Silver Sea (30 page)

She jumped out of the bed, set the tray of breakfast dishes on the table, and began dressing. "Obviously you and I were differently disposed last evening. Let me restore my shattered modesty, and then we'll sit down and untangle our affairs."

It was impossible not to hear the throb in her voice. When she had slipped on a simple muslin gown and couldn't reach to fasten the back, Nathan walked over and assisted. Both of them were aware that his strong fingers were trembling slightly.

Adrienne pulled her hair back with a ribbon, took a seat at the table, and folded her hands. "Now I am ready."

"Well, this is all very simple, actually. Or it can be." Somehow he found himself wandering over to the cellaret, where bottles were fitted into niches and securely stoppered. This was thirsty business. After pouring himself a small glassful of brandy, Nathan drank, but he felt no better.

"Anything would seem simple to a man who freely indulges in strong spirits at dawn," Adrienne observed politely.

"Just once would you let me have my say?" He began pacing, moving with the motion of the ship. "Perhaps, as a woman, you do not understand that men are created differently when it comes to... uh, mating."

"Pray instruct me."

He paused near the table, aware of her cutting look, and refolded his left cuff. "Well, when a man has an opportunity to—be with a woman, it seems that that urge overrules all civilized impulses. His mind, his reasoning power, and his sense of discipline are swept away by a powerful ancient instinct that women will never be able to comprehend."

If she hadn't been so furious, Adrienne would have laughed. "Fascinating! And women don't have such instincts?"

Swallowing hard, he offered, "As a man, I really couldn't say, but I have always been told that ladies are more concerned with more delicate matters—like romance and marriage."

"This has been an informative lesson indeed, sir!" Her hands were clenched. "And what bearing might it have on me? Could you be telling me that last night you were in the grip of 'ancient instincts' too powerful for you to control? That your need to 'mate' rendered you temporarily
senseless?"

Nathan glanced at her under his lashes. "Something like that," he muttered.

"Which means, of course, that I mustn't delude myself that you care for me." Adrienne caught the back of his shirt as he turned. "If you are such a big brave man, why can you not sit down and look me in the eye?"

He did so. "All right, I admit it—I'm ashamed of my own behavior toward you. At Harms Castle I was able to maintain a semblance of honor, but that's gone now." The sight of her pale face and bright eyes made him straighten his shoulders. "We both should face facts and admit that neither of us is suited to the sort of romance our parents have enjoyed in their marriages. You and I are both stubborn and fond of our independence. We like to take risks and dislike compromise—"

"So last night was just another adventure for us?"

Nathan leaned toward her with a tentative smile. "You might say that, yes! If you look at it that way, it will be easier to store our... interlude away in your memory and not expect me to become someone I am not."

"Oh, I understand perfectly. You're a rogue."

He grinned. "And you're a gently bred vixen. We're not cut out for romantic love. As long as we understand each other, we can manage quite well."

"What did you have in mind?" Adrienne inquired.

Now he was really skating on thin ice, particularly with a woman as perceptive as Adrienne. Longing to jump up and resume pacing, Nathan instead held her gaze. "I've been cutting myself to ribbons this morning—over my failure to live up to my bargain with your father. He trusted me to protect you."

"I was the lamb, and you the wolf in sheep's clothing?"

"It's not as if I plotted your seduction, for God's sake, or took you against your will!"

"That's true. And now what do you intend to do with me? Does your honor, or lack of same, allow us to carry on as if last night never happened? My father wouldn't know, and I wouldn't tell."

"Then you suggest that we both deceive him?"

Adrienne tossed her chestnut curls. "I've been doing it all my life and Papa is used to it, though I do think deception is rather a strong word. I call it managing my own life."

"You really do want to go to Barbados?" He watched her, but her usually expressive face was closed.

"Yes. Have I not told you so? I'm looking forward to it."

"Believe it or not, I am a man of honor. I would
not
consciously deceive your father, especially in this case. I could not accept land I hadn't earned. However, there is one possible solution—if you, and then your father, agree."

Hope fluttered inside Adrienne's heart like a little bird, but she couldn't let him see. "Yes?"

The words caught in his throat. "I—well, it seems to me that there is a way for both of us to have what we want, but it strikes even me as rather coldblooded." She didn't encourage him except to hold his eyes, waiting. "We could marry."

Chills ran over her body. "What, exactly, are you proposing?"

"Neither of us has wanted to marry for love. Why not join our houses for more practical reasons? You'll have the life of adventure you desire in wild Barbados, and I'll have that land I covet." He smiled jauntily. "It would solve my problems with all the mothers of marriageable daughters as well!"

"You are speaking, then, of a marriage of convenience?"

"Yes."

Adrienne lifted her chin. "I accept."

Chapter 16

The
Golden Eagle
was spared the calamity of hurricanes or attacking ships, and the trade winds sped her four-week voyage to Barbados. During that time, Captain Raveneau immersed himself in all the duties he'd neglected for so long. Every waking hour was spent poring over charts or on deck, overseeing the ceaseless activity of the crew. At night he slept in a hammock at one end of the cabin. Nathan explained to Adrienne that since his hours were so erratic, it was best that he not take the chance of disturbing her.

Besides, their interactions had reached a new stage. No longer bantering and bickering as in the past, they now behaved as a cordial betrothed couple. Nathan asserted that he had already broken enough rules; until they were married, he would be the soul of propriety.

Adrienne knew it was all an excuse to avoid her, but told herself that she could afford to bide her time. There were dozens of fine books to lose herself in, and when her thoughts wandered to Nathan, she allowed herself the luxury of fantasy. Most of the time this tactic worked. She would imagine their exotic life on Barbados, coloring in the details of a fine manor house and a deep feather bed where she and her husband would pass the sultry nights in conjugal bliss. On the evenings when Nathan was especially short with her, she sometimes lay in her bunk in the shadowy cabin and let the sea rock her until images of their beautiful, laughing babies lulled her to sleep.

