So Worthy My Love

  Graciously Elise looked at everything that Madam Reinhardt placed before her, but with each, shook her head in firm decision. “These are more to my liking,” she said at last, indicating the fine silks, plush velvets, and rich brocades closeted in the armoire. “Is there some difficulty with these fabrics?”

  “Why, my dear, the cost alone poses a problem! These fabrics are worth a great deal! Are you sure you can pay?”

  Turning aside, Elise withdrew a pouch from beneath her skirt and counted out a small stack of sovereigns. “This will serve as a deposit for what I would order from you,” she assured the woman. “Captain Von Reijn will affirm that I’m capable of paying for the rest.”

  The dressmaker hefted the heavy coins in her hand, feeling the soft touch of gold. She turned aside momentarily to test one between her teeth, then breathlessly counted out the coins, flipping them over with a finger. They were all new and unshaved. She raised her gaze in amazement. “A deposit? Why, these would pay for a pair of gowns made from such cloth.”

  “I know full well what the coins will buy, madam, but I have a desire to be outfitted in a better manner. I’ve been negligent of my attire of late, and I mean to correct the condition posthaste.” She leaned forward with a coy smile and murmured confidentially, “You see, I’m being courted by a brace of wealthy suitors, and as you may be able to understand, I cannot portray myself a pauper in their company, lest the pair become wary of my sincerity.”

  Her statement was true for the most part. Nicholas was wealthy and desired to court her, and although her clothes had always been of a fine quality, she had been rather conservative about her selections in the past, buying only what she had deemed necessary and, even then, dressing in dark shades and subdued styles. She now felt a desire to change that pattern and laid the reason primarily to a need to be adaptable to any occasion that might arise in her search for her father. Certainly if Nicholas introduced her to any of the more influential members of the Hanseatic League, her gowns should be of a quality worthy of the moment. Who could say what information she might gain through such a meeting?

  She had other more personal reasons for a change, reasons she found harder to put a finger to. Arabella had always given great attention to her own appearance, which fact had never bothered Elise before, but the remembrance of the Marquess’s casual taunt and denial of her ability to be a fit replacement for her cousin gnawed at her, and though she had no feelings save hatred for the man, she felt a rankling need to make him eat his words. It goaded her that he could dismiss her so easily as someone unworthy of a man’s devotion. He had made it quite clear that he wanted her to serve his baser pleasures, but for his cherished one, it seemed he reserved that honor for very few women.

  Madam Reinhardt’s enthusiasm grew apace with her imagination. Such a comely maid would be able to attract a whole flood of eager swains, and it was not farfetched that she should win a wealthy gentleman as her husband. It was understandable that if such a match took place, the man would want to keep his young wife well-clothed, which could possibly mean future profits for her small shop.

  “Do you think yourself capable of the task?” Elise questioned in a gracious tone.

  Frau Reinhardt drew her large frame up in a proud manner. “There is no finer seamstress in all of Hamburg and abroad.”

  Elise smoothed her hand down the front of her gown. “I can see you are talented, madam. I’ve no qualms about that, only your ability to finish the gowns before the end of the month. ‘Tis so short a space, but I have naught else to wear for this advent season.”

  “I shall give the matter my full attention,” Madam Reinhardt promised. “Although I may not be able to deliver all of them to you in so short a time, depending on the extent of your order, you’ll not be left wanting.”

  “Then, madam, I will enlist your services.”

  “You’ll not be disappointed, my dear, I assure you.”

  “Good, then we should get started,” Elise suggested. “I have other shops to visit . . .”

  “But Master Seymour . . . he said you should stay here . . .”

  A chuckle of amusement came from the girl, denying the possibility. “You may follow me if you so desire, madam, but I intend to furnish myself with shoes, hats, and other accessories before this day is done. I shall not be hindered from that purpose.”

  Meekly Madam Reinhardt folded her hands and gave no further argument. The girl made it clear that she would not be easily dissuaded from her course of action. In truth, one might be tempted to have pity for the poor souls given such a task.

