by Bold, Diana
It wasn’t much as far as towns went, just an inn and a couple of houses, a rickety dock, and a small trading post. But to Talon and Kate, it was a teeming metropolis. They were saved. If nothing else, they’d at least be able to get some more food and supplies.
They received a few curious stares, but no one looked too closely at Kate. Talon wasn’t surprised. He’d learned long ago that people saw what they expected to see and not much else.
The inn was a small, dark little building redolent with the smells of sour ale and cabbage. The sign above the door proclaimed it The Do Drop Inn, the once green letters faded and nearly indecipherable. Talon led Kate to a table near the back, blinking to accustom himself to the dim light.
Thankful for the small purse of spending money he’d appropriated from Daniel’s stash aboard the ship, he beckoned the barkeep. “An ale for me and the boy, and two plates of whatever you’ve got cooking in the back.”
The man nodded, his beady eyes lively in his jowled face. “You folks come a far piece?”
Talon laughed. “You could say that. We’re on our way to join the lad’s ma in Charleston, but I’m afraid we got a bit turned around. Can you tell me how far we have to go?”
The barkeep scratched his chin with a big, dirty hand. “I’d say about ten miles. Old Seth is takin’ a wagon load of cotton down that way later this afternoon. If ye’re interested, ye could probably hitch a ride for a small price.”
Talon nudged Kate’s leg under the table, barely able to contain his elation. Ten miles. It appeared that they hadn’t been blown that far off course after all. “We’re very interested. Thanks.”
Nodding, the barkeep went behind the bar to get their drinks. When he was out of earshot, Talon allowed himself a grin. “You just might get that hot bath tonight after all, sweetheart.”
Her face lit up with delight. “I can’t wait.”
The barkeep returned with their drinks and heaping plates of corned beef and cabbage. Talon had never been a big fan of cabbage, but it tasted wonderful today.
He couldn’t stop grinning as he watched Kate. She looked adorable in her stained travel-worn clothing. She dug into her food with gusto, pretending in her dainty, ladylike way to be some pig of a farm boy.
After they finished the meal, they went and spoke to Old Seth, who was indeed headed for the city and would be delighted to give them a ride, for a small price, of course. They sat in the back of the wagon atop comfortable burlap bags stuffed with cotton and headed for Charleston.
Kate was enjoying her charade. If the earl could see her now, he’d be apoplectic. Talon grinned at the notion. This Kate was a far cry from the elegant woman Sutcliffe had handpicked to be the mother of his heir.
Her cheeks were flushed with color and good health. Despite the ridiculous clothes and hat she wore, he didn’t think he’d ever seen anyone more beautiful in his life. This land suited her. He’d been right, she was blossoming before his very eyes.
God, please, let me have this.
It was as close to a prayer as he’d ever come. This thing he’d found with Kate, these last few days of bliss, were all he’d ever wanted out of life. Her uncomplicated, generous love made him think anything in the world was possible.
Unfortunately, he was plagued by a pervasive sense of doom. If there was any way to get his money without going to Charleston, he’d avoid the city like the plague. Sutcliffe would look for them if he suspected they’d survived the shipwreck.
They rounded a familiar bend in the road, and Talon sat up straighter, realizing where they were in a blinding flash. He peered through the dense oaks, straining to catch a glimpse of the majestic white house that had once been the extent of his dreams.
“What is it?” Kate leaned forward, concern darkening the earlier pleasure in her eyes.
“Holyoke. It belongs to Sutcliffe now. This is where you and Daniel would have lived if everything had gone as he’d planned.”
“It’s lovely.”
He nodded. “The land is perfect for growing tobacco. There’s over two thousand acres running all the way to the river, where there’s a private dock for shipping the crops to market. Your roses would have grown well here. I’m sorry you had to lose them.”
She frowned, searching his face. “You really wanted this, didn’t you?”
