Regency Admirer/The Merry Gentleman/The Gentleman's Demand

by Meg Alexander

  “Let us play for points,” he suggested. “We may consider the forfeits later.”

  Elizabeth leaned back in her chair, laying her hand face down. “Do you think to trick me?” she asked calmly.

  Perry assumed a look of injured innocence. “How so?”

  “I believe you hope to win. If so, the forfeit might be my promise not to escape.”

  “I have no fear of that, Miss Grantham. We are far from land.”

  “That won’t always be the case.”

  “Agreed, but it is enough to set my mind at rest for the present. Since you don’t trust me, then let us play for oranges and lemons. Ten points for each, I think.”

  She jumped to her feet at that. Her eyes were ablaze with anger, and her colour was high.

  “I am not a child,” she cried. “I have money...”

  “So you keep reminding me. Aren’t you satisfied with the thousands that you won from Chris?”

  “We were only funning. It was just a game, pretending that we might play for high stakes.”

  “This is not,” Perry said deliberately. “I won’t throw tricks your way.”

  “And you think he did so?” She was furious. “I thought he played to win.”

  “You need have no such fears with me. I shall push you hard. Sit down, Miss Grantham! Success at cards needs a cool head.”

  “There’s no need to prose on at me in that superior way. What a bore you are!” In high dudgeon she picked up her hand again.

  To be classed as a prosing bore was more than flesh and blood could stand. Perry was so irritated that his opponent was able to take the first points with ease. His temper was not improved by her evident delight.

  She didn’t speak to him again, reserving all her attention for the game, but by this time he was on his mettle. He settled down, determined to beat her, and his greater experience enabled him to take the next rubber.

  Elizabeth could not hide her chagrin. “Another?” she challenged.

  Perry shook his head. “You shall have your revenge another day.” He regarded her with interest. “You should do well in London...”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “I was thinking of your skill at cards. Gambling is an obsession with the ton.”

  “Even among the ladies?” Elizabeth gave him a limpid smile. Let him think her compliant. She knew better. She would never be taken to London.

  “Especially among the ladies, ma’am. The married women gamble for the highest stakes.”

  Perry expected a tirade, coupled with the assurance that if her relatives hoped to marry her off to some namby-pamby Englishman they would be making a sad mistake.

  Instead she smiled again. “How interesting!” she murmured.

  Perry was undeceived. She had confirmed his belief that she intended to escape at the earliest opportunity, but his determination matched her own. Gibraltar was her only hope, and he would watch her like a hawk.

  “Have you ever met your aunt?” he asked carelessly.

  “No. I have lived in Italy all my life.”

  “And the lady does not travel?”

  “She travels extensively, so I understand, but she prefers the East.”

  “Then you have no notion of her ways?”

  “None.” Elizabeth looked thoughtful. “Aunt Mary is childless and a spinster. I expect that she will be a stickler for convention.”

  “I see.”

  “Do you, Mr Wentworth? Can you imagine what it must be like to sit with folded hands, murmuring insipidities?”

  Perry laughed aloud. “You won’t do that, I fancy.”

  “No, I won’t! Sometimes I wish that I’d been born a man.”

  “You can’t mean that. Is it because you have a craving for excitement? You may get more than you wish, here on the Artemis.”

  “If we are attacked, you mean?”

  “It could happen. I wonder how you will enjoy the noise of battle, the cries, the shouting and the falling timbers? Shall you not be afraid?”

  “Shall you?” Elizabeth was stung by his scornful tone.

  “I shall be too busy to think of anything but the task in hand.” He saw her look of disbelief and added calmly, “For you it will be different. If we sight an enemy vessel I will unlock the cabin door, but you must not come on deck. Will you give me your word on that? You must stay here until I come for you.”

  “Certainly not! Suppose you should be injured, sir? Am I to stay here even if the ship goes down?” The glint in her eye warned him that she intended no such thing.

  “Chris knows that you are here,” Perry snapped. He’d hoped to frighten her into obedience, but he’d failed. The little wretch was untroubled by the thought that he might be felled by enemy fire.

