Emmaus snorted. “We’ll see.”
“I have faith in you,” Chev said.
Emmaus clapped Chev on the back. “And I in you, my friend. And I in you. Just promise me I’ll find everyone alive and standing when I get back.”
“I won’t lose my temper.”
“I didn’t expect you would,” Emmaus replied. “But try not to break my ax.”
Emmaus sauntered back toward the house...whistling.
If Cheverley claimed his place as heir, he could make right several wrongs. For one, he could help Emmaus get his due. He’d no doubt Emmaus would eventually prevail, but it neverhurtto have the heir to a dukedom on your side.
He ran his hand through his damp hair and turned his face to the sun.
Ifhe claimed his place...
Was there still, realistically, anif?
Was he capable of abandoning Penelope again after he’d held her close?
Butshouldhe forgo hunting down the pirate like he planned, making sure she could never hurt anyone else? Vengeance was its own duty and would impart honor and great relief.
Last night, he’d gained one, small triumph over the pirate.
He’d mastered his desire before it exploded into rage.
He now knew he was capable of holding and comforting his wife, but when—and if—the time should come, would he be capable of lying with her?
Of giving her pleasure?
The sun turned his eyelids to red—not the red of rage, but the red of warmth. Of fire.
He listened for the pirate’s whisper and heard only silence.
But would the silence last?
Chapter Ten
PEN RETURNEDTHOMAS’Scarriage to Ithwick and then traversed the pathway through the woods, listening for signs of her son. Halfway between Ithwick and Pensteague, she spotted Thaddeus through the trees in the distance.
She stopped.
First came the unmistakable sound of a plucked string; next, the near-simultaneous strike of an arrow into the earth. A white tail flashed and then the lucky rabbit disappeared.
“You were closer, this time,” the captain said.
“Close doesn’t end my hunger, does it?” Thaddeus replied.
The captain laughed. Pin-pricks danced over Penelope’s skin. That laugh...
It could not be.
She closed her eyes and shook her head.
The captainwas notChev. Another trick of her imagination.
Chev had been large, with smooth, pale skin. The captain was tanned, slim as a cord. Lines of hardship had been etched into his face—he looked older than Chev would have been.
