Rebel Dreams (32 page)

Cautiously approaching the cabin the captain had sacrificed
for the ladies, Alex knocked. The rustle of skirts told him Evelyn had had time
to change out of her breeches. When the door opened, he could scarcely keep his
gaze from the beauty revealed. Knowing that he was to be trapped in this
dangerous company for nearly two months, he attempted to inoculate himself
against temptation by searching for flaws.

She had donned a warm gown of rust-colored wool. The ruffles
of her chemise emerged from the elbow-length sleeves to spill over her wrists,
and a white linen fichu at her throat modestly covered her from all eyes but
his. He knew the creamy satin skin concealed beneath that flimsy cloth. He
could almost feel the weight and warmth of her curves as he traced their shape
beneath the bodice. Her breasts were flawless.

Dragging his gaze upward, Alex suffered the full effect of her
devastatingly long-lashed eyes. Flinching beneath that direct gaze, he longed
to catch his fingers in her braids and loose the lovely silken waterfall of her
hair. He clenched his fingers into his palms.

“It seems we have a small problem, my love. May I come in?”

Evelyn stepped back so he might enter. Alex carried with him
a brisk, fresh sea scent, and his hair was still tousled from the wind. He
discarded his cloak and gazed around the cabin as if judging its suitability.
His head nearly brushed the timbers overhead, and the breadth of his chest blocked
any possible retreat. Evelyn gulped at the pain of desire rippling through her.
She felt as if his dark eyes could see right through her, and at this moment
she prayed they would.

“Problem?” she prompted him when he seemed in no hurry to
speak.

“Your mother objects to sharing a room with you. Do you have
some unspeakable habits that I should know about?”

The color surely fled her cheeks as she tried not to
stutter. “I thought you would talk her out of it. Surely there cannot be too
many other places she can sleep. We brought no maids with us. She would be
quite alone.”

“That does not seem to bother your mother overmuch. She has
already coerced Cranville into helping her move her trunks. They will be back
here shortly to begin the transfer.”

“You call this a small problem?” Evelyn glanced frantically
at the wide bed bolted to the floor. Evidently Cranville Enterprises provided
the comforts of home for their trusted captains. There was easily room enough
for two, even if one were as large as Alex. “What are we going to do?”

“We can tell her we have agreed on an annulment,” he
suggested with a trace of distaste. “Or we can make do as best we can. I leave
the decision up to you.”

She could not tell her mother that Alex wanted this marriage
annulled. She could scarcely bring herself to consider the concept. The whole
idea seemed dreadfully sordid. But then, there was the small matter of the bed.
Fighting back a blush, Evelyn wound her fingers together. He seemed as
uncomfortable as she. Recalling all the angry words she had flung at him this
morning, she realized he must be dreading proximity too.

“I don’t think I can tell her, Alex. I haven’t seen her this
happy since before my father died. Is there no other solution?”

Alex drew a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. When
he opened them again, he kept his voice neutral. “We’ve muddled along this far,
my love. We’ll manage somehow. I hear them coming. Shall we give them a picture
of marital bliss?”

Before Evelyn could protest, Alex wrapped her in his arms
and silenced her complaint with his kiss. The sudden shock of his heat and
strength after all these days of emptiness drove out any thought at all. Evelyn
closed her eyes and drank in the heady liquor of his mobile mouth. Her knees
weakened, and she knew only his arms kept her from falling.

The partially open door opened under a well-placed kick. A
sailor hauled in Alex’s trunk under the earl’s direction. Cranville’s cough ended
their embrace, and Alex glared at the sailor’s grin.

“I can see privacy will be a rare commodity.” Alex kept a
possessive hand on Evelyn’s arm and set her aside so the others could enter. “Mrs.
Wellington, if you would tell this scoundrel what to take, he can begin moving
your trunks.”

“Why don’t you call me Mother, Alex? Or Amanda, if you
prefer. I don’t think the formalities are necessary any longer.” She swept in
and pointed out her unpacked trunk for removal, then turned approvingly to the
young couple. “I’m so happy for the two of you. Every time I look at you I
think of John and myself when we were young, and it gives me a warm feeling
inside. Do you mind terribly if I kiss you?”

