Elusive Flame

  Alistair curled his lips in an angry sneer as he tossed another glance behind him at the mutely pleading Rudd. Jerking his sleeve away from the solicitor’s persistent plucking, he sighed sharply in exasperation before he fixed his gaze again upon the captain. “Obviously you didn’t hear me. Miss Kendall hasn’t yet come of an age whereby she can make lawful decisions on her own. She was a legal ward of my late aunt until the elder’s recent death. Now she has become mine, and I’m duty-bound to provide for her care.”

  “From what I hear, you threw her out into the street,” Beau countered. “That’s hardly an act of solicitude.”

  Alistair scoffed in rampant distaste. “I’m sure the chit gave you quite a tale to win your sympathy, Captain, but that will hardly dissuade me from complying with the wishes of my aunt. Now where is the girl?”

  Cerynise pushed herself upright on legs that felt far too weak to carry her across the deck. She silently shushed Mr. Oaks’s protests with a finger across her lips, and then moved forward through the bulwark of broad-shouldered sailors to join the three men who stood near the rail.

  “I’m here, Alistair,” she announced with a heavy sigh. “What do you want?”

  The man quickly whirled at the sound of her voice, but his jaw sagged slowly a-slack as his gaze swept her. He had expected to find a bedraggled, wretchedly miserable girl, but she was just as well groomed and beautiful as ever. Obviously the captain had already extended a goodly amount of coin on her to garb her so well. Perhaps he had even been reimbursed for his generosity. Tossing a virgin upon her back and instructing her in some of the finer pleasures of life was a feast some men only had illusions of, himself included.

  Alistair forced a gentle smile despite the resentment that began to roil within him at his supposition. “Why, to take you home, of course.”

  “I no longer have a home here in England,” Cerynise replied icily. “You made that perfectly clear when you threw me out.”

  “Tsk, tsk! How you do run on, Cerynise.” He feigned a laugh as he waved a thin hand in the air to dismiss her claims. “If you’re not careful, dear child, you’ll make the captain think that I’m an ogre or something far worse.”

  “Strange,” Beau pondered aloud. “I was just thinking that very same thing.”

  Alistair suddenly grew wary, for the man’s eyes flashed with a chilling green light that was, at the very least, threatening. “The girl has no business being here, Captain,” he assured his host hurriedly. “I shall remove her forthwith.” He reached out to take hold of Cerynise’s wrist, wrenching a startled gasp from her. In the next moment he found his own wrist seized by the captain. Alistair’s voice reached a high octave as he demanded, “What is the meaning of this?”

  “I’ll explain very simply,” Beau offered almost pleasantly. “I’m not letting you take Cerynise until she assures me herself that she wants to go. And I really don’t think she does. Do you understand?”

  “This is an outrage! You can’t do this!” Alistair cried, snatching free of the other’s steely grasp.

  Beau’s soft chuckle was totally lacking in humor. “Can’t I?” Then he looked toward the lady. “Cerynise, do you wish to leave with this gentleman?” The emphasis he placed upon the last word came through clearly as an insult.

  She shook her head, unable to take her gaze from Alistair’s rapidly darkening face. “It’s not true what he said. I’m not his ward. I saw Mrs. Winthrop’s will myself. There was no mention of any guardianship being transferred to him.”

  “’Twas in a codicil we found later,” Alistair explained, removing a piece of parchment from his coat and snapping it open in front of Beau’s face. “Read it for yourself, Captain. I have legal ownership of this girl. She must obey me.”

  The muscles in Beau’s lean cheeks tightened progressively until they fairly snapped. “Guardianship is hardly the same as ownership, Mr. Winthrop. Perhaps you need to consider the difference. As for this…” He flicked his fingers contemptuously against the paper. “This could be anything, a forgery for all I know.”

  Alistair sputtered in indignation. “I’m a man of wealth and position, sir! The law will affirm that I have a valid right to remove this girl from your ship. Indeed, you’d be well advised not to trouble yourself in this matter any longer, for I assure you that I can bring the law down upon this measly little ship and prevent you from ever leaving port. Now! If you don’t want things to go badly for you, you’d better comply with my wishes posthaste.”