  It was several hours later when Nicholas Von Reijn was found. He answered the summons immediately and after searching several shops through which Elise had left a trail of happy proprietors, he finally found her carefully selecting a fine leather for a pair of lady’s boots. The shoemaker was ecstatic with her order and eagerly agreed to have the boots made posthaste and sent out to Faulder Castle to be properly fitted.

  Nicholas hid a smile as the man bestowed grateful kisses upon the slender lingers. “Yu’ve brightened his day considerably, vrouwelin” the captain commented later as he left the shop with her. He plucked at the fur trim of her cloak as he teased. “And here I had thought at last vas a voman who could hoard her vealth and never spend it on trifles.”

  “Trifles! Of what do you speak, Nicholas?” she protested. “Except for what I have on, I am bereft of all my possessions. Were I to refrain from these purchases, I would soon be without a stitch to wear!”

  Nicholas tilted his head in museful imaginings. Now there would be a sight he would walk the whole continent to view. “Maxim is responsible for yur velfare. Let him provide vhat yu need.”

  Elise’s jaw tensed with stubborn insistence. “I shall purchase my own clothing without his help. Which reminds me . . .” She dug in her purse and withdrew the one Maxim had given her. “I should like you to invest this sum also at a high rate of interest collectible within a short period of time. Will that be possible?”

  Nicholas spread his hands in dismay. “I’ve spoiled yu, vrouwelin.”

  A pretty smile lifted the corners of her lips as Elise laid a hand upon his arm. “ ‘Tis true, of course. I never hoped to gain what you have given me for my investment. I perceive you’ve been far too generous, and if you choose to deny me now, I’ll understand.”

  “Deny yu?” he murmured warmly, covering her hand with his. “If yu ask for my heart, I vould not say yu nay, my dear Elise. I vould give it gladly.”

  Elise withdrew from him and folded her hands together. The glow of adoration she saw in the pale blue eyes made her feel uncomfortable, and she was not sure why. When Nicholas had visited Faulder Castle, she had been strangely exhilarated and had even encouraged his attentions, but she had also felt a driving desire to wipe the taunting smirk from Maxim’s lips by showing him that another man could desire her as much as he had ever desired Arabella. Her enthusiasm had waned when Maxim stormed out of the keep, as if the warmth of her response had been sparked by his challenging presence.

  Nicholas escorted her from the shop and again Elise faced the dilemma of the slushy mud. “His lordship has taken the horses and left me afoot. I’ll surely ruin my slippers if I try to cross the street.”

  “No need for yu to fret, my dear. I’ll fetch a sedan to see yu safely to the inn,” Nicholas offered. “There ve may dine together vhile ve avait Maxim’s return.”

  “You are a soothsayer, Nicholas,” Elise declared with the warmth of laughter in her voice. “I’m simply faint with hunger.”

  “Vhat, vith my cook?” Nicholas rejected her claim with a loud chortle. “Nein! Nein! If anything, vrouwelin yu vill grow more hearty.” His eyes twinkled as he waggled his head and playfully tried to judge her shape beneath her cloak. “On second thought, I shall fetch Herr Dietrich back home. He may ruin the sights of vhich I’ve grown so fond.”

  “For shame,” Elise rebuked with a coy smile. “You talk more like an undisciplined rogue than
any monkish Hansa sea captain.”

  “Ach! Yu have seen my colors, and vhat shall I say yu now? That I am a fair judge of frauleins and yu are the best of the lot?”

  “Are you a fair judge?” Elise queried, humor curving her soft lips. “Or have you taken pity on a poor girl who has been stolen from her home?”

  Setting his thumbs into his jeweled belt, Nicholas laid his head back and hooted to the heavens. “And have I not eyes in my head to see for myself that yu’re the finest bit of vomanhood to grace my company?”

  Elise felt her face grow warm with a blush as she glanced about at the townspeople who had paused to stare and gawk at them. The Hansa captain certainly had a way of commanding attention with his booming voice. “Shall we go, Nicholas? I fear we’ve become a curiosity among the townfolk.”

  “ ‘Tis the rare gem they see that attracts them,” Nicholas vowed. “Her beauty steals the heart of every man who glimpses her.”