She gave Alex no time to object, but stood on her toes and
planted a solid buss to his cheek when he leaned over to embrace her. Righting
herself and gazing at them proudly, she nodded. “I think this shall be a most
pleasant journey, if only I can keep Jacob out of the rigging. I’ll leave you
two alone now.”

Cranville leaned his slender frame against the door to
watch. At Amanda’s departure, he straightened and winked. “I guess that means I
must go amuse myself also. You wouldn’t happen to know who our other passenger
is, would you? Perhaps I can strike up a game of cards.”

Alex frowned. “Other passenger? Didn’t know we had one. Ask
Oliver. It could be one of his old cronies.”

The earl nodded and backed out, closing the door behind him.
Alex glanced down at his nervous wife and wondered what she would do if he
carried her to the bed and threw up her skirts. The rush of boiling blood to
his loins warned that was not the proper direction for his thoughts. With
regret, he dropped Evelyn’s arm.

“We might as well unpack and make ourselves at home. It’s
going to be a long trip. Do you by any chance play cards?”

Evelyn stepped away. “I am willing to learn. Will you teach
me?”

Thinking of the hours they would have to while away in each
other’s company, Alex nodded. He would make one lousy teacher when all he could
think of was getting his student into bed, but cards would keep his hands
occupied. Sighing, he turned to unpacking his trunks.

Their mysterious passenger did not appear that night at the
dinner table.

The earl complained of a chill and retired early without
seeking a card-playing partner. Learning that Jacob had found a hammock and
planned on sleeping in the crew’s quarters, Amanda Wellington remanded the care
of the boy to Captain Oliver and his officers. Satisfied with this arrangement,
she, too, retired early.

Unable to leave Evelyn in the rough company of the ship’s
officers, Alex escorted her back to their cabin. Leaving her to prepare for
bed, he donned his cloak and went out on deck, hoping the cutting cold would
chill his overheated blood.

Oliver wasn’t a conversationalist, but Alex sought him out for
the sheer sake of distraction. A few minutes of the captain’s obsequiousness
was sufficient to send him pacing the deck.

At the railing, he stared up at the cloud-covered sky. He
had been brought up to the life of an idle gentleman, but he had learned to
enjoy earning his own way these past few years. There were those who would
scorn him for dabbling in trade, but he had learned to live with scorn long
ago.

It was his own scorn that he feared most. The more disgusted
he became with himself, the worse he behaved. Cranville had given him an
opportunity to reform, and Alex had accepted it with little enough gratitude at
the time. Feeling the ship rolling beneath his feet now, knowing he was the one
responsible for seeing that it made a profit, that lives other than his own
relied on his decisions, he acknowledged his enjoyment of his change in
circumstances.

Still, there were the personal parts left unmended.
Alienated from his only parent, uncertain how to develop a relationship with a
younger cousin he had nearly ruined, and with only the older earl to call
friend, he was returning to the boredom that had driven him to recklessness.
London wasn’t Boston. His reputation as rake and bankrupt preceded him. He was
shunned by genteel society and feared by the lesser sorts. He didn’t know how
to fit in and had never really tried.

Boston had been a revelation to him, a society where he
could move about and be heard with respect. They were a tough people to know,
but he thought he had done a creditable job. Was there any possibility that he
could do the same in London if he tried?

Thinking of the woman waiting below, Alex was willing to try
anything. He couldn’t induce her to stay with a man who spent his nights in
brothels and gaming hells and whose closest friend was a brandy bottle. She was
accustomed to a close-knit circle of friends and relatives who respected and
admired her intelligence and independence. Somehow, he would have to find a
replacement for that circle if he were to make her happy.

Acknowledging that what had brought on this train of thought
was a desire to keep Evelyn with him, Alex shoved his hands in his coat pockets
and lifted his head to scan the sky for some trace of the moon. His foolish
cousin’s moon dreams, be damned. They were deuced rebellious, traitorous
dreams, for all he could see.

He didn’t know his own heart anymore, and he assuredly didn’t
know his wife’s.

