The Gift

  As soon as Jimbo and Sara turned the corner Caine opened the envelope, read the letter, and put it in his pocket. He waited another minute or two and then strolled into the dining room.

  Jimbo sat next to Sara at the long table. Jade was seated directly across from her. Caine took his place at the head of the table and then rang for the servants to begin.

  “Though it was probably very rude of me to notice, I did see that the letter was addressed to our prince regent,” Caine began.

  “I don’t know of anyone else living in Carlton House,” Jimbo interjected.

  Caine frowned at the seaman. “Yes, but I didn’t realize Sara was on personal terms with the prince.”

  “Oh, I’m not on personal terms with the prince,” she rushed out. “I don’t even like . . .” She stopped in midexplanation, then blushed. She lowered her gaze to the table. “I apologize. I do tend to blurt out whatever’s on my mind,” she confessed. “As far as the note is concerned, I requested an audience. I hope that the prince will see me tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Why?” Jade asked. “Sara, the prince is certainly in your father’s camp.”

  “I do hope you’re wrong, Jade.”

  “I’m afraid my wife’s correct in that evaluation, Sara,” Caine said. “When the prince made it known he wanted to divorce his wife, Caroline, your father was one of a handful who supported him.”

  “But won’t the prince put personal considerations aside and come to a loyal subject’s aid?”

  Her innocence was both refreshing and alarming. Caine didn’t want her to be disappointed. “No,” Caine said. “His own considerations always come first. The man changes his views as often as he changes his ministers, Sara. Anything he would promise you shouldn’t be counted on. I’m sorry to sound disloyal, but I’m being completely honest with you. I don’t want you to get your hopes up only to have them dashed. Let Nathan fight this battle, Sara. Stand by his side and let him handle your father.”

  She shook her head. “Do you know I refused to learn how to swim?” she blurted out. “I thought I shouldn’t have to know how, you see, because it was Nathan’s duty to make certain I didn’t drown. I’ve been perfectly willing to take care of everyone but myself. Now you suggest I let Nathan fight my battles. It’s wrong, Caine. I’ve been wrong. I don’t want ever to cling to anyone. I should have enough strength to stand on my own. I want to be strong, damn it.”

  She turned bright pink after she’d finished her impassioned speech. “Please excuse my gutter language,” she whispered.

  An awkward silence followed that remark. Jimbo filled the space with a couple of spicy stories about his sea adventures.

  The dessert tray was just being removed from the table when Jade asked, “Have you seen our beautiful daughter yet?” She’d blurted out that question in an attempt to keep Sara at the table awhile longer. She wanted to bring the conversation around to Nathan, of course. Jade was determined to interfere. It was such a heartache to see Sara looking so desolate and alone.

  Sara actually smiled at the mention of the infant. “I’ve heard your daughter,” she confessed. “But I’ve yet to see her. Sterns has promised me that this evening he’ll let me hold Olivia.”

  “She’s such a delightful baby,” Jade announced. “She’s smiling all the time now. She’s very intelligent, too. Caine and I noticed that right away.”

  Jade continued to expound on her three-month-old’s considerable accomplishments. Sara noticed that after each of Jade’s boasts, Caine immediately nodded his agreement.

  “Olivia’s blessed to have such loving parents.”

  “Nathan will make a wonderful father,” Jade interjected.

  Sara didn’t comment.

  “Don’t you agree, husband?” Jade asked Caine.

  “If he ever learns to lower his voice, he will.”

  Jade kicked her husband while she continued to smile at Sara. “Nathan has so many wonderful qualities,” she announced.

  Sara didn’t want to talk about Nathan, but she felt it would be rude not to show some interest. “Oh? And what might those qualities be?” she asked.

  Jade opened her mouth to answer, then stopped. She looked as if she’d forgotten the topic. She turned to Caine for assistance. “Explain Nathan’s wonderful qualities to Sara.”

  “You explain them,” Caine replied as he reached for another sweet biscuit.

  That statement earned him another kick under the table. He glared at his wife, then said, “Nathan’s trustworthy.”