  Rudd nodded from behind Alistair’s shoulder, as if affirming the fact that the captain would suffer dire consequences. But for the sake of caution, he tried once again to redirect Alistair’s attention to the hulking sailors who were closing in around them.

  Beau arched an eyebrow in sharp derision. “Badly for me? You threw Cerynise out to fend for herself on the streets, a girl whom you now claim is your ward, and you caution me about the law?”

  “Lies!” Alistair railed. “All lies! Cerynise is obviously saying that because she wants to stay here with you. Perhaps you’ve given the girl more attention than can possibly be deemed appropriate and have whispered sweet, little promises of empty adoration in her ears until she’s now reeling with empty-headed pash and is so bedazzled she’s willing to sail to the far ends of the earth with her noble captain.” Alistair cast a scathing glance down the long masculine form, and his pliable lips twisted downward in sharp disdain. “No doubt she’s already allowed you to mount her like some horny stag.”

  Cerynise gasped at the insult, but Beau proved more physical. He hauled back a fist and sent it flying toward the other man’s face. Alistair saw the blow coming and tried to duck, but he was not entirely successful. Beau’s hard knuckles caught him on the cheekbone, sending him sprawling backwards into Rudd, who nearly collapsed in surprise. The lawyer sputtered in confusion as he hefted his companion to his feet again.

  “You dare accost me!” Alistair cried indignantly, clasping a hand over his throbbing cheek. “I’ll have you arrested!”

  He tried again to take hold of Cerynise, but she jerked away and skittered behind Beau who stepped forward menacingly to confront Alistair. “Get off this ship before I throttle you, you scurvy lump of dung.”

  Alistair’s eyes flared at the slur, and he raised a clenched fist to shake it at Beau. “I’ll make you sorry you ever laid eyes on Cerynise Kendall.”

  “I doubt that,” Beau scoffed. Raising a hand, he beckoned the waiting sailors forward. “Throw this offal overboard.”

  Glancing askance at the burly sailors, Rudd began to tug desperately at Alistair’s elbow. “Better go now! Better go now.…”

  “You’ll regret this!” Alistair warned at the top of his lungs as he backed toward the gangplank. “When I return, I’ll bring the authorities with me and see you arrested for molesting my ward. I’ll have a watch set this very morning to prevent you from leaving port while Cerynise is aboard your ship. If you dare make a run for it, I’ll have you hauled back in chains and charged with kidnapping. You’ll spend the rest of your sorry life rotting in prison!”

  Beau paced forward, and Rudd frantically yanked on Alistair’s arm as he hissed some worthy advice: “Don’t rile him any more than he is already, else he’ll come after us! We’ll let the authorities deal with him!”

  Alistair was hardly subdued. Even as Rudd towed him toward the safety of the dock, he shouted irate curses at the captain. Getting him into the carriage proved just as difficult, for he was still intent upon venting his tirade. His enraged screeches could even be heard above the clatter of hooves as the conveyance rumbled away.

  In the wake of its passage, silence reigned for barely a moment. Then a dog barked, a horse whinnied, and a vendor cried out the prices of his wares. On board the Audacious, the sailors returned to their duties, but now sly winks were being exchanged among them, murmured comments made, and bets taken.

  “I’m dreadfully sorry, Beau,” Cerynise apologized as he stepped back to her. She spread her
hands, unable to understand why Alistair had been so adamant that she leave with him. “I never expected anyone to protest my departure, certainly not after being thrown out of the Winthrop house. Under the circumstances, I think it would be best if you had someone escort me to Captain Sullivan’s ship before Alistair sets up a guard to patrol the area around your ship.”

  Beau shook his head. “That’s impossible now.”

  Cerynise realized it would have been difficult to find a man who wasn’t busy and tried to think of a way she could get her baggage over to the Mirage herself. “Then if you’d tell me how to find Captain Sullivan’s ship, perhaps Moon will be willing to come back and fetch my things.”

  Once again Beau bluntly negated the idea. “I won’t allow it.”

