The more I speak to her, touch her, the more I desire her. Her father destroyed mine. This should be simple. Ruin her and delight in my revenge.
Nick gripped the reins of his horse tightly, causing the animal to dance beneath him. A fierce longing rose up in him for Jem.
He would fulfill his promise to his grandfather, but not at Jem's expense. Not after today. Not now, after he knew that what was between them was more than attraction, more than a flirtation. Now that he knew he had the power to break her heart.
9
Jemma slowed her horse, eyes squinted to discern the trail which wound around a cluster of mangroves. Quicksand abounded on both sides and more than one less cautious rider had found himself and his horse trapped in the quagmire that was the swamp.
Carefully she wound Ajax around a large dead stump. The fetid odor of vegetation and stagnant water made its way to her nostrils and she grimaced. The trail was the quickest way to get to her favorite fishing spot, but she didn't enjoy the sensation of being trapped that the darkness of the swamp gave her. Or the smell.
“Almost there, Ajax.” Jemma ran her hand over the stallion's thick gray mane. Ajax had been a gift from her father on her 15th birthday. While she clapped her hands in delight, Lady Corbett had shaken her head in consternation, admonishing William Manning for giving his daughter astallionand not some docile, dappled mare. The stallion as a gift for a girl wasunseemly, Lady Corbett said. Thankfully, Jemma’s father ignored her.
“I don't find you unseemly in the least,” Jemma said out loud, and Ajax snickered back as if he understood and agreed with her.
“I do hope I find some tasty crabs. I would so like crab chowder for dinner.” Patting the basket hanging from her saddle horn, she stifled a yawn and checked the basket to make sure she’d brought enough bait. “I think I am in need of a nap, Ajax.” Sleep had eluded her since the encounter with Nick at the festival. Though she’d been in his company for less than an hour, that short time changed her view on all manner of things. The dreaded betrothal hung over her like a hangman’s noose now, and the familiar sense of complacency she’d felt about marrying Augie had vanished. Now the thought of marrying him seemed almost abhorrent. Wrong.
I belong with Nick.
Jerking back on the reins at the truth of her thoughts, she pulled too tight on the bit, and Ajax shook his head in agitation.
I want him, even though I should not.
Her sleepless nights were testament to his effect on her. She dreamt of him, of lying naked with him. She would awake with a start, a painful ache between her thighs and the taste of him on her lips. Why she would want a one-eyed man of dubious character and background instead of the Lord Governor’s son, she didn’t know. Did it matter?
Jemma had not seen Nick in Hamilton, nor had he sought her out. She sensed his avoidance of her and was hurt by it. Wishing to see him, she even resorted to having tea with Lady Corbett, hoping to catch a glimpse of him, but to no avail. He seemed to have vanished, and Jemma was too embarrassed to ask Lady Corbett or Augie of his whereabouts. For all she knew, he’d left the islands.
“Perhaps he’s romancing one of the Sinclair sisters. I can’t blame him, really. After all, I am nearly betrothed.” Jemma shrugged, feeling as if a great weight sat on her shoulders. “He makes me feel things I should not. Makes me want things. I fear it best I never cross paths with him again.”
Ajax snorted and lifted his head.
“Yes." She reached down and ran her fingers through the horse’s mane. “I should stay well clear of Nick Shepherd. But I don’t really wish to, you see. That’s the rub.”
The heat of the sun warmed Jemma's cheeks and she quickly adjusted the brim of her hat. It was early, and still cool, but Jemma didn’t dare go home with her nose burnt.
Morning sunlight touched the top of her shoulders as she made her way out of the dark pit of the swamp. She led Ajax down a narrow path between to boulders. The path ended on a small, sanded inlet with a tidal pool. Fish, crab, and occasionally a spiny lobster found their way into the tidal pool and couldn’t get back out.
A large outcropping of rock jutted out over the pool, creating a shaded area next to the water. The sand here was still cool and the breeze gentle. No one knew of this place, not even Tally. Jemma found the spot years ago and returned here often. She would not be bothered she thought, stifling another yawn. “Goodness Ajax, it is a miracle I made it here without falling asleep in the saddle.”
Dismounting in one graceful motion, she looped the reins around a small bush that struggled to burst through the rock. Digging into her saddlebag, she pulled out a ragged quilt and a napkin filled with a fresh mango and some cheese. A leather flask of water hung from the saddle horn as did her fishing basket.
Tossing the quilt onto the pink sand, she placed her lunch on top, throwing a stone on each corner of the quilt to ensure it would stay flat. She deftly grabbed a grub from the hamper and stuck it through the small barb dangling off her pole. The grub wiggled around the hook, trying to escape its fate. “I feel rather the same way.” She flung the line out into the pool then tossed her hat aside with a sigh.
“I don't give a fig if my skin looks like burnt toast, and I'd rather fish than play the pianoforte. I don’t wish to give up my eccentric behavior to sit and sew and gossip while listening to Lady Corbett instruct me on how to be a proper wife.”
Ajax shook his large head in agreement.
“Mr. Shepherd doesn’t seem to find my behavior too odd. He complimented my shooting.”
The stallion snorted and pawed at the sand.
She braced the pole against a small boulder next to her. "I don't love Augie. I won’t ever love him, except as a brother. I should marry him, though, shouldn’t I? What other choice do I have?” Lying down on the quilt, she looked up at the clouds dotting the sky above her. “I think I may love Nick Shepherd, which is ridiculous, since I barely know him. Well, that’s not exactly true. I feel as if Idoknow him. It’s very complicated and I don’t know that I’ll ever see him again.”
Ajax whinnied in response.
“I do appreciate your council, my friend.” Jemma blew a kiss to Ajax. She rolled over and grabbed at her discarded hat. She squished the quilt into the sand with her shoulders to get comfortable and put the hat over her face. Contemplating her feelings for Nick Shepherd was best done with her eyes shut.
* * *
