The responsibility of what had happened was entirely his, and it didn’t take a genius to work out that John Everson would be well within his rights to run him through for what he had done, which, he now realised, was what he deserved.
With aching gentleness he kissed the top of Cassandra’s shining head. She shifted slightly and he felt a dampness on his chest. That was when he became aware that she was crying. Placing his hand beneath her chin, he tipped her face to his.
‘Please don’t cry. I’m sorry. For what it’s worth, what I have done was inexcusable. If I could undo the wrong I would, but it’s too late.’ Brushing wayward strands of hair from her wet cheeks, he swallowed down a knot of remorse. ‘Why do you weep? Did I hurt you?’ Shaking her head, she smiled through her tears. It was the sweetest smile Stuart had ever seen, and the relief that flowed through him acted like a balm on his guilty heart.
‘That isn’t why I’m crying. I often cry when I’m happy. I came to Barbados because my life seemed so empty—so meaningless and hopeless. You have made me happy because, for the first time in my life, when you made love to me I knew what it was like to feel wanted—to feel needed. It was a special feeling and I shall never forget it. Thank you. Whatever happens after this, I want you to know that I have no regrets.’
A reprieve was certainly not what Stuart had expected. Humbled by the raw emotion in her voice, he gazed into her glowing eyes with disbelief. The shattering tenderness of her words caused his heart to contract with an emotion so intense it was painful to bear it. ‘Under the circumstances you are being extremely generous. I don’t deserve it. If you had resisted—struggled and begged me to stop—I would not have forced myself on you.’
Cassandra lowered her eyes, unable to resist the memory of what she had done, and how glorious it had been—a sensuous, wondrous experience. The wantonness she had displayed shocked her. How abandoned she had been, how eager to share the pleasures of the flesh—already she ached for it to happen again. The magic of his body filling hers was still there, and she could still feel the heat of his seed inside her.
‘You were very sure that I would want you—and I did. I wanted you so much, without thinking what I did. My self-control was well and truly toppled beneath your deliberate attack on my senses. I yielded to you willingly and without thought. Your forceful persuasiveness was my downfall.’ She saw him wince at her brutal honesty, and she smiled. ‘I’m being frank, I know, but if two people can’t be frank with one another at a time like this, I don’t know when they can be.
‘I was unable to withstand your ardour. You brought me to sweet fulfilment, knowing full well what you were doing to me, and that it would leave me hungering for more of the same.’
He turned his face into the rumpled mass of hair spread over her throat. ‘And do you still hunger for me, Cassandra?’ His voice was deep and husky as he inhaled the sweet scent of her.
‘Yes, but I doubt I am strong enough to withstand another full-fledged attack of your ardour at present,’ she remarked on a suffocated laugh. Reluctantly she left his arms and scrambled to her feet. ‘We must be getting back. John is bound to ask questions, so we must have our answers prepared.’
‘And we will be as circumspect as we can be. It will be our secret delight when we look at one another in the days ahead, and remember the pleasure we have shared. No matter how unconventional our beginning, we will always have this. The short time we have spent in this cave will be a time encapsulated in our memories for all time.’
Having pulled on her silk stockings and donned her shift and dress, which had dried remarkably quickly in the hot sun at the cave’s entrance, Cassandra paused and looked at Stuart. He had stood up and was fastening his breeches. She caught her breath at the marvellous perfection of the powerful man displayed before her eyes. Her body was still tender from its contact with that magnificent, virile flesh, and she marvelled at the way they had fitted together. It had been perfect, as if God had intended that it should be so.
Suddenly a plain and simple fear gripped her heart. ‘You do you realise what this means, don’t you, Stuart?’
‘Fully, my love,’ he murmured. Pulling her into his arms, he shoved her hair aside and trailed his lips down her neck, his breath feather-light on her flesh. ‘Now you will have to marry me—but the way I see it, you and I are as married now in the eyes of God as if any priest had already joined us. The ceremony will be a mere formality.’
