The assembled crowd answered Evan’s statement with murmurs of approval. Simon, however, looked as if he had swallowed a spoonful of vinegar.
“Well then, if there are no more witnesses, I suggest we call an end to this farce.”
“Farce!” Simon screamed.
With a nod, the two guards who had been standing placidly in the corner stepped forward to stand, one on each side of Simon. He glanced at them in horror.
“Ei incumbit probatio, qui dicit, non qui negat, Mr. Manley.”
Mr. Adams nodded his approval while Simon gave the judge a confused look. Had Simon really been as good a student as Prudence professed? It didn’t take any great student of Latin to recognize the phrase.
The look on Judge Everidge’s face suggested he felt the same disdain for Manley’s ignorance as Evan.
“Mr. Manley,” the judge said on a sigh. “I will not see an old and honored family, one that has contributed so much to the well-being of Rhode Islanders, dragged through the muck just to settle what is clearly a personal vendetta for you. This colony is under British rule, and while I might have been granted great leeway in how I see fit to enforce the rule of law, one is still presumed innocent until the accuser can prove otherwise.” He took off his spectacles and stuck them back in his pocket. “Unless you have proof, sir, do not bring this before me again.”
Judge Everidge stood, turned his back on a sputtering Simon, and with a flourish of his dark robes, made his way to the door.
With his attendant holding the door open for him, he paused, then turned and winked at Prudence. “I almost forgot. You’re free to go, Mrs. Foster.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Evan pushed his way through the milling crowd toward his stunned wife.
Dodging one last well-wisher intent on shaking his hand or clapping him on the back, he reached Prudence and took her cold fingers in his. “See, I told you everything would be all right.”
“Yes, but I never expected it to be this easy.” She nodded to a man who shouted his congratulations over the heads of his neighbors.
“Nor I,” Evan confessed.
He released Prudence’s hands to hold one out to Mr. Adams. “Thank you, sir. My wife and I owe you a debt of gratitude.”
Mr. Adams took the proffered hand, but the corners of his mouth were turned down even more than usual. “You’re welcome, sir, but I don’t see as how I did anything very great. Mr. Manley seems to have won the case for me.”
“But you would have.” Prudence took his chubby hands in hers. “I’m sure had Simon actually had a case against me, you would have disarmed it with your brilliance.”
Adams looked into her eyes. “But I had hoped to launch my career with this case.”
By the almighty! Was the man more concerned with himself than his client?
Prudence seemed not to notice. She gave him the sweetest smile Evan had ever seen. “I am certain you have a great future ahead of you, Mr. Adams. I know you are a man of exceptional abilities, and the world will speak your name with reverence one day.”
Evan thought he might be sick, but Adams seemed to take Prudence’s words to heart. Mollified he turned to go, his shoulders only slightly slumped as he shuffled away.
Prudence turned to Evan. “What?”
Evan cocked an eyebrow at her. “Speak your name with reverence? Really, did the man’s ego need that much of a boost?”
“I am serious, Evan. Mr. Adams had a brilliant defense planned, and I never feared for our case.” She laid her palm against his chest and peeked out at him from under her lashes. “But, truly, the credit goes to you for discovering such a brilliant lawyer.”
Evan laughed. “All right, enough. I know when I’m being played.”
He lifted the ruffle of her cap to kiss her forehead. Given a few years, Prudence would be just as capable of assessing and handling people as her grandmother. Perhaps, she already was if she had indeed detected brilliance in Mr. Adams when all he could see was a shabbily dressed, country lawyer whom no one else would hire.
Another man stopped just a few feet away, his hat in his hands.
“Congratulations, Captain Foster.” The man lifted his face to Evan’s. For a moment his awestruck gaze shifted to Prudence, but then yanked as if on a string back to Evan’s face. Evidently, the crew of the Cythraul weren’t the only ones who got tongue tied in the presence of an Ashcroft. But then again, Evan was almost as much an Ashcroft as Prudence now. For some reason, that thought filled him with a sense of pride.