  “He might be trustworthy, but he certainly doesn’t trust anyone else,” Sara said. She started to fold her napkin.

  “The boy’s got courage,” Jimbo blurted out. He grinned, too, for he was inordinately pleased to have come up with something.

  “He’s remarkably . . . tidy,” Jade said. Even as she gave that bit of praise she wondered if she was right.

  Sara neither agreed nor disagreed. Caine decided they were taking the wrong approach. His hand covered Jade’s, and when she looked over at him he gave her a conspiratorial wink. “Nathan’s probably the most stubborn man I’ve ever known.”

  “He might be a little stubborn,” Sara immediately countered, “but that certainly isn’t a sin.” She turned her gaze to Jade. “Your brother reminds me of a beautifully sculptured statue. On the outside he’s so handsome, so perfect, but inside his heart is as cold as marble.”

  Jade smiled. “I never considered Nathan beautiful,” she said.

  “Sara can’t possibly consider him beautiful.” Caine squeezed his wife’s hand before adding, “Nathan’s an ugly bastard, and everyone knows it. His back is covered with scars, for God’s sake.”

  Sara let out a loud gasp, but Caine held his grin. At last they were getting her to show a little emotion.

  “It was a woman who scarred Nathan’s back,” Sara cried out. “And it was this same woman who scarred his heart.”

  She tossed her napkin on the table and stood up. “Nathan isn’t ugly, sir. He’s incredibly handsome. I think it’s dreadful that his own brother-in-law would say such insulting things about him. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to go upstairs.”

  Jimbo frowned at Caine for upsetting Sara, then chased after her to make certain she did in fact go back above the stairs.

  “Caine, you’ve upset her to the point where you’re going to have to apologize,” Jade told her husband.

  Just then, Jimbo came rushing back into the dining room. “Sara’s looking in on the little mite now,” he said. “Tell me why you snatched her letter out of my hands. You weren’t thinking I’d actually deliver the thing, were you?”

  “The letter’s in my pocket,” Caine said. “I took it from you because I wanted to read it.”

  “Caine, that’s an invasion . . . what did it say?” Jade asked.

  “Just what Sara told us she’d written,” Caine answered. “She requests an audience to discuss the contract.”

  “I’m assuming the boy’s put together some sort of plan,” Jimbo interjected.

  “Yes,” Caine answered.

  “What did Sara mean when she said it was a woman who scarred Nathan’s back? Who planted that misinformation in her mind? It was the fire that trapped him inside the prison.”

  “But wasn’t Ariah responsible for having him locked up?”

  “She was,” Jimbo admitted. “It happened so many years ago, I doubt Nathan even holds a grudge. He came through it seasoned, to my way of thinking, and we didn’t leave the island without a full booty to share amongst ourselves.”

  Caine stood up. “I’ve got a couple of details of my own to see about. I won’t be home until late, Jade. Sir Richards and I have a little business to discuss.”

  “Why do you need to talk to the director of the War Department?” she asked. She couldn’t hide her fear. “Caine, you haven’t started back doing secret work for our government without discussing the matter with me first, have you? You promised—”

  “Hush, love,” Cai
ne soothed. “I’m helping Nathan sort out a little matter, that’s all. I’m fully retired and have no desire to return to the cloak-and-dagger days.”

  Jade looked relieved. Caine leaned down and kissed her. “I love you,” he whispered before he started for the doorway.

  “Just one minute,” Jade called out. “You still haven’t explained to me why you deliberately riled Sara up. Caine, we already know she loves him. All you have to do is look at her face to know that.”

  “Yes, we know she loves him,” Caine said. “I just wanted to remind her,” he continued. His grin turned devilish. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve just thought of a few more endearments, and I want to write them down before I leave.”

  He left Jimbo and Jade staring after him.

  For the first time that day Sara was able to stop thinking about Nathan. Little Olivia took her full attention. She was a beautiful infant. One minute she was smiling and drooling, and the next she was bellowing like an opera singer.

