The Guise of a Gentleman (Rogue Hearts)

by Hatch, Donna

  Pirate indeed! His changeable nature gave no credence to any theory. One moment, he appeared the perfect gentleman—dignified, restrained, and polite. The next moment, a roguish grin lit his face, and his eyes shone wickedly. And whenever he addressed a child, gentleness softened his features. Yet through it all, wariness remained as if he lived continually poised to explode into action. Clearly, he was unpredictable and untrustworthy.

  Elise met with the steward, forcing herself not to look at the clock, not to listen for signs that her son’s fishing companion had left, not to listen for his step.

  Spending time with Mr. Amesbury would lead nowhere she wished to go.

  She turned her attention to her correspondence. Had she ever found that task so tedious? After struggling through two letters, she laid down her pen and put on her bonnet. Going for a walk would do her good. And if she happened to walk by the lake … well … Colin might enjoy showing her the fruits of his labor. Certainly, she had no thought whatever of Mr. Amesbury.

  When had she taken to lying?

  Opening her parasol, she stepped outside and blinked in the bright sunlight. As she approached the lake, she paused, scanning the shoreline. Two figures sat in the shade of a giant oak tree at the edge of the lake.

  Leaning against the tree trunk, Mr. Amesbury sat with her son tucked up under his chin, carefully working out a knot in Colin’s fishing line. His long legs were stretched out, one bent at the knee, his posture relaxed.

  Her heart thudded at the thought of being in his presence again. They looked up at her approach. She returned Colin’s smile and glanced at Mr. Amesbury. A slow smile stole over his features. No wickedness danced in his eyes today. No aloof boredom. Only pure joy.

  In that moment, she saw him not as a pirate, not as a proper gentleman; but as a man enjoying the simple pleasure of fishing with a boy. Warmth and softness stole over her.

  Colin said, “Mother, I caught two fish, but then I tangled my line.”

  Mr. Amesbury seemed to remember himself, and the façade of the aloof gentleman reappeared, as did that edge of watchfulness. “Mrs. Berkley.” He shifted and started to set Colin aside so he could rise.

  She held out a hand. “Don’t get up on my account. May I join you?”

  “Please.”

  Within that cool reserve, a spark of genuine warmth lurked. Those aquamarine eyes followed her as she settled herself on the ground. His smile deepened before he returned his attention to the snarled fishing line.

  Colin made no move to leave Mr. Amesbury’s lap for hers. Elise could not decide if that bothered her. Her son relaxed with his new friend as if he’d spent the whole of his life there.

  With his arms around Colin, Mr. Amesbury’s focus remained riveted on the tangled line in his hands. His lashes hid his eyes, and a tiny frown creased his brow as he concentrated on the fishing line. Those large hands deftly untangled a knot Elise would have thought impossible.

  “You did it,” Colin exclaimed.

  “Amazing,” she said. “I would have cut off the knot and moved the hook.”

  He grinned. “I enjoy a challenge.”

  Colin unflinchingly impaled a worm on his hook, stood, and cast. The line made a graceful arc and landed with a tiny plop in the water and rings rippled outward. Colin resumed his seat on Mr. Amesbury’s lap. Unperturbed, Mr. Amesbury merely resettled Colin and rested his chin on top of his curly head. For a change, Colin didn’t wriggle like a puppy, but remained content to sit quietly within the circle of Mr. Amesbury’s arms, his eyes fixed upon the lake.

  Afraid she’d break the magical spell by speaking, Elise observed them. No two people were more un-alike than Mr. Amesbury and Colin. Mr. Amesbury’s skin was deeply tanned, his hair rich and dark, his features all square lines and hard angles, his body large and muscular. Colin, fair of skin and hair, with delicate features, and though of average size for a boy his age, he appeared decidedly fragile against the foil of Jared Amesbury.

  No one would ever mistake them for father and son by their appearance, but at that moment, they appeared so much at ease together, one would assume they were some relation.

  If only Edward could be here to see what a fine son he had. But then, Edward would never have spent the afternoon fishing with Colin. He would have considered the pastime unproductive. A shame. He would have missed some of the greatest joys of fatherhood.