  In that he was mistaken. When he left, Elizabeth took herself to task. She had not been kind. If the truth were known, she had no wish to see him injured.

  A vision of his mangled corpse swam before her eyes, and she found that she was trembling. Naturally, she would feel the same about any unlucky victim of the French.

  Sternly she recalled her wandering thoughts. She must not allow her imagination to run away with her. An attack was unlikely, here in the Mediterranean. It was nonsense to indulge in foolish fancies. At Gibraltar she would leave the Artemis. After that, the fate of the vessel and her crew were no concern of hers.

  There was still the problem of making her escape. The difficulties seemed almost insuperable. Perry never forgot to lock the cabin door behind him. She could strike him down with a blow from some heavy object if she could catch him unawares. Even then she had still to appear on deck in her own clothing, climb down the ship’s ladder, and gain the dock unseen. If, as she hoped, the sailors’ women were allowed aboard, she might lose herself in the crowd as they were leaving.

  Otherwise she must have help. Lord Christopher had made his admiration clear. If she were clever, she might persuade him to fall in with her wishes. She would try him out, without mentioning her plans at first.

  She might dwell upon her longing for fresh air, or the wish to feel firm ground beneath her feet again. She might even tease him into smuggling her ashore as a light-hearted escapade, simply to relieve the tedium of the voyage.

  Her plan went well for the next few days. In Chris’s company she exerted all her charm.

  This put Perry on his guard at once. “Take care!” he warned. “Your fair Elizabeth is up to something. She’s much too pleasant and amenable.”

  Chris blushed. “Must you always be so out of reason cross with her? I thought she was behaving very well.”

  “Too well!” Perry said darkly. “Just remember that she don’t wish to be here. She’ll get away if she can.”

  “Stuff! How can she get away? You keep her locked below. Poor creature! She must be longing for a breath of air.”

  “Then, Sir Galahad, why don’t you open the port?”

  “I will!” Chris was very much upon his dignity. “I tell you, Perry, you are turning sour. It ain’t her fault that she’s aboard the Artemis.”

  “Nor is it mine!”

  “At least you weren’t drugged and bundled into a basket. I admire her spirit. Why do you hold her in such dislike?”

  “I don’t trust her. Can’t you see what she is doing? When did we last come to dagger-drawing, you and I? She’s playing one of us against the other.”

  “I don’t believe that. You can’t see any good in her.”

  “Good grief! Is that it? Are you in love with her?”

  The colour flooded Chris’s face. “I am,” he said quietly. “You may keep your opinions to yourself. You shall not criticise my future wife.”

  Perry whistled in disbelief. “Has she agreed to wed you?”

  “Not exactly,” Chris admitted in confusion. “But I am encouraged to believe that...”

  “That you may persuade her? Believe me, you will have no difficulty.”

  “Perry, you need not sneer. I think the world of her. I know that you do
n’t value her as I do, but you’ve been wrong about her from the start...” With that, he stalked away.

  Perry went on deck. It was a fine night, with just enough breeze to fill the sails which billowed high above him. For once, he felt no pleasure in the gentle motion of the ship, or the stars which twinkled in the velvet sky.

  His thoughts were savage. Damn the girl! Of all the underhand tricks! She had no scruples of any kind. She didn’t care for Chris, and to tease him into thinking that she did was the outside of enough. She was a heartless little wretch.

  But he would best her yet. Her beauty wouldn’t lull him into believing that she’d had a change of mind, or that she’d been transformed into a milk-and-water miss.

  He smiled in spite of himself. Elizabeth certainly wasn’t that. Honesty compelled him to admit that Chris was justified in his admiration of her spirit. She had not given way to hysterics, or fallen into a fit of the dismals. Far from it. She’d eaten such food as they could smuggle to her without complaint, and somehow, although he could not imagine how she did it, she had contrived to appear as well groomed as she did ashore.

