Splendor

by Catherine Hart

  Stepping back to view the result in her looking glass, Eden was not at all sure she didn’t look like a harlequin, unused as she was to wearing face paint. However, minutes later when she entered the parlor, the appreciative gleam in Devlin’s dark eyes reassured her, as did his immediate praise.

  “I’ve called you ‘beauty’ before, Eden, but this night you surely earn the title. You are a vision.”

  “Well, blow me down!” Nate exclaimed. “Would ye look at that! Lass, I tell ye truly, I’d never have believed ye could turn into such a comely gal, when ye seemed such a skinny dowd at first. Now I see that yer ma passed the best o’ her looks on to ye, after all. That she did.”

  The glow of their praise lingered through the better part of supper, which consisted of succulent quail and pheasant roasted to perfection, dressing and gravy, yams and greens, and plum pudding. While they ate, the men entertained the ladies with tall tales of their pirating ventures, exaggerating their skill and triumphs to the extreme, and with several sailor’s ditties, duly revised to be more suitable to mixed company. Devlin even composed one of his own, in Eden’s honor.

  With a teasing gleam in his dark eyes, he singsonged, “There once was a Charles Town spinster, annoyed by a suitor named Finster. A rogue came to the aid of the comely young maid, haunting all those who would pinch her.”

  Amused, and more than a little pleased with his effort, Eden made him promise to write the verse down before he forgot it. She wanted to keep it as a remembrance of the evening.

  The one sour note to the dinner was that their serving girl could not seem to keep her eyes off of Devlin for more than a few seconds at a time. Nor her body, for that matter. The little tart was ever at their table, bending over him and brushing her hips and breasts against him at every opportunity, affording him bountiful glimpses of her breasts, which were fairly leaping from her low-cut bodice.

  Of course, who could blame her? Devlin cut an extraordinarily dashing figure. Once more, he had declined to don a coat, understandable considering the summer heat. Indeed, Eden wished she might have done the same with her half dozen petticoats. He wore a snowy-white shirt with abundant ruffles at the cuffs and an equally decorative cravat, expertly tied. Over this, he sported a hip-length waistcoat of dark-blue brocade, lavishly trimmed with gold braid. His breeches were in a matching shade of blue, tucked neatly into the tops of his jackboots. About his waist hung a heavily fringed gold sash, into which he had tucked his sword. The gold hoop in his ear and the tawny color of his hair seemed designed to accent his apparel, or the other way round, perhaps. Certainly, a powdered wig would not have suited him half as well as his own sun-streaked locks.

  Still, Eden fumed, the serving girl had no call to flirt with him as openly as she did, no matter how appealing he was. And Devlin, in his turn, need not preen under her attentions quite so much. After all, he was Eden’s escort for the evening! Beside which, it wasn’t as if Eden had come out in rags, with warts dotting her face. As much effort as she had taken with her own appearance, she deserved his undivided attention, which she was definitely not getting!

  The longer the flirtation went on, the more peevish Eden became, until finally she could stand it no longer. Leaning close, she hissed into his ear, “Captain Kane, must you act a lust-crazed fool over a simple tavern maid? ’Tis disgusting, the way you are practically drooling into your plate!”

  Her comment seemed to amuse him greatly. On a laugh, he said, “But, duchess, that is precisely what I am, much to my own dismay. Since you have not seen fit to invite me to your bed, how could I be otherwise? I am but a carnal creature, with natural hungers which must be appeased from time to time.”

  She glared back at him. “Nay, sir! You are a lout! A flaming lecher! Moreover, you are making a disgraceful spectacle of yourself, and the rest of us in the process.”

  He simply smiled at her. “Having a fit of pique, are we, pet? Mayhap venting a bit of jealousy? No need for it, you know. You are more than welcome to fulfill my desires at any time you choose.”

  “Mother, please make this jackanapes cease his lurid prattle, or I swear I shall take my leave,” Eden implored. “In which case, you and Nate will be seated with a stiff suit of speaking clothes, and left to explain the matter.”

