Virginia Henley (44 page)

She found her voice. “No! That will be too late.” Panic flared up like a flash fire.

“Darling, I don’t relish the separation, either, but I must make this trip.”

Her green eyes narrowed. “Why?”

He offered her a half-truth. “I must inform your mother of my intention to marry you.”

Her eyes softened. “Oh, Adam, how delightfully old fashioned and formal but totally unnecessary.”

“You won’t be of age for another year. You need her permission.”

“My mother won’t care a fig. She’s never concerned herself with me in the past, so I’m sure she’s not going to start now.”

Guilt ate at his gut. “Your parents appointed me your guardian. That responsibility isn’t solely a financial one. Your moral welfare is in my hands. A fine bloody job I’ve done. I couldn’t keep my hands off you.” Adam desperately hoped she would swallow the “guardian” explanation. None of his guilt was for Eve. He had never told her he loved her. They’d both been brutally honest with each other. It wasn’t a real engagement, more a business agreement actually. He had wanted an ornament for Edenwood, she wanted his money. She’d made it plain she wouldn’t even consider marrying him unless he procured a title.

Antonia was torn. Adam had such a strong personal code of honor. She knew if she confessed her condition, the child would take priority. She decided she could wait a couple of months. They would go to Ceylon together, get formal permission from her mother, then marry immediately. She would not force him to compromise his integrity. “I’ve decided to come with you. I’ve always wanted to see Ceylon. You can do your noble duty, then we can have
an exotic tropical wedding and Anthony can give the bride away.”

Adam groaned.

Antonia’s confidence crumbled further. He obviously didn’t want her along. She felt trapped. She couldn’t wait until he returned from the Indies, it would take five or six months! Tony was on the verge of swallowing her pride and begging him. Then anger came to her rescue.

She flung off the covers, stepped regally from the bed, then swept aside the emerald panels that enclosed them. “If you can wait six months for me, you can wait forever. Bon bloody voyage!”

The filmy panels, the same brilliant color as her eyes, drifted about like jewel-colored smoke. Her hair was in magnificent disarray. Her breasts and her lips were love swollen from his savage mouth. He knew in that moment it would be impossible to wait six months for her.

He moved to the edge of the bed slowly, like a leopard stalking its prey. Then he pounced, dragging her on her knees until she was imprisoned between his thighs. His mouth came down to brand her as his. “I won’t wait six minutes for you.”

She clawed at him and bit him, but he subdued her in minutes, not by his strength, but by his animal magnetism.

When she yielded to him, he enfolded her possessively against his heart, his calloused hand stroking her wildly tangled hair. “Honey love, there is another reason I have to go to Ceylon.”

She raised questioning eyes to his. “I left you safely in Ireland so I could dispose of Bernard Lamb. I shanghaied him aboard the
Red Dragon
with orders to drop him off on the island of Madagascar. The ship sailed one day before I learned Anthony was alive or I would never have sent Bernard to within three thousand miles of him.”

She was aghast. “Surely you don’t think he will go to Ceylon?” But she knew how dangerous Bernard Lamb could be and what a formidable enemy he made. “It’s my
fault! If I hadn’t come sniveling to you, begging you to rescue me, Anthony wouldn’t be in jeopardy.”

“Stop it,” he ordered. “I should have gutted the bastard instead of sparing him. Good deeds as well as evil ones always come back to haunt you.”

“When do we sail? I’ll stow away if you refuse me!”

She was a stubborn little wench, ready to pick up the gauntlet of any challenge life tossed her way. He wouldn’t change one disheveled hair on her beautiful head.

“Absolutely not!” Roz said, outraged. “I’m old enough to make my own decisions. I’m sailing to Ceylon.”

“It’s the most scandalous thing I’ve ever heard. Bad enough you were seen kissing on the steps of Whitehall, now you want to go running halfway around the world with him!”

“Roz, Adam has asked me to marry him.”

Her grandmother’s gaze swept her from head to toe, taking in the crumpled gown, the wild tangle of hair, the beestung lips.

“God be praised, for it’s apparent you’ve just come from his bed.” Roz sighed. In spite of her years she did remember what it was like to be young and in love. “So, this trip is to be your honeymoon?” Roz said, regaining her composure.

“Well, no,” Tony answered with a blush. “We plan to marry in Ceylon. Adam insists on asking mother’s permission, since I won’t be eighteen for almost a year. Because
he’s my guardian he thinks my moral welfare is in his hands.”

Roz almost choked on Tony’s unfortunate choice of words and she watched the blush deepen on her granddaughter’s cheeks.

“What if you’re with child?”

Antonia flinched.

“Ah, that little complication never entered your head, did it? Well, that settles it. I shall have to sail with you as chaperone.”

“Chaperone?” Tony’s fantasies of a two-month shipboard romance dissolved like snow in summer. “Grandmother, I wouldn’t dream of putting you through such an ordeal.”

“Grandmother now, is it? Are you suggesting I’m too old for adventure?”

“Of course not,” Tony said weakly.

“A man like Savage won’t abstain voluntarily and apparently you can’t be trusted. With him in rut and you in heat, somebody has to play dragon.”