  Cerynise stammered in confusion. “W-won’t allow what, Captain? I don’t understand. If you can’t spare any of your men to serve as my escort, why won’t you allow Moon to come back for my baggage?”

  Beau crossed his arms in some vexation as he stared down at her. “Because, Miss Kendall, if you try to leave the country on the Mirage, you’ll never make it beyond these docks. Alistair Winthrop will find you, and knowing Captain Sullivan as I do, he’ll not be inclined to argue with the authorities.”

  “Then what am I to do?” she queried dismally.

  The magnificent brows gathered in a contemplative scowl. “Just how desperate are you to reach the Carolinas?”

  “Most desperate,” she averred.

  Beau stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Alistair poses a problem that could prove almost insurmountable if he truly has been named your guardian. Even if the codicil is a forgery, the authorities will give him the benefit of the doubt…at least for a time.”

  “You said ‘almost,’ Captain.” Cerynise looked at him closely. “As long as there’s some chance of defeating Alistair’s purposes in taking me back, I’m willing to hear any suggestions you might have.”

  “Aye, but you may not like what I have to say. Yet I can think of no other way at present to nullify Alistair’s immediate claims to you.”

  “Say what’s on your mind, Captain,” she urged. “I’m listening.”

  Beau’s mouth quirked thoughtfully as he continued to stare at her in silence. He would likely shock her to her senses, perhaps send her fleeing back to the Winthrop house.

  Being the recipient of his intense gaze, Cerynise grew increasingly uneasy. She could only believe that whatever Beau was about to recommend was something so immensely odious he was reluctant to explain. “I really wish you wouldn’t do that.”

  Beau blinked in confusion. “Do what, my dear?”

  The endearment brought a blush of pleasure to her cheeks, making her drop her head in an attempt to hide it. “Stare at me so intently. It makes me feel as if you’re dissecting me like some fledgling physician with his first corpse.”

  Beau winced sharply, making much of his repugnance. “I shall strive most heartily to improve my manners, my dear.”

  There it was again! Enchanting words from princely lips!

  Cerynise released her breath in short, shallow drafts as she sought to steady herself. His eyes might well have worked their magic on her, but his words had the same effect as honeyed mead, leaving her more than a little intoxicated.

  She cleared her throat, taking firm control of herself. Even so, her eyelids fluttered with uncertainty as she lifted her gaze to meet those smiling emerald orbs. “It seems that I’m being left in needless suspense, sir,” she prodded with a faltering sigh. “Won’t you please tell me what you have in mind?”

  “Forgive me for the delay, Cerynise.” His wide shoulders lifted in a casual shrug. “Since the idea has only just come to me, I must pause a moment and consider the possible repercussions that may occur because of it.” Chewing thoughtfully on a corner of his bottom lip, he pivoted sharply and strode to the rail. For a length of several moments, he stared off beyond the docks toward the city as he considered what he owed this girl by way of his friendship.

  His father, Brandon Birmingham, had once stood near this very same place decades ago, viewing this identical city from his own vessel. The elder Birmingham had faced many of the same challenges his son had often confronted as a ship’s captain, and with a parent’s concern for his only male offspring, Brandon had sought to share the wisdom he had gleaned from his own experiences. He had taught his son not merely with words but through example. Above all, he had shown him the true meaning of duty and honor.

  A man’s rightful claim to being a gentleman was not something one could inherit, like a title, his father had once counseled. It came through careful instruction from one who knew the depth and scope of its inner workings. Brandon’s father had once taught him, and in turn, he was duty bound to teach his own son. Compassion, fairness, valor, honor, and integrity were a few of the characteristics a man could lay claim to as a gentleman. Certainly one had a responsibility to protect members of his own household from the harsh cruelties of the world, but such an obligation also extended to friends and those poor unfortunates who had neither. Noblesse oblige, more or less. Except that his family was not of noble birth, at least none that had ever made a difference in their lives. Still, the weight of responsibility had to be carried gallantly, no matter how it might weigh heavily upon a man at times. Oppression could come in a variety of forms, physical mistreatment being the most obvious. Beau’s face darkened as he remembered Cerynise’s condition when he had lifted her in his arms and carried her aboard the Audacious. It enraged him to think of Alistair Winthrop gaining control of her and resorting to other measures of subjugation. But there were other kinds of persecution that were not readily apparent, such as the whispered conjectures, the gossip, and subtle innuendoes that could destroy a reputation and inflict a lifetime of damage.

