“Beg to differ, dear boy,” James replied. “Anytime is a good time to mention how barbaric you—”
“James Malory, don’t you dare.” His wife arrived to interrupt him as she pushed her way between the two men. “I swear, can’t I leave you two alone in the same room for five minutes?”
“’Course you can, m’dear,” James replied. “He’s still standing, isn’t he?”
The large blond man and Georgina both made a rude sound in reply. Gabrielle didn’t know what to make of their bickering and James Malory’s implied threat. It sounded serious, and yet none of them looked serious.
In fact, Georgina leaned up to kiss James and tell him, “We’ll probably be late, so don’t wait up.”
“I’ll wait.”
His expression turned sensual and his arm went around her waist, pulling her closer to him. The handsome giant rolled his eyes at them. Georgina just chuckled and pushed away from her husband.
“Come along, Gabby,” she said, taking her arm. “I can’t wait to introduce you to Regina. She’s an incorrigible matchmaker, you know. I don’t doubt she’ll find you a husband in no time.” But then she glanced back at her husband to warn him, “I almost forgot. Boyd begged off from joining us, so do try to avoid him. He said something about his voyage having been longer than expected and that he wouldn’t be fit for proper socializing without at least three nights of carousing.”
“What rubbish,” James and the giant said almost in the same breath.
“Yes, that’s what I said, but his head was still pounding from his first night of overindulgence, so I didn’t press the matter.”
“Only because you’d already roped me in for the chore,” the giant complained, though he kept his tone light.
Gabrielle realized he must be Georgina’s brother Drew, whom she had mentioned earlier. And from the sound of it, he wasn’t very pleased about being their escort tonight either. He just hadn’t been able to come up with an excuse to bow out as his brother Boyd had. She would have felt bad about that if she wasn’t still smarting over his remark about her being clumsy.
Georgina quickly got them under way. The ride to Park Lane was very short, which allowed for little conversation in the coach. That was fortunate. Gabrielle was having a hard enough time dealing with the knowledge that the man she’d been so attracted to on the docks who had made an utter fool of her was not only sitting next to her now, but was staying in the same house she was, and that she was probably going to see far too much of him in the coming weeks.
She wondered if she should adjust her attitude and try to make amends for her rudeness that day. But explaining her uncharacteristic behavior was out of the question, since it required revealing how attractive she found him. May be she could come up with a plausible excuse for it.
She recalled his charming smile and how it had affected her. He’d turned rude only after she did. Was that the only reason he was still surly? Or did hereallyobject to escorting her and his sister?
As soon as they entered the large townhouse that belonged to Nicholas and Regina Eden, Georgina moved off to find Regina, leaving her temporarily alone with the giant. He steered them into the parlor, which was quite crowded, and hailed someone he knew, but he didn’t leave her side.
He didn’t seem to be paying her the least bit of attention, though, so she almost managed to relax. Then out of nowhere he asked, “Are you really here to catch a husband, pirate lady?”
She drew in her breath. So he’d been told about her father, too? Was he simply insulting her by calling her a pirate—or did he really believe she was one?
Actually, as a seafaring man, he wouldn’t doubt that there were women pirates and had likely heard of such females during the heyday of piracy in the Caribbean. Pierre even had such a woman with him now. Red, they called her, and she could fight as well as any man, even more viciously, it was rumored. He probably liked that about her, as evil as he was himself.
Gabrielle shivered at the memory of that particular captain. And she never did lose her fear of him while she remained in the Caribbean, even when she’d heard that he’d taken up with Red. But having returned to England now, she was sure she never would see him again. England was a whole ocean away from his normal haunts, after all.
“Cold?” Drew speculated. “Or maybe you don’t want a husband after all?”
He’d noticed her shiver. Why would he relate it to his first question about her looking for a husband? And why did he sound a tad hopeful? His question was far too personal for her to answer, especially after he’d addressed her with the derogatory term “pirate lady.”
“Look, Captain—”
“It’s Drew,” he cut in. “Drew Anderson.”
“Yes, I know,” she said. “I had a long chat with your sister today.”
“Did you? I’m amazed she’s agreed to help you. In fact, I’m surprised she’d even deign to consort with a pirate long enough tochat.Then again, damn, I must take that back, she’s done it before.”
He’d started out by insulting her, which had got her hackles up, but he’d ended with an intriguing comment that piqued her curiosity. She doubted he would elaborate if she asked for further detail.
Her curiosity prompted her to try anyway. “What brought that about?”
“It was quite unintentional. She didn’t know she was dealing with a pirate. Actually, to be fair, I should say ex-pirate.”
“Her husband, I suppose? How did she come to marry such a brute?”
