“That is a comfort.”
“All right, then my work here is done.” Granville jumped to his feet. “As for you, recover from your hangover today. Tomorrow we dock at our last port before Brighton, and you have some fine brandy to buy to get us through the rest of this journey.” He set the empty bottle on the bedside table. “Not to mention a bottle of rum.”
Chapter 5
Emme stood on the deck with her arm linked in her aunt’s. She was back in her plain gray gown with one thin crinoline beneath it. She no longer wore it to keep up her ruse. While she’d been learning the terrible truth about her brother a few evenings earlier, Aunt Juliana had sussed out that the bachelor on board was engaged, the older couple’s sons were married, and none of the other travelers seemed to have unmarried relatives of an appropriate age. As for Captain Percival and Daniel, the former had turned decidedly formal in his dealings with her, and the latter hadn’t been able to get away from her fast enough. Still, the gray gown was her lightest and easiest, and she hadn’t minded getting the hem dirty while she and Aunt Juliana had gone with a few of the other passengers, a young couple with two small children, to the shops close to the shoreline.
She’d seen the return of every one of the passengers and crew who had disembarked except one. Daniel had gone off with Captain Percival, but the captain had come back without him. Something akin to panic assailed Emme as she considered he might not return, after all. He could easily find another ship, perhaps even one of his own, to take him the rest of the way to England. Or worse, he could resume his adventurous life in Spain. Their paths might never cross again, and they would never settle what had happened between them.
Gathering her courage, she walked determinedly across the deck to where the captain barked orders at his men. When he turned toward her, his face was set in a stern line. Seeing her, his expression softened and his lips curved into a smile.
He took her hand. “Miss Trent, it’s a delight to see you. I would have enjoyed escorting you into town, but my friend had need of my services.”
He still referred to her without her title, so either Daniel hadn’t told him of her true identity, or the captain was being respectful of her privacy. The way he still held her hand led her to believe it was the former.
“Yes, I saw you leave with Mr. Hallsworth.”
“I’m flattered you were looking for me.” He frowned at her. “Unless you’re going to shatter my heart and my ego in one fell swoop and tell me you were looking for Hallsy.”
She bit her lower lip. She saw his gaze drop to her lips. He was a handsome man and charming to boot. Under other circumstances, she might quite enjoy a flirtation with him, knowing she could stop him in his tracks with the truth of her station if he meant to cross a line. But today, she was preoccupied with Daniel. If she were being honest with herself, perhaps she had been preoccupied with him since the day she’d met him.
“I’m sorry, Captain Percival. It’s just that Mr. Hallsworth and I have a history.”
“Yes, he mentioned the same thing. In fact, I believe he used those exact words. He was rather vague about the details, though.”
The thought of those details made Emme blush. He politely glanced at his crew and pretended not to notice.
“I hate to be a bother, but I noticed he didn’t return with you.”
“Yes, he had one more errand to run. Said I wasn’t to set sail without him. But to be honest with you, if I thought I could capture your attention by leaving him behind, I would do so. Just say the word, dear Miss Trent.”
She smiled. She did so miss innocent flirtation that had no hope of ending in a marriage proposal. “It might be perceived as unseemly to leave behind one’s friend and business partner simply to garner a woman’s attention.”
“You are not just any woman, and there is nothing simple about it.” He bent and kissed her hand, then finally released it. “I’m sure he’ll join us any minute.”
“Thank you, sir. And if you don’t mind, could we keep this exchange between us?”
“Sharing confidences with you. I do like the sound of that. As you wish, Miss Trent.”
Emme felt lighter as she crossed the deck to rejoin her aunt.
“Feeling better, dear?”
“I am.”
“So, the captain was able to confirm that Mr. Hallsworth will return.”
“Who mentioned Mr. Hallwsorth?”
“The glow about you at the mention of his name says it all.”
Emme was about to argue the point when some movement to her left caught her eye. Her breath caught in her throat. Something had gone over the railing. Something or someone. Too large to be a doll. Too small to be an adult. One of the young couple’s children.
