Wicked Proposition (34 page)

She returned to her own village and rented a
small cottage outside of town. The money she had made to deliver
the girl of the twins had long since gone towards their expenses.
Mrs. Gates worried they would run out of funds before she found
employment.

The village had need of a midwife, so she was in
luck.

She stared down at the tiny head covered in dark
curls and patted them fondly. Those bright eyes looked up at her so
trustingly she was often wracked with guilt at what had been done
to her mother.

Agatha crossed herself often and prayed for
forgiveness, but she sensed she would receive none. She vowed to
raise the child and atone for her sins.

Catherine was napping on the veranda when she
heard the bell being rung in the courtyard. She jumped straight up
and her eyes frantically scanned the coastline. The white sails on
the horizon made her excited and giddy as she ran to find Mrs.
Bingham. The Captain was home!

She ran from room to room and was out of breath
when she finally found the lady planting nutmeg trees at the edge
of the gardens. Her green eyes were dancing with excitement when
she informed her teacher and friend the Orion had returned.

“He’s home, Mrs. Bingham!” she cried excitedly
and her face was flushed becomingly. “He is here! Hurry now, we
need to meet his ship!”

Mrs. Bingham smiled and rose and brushed the
dirt from her smock and returned to the house to wash up. They
dressed in their finest garments to meet the ship and Catherine
stared at her image and liked what she saw.

She was wearing a pale peach gown of lightweight
cotton. The heat made wearing silk in the middle of the day
oppressive and she liked the feel of the soft fabric. Catherine
tied back her black curls in a simple matching ribbon, and slipped
on matching slippers, wondering if the Captain would find her
pretty. The servants said she was pretty. Mrs. Bingham said she was
beautiful.

“He will be enchanted, my darling,” her teacher
said with a smile as she saw her hurrying to get ready.

“Do you think so?”

“Oh, I would say so, definitely, yes,” Mrs.
Bingham replied knowingly, trying to ease her charges
nervousness.

“I do not remember him at all,” Catherine said
as she worried her lower lip. “Some would say that is rude.”

“Some have not gone through what you have. The
Captain understands how ill you were then. He doesn’t expect you to
be half as accomplished as you are. Trust me, he will be pleased,”
Martha insisted and frowned slightly. “You have come a long way, my
sweet one. I know you have questions. Certainly now you will have
answers.”

Catherine brightened as her teacher left her to
rouse their driver. Why she fretted so much what the Captain
thought, she did not know and cursed at herself for being such a
ninny. The man was her benefactor and obvious savior. He was a
saint for what he had done for her.

She left her room to meet Mrs. Bingham with a
sudden shyness. She joined her in the courtyard where a wagon would
take them to the quay. She was impatient to be off and nearly
shouted as the elderly black man named Saul sauntered slowly
towards them to drive them to meet the ship.

“Can we arrive at the quay today, Saul?” she
snapped and the old man picked up his feet, grinning widely.

Martha hid her smile.

She cringed watching his slow progress and was
even more perplexed at the slow pace he drove the team of horses.
She was nearly fuming, but Mrs. Bingham patted her hand and smiled.
She was secretly pleased seeing her charge so eager to meet Captain
Van Ryker. He had been gone over a year now, and Martha missed
Tulley desperately.

Catherine had changed so much in that time, Mrs.
Bingham was sure the Captain would approve. She prayed the man did
the right thing before he acted upon his urges, for she had no
doubt he would desire the girl. She saw the longing in his gaze
during her illness and believed they had known each other in
Catherine’s former life.

He refused to speak of it. She sensed he would
not confide in her. Whatever secrets lay between him and Catherine,
they were not divulged to anyone. Tulley knew nothing, and swore he
had never met Catherine until she was dragged aboard the ship. Mrs.
Bingham was deflated by this. She had decided playing matchmaker
was in order. She wanted to see Catherine settled.

Tulley would retire from the sea now and had
said they would make their home on the island. Apparently her
relationship with the cook was not the only secret kept aboard The
Orion. She smiled when she thought of Robert. She had not planned
to find love again after the death of Mr. Bingham, but Tulley was a
good man and they got on well together.

