The Perfect Wife

by Victoria Alexander

  Nicholas groaned. “As partners. And God help us all.”

  Chapter 13

  Sabrina rested her elbow on the railing and propped her head in her hand. Her gaze wandered restlessly. Under ordinary circumstances the exotic sights of the bustling Naples docks would have appealed to the adventuress in her. She would have been fascinated by the curious foreign spectacle peopled with odd and intriguing creatures, the lyrical languages of far distant lands, even the powerful and pungent scents of the waterfront.

  Instead a disgruntled sigh blew through her lips. Now that Nicholas not only knew of the purpose of their journey but was, however reluctantly, joining in, frustration stabbed her at any delay. But Matt insisted this stop in Naples was necessary to his shipping interests, and she could scarce argue with the needs of business. Still, Sabrina feared the remaining hours until they sailed again would stretch to eternity.

  They’d docked more than an hour ago. Nicholas had mentioned something about posting a letter and had left the ship. Matt was nowhere in sight, attending to the various details of docking and supplies and cargo and a myriad of other maritime particulars. It had been so long since she’d been on a ship, the minutiae of being in port had faded from her memory along with other useless bits of knowledge. With both men occupied, Sabrina was left to her own devices and, since she had no real desire to go ashore, had to content herself with observing the profusion of activity on the wharf.

  “A penny for your thoughts, or should I offer a fortune?” Matt leaned on the railing beside her.

  Sabrina’s gaze caught on a sailor feeding nuts to a small monkey perched on his shoulder. “I daresay my thoughts aren’t worth much of anything right now. Unless you tell me we can be off, I shall continue to stand here chafing at every second of delay.”

  Matt laughed. “Bree, your treasure has been hidden for twenty years. It can wait a few more days.”

  “I’m not at all concerned about the gold.”

  “Then why the impatience?”

  “I don’t know exactly. But it’s been so terribly long since I did anything even marginally exciting, so long since I’ve had so much as a meager adventure, I detest having to halt our progress even for the shortest time.”

  “Can’t be helped, Bree.”

  “I realize that. I simply don’t like it.

  She pulled her gaze from the sights on the dock and studied her friend. “How are you and Nicholas getting along? In the past few days, ever since he learned of our quest, the two of you have been as thick as thieves. Dare I hope you’ve put your animosity aside and become friends?”

  Matt appeared to choose his words carefully. “Oh, I wouldn’t say we’re friends. In fact, I don’t think I trust him.”

  “Why ever not?”

  “Don’t get indignant with me. You know perfectly well the man’s background. He’s been active in government, and I suspect his experience goes far beyond missions of diplomacy.”

  Sabrina’s heart skipped a beat. Had Matt learned about Nicholas’s previous encounter with them? She still had not decided if she should tell Matt she’d married the agent they’d beaten a decade ago or if wisdom decreed keeping her knowledge to herself.

  She threw him a challenging glare. “No doubt, but what difference does that make?”

  “He quizzes me, Bree, constantly. He does it extremely well. His questions are so offhand, so subtle that it took me a while to catch on.”

  Apprehension trickled through her. “What kinds of questions?”

  “Mainly about my life, my past. He’s asked about my parents, my family, my sister.” He shot her a rueful look. “That’s a hard one to deal with. I have no idea how desperate this sister was, what problems she faced, when she—”

  “Enough,” she said impatiently. “His questions seem relatively innocent.”

  Matt shook his head. “I don’t think so. He’s also asked about my ships, how many I have now and how many I had ten years ago. He’s tried to find out how I came by the money to build a fleet the way I have. No, he’s definitely looking for answers. I just wish I knew what’s behind those questions of his. The only thing he hasn’t asked me about is you.”

  “That’s something, at any rate,” she said under her breath.

  He studied her for a long, discomforting moment. “What’s going on, Bree,” he said softly. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

  Sabrina stared, a dozen thoughts flying through her head. Did Matt deserve to know who Nicholas was? Or did she now owe her husband more loyalty than she did her longtime friend and partner? And just because Nicholas had asked a few questions didn’t mean he was suspicious, merely curious. Still, forewarned was forearmed, and it might well be in her best interest, and Matt’s, to tell him what she knew.