  Elise responded with a soft chuckle. “Then tell me, Nicholas, why does his lordship hate me so?”

  “Bah, he is blind. He yearns for vhat he cannot have and overlooks the treasure vithin his grasp. I vould teach him the vay of vomen had I the time, but I fear it vould be lost on such a stubborn fellow.”

  Chapter 12

  THE GLOOM OF THE LATE AFTERNOON had deepened the shadows in the common room of the inn, and to ward off the approaching darkness many candles had been lit just as the fire in the huge hearth was stoked to hold back the chill. Maxim had no need of the added illumination to find Von Reijn’s table. Even had it been in some area other than the usual, the captain’s bellowing laughter drew his notice like a beacon on a stormy night, or more fitting, like the challenging catcalls of a victor with the spoils. His search for Elise had drawn him through a series of shops in which she had left a trail of purchases which exceeded by nearly thrice the purse he had left, and to be told that she had been escorted through the last few by a most attentive Hansa captain had further chafed his temper. He might have accepted her purchases more graciously had they been a matter of simple indulgence, but the suspicion weighed bold in his mind that she had indulged in a sweet revenge by playing him for a fool and overrunning his allowance for the sole purpose of despoiling his credit and destroying his repute with the merchants of the city. Now here she was enjoying the company of one who yearned to lay the world at her feet.

  Maxim’s irritation mounted when he passed a small gathering of people and caught sight of the couple seated together at the captain’s usual table. Nicholas played the doting swain as he leaned near that charmingly coifed head. The girl’s hair had been parted in the middle and then braided into two long lengths before being coiled upon her head to make a comely crown of rich auburn. Feathery wisps had escaped the sedate style to curl in coy abandon around her temples and nape. With the soft candle glow on her face and the firelight at her back, framing her in a warm halo and shining through the thin haze of tendrils, she was the very vision of soft femininity. Maxim remembered the delicate scent of her when he had carried her in his arms that very afternoon, a fragrance that now had to be wafting through Nicholas’s senses and tantalizing his imagination.

  “Good eventide,” Maxim greeted brusquely as he halted beside their table.

  “Maxim!” Nicholas cried jovially and rose to grasp Maxim’s shoulder in warm greeting. “Ve vere vondering vhere yu had gone.” The Hansa captain swept his hand about to indicate a place at the table on his left. “Come! Come join us, my friend.”

  Ignoring the invitation, Maxim stared down at the girl as he drew off his gloves. His eyes held no warmth to soften the moment, and Elise, feeling his glowering regard, was confused by it. She thought she had never seen his eyes so cold and angry before. He dropped the gloves on the table beside her and, doffing his cloak, settled himself in a chair on her right.

  “You must be famished, madam,” he commented dryly, rubbing a finger reflectively across his chin. “Every shopkeeper that you visited informed me that you have been most diligent in your labors. And such praises!” He laughed derisively. “I’ve never heard the like. A fine and comely young lady with excellent taste, they all declared. She has chosen only the best . . . every last piece of the best!”

  “Oh, surely, my lord, I left something behind.” Elise voiced her taunt sweetly as she recognized the reason for his dark mood. “I could not have been that extravagant.”

  Maxim’s reply was tensely spoken. “We obviously hold a difference of opinion on the matter. In truth, ‘twill have to be discussed when we have more privacy. ‘Twould hardly be fitting to air our differences before strangers.”

  “You speak as if we were more than strangers ourselves, my lord, and have endured a score of years of marriage,” Elise needled, and continued with a flippant shrug, not willing to ease his disposition. “I’m sure Nicholas has heard you rant and rave before, and since you coaxed him to take part in your nefarious abduction, ‘twould appear the two of you have shared a multitude of diverse and devious plans. I would think a small disagreement is to be expected among kidnappers and their victims. Such tiffs would hardly shock the good captain.”

  The muscles in Maxim’s cheeks flexed with his growing irritation. “I realize now I should have been more cautious of your shrewish bend. Instead, I trusted you . . .”

