cut coat and breeches, and the rich sheen of his Hessians.
She seized the book from him and reshelved it, closing its terrible truth away from prying eyes. "My father had a past that he chose not to share. So does every other man at sea, at least the ones who take to his profession." She glanced over him once again, the perfect Corinthian, hardly a man anyone would suspect was the nefarious privateer Captain de Ryes. "Including you."
She turned to leave the seclusion of the stacks, for surely it was close to the time that she'd instructed the Lord Admiral to arrive.
Julien wasn't about to let her go just yet. The bell above the door announced the entrance of another group of customers, this time a pair of ladies. He caught his impossible wife by her arm and hauled her deeper into the store.
Far from the curious glances of other patrons, far from her oblivious guardian.
"Maureen Hawthorne de Ryes, I've never thought you a fool, but you are trying my patience and my convictions." He gathered her into his arms, one hand clamped over her mouth to keep her from crying out. He had no illusions that once he grabbed her she wouldn't fight him like a wildcat, no matter the place or the possibility of scandal.
And fight him she did.
He held on with all his might, avoiding the well-aimed thrust of her knee and the sharp kick directed at his shins. When she finally settled down, he eased up a bit, but only a little.
He knew better than to ever turn his back on his wife. He had the scar to prove it.
Now with each jab of her toe, each wrench of her arm, it was as if those eight years were swept aside and he was being given a second chance — an opportunity to succeed where he had failed her so miserably before.
God, he'd loved her then. Loved her with all his heart. From the first moment he'd seen her, high in the rigging of the
Forgotten Lady.
Like some windswept sprite, her dark hair fluttering in the breeze, her feminine figure unmistakable even in the rough sailor's clothing. And when he'd stepped foot on the deck of her father's ship and taken one look at the heart-stopping blue of her eyes, he knew right there and then she would always be the only woman for him.
He'd been too young to see the consequences of his actions, too sure of himself not to believe that he could make everything work. All he'd known then was that he'd never be able to live without her, no matter what the fates thrust upon them.
She'd tempted him and infected him beyond reason and rational thought with her passion and fire.
And damn the fates, she still did.
But this time he wouldn't let her go. Not without a fight. Not until she understood why he'd done what he had to her father.
That she hadn't been the only one betrayed that night.
Then he'd make her understand the one most important thing: He'd never stopped loving her.
Never would, if he was honest with himself.
"Dammit, Reenie, stand down. Are you so blind that you can't see the gale coming up over your prow? Your life isn't worth a fiddler's funds if you don't listen to me. And listen to me you will."
She responded by biting his hand.
Sucking in a deep breath against the sharp pain, he released her immediately, shaking his stinging palm. "You little fool. Do you think seeing me hang will gain you and your crew their release?"
She stepped back, her expression wary. "I don't know what you are talking about."
"Your crew. You were arrested for smuggling off Sheerness a month ago. Your ship was towed to London, while you, my dear wife, and your crew were tried before a closed Admiralty court."
If she hadn't wanted to listen to him before, she appeared to be doing so now.
"How would you know?"
"I know. More than you would like to think. You could say knowing is my business."
"So what has this to do with saving your neck?"
"If I hang, there will be no one to protect you from what will surely follow."
She laughed, a hollow little sound, scoffing at her need for his safekeeping.
But
She seized the book from him and reshelved it, closing its terrible truth away from prying eyes. "My father had a past that he chose not to share. So does every other man at sea, at least the ones who take to his profession." She glanced over him once again, the perfect Corinthian, hardly a man anyone would suspect was the nefarious privateer Captain de Ryes. "Including you."
She turned to leave the seclusion of the stacks, for surely it was close to the time that she'd instructed the Lord Admiral to arrive.
Julien wasn't about to let her go just yet. The bell above the door announced the entrance of another group of customers, this time a pair of ladies. He caught his impossible wife by her arm and hauled her deeper into the store.
Far from the curious glances of other patrons, far from her oblivious guardian.
"Maureen Hawthorne de Ryes, I've never thought you a fool, but you are trying my patience and my convictions." He gathered her into his arms, one hand clamped over her mouth to keep her from crying out. He had no illusions that once he grabbed her she wouldn't fight him like a wildcat, no matter the place or the possibility of scandal.
And fight him she did.
He held on with all his might, avoiding the well-aimed thrust of her knee and the sharp kick directed at his shins. When she finally settled down, he eased up a bit, but only a little.
He knew better than to ever turn his back on his wife. He had the scar to prove it.
Now with each jab of her toe, each wrench of her arm, it was as if those eight years were swept aside and he was being given a second chance — an opportunity to succeed where he had failed her so miserably before.
God, he'd loved her then. Loved her with all his heart. From the first moment he'd seen her, high in the rigging of the
Forgotten Lady.
Like some windswept sprite, her dark hair fluttering in the breeze, her feminine figure unmistakable even in the rough sailor's clothing. And when he'd stepped foot on the deck of her father's ship and taken one look at the heart-stopping blue of her eyes, he knew right there and then she would always be the only woman for him.
He'd been too young to see the consequences of his actions, too sure of himself not to believe that he could make everything work. All he'd known then was that he'd never be able to live without her, no matter what the fates thrust upon them.
She'd tempted him and infected him beyond reason and rational thought with her passion and fire.
And damn the fates, she still did.
But this time he wouldn't let her go. Not without a fight. Not until she understood why he'd done what he had to her father.
That she hadn't been the only one betrayed that night.
Then he'd make her understand the one most important thing: He'd never stopped loving her.
Never would, if he was honest with himself.
"Dammit, Reenie, stand down. Are you so blind that you can't see the gale coming up over your prow? Your life isn't worth a fiddler's funds if you don't listen to me. And listen to me you will."
She responded by biting his hand.
Sucking in a deep breath against the sharp pain, he released her immediately, shaking his stinging palm. "You little fool. Do you think seeing me hang will gain you and your crew their release?"
She stepped back, her expression wary. "I don't know what you are talking about."
"Your crew. You were arrested for smuggling off Sheerness a month ago. Your ship was towed to London, while you, my dear wife, and your crew were tried before a closed Admiralty court."
If she hadn't wanted to listen to him before, she appeared to be doing so now.
"How would you know?"
"I know. More than you would like to think. You could say knowing is my business."
"So what has this to do with saving your neck?"
"If I hang, there will be no one to protect you from what will surely follow."
She laughed, a hollow little sound, scoffing at her need for his safekeeping.
But
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