“I don’t mind,” she said. “I was almost married. Well, almost engaged.” A shooting star arced across the sky before disappearing into the horizon. “Unbeknownst to me, the man who courted me was the youngest son of a marquess, a lord. Because there was already an heir and to the title and another brother in line after the heir, his family tolerated his ‘eccentricities’.”
As aware as she was of his every touch and breath, Lenore didn’t miss the slow stiffening in Colin’s body as she spoke. “Like you, he served aboard an airship. ThePolluxto be exact. He loved it, embraced it, risked scandal over it.
“You understood his passion.”
She nodded. “I did. I think we’re born with a love for a particular thing that calls to our souls. To ignore it reaps unhappiness.”
“What happened?”
Five years on, and it still hurt to recall that meeting and the events which followed. “I didn’t know it at the time, but my almost-fiancé had lost both brothers to cholera in the space of a week. He became the heir to the marquisate. His duty was to the estate and providing the next generation of heirs to succeed him.”
“And you were an inventor’s daughter.” Colin’s voice sounded clipped and cool, even as his hand stroked a comforting rhythm along her ribs.
Lenore swallowed, willing down the clot of tears trapped in her throat. “Indeed. A mésalliance not to be borne. Once they discovered his intention to propose, his mother paid me a visit. She presented a sound argument. Accept his offer and consign myself and any offspring we produced to the status of outcast.” She sighed. “I would have suffered it gladly. I have no interest in or fondness for the nobility. My children, however, and their children as well would be burdened by our selfishness, ostracized from Society the moment they were born.”
“You refused him when he asked.”
She wondered at the odd flatness in Colin’s tone. “I did and will regret it all my life. We parted on bad terms. He was killed while fighting at the Redan.”
Colin’s arms tightened around her, his embrace both comforting and strangely desperate, as if he sought solace in her nearness as much she found it in his. They held each other for a long time, Lenore lost to her memories.
Her creeping melancholy threatened to cast a pall over this lovely but oh-so-brief time with the Guardian, and she resolutely shook it off. It was best to speak of other things, lighter things.
“I was at first disappointed that my inaugural voyage would be on a ship other than thePollux,” she said. “But I think now it was for the best. Adjusting to my role aboard ship is much easier when it’s a peaceful journey on a cargo lifter. I’m not certain how well I’d do on a skyrunner in the midst of battle.”
Colin pressed his cheek to the side of her head. “Every crewman feels that way on their first flight,” he whispered near her ear. “I think you’d learn quickly enough to hold your own if put to the test.”
Either Fate played some great joke on her or had chosen to bestow some great beneficence. Colin Whitley might look like a ghost himself, tethered to this earthly realm by the most gossamer of threads, but to her, he was almost too good to be true. He heard the dead speak and protected their remains by means both mysterious and sometimes violent. People ran from the sight of him, even if dogs didn’t, proving what she’d always thought—man’s four-legged companion was often a lot more insightful regarding another’s character than the its master.
That last thought made her recall the intrepid little dog who’d tried to rescue her from the resurrectionists. “What happened to the hound who kept me company when I was unconscious?”
Colin exhaled a slow breath. “She’s currently in the care of the rector’s wife who spoils her relentlessly. She, however, fancies herself my dog.”
The news lightened Lenore’s heart. “And why wouldn’t she? I imagine you make a wonderful master.” No doubt, he’d make an equally fine spouse. The thought startled her almost as much as the peal of the bells that signaled the end of her watch.
She did turn then, still held in the cove of Colin’s arms. “My watch is over,” she said and wondered if any watchman ever regretted departing his post as much as she did.
The Guardian brushed his lips across hers in a tantalizing hint of a kiss. “I must go before your relief arrives.”
She traced the arch of his eyebrows with her finger. “Thank you for your kindness in keeping me company.” One eyebrow twitched under her touch.
“It wasn’t kindness, Lenore,” he said in that low, sensual voice. “It was selfishness, and temptation, and need.” He kissed her a second time with the sweep of his tongue across hers before setting her from him.
Lenore’s breath streamed from her nose and mouth in small clouds. For the first time since she’d boarded theTerebellum, she wanted to shed her layers of clothing and cool off her overheated skin. “I don’t know why you’re on this ship,” she told him. “But I’m glad of it. So very glad you’re here with me.”
He gazed at her in a way that made her heart pound as hard as his kiss did. “I am always with you, Lenore.” A pause. “Good night.”
He was gone before she had a chance to raise her hand in farewell, a wraith embracing the darkness beyond the door.
“Good night,” she whispered to the empty room.
CHAPTER TEN
The return journey from Gibraltar to London was proving as uneventful as Nathaniel hoped. TheTerebellumwas a fine ship and so far hadn’t suffered a single problem. He was both relieved and suspicious. Some might accuse him of an unnecessary paranoia; however, since the woman he loved was currently aboard, he’d argue for his caution. Nothing ever remained problem-free, and judging by the look on his former captain’s face as she handed him a snifter of brandy, she was about to prove him right.
They stood together at a pair of windows, staring down at the Portuguese coast. The city of Lisbon perched on the Atlantic, its imposing Sao Jorge Castle overlooking a cluster of white buildings with red tile roofs that marched down the hillside to the beach and gleamed under a cold winter sun.
Nettie swirled the brandy in its snifter, her expression grim. “I’m telling you first before I gather the crew for the announcement. We’re sailing to the Redan.”