“My name’s Seamus McGinley. Me son Billy works in your stables just as I did when I was a lad.”
“I know Billy,” Evan said. “He’s a fine boy.”
The man ducked his head. “Well, he can be a bit of a handful, but I know he’ll make his way in the world working for you and Mrs. Foster. It was the same with me. Worked for her grandmother for years before she helped me get set up in town with a business of me own. I owe her the world and that extends to her granddaughter and to you. Fact is, most of us here are beholden to the Ashcrofts in one way or t’other.” The man clapped his hat on his head, earnestness shining in his eyes. “If things went for the worst, we would surely have done somethin’. Not sure what it would have been, but we would have done somethin’.”
Evan forced back a shudder at the look of purpose on the old man’s face. In his travels, he had seen more than his share of normally peaceful people forced to violence when they felt they had no other recourse. He didn’t care to see it happen in Rhode Island, nor to have Prudence in the midst of it all.
Evan stuck his hand out to the man, and after a moment of stunned silence, the man grasped it. “Well, we thank you for that, but luckily for all of us, things turned out as they should,” Evan said.
“Bless you, they did,” the man said, then left to join a gathering of men waiting for him at the door.
Evan turned back to Prudence and opened his mouth to suggest they take their leave when he was interrupted again.
“Captain Foster?” Peter said in a soft voice. “I came to say I’m sorry for my cowardly ways. I feel terrible for putting Mrs. Foster in danger.”
Evan considered his young charge. He’d have to be tougher on the boy in the future, make sure he didn’t cave in to fear when it really counted, but at least he had the courage to face up to his error.
The boy looked down at the hat he still held in his hands. “I’ll understand if you don’t want me on the Cythraul anymore.” He forced his gaze to Prudence, and this time his face reddened in shame instead of shyness. “Your grandma gave me a chance when we, my family and me that is, was down on our luck and all. I’ll always appreciate what she done for us. I can’t believe I repaid her this way.”
“Nonsense, boy. When Rachel Ashcroft saw something in a man, she was usually right.” He gave Prudence a grin as they shared the private joke between them. “If she thought you’d be a good sailor, I think the best way to honor her memory is to prove her right. I’ll see you back on the Cythraul in the morning.”
“Do you really mean it, sir?” Peter’s eyes shone with delight.
“Yes, but you’ll be scrubbing decks for a few years,” Evan added.
“Yes, sir!” Peter said, even more vehemently, the brightness in his eyes not dimming a bit.
He gave a little skip as he turned, and with just a few long strides, he disappeared through the door of the courthouse.
“In the morning?” Prudence asked.
So she had caught that. Evan cringed at the implication. Married a little less than a fortnight, he had spent only two nights in her company. He wouldn’t blame Prudence if she still had doubts.
“I got called away early from my last run so I was never able to finish the transaction. However, I—”
“Captain and Mrs. Foster,” a silky voice interrupted them. Mrs. Hendricks grasped Evan’s arm despite his having Prudence’s hands in his. “I wanted to tell you how happy I am that this all worked out so well.”
/> “Thank you, ma’am.”
Evan could feel Prudence’s eyes on him, assessing, judging. Did she think he and the madam were acquainted? Why wouldn’t she? She barely knew her husband, and this woman had approached him as though he were an old friend, salacious delight shining in her brown eyes.
In truth, he had never met Mrs. Hendricks before, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know who she was. As soon as he learned of Simon’s first visit to Prudence, Richard had had a man trail Mr. Manley to see what he could learn of the man’s habits, habits that might be used against him should the need ever arise.
Mrs. Hendricks was their ace in a hole, and he had been quite surprised when Manley called her as his witness. He hadn’t been worried though as he was certain Richard paid her more than Manley had, even though his agent had assured him that Mrs. Hendricks would have offered her assistance for free.
