Dear Captain Damerel,
I trust this letter finds you and your family in good health?
I wanted to write to express my sincere gratitude for your assistance earlier this week.
Doctor Kapoor’s knowledgeable counsel proved a critical turning point in Josephine’s recovery, and my sisters and I cannot thank you enough for your prompt action.
It is therefore with some regret, that I must appeal to your generosity once again.
For reasons I cannot divulge, I find myself in need of a high-perch phaeton and pair this forthcoming Sunday morning. The phaeton needs to be in good repair, and the horses fresh, and I will, of course, have them returned to you long before your household is risen.
I understand you may not keep such equipage yourself, but wonder if you might have use of the stable at Damerel Place and therefore be able to borrow them…?
Phoebe paused, biting the end of her quill. It was one thing asking the captain for help, quite another to ask him to appropriate his brother’s horses. And yet, there was nothing to be done, who else could she ask?
I cannot write more detail here, only assure you my intention is not to race to the coast and stowaway on the first pirate ship I find – though I’m sure you’ll understand why such a life might appeal just now!
I thank you for your utmost discretion in this matter, and remain your faithful servant,
Miss Phoebe Fairfax
A response came within the hour.
Dear Miss Fairfax
I thank you for your letter.
First and foremost, I am most relieved to read Miss Josephine is making a good recovery, and have no doubt it is the result of the excellent care provided by yourselves, and my good friend, Dr Kapoor.
On the question of a phaeton and pair, please rest your concerns. I can procure and bring both to Wood Lodge just before dawn on Sunday. My brother keeps a good stable, and as long as we ensure their safe return before breakfast, no one shall be the wiser.
I must also confess to your hour of need coinciding with one of my own. However, I have given the matter a great deal of thought, and hope I do not prevail upon your good nature in so much as to offer a compromise, which may assist us both greatly in the future.
I believe you understand the nature of the esteem in which I hold Doctor Kapoor, and that others might not share the same understanding.
Furthermore, it has come to my attention that certain rumours are circulating among members of the ton that could damage, not only the career of both my esteemed friend and myself but also, the reputation of those around us. Indeed, such are the nature of these rumours, that I am left little choice but to refute them in the only way remaining – to marry.
While this may seem rash, I can assure you I have contemplated this course for some time, and would not unburden myself, except I am persuaded you are also in need of a friend.
It is with this in mind, that I venture to suggest that we assist one other. I cannot promise wealth, but I can promise you as much freedom as you wish, within the safe confines of my name. I also believe our natures to be entirely complementary, which would bode well for future companionship.
If you find yourself in agreement, please pack a light trousseau, and bring it on Sunday morning. We shall leave for the border the moment you have concluded your prior engagement – that’s the Scottish border, and nothing to do with pirate ships which, I’m persuaded, would bring a whole new set of challenges!
Lastly, I must ask you not to share the contents of this letter whatever your decision, and to consign it to the fire, once read.
Your ever faithful friend,
Captain Elliot Damerel, Esq.
Phoebe sat beside the fire, staring at the captain’s ornate lettering. He had such a handsome hand, one that captured his personality perfectly, with swirls and loops that echoed his sunny smile. Yet, as she knew only too well, appearances could be very deceiving. And now this – less a marriage of convenience, than one of escape. The captain may have worded his concerns lightly, but they both knew either the gallows or transportation could await, should his relationship be discovered.
A cold fear crept through her as she weighed up her choices.
Refusing the captain’s proposal would save her family from social disgrace, yet she would have to live with whatever fate befell him and Dr Kapoor. Accepting would not only hurt her family, Sophie especially, but also create the very scandal she’d been seeking to avoid – while the viscount….
Phoebe’s mind overflowed with images of the viscount, from the highwayman duel, to the library, to the picnic, to the way his dark eyes had glinted with a thousand fallen stars beneath the magnolia tree, to his rage in Florence’s bedchamber, and then finally to his cold indifference at Prior Park and Pump Room.
She’d never known such an infuriating, arrogant, changeable man in all her life, so why she was even considering his view mystified her. Except that conjuring his face, and the moments they’d shared, sparked the most confused jumble of feelings in her core – a jumble that only seemed to worsen the longer she dwelt on them.
