiot,’ said I was the Countess of Stratford, and told him to set me free. Caversham said he couldn’t, that it was too late. Their voices faded in and out, but from what I gathered, the marquis knew I was who I said I was, and he believed I knew nothing about the real Meg and Jake. He berated his brother for the debacle he’d begun by kidnapping me. Their voices faded as they went away, and then I heard and saw nothing. Not until you and your men appeared and freed me.”

“How did you do it?” Jessica asked Briggs.

“We rowed to the ship Twining pointed out to us and used ropes to climb on board,” he said.

“The place was quieter than I’d expected,” Jonathan said.

“Because I learned one thing about Caversham today, and that is that he is cocky,” Serena said in a shaky voice. “He didn’t expect anyone would have any idea about my whereabouts, and he didn’t think it’d be any problem to keep me. When he first brought me on board, I heard him dismiss the crew to go eat and drink their fill at the nearest tavern.”

“There was only the one guard posted at your door,” Briggs said.

Serena nodded. “And he only remained behind because Caversham was punishing him for losing a rope overboard yesterday, if I heard him correctly.”

“How did you get past him?” Jessica asked the men.

“We took care of him.” Jonathan’s voice was brusque. “He was in possession of the key to the hold, so from there, it was easy to free your sister and slip away.”

“Caversham will be angry,” Serena said. “He might come after me again.”

“He might come after all of you,” Briggs said.

“We’ll leave town,” Jonathan said. “I’d intended to stay so as not to draw attention to the family, but now I think it’ll be safer if we go. I’d rather you and your sisters were in a safe place before I bring that bastard to justice.”

“Will we join Meg in Prescot?” Jessica asked.

“No. We don’t want to draw any attention to her. We’ll go home to Sussex.”

Jessica sighed. So much for her Season, for all the dancing she’d planned, for all the suitors she was amassing.

Serena took her hand. “Jonathan’s right. It’s the safest option.”

“What about Meg?”

“He’ll certainly be looking for her now,” Serena said. “Along with the authorities. It’s probably a race to see who will find her first.”

“We’ll dispatch a warning tonight,” Jonathan said. “They must leave Prescot as soon as possible.”

Serena nodded. “But don’t tell her and Will what happened here, please, Jonathan. This is exactly what she didn’t want to happen. I know my sister. She’ll feel responsible. And, really, nothing happened. I’m quite all right.”

Jessica frowned at her sister. For all her “it was nothing” comments, Serena’s hands were shaking and her eyes were unnaturally bright. Jessica was fairly certain the ordeal had affected Serena more than she was admitting.

“We’ll talk about that,” Jonathan said quietly. “For now, we should get home and get you to bed.”

Serena gave a tremulous laugh. “Well… I don’t feel tired. I doubt I’ll be able to sleep.”

“You need to sleep,” Jonathan said softly. “For the babe, if nothing else.”

She gave him a game smile. “I’ll try.”

They rose, and Jonathan escorted his wife to the door and out onto the deck. Jessica lingered behind. She turned to Briggs, partially closing the door behind her.

“Thank you for saving my sister, David.”

She went right up to him, slipped her arms around his waist, and kissed him on the lips.

She’d meant it to be a friendly, thank-you peck. But his
lips were astonishingly warm and soft, and she lingered for one second, then two. When she did pull away, it took far more effort than she’d expected.

“Good night,” she murmured.

Leaving him staring after her with a dazed look, she slipped out the door and closed it behind her.

Chapter Fifteen

M
eg spent her days racking her brain in the attempt to conjure up a way to ensure Will’s safety, but she came up empty.

She was stuck in the middle of England, ostensibly with everything she could ever want or need except a way to escape. Ironically, the people she wanted to escape from—her family and Will—were the only people in the world she could trust.

Every day, she stood in the doorway and watched the boys go off with the servants for their riding lessons, and every day she felt the truth pressing in on her. Caversham was coming for her, and she wasn’t prepared. If he found Jake and she wasn’t with him…

The feeling grew daily, and it became more and more difficult to watch Jake ride away with Benson. She needed to keep him close, to protect him from Caversham in case he suddenly appeared.

And then, one of Jonathan’s personal servants arrived from London with two letters. One was a letter from Serena
to her, and there was a companion letter from Jonathan to Will. Once they’d offered the rider—who said he’d left London under cover of darkness and had ridden without stopping—a meal and some rest, they sat down to read their letters.

Dearest Sister,

I miss you so much, and I wish you could be with us. But I have some news to impart—news that isn’t very good, though I know you were expecting it.

J.C. is in London with his ship, which is docked in the Thames. The family has decided to head home, where it is believed we will all be safer. A few trusted agents will remain in London for the time being. They have gathered some additional evidence regarding J.C.’s illegal activities, but it still isn’t enough to prosecute.

I am so worried about you. Although I don’t believe anyone has revealed your whereabouts to J.C., the man is, by all accounts, very intelligent, and I am concerned that he will eventually find you.

We have been considering other locations for you to reside until this is all over. J is sitting next to me right now, also writing a letter, and I’m sure he’s suggesting several potential places for you to go.

Everyone is worried and concerned, and we miss you deeply, but we are all well. Your other sisters send their love.

With Love,

S.

Her mouth dry, Meg looked up at Will, who’d finished reading his letter from Jonathan and was watching her.

“He’s in London,” she croaked out.

He laid the letter down and held out his arms to her. “Come here.”

She went willingly, soaking up all the comfort she could from his embrace.

“Stratford suggested that we go to my house in Northumberland,” he murmured.

“Once Caversham discovers we’re together, that’ll be the first place he will search,” she said on a near moan.

“That was my thought, too. But I have another idea. Somewhere even your family didn’t consider.”

She looked up at him through shining eyes. “Where’s that?”

“At sea.”

She blinked at him, not responding right away. Of course. It made a lot of sense. She’d been on the
Freedom—
knew how fast the ship was. Caversham would never catch them, especially if the only ship he had on hand was the large and cumbersome
Defiant
.

But…

“Oh, Will, what are we going to do? Sail the seven seas, trying to avoid Caversham for the rest of our lives?”

“No,” he said firmly. “It’s just a matter of time before Briggs and your brothers-in-law find the evidence that will prove, once and for all, the kind of men Caversham and Millbridge are.” He held her more tightly. “I just want to keep you safe, Meg. But this
will
end, eventually. And then you will be free from him.”

It was then that the seed of an idea sprouted in her mind.

“To get on the
Freedom
, we’d have to travel back to London. Won’t that be dangerous?”

“Well, I wasn’t thinking we’d take the
Freedom
. I’ve another ship—a steamer—in a shipbuilding yard in Liverpool.”

“A… steamer?” she repeated dumbly. Of course, she knew what steamships were—she saw them more and more in the various harbors she’d been in. But to her, Will would always be a sailor. She hadn’t predicted that he’d join the steam craze.