Instinct overtook Emme. She kicked off her shoes and cleared the railing in seconds. She was vaguely aware of screams and shouts as she dove into the bay. Cold water closed over her.
Already, Ann, the oldest child of the family with whom she’d just spent the day, was far away from her, being pulled by the tide. Terror seized Emme and made her swim harder, kick faster. Her thin skirt tangled, but her legs fought against it, propelling her toward the child. She had no idea how far behind her the ship was now, and she didn’t care. Her only focus was Ann. She would rather drown herself than watch another girl die because she was too late to save her.
The child somehow managed to keep her head above water until Emme was just inches from her. Then a large wave rose above them, and in an instant Ann disappeared. Kicking wildly and reaching blindly, Emme miraculously grabbed hold of material. The girl’s dress. She yanked on it with all her might while treading the waves and praying the fabric wouldn’t give way before she could take hold of the child. When the small body bounced against her, she wrapped both arms around the girl.
Ann was flailing in a panic, catching Emme’s skirt and tightening it around her legs. Remembering the way Edward had rescued her the day she’d gone into the lake after Eleanor, she wrapped her arm around Ann’s neck, resting the girl’s chin in the crook of her elbow. With her face to the sun and the ability to breathe, the girl was calmer. But the waves were stronger than they’d looked from the ship, the water was frigid, and Emme was exhausted from her physical exertion.
She spit out a mouthful of salt water and turned to see how far away the ship was from them. Her heart sank. She would never make it.
Before panic could consume her, she saw three figures approaching. Three men were powering through the waves, while at the edge of the ship, sailors had just dropped a dinghy into the water. As Emme’s arms went numb and she feared she would lose her grip on the child, one of the men wrapped steel-hard arms around her waist while the other two took hold of the child.
In minutes, Emme was in the dinghy, clinging to the child, who had gone past shock and had begun sobbing. Only when they were nearly back to the ship did she realize the man still held her. Turning to face him, she saw Daniel’s intense blue eyes staring back at her.
“Don’t you dare scare me like that again.” His voice was quiet, but the demand behind his words was unmistakable.
“How did you...you weren’t even on the ship.”
“I was on the dock when I saw you go over the railing. Do you understand just how close you came to drowning? Christ in heaven, Emmeline, I’ve never been so terrified by anything in my entire life. I truly thought I might lose you.”
The small boat bumped against the wharf, and one of the men who had taken Ann from her arms in the water now took the child from her again and handed her up to a sailor waiting on the dock. Only after he’d taken the child from her did she realize one of their rescuers had been the captain. He heaved himself onto the dock and reached out his hands to take Emme. Daniel helped her stand in the unsteady craft and handed her to his friend on the wharf. He swung up onto the boards beside her, wrapping his arms around her once more.
She made to walk up the gangplank onto the ship, but her legs, nearly numb, buckled under her.
Wordlessly, Daniel scooped her into his arms and carried her on board. Her body sagged and her eyes drifted shut against her will.
“I’m sorry,” she managed to say. “I just couldn’t let it happen again. I had to save her.”
“You did save her, kitten. It was the most foolish thing I’ve ever seen, but it was also the bravest. Still, I don’t think I’ll ever let you out of my sight again.”
Or out of my arms, she hoped he’d say.
She heard other voices. Her aunt, nearly hysterical with worry. Ann’s parents, calling out their undying gratitude to her. Captain Granville, demanding everyone clear the way for them to take her and Ann to the ship’s medic. And still Daniel held her. He was the only constant, the only thing keeping her warm and safe.
When there was a soft mattress under her back and a bright lantern over her head, she heard another man’s voice tell Daniel to make room for the medic. Daniel stepped a few feet away from the bed, but he kept his hand clasped over hers.
“I’m not leaving your side until I know you’re all right, kitten.”
“No one asked you to leave.” There was so much more she wanted to say to him, but she was fuzzy-headed and nauseated.
