“My concession is for you to promise me you’ll contact my solicitor in England. He was an English captive I freed on a Spanish ship and one I’ve developed a business relationship that I can trust. I’ll have an account set up for you to withdraw funds in London. You’ll want for nothing. I guarantee, your wish to live independently and undisturbed will be fulfilled.” He didn’t inform her she would be able to live in the grandest style, wanting for nothing.
“Devon, I cannot take any money from you,” Claire protested.
Reaching out, he tipped her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Claire,” he said with quiet firmness, “I will not give into your denial. Either you accept my terms or Lily goes back to London with you.”
“Somehow I feel you will allow Lily and Robert to marry despite what I commit too.”
His jaw hardened with icy resolve. She looked so small and helpless. But she wasn’t. She never had been. She didn’t need him.She was an independent woman. “Do you really want to take that risk?”
He held her gaze.
“Wolf!”
The Colossus stomped into the room. Sweat poured off of him. “Captain?”
“You look like you’ve run a race.” Had Wolf abandoned his post? He held no inclination to pursue the matter further or to consider why the giant crossed his arms and glared with his one eye at Claire. “I want you to sail out immediately and find out what Le Trompeur is up to−and−to fetch a parson.” The tremulous smile Claire bestowed on him said it all. Relief. Joy. Happiness. If only he could be the true beneficiary of that smile.
“I’ll miss you,” he said. It would be impossible to forget her.
Claire burst into tears. She fell automatically into his embrace, sobbing.
“There now, Claire, things will be fine. You’ve a bright future ahead.” And because he didn’t know what else to do to cope with the loss of the most precious thing in his life, Devon closed his eyes and held her, soothing away her pain, the wound in his soul incurable. He suffered the greatest sacrifice of his life, letting her go.
From a hectic day, readying theSea Scorpionfor its next voyage, Devon swung around and entered through the back to his library, a relief to be alone for a moment. Lily was seated with her arms folded across her chest. So much for solitude.
“If you don’t mind, I’ve work to catch up on.” His remark wrought a rude form of dismissal, but he didn’t care, impatient to be alone.
“I’m not leaving,” said Lily.
For an endless moment their gazes locked as they assessed one another. “Faith now, you dare to disrespect a command?” He sat taken aback by Claire’s diminutive cousin. He liked Lily, but this stubborn side, he’d not seen before. Devon poured himself a drink.
“You do not appear to be the type of man who would let the woman he loves go. Please indicate if my notion of you rings true.”
Devon threw back the entire contents of his glass then confirmed her accurate conclusion with a slight, mocking inclination of his head. “It’s my business you’re airing.”
Lily blinked owl eyes, her disapproval conveyed through her spectacles. “Not entirely. Not where my cousin, Claire is concerned.”
“I assume Robert knows you’re here.”
“Of course, I told him I came here to thank you for allowing us to marry.” She put up her hand. “Claire informed me. What’s more, I would always be honest with my husband. And I would expect nothinglessof him.” She let that comment snake over and strangle him for a while. His earlier assumptions on Claire’s guileless cousin vanished, and his opinion of Lily climbed another notch. She was craftier than he presumed.
“You should know, Claire never betrayed you. She was in a terrible tempest the night of your escape because she had seen you in a compromised position with Anne Jensen.” Lily looked down her nose disapprovingly then went on to tell him what had happened that night when Jarvis overheard their conversation. “Claire has discovered a deed that indicates she may own the plantation in Jamaica. She is traveling to England to fight for what she feels is hers, and what she believes her father would have wanted her to do. In a way, her mission washes away her muddled sense of abandonment from when her parents died and left her behind. Claire is complex and has made many sacrifices. At stake, she would prefer an unlived life, of unreached potential and unfulfilled dreams. It lay there etched in an indelible impression, in a primitive part of her mind that reacts as self-preservation. Safe. Sound. Secure.”
Vulnerable against the world, and all of what she endured, was under the guise of independence. She panicked whenever he got too close, putting up impenetrable barriers. Her sense of abandonment was a fire breathing dragon that struck at the core of her being, leaving her wounded and fearful of attachment.Safe. Sound. Secure. She had uttered those very words to him. Those were the things Claire was looking for and he’d do his damnedest to make her believe he’d make that happen. Devon raked his fingers through his hair.
“You better take charge and communicate your feelings with Claire.” Lily eyed him like a pelican ready to snap. “She is my cousin and my dearest friend. I do not want to see her hurt.”
“I am a man who does not need to justify myself. But I will make allowances just this once. I assure you, Lily, I have Claire’s best interests paramount to everything else. My intentions to her are honorable.”
Lily nodded. “I know.”
Devon walked to the doors and let out a shrill whistle. “Thank you, Lily. This clarifies many questions.” Abu Ajir cawed from a distance.
“Where is Claire?” Lily asked.
“I have the eyes and ears of my island. I always know where Claire is.” This time he surprised the unflappable Lily.
“I would expect nothing less.”