Roz rang the bell. “Ah, there you are, Mr. Burke. You’ve been looking a little peaked lately. How would you fancy a little trip?”

At Edenwood, Adam Savage discussed the voyage to Ceylon with his own servants. “I’m taking the clipper, it should take less sailing time than the
Red Dragon.
I shall leave the choice to you. Edenwood will benefit from your steady hand, but so would I, no doubt. If you wish to return home, speak up.”

John Bull was offended. “Home is where the heart beats. England is my home, Excellency.”

“Kirinda?” Adam Savage gave John Bull a warning glance that told him not to interfere. Lotus Blossom must speak for herself. Her lashes swept to her cheeks.

“If John Bull is staying, I am staying.”

“Then it’s settled,” Savage said with relief. Edenwood
was precious to him and he needed to leave it in hands he could trust.

Kirinda followed the Leopard on silent feet. He knew she was behind him, realized she wished to speak with him in private, so he stepped into the conservatory. The scent of jasmine brought memories of Leopard’s Leap.

“Sahib, I wish a question.”

“Ask me anything,” he said simply. There were no barriers of race or class between Savage and his native servants. They knew every detail of his unsavory past.

“Will you marry in Ceylon?”

“Yes. I shall marry Lady Lamb a few days after we arrive.”

Kirinda’s face fell and she made a sign to ward off evil. “Forgive me, sahib, but the widow will not bring you happiness.”

Adam’s brow cleared as he took her meaning. “I am not marrying Eve. I am returning to Ceylon to tell her so. I have chosen Antonia.”

Lotus Blossom’s face broke into a radiant smile. “John Bull told me she was the one he had chosen for you. Why is the wretched man never wrong?” Her dusky beauty was incomparable.

“He possesses the wisdom of generations of an ancient civilization. When are you going to put him out of his misery and marry him?”

Kirinda dimpled. Here was another wretched man who was never wrong. “Soon, sahib, very soon now.”

Adam Savage’s face broke into a rare smile. “Let’s fill Edenwood with babies.”

When the large black carriage halted on the driveway before Edenwood’s portico, Adam Savage came down to greet its three occupants. In the previous week two of them had paid discreet visits to Half-Moon Street; the other had paid a most indiscreet visit.

A mountain of baggage and steamer trunks were quickly unloaded from the carriage and taken directly
aboard the
Flying Dragon.
The clipper’s cabins had been fitted out luxuriously for its passengers. The dozen nautical craftsmen Adam had hired were still adding the finishing touches, but the long ship, looked a very fine lady indeed these days.

Tony and Adam soon learned to communicate with their eyes, for they were never alone no matter how they tried to slip away from the others. In the late afternoon Adam poured Roz a brandy. “I’m taking Antonia for a stroll around the lake.” He had a difficult time keeping his amusement hidden. “We will be visible the whole time through the French windows.”

They set off sedately, her long slim fingers resting lightly on his arm. When they were out of earshot she groaned loudly. “Adam, I’m so sorry about this.”

His other hand covered hers warmly. “My love, it rather pleases me that they are guarding you. This is the way it should be, you know.”

She looked at him in disbelief.

“Mr. Burke called and made me promise that I would not shock Lady Randolph’s sensibilities.”

“Roz doesn’t shock easily. She said with you in rut and me in heat, she was coming along to play dragon.”

“She was much more to the point with me, darling. She told me flatly she didn’t want you swollen with child before I got you to the altar.”

Tony’s wide green eyes scanned his face, looking for a hint of suspicion.

“She has a point, you know. Besides, abstinence is good for the soul,” he said lightly.

“Hah! Tell me that when we’ve been at sea a month and you’re stiff as a ramrod. You’ll think rigor mortis has set in.”

“What about you?” he teased. “McSwine will start looking good to you.”

She slapped him. “Wretch! I’ll keep my hands off him if you will.”

They both sobered. They stopped walking. Their hands clung to each other, their eyes glittered with suppressed desire. “You need me to kiss you,” he murmured intensely.

She shook her head and said breathlessly, “I need you to fill me.”

“Trust me to find a way,” he promised. “I love a challenge as much as you do.”

She took some deep breaths until her shudders passed.

They resumed their stroll. “I didn’t tell Roz about Bernard Lamb.”

“I don’t want you to worry unduly,” he said firmly. “The
Red Dragon
won’t make port too long ahead of us. The clipper has much faster speed.
We
know Anthony is in Ceylon, but your cousin doesn’t know. He thinks Tony’s in London.”

“Perhaps he’ll never find out. Perhaps he’ll immediately take passage back to England.”

Adam squeezed her hand, but in his gut he knew fate was a crafty old bitch who’d never let him off the hook before.

A month into the voyage they were halfway to their destination. The
Flying Dragon
was indeed living up to her name. Mr. Baines was a dependable captain who ran a tight ship, cutting through the ocean in a silent, steady glide.

Mr. Burke personally looked after the needs of his two ladies, keeping them isolated from McSwine and the rest of the unspeakable riffraff who crewed the ship.

