Keeper of My Dreams (St. John Series Book 4) (3 page)

Chapter Four

Eli took a frustrated breath as he looked around his home. Of all the places for his father to want to meet with the family, why here? Why not at his parent’s home? It was quite a bit larger than his home. It had to be since there were nine St. John children.

Not that a family gathering was a bad thing. Especially now, since all the brothers were in port, which was a rarity. The corner of Eli’s mouth twisted upward as he watched his younger brothers. They were all doting over their niece, Alexandra. She’d turned two several months earlier and she was already a heartbreaker. She had her mother’s looks with auburn hair and emerald green eyes. Eli looked at his sister, Madison. She was an excellent mother even after the tragedies in her life. Not many women can say they survived being kidnapped by pirates twice, have their husband murdered by the same pirate, and then find love with your rescuer.

Eli looked at Madison’s husband, Nicholas Sinclair. His father, Jonathan, was the governor of Eleuthera, as well as Robert’s business partner in Emerald Shipping. Nicholas was a handsome fellow. He was tall and quite muscular. He kept his blond hair unfashionably long and flowing free about his shoulders. He constantly sported a short, neatly trimmed beard. His blue eyes took in all things surrounding him, as if watching for enemies—reminding Eli of a bird of prey searching for its next kill. Funny thing, even though the governor and his father were partners and worked closely together, Eli and his brothers never socialized with Nicholas. But then again, Nicholas was an odd character. He was always getting into trouble and running with Maxwell Hart. Max’s mother was a prostitute at Red’s tavern. What a scandal Nicholas’s association with Max caused. And the damnedest thing is that when Nicholas decided to stop running Emerald Shipping’s affairs at Nassau and do so here, he somehow managed to arrange for Max to run the business there as well as to oversee security issues. Max had managed to acquire a former pirate ship with a fully functioning crew just shortly after Nicholas’s announcement.

Eli looked around the sitting room. Jacob, his twin, was in a heated discussion with the other set of twins, Oliver and Owen. No doubt they were arguing over the quality of the younger twin’s craftsmanship on the vessels. Jacob always critiqued their work like he was a master craftsman, when in truth Jacob couldn’t hit a nail on the head if it was the size of a carriage wheel. However, he was a first-rate captain and sailed on
The
Emerald Jewell
, the pride of Emerald Shipping. He traveled the globe with Michael, the salesman, and fourth child of the St. John brood.

Eli heard Matthew intervene in the argument. Eli shook his head. Matthew oversaw the London affairs of Emerald Shipping and was known for his fisticuffs. One thing all the brothers did not want to do was get into the ring with Matthew for they knew they would come out with broken bones. Matt was a skilled pugilist. His left was painful, but his right would kill a man. Eli had lost count of the number of times he was left lying on his arse after getting into the ring with his younger brother.

Nathan and Noah were passing Alexandra between them. Her laughter filled the room. Nathan and Noah had taken after their older brother, Jacob, and became captains—Nathan of
The Moonstone
and Noah of
The Diamond Runner
. These two did not mind the long voyages to the Orient and were rarely home.

Eli gave a half smile. One thing about it, all the St. John brothers resembled their father in height. Not one of them stood less than six feet tall. All were broad in shoulder and muscular. They were all an intimidating crew. Most had either dark brown or black hair except for Owen, Oliver and Madison. They took after their mother with red hair. But all had the same deep dimple to their left cheeks when they smiled, even Madison.

“Mother!” Madison exclaimed as she raced over to the doorway and embraced the matriarch.

“Madison, my dear,” Elizabeth stated as she returned her daughter’s affection. “Where is my granddaughter?”

Her answer came as Alexandra gave a squeal of delight as Noah tossed her into the air and caught her.

“Noah! Don’t you dare drop my grandchild!”

“Hello to you, too, Mother,” Noah replied as he placed the redheaded toddler on the ground.

“Gammy!” Alexandra yelled as she ran over to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth knelt down and gave the child a hug. “Have your uncles been teaching you bad habits?”