  Olivia had her mother’s green eyes. The sprinkle of dark hair on her crown looked like it might curl just like her father’s. Sterns hovered by Sara’s side the entire time she held the baby.

  “I fear my little love has inherited her Uncle Nathan’s inclination to bellow. She can be as loud as he is,” Sterns confessed with a smile. “Olivia’s wanting immediate gratification,” he explained when the babe began to fret in earnest.

  He took Olivia back into his arms and held her close. “Shall we go and find your mama, my little angel?” he crooned to the infant.

  Sara was reluctant to go back to her room. It was lonely there, and she knew her problems would once again overpower her.

  She went to bed early that night, and because she was so emotionally distraught she slept the full night through. She vaguely remembered cuddling up against her husband, knew he had slept next to her, for his side of the bed was still warm, and she came to the sorry conclusion that Nathan was still too angry with her to bother waking her up. He must still believe she’d betrayed him, she thought to herself.

  Needless to say, that possibility infuriated her all over again. She worked herself into a rage by the time she’d finished her bath. Even though she’d rested long, uninterrupted hours she felt as refreshed as an old, wrung-out hag. She thought she looked like one, too.

  There were dark half circles under her eyes, and her hair was as limp as her spirits. Sara wanted to look her best when she went to plead with the prince regent. She fretted over which gown to wear, just to take her mind off the real issue at hand, and finally settled on a conservative, high-necked pink walking dress.

  Like a wallflower at a formal ball Sara sat in the corner of the bedroom all morning long, waiting for the invitation that never arrived.

  She refused luncheon and spent a good portion of the afternoon pacing her room while she tried to figure out what her next step would be. It was terribly upsetting to her that the prince regent had ignored her urgent request. Caine had been right, she decided, when he’d said that the prince wasn’t interested in the problems of his subjects.

  Caine knocked on her door then, interrupting her thoughts. “Sara, we have a little errand to do,” he said.

  “Where are we going?” she asked. She started to put on her white gloves, then stopped. “I shouldn’t go out,” she explained. “The prince regent might still send word to me.”

  “You have to come with me,” Caine ordered. “I don’t have time to explain, Sara. Nathan wants you to meet him at the War Department offices in a half hour’s time.”

  “Why?”

  “I’ll let your husband explain.”

  “Who else is going to be there? Why do we have to meet at the War Department?”

  Caine was terribly smooth when it came to evading her questions. Jade was waiting in the foyer. Olivia was draped over her shoulder. “It’s all going to turn out just fine,” she told Sara. She was diligently patting her daughter’s back.

  The baby let out a loud belch. The sound made everyone smile. Caine kissed his wife and daughter good-bye, then gently nudged Sara out the front door.

  “I’ll have your gowns pressed and put in the wardrobe while you’re doing this errand,” Jade said.

  “No,” Sara blurted out. “I’ll only be staying one more night.”

  “But where will you and Nathan be going?” Jade asked.

  Sara didn’t answer her. She turned around and walked down the three steps. Caine held the door to the carriage open. Sara sat across from her brother-in-law. He tried to engage her in casual conversation but quickly gave up when she gave him only whispered yes or no answers.

  The War Department was situated in a tall, ugly, gray stone building. A musty smell permeated the stairwells. Caine took Sara up to the second floor. “The meeting’s going to take place in Sir Richards’s office. You’ll like him, Sara. He’s a good man.”

  “I’m certain I will,” she said, just to be polite. “But who is he, Caine, and why does he want this meeting?”

  “Richards is the director of the department.” He opened the door to a large office area and motioned for Sara to go inside.

  A short, heavy-bellied man was standing behind a desk. He had thin gray hair, a beak nose, and a ruddiness to his complexion. As soon as he looked up from the paper he was holding in his hand and spotted Sara and Caine he started forward.

  “There you are now,” he announced with a smile. “We’re about ready. Lady Sara, what a pleasure it is to meet you.”

  He was such a nice gentleman, she thought. He formally bowed to Sara and then took her hand in his own. “You must be quite a lady to have captured our Nathan.”

