Library

Chapter 12

"D ID WE MISS HER?"

"Has she not come down yet?"

Drew put his fork aside and smiled at the two young girls who'd just run into the breakfast room. Their excitement was obvious. And he didn't need to ask whom they were talking about. He'd just been thinking about the same female and asking himself the same questions!

He told his niece, "If you mean the pirate, she's probably still abed. We returned rather late last night from your cousin Regina's party."

"Did she have fun there?" Judith asked.

"Probably," he replied, and managed to keep his tone neutral, though he found the thought irritating. "She was swarmed by every bachelor in attendance."

"She said she's not a pirate," Jacqueline corrected him as she came over and swiped a sausage from his plate.

"But she's a treasure hunter!" Judith volunteered.

"And Papa said she'd tell us all about it," Jacqueline added.

He stared pointedly at his niece, but she merely gave him a cheeky grin, then promptly finished off the sausage anyway. He shook his head with a chuckle. Jack was an adorable minx, graceful, not the least bit gangly, and too lovely by half for her age. She was going to be an incorrigible handful when she got older, he was sure.

"This late in the morning and you two haven't eaten yet?" he asked.

"Oh, we did, long ago," Jacqueline said.

"We've just been checking back," Judith explained. "Didn't want to miss the lady. And I go home today. I'll be ever so disappointed if I don't get to hear about the treasure hunting firsthand."

"If I see her, moppets, I'll send her straightaway to find you both."

They took him at his word and ran back out of the room as exuberantly as they'd entered it. But with the room quiet again, his thoughts went right back to where they'd been, centered on his sister's guest.

Her arrival had changed Georgina's plans, and thus his as well. Since his sister and her family wouldn't be accompanying him on the voyage back to Connecticut, he could revert to his original schedule, which allowed him to spend another week or two with his sister here, but he wasn't sure if he should stay now. He could visit Georgie at another time. He didn't feel comfortable staying at her house while she had a houseguest that he was attracted to, especially since his sister's unexpected guest was off-limits to him.

Pirates. He'd never run into any himself, but his brother Boyd had. Pirates had stolen his cargo at sea. The same thing had happened to his brother Thomas, who'd had to limp back to port, his ship had been so damaged in that fight. It hadn't upset Thomas, though, but then nothing ever did. He was the most patient of all six Andersons.

Ironically it had been James Malory who'd tangled with both his brothers at sea and won. They all laughed over it now, though not at the time. A gentleman pirate, he'd called himself back then.

For a decade James had amused himself on the high seas, indiscriminately bedeviling any ship that appeared to offer a challenge, even English ships. It had been a game to him, a test of his skills, and according to Georgina, for a man who'd gotten so jaded being one of London's most notorious rakes that even duels couldn't stir his emotions anymore, the life of a gentleman pirate had been his salvation.

Drew found it amazing that Gabrielle Brooks had actually guessed that James was the pirate that Georgina had consorted with in the past. Pirates recognizing pirates? He didn't think so.

When James and Georgie had explained their houseguest to him, James had admitted that the girl's father didn't know that he'd been a pirate as well, merely that he'd gone by the name Captain Hawke back then. It was his real identity he'd revealed in his delirium. So it was more likely that Gabrielle had merely been sarcastic when she'd made her guess and called James a brute.

Rude, ungrateful wench. The strikes against her were adding up, but the worst one was that she was here to find a husband. If not for that, he might have made an effort to patch things up with her. But he didn't want them patched. Hell no. He needed the buffer of her disagreeable disposition to remind him that she was off-limits.

Not that he needed much reminding when the mere sight of her yesterday had instantly recalled how annoyed he'd been with her on the dock. Which was odd. It just wasn't in his nature to let things affect him to such a degree that he couldn't shrug them off. He was too carefree. He could even withstand arguments and knockdown fights with his brother Warren, who used to be so glum he could annoy a saint, and not be bothered by them at all. But this wench bothered him too much.

Boyd appeared in the doorway and tried to lean on it, but nearly fell into the room instead. Drew had been so deep in thought that he hadn't heard the front door open, but it was obvious his brother was just getting in. He looked as if he hadn't slept all night.

Boyd had the same color hair as he did—light brown with golden highlights—but his brother hadn't cut his since he'd docked, probably hadn't combed it either by the shaggy look of it. While Boyd's brown eyes were lighter than his own, they were also quite bloodshot at the moment. Of the five brothers, only Boyd and Thomas hadn't inherited their father's extraordinary height.

"You haven't been to bed yet?" Drew guessed.

"I slept, just no idea where," Boyd replied.

"Is that what happened the other night? You deserted me for a soft bed?"

"Very soft, I vaguely recall, but I'm sure you found your way home without me."

Drew chuckled. "Yes, at a decent hour, too." But then he shook his head. "You really go overboard when you reach port. Was your last trip really that long?"

"No; I just had a passenger that drove me mad with lust for two damn weeks."

Drew raised a brow. "Couldn't do anything about it on board?"

"She was married, had two children with her, and was so damned pleased to be on her way to meet her husband that I wasn't going to let her know how I felt."

"Well, got it out of your system now?"

"Ask me that after I sober up," Boyd said, but then added with a snicker, "But how was your evening?"

"Why don't you ask me that after you meet the pirate," Drew shot back.

"No thanks. I've already got a long list of excuses lined up for our dear sister. She won't be dragging me to any of these virginal affairs. I've been taking notes from Malory on how to avoid them. Besides, you're much better than I am at being bored."

Drew burst out laughing. "You're all heart, brother. But what do you want to bet you'll change your mind—after you meet the pirate?"

Boyd just grinned at him. "I'm not falling for that. If she was such a great looker, you'd be making sure my ship sails tomorrow."

"Suit yourself," Drew said with a shrug.

Boyd narrowed his eyes on him. "Is she pretty?"

"What's it matter?" Drew countered offhandedly. "The wench is here to catch a husband, remember? Or are you ready to settle down?"

Boyd gave that a moment's thought. "Unlike you, I don't have a sweetheart in every port, so I wouldn't mind having a pretty wife to sail home to. Remember, I'm not the one who said he was never getting hitched, that was you. But when I do settle down, it sure as hell won't be with a wench whose father is a pirate."

"Good point," Drew agreed. "Considering we're in shipping of the legitimate sort, I'd say Clinton might object if you try to bring a pirate into the family. No reason to get permanently on his bad side, after all."

"Oh, so now you're making it a dare?" Boyd said in a belligerent tone.

Drew rolled his eyes. "Go on to bed. If you're looking for a fight to round off your overindulgences, at least wait until you're sober."

"Bad idea," Boyd grumbled. "Then I'll feel it too much. Maybe Malory will oblige me instead."

"Oh, well, why didn't you say you just want to die," Drew replied dryly.

Comments

0 Comments
Best Newest

Contents
Settings
  • T
  • T
  • T
  • T
Font

Welcome to FullEpub

Create or log into your account to access terrific novels and protect your data

Don’t Have an account?
Click above to create an account.

lf you continue, you are agreeing to the
Terms Of Use and Privacy Policy.