“We are on equal footing, Lord Rutland,” sherepeated his words. “You need your nourishment if you are to be ofhelp to me.”
With avid interest, he saw a spark in hereyes and an amused twitch of her mouth. She was a dazzling visionand like a schoolboy with his first infatuation, she could cut himout into little stars if she had the whim.
What other secrets lay behind her playfulsmile? The innocent appeal of a thief this beautiful could easilyoperate undetected by charming her victims. Why, she could stealthe Crown jewels out of London Tower and be long gone before anyonenoticed. He grunted. Despite her past crimes, he needed her.
He chewed on a piece of fibrous coconut andhis strength seemed fairly restored. “Are we on an island or acontinent?”
She shielded her eyes, scanning the treetopsand the mountain behind. “On board the ship, I observed the starsthrough the shrouds. I think we are in the northern region of theCaribbean. Whether we are on an island or continent, I cannottell.”
“Your knowledge of the sea?” he said, moreof a question than a statement.
“My father kindled my imagination and setfire my thirst for learning, taking great delight in sharing hisknowledge of the ocean. He spent many hours taking me out in hisdingy, catching fish, teaching me how to use a knife and how tolive off the sea. During those idyllic days, he instructed me aboutthe stars.”
“Did he ever take you on his voyages?”
“I never accompanied him but he told metales about the places he visited especially the Caribbean. Hereturned with books, shells, and rare fruits. With some accuracy,I’ll be able to identify what we can eat.”
She gestured with a coconut chunk. “To thinkone of my favorite books wasRobinson Crusoeand here we areliving Defoe’s imaginings. Who would have thought?”
“Reading fiction and surviving it are twodifferent experiences.”
He followed her searching gaze out over thehorizon, a thin seam where the crown of the sky and the flat of thesea hemmed each other into a line of sapphire. The harsh cry of aseagull fractured the serenity. “We will explore later to find outif we are on an island. For the time being, we need to deal withnecessities like food, water and shelter.”
He glanced at the palm trees with theirgiant fronds and vines clinging to their massive trunks. Shelterwould be easy enough to do. “We will build a signal fire first toherald a passing ship.” Now that he had a thread of hope that hisfather and brother might yet live, he had to get off thisgodforsaken patch of earth.
“We will not.”
He turned so fast a muscle in his necksnapped. “Excuse me. Did I hear you right? We have to get off thisbarbaric coast. I have to rescue my sister and find out whocommitted this horrendous act to my family.” He clawed at the sandat his side, his soul burning at his inability to protect them. Ofone thing, he was sure. He would not fail to find who wasresponsible and make them pay. “We will build a signal fire firstto herald a passing ship.”
“No, we will not.”
She stood there, her posture, ramrodstraight, a mutinous expression on her face. “Oh, you are favoredby the gods, Lord Nicholas? Shall we hail a Spanish ship and becomeslaves of the Spaniards? They make the Portuguese look like saints.Or the Caribes? A lovely indigenous Indian group that resides onthis tail end of the earth and who are predisposed to cannibalism.Perchance you are inclined to be someone’s dinner.”
Heat burned in his chest. There was nothingdemure about the woman. Didn’t she realize as a gentleman, he knewbest? “I’ll take that risk. We can live on coconuts for the timebeing,” he said with enough glaring force that would make histenants cower.
“And you are expert at starting fires?” Shemade an outrageously exaggerated curtsy. “Where is yourtinderbox?”
“You do not believe I can perform the task?”Shaking off his dizziness, he stood, towered over her. Most womenwould take a step back. Miss Elwins stood her ground. He grittedhis teeth, regretting the part about being on equal footing. MissElwins was demonstrating she had the upper hand.
“I suppose being a gentleman, you know agreat deal about setting fires,” she sniffed, her tone inferringthat since he was really a softly reared aristocrat, he knewnothing.
He needed to set clear boundaries, and thesooner she realized he was the one who possessed the sounder logicthe better off their relationship would be. “Your suggestion ofobtaining food is admirable, but for today, I want you to pick-updriftwood.”
“Suit yourself, Lord Rutland. I wish youluck building your fire. I’m off to scavenge for food which is agreater priority.” She headed down the beach, kicking up puffs ofsand from her heels.
He tore off his coat and threw it on theground. Miss Elwins thought he couldn’t build a fire. She couldcurtsy herself all the way to Windsor Castle and back. He’d showher.
ChapterFour
Alexandra stomped down the beach, kicked acoconut out of the way. A sharp pain jagged from toe to ankle.Cursing, she hopped on her good foot while holding her injured toe.Apart from the King, Lord Rutland was the most dignified andmemorable man she had ever met….and he knew it. Oh, to take himdown a peg.
She sat down on a log and massaged her foot.To think she had saved his life and he commanded her like she wasone of his servants.
Yet, she could not quell the rioting in herstomach. She had studied him while he was unconscious, reposed likea warrior taking his rest. Regardless of his pathetic state, he wasthe most beautiful man she’d ever seen. His face was shockinglyhandsome with high cheekbones and full lips. His bearded jaw spokeof determination and…stubbornness. Or did it hide a weak chin?
His thick wildly unkempt hair, dark in thesunlight, waved over his temple. And he had a patrician nose. Agiggle bubbled up from deep in her throat from her imaginings onthe ship. Beak nosed? What would his imperial majesty think aboutthat notion?
While he’d been unconscious, she checked forbone breaks. His arms and legs were sound, but would have beenthinner if she had not fed him aboard theSantanas.His coathad parted. She had walked her fingers over his ribs, skipped themover his abdomen, stopped at the waistband of his breeches. Howshameless she had been. Her cheeks reddened from the memory.