“She’s swallowed a lot of seawater,” the medic said.
Funny, she didn’t remember doing so. Then again, she couldn’t be sure whether he was talking about her or Ann, and she didn’t have the strength to open her eyes to see which of them he was observing.
The medic and Daniel spoke in hushed voices, then Daniel propped her against his body and held a small glass to her lips. “Drink this, kitten. It will warm you from the inside out.”
Emme wanted to be warm again. She was so cold. Wet and cold. She could barely swallow the burning liquid, she was shivering so hard.
“I think she’ll be fine,” the medic said. “We have to get her out of these wet clothes, sir. I’ve sent for her maid. Perhaps you should take this opportunity to change your own clothes.”
“Not a chance, McReedy. Send one of the men to fetch dry clothes for me as well, and stay with the child. I’ll keep watch over the lady.”
Some distant sense of propriety set in and Emme struggled to open her eyes, to insist he take his leave while her maid saw to her. But she couldn’t accomplish either of those tasks. She could sink into a deep sleep while the brandy he’d given her burned warmly in her belly.
* * *
A few hours later, in the privacy of his stateroom, Daniel poured Lady Kendall a second glass of scotch. The woman tossed it back with alarming speed. He worried he’d have to deny her a third glass, but she seemed significantly steadied by the second shot.
“As I said, I can’t thank you enough for what you did. If you hadn’t gone in after her...”
“Lady Emme is the true heroine,” he said. “She saved a child’s life today.”
“But she nearly gave up her own doing it. I’ve never been so terrified.”
He sat in the wing chair beside the elderly woman and glanced across his room to where Emme lay sleeping in his bed. The sight of her there made his heart beat faster. “I said almost those exact words to her.”
“I can’t believe she took such a chance after what happened to Eleanor. Although, perhaps that’s why she felt compelled to save the child.”
“I don’t understand. Perhaps what is why she felt so compelled?”
“Of course, it isn’t true, but Emmeline thinks because she saw Eleanor fall into the lake, she should have been able to pull her out of it.”
He sat up straight in his chair. “She saw Lady Eleanor fall into the water?”
“Yes. They’d had an argument, as sisters often do. Eleanor left the house and Emmeline followed her. It was a drizzly morning. Eleanor was walking along the lake and lost her footing, and Emmeline went right in after her. But she couldn’t save her sister, and Edward nearly didn’t save Emmeline.”
Daniel poured himself another drink and tossed it back. Eschewing propriety, he offered Lady Kendall another. She accepted, but at least she sipped this one.
“So Emme nearly drowned that day.”
“She would have, if Edward hadn’t gotten there in time.” Lady Kendall took a long drag of scotch. “Somehow, in her mind, Emmeline has twisted that into the reason Eleanor couldn’t be saved, because Edward was too busy saving her. She hasn’t forgiven herself.”
He watched Emme turn over in her sleep. His heart broke for her. “What a terrible burden to bear.”
“And an unnecessary one. Edward wasn’t the only one who came to their rescue. He was on a morning ride with the stable master and a few of the lads when they heard Emmeline scream. When they got to the lake, they didn’t even catch a glimpse of Eleanor. They speculated that with her heavy cloak and skirt and layers of crinoline, she’d been pulled under quickly.”
“I had no idea,” Daniel said. “I knew Lady Eleanor had died, but I didn’t even know how until a few days ago. To think Lady Emme witnessed the whole thing. Yet she boarded a ship to Spain, and on this one to return home. And today she went over that railing after the child without a second thought.”
“Not to mention the fact that she swam in the ocean nearly every day during our time in Barcelona. At first, I thought it was to conquer her fear. When I finally asked her about it, she said she needed to be stronger so she wouldn’t fail the next time someone needed her. Perhaps now she’ll feel vindicated and will be able to sleep without nightmares.”