  She doubted Jared Amesbury would ever make that mistake with his own children. She could easily imagine him clamoring about with an adoring herd of dark-haired children.

  Firmly stopping her thoughts from continuing down a road she did not wish them to venture, she pulled her eyes away from the magnetic gentleman, picked a sprig of jasmine and inhaled.

  “What is that flower you are holding?” Mr. Amesbury asked.

  “Jasmine.”

  “Jasmine,” he repeated. “It smells good.”

  Birdsong accompanied the comfortable silence and leaves murmured in a breeze.

  “Do you have a son, Mr. Amesbury?” Colin asked presently.

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  Amusement touched Jared’s face. “I’ve not yet taken a wife.”

  “But some men have sons even when they don’t have wives.”

  Elise choked. Where had he heard such a thing?

  Jared’s mouth twitched on one side. “Yes. Some do. But that comes with its own set of problems.”

  “Don’t you want a son?”

  Elise stifled a laugh.

  “When the time is right.” He glanced at Elise, his gaze guarded. “Contrary to my apparent reputation, I do not leave by-blows in my wake everywhere I go.”

  But Colin had gotten up to skip stones across the water and hadn’t heard that last comment.

  Elise smiled with exaggerated sweetness. “How refreshing. My late husband would never have done that, of course, but many gentlemen of the beau monde think nothing of such disreputable behavior.”

  His gaze caressed her. “I’m relieved you do not put me into the class of men with disreputable behavior.”

  Though not close enough to Jared for any sort of impropriety, she felt his presence keenly, aware of his body’s every movement, every pull of his mouth. That mouth that had touched hers and brought it back to life.

  She swallowed. “I did not say that.”

  “What? That I’m a reprobate or that I’m not?”

  “I have not yet decided.”

  He chuckled softly.

  Her heart made odd little skips, and her cheeks heated. She edged away. It didn’t help. She looked out over the lake. That didn’t help, either. What power did Jared hold over her?

  She stilled. Jared? Mr. Amesbury, she meant, of course.

  “What’s disrepa’ble behavior?” Colin asked, wandering back.

  Elise’s face warmed as she wondered what else Colin had overheard. “Ungentlemanly conduct.”

  Puzzled, Colin stared back at her.

  “I’ll explain when you’re older.”

  He sighed. “You always say that. You’ll be explaining a lot of stuff when I’m older.”

  Jared laughed heartily. Colin settled back into Jared’s lap and picked up his pole.

  As she suppressed a smile, her gaze slid to Jared again. She almost regretted her decision to join her son and his disturbing fishing companion. However, she could not place the blame at his feet. He’d done nothing, said nothing, which would be considered as inappropriate. At least, not lately.

  Jared, indeed! When had she become so familiar with him in her thoughts?

  Colin straightened. “I think I got one.”

  On their feet, Colin and Mr. Amesbury worked the taut line until a wriggling fish appeared. The fish flapped about madly until Mr. Amesbury’s large hands captured it.

  He freed the hook from the fish’s mouth and held it up for Colin’s inspection. “Is this one big enough?”

  “He’s a beauty,” Colin declared exuberantly. He turned to Elise. �
��Don’t you think so, Mother?”

  “I agree. Well done, my love.”

  The fish chose that moment to make a last desperate escape back into the lake. It shot out of Jared’s hands and flopped about on the bank with both the man and the child frantically trying to recapture it. Elise laughed until her sides protested.

  Finally, they subdued the errant fish, and Mr. Amesbury added the new arrival to a rope threaded through the gills of two other fish at the edge of the lake. “I believe this has been a successful day of fishing, young Master Berkley.”

  Elise realized then that only one fishing pole had been put to use. Jared’s leaned untouched against the tree. He put away the hook, wound up the lines and retrieved the poles.

  Like the triumphant victor, Colin carried the fish as they turned back toward the house.

  The cooper’s son ran up to him. “Colin! The cat in the dairy had kittens! We’ve only just found them. Their eyes are just starting to open. Come see?”