Cassandra’s eyes pricked with tears at the simple statement. This was no pretender, who would abandon her after taking her body. ‘Thank you,’ she whispered simply.
‘You’re welcome. A love like ours was destined to be. We belong together now. Nothing and no one can take this away from us. You are the woman I want to spend my life with, and I want all of you—heart, mind and body.’
She smiled tremulously. ‘I find it hard to believe that anybody could want me that much.’
‘Do you need convincing still?’ he murmured, claiming her lips once more.
She drew back in his arms and stared up at him, thinking how handsome he was, with his dark eyes and an errant wave falling rakishly over his brow. ‘I don’t know.’ This was a man she hardly knew, a stranger still, despite what they had done, and yet she wanted to know this man to whom she had just given her maidenhead better.
Stuart grinned at her frowning face. ‘You will. However, until you are my wife, my love, celibacy will be the order of the day. My intentions where you are concerned will be entirely honourable from now on and will have to wait until after the wedding. I shall try to restrain myself, difficult though that will be, but I shall start to conserve my strength, since it is obvious I’m going to need it in our marriage.’
‘Why, does it wain so quickly?’ Cassandra asked lightly, a gurgle of laughter bubbling to her lips. She could see a mischievous gleam lighting up his eyes, and her heart beat quickened when he placed his lips in the warm, pulsating hollow of her throat.
‘It renews itself with astounding fortitude, thank the Lord, as I shall delight in proving to you when we are wed. Before I return to Bridgetown I will speak to your cousin,’ he said, thrusting his arms into the sleeves of his shirt. ‘The sooner the better.’
‘What if he refuses?’
Stuart’s brow quirked in sardonic amusement. ‘He won’t. He’ll agree for your sake. I shall damn anyone who stands in my way.’ Seeing the apprehension on her face, it hit him then that her reason for refusing his proposal last night had not been removed. He was curious as to what it could be, but decided not to pressure her into disclosing it. Maybe it would become clear in time. Gently cupping her chin in his hand, he gazed deep into her eyes, understanding the direction of her thoughts. ‘No matter what it is that troubles you, Cassandra, do not fear me. Do you want to be my wife?’
When Cassandra looked at him, it came with a slow dawning that she wanted this more than anything she had ever wanted in her life before. She would marry him, but may God help her if he should discover her secret. ‘Yes, I do. I shall be content to be your wife, Stuart, in every way.’
John and Julia had taken refuge from the storm at the plantation home of one of Julia’s friends. John felt some concern because Cassandra was alone with Captain Marston, but he was confident they would find shelter until the storm had passed over, and that Captain Marston would take care of her. After all, he was an honourable man—a gentleman who acted like one—and John was assured that no man of breeding would take a young unmarried girl of good family to a private place and treat her wantonly.
When they met up with them on the road he accepted their explanation that they had sought shelter in a cave and waited for the rain to subside, and he was satisfied that Cassandra showed no aftereffects of the storm. Although when he looked at her more closely as they rode side by side back to Courtly Hall, he realised that wasn’t quite correct.
She was unusually quiet. A small, secretive smile played on her lips, and her eyes were brilliant and warm with emo
tion, looking away into some world where he was forbidden. In fact, she was positively glowing. Only once did her eyes meet those of Captain Marston, and the look that passed between them was the gleaming look of successful conspirators. The resulting suspicion was farfetched, yet the moment it entered John’s mind it nagged him and filled him with unease.
Cassandra was young, inexperienced in the ways of the world, and not even Captain Marston would have the temerity, the sheer effrontery, to interfere with the cousin of a man who had invited him into his home. Not in his worst fears did he imagine that Cassandra might have given more than a kiss, but whatever it was that had occurred between the two of them, as the days passed there seemed to be a new maturity borne of the time she had been alone with Captain Marston.
John was surprised—and more than a little relieved—when Stuart Marston asked for his permission to wed Cassandra. Elated by this unexpected turn of events, he had no hesitation in giving it, and was delighted that the marriage was to take place before the convoy sailed for England.
