Chapter 11

G AbrIELLE WENT DOWNSTAIRS AT THE APPROPRIATE HOUR. Her powder-blue tulle dress, which nearly matched her eyes, was too thin for an English evening. Unfortunately, the only coat she had was her sturdy wool traveling one, which wasn't at all appropriate to wear to a party.

Her new clothes would start arriving tomorrow, though, the seamstress had assured her, and would continue to be delivered over the next week, so she wasn't going to worry about being a little chilly this one evening. And her hair was done up nicely. She was rather good at arranging artful coiffures for herself, which was fortunate, since Margery wasn't really a maid. She was merely acting in that capacity for the time being.

It appeared she was the first to arrive downstairs, so she moved into the parlor to wait for the Malorys to join her. She thought she was alone until she saw two small heads poke up over the back of the sofa. One was golden haired; the other was golden, too, but streaked with bright copper. She could say quite honestly that she'd never seen more beautiful children.

"I'm Jack," the golden-haired girl said to her. "This is my cousin Judy. You must be the pirate's daughter."

Gabrielle didn't know whether to be embarrassed or amused at the child's candor. Good grief, did everyone in the household know about her father's occupation?

"I suppose that would be me, yes," she said.

"Are you a pirate, too?" the other girl asked.

She managed not to laugh. "No, but I've dabbled in treasure hunting."

"Oh, that sounds like fun!" both girls said nearly at once.

Gabrielle grinned. "It is indeed."

"And I'm sure she'll tell you all about it, but not tonight," James Malory said from the doorway. "Run along, younguns, your dinner awaits."

The girls filed out of the room with only a few mumbles of protest. Gabrielle had been relaxed before Malory arrived, but now she tensed up, which made her wonder if she would ever be at ease in his presence.

"George will be down shortly," James informed her nonchalantly. "She's browbeating her brothers into joining you this evening."

"You" instead of "us" meant he wasn't going. Her relief was instant. "Then you aren't going?"

"Good God, no. I adore my niece and wouldn't miss one of her family dinners, but that's not what this party is. Doesn't bother me a bit to fess up that I abhor social gatherings of this sort, so I will be doing my utmost to avoid all the events my wife has on the agenda for you."

"Which means I'll get stuck as…your…" A deep, masculine voice trailed off. The man who lost his tongue stood next to Malory, staring at her incredulously. Her own expression probably mirrored his. Good grief, him? The blond giant from the wharf whom she'd been so rude to? Recalling her behavior that day brought a rush of color to her cheeks. Blast it, she'd known she would be mortified if she ever ran into him again, and here he was, in the house she was going to be living in for the next several weeks. She was most definitely mortified.

"I take it you two have met?" James said dryly, glancing from one to the other. "Or dare I guess I'm witnessing love at first sight?"

Drew recalled himself first and snorted. "Love? Not a chance. I merely rescued her from a nasty fall on the docks yesterday when she was clumsy enough to nearly tumble at my feet."

Fortunately, he managed to remove all signs of embarrassment from Gabrielle's cheeks with that remark. Or perhaps her swiftly rising ire did that.

"Clumsy?" she shot back. "It wasn't my fault that a cart nearly bowled me over. But you were a brute about your so-called rescue."

"Brute?" James said with interest. "Now that doesn't surprise me. He is an American, after all."

"Don't start in on me, Malory," Drew almost growled. "Now isn't a good time."

"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 he really object 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 to chat. 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?"

Even before he frowned at her in such a way that warned she'd stepped out of bounds, she regretted the question. It was natural enough for her to be curious about the people she was staying with, but since those people happened to include him, she'd just as soon he not be made aware of it. And she really shouldn't be making disparaging remarks about his brother-in-law, the very man she'd foisted herself upon. That had been rude of her.

Before she could apologize, he surprised her by asking, "Do you really think he's a brute? My brothers and I have always thought so, but personally, I've wondered how a woman perceives James Malory."

"A definite brute. But I suppose your sister doesn't think so."

"No, she adores him," he replied. "Hard to imagine, isn't it?"

She detected the humor in his tone and wondered briefly if it was at her expense, or because they were sharing the same opinion. She decided not to find out and kept her eyes off him. The man was far too attractive for her to be able to look at him indifferently.

"Actually," she said after a moment, "if you can get past the feeling that all he wants to do is clobber you, then I'd have to allow he's a handsome man."

"I wouldn't go so far as to say that. "

"To say what?" Georgina asked as she returned to them with her niece in tow.

Gabrielle's cheeks reddened. Considering how disagreeable the man had been to her, she didn't doubt that he was going to confess all. It was the perfect opportunity to embarrass her, and he seemed determined to do that. He might have let up enough to have a conversation with her, but she hadn't forgotten how it had started.

Again he surprised her, by making light of it and only mentioning, "She thinks that brute you married is a handsome fellow."

"Of course she does," Georgina replied. "I've never met a woman who didn't. But I wish you'd remove the word ‘brute' from your vocabulary."

"Not until he removes ‘barbarian' from his," Drew said with a smile.

The woman with Georgina chuckled. "I'm glad my Nick isn't present to hear this."

Regina Eden was quite stunning. She had black hair and the most amazing cobalt-blue eyes that were slanted just enough to appear exotic. And her chuckle left behind a smile that was warmly welcoming.

Georgina explained to Gabrielle, "You'll find that Reggie's husband doesn't like mine very much. They used to try to kill each other."

Georgina spoke in such a teasing tone that Gabrielle didn't take her comment seriously. But then Regina added, "And nearly succeeded a few times, but they get along famously now—at least in comparison."

"I wouldn't call it famously," Georgina grinned. "But I'll allow it's probably just old habits dying hard. They still go toe-to-toe verbally. My brothers are the same way," she added with a disapproving look at Drew.

He didn't appear at all abashed, even grinned cheekily. "I know when I'm outnumbered, which is a good time to go find some libation while you ladies get acquainted."

He sauntered off, but only one of them watched him go. Gabrielle caught herself staring after him and groaned inwardly. It was going to be a problem, keeping her eyes off that man when he was around. He'd insulted her enough that she should want to ignore him at all costs, but she simply couldn't. She was so powerfully attracted to him that even when he raised her ire, he affected her in other ways she couldn't control.

But she was going to have to figure out how to deal with his proximity. The man wasn't just a sailor who might, with enough incentive, be convinced to give up the sea. He was captain of his own vessel and his family even owned their own shipping company! He couldn't be a more inappropriate man for her to get better acquainted with.