  “Please do hush with such unseemly talk, Captain,” Jane complied, spearing him with a stem glower. “You have made it plain that you will be departing Charles Town as soon as you can manage to do so. Under those circumstances, I find it totally reprehensible, dishonorable, and in poor taste for you to remain bent on seducing my daughter.”

  Devlin, knowing that Jane’s accusation held more than a grain of truth, and feeling the slightest bit guilty because of it, managed to behave moderately well after that. Until the walk home. With the evening so balmy, and the two men at hand to take charge of any problems they might encounter along the way, the foursome had decided to walk the short distance from the inn rather than employ the carriage. They were but a few steps along when a buxom young doxy strolled past, her bodice barely covering her breasts. She reeked of cheap perfume, her black hair streamed down her back like a witch’s mane, and her face had been painted with a heavy hand. As she came even with them, she glanced sideways through kohl-laden eyes, spotted Devlin, and winked.

  Caught up in each other, Nate and Jane witnessed none of this. As Eden stopped short in dumbfounded shock, the older couple continued walking. Devlin halted as well, and stood staring wistfully after the harlot, his eyes faithfully following the beckoning sway of the woman’s hips.

  His lips pursed in a soundless whistle. “Now, there’s a sight worth its weight in gold!” he sighed dramatically.

  “Then you just have your fill of it, you randy hound!” Eden spat out. “For all the good ’twill do you! And I hope your eyes fall right out of their sockets!” She yanked her hand from the curve of his arm and strode angrily after her mother, leaving Devlin to his own devices.

  For all of a minute Devlin remained in full view. Then, predictably, he began to fade, leaving only his fine apparel to be seen.

  Several yards away, slouched in an alleyway with his precious flask of rum, an old drunk beheld the strange transformation with boggled mind. The befuddled fellow gave a sharp shake of his head, as if to clear his drink-fogged vision. “Blimey! I must’ve gotten me a powerful batch o’ rotgut this time! This keeps up, I’m gonna have to start cuttin’ back on the bottle! And what a bloomin’ shame that’d be!”

  Chapter 21

  Almost before Eden could fully comprehend what she was about to do, the day arrived when the repairs to the Gai Mer were finished, and the frigate was launched back into the bay. Fresh stores were laid in, and Nate announced he would be sailing on the early-morning tide of the following day. Jane was properly saddened, more than Devlin could know, for not only would she be parted for several long weeks from her betrothed, but also from her only child. The reality was almost more than she could bear.

  “Must you go so soon?”

  “Now, Janie, the sooner I leave, the sooner I’ll be back, love. And the sooner we’ll be wed. Surely you can see the sense of that.”

  “But anything could happen. To you. To me.” To Eden. This last thought remained unspoken, because Devlin was standing close by, but her fellow conspirators understood it nonetheless.

  “Nay,” Nate told her. “ ’Twill be smooth sailin’ all the way, and I’ll be back almost afore ye know I’ve gone.” He gave her a wink and added for Devlin’s benefit, “B’sides, ye’ll have Dev and all yer fine friends to look out for ye. And dependable help at the warehouse, as well.”

  The remaining crewmen, those who still did not wish to apply for pardon, had agreed, with the promise of a hefty bonus, to stay on in Jane’s employ until Nate’s return. They were a loyal lot and had given their solemn oath, and Nate was assured that they would not go back on it, even without Devlin present to monitor them.

  Jane sniffed tearfully. “Well then, in honor of our last n
ight together, I’ve some excellent brandy I’ve been saving for just such a special occasion. Let me fetch it, and we’ll all share a toast.”

  It was all part of their scheme. In the kitchen, Jane would pour their drinks. Into Devlin’s, she would add a prescribed amount of sleeping powder. Within a short time, he would fall into a deep sleep, and when next he awakened, he would be aboard the Gai Mer, bound and gagged and far out at sea.

  But in her haste and nervousness, Jane failed to stir the potion well enough. Devlin took only one sip and spied the undissolved powder at the bottom of his goblet. His brow furrowed, and he turned accusing eyes on all three of them.

  “Ho! What’s this? Could it be I’m being duped by those I trust most? Is that why, in the past two days, you have all ceased nagging me to go to New Providence?”