Daniel was rendered temporarily speechless. His carefree tomboy, who’d he’d come to view as a broken girl, proved him wrong again. She was no wounded bird. She was a phoenix, a force of nature. A woman strong enough to take on the ocean itself to save others from nature’s cruel punishment. Every cell in his body longed to go to her, to hold her, to replenish some of that depleted strength with his own flesh.
Beside him, Lady Kendall finished her drink, then set down her glass and yawned. Daniel knew the day had been taxing on her.
“I think she’ll sleep peacefully this night until morning,” he said. “I’ll keep watch over her, and the medic is just down the hall if anything goes awry.”
“I could hardly impose upon you like that. Perhaps we should move her to my room.”
Daniel shook his head. “I appreciate your sense of propriety, but in this case, I must insist you choose reason over modesty. It’s best for her health that she not be disturbed.” And as he’d told Emme earlier, he wasn’t about to let her out of his sight again. At least not any time soon. “A crewman is right outside the door. He’ll see you back to your room. Get a good night’s sleep, and you can reunite with your niece in the morning, when you’re both feeling in tip-top shape again.”
The set of the woman’s jaw said she wanted to dig in her heels about the matter, but the deep shadows around her eyes proved she didn’t have the energy to stand up to him for long. She seemed to realize it, too, and conceded.
Daniel walked her to the door and gave his man instructions, then closed the door and locked it behind them. He moved slowly to his bed, the bed where the first woman he had ever truly desired—not only physically but also emotionally—now sighed and turned toward him. He sat beside her and placed his hand on her cheek. She smiled in her sleep and the beauty of it undid him. He wanted to hold her, just for a moment, so he slid under the quilt and wrapped his arms around her. The heat of her skin radiated through the thin chemise she wore. When he pulled her close, her curves melded perfectly against the planes of his body.
It wasn’t terribly late, but it had been an eventful day, and he was so tired. And her warmth and softness enticed him to stay with her just a bit longer. Such a delightful—albeit unspoken—invitation couldn’t be ignored. Daniel closed his eyes.
Chapter 6
Emme woke in a dimly-lit room. Something heavy lay over her, trapping her, and something solid pressed against her back.
Daniel.
His hand was splayed open and pressed against her thin chemise beneat
h her navel. Her breath quickened as her body remembered the sensation of those hands tracing the curves of her body through her nightgown. Need shot through her so rapidly and unexpectedly, it left her panting. She wriggled to press more tightly against him, inadvertently sliding his hand across the fabric of her chemise. Fire ignited between her legs. She longed to feel his hands on every inch of her skin.
As she remembered their late-night rendezvous in the library at her family’s country estate, her breath came in ragged gasps. It was only then she realized something had changed. Behind her, Daniel’s breath had stopped for one quick second, then had returned, more rapid and shallow than before.
He was awake.
And judging from his erection pressing against her backside, he knew the erotic memories she’d been reliving. For a moment, they both lay still. Emme wondered if she should feign sleep, leaving them both with the dignity of being able to deny the lust that flared between them. Then he pressed his lips to her neck, just below her ear, and she gasped. There was no deniability left. She turned in his arms to face him.
He ran his fingers over the chemise and gripped her hip. “Tell me what you were thinking, Emme. Tell me what you remembered when you wriggled against me.”
Despite the embarrassment that suffused her face with heat, she longed to tell him. She had to know whether he recalled every intimate detail as clearly as she did. “I was remembering when you touched me the night we were alone together.”
“Tell me,” he whispered, bringing his face within inches of hers. “Tell me the details, kitten. Start with the kisses.”
She smiled. He did remember. They’d shared clandestine but chaste walks through the garden for days. And then one afternoon, he’d come across her alone at the swimming pond. It was the first time they’d ever touched. When they’d met in the library later, he’d feigned lost memory, and to remind him had made her describe the details of how, as they’d floated side by side in the pond, he’d held her hand and stroked her cheek. And then he had done so much more to her, had touched her in new places and in such exquisite ways.
One Kiss From Ruin: Harrow’s Finest Five Book 1 Page 5