“I’ll get my bag,” Harvey said, striding off.
And they were alone. Devlin stared at her. She, however, refused to meet his gaze. What was this? An effect of guilt? This morning she had been in his bed, on the verge of begging him for his kisses. Devlin was no fool. Desire had clearly shimmered in her hungry violet eyes. “Feeling guilty?” he purred, deciding to enjoy the debate that would surely ensue.
She jumped. “What do I have to feel guilty about? You are the one who should be prone with guilt, but then, you would have to have a heart in order to feel anything.”
“I confess,” he said, smiling, “to being absolutely heartless.”
“How far off course are we?” she asked, and it was more of a demand than a question.
“About a hundred and fifty miles,” he said, and he saw her pale. “That distresses you?”
She stared and finally nodded. “Where do we sail now?” she asked grimly.
She was very clever. He admired her wit and decided never to underestimate it again. “There’s no point in tacking south to Portsmouth. Besides—” his heart tightened, proving that he was capable of feeling after all “—I have grave doubts about theAmericanamaking port there.”
Her eyes widened. “You don’t think…”
“I doubt she survived the storm. We barely outran her—theAmericanacould not outrun her. Mac is a fine sailor, but he was sailing with a skeleton crew.” A soft sorrow crept over him. He didn’t try to shove it away. This was the way of the sea and he knew it very well; it took more lives than it ever let go. Over the years he had learned that it was better to mourn the loss of his men and be done with it. He had also learned not to expect longevity from those who chose to sail with him. It was far easier dealing with death when one accepted its inevitability.
“You don’t care,” she gasped. “You do have a heart of stone—if you even have a heart at all,” she accused. “Those men—that ship—they lie at the bottom of the ocean because of you!”
Now he was angry. He gripped her wrist so quickly that she cried out and he did not let it go. “They lie in a watery tomb because of the gale, Miss Hughes, and as I am not Poseidon, I had little to do with the making of that storm last night.”
She dared to shake her head at him. “No! Had you not battled that ship, wounding it terribly—in order to abduct me—they would be alive!”
This woman seemed to have the capacity to ignite his fury as no one else could. He flung her wrist away and was ashamed to find it red. “Had I not battled that ship, wounding it and abducting you, you would be on the ocean’s floor with them.” He was about to stalk away. It crossed his mind that if he bedded her, he might teach her the respect she so clearly lacked. That, and far more.
But he was struck with his earlier assessment, and he whirled to face her again. “Do not plot against me with Harvey,” he warned.
She cried out, appearing frightened. “I…I’m not!”
“Liar,” he whispered, bending so close that their faces almost touched. “I know a conspiracy when it forms beneath my nose. Do you know what the fate of a mutineer is, Miss Hughes?”
“There is no mutiny,” she began.
He smiled at her coldly. “Should you entice Harvey to your schemes, that is mutiny, my dear. We hang mutineers,” he added with relish, and it was not entirely a lie. He wouldn’t hang Harvey, but he’d lose a damned fine ship’s surgeon, and they were as hard to come by as an Indian ruby, if not even more so.
She shrank away from him, against the wall. “I have something to say to you,” she said fiercely.
He had been about to go. He didn’t like her tone and he turned, awaiting her blow.
“I despise you,” she said thickly.
Oddly, he flinched, not outwardly, but somewhere deep inside his body. Outwardly, he felt his lips twist into a mirthless smile. “That is the best that you can do?”
She looked as if she might strike him.
“Do not,” he warned softly.
She clenched her fists. “I am sorry I missed,” she said suddenly. “I’m a fine shot, and if only I had waited, you would now be dead.”
“But I’m not dead, alas,” he mocked. Her words had an edge he refused to feel, cutting deep. “Patience, Miss Hughes, is a virtue. And you, my harridan, lack it entirely.” He strode away.
“Why are you doing this? O’Neill!” she cried after him. “Harvey says you are rich!”
He pretended not to hear.
“Bastard,” she said.