  She drew a steadying breath. “Perhaps, it’s—”

  “Excuse me, Cap’n, lass.” Simon nodded curtly. His voice came as a welcome interruption, and Sabrina breathed a sigh of relief. Time enough to tell Matt about Nicholas later. Besides, he didn’t trust her husband well enough to betray them.

  Matt turned to the first mate. “What is it, Simon?”

  “Well, Cap’n.” The big man’s eyes twinkled. “There’s a young gentleman on the dock who says his party’s been stranded. They’re headed for Egypt and want to book passage.”

  “How many in his party?” Matt said, his tone a casual inquiry.

  “Himself and two women. The young one looks desperate, like she’s about to burst into tears. But the older lady seems right excited. Keeps calling their predicament a crusade of adventure.” Simon chuckled. “I’d wager she’s damn feisty, got a lot of spirit.”

  Matt hesitated, and Simon seized the opening. “They’re both beauties, Cap’n.”

  Sabrina groaned to herself. By the look on Matt’s face, Simon’s assessment had finally captured his captain’s interest. Simon pushed his point home with the relish of a fencer striking the coup de grâce. “And they say they’d pay double the usual rate.”

  “They’re beauties, you say?”

  “Aye, sir.”

  “Do we have any available cabins?”

  “Just one that’s fit for passengers, Cap’n.” Simon wore a look of innocence. “I was thinkin’ we could put the young gentleman and His Lordship in the empty cabin and let the women all bunk together.”

  “Now, wait just a moment,” Sabrina said, her voice rising in irritation.

  “That means we’d have to separate the newlyweds.” A slow grin spread across Matt’s face. “Well then, Simon, let them board.”

  “Matt!” Indignation sharpened her voice.

  “You wouldn’t want us to turn our backs on fellow travelers.” He glanced at Simon. “Are they English?”

  The sailor nodded. “Aye.”

  “And fellow countrymen too, Bree. Tsk, tsk.” He leveled a mournful glance at her. “I wouldn’t have thought you so unfeeling, so… I think selfish is the right word, don’t you think so, Simon?”

  Simon appeared appropriately downcast. “Aye, Cap’n, I’d say selfish about covers it.”

  Sabrina glared at each man in turn. If this delay wasn’t bad enough, now she would have to share her cabin with two strangers, tourists no doubt. Quite likely the kind of proper ladies she’d had her fill of in London. Women who would never understand her quest, let alone her traveling sans servants and wearing men’s clothes. Worst of all, this would mean no more nights spent wrapped in Nicholas’s arms.

  “Bree?” Matt said.

  “Very well.” Sabrina glowered and clenched her teeth. “The more, the merrier.”

  Matt grinned at his success. “I knew you’d see it my way. After all, this is business, and passengers are the business of this ship.”

  “I’d like to tell you what you can do with that business,” she said coldly.

  Pointedly, Sabrina turned her back on Matt and glared at the vessels in the harbor as if the innocent crafts were responsible for her annoyance. Sabrina would acc
ept this inconvenience but she positively refused to be gracious about it. And she had no desire to meet these intruders until absolutely necessary.

  “Bring them on board, Simon.” Laughter shaded his voice. “Now, Bree—”

  She whirled to face him. “Don’t you dare try to justify yourself to me, Matthew Madison. I know exactly what you’re up to. You simply cannot bear to see Nicholas and me together and you want to create problems in whatever way possible.”

  “Would I do that to you?”

  She shot him a scathing glance. “You would and apparently you are.”

  The voices of the new arrivals approaching the ship drew their attention. From this distance their features were not discernible but there was something vaguely familiar about at least two of the figures.

  They stepped up the gangplank and drew closer. The face of a woman a bit younger than Sabrina came into focus and nagged at her memory. On her heels followed a young blonde—

  Sabrina gasped. “Bloody hell.”

  An appreciative smile creased Matt’s face. “Simon was right, they are beauties.”

  Sabrina’s voice rang icy and hard. “Don’t even think it, Matt. That’s my daughter.”

  “Your daughter,” he said in surprise. “The tall, dark-haired one is your daughter?”

