Rebel Dreams (24 page)

Evelyn gazed at him with curiosity. “What of your precious
freedom? Imagining catching me in such a state is one thing, but what happens
when I produce that mewling, whining brat you so despise?”

“That’s what nursemaids are for. When he reaches the age of
reason, I’ll take him with me to learn those things he needs to know to survive
in this world. I won’t neglect our children. You need not worry over that.”

He had ignored her question of freedom and deftly avoided
all the important issues involved in the raising of children. One did not just
shove an infant in an oven until it was properly done. She wanted her children
to grow strong and free and independent, to know the value of hard work and the
pride of love and friendship. She didn’t want the jealousy brought about by
title and entailment. Why should one son be given a fortune while the other was
forced to work or marry well for his living? She had no use for the system that
had left Alex to idle away his youth in hopes of inheritance. She shook her
head against his chest, but she was too weary to argue.

“I’ll not worry, because there’ll be no children. Go to your
bed, Alex. We are being foolish even to consider such things.”

Alex kissed her brow, then traced the tears at the corners
of her eyes. “This is one argument I’m going to win, Evelyn. I’ll probably be a
rotten husband and an even worse father, but even that is preferable to rotting
in prison. You’re going with me, whether you like it or not.”

Alex pulled the covers snugly to her chin. He left a
lingering kiss on her lips to soften his words, but Evelyn felt the fierceness
of them just the same. He was not a man accustomed to taking no for an answer.
Even her own body betrayed her. How could she fight for a principle in the face
of such weapons?

Especially since he had a modicum of right on his side.

She watched as Alex slipped from the room wearing only
breeches and a partially open shirt, the rest of his clothing in his hands.
Anyone seeing him leave would know precisely what they had been doing. She
buried her face in the pillow and drank in the musky scent of him, and with the
memory of Alex’s caresses on her skin, she drifted into sleep.

***

The second announcement of their impending marriage was
made in church the next day. Evelyn held Alex’s arm as they stepped into the
October sunshine. The memory of the prior night lingered, and she was surprised
that no one saw her disgrace. Was she the only one who noticed how Alex’s hand remained
proprietarily at her waist, how his eyes lit with deep fires when they looked
on her?

She felt trapped and helpless in the ring of fire that
consumed them. The touch of his hand created a longing for more. She waited for
his kiss, physically absorbed the deep rumble of his voice as he spoke to the
others, and couldn’t part from his side.

Alex seemed as aware as she of these physical bonds. She
sensed it in the wry way he kissed her hand when she had come downstairs that
morning, his mocking words as he wrapped her in her cloak, and the way he
refused to leave her side at the invitation of his friends.

“I will be quite domesticated by next week,” he whispered as
they strolled toward the street. “How much longer will it take for you to catch
up with me?”

“If last night was an example of your domesticity, I am far
ahead of you, sir. At least I stay at home at night and avoid tavern brawls.”

He winced. “Well, perhaps I shall never quite be a domestic
fowl, then, but I cannot imagine you fluttering happily about a chicken coop
either. Still, I understand even certain wild birds mate for life. Is my
plumage grand enough?”

Since he was as elegantly garbed as ever in a coat of rich
brown velvet, brocade vest of gold, fawn breeches, and immaculate lace, Evelyn
laughed at his nonsense. “Your plumage suits me very well. And how does the
cock select his mate? Her plumage is rather drab, I believe.”

Today she wore a gown of modest gray adorned only by lace at
her throat and wrist. Alex surveyed the costume. “The cock sees further than
the plumage, I believe. A most perceptive bird, although the shape the plumage
covers does create a certain susceptibility to make decisions on the basis of
less intellectual qualities.”

A shout from down the street interrupted their laughter. More
shouts followed, and in a matter of minutes men were striding purposefully in
the direction of the harbor.

Worried, Evelyn started to follow. Alex halted her,
recommending her to the company of her mother nearby. She shot him a look of
irritation. “If there is something happening at the wharf, I would know of it.”

