He glanced around, brows drawn together. “Are you… alone?” She nodded and he frowned. “You should not be out unchaperoned.”
So many rules.
She sighed. “Seems everything I’ve done since getting here has been all wrong.”
The hard lines in his face softened. “No harm done. The market’s fairly safe. Still, I’d feel better escorting you through it.” He nodded to one of the men holding a crate. “Bring those all to the ship. I’ll be along shortly.”
He offered his elbow, and with a swallow, she set her hand upon it.
They made their way down the narrow lane, weaving between stalls. After she’d paused to examine yet another display of goods, he gave her a lopsided grin. “Do you have a market in Tortuga?”
“Yes.” She stepped around a basket of squawking chickens. “It’s only a few tables though, nothing like this.”
She slowed in front of a fruit stand, marveling at the wide variety of produce. Familiar bananas, pineapples, and papaya were stacked next to a multitude of items she’d never seen. The vendor caught her eye and pointed to a pile of round, blushing fruit. It must be fruit. No vegetable could possess such a lovely pink color.
“What’s this?” She ran her fingertips over the soft fuzz of the one closest to her.
Lieutenant Caldwell chuckled. “You’ve never seen a peach before?”
She shook her head as he plucked one from the pile and held it to her nose with a knowing smile. The velvety skin brushed against her upper lip, and she inhaled tentatively. A scent unlike anything she’d known—soft and sweet, with a delicate floral undertone, almost honeyed. She drew in another breath, the fragrance lingering on the edge of her senses, warm and inviting.
“Go on, take it,” he urged, his voice low and coaxing, as though sharing a deep secret. “It’s just ripe.”
Josephine’s fingers hovered before gently cupping around the fruit. She lifted it from his weathered palm, the slight give beneath her touch hinting at the truth of his claim. “How much for one?”
The vendor flashed a grin. “For a lovely lady like you? Three cents. Finest peaches you’ll find in the entire market.”
She pulled out her reticule, but the lieutenant stilled her hand with his. “My treat.”
A burst of heat traveled up her arm. “Thank you.”
Lifting the peach to her mouth, she took a small bite. The soft skin split between her teeth and a rush of sweet nectar flooded across her tongue. Her eyes widened at the rush of flavor and she took a bigger bite. This time, juice dribbled down her chin and she laughed, leaning forward so it dripped to the ground.
“This is incredible.”
Lieutenant Caldwell stared at her, jaw slack, eyes fixed on her mouth as if the world had narrowed to that single, perfect bite.
He let out a strangled cough and pulled a handkerchief free. “Here, I think you’ll need this.” His voice came out rough and uneven.
She took it, fumbling as the soft fabric brushed her fingers. What a picture she must have made, taking that bite. A new rush of heat blazed across her skin, hot as the sun. Dabbing her lips, she pressed the cloth a little harder than necessary, hands trembling as she tried to steady herself.
He tugged at his cravat and cleared his throat. “Well… Shall we go to the waterfront?”
They crossed the street and came to a stop at a railing near the embankment, trading the hum of the market for the gentle lap of waves against the docks. The sun cast a bright shimmer over the surface of the river, where barges laden with cargo bobbed low in the current.
“It’s unlike anything I ever imagined. My father used to talk about Paris and how far its streets and shopping districts stretched, but I never believed him. Seeing Savannah now, I hardly think I could handle a city like that.”
One side of his mouth twisted up. “I dare say you, of all people, would find a way to manage it.”
“You overestimate my abilities, Lieutenant.” A faint smile tugged her lips. “But tell me, how are your preparations coming along?”
“My men have all received their orders, and cargo should be secured by nightfall. I am anxious to set out and see this Thorne matterconcluded.”
He nodded down the river, where the now familiar masts of theTempesttucked between two merchant ships. A warm breeze stirred off the water, tinged with the musty tang of silt and wet timber. Her eyes drifted closed as the wind tugged at her hair, loosening tendrils from their pins. The distant calls of gulls mingled with the occasional clatter of oars and shouted directions from dockhands. Here, by the water, she could breathe freely. No pretense. No judgment. Just the river, the sun, and the last whispers of the peach’s honeyed sweetness lingering on her tongue.
And a handsome man at her side.She opened her eyes to find his blue eyes locked on her, shadowed with something she could not name, intense and unreadable. He jerked his gaze away. His profile, sharpened in the golden light, commanded her attention.
“So—”