  “No, you idiot. The blonde is my daughter. How in the name of all that’s holy—”

  “What about the other one?” Interest glittered in his eyes.

  For a moment Sabrina forgot her shock over seeing Belinda board the ship and wanted to laugh. This would serve Matt right. It was exactly what he deserved.

  She grinned. “That, my dear old friend, is Lady Wynnefred Harrington. Nicholas’s sister.”

  “His sister?” A hint of dismay flickered across Matt’s face. “Does he care for her, do you think?”

  “Oh, I suspect far more than you care for your sister. Nicholas’s sister does, after all, actually exist.”

  Matt stared at the newcomers’ steady approach. Sabrina noted his jaw tense in an attitude of resolve and chuckled to herself. She’d met Lady Wynnefred only once, but all she’d heard about the woman indicated she was far more interested in books than in men. Still, disinterest on the part of a female was one sure way to entice a man like Matt. This new development could, at the very least, provide an interesting diversion.

  “Mother?” Belinda’s questioning voice interrupted her thoughts. Sabrina steeled herself and turned to her daughter.

  Belinda stared in obvious astonishment as if she were unable to believe her eyes. “Mother!”

  Belinda flew the remaining steps between them and threw herself weeping into her mother’s arms. “Oh, Mother, I didn’t know if we’d ever find you. I’ve been so worried. That loathsome man threw us off his nasty boat. And Erick has been so dreadfully ill. Since the moment we left England, everything has been just horrid.”

  Sabrina was hard-pressed to balance concern for her daughter with amusement at her dramatic outburst. She wrapped her arms around her crying child and glanced past Belinda to a sheepish-looking Erick. “What is she talking about?”

  He cleared his throat in a nervous gesture. “We have, um, had a few difficulties.”

  “Difficulties,” Belinda said, and jerked her head off her mother’s shoulder. Indignation glittered in her eyes, and she glared at her fiancé. “I believe, Erick, difficulties is putting far too mild a face on it. Disaster is a more apt description.”

  Erick looked like a man caught in a futile struggle to save himself from drowning or worse. “Belinda, I am certain—”

  “Erick,” Sabrina said. “Perhaps it would be best if you let Belinda explain about your problems and, more to the point, what you three are doing here. Darling?”

  “Thank you, Mother.” Belinda sniffed inelegantly. “When I learned you were heading to Egypt I decided we should go after you.” She threw her mother a cautious look. “In your best interest, of course.”

  Sabrina sighed softly. “Of course.”

  Relief crossed Belinda’s face. “At any rate, we decided to follow, and Erick’s aunt Wynne agreed to come along as a chaperone.” Belinda cast a quick glance at where Lady Wynnefred stood chatting with Simon, apparently oblivious to Belinda’s outburst.

  “Come along, Mother.” Belinda hooked her arm through Sabrina’s and propelled her down the deck and out of earshot. Daughter leaned toward mother in a manner heartfelt yet discreet.

  “Lady Wynnefred is extremely annoying, Mother. She has likely read every book ever written and does not hesitate to share her knowledge and the opinions derived from it. She so upset the captain of the boat we were on, he demanded we leave, virtually abandoning us here.” Belinda heaved a heartfelt sigh. “And when she is not enlightening us on some obscure point, she is writing in that horrible journal of hers. I feel as if she is noting every little thing I say or do. It is most disconcerting.”

  “Indeed.” It was difficult to keep the smile off her face. Belinda’s indignation was obvious, and when Sabrina thought of Matt’s interest in Lady Wynnefred, oh yes, there was indeed promise here for some entertaining moments. Sabrina turned her attention back to her child. “Well, everything has worked out now and we’re all together.”

  “Oh no, Mother, that’s not all.”

  “No?”

  “Mother, it’s Erick.” Belinda grimaced. “He’s been, well, ill. Mal de mer.”

  She leaned toward her mother with an air of confidentiality. “I know that when one marries, one is supposed to carry on through sickness and all that, but it really is rather unnerving. I realize this is not at all charitable, but seeing him hang over the side of the boat day after day, listening to him groan and watching him turn the most remarkable shade of green, well, it’s simply not…”

  “Not romantic? Not heroic? Not quite what you’d imagined?”