“In a few weeks you will be in jail if you have your way.
Get used to having someone else deal with the warehouse. Go with your mother,
and I’ll be right back.”

Evelyn held his arm. “What is it, then? You know something.”

“They have been waiting for a ship from England bearing the tax
stamps. I suspect one has been sighted.”

Knowing he awaited news from home, Evelyn watched him stride
away. Alex had proved adaptable to the capricious elements of her world. If the
stamps were on that ship, he was more capable of dealing with the angry mob
than she.

Unnerved by that knowledge, Evelyn followed her mother home
to prepare the Sunday repast. She had no fondness for cooking, but the events
of these last weeks had disturbed her state of mind to the point that the
simple task of creating a meal suited her mood. She took satisfaction in the
fact that one dish was goose pie.

Jacob scampered in less than an hour later, bouncing with
news. Evelyn raised a questioning eyebrow as she pinched the last of a pie
crust. From his excitement, it was evident that the news could not be entirely
bad.

“There’s an English ship in the harbor! They’re trying to
keep it from docking, just like we planned, but Alex says it’s one of his. They’re
arguing something fierce, and Alex is swearing he’ll take a sword to any man
daring to keep him from his own ship. I think the ship has cannon! I saw them
rolling one out on deck.”

Evelyn could not get a word in until he stopped to gasp for
air. “The name of the ship, Jacob?”

“The
Neptune.
I’m going back to see what happens.”

“Not without me, you aren’t.” Dropping her apron on a
kitchen chair, Evelyn grabbed a cloak by the kitchen door. “Mama, you might
want to make a few more pies. That is one of Alex’s ships. After this ordeal,
he might wish to invite his officers to a meal. I’ll be back as quickly as I
can.” She kissed her flustered mother on the cheek and took to the street with
Jacob.

The scene at the wharf was the chaos she expected. Every
available fishing boat was manned in an attempt to form a feeble flotilla to prevent
the towering
Neptune
from docking. Alex stood on a barrel to shout
reason at the gathering crowd. Tarring and feathering of interfering Englishmen
seemed more likely, however.

Evelyn found Sam Adams stroking his chin on the outskirts of
the crowd and tugged his coat for attention. “Wouldn’t it be more sensible to
let the
Neptune
dock and then go aboard and seize the stamps if they are
there? You cannot reasonably expect to keep a ship that size from landing where
it will.”

“You’re quite probably right, Miss Wellington, but if your
forceful young man cannot convince the crowd of that, I can assure you that my
chances are slim. I take it that actually is one of his fleet?”

“With a name like
Neptune,
can you doubt it? All the
Cranville vessels have classical names. His cousin apparently has a sense of
humor as well as an education.”

“Well, the god of the sea will have to spew forth his
trident to attempt landing in this mob. I don’t envy your fiancé.”

Evelyn contemplated pushing her way through the crowd, when
she noted Alex had evidently given up on reasoning. He leapt from his barrel
and minutes later she discovered him in a disreputable dinghy, garbed in his
best Sunday suit, rowing toward the immense brigantine.

Alex’s abrupt change from speech to action caught the crowd
by surprise. Perfectly willing to be entertained, they watched as the English
dandy rowed with expert skill, expensive lace flapping in the cool October
breeze.

Evelyn hid a grin at the crusty comments around her as Alex
climbed the ladder to join the ship’s crew, shaking hands with the waiting
officers. Her fishermen friends hadn’t thought it possible that a man in
velvets and lace could perform physical labor, but she knew Alex’s strength.
His willingness might occasionally be called into question, but not his
competence.

The crowd watched for further enlightenment, but to their
disappointment, Alex and his officers disappeared down the companionway. The
brigantine made no further attempt to land, and the flotilla of fishing boats
bobbed idly without direction. If Alex had accomplished nothing else, he had
caught their attention.

Obviously pressing his advantage, he appeared several
minutes later, making a show of handing a letter to a crewman. The sailor
nodded and clambered down to the dinghy. The crowd waited in anticipation.