Evelyn had fallen into an exhausted sleep by the time Alex
returned to the cabin. Moving quietly so as not to disturb her, he stripped to
breeches and shirt, found a spare blanket, and rolled up beside her. It was a
hell of a way to spend a wedding journey, but he had come to a few conclusions
this night. One of them was that he wanted this woman free and clear of all
guilt and encumbrances.

He knew he could seduce her and cancel all chance of any
annulment. He knew he could make her pregnant and bind her to him for the rest
of their lives. But Evelyn was worth changing his usual pattern to behave
honorably.

***

When Evelyn woke the next morning, Alex was already up and
gone. Growing used to the mixed emotions that he engendered, she rose and
dressed. Her husband had apparently decided to play the part of gentleman. The
best she could do was pretend to be a lady.

She found only Lord Cranville and her mother at the table.
The earl looked pale and coughed intermittently while informing her that Alex
had taken Jacob to explore the ship. Evelyn and her mother persuaded the earl
to tend to his cough by returning to his bunk with warm blankets and hot rum.

They passed the time by bringing out their mending kits and
sorting through their less than fashionable clothes.

When Alex found them cozily ensconced in the main room, he turned
to leave, but Evelyn tossed him a skein of yarn to which she held one end.

“Make yourself useful, my husband. If I am to spend these
hours in ladylike knitting and sewing, you must needs attend me and keep us
amused.”

Propping his feet up on a nearby chair, Alex set about
making himself agreeable. Hiding a grin, Evelyn assumed he had never
intentionally attempted such a thing before. He gave her a wicked leer and
began a half-naughty tale to make her a blush.

***

Two days out, with the icy north wind freezing the
lanyards, their mysterious passenger finally presented himself at the dinner
table. Concerned about the earl’s health, Evelyn had neglected to ask Alex about
the occupant of the other cabin. She glanced up in surprise when Thomas
Henderson sauntered in. Alex swore vigorously under his breath.

The lawyer bowed over their hands. “I fear it takes some
time before I acquire a stomach for this kind of travel, but I was eager to
have your lovely companionship, ladies. Forgive my delay in presenting myself.
I trust everyone has fared better than I?”

Evelyn removed her hand from Henderson’s. Catching a glimpse
of Alex’s frown, she felt a moment’s joy at the possibility that her husband might
be jealous of the handsome lawyer. Pressing her advantage, she offered Thomas a
seat beside her.

“You never mentioned that you intended to journey to
England, Thomas. What brings you to join us?” Evelyn smiled up at him and was
rewarded by Alex angrily hauling out a chair on her other side.

“I have investments there that require tending, and I hoped
to persuade some old friends to hear your case and perhaps have the appeal
transferred to more neutral courts. I cannot bear to have your name sullied
wrongly.”

“My cousin and I are well able to look after my wife’s
concerns, Henderson. You would do well to take your reports to your Tory
friends and leave my wife out of them.” Alex casually rested his arm across the
back of her chair as he leaned over to speak with the intruder.

Evelyn diverted the subject. “How is Lord Cranville, Alex?
Will he be well enough to come to dinner?”

Alex frowned. “He said he felt a trifle feverish and thought
it would be wiser to stay abed. I fear he caught cold with those long, chilling
hours on the island. I forget that he is not accustomed to these climes.”

“Then we must do everything to keep him warm. Have they put
a brazier in his cabin?”

“They have, and he’s resting nicely. I’m sure it will pass
soon enough. Deirdre would quite literally have my head should I bring him home
in less than the best of health. It has been nearly five years since they were
married, but they still behave as newlyweds.”

Alex spoke with fondness of the countess, but Evelyn heard
the worry in his voice. He had so very little family that she understood his
concern, but the look he gave her held other fears also. He had said the earl
would live forever, and they need not worry over such things as titles and
estates. This first hint that his cousin might be as mortal as anyone else cast
doubt upon his assurances.

Alex’s fears were justified by the end of the first week
of their journey. The prevailing cold and damp worsened Everett’s cough and
fever until there was no longer any question of his rising from his bed. Alex
had a hammock hung in the earl’s cabin and slept there during the night. Amanda
and Evelyn took turns during the day waiting on him.