  “Exactly.” The tragic exaggeration of youth clouded her blue eyes. “Mother, what shall I do?”

  Sabrina once more resisted the urge to smile. She could all too easily remember the heightened emotions of that age. An age at which she herself had already married and borne a child.

  “Do you still love him, sweetheart?

  Belinda nodded mournfully.

  “Then I would suggest,” Sabrina said slowly, “that in the future you simply make sure the man never, ever boards a ship again. Keep him on dry land. I’m not certain I should even allow him within sight of the ocean.”

  Belinda’s eyes widened in surprise and she stared silently, as if digesting her mother’s advice.

  “But, Mother, what about Brighton? I adore Brighton and I imagine Erick does—” Abruptly she smiled. “Mother, now you’re teasing me.”

  Sabrina grinned back. “Not entirely, my love.” Her affectionate tone turned brisk. “Now that we have dispensed with your concerns, I don’t believe you’ve quite explained what you’re doing here. I left you in London, and I very much anticipated that you would remain there until my return.”

  Belinda stepped away from her parent. “Why, Mother, surely it’s obvious why we came after you?”

  “No, it’s not. I require some kind of explanation, and I expect it to be more than adequate. I am not especially pleased to see you here.”

  “Very well, Mother,” Belinda said in that irritating I-know-far-more-than-you-do voice guaranteed to set Sabrina on edge. “We came because…” Belinda’s gaze wandered over her mother’s figure. “What are you wearing?” Her face froze in horror. “Do you have on breeches? That’s scandalous, Mother, absolutely scandalous. I simply cannot—”

  “Wait till you hear her language. It’s just as atrocious as her clothing.” Nicholas strode toward them, Erick a scant step behind. “Good day, Belinda. So charming to see you again.”

  “You!” Belinda’s eyes flashed and she whirled to face her mother. “He’s why we followed you. We’re here to try and salvage your reputation. To save you from him!”

  Astonishment swept her breath away,
and Sabrina could barely choke out the words. “You came to save me? From him? Why on earth would you deem a rescue so necessary you’d follow us halfway around the world?”

  “Why indeed?” Nicholas raised an amused brow.

  Belinda glared at him. “Mother, perhaps you were unaware of this, but Lord Wyldewood has a rather unsavory reputation with women.” Belinda drew herself up in an attitude of imposing propriety. “To put it bluntly, Mother, the man’s a rake.”

  The absurdity of the situation hit Sabrina like a fist. Her gaze caught Nicholas’s and his eyes twinkled. “So you hoped to save me from becoming his next victim? From succumbing to his notorious charms? From sharing his bed?”

  Belinda blushed at her mother’s blunt words. “Exactly.”

  “I commend you for your concern about your mother’s virtue,” Nicholas said. “However, I fear you are too late.”

  “Nicholas,” Sabrina said sharply. This discussion was headed in a direction she was not at all sure she liked.

  The color swept from Belinda’s face. “Too late?”

  “Yes, indeed.” Nicholas shook his head sorrowfully. “Had I only known of your concern, I would have restrained myself. As it is…”

  “Oh dear.” Belinda swayed on her feet.

  Nicholas shrugged. “And if I recall, your mother did not seem particularly reluctant to accept my advances.”

  Sabrina groaned. “Bloody hell.”

  Belinda gasped. Erick leaped forward and wrapped a steadying arm around his fiancée. “Father, that’s not at all the kind of thing you should be saying to her. She’s quite delicate, you know.”

  Nicholas grinned wickedly. “I am sorry. I had no idea. I assumed she was as, well, sturdy as her mother.”

  “Nicholas!” Sabrina cast him a scathing glare, and he responded with a look that bespoke a clear conscience. A look designed to fuel her annoyance. “Erick’s right. You’re leading her to believe something that’s not entirely true.”

  “Oh, Mother.” Belinda brightened. “Then he hasn’t ruined you?”

  Sabrina clenched her teeth. Nicholas was a virtual picture of childlike innocence: hands clasped behind his back, pleasant smile drifting across his lips; she suspected she could even hear him humming. “Oh, he’s ruined me all right.” Belinda uttered a pitiful cry and swayed again. Sabrina glared at Nicholas. “He married me.”