Catching Captain Nash

by Campbell, Anna

  Another silence fell, on Morwenna’s side brimming with gratitude too huge for mere words to express.

  Robert reached forward to take her gloved hand. “Tell me about the last five years.”

  Morwenna sighed, even as his touch made her heart skip a beat. How to cover such a long interval? “Kerenza has been the center of it, although I made sure she spent a lot of time with her cousins and uncles and aunts. I was so sunk in grief, I wasn’t always the best company for a lively toddler. Your family has been magnificent, especially Silas and Caro. They couldn’t do enough, and they’ve made sure I wanted for nothing.” She paused. “Except all I wanted was you alive and back in my arms. Even Silas couldn’t arrange that.”

  Robert frowned. “You haven’t been living on my brother’s charity?”

  “No, you left me more than adequately provided for. I’m talking about company and affection and support. I think for Caro and Silas, I was a link to you. They took me in for your sake.”

  “And for yours. It’s clear they love you on your own account.”

  “I hope they do. Just as I love them.” She smiled, as she remembered how good Robert’s family had always been to her. “And they love Kerenza like one of their own. I can’t tell you how thankful I am that she’s part of a family when she’s at Woodley Park.”

  “I owe Silas so damned much,” he said, with a hint of grimness. “I should have stayed in London.”

  She shook her head. “They see what it’s like for you. You find too much company...painful, don’t you?”

  He looked startled. “Is it so obvious?”

  “To people who care about you, it is. We all know you need time and understanding. Silas and Caro are willing to wait for you to recover your spirits.”

  He shook his head in self-disgust. “In London, I could feel the pressure of them wanting me to fall back into their love. It sounds rude and ungracious, but...”

  “But you’re not ready yet. They know.” She paused. “I know. And the house there was threatening to become a riot with all those people clamoring to see you.”

  “I felt under siege, even with Silas turning the visitors away.”

  While Morwenna and Caro had struggled to come to terms with Robert’s miraculous survival, a constant stream of callers had come to the door. Some to offer genuine good wishes, most curious to see Robert returned from the dead, and a good number avid for gossip about the disastrous end to her engagement to Garson.

  To her regret, Robert released her hand. “I felt like a wild animal on display in a menagerie.”

  “And it’s too much.”

  “It is.” His hands clenched on his thighs, and his expression tightened again. “I’ll be an ordinary man again, Morwenna. I swear I will.”

  “Robert, don’t be so hard on yourself. You only came home yesterday.” She placed a soothing hand over one closed fist. Emotion turned her voice husky. “And for heaven’s sake, you’ve never been an ordinary man. You’ve always been wonderfully exceptional.”

  He placed his other hand over hers, and she drew silent strength from his touch. She hated to see his pain and confusion. But at least he was here. She’d never imagined she’d touch him again, or hear his voice, or look into that beloved face, even sadly changed.

  “Thank you.” He turned his hand to lace his fingers through hers.

  He’d done that in London, when she’d touched his hand in silent reassurance while he’d struggled to tell his story. The gesture had moved her then. It moved her now. A proclamation that he and Morwenna stood together against the world.

  “Your family just want what’s best for you.”

  “I know.” His tone was wry. “They were very careful tiptoeing around me.”

  “And that made you feel worse.”

  His fingers tightened, squeezing her heart at the same time. But then, he’d held her heart in his hands from the moment she first saw him. “You understand.”

  “They’ve been very careful with me, too. Sometimes the weight of all that love...”

  “Becomes unendurable. That’s why you kept the Portsmouth house.”

  Of course he understood her need for somewhere she could escape and be herself. “It was purely yours and mine. Everything contained a memory of you. And lovely as Woodley Park is, it’s a bit overwhelming for a country girl from Cornwall.”

  “And it’s not your home.”

  “No.” Her free hand made a dismissive gesture. “Oh, listen to me. I sound like the most ungrateful wretch in creation. Believe me, Caro and Silas couldn’t have done more for me. And Helena and Vernon have been wonderful as well.”