“Now, Elizabeth, you know our boys would never do such a thing,” Robert defended as he entered.

“Pappy!” the child exclaimed as she raced over to him and wrapped her tiny arms around his legs.

Robert bent down and picked up his only admitted grandchild—the meeting tonight would change this family. A strangled noise escaped him as the exuberant toddler wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. He returned her embrace—more gently. She smiled at him and placed a wet sloppy kiss on his face.

Michael looked around the room. “Well, now that the entire family is present, mind telling us what the urgent meeting was all about?”

Robert looked around the room and gave a weak smile. “Not yet. I have a couple of more guests to arrive and then we will begin.”

Jacob looked around and then noticed Eli’s disgruntled look. “Egad, are you dying? If so, that means Eli is about to become Earl.”

“Shut up, Jake,” Eli answered as he took a drink of his brandy. He looked at his father. “Why did you call us all here? And why not to your home?”

“No, I am not dying, Jacob,” Robert replied with exasperation, knowing Jacob only said that because it would infuriate Eli. “My home is still under repair from the fire. The carpenters are working as fast as money will talk, but the family room is not repaired.”

Eli nodded his head. There had been a squall several weeks ago. The winds and rain were torrential, but the lightning was worse. A bolt had struck his parents’ home and caught it ablaze. The only good thing about the storm was that the rain had quenched the flames before the entire home was destroyed. The family room and study were destroyed and the rest of the home had smoke damage, but the other rooms were livable.

“Who else are you waiting for, Father?” Matthew asked as he walked to the tall liquor cabinet.

Before Robert could answer, Michael intervened. “Whomever it is better hurry.” He pulled out his timepiece and tapped the front. “They are keeping us from schedule.”

Oliver walked over and swatted Michael on the back. “Take it easy, Runt. Not everything can be scheduled.”

“Nor needs to be,” Owen replied.

“Precisely,” Oliver said. “Like women.” His eyes brightened with mischief. “That is exactly what you need. You need a feisty woman to toss your schedules to the wind and thumb her nose at your obstinacies on keeping every issue organized and on track. Life is full of adventure! Enjoy spontaneity!”

“I would enjoy punching you in the mouth,” Michael replied with annoyance.

Oliver laughed. “You are a bigger killjoy than Eli. You both need to lighten up and enjoy life.”

“I enjoy life,” Michael said. “But you two need to take life more seriously. It is not all fun and games.”

“Yes, it is,” Oliver replied with galling optimism. Nothing made the two younger sets of twins happier than annoying their older brothers.

“Exactly. You enjoy work, Michael,” Owen replied. He leaned over and whispered in Michael’s ear. “And whores.”

“They do serve a grand purpose,” Michael replied, causing Owen to laugh.

“So who is keeping Michael from his beloved schedule?” Oliver asked with a teasing grin. “Would hate to keep the Runt from being delayed and all. It would cause his precious world to crumble.”

Michael shot Oliver a frustrated glance. Oliver’s smile widened.

“They should be here shortly,” Robert answered. He carried Alexandra over to her mother and sat her down. He then walked over to join Matthew at the cabinet, as a feeling of excitement and dread entered him. His eyes took in his family. All was about to change.

* * * *

Kristina looked nervously from the doorway at the room filled with the St. Johns. “Are you sure we were invited?” she asked her husband, Max.

“Yes,” Max replied. He readjusted the position of his sleeping daughter in his arms. Sophia made a small moan as she snuggled her head back into her father’s neck.

“Kris!” Madison yelled as she spotted her best friend and wrapped her arms around her. “What are you doing here?” She then drew her brows together. “Max let you sail when you are this far along?” she questioned, pulling back and looking down at Kristina’s swollen abdomen.

“I didn’t want to, but I had no choice. If I didn’t allow her to come, she would have slipped aboard
The Abyss
,” Max replied.

