backyard. The scandal would have
touched my entire family!”
Enraged in defense of her family? Well, that at least he could understand. It just
didn’t alter that he needed to convince her she’d made a mistake.
So he chuckled. “Will you listen to yourself now? No one in their right mind would
blame a duke for anything, much less something illegal.”
“So you admit it? You came out of the hidden room, and I tasted brandy when you kissed
me. You were not just a vagrant passing by as you claimed! I don’t doubt you’ve even been using that
ruined house to hide smuggled goods for five years, haven’t you?
He was hard-pressed not to laugh. She’d figured everything out and with amazing accuracy.
Smart girl. Beauty and intelligence. When was the last time he had come across that combination? But she
was merely making charges she hoped to hear him confirm. That wasn’t going to happen.
He did need to get her off the scent though. . . .
His voice dropped to a husky timbre, his smile broadened. “You know, darlin’, if you
and I had actually shared a kiss, that would be a pleasant memory I’d not soon forget.
And now you make me wish it had happened. . . .”
She was staring at his mouth. As he’d hoped, he was distracting her. He just hadn’t
counted on his getting distracted, too. The pull was incredibly strong to kiss her
again, right there on the deck in the moonlight. Utter madness.
But he was saved from finding out what might have happened next when he heard two
of the crew talking, their voices getting louder as they approached. She heard them,
too, glancing nervously beyond him.
“Good night, darlin’. I better fade away like a ghost. I’d hate for your family to
learn of your predilection for late-night trysts.”
Nathan walked away. The subtle threat plus the doubts he’d tried to put in her mind
would hopefully be enough to keep her mouth shut for the time being. He was going
to climb the mainmast again, but unable to resist the urge to look back, he merely
moved into the mainmast’s shadow. She was halfway to the quarterdeck before she turned
to look back as well. Had she thought of more aspersions to cast on him? But he relaxed
when he saw she wasn’t looking for him, but for the book she’d dropped. She came back
to retrieve it.
A few moments later he lost sight of her when she entered the captain’s cabin, but
her image was still in his mind. The woman was too beautiful—but she was trouble.
He was going to have to come up with a better way to keep her from voicing her suspicions
to other people. But that could wait for tomorrow.
Chapter Fourteen
I n the morning, Nathan found corky to discuss his newest problem—Judith Malory. But
his friend had been tasked with swabbing the main deck, a chore so menial Corky couldn’t
stop grumbling about it long enough to offer any suggestions. Nathan still kept him
company while he checked the railings for loose nails. It wasn’t something he would
have thought to do so early on the voyage if he hadn’t seen Judith leaning against
a rail last night.
“Watch out, Cap’n,” Corky suddenly said behind him. “I think that trouble you were
telling me about is coming your way.”
Nathan turned to see Judith marching toward him and Corky quickly getting out of the
way. She looked even more beautiful in daylight with the sun on her glorious red-gold
hair, wearing a long velvet coat left open over an ice-blue dress trimmed with yellow-dyed
lace—and the light of battle in her cobalt-blue eyes.
She’d lost a few hairpins last night, which he’d found on the deck after she’d gone,
so he wasn’t surprised to see she’d braided her hair today. Diamond-tipped pins. He’d
thought about keeping them as a memento, but dug them out of his pocket now and handed
them to her, hoping it would forestall another tirade. It didn’t.
“I do not care for the way you
touched my entire family!”
Enraged in defense of her family? Well, that at least he could understand. It just
didn’t alter that he needed to convince her she’d made a mistake.
So he chuckled. “Will you listen to yourself now? No one in their right mind would
blame a duke for anything, much less something illegal.”
“So you admit it? You came out of the hidden room, and I tasted brandy when you kissed
me. You were not just a vagrant passing by as you claimed! I don’t doubt you’ve even been using that
ruined house to hide smuggled goods for five years, haven’t you?
He was hard-pressed not to laugh. She’d figured everything out and with amazing accuracy.
Smart girl. Beauty and intelligence. When was the last time he had come across that combination? But she
was merely making charges she hoped to hear him confirm. That wasn’t going to happen.
He did need to get her off the scent though. . . .
His voice dropped to a husky timbre, his smile broadened. “You know, darlin’, if you
and I had actually shared a kiss, that would be a pleasant memory I’d not soon forget.
And now you make me wish it had happened. . . .”
She was staring at his mouth. As he’d hoped, he was distracting her. He just hadn’t
counted on his getting distracted, too. The pull was incredibly strong to kiss her
again, right there on the deck in the moonlight. Utter madness.
But he was saved from finding out what might have happened next when he heard two
of the crew talking, their voices getting louder as they approached. She heard them,
too, glancing nervously beyond him.
“Good night, darlin’. I better fade away like a ghost. I’d hate for your family to
learn of your predilection for late-night trysts.”
Nathan walked away. The subtle threat plus the doubts he’d tried to put in her mind
would hopefully be enough to keep her mouth shut for the time being. He was going
to climb the mainmast again, but unable to resist the urge to look back, he merely
moved into the mainmast’s shadow. She was halfway to the quarterdeck before she turned
to look back as well. Had she thought of more aspersions to cast on him? But he relaxed
when he saw she wasn’t looking for him, but for the book she’d dropped. She came back
to retrieve it.
A few moments later he lost sight of her when she entered the captain’s cabin, but
her image was still in his mind. The woman was too beautiful—but she was trouble.
He was going to have to come up with a better way to keep her from voicing her suspicions
to other people. But that could wait for tomorrow.
Chapter Fourteen
I n the morning, Nathan found corky to discuss his newest problem—Judith Malory. But
his friend had been tasked with swabbing the main deck, a chore so menial Corky couldn’t
stop grumbling about it long enough to offer any suggestions. Nathan still kept him
company while he checked the railings for loose nails. It wasn’t something he would
have thought to do so early on the voyage if he hadn’t seen Judith leaning against
a rail last night.
“Watch out, Cap’n,” Corky suddenly said behind him. “I think that trouble you were
telling me about is coming your way.”
Nathan turned to see Judith marching toward him and Corky quickly getting out of the
way. She looked even more beautiful in daylight with the sun on her glorious red-gold
hair, wearing a long velvet coat left open over an ice-blue dress trimmed with yellow-dyed
lace—and the light of battle in her cobalt-blue eyes.
She’d lost a few hairpins last night, which he’d found on the deck after she’d gone,
so he wasn’t surprised to see she’d braided her hair today. Diamond-tipped pins. He’d
thought about keeping them as a memento, but dug them out of his pocket now and handed
them to her, hoping it would forestall another tirade. It didn’t.
“I do not care for the way you
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