She thought of their wrestling over pots in the
kitchen and giggled like a girl. Mr. Bingham had not dared try to
overthrow her in her domain, but Tulley insisted on doing every bit
of the cooking. She was suddenly growing as eager as Catherine to
get to the quay.

###

Nicholas was impatient to be ashore and scanned
the docks for some sign of Catherine and Mrs. Bingham. He was
disappointed he could not make them out in the crowd that grew
there. Tieghan appeared amused at Nicholas’s eagerness to get
ashore. The Norwegian had gotten over his reserve towards women,
thanks to the throng of appreciative Asian ladies that surrounded
him during their extended stay in the Orient.

“Do not get your hopes up too highly,” Tieghan
advised solemnly, seeing Nicholas so anxious to see Catherine
again. “She may be the same as she was.”

“And she may not,” Nicholas said with a wry
grin, hoping that was so.

“Do the right thing by the girl this time,
Nicholas,” Tieghan warned, his pale eyes glinting. “You didn’t
deserve a second chance with her the first time.”

“Don’t you think I don’t know it? I love her,
Tieghan,” he replied and felt a tight feeling in his chest, his sky
blue eyes filled with emotion. “I have thought of nothing but her
since we left. I mean to marry her now.”

Tieghan’s eyes widened at this. The news
Nicholas was getting married obviously shocked the man into
speechlessness. Nicholas was pleased to see that, even if the man
rarely spoke.

“You need to tell her everything first. She
needs to know,” Tieghan protested. “It is the right thing to
do.”

“She doesn’t need to know the worst of it.”

“That is not for you to decide, Nicholas.”

“I think I like it better when you are silent,
my friend,” Nicholas said sourly and continued to scan the
docks.

“You still break the rules, Nicholas,” Tieghan
said with a shake of his head. “You have lied, cheated, and stolen
to get this woman. Did it ever occur to you to try and win her
fairly?”

“I mean to win, Tieghan,” Nicholas replied
defensively.

Tieghan said nothing to that and walked away
muttering under his breath.

The jolly boats arrived at the docks and a cheer
went up. Nicholas accepted handshakes and warm hugs from those he
knew. He looked beyond the crowd suddenly, his blue eyes bright in
his sun-darkened face. He looked for her. His heart was beating
like a drum in his chest. His adrenaline flowed, making him
impatient to get to her.

Nicholas saw a wagon arrive and made out the
bustling form of Mrs. Bingham. He stared as the old black man
stepped down and he saw her. Catherine was helped down by the
servant and he swallowed hard as he took in her incredible beauty.
She appeared a vision in the peach gown. As the pair of ladies
approached he was aware of Tieghan at his side. The Norwegian
watched her with no expression on his handsome face.

Nicholas drank in the sight of her, unable to
take his eyes off her. His heart was in his eyes and he jumped upon
the dock to close the distance.

###

At the sight of the handsome sea captain
striding forward, she stared. He was large and powerfully built.
His hair was long and curling. Was it a golden hoop she saw
dangling in his ear? He had the air of a pirate, wicked and
dangerous.

Her pulses quickened as he stopped in front of
them a wide grin curving his handsome lips. Catherine was startled
to feel a flutter in her middle. She had imagined an old,
middle-aged man in his later years, not this young dangerously
handsome man. She blushed furiously and stared at the tips of her
slippers, watching him under her fan of lashes.

His white ruffled shirt was open to the middle
of his chest. She stared at the dark mat of hair there and
swallowed hard seeing the scar. His buck skins were snug and hugged
his powerful thighs and she could see the muscles of his legs
defined there, as well as the definite bulge below his waistline.
She looked away, cheeks growing warmer and it had nothing to do
with the midday sun. She fidgeted with her parasol.

She felt a shadow fall over her and looked up to
meet a pair of very intent sky blue eyes that searched her face
earnestly. His full sensuous lips curved into a smile and she noted
how perfect and white his teeth were before she returned his
smile.