Madison turned towards the tall, black-haired man beside Kris. She gave him a warm smile. “I’m so glad you did! We have much to discuss. But I ask again, why are you here?”

“I don’t know,” Kris replied as she waddled over to the sofa.

Madison looked at Max. “I don’t know either,” he said. “I just received a summons from your father stating he had a business issue to discuss.”

“If it involves business, then where is Jonathan?” Madison asked.

“Hand Sophia to me, Max,” Kristina said as she held her arms out.

“I’ll be damned, Max, your daughter is still a Venus,” Nicholas replied as he patted his lifelong friend on the back. He gave a small smile as he noticed the wet mark on Max’s shirt. “And a drooler, too.”

“Do you want your mouth socked?” Max asked as he looked at Nicholas.

Nicholas laughed. “You know you can’t beat me. Besides,” Nicholas replied as he picked up Alexandra, “you wouldn’t hurt me in front of Alex, now would you?”

“Alex, is it?” Max asked as he raised one of his black brows.

“Has a nice ring to it, don’t cha think?” Nicholas answered with a sparkle to his blue eyes.

Max laughed. “A hell of a ring.” He looked around the room wondering how this family would react if they knew the real meaning behind the name. Years ago, Max and Nicholas were pirates and Nicholas went by the name of Alexander Xavier. They even plundered Emerald Shipping vessels to throw the scent off their trail. There would be hell to pay if it was found out that the governor’s son was a pirate—and not just any pirate, but the one who had kidnapped Madison.

Robert looked at Max and then at Kris. “Good. All are here, and no, this does not involve Jonathan.”

“So what is so important, Daddy?” Madison asked as she sat down beside Kristina.

Robert motioned for all to have a seat. Once all were seated, he looked around the room. A somber expression crossed his face.

Elizabeth drew her brows together. “Robert, what is wrong?”

He looked at his wife and gave a pained smile. “Nothing. But I have an announcement to make.” He looked at Eli, “and it has nothing to do with you getting my title . . . not yet. I plan on living for many more years.”

At Eli’s nod, Robert looked back at his wife. “I hope you all will understand and forgive me.”

“Robert?” Elizabeth questioned with concern in her voice.

Robert looked around the group again. Madison was seated on the sofa with Kristina. Kristina was now holding Sophia. Nicholas was standing behind Madison holding Alexandra. Max was standing behind his wife. Elizabeth was sitting in a high back chair beside Madison. His other children formed a semi-circle around the others.

“As you know, I resided at Governor’s Harbour for about a year and a half before I met your mother. We were betrothed, but I had never met her—or so I thought, but that is a different story. Anyway, I left England in hopes that her parents would break the engagement. I was twenty-one at the time, young and stupid. I was afraid of marriage and the responsibilities that came with it. I was also out to seek my own fortune. I knew my father’s title would come to me, as well as his wealth, but I wanted to prove to all that I could make it on my own. The Caribbean seemed to be a perfect place to start. When I arrived, I was penniless and homeless. I took odd jobs to earn a few coins.”

“But what about Gramps?” Madison asked. “He didn’t disown you, so why were you lacking for funds?”

“I left without his knowledge. I had enough to pay for my passage and food on the voyage but no more. But even if he knew, I would not have asked for assistance. I needed to do this on my own.

“After a while, I started to save a few coins here and there. I bought a small schooner and began transporting goods from here to New Providence. The more I transported, the more I made. I met Jonathan then. He ran a small store and was in need of merchandise to sell and trade. He agreed to donate to help me acquire a larger vessel so I could transport more goods. And thus my shipping business began and money started flowing in.

“But I was lonely and a man with needs. I frequently visited the taverns and brothels at both ports—an action that haunts me to this day,” he said as he looked at his wife. Her green eyes sparked with anger as he spoke. He took a deep breath and continued. “Once I started making substantial funds, I began frequently visiting Eliza’s, a more elite brothel. I decided to keep a woman on retainer there. It was more expensive than a mistress or a tavern wench, but mistresses expect marriage and wenches have diseases.”