“I wouldn’t go so far as to say that.”
“To say what?” Georgina asked as she returned to them with her niece in tow.
Gabrielle’s cheeks reddened. Considering how disagreeable the man had been to her, she didn’t doubt that he was going to confess all. It was the perfect opportunity to embarrass her, and he seemed determined to do that. He might have let up enough to have a conversation with her, but she hadn’t forgotten how it had started.
Again he surprised her, by making light of it and only mentioning, “She thinks that brute you married is a handsome fellow.”
“Of course she does,” Georgina replied. “I’ve never met a woman who didn’t. But I wish you’d remove the word ‘brute’ from your vocabulary.”
“Not until he removes ‘barbarian’ from his,” Drew said with a smile.
The woman with Georgina chuckled. “I’m glad my Nick isn’t present to hear this.”
Regina Eden was quite stunning. She had black hair and the most amazing cobalt-blue eyes that were slanted just enough to appear exotic. And her chuckle left behind a smile that was warmly welcoming.
Georgina explained to Gabrielle, “You’ll find that Reggie’s husband doesn’t like mine very much. They used to try to kill each other.”
Georgina spoke in such a teasing tone that Gabrielle didn’t take her comment seriously. But then Regina added, “And nearly succeeded a few times, but they get along famously now—at least in comparison.”
“I wouldn’t call it famously,” Georgina grinned. “But I’ll allow it’s probably just old habits dying hard. They still go toe-to-toe verbally. My brothers are the same way,” she added with a disapproving look at Drew.
He didn’t appear at all abashed, even grinned cheekily. “I know when I’m outnumbered, which is a good time to go find some libation while you ladies get acquainted.”
He sauntered off, but only one of them watched him go. Gabrielle caught herself staring after him and groaned inwardly. It was going to be a problem, keeping her eyes off that man when he was around. He’d insulted her enough that she should want to ignore him at all costs, but she simply couldn’t. She was so powerfully attracted to him that even when he raised her ire, he affected her in other ways she couldn’t control.
But she was going to have to figure out how to deal with his proximity. The man wasn’t just a sailor who might, with enough incentive, be convinced to give up the sea. He was captain of his own vessel and his family even owned their own shipping company! He couldn’t be a more inappropriate man for her to get better acquainted with.
Chapter 12
“D ID WE MISS HER?”
“Has she not come down yet?”
Drew put his fork aside and smiled at the two young girls who’d just run into the breakfast room. Their excitement was obvious. And he didn’t need to ask whom they were talking about. He’d just been thinking about the same female and asking himself the same questions!
He told his niece, “If you mean the pirate, she’s probably still abed. We returned rather late last night from your cousin Regina’s party.”
“Did she have fun there?” Judith asked.
“Probably,” he replied, and managed to keep his tone neutral, though he found the thought irritating. “She was swarmed by every bachelor in attendance.”
“She said she’s not a pirate,” Jacqueline corrected him as she came over and swiped a sausage from his plate.
“But she’s a treasure hunter!” Judith volunteered.
“And Papa said she’d tell us all about it,” Jacqueline added.
He stared pointedly at his niece, but she merely gave him a cheeky grin, then promptly finished off the sausage anyway. He shook his head with a chuckle. Jack was an adorable minx, graceful, not the least bit gangly, and too lovely by half for her age. She was going to be an incorrigible handful when she got older, he was sure.
“This late in the morning and you two haven’t eaten yet?” he asked.
“Oh, we did, long ago,” Jacqueline said.
“We’ve just been checking back,” Judith explained. “Didn’t want to miss the lady. And I go home today. I’ll be ever so disappointed if I don’t get to hear about the treasure hunting firsthand.”
“If I see her, moppets, I’ll send her straightaway to find you both.”
They took him at his word and ran back out of the room as exuberantly as they’d entered it. But with the room quiet again, his thoughts went right back to where they’d been, centered on his sister’s guest.