  “Whatever are you yapping about now?” Eden demanded, praying that her face was not flaming with guilt. “Devlin, you are making absolutely no sense.”

  He held out his cup to each of them in turn. “Then explain, if you can, what is at the bottom of my drink. Methinks you all planned to drug me—did you not?”

  Jane took up the defense. “Devlin Kane, you are being ridiculous! I’ve never heard such rot in my life! That”—she pointed to his goblet—“is nothing more than sediment from the bottom of the cask. Not that I meant to serve it to you, but in my hurry, I must have become careless in the pouring. An error which I shall rectify straightaway.”

  In one smooth motion, she snatched the cup from his unseen hand and started again for the kitchen, muttering for all to hear. “I’ve never been so insulted! Why, to be accused of such a thing, right in my own home! And by someone I considered a friend!”

  “Dev, ye should be properly ashamed o’ yerself!” Nate claimed, shaking his head. “Aye, ye should.”

  Devlin wasn’t so sure about that. Turning on his heel, he stomped out of the room. Over his shoulder he said, “Tell Jane to forget pouring more brandy for me. I’m not certain the next serving would be any better than the last. Nor am I sure I trust any of you further than I could throw you.”

  Once he’d gone, Eden slumped into a chair. ‘Tarnation! What do we do now?” she wailed.

  “For a beginning, you can watch your tongue, young lady,” her mother admonished, stepping back into the room.

  She, too, fell into a seat on the divan, leaving the cushion next to her for Nate. “ ’Tis all my fault for getting into such a rush about it,” she admitted. “But ’tis too late to change that. Rather, we must concentrate on finding another means to outmaneuver him.”

  “I could try slipping into his room while he sleeps and bashing him senseless,” Nate offered.

  “How well do you imagine that would work, with that dratted noisy falcon to alert him the instant you opened the door?” Eden said.

  “Aye,” Nate agreed with a resigned sigh. “I’d forgotten about Zeus.”

  “Well, we must find some means of lulling the man into lowering his guard,” Jane said.

  The glimmer of a notion teased the back of Eden’s brain, growing brighter with every passing moment. “I think I have an idea which might work. ’Tis a bit precarious, but it does have some merit.” On a deep breath, before she lost her courage, she blurted, “I propose that I should seduce him. Only up to a point, you understand.”

  “What!” Two voices blended in exclamation.

  “Well, can either of you suggest anything better?” she challenged. “The man is practically obsessed with bedding me, and after his extended abstinence he is certainly primed for seduction.”

  “So much so that a ewe will not be safe near him soon,” Nate put in succinctly.

  Eden grimaced. “How graciously stated. Not that I appreciate the comparison. Still and all, if I were to entice him, I believe he would snap at the bait like a starving shark.”

  “An apt analogy, daughter, and one to keep foremost in your mind. Properly provoked, he could be every bit as dangerous.”

  Eden nodded. “True, but is it not also a proper assumption that, once beguiled, his thinking will be muddled, his suspicions at bay? Would it not then be easier to persuade him to share a drink with me, simply to ease my fears of what he imagines will transpire soon afterward? But, in reality, I shall be sipping very little of the wine, while he will be consuming a greater quantity. Before the seduction can be accomplished, he’ll be flat on his face, snoring the curtains from their rods.”

  “ ’Tis a gamble, but it could do the trick,” Nate concurred. “Certainly, he’ll take great care about what he eats and drinks in this house for many a day to come, but once overwhelmed with lust, he’s bound to be less cautious.” He turned to Jane. “Think ye ’tis worth a try?”

  “I don’t know,” she answered, worrying her lower lip with her teeth. “There’s so much at stake, and too much that could go wrong. The slightest slip, and Eden could easily lose her virtue. ’Tis not a thing to take lightly, or to put in jeopardy without just cause.”

  “Mama, this is a just cause,” Eden proclaimed. “The man I love is about to throw his future away, and mine with it. I will do anything to prevent that, and if the price is my chastity, then the cost is well worth the paying.”

  “And what if you forfeit your, innocence for naught?” her mother counseled gravely. “Your life could lie in ruin.”