  Feeding her had been a problem. The consumption of fruit aboard the Artemis had increased sharply, but that would not give rise to comment.

  Since Captain Nelson had discovered the value of oranges and lemons in the control of scurvy, all naval vessels carried plentiful supplies of the fruit, and the men were forced to eat it. Since then, the navy had not lost a single man to that dreaded scourge.

  Grumbles were stilled when the crew realised that they need no longer suffer the appalling muscular pains, the lassitude, and the depression of the disease, which was so often fatal. It had added to the hazards of a lengthy voyage.

  Certainly, Elizabeth would not suffer it, Perry thought wryly. She had the hearty appetite of a schoolgirl. When they reached Gibraltar he would go ashore, and lay in a store of provisions which she might keep in the cabin.

  Then the humour of the situation struck him. He had railed at Chris for falling victim to the lady’s charms when he himself was planning extra comforts for her. It was ridiculous, but naturally any gentleman must give some consideration to the weaker sex.

  His smile broadened. Weaker? He’d back her courage against that of any man. With a shake of his head he went aft in response to a call from the helmsman.

  “What is it?” he asked quietly.

  “Over there, sir. I thought I saw a light.”

  Perry peered into the darkness, but he could see nothing.

  “Over there, Mr Wentworth...off the starboard bow.”

  At that moment the moon appeared from behind a passing cloud. It revealed a number of small vessels riding at anchor, their lights strung out like a jewelled necklace against the far horizon.

  “Looks like a fishing fleet,” Perry murmured. “Most probably Spaniards, out of Almeria.”

  “Then landfall tomorrow, sir?”

  “If the wind holds fair. You have a brother serving at Gibraltar, I believe...?”

  The man smiled. It was like Mr Wentworth to remember that. He knew every member of the crew by name, and never forgot to enquire about their families, unlike some officers he could name.

  Perry strolled to the rail and gazed at the foaming wake as the vessel cleaved through the swell. He’d enjoyed his previous visits to the Rock, where he had many friends. This time it would be different. Tomorrow would be the danger point as far as Elizabeth was concerned.

  Perhaps he should have another word with Chris. The girl would try to trick him if she could. He cursed his own lack of tact. He had said too much, and Chris would not believe him now.

  One alternative was to beg a few drops of laudanum from the surgeon, but the thought of drugging her filled him with distaste. If she’d been a man, he could have found some pretext to have her clapped in irons, but that too was out of the question.

  Perhaps if he spoke to her again, pointing out the folly of attempting a journey back to Italy on her own? It was a forlorn hope.

  At this moment she was probably using all her charms on Chris to coax him into helping her with some mad scheme. She’d be cajoling, wheedling, possibly even allowing him to kiss her.

  Perry’s face grew so dark that the helmsman decided not to trouble him with further conversation. Young Mr Wentworth had a cheerful disposition, but something had upset him. The man shrugged. The gentry had their queer ways. Sometimes there was no knowing what maggot they got into their heads.

  It would have surprised him to learn that his superior officer was suffering an attack of the blackest jealousy. Perry did not recognise it for what it was. The emotion was entirely new to him.

  Like any other young man, he had fancied himself in love with a number of high-flyers. When they had moved on to pluck another pigeon he had taken the desertion in good part, often relieved to be free of the entanglement.

  The thought of marriage had not crossed his mind. His mother had thrown young ladies in his way without success. None could compare with Prudence, his brother’s wife. Cast into the shade by her forthright personality, they had seemed insipid.

  There was a woman for you, he thought affectionately. Prudence was feisty, intelligent and courageous. He and she were the best of friends. She’d smile to see him mooning about like a lovesick calf.

  Lovesick? No! It wasn’t true! He stopped his pacing to grip the rail so tightly that his knuckles whitened in the moonlight.

  If there was one woman in the world who could be guaranteed to bring out the worst in him, it was Elizabeth Grantham. They fought incessantly. She was spoilt, arrogant, bossy, and...and devious. He had never yet bested her in a verbal encounter. She had an answer for everything. He was merely suffering from irritation.

