Nicole Jordan (5 page)

Aurora bit her lower lip, chastising herself for her foolishness. Hadn’t she learned it was better not to care too deeply for anyone?

She had lost the two people who were most dear to her. Her mother several years ago. Then, more recently, her betrothed, Geoffrey Crewe, Earl of March.

Her long-planned future had shattered when Geoffrey perished at sea. She’d been engaged to him practically from the cradle. As her father’s nearest though distant male relative, Geoffrey was next in line for the dukedom and the vast Eversley estates. And Father was determined to keep the title for his grandsons, since an ignoble physical condition had left him unable to sire any more children.

Aurora understood why he so badly wanted a son to continue the line of inheritance that had been unbroken since the reign of Henry II—and why she had always been his biggest disappointment.

She would have been happy to have been born male, for then she could have avoided the fate her father had determined for her. She hadn’t even recovered from the tragic news of Geoffrey’s death when her father quietly accepted on her behalf the suit of a noble crony—the illustrious Duke of Halford. No matter that she could scarcely bear to contemplate marriage to such a man, or that he had already outlived two young wives, losing one to childbirth and one to a bizarre drowning accident. Halford was wealthy enough to buy a duke’s daughter, and his lineage went back even farther than Henry II.

Her father didn’t see the union as punishment. He claimed he merely wanted to see her settled and well provided for, safely wed to a title and fortune when the Eversley title passed out of their direct family at his death. With a bitter sigh, Aurora wondered if in truth he simply wanted her off his hands, so he would no longer be reminded of his failure.

When Percy and Jane had invited her to visit their home in the West Indies, she’d accepted gratefully, not only hoping her grief would heal more readily in fresh surroundings, but also wishing to delay her unwanted marriage as long as possible. The intervening months, however, hadn’t diminished her revulsion at the necessity of becoming Halford’s bride. She dreaded returning to England now, where her illustrious suitor was reportedly growing impatient to publicly announce their betrothal, but she’d run out of excuses to tarry.

Clenching her hands into fists, Aurora turned away from the window. Ordinarily she would have gone riding to work off her feelings of frustration and helplessness or joined Jane in making her weekly round of charitable calls, a responsibility Jane took very seriously as the lieutenant governor’s wife. But Aurora didn’t want to be away from the house if word came about the American prisoner.

Instead she fetched a shawl so that she could pace the grounds in view of the front drive. It was hard, though, to remain passive, to sit idly by while the world was ruled by men.

How different her life would be were she a male, Aurora reflected fiercely. How much more freedom she would have. She would have relished possessing a measure of control over her existence. Were she a man, she would have had the power to influence her own future…and others’ as well.

Perhaps then she could actually have helped Nicholas Sabine, instead of being forced by propriety to accept a woman’s lot and wait impotently at home for word of his fate.

The afternoon was well advanced by the time Percy returned home. Aurora had been watching for him anxiously from the drawing room and so was able to meet him at the front door.

“I am glad to find you here, my dear,” Percy said quietly. “I thought you might have accompanied Jane on her calls.”

“I wanted to hear the news.”

Waving off the footman who stood ready to take his hat, Percy met her gaze with reluctance. The grim expression on his face told her without words the news she dreaded hearing.

She pressed a hand to her mouth to hold back a cry.

“Aurora, I’m sorry,” he said simply. “The admiral was disinclined to be merciful.”

For a moment her cousin remained silent, as if giving her time to compose herself. Then he took her hands in a gentle grasp. “My dear, this is obviously a wretched time, but I have a serious matter to discuss with you.”

Still numb with shock, Aurora scarcely heard what her cousin was saying.

“There has been an unanticipated turn of events.” He paused, a troubled look on his face. “Nicholas Sabine has a…request to make of you.”

“A request?” she repeated hoarsely.

“I spoke with Nick after the admiral’s decision became known,” Percy explained in a low voice, “and he sought my opinion of a rather wild notion. I did not refuse him outright, for I thought you should hear him out and decide for yourself. It
is
an extraordinary proposal…but then these are extraordinary circumstances.”

“I…don’t understand. What does he wish to ask of me?”

“He would like your help, actually. It seems he has a duty he must fulfill, yet now he will no longer be alive to do so.”

“What duty?”

“Sabine has a ward, a half sister who lives on Montserrat. The young lady urgently needs the protection of someone of your consequence, as well as an escort to England. And since you are planning to return there shortly…Well, there is more, but I don’t want to influence you unduly. You should hear the proposal directly from Sabine himself. If you are willing to listen, I will accompany you to the fortress at once.”

“You mean now, at this moment?” Aurora asked in confusion.

“Yes, now.” He released her hands. “Time is growing short, I’m afraid. The hanging has been put off until tomorrow, but after that…”

His voice trailed off, yet Aurora was grateful that he failed to put the rest of his sentence into words.

She had never again expected to see the bold American who had touched her life so fleetingly. Thus it was with a heavy heart that Aurora returned to the fortress prison. She felt a hollowness in the pit of her stomach as she preceded her cousin into the dim cell.