“Oh, t’wern’t no trouble.” Mrs. Hendricks gave Evan’s arm a squeeze then turned to Prudence. “Your grandmother and I were old friends.”
To her credit, Prudence gave Mrs. Hendricks a polite smile.
“Yes, it’s true,” Mrs. Hendricks said as though she were used to the facts being disputed. “We met when she was only a little more than your age. I found her wandering the street in the middle of the night. I hadn’t made my way in the world back then, not the way I have now.” She gave her elaborate coiffure a little pat. “I thought she was competition if you know what I mean.
“’Course, when I got close, I could tell she was a lady, a real lady. The streets ain’t no place for a lady, especially that close to the docks in the middle of the night. So, I closed up shop for the night and took her home with me. Gave her a bed to sleep in and some broth to warm her belly.”
“Why was my grandmother wandering the streets at night?”
Evan smiled. He should have known Prudence wouldn’t be able to contain her curiosity.
“Not sure of the details. Weren’t none of my business. But I think she might have been angry at your grandfather. He showed up the next morning, his face all dark and stormy like. Scared me to my bones, so I went to get help. When I came back, the door was locked, and there were noises coming from the room.” She gave a little cackle. “Weren’t my face red when I had to tell the constable that it had all been a misunderstanding!”
“Well, I thank you for coming to my rescue as well,” Prudence said, a touch of color on her own cheeks.
“Oh, it was my pleasure!” Mrs. Hendricks said. “In return for my help, your grandmother loaned me the money to set up my own establishment. She could have judged me, refused to have anything to do with the likes of me, but she weren’t like that. As I said, she was a real lady.
“’Sides, what I said about that man was true. He does like his rum. Comes into my house, drinks my best stuff, then leaves. I charge him for the spirits of course, but I ain’t running a tavern. He never chooses any of my girls. Just stares at them. Makes them so nervous they can’t focus on what they’re doin’.” She emphasized her point with a shudder.
By the time Mrs. Hendricks took her leave in a whirl of violet silk and yellow feathers, both Prudence and Evan were stifling smiles.
“Well, that was interesting.” Evan tried not to laugh aloud lest the departing Mrs. Hendricks be offended.
“I have to agree with you there,” Prudence said. “My grandmother made some interesting allies in her time. Maybe I should spend some time down by the docks in the middle of the night.”
The very thought made Evan’s blood run cold. Instead he drew Prudence into his arms and whispered in her ear, “I think you and I can find better things to do, don’t you?”
He felt her shiver when he kissed the shell of her ear.
“Evan,” Prudence said, the seriousness in her tone prompting Evan to reluctantly release her. “Do you think Simon will retaliate?”
“I’ll make sure he doesn’t.”
“But how—”
“Never mind that.” Evan took her into his arms again.
He didn’t want to talk about Mrs. Hendricks, Simon, his ship, or the business. He didn’t want to talk about any of it. He wanted to spend time with his wife, to get to know her the way he should, to start fresh. He wanted to talk with her, to tell her all about his life, all the things he should have told her from the beginning. As much as he wanted to tell her about him, he wanted to hear about her life, too. He wanted to hear all the stories about her childhood. He wanted to share her pain when she told him what it was like to be a young woman trying to hold her own in a world of men. He wanted to help her put that pain in her past where it belonged by making her realize she was worth more to him than all the money in the world.
Most of all, he wanted to make love with her. He grinned into a curl that had escaped her cap just in front of her ear. After all, they still had a curse to break.
Evan glanced around at the throngs still milling about. The victory, as the locals surely saw it, had left them in a festive atmosphere. They all seemed to be talking at once, but he heard snatches of conversation…Ashcroft…helped me when…bless her soul. The way they were extolling her virtues, he expected to hear someone suggest Rachel Ashcroft be elevated to sainthood at any moment.
Maybe he could sneak past them while they swapped stories, but if one more person interrupted them, he might just toss Prudence over his shoulder and force his way through the crowd.