Yet, when Adrienne wore the other woman's clothing, unwelcome questions about the mysterious Eloise, whose name Nathan had called in his sleep, crept into her mind. At last she firmly reminded herself that whoever Eloise had been, she was gone and now Adrienne was with Nathan. And that was that.

The afternoon that land was first sighted, her world grew rosier still. Nathan took Minter's suggestion to invite her on deck for a look through the spyglass.

"The ocean is breathtaking," she marveled. When they'd first sailed from England, the Atlantic Ocean had seemed dark and dramatic. Now the tropical waters dazzled. The sea, a brilliant azure, seemed friendly with its silvery flying fish, warm breezes, and heartbreakingly stunning sunsets.

Nathan said nothing, but watched from a distance as she looked through the spyglass. Secretly he felt that the beauty surrounding them was no match for Adrienne. Her afternoons spent reading on deck had lent her skin an appealing golden-peachy glow, and her eyes were vivid in contrast. Many a night he had lain in his hammock aching for her.

Sometimes Raveneau wondered if Adrienne was a curse.

"Look!" she exclaimed with a radiant smile. "Is that really Barbados? It's not at all what I expected—"

"It's shaped rather like a pear with a lower half that swings out toward the east," Minter said. "You're looking at that side of the island, which also happens to border the Atlantic Ocean. The west coast is gentle; the east is wild, even treacherous. Bridgetown, the main port city, is on the western coast."

"I'll have to study a map, to learn more," she mused.

Minter pointed toward the shore. "That particular craggy-looking landscape is called the Scotland District. You'll find that nearly every village, city, house, and road is named for something English. Even Barbados itself is lovingly referred to as Bimshire."

Adrienne was already infatuated with her new home. "Bimshire? How charming!"

"Charming isn't the word for the Atlantic side of the island," Nathan informed her. "Farther down the coast is Cobbler's Reef, where the surf is treacherous and Xavier Crowe watches at night from his house for unsuspecting ships. He and his henchmen use false lights to fool the ships into thinking they've reached Bridgetown. Then his wrecking parties plunder the cargoes."

"How terrible! No wonder you despise him!" She peered to the south, fascinated in spite of herself. The water was exquisite, layering in shades of vivid blue and turquoise as it became shallower toward the shoreline. It was difficult to reconcile such beauty with danger. "Xavier Crowe lives on the southeastern side of Barbados? Where is your own estate? And where is Papa's land?"

"My home is called Tempest Hall, and it's more northeast, inland a bit." His brow arched with familiar cynicism. "Your father's fifty oceanfront acres adjoin Crowe's northern border." Nathan took a step backward. "If you two will excuse me, I'll check on the navigation. I know that you'll keep Miss Beauvisage amused, Zach."

She watched him turn away, then pause for a moment to speak to an old, gnomelike surgeon's mate. Next to her, Zachary Minter spoke in a tone of grudging sympathy.

"I know Captain Raveneau hasn't been very kind to you of late, Miss Beauvisage, but he's really not a bad sort. Do you see that ancient fellow he's chatting with? Tarpeck was a crewmember on the
Black Eagle
, the privateer that Andre Raveneau sailed during the Revolutionary War in America. The old fellow isn't much use anymore, but we found a place for him." Minter watched her face.

"I suppose your captain can't be all bad." Adrienne felt that it was better if Nathan thought that she was every bit as cool about their marriage as he was. If he knew that she felt giddy every time he drew near, all would be lost.

Even now the sight of him in biscuit breeches that skimmed his lean hips and the muscles in his thighs made her heart pound. All his gestures were etched in her memory, along with each detail of his harshly handsome face....

"Miss Beauvisage, are you all right? Is it the heat?"

Adrienne discovered that Minter was looking at her, puzzled, and she smiled. "Actually, I adore this climate as long as there is a breeze. If I don't take care, I'll be as brown as Nathan before long." Slowly she began to stroll along the deck rail, and Zachary Minter followed, quite spellbound. "If I looked preoccupied, it was because I was considering your words. I realize that you are very loyal to Nathan, and I know that he is loyal to you and all his men. But I am a lady. Will I ever be accepted?"

The first mate's perpetual sunburn disguised his guilty blush. "I confess that I had my doubts about this arrangement right from the start. I didn't want him to go to Harms Castle, even if it meant getting that land on Barbados, and I surely didn't want you on this ship. But," he hastened to add, "that's not quite true anymore. I'm beginning to think that there might be something to this."

"That's rather cryptic." Adrienne glanced at him sideways, under her thick lashes. "You're telling me that you have begun to accept me, yet your captain seems to be pulling back more and more since we agreed to marry. Are you aware that in England we were friends... after a fashion?"

"I can see that." Zach cleared his throat. "It isn't my place to discuss Captain Raveneau with you this way. We've known each other all our lives, so I sometimes forget and say more than he'd want. He guards his privacy with a vengeance."

"And he keeps his heart tightly locked?" Adrienne suggested wistfully. "You must know all the... people in his past."

"That's... true. Look—" Zach glanced left and right, then leaned closer to confide, "I hope you'll try to be patient with him. He's just like his father was—wild as the sea, and fighting instinctively against any woman who would tame him. Do you know what they called him in London?"

"No." There were so many new pieces to the puzzle of Nathan. "What?"

"The Scapegrace."

"Oh! But—of course I've heard of the Scapegrace! He was said to be a libertine! I heard shocking stories about his conquests...." Her eyes widened.