“You’ve nothing to thank me for.”
“Indeed I do. You’ve chosen to help me at great risk of peril to yourself. My country owes you a great debt.”
“Leaudor owes me nothing,” he said firmly. “It is in England’s best interest to have you installed on the throne.”
A peculiar expression lit her eyes. “And is that why you are helping me? Because England demands it?”
He looked at her in puzzlement. “My first loyalty is to the crown. Surely you understand that as ruler of your own country. My obligation is to see you safely back to Leaudor and find out precisely how this affects England’s future.”
Her eyes became shuttered. “Leaudor has no need of England’s help. I am sure your assistance would be better put to use here on your own soil. Once I am on the ship, there is no need for you to accompany me further.”
“If you think I will leave you to return to certain death in Leaudor, you underestimate me. I will not leave you until I am certain you are completely safe.”
“Ahh yes, your duty demands it,” she said mockingly.
He frowned, wondering why sharpness edged her words. He stood and laid aside the rag he had cleaned her wound with. “You need to rest. We’ve a long, arduous trip ahead, and you’ve been through a hellish night. I’ll stand guard while you sleep.”
She stood stiffly and followed him over to the couch. He wanted to reach out to her, ask her why the change in demeanor, but he said nothing. She was likely exhausted.
When she settled onto the couch, he pulled a blanket over her. “I’ll wake you if the captain returns.”
She nodded and closed her eyes. He took up position by the window so he could survey the outside perimeter.
A few minutes barely passed before she was soundly asleep. He watched from across the room, clenching his fists as his gaze roved over the marks on her face.
Turning his attention back to the window, he continued his close perusal, searching for any disturbance. He desperately needed to get a message to Kirk.
In the meantime, his most important task was making sure Isabella returned to Leaudor. Alive.
* * *
When Isabella awoke, the interior of the room was dark. A lone candle flickered in the corner, casting very little light. Her eyes adjusted as she sat up, and she could see Merrick’s large frame standing by the window.
She studied him for a long moment as he stared intently out the window. As much as he irritated her with his annoying sense of perception and his overprotective tendencies, she felt keen disappointment that he saw her as nothing more than a duty to perform.
At some point the intimacy they shared had come to mean something to her. Obviously more than it meant to him. And perhaps she should follow his suit. After all, she was in even less a position to get sidelined from herduty.
Duty. Such a nasty word. Would that neither of them had such differing obligations. But it did her little good to dream the impossible. For no matter how much she may wish the past away, it had irrevocably changed the future. A future she was powerless to change.
She had no doubt that Merrick truly felt protective of her and was wholeheartedly devoted to returning her safely to Leaudor and seeing her ascend the throne. His sense ofdutywould countenance no other possibility.
But she wanted to be more than his latest assignment. More than a name on a report to his superiors.
“Has the captain returned?” she asked, her soft voice drifting across the distance.
He turned around and walked over to the couch. He settled down beside her and cupped her cheek in his hand. “How do you feel?”
“Much better,” she admitted. “I was far more tired than I thought.” She shrugged out of his hand and looked away, feeling discomfited by his piercing eyes. As proficient as he was in reading her thoughts, she had no desire for him to be privy to all she had been mulling over.
“To answer your question, no, the captain hasn’t returned. I’m growing concerned. I thought he would be back by now.”
“I am sure he will return soon,” she said, forcing lightness into her voice. Anything to get over the awful discomfort she felt in his presence now. “What time is it anyway?”
“It’s nearly midnight.”
She gasped in surprise. “I had no idea I had slept that long.”
“You needed it,” he reminded her.