The young sailor docked the boat at the wharf and nervously
climbed the stairs toward the threatening mob. He cast a quick glance around
and looked relieved when his gaze found Evelyn.

She took the letter in surprise. Alex’s black scrawl answered
her questions.
I told the lad to deliver
this to the aggravating female in dowdy plumage
, he had written.
As long as you must disobey orders, at least
make yourself useful. Persuade some of your more persuasive friends to join me.
If there are stamps aboard, I will gladly hand them over and pretend they’ve
been delivered honestly.

Evelyn could tell by the tone of the letter that the stamps
were not there, but the crowd would never believe his word. Without comment,
she handed the missive to Adams.

Adams chuckled and nodded agreement. “Your gentleman has a
head on his shoulders, and I trust his heart is in the right place. Will you
join us?”

“Tell the conceited beast that I have gone home to finish
cooking the meal he had better arrive in time to eat. If he isn’t hanged before
then, he may invite his officers to join us.”

She walked off. The men near them had missed little of this
scene. Adams would have no difficulty finding volunteers. She reserved her irritation
for the man who dared order her about as if she were already his wife.

Alex raised his eyebrows in shock at the occupant of the
ship’s main cabin. The captain tactfully bowed out, leaving Alex with his
cousin, the Earl of Cranville. Recovering from his surprise, he shook the older
man’s hand. “What brought you from the comforts of home all the way out here?”

“Your letters intrigued more than informed,” the earl said
dryly. “I rather expected to return with your corpse and a weeping female heavy
with child. Are you leading that mob out there or running from it?” The earl’s sarcasm
conveyed his opinion of his heir’s escapades.

Over the five years of their acquaintance, Alex had
discovered the two of them were much alike. That made their relationship rocky,
but over time, they’d developed a mutual respect.

Alex still wasn’t amused by his partner’s arrival. “I’m currently
fighting the mob. I just sent a note to ask that a few friends of mine be
brought aboard to establish that this ship isn’t the enemy. I don’t know how
closely you’ve paid attention to what’s happening here, but we have a rebellion
on our hands. Before company arrives, tell me, did you find the answers I
needed?”

The earl withdrew a stiff brown packet of papers from the
captain’s desk. “They’re all here. You’re sitting on a veritable nest of
vipers.”

“Is Upton one of them?” That was his greatest concern of the
moment.

”George Upton?” The earl withdrew the topmost paper and
nodded. “He heads the list.”

Alex groaned and studied the document. Upton, Evelyn’s
lawyer, and a few more of her uncle’s cronies graced the list of owners of
companies Alex had pegged as smugglers. So much for upright British citizens.
Alex swore long and vividly as he returned the packet.

“There are no females on it,” Cranville said. “Your lady
friend isn’t involved.”

“I didn’t think she was, but they’ve arranged for her to be
arrested anyway. It’s a long story and time is short. Say nothing of the
contents of that package to anybody. They are all friends and relatives of the
lady concerned. I’m not certain how to deal with that information without
destroying a number of innocent people.”

Alex paced the polished teak floor wishing he were anyplace
but here. To free Evelyn, he would have to accuse Upton. She wouldn’t be any
more pleased at destroying her aunt and cousin than she would be about her
mother and brother. They would be ruined, financially and socially, on two
continents.

Approaching footsteps warned that his company had arrived.
Alex was forced to introduce the Earl of Cranville to the Whig patriots before
they could search the ship and accept that they weren’t hiding the despised tax
stamps. There were no royal dispatches, no parliamentary packets, nothing but
one earl who watched the proceedings with amusement.

The Sons of Liberty greeted the earl with respect, accepting
Alex’s explanation that his cousin had arrived to attend the wedding.

When the flotilla of boats finally cleared the area of the
wharf so the
Neptune
could dock, Cranville waited impatiently for
explanations. All he got for his trouble was Alex’s restless pacing as he
waited for the ship to position itself so he could disembark.

“You might give me some clue as to what to expect when I go
ashore,” Cranville prompted him. “Or am I to remain in hiding and not be
introduced to your fiancée?”