“Excuse me, Captain Foster—”
Evan dropped Prudence’s hands and spun to face this latest intrusion.
“Oh for the love of Go—” His words stuck in his throat. “Sorry, your honor, I thought you were someone else.”
“Yes, I can see that.” The old man’s eyes twinkled. “I just came to give my regards to Mrs. Foster.”
“Thank you, sir,” Prudence said.
Richard extricated himself from a group of men standing nearby and came to join them.
“You are the spitting image of her.” Judge Everidge gave her a kindly smile.
“Who?” Prudence asked.
“Rachel.” The word came out in a thick whisper, and Judge Everidge cleared his throat. “I was an old friend of your grandmother’s. Actually, I had hoped it would turn into something more, but she up and married your grandfather before I had a chance to win her heart.”
Evan thought he detected tears in Everidge’s eyes.
“I was glad she found happiness with him. I even thought of offering my suit after she lost him, but the one time I saw her, I could just tell she would only have one true love in her life. I contented myself with loving her until the end.” He grasped Prudence’s hand. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be there for her funeral. I was in England when I heard about her death. I think the fates must have brought me home in time to help her granddaughter.”
“Thank you.” Prudence’s eyes were as moist as the judge’s now.
Richard gave a dramatic sigh after the judge took his leave. “I know just how he feels.”
Prudence blushed and gave Evan a sidelong glance, but Evan just smiled. He had grown to like Richard Bainbridge immensely. The concern he had shown for Prudence over the course of their ordeal had been almost as great as his own, but it had been the concern of a brother, not a lover.
“Are you going to be a problem?” he asked, his tone teasing.
“Only if you make her unhappy, old man.” Richard didn’t give Evan a chance to reply but left before Evan could get the last word in.
“There’s nothing between Richard and me,” Prudence said once they were finally alone.
“I know, but you still love him,” Evan said, his words a matter of fact, not conjecture.
“Yes, but not the way I love you.”
Evan drew her to him. “Oh, and how is that?”
Prudence turned thoughtful. “I don’t know. Sometimes words fail me.”
“Why don’t you show me then,” Evan suggested.
Prudence put her arms around his neck and pulled him i
nto a kiss that no one dared to interrupt.
****
Prudence shut her eyes against the morning sun streaming in through the windows. She didn’t think she had ever slept so late.
Memories of last night’s lovemaking flooded her mind. She glanced to the other side of the bed just to be sure it hadn’t all been a dream.
Evan lay next to her, his black hair sticking in all directions, dark shadows covering his jaw, his face pushed into the pillow so it distorted his features, bending his nose and pushing his lips to the side. He snorted and smacked his lips as though the sound startled him.
Prudence grinned. He’d never looked so handsome.
Light as a butterfly, she trailed her fingertips across his cheek.
Evan batted them away and pulled the blankets over his ear so only the top of his dark head showed.
Slowly, carefully, Prudence pulled the covers down, making sure to block the morning sun with her back so it didn’t shine in his eyes and wake him before she’d had time to extract her own revenge.
This time, she trailed light kisses along the curve of his ear.
Evan mumbled something and scrubbed at his ear. Prudence put her hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle.
Growing bolder, she bent down and nibbled his ear lobe. Evan groaned, and Prudence’s laughter came out in a puff of breath aimed right at his ear. She squealed as Evan grasped her shoulders and in one heart-pounding moment, pinned her beneath him on the bed.
“I caught you, my annoying little pest.” He gave her a kiss.
Prudence giggled and drew a line with a fingertip over his unshaven jaw, across his neck, and down his breastbone. Evan hardened against her thigh.
Prudence grinned. “Pest am I?”
“Perhaps I’ve slept enough.” Evan bent to kiss her again.
After a repeat of the night before, Prudence lay with her head against Evan’s chest, listening to the slow steady beat of his heart while Evan trailed his fingertips over her back. Now that the wonder of their union had subsided, doubts about the future began to surface. She sighed.
Willing Love Page 29