  This was understandable. In time of war a naval officer must not be distracted by the tantrums of some chit of a girl. He would put her from his mind.

  He then began to wonder what was taking place between Elizabeth and his friend in the cabin below.

  He would not have found it a soothing sight. Chris was holding Elizabeth’s hand, and whispering words of love into her willing ear.

  Chapter Five

  “How beautiful you are tonight!” Chris said reverently. “Elizabeth, I love you so. I’ll do my best to make you happy if you will become my wife...”

  Elizabeth looked up at him. “Dear Chris, how can I give you an answer? I am so confused...I fear I am not myself at present.”

  “Have I upset you? I didn’t mean to do so. Have I spoken too soon?”

  She gave him a tremulous smile. “It is not that, but I was brought here against my will. I’ve tried to be brave, even though I am a prisoner in this cabin. The worst thing is that Mr Wentworth has taken me in such dislike. It has quite sunk my spirits. No matter what I do, I cannot please him.”

  Chris scowled. “He is unreasonable. I raked him over, I can tell you. He’s much in need of a lesson in good manners.”

  “Do you think so? I confess that I am tempted to play a trick on him.”

  “That would be famous, and just what he deserves. But what can we do?”

  “Suppose he were to find this cabin empty? Could you hide me elsewhere? It would give him such a fright.”

  “He’d go mad!” Chris looked doubtful. “Besides, you might be seen by one of the crew. We have no women aboard.”

  “But when we dock?” Elizabeth blushed prettily. “Your captain does not permit visits by the women of the town?”

  “My dear Elizabeth!” Chris coloured to the roots of his hair. It was a shock to discover that his paragon of purity and innocence had heard of the drabs who frequented the ports in the hope of earning a few coppers from men starved of female company.

  “Now you are scandalised...I’m sorry.” Elizabeth hung her head in mock contrition. “I would not have you think me guilty of vulgarity.”

  “No, I don’t! I mean, I was surprised, that’s all. You are right, of course. The captain don’t approve, but he’s a re
alist, and turns a blind eye.”

  “I could wear my hooded cloak,” Elizabeth cooed. “No one need ever know.” She pressed his hand. “Do say that you’ll agree? It would be a famous joke...”

  A glance at her companion’s face told her that he was still doubtful. “I see what it is,” she murmured. “You fear Mr Wentworth’s anger. Pray forget the matter. I should not have mentioned it.”

  “Dearest, you may ask anything in the world of me.” Chris pressed her fingers to his lips. “We’ll do it. It need only be for an hour or so. Then we shall set his mind at rest.”

  “Of course!” Elizabeth dimpled at him. “Now we are conspirators!” Her sparkling glance encouraged him to try to kiss her, but she evaded him with ease.

  “Not now!” she warned. “Come to me tomorrow.”

  Having dismissed him, she was satisfied. Once outside the cabin, she would slip away from him. Then, with any luck, she would be able to hide herself on the boat which took the women back to shore.

  That night she slept like the proverbial log, untroubled by the need to make further plans. With money in her pocket, the future would take care of itself.

  Next day she woke to find the Artemis at anchor in the shelter of Gibraltar’s massive rock. She dressed quickly, impatient to carry out her plans. A glance through the porthole told her that the day was cloudy, with the promise of rain. Darkness would fall early on that January night.

  Meantime, she must not betray herself. Perry must not suspect her plans.

  That day he paid her only the briefest of visits, pleading the pressure of his duties. She nodded pleasantly. He did not know it, but he would not see her again.

  As his key turned in the lock, she added another gown to the one she was already wearing. It made her feel uncomfortably bulky, especially when she tied the small satchel containing the purse of gold and a change of underthings beneath her skirt. She could carry nothing more, or even Chris would be suspicious.

  Then all she could do was to wait.

  The hours dragged endlessly, but it grew dark at last. Later, she heard laughter and the sound of female voices, the first she’d heard since leaving Genoa. It gave her hope. Her captivity would soon be at an end.