  Alistair Winthrop appeared to be a desperate man. Beau did not doubt that for an instant. Certainly, while the man was able to make legal claim to Cerynise, however false it might be, he could prevent her from escaping to the Carolinas. Beau could think of only one possible arrangement that could hold sway over a guardian’s rights and be adequate enough to protect her from Winthrop and the danger the man represented, even in a court of law.

  The silence dragged on until Cerynise thought she couldn’t bear it another moment. If Beau was tormenting her for some sadistic pleasure, then he was being completely thorough in that endeavor.

  Beau clasped his hands behind his back as he returned to Cerynise. He smiled briefly. “’Twould seem there are no alternatives, my dear. Your friend, Alistair, leaves us little choice if you are indeed intent upon going home.”

  “I am,” she affirmed once again.

  “Then, my dear, we must be married posthaste.”

  Cerynise stared at him, wondering if she had heard him correctly. “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me correctly. ’Tis the only available solution for us both. As things stand now, Winthrop will have little difficulty convincing the authorities to turn you over to him. I’m a foreigner in this country, and I’ve angered port officials who seem jealous of my ability to whisk in and out of this country with relative ease. ’Tis not uncommon for them to resent Yankees. And if I try to leave with you, I’m sure they’ll attempt to seize my ship and cast me into prison. As my wife, you’ll be under my protection, and I can almost promise you that no magistrate is going to step between a husband and his wife.”

  How strange the things she noticed now that the world had gone out of kilter with the universe. The man standing in front of her was so tall, her head barely touched the top of his shoulders, and there was the nicest little scar on his chin.…

  Having gained no response, Beau probed for an answer. “Do you understand, Cerynise?”

  “Of course,” she breathed. “You want to marry me, you said.” The thought of being his wife filled her with many contradictory emotions…shock, fear, and a burgeoning excitement she didn’t dare consider at the present moment.

  “Actuall
y, that’s not quite what I said,” Beau corrected carefully.

  Her gaze flicked up, revealing her confusion.

  As much as he yearned to make love to her, Beau refused to commit himself to a long-term union from which he’d be unable to walk away. He enjoyed sailing too much, and if he continued roaming the world after taking on the responsibilities of a wife and offspring, he’d be doing them a grave disservice, for he would never be around to nurture them or when they truly needed him. Indeed, the way he flitted from continent to island or elsewhere, he’d probably spend just enough time at home to see the child he had sired from a previous visit and to get his wife pregnant again. He had seen it happen much too often in the lives of other captains and seamen to doubt that it would be any different for him.

  Beau explained with painstaking clarity, lest Cerynise suffer any doubt about what he was proposing. “Once we arrive in Charleston, we can have the marriage annulled, and then we’ll be free to go our separate ways. By then, you’ll be at home where you want to be, and I won’t have my ship confined on the wrong side of the Atlantic while I wrestle with the courts.”

  “There’s no need for you to do anything so drastic, Beau,” Cerynise murmured in quiet dignity. He made it bitingly clear that he really didn’t want her for a wife. He was only being chivalrous, helping her out of a predicament, nothing more. She hadn’t really thought him to be serious. Well, not for more than an instant perhaps. “You can simply sail away.”

  “Without you?” Beau was astounded at her suggestion. “I wouldn’t do that, Cerynise. I’d never forgive myself, most certainly not after seeing what you’d have to confront with Alistair Winthrop as your guardian. Call it a debt that I owe your father for not giving up on me when I could just as well have gone the way of some of my friends, who laughed at his efforts to make them study. Your father’s visits to my parents brought about the results he desired in keeping my mind fixed on what was important rather than on the frivolous enjoyments a lad is wont to seek after. I owe him much more than I can ever repay.”