On the day of the wedding Rosa bathed and covered the bride’s body with lightly scented jasmine before dressing her in a shimmering gown of creamy white silk gauze, embroidered all over with tiny pearls. A gold and pearl necklace of the utmost delicacy adorned her throat. Her head was modestly covered in a cloud of diaphanous material for the ceremony, which was then folded back to reveal her shining wealth of hair hanging down the curve of her spine.
The wedding proved to be an exciting diversion for John’s and the Courtlys’ many friends and acquaintances, with Sir Charles and Lady Julia providing an excellent wedding feast.
Stuart’s attire was unostentatious. He wore black knee breeches and a handsome knee-length black coat with broad scarlet-and-gold embroidered cuffs. With pride mingled with joy, he only had eyes for his bride, and he was impatient to return with her to his ship where they could be alone at last. She looked positively radiant and his arms ached to hold her.
It was not until they were climbing into the boat that was to take them out to the Sea Hawk, when the sun was a crimson blaze of glory on the horizon, that Cassandra experienced a feeling of doubt, of alarm, as she considered the enormity of the step she had taken, when she realised it was too late to turn back, and that she was to spend a lifetime with this man she knew so little about.
She looked towards where he sat across from Rosa, his profile turned away from her towards the sea, his finely etched features inscrutable in the fading light. Unconsciously she fingered the ring he had placed on her finger, a ring composed of a circle of diamonds of an extraordinary size, its centrepiece an enormous sapphire exhibiting a deep, exotic lustre.
She recollected how Stuart’s dark gaze had held hers when he had placed it there, and she also recollected how soft his lips had been when he had placed them on hers, sealing their union with a kiss. With these thoughts filling her mind, any doubts she might have were expelled.
On the point of leaving the shore, she turned to John, who had accompanied them to the boat. He was to remain in the Caribbean on Company business, and to continue to enjoy the uninterrupted favours of Elmina until the time came for him to return to England. He must have sensed Cassandra’s slight hesitation and the doubts passing through her mind, for he leaned forward and hugged her, kissing her cheek with deep tenderness.
‘Go, Cassandra, my dear, dear cousin. Go with your husband and be happy. He is a good man. He will take care of you. See that my letter is given to Meredith, and give her my love. I will contact you as soon as I return to London.’
John watched the boat leave the shore. The convoy of something like forty heavily laden merchantmen was assembled out in the bay, among them the Sea Hawk, which he hoped would take Cassandra to a new and happier life from the one she had known. He prayed most fervently that she would come to love her husband, and in so doing put the memory of Nathaniel Wylde behind her. Let him sink into oblivion. Wasn’t that where most legends went?
Chapter Six
Cassandra climbed the rope ladder flung over the ship’s side with ease, stepping on to the scrubbed deck and breathing deeply the familiar, comforting smells of hemp and pitch. They welcomed her like old friends. The crew lounged about on piles of rope or drums of tar as they sang sea shanties to the tuneful quivering strings of a lute, making the most of their last hours of ease before the ship set sail.
After having a quiet word with the first mate, James Randell, who was waiting to welcome them on board, Stuart escorted Cassandra down the companion ladder to his cabin. It adjoined the great cabin, which served as a communal dining saloon for the officers, at the stern of the ship.
The huge vessel, manned by eighty mariners and additional surgeon, sailmakers, smiths, caulkers and joiners, to name but a few—as was the case with most great merchantmen sailing across the oceans of the world—moved gently beneath their feet on the swelling sea. The tall masts swayed with the motion, the timbers creaked, and the holds were packed with all manner of goods, from food and drink, tar and oil, powder and ammunition for the forty guns, and a hundred other things, not counting the precious cargo.
Silver moonlight shone through the wide window of Stuart’s cabin. A huge globe stood in one corner and a table was littered with log books, tables of latitude and tides, charts, a compass and a quadrant for measuring angles and lengths in observing the sky—all objects Cassandra had become familiar with when she had sailed on the Dolphin.