She held out her hand and before she could utter
a sound to greet him, she was engulfed in his massive arms and
swung about. She shrieked and laughed as she demanded he put her
down. He set her away from him and she looked up at him with a
reproving look, though her green eyes twinkled.

“Welcome home, Captain. It is good to see you
again as well,” she said softly and smiled shyly. He was delighted
to see she no longer toted the doll with her and appeared more
herself. “I trust your journey went well? We did not expect you for
several more weeks,” she said nervously.

“Better than expected, love,” Nicholas replied,
pleased she had addressed him in such an adult fashion and appeared
poised. His eyes were fairly devouring her and itched to grab her
up in his arms and kiss her. “We made good time. The winds were
with us and the weather was fair.”

“Mrs. Bingham has planned a celebration for your
return,” she said brightly and hoped she didn’t sound like a
simpleton. “We have been planning the menu for weeks when we got
your last letter.”

“I have gifts for you,” he confided with a
grin.

She looked delighted, her smile widened. “You
do?”

“I do, but you can’t have them until we unpack,”
he said and watched her face fall slightly.

“I do not remember you, Captain Van Ryker,” she
said suddenly, her green eyes meeting his intently. “I am better
now. The doctor has said so.”

“Then we have much catching up to do,
Catherine,” he replied, unfazed by her admission.

Nicholas was pleased with her obvious progress
but gazed questioningly at her teacher. Mrs. Bingham made a gesture
she would speak of it later. So, Catherine did not have her memory
fully restored? He felt a sense of disappointment, and relief as
well.

He could see right away she did not recognize
him. She acted as if she was seeing him for the first time. He was
disappointed he would not learn anything new, but it pleased him he
did not have to compete with her memory of Gabriel either. He had
nearly a year to think about what he would do upon his return here.
He had business in London he couldn’t avoid forever. Eventually the
conflict there would have to be addressed.

Informing his friend he had found his runaway
mistress had not been considered by him. No good would come of it.
She deserved far more than being a nobleman’s mistress as far as he
was concerned, her past be damned!

He had arrived at his solution quite by
accident. He had been shopping for gifts for her and Mrs. Bingham
in a Chinese port. He wandered into a jeweler’s shop. A ring had
caught his eye. It was a beautiful three carat emerald encircled
with diamonds. He had known the minute he requested to see it what
he was about to do. He wanted her with him always.

Despite her lack of memory and the fact he still
did not know her true identity, he wanted to marry her. It was the
only way to keep her safe. Gabriel would likely never forgive him,
but he could not stop the direction his heart was taking. Catherine
had been on his mind every waking moment since his departure.

He carried the tiny velvet box in his pocket the
whole time he was away. When the time was right he planned to
propose. He had laughed at what he was doing. Hadn’t he always
scoffed at marriage? He had always said a woman did not fit into
his life. Since setting eyes upon this woman he had opened his
heart to her irrevocably.

He would go slowly to woo her gently with
honeyed words. Despite the dangerous desire that leapt within him
when he saw her, he would wait until she was ready before he made
her his. A niggling voice intruded upon his thoughts to mock his
intentions, whispering that once her memory returned she would feel
differently.

It was a chance he was willing to take.

He adored her. It did no good to fight it any
longer. He admitted a twinge of guilt, knowing he took advantage of
her memory loss. The bullet had done that to her, not him. He
didn’t even know everything she was doing in London before he found
her. Was she to ask, nothing she would learn from him would make
her feel better about herself.

He thought of Gabriel’s possible reaction. He
winced, knowing it would be far from pleasant. Still, even Gabriel
would have to see he had nothing to offer Catherine. The fact his
friend stayed married to his Countess now that he had is heir made
Catherine even more fair game.

They loaded the wagon with many crates and while
they waited in a shaded area, Catherine allowed herself to study
him. He was taller than any other man who stood near him, a
veritable mountain of a man. She felt tiny next to him and fragile.
And yes, the word safe also came to mind. She instinctively knew he
would protect her.