  “Mama, I thought we’d agreed that the choice would be mine, if and when the time came. Besides, I think we are putting the cart before the horse. If all goes well, I will come away as pure as I begin. However, if the worst should happen, I shall bear the consequences without regret, for I’d rather know one night of passion with Devlin, than a thousand with anyone else. Just as I have changed from the prudish old maid I once was, so have my values and my ideals. I want to know the glory of lying with the man I love, if only once in my life. I’ll gladly go to my grave a fallen woman, than die never having taken this chance at a future together with him.”

  The trap was set once more, awaiting only the moment to spring it. Much to Devlin’s confusion, Nate sailed the next morning as intended. What he did not know was that his quartermaster took the Gai Mer only a short distance down the coast, with plans to return again that evening under cover of darkness. Meanwhile, though perplexed, Devlin still had not relinquished his suspicions, refusing to eat his meals with the Winters women that day, or to drink anything they offered him. It was going to be tricky to dupe him now; everything depended on Eden’s untried powers of seduction and the whims of fate. .

  All was ready. Devlin had retired to his room for the night not ten minutes ago. In her own room, attired in her most becoming nightdress, with tampered wine at hand, Eden whispered a quick prayer and put her scheme into action. Very deliberately, she set about creating as much noise as she could, all the while making the sounds appear normal. First she clomped about the room in her shoes, slamming bureau drawers and wardrobe doors. At length, she flopped heavily onto the bed, making it squeak in protest. Then she removed the hard-heeled shoes and dropped them, one at a time, onto the hardwood floor.

  All this she was certain Devlin was hearing through the connecting wall. How could he fail to, when he’d told her he’d heard her restless turnings many a night before, when she’d been trying her utmost to be quiet? With that in mind, Eden bounced about on the bed. Then, with a loud sigh, she got up, went to the window, and slammed it shut. A few minutes later, she threw the window open again, smiling at the loud squawk the frame emitted. Only she and her mother knew how laboriously they had worked earlier in the day, soaking the wood with wet towels to make it swell.

  She walked to the rocker, which she had intentionally positioned directly opposite the head of Devlin’s bed, with only the thin wall separating them. The rocker, too, had been treated to a good dousing, and as Eden put it into motion, it protested with a chorus of groans and creaks. Back and forth, over and over again, she rocked, until she was tempted to put her own hands to her ears for respite. She could only guess, and
pray, that the sound was equally irritating on Devlin’s side.

  She was beginning to give up hope when there came a pounding against the wall near her head. Three sharp raps. Smiling to herself, Eden answered with two taps of her own. She ceased rocking, mentally allotted him three minutes of blessed silence, then rose and went again to her wardrobe. With calculated clumsiness, she rumbled about, finally retrieving a pair of mules from the bottom shelf. These she fitted onto her feet, and the next sound was that of flopping heels clip-clopping repeatedly over bare floorboards, as Eden began to pace. Every now and again she would stop long enough to rattle bottles and jars on the top of her dressing table, or to drop something on the floor, or to clang the side of her silver goblet against the crystal wine decanter on her nightstand.

  She continued in this manner for a quarter of an hour, then finally settled herself once again in the rocking chair. Loud creaks sounded in tandem with her clicking heels, and, to add insult to injury, Eden began to softly hum off-key—all the while trying to listen for sounds from Devlin’s side of the wall.

  Just when she was beginning to think nothing would disturb him sufficiently, she heard his bedstead creak, followed by muted sounds which she could not interpret. Then she heard his bedroom door open and shut. She prayed he did not intend to leave the house. Finally her pleas were granted, and he knocked softly on her door.

  She was halfway to answering the summons when she remembered the wine. Backtracking quickly, she gave the decanter a brisk shake to blend the potion well, and poured a generous amount into her goblet. With drink in hand, she went to the door.

  Cracking it open just enough to allow him an adequate view of her in the fetching nightdress and her flowing tresses, she peered at him. By the light of her lamp, which now shone on him, she noted that he’d taken the time to yank on his breeches, but nothing else, and the sight of his bare chest threatened to give her an instant attack of the vapors, as if she were not already nervous enough. “Yes?” she questioned weakly.