He shrugged as though Holyoke and all it entailed meant nothing to him. “It doesn’t matter. It’s just a house, just some land. What you and I build together will be better because it will be ours.”
She nodded, but he saw the doubt in her eyes and knew he’d troubled her. He kicked himself for pointing the place out. The last thing he wanted, now that she’d forgiven him, was to remind her of his betrayal.
He forced himself to put the house and his foolish dreams out of his mind. He and Kate would have a place of their own someday very soon. He didn’t need Holyoke. Never had.
He’d much rather think about Kate and all the naughty things he’d taught her during the last few days. She’d become surprisingly uninhibited, growing surer of herself and her power over him every time they touched.
When he thought of all the ways she’d loved him with her hands and sweet, sweet mouth, he grew instantly aroused. He wished she weren’t dressed in those ridiculous clothes so he could hold her.
God, he missed being inside her.
He tried to remember why he was torturing himself. This was his rule, after all, his last-ditch attempt to make up for that night aboard the ship.
Soon, he promised himself. Soon his men would be safe, and he would be free of Sutcliffe. He and Kate would live the rest of their lives in peace, far away from Sutcliffe’s evil schemes and plans for their child.
* * * * *
Charleston was a busy, bustling place, far more cosmopolitan than Kate had imagined. Old Seth dropped them off at the outskirts of the city, and they took a ferry across the river, disembarking down by the docks. Kate trailed after Talon, gawking at the houses, shops and inns.
They stopped at the first respectable looking hotel they came to, and Talon signed in with a fictitious name. He claimed her as his son and told the proprietor his wife would be joining them tomorrow.
Kate looked down at her feet, unwilling to let anyone see the hot blush that spread across her cheeks. Soon she really would be Talon’s wife. It seemed too wonderful to be true.
Their room was on the second floor, a two‐room suite with a large, four‐poster bed and a sitting area. The mahogany furniture was dark and heavy, the bed covered with a handmade quilt in deep tones of blue and red. It looked like heaven after so many weeks at sea.
Talon grinned as she ran her hand over the quilt. “I haven’t forgotten. Bath and then bed, right?”
She nodded. “That would be wonderful. We can order dinner brought up and eat here in the room.”
“I have some errands I need to run, but I’ll stop and order you a bath on my way out. Is there anything else you need?”
“Just hot water.” She sighed, taking her grubby hand away from the bed before she soiled it. “A lot of it.”
Half an hour later, the big copper tub had been filled and Kate was alone at last. She slid into the steaming depths, sighing in bliss as the hot water seeped into her aching muscles.
Picking up a bar of soap, she scrubbed at the sand, grit and sweat that roughened her skin. She couldn’t wait to be clean again and dressed like a woman in ribbons and lace.
Their time on the beach had been wonderful, but now she wanted to pretty herself up for Talon. She needed to remind him she hadn’t always been a bedraggled urchin with dirty clothes and tangled hair.
What she wouldn’t have given for the emerald gown she’d worn at dinner that night back in London.
Using the scented soap on her hair, she scrubbed repeatedly, washing and rinsing until at last her tangled, dirty mane was squeaky clean. When she had finished washing, she lingered, reluctant to get out. She intended to wring every single bit of warmth from the water b
efore she finally relinquished it.
“What’s this? A mermaid?” Talon’s deep voice startled her. She jumped, sending water sloshing over the rim of the tub.
She glared up at him. “You scared me to death. I didn’t even hear you come in.”
He smiled and held out his arms, emphasizing the packages he held. “Am I forgiven? I come bearing gifts.”
She smiled back, feeling like a little girl at Christmas, though heaven only knew her father had never troubled himself much on her behalf when she was a child. She grew misty eyed thinking of the way Talon would be with their children. He’d be stern yet loving, letting them crawl all over him and press sticky kisses to his brow.
“Let me get out first. Would you hand me a towel, please?”
He tossed the packages on the big bed and then grabbed the towel from the chair.