  “But you still liked retreating to Portsmouth?”

  Her smile was wry. “I did. Just as I liked having Kerenza to myself. And I had a good friend in the town. That’s where I met Sally, Lady Norwood. Without her company, life would have been even lonelier and sadder. Sally is the one who persuaded Amy and me to come up to London to play Dashing Widows this season.”

  “I look forward to meeting her.”

  Morwenna smiled when she thought of her lively, stylish friend. “Actually she’s Lady Kinglake now. She was the first Dashing Widow to find love. She married Sir Charles Kinglake last August.”

  “And Amy is married, too. To the man she was madly in love with as a girl. How on earth did Pascal prize her away from her beloved cattle?”

  Morwenna’s smile widened as she recalled farm-minded Amy’s topsy-turvy courtship. “I’ll tell you.”

  As she told the story of Amy’s romance, something in her noted that this was the most natural conversation she and Robert had managed since his return. Hard to remember that last night, the effort of putting two words together had been beyond him.

  Encouraged by his interest, she moved to other family news. New children had arrived, and the older Nash children had grown. Silas had been elected president of the Royal Society. His sister Helena and her husband Vernon, Lord West were away in Russia sorting out a diplomatic tangle. Vernon had long ago retired from international intrigues to breed champion racehorses, but this latest mission resulted from a direct royal command.

  Eventually she paused. She reached a point where so much talking tested her stamina, too.

  Robert leaned back against the seat. “By God, they’ve been busy, haven’t they?”

  “There’s more. But that’s enough to go on with.”

  Sadness shadowed his black eyes. “What a lot I’ve missed.”

  Oh, no. Had she been wrong to say so much? She’d sensed his hunger to talk about something other than his captivity. But all this news just underlined his long absence.

  “I’m sorry. Don’t imagine your loss wasn’t a gaping wound through everything we did.”

  He shook his head. “I know I wasn’t forgotten. But I wasn’t just talking about the last five years. I’ve been away from my family most of my life.”

  “You love the navy.”

  “Loved. When I was a boy, it seemed the path to adventure and renown. But it’s a young man’s game. There are other adventures.”

  “You served your country, saw the world, made the seas safer, and had a wonderful time,” she said slowly. “Don’t let your captivity destroy your pride in your achievements.”

  “Oh, it won’t. But I’m devilish glad the navy accepted my resignation today.”

  “So they really are finished with you?” For herself, she’d be delighted if he never set foot on anything that floated for the rest of his life. She wanted him close by and safe. But she was wise enough to know that only he could decide whether his soul had had enough of voyaging.

  Robert gave an unamused grunt and looked out the window at the countryside wearing red and gold for autumn. “If only. They’ve granted me two months’ leave to recover, then I suspect I’ll be up to my neck in reports and committees and interviews. I’ve come back with valuable intelligence, for all that I spent most of my exile sitting on my arse in a prison cell.”

  “Your inf
ormation might help to defeat the pirates.”

  “My report will probably end up in a dusty file nobody looks at.” This cynicism was new. The man she’d married had been unashamedly patriotic and idealistic.

  “I don’t care,” she said emphatically. “You did your duty. And I’m proud of you.”

  He looked startled and sat up straighter. “By God, are you?”

  “Of course. And your daughter is convinced her father is the greatest navy man since Nelson.” She gave a shaky smile. “In fact, I don’t think Nelson gets a look-in.”

  “She’s biased.” He looked touched and charmingly diffident. “So, my dear, are you.”

  “Perhaps,” she admitted sheepishly, although she meant every word. “Do you mind?”

  He sat back and folded his arms. “That my beautiful wife is inclined to admire me? Not in the slightest.”

  It was her turn to look startled. “I’m glad you still think I’m beautiful.”

  “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

  “Well, I haven’t had a lot of competition in recent years,” she said drily, even as she basked in his compliment.