Her arrival had changed Georgina’s plans, and thus his as well. Since his sister and her family wouldn’t be accompanying him on the voyage back to Connecticut, he could revert to his original schedule, which allowed him to spend another week or two with his sister here, but he wasn’t sure if he should stay now. He could visit Georgie at another time. He didn’t feel comfortable staying at her house while she had a houseguest that he was attracted to, especially since his sister’s unexpected guest was off-limits to him.
Pirates. He’d never run into any himself, but his brother Boyd had. Pirates had stolen his cargo at sea. The same thing had happened to his brother Thomas, who’d had to limp back to port, his ship had been so damaged in that fight. It hadn’t upset Thomas, though, but then nothing ever did. He was the most patient of all six Andersons.
Ironically it had been James Malory who’d tangled with both his brothers at sea and won. They all laughed over it now, though not at the time. A gentleman pirate, he’d called himself back then.
For a decade James had amused himself on the high seas, indiscriminately bedeviling any ship that appeared to offer a challenge, even English ships. It had been a game to him, a test of his skills, and according to Georgina, for a man who’d gotten so jaded being one of London’s most notorious rakes that even duels couldn’t stir his emotions anymore, the life of a gentleman pirate had been his salvation.
Drew found it amazing that Gabrielle Brooks had actually guessed that James was the pirate that Georgina had consorted with in the past. Pirates recognizing pirates? He didn’t think so.
When James and Georgie had explained their houseguest to him, James had admitted that the girl’s father didn’t know that he’d been a pirate as well, merely that he’d gone by the name Captain Hawke back then. It was his real identity he’d revealed in his delirium. So it was more likely that Gabrielle had merely been sarcastic when she’d made her guess and called James a brute.
Rude, ungrateful wench. The strikes against her were adding up, but the worst one was that she was here to find a husband. If not for that, he might have made an effort to patch things up with her. But he didn’t want them patched. Hell no. He needed the buffer of her disagreeable disposition to remind him that she was off-limits.
Not that he needed much reminding when the mere sight of her yesterday had instantly recalled how annoyed he’d been with her on the dock. Which was odd. It just wasn’t in his nature to let things affect him to such a degree that he couldn’t shrug them off. He was too carefree. He could even withstand arguments and knockdown fights with his brother Warren, who used to be so glum he could annoy a saint, and not be bothered by them at all. But this wench bothered him too much.
Boyd appeared in the doorway and tried to lean on it, but nearly fell into the room instead. Drew had been so deep in thought that he hadn’t heard the front door open, but it was obvious his brother was just getting in. He looked as if he hadn’t slept all night.
Boyd had the same color hair as he did—light brown with golden highlights—but his brother hadn’t cut his since he’d docked, probably hadn’t combed it either by the shaggy look of it. While Boyd’s brown eyes were lighter than his own, they were also quite bloodshot at the moment. Of the five brothers, only Boyd and Thomas hadn’t inherited their father’s extraordinary height.
“You haven’t been to bed yet?” Drew guessed.
“I slept, just no idea where,” Boyd replied.
“Is that w
hat happened the other night? You deserted me for a soft bed?”
“Very soft, I vaguely recall, but I’m sure you found your way home without me.”
Drew chuckled. “Yes, at a decent hour, too.” But then he shook his head. “You really go overboard when you reach port. Was your last trip really that long?”
“No; I just had a passenger that drove me mad with lust for two damn weeks.”
Drew raised a brow. “Couldn’t do anything about it on board?”
“She was married, had two children with her, and was so damned pleased to be on her way to meet her husband that I wasn’t going to let her know how I felt.”
“Well, got it out of your system now?”
“Ask me that after I sober up,” Boyd said, but then added with a snicker, “But how was your evening?”
“Why don’t you ask me that after you meet the pirate,” Drew shot back.
“No thanks. I’ve already got a long list of excuses lined up for our dear sister. She won’t be dragging me to any of these virginal affairs. I’ve been taking notes from Malory on how to avoid them. Besides, you’re much better than I am at being bored.”