She took the towel from his hand and stood, a little self‐conscious. If she were truly a lady, she wouldn’t let him love her the way he did, or worse yet, love him back in such wild and wanton ways.
He wrapped the towel around her and pulled her back into his arms. “Mmm, you smell good,” he whispered, his voice rough and low in her ear.
She pushed him playfully away. “Well, you certainly don’t.”
He laughed and pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it aside and then shedding his trousers. “I intend to remedy that. Care to help?”
Gloriously bare, he stepped into the tub, sinking into the lukewarm water with a sigh. She watched him with a half smile, then knotted the towel around her breasts and knelt on the floor beside him, taking the soap into her hand.
“What did you buy me?” she asked, running the soap in a frothy trail across his muscular chest. “Something clean to wear, I hope?”
He nodded and closed his eyes, leaning his head on the back of the tub. “I bought you a few dresses. I hope they’re the right size. I just described the way you fit my hands, and the shop girls were able to help me out.” He held out his hands and mimicked the way he’d measured her breasts.
She smacked his arm. “Please tell me you did no such thing.”
He laughed. “I just got a few ready‐made things in small sizes.
Whatever doesn’t fit can be returned tomorrow. But I did ask the shop girl to pick out all the necessary underthings. My experience with women only goes so far.”
She continued to bathe him, loving the feel of his wet, warm skin beneath her hands. “Did you go to the bank?”
He nodded again, a wide smile curving his lips. “I got the money. It’s enough to give us a good start. I can’t believe I was foolish enough to think I needed so much more.”
She ran the soap over the contours of his arms. “When can we leave? Have you found us a ship yet?”
He shook his head. “I’ll look into that tomorrow. Hopefully, we’ll find something by the end of the week. Until then, we’ll stay here at the hotel, maybe go out to dinner a few times, and spend the rest of the time making love.”
“Oh,” she murmured. “You’re going to make love to me tonight? Are you through torturing me?”
“We’ll see.” He opened his eyes, and there was a teasing glint in their beautiful blue depths. “Maybe if you ask me real nice.”
She slid her soapy hands lower beneath the surface of the water, and his eyes darkened. “I think you want to make love to me. I really think you do.”
He grinned and sank back, letting her have her way with him. This was something she’d never grow tired of, learning his body, learning what made him shudder with desire.
After several long, delicious moments, he pushed her hand away and dunked his head under the water. “Wash my hair, wench, or I’ll get out of this tub right now and you’ll never get me clean.”
She laughed, loving that she had the power to affect him this way, to make his big body tremble with longing. Thank God he’d come into her life when he had. She could no longer imagine living without him.
His thick, dark hair felt like silk beneath her fingertips, and she took her time rubbing in the soap, making him sigh in contentment. After she’d rinsed his hair, she had him lean forward so she could soap his back as well.
“Would you shave me? I bought everything I need. It’s in that smallest package.”
She nodded and crossed to get the things she’d need, happy to be able to get rid of his dark beard. She liked him clean shaven. The lines of his face were too pure and clean to obscure with facial hair. And his bruises had faded so much they were barely noticeable.
She put the shaving cream on his face then stared at him, wondering about her skill as she handled the lethal straight‐edged razor. “Much as I’d like to help you out, I’ve never done this before. I’m afraid I’ll slit your throat.”
His eyes widened. “Give me the mirror, then. You can watch and learn.”
She moved the small hand mirror into his line of vision, holding it while he proceeded to scrape away the course, black whiskers.
She watched him with great interest. Of all the things they’d shared together, for some reason this seemed the most intimate. She loved the look of concentration on his face, the way he sucked in his cheeks to get the right angle. If everything went as planned, she’d be able to watch him shave every morning for the rest of her life.
It seemed far too good to be true.