  Colin turned to Elise with shining eyes. “May I go see the kittens with James, Mother?”

  “Of course, love.”

  His grin nearly split his face. He handed the fish to Jared and then paused. “You’ll stay for dinner, won’t you, sir?”

  Elise hastened to interject, “Colin, Mr. Amesbury might already have a previous engagement.”

  Jared’s gaze moved to meet hers, and for an instant, uncertainty flickered there. She realized she must have sounded as if she did not welcome him at their table.

  Jared straightened, the light in his eyes dimming. “With regret, Colin, I don’t believe—”

  “You are certainly welcome to join us for dinner, Mr. Amesbury,” she broke in. “If your schedule allows.”

  Colin turned to him beseechingly. Only a heartless cad could refuse those big blue eyes.

  Mr. Amesbury grinned. “I can think of nothing I’d rather do than remain in your charming company, young sir.”

  Colin flung his arms around Jared and hugged him before trotting off with the cooper’s son.

  Jared stared after him as if dazed. He spoke in a hushed voice. “You have a remarkable son.”

  “I must agree.” She fingered the tassel at the handle of her parasol. “I hope our invitation does not inconvenience you.”

  He turned to her, his grin returning. How could such a masculine man be so beautiful? The sight of him smiling nearly sapped the strength right out of her knees.

  “My alternative is to go home and have dinner at an empty table. I think I can bear to give that up for a bit of company.”

  “We are rather informal here. I know it simply isn’t done, but unless I have guests, I usually eat dinner in the nursery with Colin.” She smiled. “My alternative is to have dinner at an empty table.”

  He chuckled at her echo of his own words.

  “I’m afraid he’s expecting you to join us in our usual fashion,” she added.

  “Perfect.”

  She eyed him, judging his sincerity. “In truth?”

  “Nothing would please me more than to have an informal dinner with my newest young friend and his beautiful and charming mother.”

  She looked away.

  “Is it possible that you are unaccustomed to compliments, Mrs. Berkley?”

  “They are empty and easily-given.”

  “You speak of flattery. I speak of heart-felt compliments.”

  She stopped and turned to him as an uncomfortable thought occurred to her. “You aren’t using Colin to court me, are you?”

  He blinked, clearly taken aback. “You find me insincere? Or do you fail to see your son’s charm?”

  She resumed walking, and he fell into step beside her. “Grown men don’t normally choose to keep company with a seven-year-old.”

  He grinned. It came so easily to him. Edward had been a positive, optimistic person, but he hadn’t smiled so often or with such abundant joy. “He invited me to fish. How could I refuse?”

  “Be serious.” Harshness crept into her voice.

  He let out his breath. “I have been accused of many things, but using a child for my own agenda has never been one of them. I like Colin. I find him honest and uninhibited. He reminds me of my youngest brother, Christian, when he was a boy.”

  Elise waited, hoping for a glimpse inside the mysterious Jared Amesbury.

  “We teased him mercilessly and often called him the ‘perfectly perfect Christian.’ But, actually, he is. I’ve never known a more pure soul.”

  “Were you close?”

  “I regret that we were not. My fault, entirely. I was so jealous of his perfection, and how much my parents favored him, that I actually plotted to get rid of him; everything from having him press-ganged to feeding him to a tiger.”

  She chuckled softly. “How many children are in your family?”

  “Six living. I have two older sisters, an older brother, and two younger brothers.” His voice softened, and the light in his eyes dimmed. “And a younger brother who died as a child.”

  Elise made a sound of sympathy.

  He visibly pulled himself back to the present. “Christian is all of us at our best. He’s the only one of whom my father truly approves. And my mother positively adored him.”

  A gentle breeze stirred the air, and a songbird trilled. As she watched, a barrage of emotions traveled across his face so quickly she couldn’t name them. Regret? Sorrow? Loss?

  “What happened to Christian?” Elise asked softly.

  A thoughtful frown touched his face. “He’s changed. Perhaps he merely grew up, but he’s lost that dreamy-eyed innocence. He’s still perfect, but at times he’s … guarded, as if protecting … something.” He shook his head with a frown of puzzlement.