She felt strangely elated after the day’s events. The heat and her heightened sensibilities had brought a pink flush to her cheeks. Stuart poured each of them a goblet of wine. Handing one to her, his fingers brushed hers briefly, long enough for her to feel their warmth, their strength. His body was sensuous and taut with vigour, but he behaved towards her with an instinct that showed restraint.
‘A toast to you, Cassandra—my dear wife,’ he said, raising his goblet. ‘May we always be as happy as we are tonight.’
His voice was soft and deep. When he looked at her, his dark eyes glowed with highly charged emotion that contained a deep satisfaction, for it was difficult to believe his good fortune that this beautiful creature was his wife, that the conquest had been easier and more pleasurable than he had at first envisaged. He was seized by a passionate longing to protect, to take care of her, and to treat her with the reverence she deserved, for, despite her determined, forthright manner and strong personality, she had the soft vulnerability of a young fawn.
‘You’re not nervous, are you, Cassandra?’ he asked, seeing a shadow of apprehension in her eyes.
She said the first words that entered her head. ‘A little. I’ve never been married before. I’m not sure how I should behave.’
‘I’ve never been married before either, so we will have much pleasure learning together.’
Cassandra lowered her gaze. ‘Nevertheless…it’s different for a man. They know the ways of the world—they know women. I—don’t want to disappoint you.’
Stuart laughed softly, tipping her chin so that she met his understanding gaze. ‘Do you honestly think I want a wife who is experienced in the art of loving? If I did, I would have looked on the streets. It is your naïvety I love, Cassandra, your innocence—and I know from experience that it belies the fires of a passionate and sensual woman. I regret we have to sail early in the morning—but it gives us a little time to be together.’
‘I thought you were awaiting the arrival of Captain Tillotson with the rest of the convoy from Antigua.’
‘The ships were sighted nearing the island earlier. It’s fairly certain they will put in an appearance before dawn. But, my dear, beautiful wife,’ he murmured softly, taking the goblet from her hand and placing it aside before drawing her into his arms, ‘we do have the night to ourselves—and it was made to enjoy. A night made for love.’
Cassandra sighed with a smile when his long fingers touched her cheek, slowly turning her face to his. When his eyes darkened with desire she felt no fear, only a sweet an
ticipation, and that all those wondrous sensations she had experienced with him once before were about to be rekindled. ‘All too soon it will be light.’
‘Not for hours yet. But we have many nights to enjoy, to get to know one another on our journey to England.’ His teeth flashed pearl bright as he smiled. It was the smile of a rogue. ‘No doubt in time you will become familiar with my selfish manner and all my past indiscretions and chastise me as is now your right.’
‘I would not presume, for they are no concern of mine.’ She laughed, a delightful, sensuous sound, which never ceased to enchant Stuart.
‘Our relationship has strange beginnings, does it not? There has been no courtship for us to get to know one another as other couples do, no preliminaries of gentle wooing.’
‘And yet you married me without your family in England around you. What will your mother say when you arrive on her doorstep with a wife in tow?’
‘She will be highly delighted, and so relieved to see me wed at last that she won’t mind that she missed the ceremony. I look forward to introducing you to her. Had we been in England, no doubt I would have sought your cousin’s permission and there would have been an acceptance followed by a long betrothal and finally marriage. But there was no time for that.’
‘Does your mother live at Charnwood?’
‘We have a house in London which she prefers to Charnwood. Unlike myself, she has an aversion to the country. She likes to be close to the court, and most of her friends live in town. But don’t be alarmed,’ Stuart said when he saw her look of consternation. ‘You will like her. It’s impossible not to. And I know she will be happy with my choice of bride.’
‘Then I shall look forward to meeting her very much.’ Cassandra felt his arms tighten around her and she raised her lips to receive his kiss, which was a masterpiece of passion and subtle restraint. Start moved with expert thoroughness, kindling a fire that had laid dormant for too long. He did not release her until she was breathless. ‘Your lips are so gentle, so tender,’ she murmured, unable to hide the yearning in her eyes, the vulnerability and the passion.
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