Drew burst out laughing. “You’re all heart, brother. But what do you want to bet you’ll change your mind—after you meet the pirate?”
Boyd just grinned at him. “I’m not falling for that. If she was such a great looker, you’d be making sure my ship sails tomorrow.”
“Suit yourself,” Drew said with a shrug.
Boyd narrowed his eyes on him. “Is she pretty?”
“What’s it matter?” Drew countered offhandedly. “The wench is here to catch a husband, remember? Or are you ready to settle down?”
Boyd gave that a moment’s thought. “Unlike you, I don’t have a sweetheart in every port, so I wouldn’t mind having a pretty wife to sail home to. Remember, I’m not the one who said he was never getting hitched, that was you. But when I do settle down, it sure as hell won’t be with a wench whose father is a pirate.”
“Good point,” Drew agreed. “Considering we’re in shipping of the legitimate sort, I’d say Clinton might object if you try to bring a pirate into the family. No reason to get permanently on his bad side, after all.”
“Oh, so now you’re making it a dare?” Boyd said in a belligerent tone.
Drew rolled his eyes. “Go on to bed. If you’re looking for a fight to round off your overindulgences, at least wait until you’re sober.”
“Bad idea,” Boyd grumbled. “Then I’ll feel it too much. Maybe Malory will oblige me instead.”
“Oh, well, why didn’t you say you just want to die,” Drew replied dryly.
Chapter 13
G ABRIELLE LOOKED AROUND THE GLITTERING BALLROOM. A soiree one night, a grand ball the next. When Georgina had told her that they probably wouldn’t spend a single evening at home for the rest of the Season, she hadn’t been joking. Which was fine with Gabrielle. She wanted many choices for the matrimonial list she was going to create, and the more events they attended, the more bachelors she would have a chance to meet.
She’d already met two new gentlemen this evening, and three more had signed her card. She would be able to talk to them later when they danced. But just now she was staring at the man across the ballroom whom she couldn’t get out of her thoughts.
For an American sea captain, Drew Anderson certainly made a dashing figure in his black evening clothes. She was surprised at how well he fit in, as if he were a member of the ton. It was actually impossible to tell he was American until you heard his accent. Not that it mattered to the women present. The man was far too handsome. He had women, young and old, trying to catch his eye.
Right now he was talking to a lovely lady he’d just finished dancing with. He hadn’t asked her to dance. He’d barely said two words to her, actually, since they’d arrived at this ball.
Of course, her dance card had filled up immediately, but he could have asked her to save him a dance before they arrived. They’d ridden there in the same coach with Georgina, after all. He’d had plenty of opportunity. And it was the polite thing to do, even if he didn’t really want to dance with her. But all he’d done was give her a nasty look when she’d come downstairs earlier, and she knew she looked exceptionally pretty in the new ball gown that had arrived just in time this evening.
Icy-blue satin in color with embroidered roses in a glittering pink thread that trailed along the seams, the gown had arrived with matching slippers and matching ribbons for her hair. She’d already heard several people say that she was definitely the sensation of the evening. But did Drew Anderson think so? Evidently not, she’d say, after the nasty look he’d given her, and after what she’d overheard today.
She’d heard too much. And to think, she wouldn’t have heard any of that conversation between the two brothers if she’d just slept a little longer, as Margery had suggested. But no, she’d woken up hungry after only picking at the plate of food Drew had brought her at Regina’s soiree last night. Not that she hadn’t been hungry then, too, but he’d somehow managed to fill her plate with every food she didn’t like.
She’d come downstairs this morning in time to hear Boyd Anderson tell his brother, “You’re much better than I am at being bored.” Drew didn’t look bored now; he looked quite interested in the lady he was still talking to, but the remark had been in relation to her and his having to escort her. “Considering we’re in shipping of the legitimate sort, I’d say Clinton might object if you try to bring a pirate into the family.”