  She wanted him to find her beautiful. She wanted him to have eyes for nobody else.

  He shrugged. “It wouldn’t matter. No other woman can hold a candle to you.”

  How silly to blush like an ingénue. “I think you might be biased, too.”

  He arched his eyebrows at her. “Not at all. This is a matter of fact.”

  And as they rolled into the large coaching inn and the ostlers darted forward to change the horses, Morwenna realized with a shock that her tragic, damaged, troubled husband had just teased her.

  Chapter Eleven

  * * *

  Robert returned to the coach and sat with his back to the horses. He and Morwenna had snatched a quick meal in the inn’s private parlor while a new team was harnessed, but neither had been inclined to linger.

  “I should send ahead to reserve rooms at the next change,” he said, stretching out his long legs in the space between the seats.

  “We’ll find somewhere when we’re tired.” Morwenna looked untroubled. In fact, instead of complaining about the inconvenience of their swift departure, she’d looked increasingly happy as they’d covered the miles toward Leicestershire.

  She’d always been a champion girl, ready for adventure. He’d thought her the model of a naval wife. He suspected she’d be equally adept playing the gentleman farmer’s lady, too.

  He realized he hadn’t yet told her about his discussion with Silas. “Silas has offered us the tenancy at Belleville.”

  Morwenna frowned in thought. “Is that his manor in Devon?”

  “Yes. The last tenants have left it in a bit of a state, apparently.”

  “Won’t country life strike you as very dull after what you’ve been through?”

  “Not at all.” He hid a shudder at the idea of facing more of what he’d just experienced. “It will give us a chance to have a real family life.”

  “With Kerenza?”

  “Of course with Kerenza.” And God willing, a brood of brothers and sisters. “A peaceful life in the country. Just what I need. Will you come with me?”

  “Of course I will. I’ve...I’ve missed you so much, I can hardly bear to let you out of my sight. I think you’re going to have to accept a wife who is inclined to cling.”

  “I’ll like that.” He reached forward to grab her hand. Her touch immediately calmed the currents of disquiet running through him. “You’re the one thing in creation right now that isn’t playing on my nerves. Surely you know that.”

  Her blue eyes studied him, as if she sought to discover all his secrets. “No, I didn’t.”

  “Well, you should,” he said shortly. “It’s only when I’m alone with you that I feel I can breathe. Every other person in this whole damn world, even God forgive me, my family, makes me feel like I’m suffocating.”

  “Robert...”

  “At least you don’t expect me to be more than I am.”

  “I want you to do and be what you wish. In these last years, you’ve had enough freedom stolen from you.”

  “A wife beyond rubies,” he murmured, as outside the coachman steered the horses out of the inn yard. The evening drew in, but the long twilight offered them a couple of hours of travel ahead.

  “Well, at least a wife who likes the idea of a farming life.”

  “You won’t miss London? You looked completely at home in society when I burst in last night.”

  He spoke without resentment. Morwenna was always meant to be his. Garson, sadly for him, was a mere distraction. Although Robert had always loved her, this oneness was new. He’d felt it when he was deep inside her body, but the bond persisted beyond passion.

  Although passion certainly shored it up.

  He was more than ready to shore it up again, although he couldn’t regret the hours they’d spent talking. He’d almost felt like his former self, discussing things typical couples talked about, and not his extraordinary history of abuse and captivity. But as he caught a faint hint of Morwenna’s scent, his cock rose insistently inside his trousers.

  “I’ve enjoyed the time in Town, but it’s not my real life. My real life is Kerenza.” She paused and leveled that thoughtful gaze upon him again. “And you, if you’ll let me make it so.”

  “I’d be delighted.” He reached over and pulled down the blinds, plunging the carriage into gloom. He went on as though he hadn’t just shut them into a private space ripe for pleasure. When his wife must know exactly what he planned. “So you’ll think about Devon?”

  “Is there anywhere else you’d like to go, anything else you’d like to do? Or is it too soon to ask?”