  “A broken heart?”

  “Who knows? He won’t talk about it. But when we were children, I longed to be more like him. When I wasn’t plotting to kill him, that is.” A wry smile touched his expressive mouth. “Anyway, Colin reminds me of Christian as a child. Blond. Happy. Without guile. Sensitive. Totally loving.”

  “Colin is my world. I hardly take a breath without thinking of him. I’m afraid I’m terribly protective.”

  “I barely know Colin, and I already feel that way, too.” Jared made a quick scan of the area that she would have missed had she been watching less closely. Again that watchfulness.

  “You’re an uncommonly attentive mother,” he said.

  “I hope it’s enough.”

  She led him to the kitchen door. Just as they reached the house, Jared shifted the fish and the poles to one hand and opened the door for her. Inside the house, two servants appeared. One relieved Jared of his poles and fish. The other bowed to him.

  “This way, sir. I’ll show you where you may wash.”

  “Thank you.” Jared followed the servant out of the room.

  Elise watched him cross the floor with predatory grace. At the door, he glanced back. She blushed that he’d caught her watching him. He grinned, winked playfully, and left the room.

  She wondered how she would manage to eat with her stomach flipping about. No man had ever disturbed her so keenly. Or been such a study in contradictions. Or changed from rogue to gentleman to something in between.

  It left her asking again: who, really, was Jared Amesbury?

  She wondered if she’d ever solve that riddle.

  CHAPTER 8

  Jared leaned back in his chair and set down his napkin, amused by Colin’s animated description of his last game of cricket.

  Empty plates and serving dishes littered the small round table in Colin’s nursery. The cozy, intimate setting lacked the stiff formality of a dining room and a dozen servants. A bowl of jasmine and roses adorned the table, the only centerpiece. A cheery fire crackled in the fireplace. The candles had burned low, and yet, he felt no desire to leave.

  Jared glanced at Mrs. Berkley. An indulgent smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she watched Colin. Fascinated with those lips, Jared traced each curve with h
is gaze. The desire to again taste those sweet lips crept over him. He controlled his impulse. She was a lady. He could not simply swoop down upon her like a hungry predator and devour her, despite his impulsive kiss at their first meeting.

  His gaze moved from her lips, over the upturned nose, to her soft, gray eyes. Heavily lashed, and large enough to give her an innocent appearance, they shone as she focused on her son with obvious affection.

  Jared couldn’t remember when he’d felt so relaxed. This afternoon fishing with Colin, and tonight, having dinner with the mother and child, had been the most agreeable day he’d enjoyed in ages.

  The kind of peace and contentment he reveled in at the moment had been missing from his life. He desired a home and, more importantly, a family. He’d never realized it until tonight. He looked back at Elise Berkley and then at Colin.

  His heart whispered that he wanted it with them.

  “Are you the eldest in your family, Mr. Amesbury?” Colin asked.

  “No. I’m the fourth child.”

  “Oh. Then you’re not the heir?” He sounded not only disappointed, but apologetic.

  Elise gasped. “Colin!”

  Jared grinned. “No. Not the heir. Just the spare. Good thing, too. The heir has much more responsibility and obligation. As the second son, I have freedom to do things such as piracy, you know.”

  Colin beamed and Elise frowned. Jared wondered if she frowned in disapproval for him continuing to feed her son’s unhealthy hero worship of pirates, or because she thought he might truly be a pirate despite his assurances to the contrary. He enjoyed keeping her uncertain and putting a wrinkle in the smooth fabric of her orderly life.

  But that was stupid. He needed to play the perfect gentleman, at least until he completed this assignment, without anyone becoming suspicious of his true reason for living in this quiet part of the country.

  He could figure out his identity later.

  And the idea that she’d believe he fit into that category of unconscionable cutthroats disturbed him. Even if it were true. He never, ever wanted her to look at him with revulsion and fear. He gave himself a good mental shake and vowed then to suppress his foolhardy impulsiveness.