They both found her contemptible, obviously. That didn’t hurt her—not too much, anyway. But it did infuriate her. They didn’t know her, they didn’t know her father. How dare they judge either of them out of hand like that!
“A sweetheart in every port.” “Never getting hitched.” She understood perfectly now. Drew Anderson was a cad. And he found her contemptible?
“You’re scaring all the eligible men away with a scowl like that,” she heard Drew say. “A penny for your thoughts.”
She looked up and saw him standing beside her. She’d stopped staring at him for only a moment. How had he managed to cross the room so fast? If she’d seen him coming, she would have moved off in another direction. She didn’t really want to talk to him.
“My thoughts would cost you more’n that,” she said in a dismissive tone, and glanced away.
“How much more?” he persisted.
“More than you can possibly afford.”
“A pity. I was hoping for some sort of amusement to break the tedium.”
She drew in her breath sharply and glanced back at him. “So you think my thoughts would amuse you? You think they’re filled with silly—”
“I never said that,” he cut in.
“You didn’t have to. It was implied in your tone,” she said, then added under her breath, “No more than one can expect from a brute.”
Apparently he heard her, because he actually sighed. “Is every man a brute to you?”
“No, but you’re the one who manhandled me so roughly you bruised my arm.”
His eyes narrowed at that accusation and he demanded, “Show me your bruises.”
She hadn’t bothered to look at her arm to see if she had any, and was about to say so when he grabbed her arm and turned it. His expression changed immediately. She glanced down to see the bruise as well. It was just a tiny one. Good grief, she’d never in her life been happy to see a blasted bruise, but she certainly was now.
“I told you,” she said with the utmost pleasure.
“Yes, you did,” he replied quietly, and he actually looked contrite, no, actually, he looked stricken. “I apologize, Gabby. It certainly wasn’t my intention to bruise you, merely to help you that day. I’m sorry you bruise so easily.”
The last remark gave her pause. She didn’t bruise easily, and in fact, his grip that day hadn’t been that strong and shouldn’t have left a mark…
She drew in her breath, recalling that she’d
been jostled sharply in the carriage on the way to the Malory townhouse when the vehicle rolled over a rather large pothole, enough that she’d cried out and Ohr had remarked on it. There was no doubt in her mind now that that’s how she’d gotten the bruise.
She wasn’t going to tell him. She rather liked his current conciliatory expression…Oh, bother!
“I was mistaken,” she said sharply. “So you can retract your apology.”
“Excuse me?”
The blush came despite her irritation with herself. “I’ve just remembered that I got that bruise in a carriage the day after I saw you on the docks. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t a brute,” she added firmly.
He burst out laughing. It drew too many eyes. A big man like him, his laugh was deep, robust, and damned if it wasn’t distinctly sensual, too. She was barely able to ignore the shiver it sent down her back.
“I see I managed to break your tedium after all,” she grumbled.
“Yes, but I was only hoping for some witty remark that I’m sure you’re capable of. I certainly wasn’t expecting a feast of…silliness.”
His engaging grin said clearly that he was teasing her now. It flustered her, but what surprised her even more was that she wanted to grin back at him.
The man’s moods shifted quickly, and she found this winsome one more disconcerting than his earlier antagonism. It reminded her of that very real smile he’d given her on the docks, which had caused her stomach to flutter strangely.
She needed to get away from him. Her stomach was starting to flutter again. She looked for her current dance partner, who had gone off to procure some refreshment for her. Peter Wills—Willis, or something like that. But he was nowhere in sight. She wasn’t surprised. She’d wanted a break from the dancing before her feet got sore in her new slippers, and had noticed how long the line was for refills of champagne before she sent him off for some.
“Why are you standing here alone?” Drew asked. “I was only joking about that scowl, you know. It certainly wouldn’t have kept me from approaching you—if I were interested in making your acquaintance. So why aren’t you dancing?”