  “I’ve had plenty of time to think about what I want. I’m looking forward to retiring somewhere Arcadian with my lovely wife and my angelic daughter.”

  As he’d hoped, his small attempt at humor elicited a laugh. In the shadows, now his vision adjusted, he caught the gleam of her eyes. She watched him steadily, the way he’d watched her when they left London. He’d wondered then how long he’d last before he took her into his lap and slid inside her. The idea made his dick twitch with approval.

  He went on. “Silas has offered to turn over a wing of Woodley Park. We could stay in Portsmouth, although God knows what employment I’d find. The town must be crawling with captains on half pay, with the country at peace. Or as I’d originally planned, I could use my prize money to buy an estate. If Devon doesn’t appeal to you, we can go somewhere else. But I had a fancy you might like going back to the West Country.”

  Robert stopped to draw breath, surprised he’d managed so many words. He’d got out of the habit of talking when he was in prison, where he’d go days without speaking to anyone.

  “Let’s see,” she said slowly, clearly considering the options he laid before her. “I’m drawn to a country life. We could try Belleville. If we find the estate unsuitable, we can reconsider our choice. As Silas’s tenants, we can move easily enough.”

  “That’s what he said. And if we like it there, he said he’ll sell Belleville to us.”

  “How kind he is.”

  “He is. Although he warned me the place is in a deuced mess.”

  “I’m happy to scrub and clean,” Morwenna said with a hint of wryness. “I don’t come from the same exalted ranks as you do. I’m not afraid of hard work.”

  “I hope it won’t come to my wife doubling as the scullery maid. I might be the younger son, but I’m well able to provide for my family.”

  My family. How he liked saying that.

  He caught the glint of her teeth as she smiled. “What a lot you’ve accomplished in the short time you’ve been back. I’m in awe.”

  So was he. Last night he’d lurched into that party like a monster into a feast. He’d looked like a beggar and felt like a ghost. Here he was a mere day later, dressed like a gentleman, on his way to see his daughter, and with the o
utline of a workable future beginning to appear before him.

  A week ago, he wouldn’t have believed it.

  Even better, several hours of privacy beckoned. He had a beautiful woman within reach. A beautiful woman he was lucky enough to be married to. “There’s one more thing I want to do before I’ve ticked everything off my list.”

  His wife’s low chuckle made his skin prickle. “Your voice goes all low and velvety when you’re thinking about the conjugal act.”

  His lips twisted. “Then it’s velvety all the time, because I’m always thinking of getting you under me.”

  “It’s...it’s thrilling that you want me.”

  “Good,” he said, as burgeoning need defeated his fragile ability to string more than a couple of words together.

  “What would you like me to do? Lie down on the seat?”

  Her cooperation shot a jolt of heat through him. He lowered his hand to undo his trousers. His cock sprang free, hard and demanding and ready for action. Over the creak of the carriage, Morwenna’s faint squeak of excitement was audible.

  “No, not this time. I want you to come here and kneel over me.”

  With a rustle of skirts, she scrambled from her seat and arranged herself across his knees. The coach’s lurching made her breathtakingly clumsy. As they dipped into a rut, he caught her by the waist to save her toppling to the floor.

  “Dear God in heaven,” he gasped, as sleek feminine folds slid over the hot, tight head of his cock. “You’re not wearing drawers, you naughty girl.”

  She shifted to find a more secure position, nudging her knees forward until they closed around his hips. The wriggling meant more wanton, tantalizing touches. He closed his eyes against the explosions going off in his head. He’d imagined he’d take the lead in this encounter. Now his wife’s heart-stopping daring left him not quite so certain about who was in charge.

  “Do you mind?” She leaned forward until her body curved against his. The bumpy ride turned the contact into delicious torture, nudging him against her, then away.

  “Mind? You make me your slave.”

  She gave a husky laugh, and the warm puff of breath against his neck made him shake with need.