Adam had rigged an awning on deck for the ladies’ comfort on the second day out. Sometimes Tony basked in the sun, soon turning a lovely golden brown, but at other times the sun was so fierce, she was glad to decline beneath the awning, spending lazy hours wafting a huge fan made from palm fronds.

From the long, warm days of inactivity her body was
becoming less slim and more beautifully rounded. Adam couldn’t take his eyes from her. Her breasts were fuller, her whole body had a ripeness about it that sent his blood surging through his veins. Her looks were heavy eyed and languid, promising him paradise at their next stolen rendezvous.

They managed many stolen moments for kisses or intoxicating love words, but they could never spend hours together as they would have liked, except in the company of others. Adam often took the wheel from midnight until dawn. These were the hours they spent together. Sometimes they thought darkness would never arrive, but finally the sky traded its blue for pink and then black. Past midnight their voices were instinctively soft, not daring to trespass on the stillness.

He could not really make love to her while he was at the helm, but it was an intimate time when he enfolded her against him with one arm, while keeping the other on the wheel.

“This indolent life suits you,” he murmured, slipping his hand beneath her cool cotton camisole to cup a ripe breast. “I love the way you look these days, the way you feel, the smell of the sun on your skin, the taste of salt when I lick you.”

In bare feet she was not nearly as tall and had to go on tiptoe to twine her arms about his neck. In the tropical night he wore only loose cotton breeches. In the darkness he slipped them off knowing she wore nothing beneath the loose petticoat.

Tony began to rub her body against his. The hot sliding friction of their naked skin was silken torment. “Christ,” he rasped hoarsely as her sleek heat scorched him, then became a wet slide as she wrapped her legs about one of his thighs and rubbed herself up and down him until she convulsed with hot shuddering. She moved in front of him between his body and the ship’s wheel. She slid to her knees. Her arms wrapped around his iron-hard thews. Her
fingers slid into the cleft of his buttocks. Her hungry mouth sheathed the swollen head of his phallus, then her lips sought the ridge three inches below the engorged crown. The tip of her tongue made circles until it found the tiny opening at its center, then she flicked it in slow rhythm with the friction of her lips.

His deep growls of pleasure made her wild for the taste of him. “Tony, I’ll spill,” Adam whispered fiercely.

“Promise?” she purred.

They clung to each other silently for the next hour. The calm after the storm. Slowly her head slipped to his shoulder and he knew she slept enfolded against him.

The long weeks at sea gave them many opportunities to talk. Roz and sometimes Mr. Burke were included in their discussions. Tony loved to listen to Adam’s deep voice talk of Ceylon, its climate, its customs, its people. When he described Leopard’s Leap, she heard the pride and love he obviously felt for his plantation.

At other times they spoke of Edenwood. It was plain to the listeners that both Adam and Tony felt deeply about the home they would return to after they were married.

“I feel very guilty that you are being dragged away from your important work in Parliament,” she admitted.

“By now they are in summer recess. When we return, be prepared to become a political wife. Mr. Pitt has very ambitious plans to reorganize his party. He has generously asked me to play a major role.”

“Do you think the Regency Bill will finally pass?” asked Roz.

“Not if I can help it,” Adam replied, “at least not yet.”

“Poor George,” Roz said, beginning to laugh, but a rather poignant thought prevented it. “Poor Maria,” she murmured.

“What does Mr. Pitt hope to accomplish?” Tony asked with genuine interest.

Adam teased, “I’m not sure I should let you be privy to
the Prime Minister’s plans until you are my wife. Can you keep a secret?”

“Better than any woman breathing.” She smiled inwardly, cherishing her knowledge.

“Pitt, with my aid, plans to strip the Whigs of their power. The new party will be Tory.”

“How will you accomplish it?” Tony asked.

“Politics is based on patronage. Whig nobles and landlords have made dynastic marriages for themselves and their children. They control votes by bribes or threats. William Pitt will promote Tory interests by filling every office with our own. The civil service, the army, the navy, colonial appointments, church preferments. You create a network of power from the top down. Merchant princes, as men like myself are now called, represent the commercial interests of the country and money talks.”

“The poor Prince of Wales will be in his dotage before he becomes Regent,” Roz lamented.

“Not so,” Adam contradicted. “George is much more shrewd than people think. When he abandons the Whigs and comes over to the Tories, we will pass his Regency Bill.”

“But the Whigs are his dearest friends, Fox, Burke, Sheridan,” Mr. Burke pointed out.

Savage smiled and spread his hands. “Exactly, and who better would know their character flaws?”

“Oh, dear,” Roz said with pretended pity, “all those Whig hostesses who rule society like lionesses will have their noses pushed out of joint.”

“Well, that should improve their looks, if not their tempers,” Tony said, laughing.

“I predict the lovely Lady Blackwater will become the leading Tory hostess,” Adam said, drinking in her dark beauty.

“Yes, darling, you’ll become the envy of the ton. The nobility will kill for an invitation to Edenwood.”

Adam added, “Our sons will be brilliant enough to attend Eton.”

“What about our daughters?” Tony demanded. “Surely you believe in equal education for females?”