Chapter Twenty‐Five
The sun was setting in the west in a brilliant blaze of purple and mauve when Talon and Kate stepped outside their hotel. Kate paused for a moment to admire the view then hurried to catch up with Talon, who hadn’t even realized she’d stopped.
He’d gone out for a while this morning, and he’d been distracted ever since. At first, she’d been nervous, afraid something had happened, something that would send this idyllic interlude spiraling out of control. But other than suggesting they go out for dinner instead of dining in their room, he hadn’t given any hint of what was on his mind. As they’d dressed for the evening in the clothes he’d purchased, she’d realized he had the air of a man with a secret.
“There’s something I want to show you.” He placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her down the lovely, tree-lined street, still smiling that secret smile. “Do you mind if we take a little walk before dinner?”
She gazed up at him, amazed that he was hers. He looked every inch the gentleman in his fine cream trousers and tailored emerald coat, and she would have walked through hell and back to stay on the receiving end of his beautiful smile.
“I’d love to see a little bit of the town. It’s not at all what I’d expected.”
He grinned. “Not exactly a heathen, backwoods village, is it?” She shook her head, greedily absorbing the sights and sounds of Charleston. There was a newness, a freshness and an energy in the air that made it easy to understand why Talon loved his adopted country. Even the poor people they passed didn’t have the hopeless despair in their eyes she’d so often seen in London.
At last Talon drew her to a stop in front of a lovely stone church. Two magnolia trees in full bloom grew on either side of the front steps, and he plucked a blossom and tucked it behind her ear. “Would you like to get married here? I spoke to the minister this morning, and he agreed to marry us tomorrow, if that’s all right with you?”
Tears stung Kate’s eyes, and she blinked them away, afraid to believe this was real. “I thought you wanted to wait until we found your men.”
He cupped her cheek with his broad, warm palm. “I don’t want to wait, sweetheart. I want to hold you in my arms tomorrow night and know that it’s forever, that nothing in the world can take you away from me.”
She pressed her lips to his wrist, touched beyond words. “I want that, too. I would be honored to marry you tomorrow.”
The faint crease of worry, which had furrowed his brow during the last few hours, disappeared. He hugged her tightly in full view of all the passersby. “I never knew such happiness was possible.” His words were soft and fervent
against her hair.
“I didn’t either. Not until I found you.” She hugged him back, uncaring of the scene they were making, oblivious to anything but the fact that tomorrow all her dreams would come true. She would be Talon’s wife and never have to spend another night alone.
After a long moment, they broke apart, laughing a little self‐ consciously, still holding hands. An old woman sniffed her disapproval at their public show of affection, and a man on the other side of the street was staring at them with burning intensity...
“Oh, no.” She took an involuntary step backward, her gaze locked upon the tall, slim gentleman who was making his way toward them.
“What is it?” Talon gave her a sharp glance. He half turned, looking for the source of her dismay, then froze. His hand tightened almost painfully around hers. “Daniel,” he breathed.
She nodded. There was nothing more to say.
It wasn’t possible. Of all the disasters Talon had imagined befalling them in the city, having Kate’s husband come back from the dead wasn’t one of them.
He closed his eyes as if that would take the image away, but when he opened them, Daniel was still striding toward them. He looked healthy and well. Unmistakable pleasure lit his eyes as he crossed the last of the distance that separated them.
“Kate! Talon!” He pulled Kate into his embrace, laughing. “I can’t believe it’s really you, sweetheart. I thought I’d lost you to the sea.”
“We thought you’d been washed overboard.” Kate endured Daniel’s hug, her gaze locked with Talon’s in an unspoken question. “Talon said you were to meet us at the lifeboat, but you never did.”
Talon took a step back, stunned. She was obviously wondering if he’d left Daniel behind on purpose, attempted to murder his own brother so he could have her to himself.
Her doubt slayed him. He’d hoped that after everything they’d been through together, he’d earned back her trust.
Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to meet his brother’s steady gaze. “Hello, Daniel.”