  Elise disguised her gibe with a soft, beguiling smile “Was it not right that I be given as much as you intended to bestow upon Arabella? Did I not suffer as much . . . or more?”

  The green eyes flashed with fiery indignation. “Do you think I’ve denied you a like comfort?” he demanded, struggling to control his ripening temper. The little witch had the ability to goad him far beyond reasonable limits. “If that was your cause, then you have far exceeded the boundaries. I gave you what I could afford and nothing less!”

  “Come now, Maxim,” Nicholas chided. “The girl has been fair . . .” His words were abruptly silenced by a sudden, sharp nudge against his shin, the sort a lady’s slipper would deliver with the force of a quick kick. He glanced at the maid to receive a brief, warning frown and realized she wanted nothing said of the vouchers he had issued assuring that she was capable of paying for what she had ordered herself. He casually continued with a crooked smile. “I’m sure ve vill all enjoy her purchases.”

  “No doubt you will!” Maxim snapped, somewhat amazed by the rancor he felt toward a man who had been a close friend for a number of years. It was an experience that was now happening with more frequency, and though he knew the source from whence it sprang, the realization of his growing animosity surprised him. It kept apace with his deepening interest in the girl, and try as he might to refrain from putting a name to it, it had the moldering stench of jealousy.

  Leaning back in his chair, Maxim accepted a mug of ale from the serving maid who had brought it at his bidding. He tossed out a coin, and she left as he tasted the foamy brew. Dabbing the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, he bent his regard upon Elise. Of all the women he had known, she was the only one who had ever turned his emotions upside down. While he wanted to have his revenge for what she had done to him this day, there was still within him that throbbing desire to know her in the most intimate of sharings. “My charge has declared she’ll have her vengeance upon those who’ve done her ill, and I vow she has near picked me to the bone this day.” A bleak smile lifted a corner of his mouth as he directed his gaze toward his friend. “You should be wary, Nicholas. She may see us all hanging from a gibbet before she’s through.”

  “Only you, my lord,” Elise assured him almost pleasantly, meeting those dark, challenging emerald eyes that watched her with unswerving tenacity. “You are the one responsible for my abduction! You are the one who should bear the penalty!”

  “Are you saying that Nicholas’s life is safe with you?” He paused to receive her slow nod and then questioned her more harshly, “But if mine fell into your hands, it would be forfeit?”

  In taciturn eloquence Elise turne
d away from him, allowing his mind to dwell upon whatever doubts it might choose.

  “What is this?” Maxim queried, contemplating her coolly reserved demeanor. “Have I offended you?” He received a quickly tossed glare from beneath dark lashes and scoffed at the idea that she disliked the conclusion he had drawn. “Come now, maid, tell me ‘tis not true, and see if I’d believe you. You’ve promised to torment me at every opportunity, and have you not done just that?”

  “True enough,” Elise admitted loftily.

  “Then why should I think otherwise?” he pressed.

  “You may think whatever you like, my lord. I cannot govern your thoughts, and far be it for me to tell you what you should think of me.”

  “Your actions provide proof of your intent,” he prodded in a relentless effort to draw her out. “ ‘Twould be foolishness to think otherwise.”

  “Foolishness is a state each man achieves by himself, as you have so amply demonstrated my lord. No argument is profitable against it.”

  A burst of laughter escaped Nicholas as he fell back in his chair. He roared at the rafters in high mirth, content to witness her rebuttal of the Marquess. It was rare to see any young lady so zealous in her disdain of his lordship. It was the usual wont of the fairer gender to throw themselves at the man and beg for his favors while promising him all of theirs. None of those adoring creatures had ever understood the true complexity of the man. Maxim was one who preferred the challenge of a difficult chase, a hard-won tournament, and held no esteem for trophies easily gained. Indeed, Nicholas mused as he considered the ever-warring pair, if his friend were not so caught up with the idea of Arabella and his errant gambit, this girl would be a prime candidate for the hunt. It would behoove a man who was smitten with the girl to keep reminding the Marquess of his lost love so he would not recognize the rare prize that was within his reach.