“I am going to kill Sean,” he said.
She grabbed his arm, but he was too close, too male, and it was not a good idea, so she dropped her hand quickly. “It was not Sean’s fault! They came calling as they had heard of our engagement.”
“Our engagement?” he gasped.
Virginia stared and then she had to try very hard not to smile. She had thrown him off balance, and God, it felt so damn good. So she did not reply; far more slyly, she waited.
“We are not engaged,” he choked out.
She was enjoying this moment. She wished to engrave it in stone. She smiled and shrugged, refusing to clear up the misunderstanding.
“Jesus, the people,” he said. “It must be all over the village, the town, that you are my fiancée.”
“I suppose,” she murmured.
“Why are you grinning like the Cheshire cat?” he snapped. “We both know I fabricated that story to save your pretty little neck.”
He liked her neck?“You find my neck pretty?”
“Is that what they still think? My mother and Adare?”
She sighed. “No, Devlin, that is not what they think.”
The coach became very silent, very tense. She looked at him. His silver eyes were hard and unwavering. She shivered. “Sean chose his words with care.” Then she gave up. “Well, what do you expect! To take your blood enemy’s niece hostage and fool your family, who live but a dozen miles away?”
He cursed.
“This is all of your own making,” she reminded him sweetly.
He gave her a dark glance. “The sooner I break Eastleigh, the better. The sooner you are gone, the better,” he added as darkly.
His words did hurt, when she knew better, and they also somehow dismayed her. Carefully, she said, “You are right. And when I am ransomed, I am going home to Sweet Briar—I can hardly wait.” But the odd truth was that she hadn’t thought very much about her home in these past few months. Memories that had once been a lifeline had become vague and distant, replaced by the day-to-day existence she had shared at Askeaton with Devlin and then Sean. “If it still exists,” she added grimly.
ONCE AT SEA, ITS MAIN SAILSunfurled, theDefiancetook off, fighting the rain and the sea, tacking across the wind to the south. Virginia did not like being back in his cabin. His presence was everywhere, powerful, heavy and overwhelming. She sat down at the dining table, finally overcome with confusion and the gravest of doubt. A part of her so wished to tame the beast and eventually heal it, but she had no confidence, and Devlin’s continued insistence that she should marry his brother did not help. She suspected he felt guilty, but he was so arrogant, so impossible to read, that he left her feeling terribly uncertain and terribly naive. She wished the conversation with Sean had never taken place.
By dusk, the rain had ceased and the skies had cleared, the seas growing calm and sweet. Virginia dined alone, not surprised that her captor was avoiding her—she knew that much, at least—and then, donning a pelisse, she slipped from the cabin.
Devlin was at the helm, although he did not steer the ship. He stood beside a sailor she recognized, his strong legs braced, facing the prow and the stars shining ahead. Virginia hesitated, her heart quickening, and then she walked over to the quarterdeck. As she climbed up, he turned.
She took the last step, expecting him to order her away, but he met her gaze, his eyes a flash of silver in the twilight, with a mere inclination of his head. Virginia walked over to him. “It’s a fine night for sailing,” she breathed, meaning it. Behind them, the moon was rising in the east, a spectacular sight.
Devlin seemed to flinch, though she could not be sure. But he glanced at the rising moon and nodded. “Yes, it is. We’ll have a moderate breeze for an hour or two and we must make use of it. It’s a good fourteen knots.”
She studied him as he stared ahead. He had removed his naval uniform some time ago and wore only a loose shirt with his britches and boots.How she would love to be in his strong arms again.
Virginia started with guilt, dismayed by her wayward, uncalled-for thoughts. That was the last place she ever intended to be! She had learned her lesson and learned it well. “You didn’t come down to dine,” she said softly.
“I ate on deck.” He didn’t look at her as he spoke.
She decided to enjoy the night, the stars, the wind, the sea and even his impersonal company. It wasn’t a bad life, she thought, sailing the world by day and night. “It’s so free,” she whispered.
He didn’t respond, his arms now folded across his chest.
Suddenly she was struck by a comprehension and she faced him. “Do you think to outsail your childhood memories?” Was that what he was doing? Running away from his past under the guise of being a naval captain in a time of war? “How convenient,” she gasped.
He seemed to choke.
“I mean, this is a life without family, without responsibility. If you wanted, you could sail the world forever.”