  “She didn’t capture him, Sir Richards,” Caine interjected with a smile of his own. “He captured her.”

  “I fear you’re both incorrect,” Sara whispered. “King George captured the two of us. Nathan was never given a choice in the matter, but I would like to find a way to—”

  Caine wouldn’t let her go on. “Yes, yes,” he interrupted. “You’d like to find Nathan, wouldn’t you? Where is he?” he asked the director.

  “Waiting for the papers,” Sir Richards explained. “He’ll be back in just a minute. My assistant is quite speedy. Don’t worry, my dear, it will all be legal.”

  She didn’t know what the director was talking about but didn’t want to appear completely ignorant. “I’m not at all certain why I’m here,” she admitted. “I—”

  She quit speaking when the side door to the office opened and Nathan walked in. She couldn’t remember what she was saying then, and when the pain in her chest started throbbing she realized she was holding her breath.

  He didn’t even acknowledge her but strode over to the desk and dropped two papers on top of a stack. Then he walked over to an elongated window seat and stood there staring at her.

  She couldn’t take her gaze off him. He was a rude, impossible-to-understand, stubborn-headed man whose manners were no better than a hedgehog’s, she thought.

  A knock sounded at the door, and a young man dressed in a guard’s black uniform looked inside. “Sir Richards, the prince regent’s carriage is down front,” he said.

  Sara heard the announcement, but she still couldn’t take her gaze away from Nathan. He didn’t seem to be at all surprised that the prince was on his way up the steps. He didn’t appear overly nervous either, for he leaned against the wall and continued to look at her.

  If he wasn’t going to speak to her, then by God, she wasn’t . . .

  He crooked his finger at her. She couldn’t believe his arrogance. Both Sir Richards and Caine were in deep discussion over some topic or other. Their low voices were still quite close to her, and she wondered if she’d been included in the conversation. Then Nathan crooked his finger at her again. It would be a burning day in heaven before she obeyed that rude command, she told herself, even as she started walking toward him.

  He wasn’t smiling at her. He wasn’t scowling either. Nathan looked so serious
, so . . . intense. She stopped when she was facing her husband, just a foot or so away.

  God help her, she thought, she couldn’t start weeping. He wasn’t making her torment any easier to bear. He looked so damned satisfied. And why shouldn’t he? she asked herself. All the man had to do was crook his finger at her, and she came running.

  She turned and tried to walk away from him. He reached out and pulled her back. He put his arm around her shoulder and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “You will have faith in me, wife. Do you understand me?”

  She was so astonished by his command, she let out a little gasp. She looked up at him to make certain he wasn’t jesting with her. Then she remembered that Nathan rarely jested about anything. Sara was immediately consumed with anger. How dare he demand anything from her? At least she had enough faith in him to lose some, she thought to herself. Her eyes filled with tears almost immediately, and all she could think about was getting out of the room before she completely disgraced herself.

  Nathan suddenly grabbed hold of her chin and forced her to look up at him again. “You love me, damn it.”

  She couldn’t deny it, and so she said nothing at all.

  He stared at her for a minute. “And do you know why you love me?”

  “No,” she answered in a voice to match his. “Honest to God, Nathan, I haven’t the faintest idea why I love you.”

  He wasn’t at all irritated by the anger in her voice. “You love me, Sara, because I’m everything you could ever want in a husband.”

  A tear slipped out from the corner of her eye. He caught it with his thumb.

  “Dare you mock me by turning my own words against me? I haven’t forgotten that I said the very same words to you when we set sail for Nora’s island. Love can be destroyed. It’s fragile, and . . .”

  She stopped trying to explain when he shook his head at her. “You aren’t fragile,” he told her. “And your love can’t be destroyed.” His fingers gently caressed her cheek. “It’s what I’ve come to value most, Sara. I wasn’t mocking you.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” she whispered. “I know you don’t love me. I’ve accepted it, Nathan. Please don’t look so concerned. I don’t fault you. You were never given a choice.”