Nicholas Sabine stood with his back to her, a shaft of sunlight gilding his fair hair. He was fully clothed this time, she noted absently. Someone—perhaps Percy—had provided him with a coat and a pair of Hessian boots, so that he more closely resembled a gentleman of means than a savage pirate or a condemned prisoner.

When he turned slowly to face her, however, he still had the same powerful effect on her; she felt her heart quicken in her chest as she met the dark intensity of his gaze.

“Thank you for coming,” he said in a quiet voice. He glanced at her cousin. “Might I presume further upon our friendship, Sir Percy, and ask that you allow us a few moments in private? Lady Aurora will come to no harm, I give you my word.”

Percy nodded, although reluctantly. “Very well. I shall wait outside in the corridor, my dear.”

Her cousin withdrew, leaving the door partly ajar. Sabine’s half smile was fleeting, almost ironic, as he noted the precaution.

Returning his gaze to Aurora then, he gestured with his hand, indicating the cot. “Would you care to sit down, Lady Aurora? I think you might want to be seated to hear what I have to say.”

“Thank you, but I prefer to stand,” she replied politely.

“As you wish.”

His dark gaze was riveted on her as he contemplated her in silence. Aurora withstood his piercing assessment with uncertainty, wondering what he intended to ask. When he didn’t speak, her gaze went to the bandage at his temple. It seemed clean and a bit smaller than yesterday, as if it had been freshly changed. She was about to inquire how his head wound was faring when he spoke.

“What has Percy told you?” Sabine asked.

“Only that you need my help for your sister.”

“I do.” He eyed her speculatively another moment, then turned to pace about the small cell like a caged cat—lithe, graceful, on edge. “You may call me mad, but I ask you to hear me out fully before you decide.”

His sense of urgency communicated itself to her, making her uneasy. “Very well, Mr. Sabine,” Aurora prodded. “I am listening.”

“I suppose I should begin by telling you a story—a love story, if you will. But I fear it may shock a lady of tender sensibilities. Are you game to hear it?”

“Yes,” Aurora murmured doubtfully.

He continued to stalk the floor, keeping his voice low as he spoke. “There once was a man—an American—who went to England and fell in love. The lady returned his affection, but any union between them was doomed from the start. Not only was she quite young, but her family would never have permitted her to wed beneath her class. Even more damning, he already had a wife and a young son, with another child expected shortly.

“Refusing to dishonor her or his marriage vows, he left England, determined to vanquish his feelings and never see the young lady again. But business concerns required his return a few years later, and he discovered her nearly in despair. She was to wed an older gentleman whose physical deformities rendered him a monster in her eyes. As his bride, she would reside on her husband’s remote estate, away from everything she held dear.

“She couldn’t bear to be imprisoned in such a marriage and believed her life was at an end, without her ever having lived, or ever knowing passion. And so she begged the man she loved to show her what true intimacy was. Unable to resist her plea or deny his feelings any longer, he became her lover.”

Sabine paused in his tale and glanced at Aurora, as if to gauge her reaction. When she managed to keep her expression noncommittal, he went on. “Their illicit affair lasted only a few months, for he had to return to his family and to his responsibilities. Shortly afterward, however, the young lady discovered she was with child.”

Aurora winced inwardly. She could well imagine the scorn an unwed young woman would face if her
enceinte
condition became known. “What happened?” she murmured.

“Not surprisingly the lady’s engagement was promptly dissolved. To quiet any scandal, she was married off to a younger son of an Irish nobleman and banished to the Caribbean to live, while her outraged father washed his hands of her. The lady died last year, without ever being reunited with her family. She left behind an only child, a daughter.”

“Your sister,” Aurora said gently.

Sabine drew a slow breath. “Yes. My half sister, to be exact. As you’ve guessed, the lady’s lover was my father.”

“Did he know about the child?”

“Not at first. But she wrote to him when her husband passed away, telling him what had happened. My father supported her financially for years, even though he couldn’t publicly acknowledge the child. He felt it necessary to keep the secret from his family, to spare my mother the shameful knowledge of his love affair. He died four years ago, but on his deathbed, he told me about his daughter and exacted a promise from me to take care of her.”

Again Sabine flashed that ironic half smile that tugged at Aurora’s heart. “I could hardly refuse to honor his dying request, could I? Truth tell, I was never the ideal son. Our relationship was always…strained because I had no serious interest in taking over the shipping firm he had built. My father, you see, was a nephew of the sixth Earl of Wycliff, but with little prospect of inheriting the title. Before the war with the Colonies, he immigrated to Virginia to make his fortune. And he far exceeded even his own dreams, building a formidable empire from almost nothing. Yet I preferred the life of an adventurer to following in his footsteps. When he died, though, I felt compelled to assume the responsibilities I had always neglected.”

“Did you meet your sister then?”

“Indeed. My first act was to visit her on Montserrat. She bears the name of Kendrick, the Irishman her mother wed, but she’s always known the story of her birth. Her mother wanted her to understand she was a child of love.”

“Captain Gerrod said you went to Montserrat to see a woman,” Aurora remarked thoughtfully.

Sabine’s mouth curled at the mention of his nemesis. “Yes, my sister. She is almost grown up now—nineteen—and actually quite a beauty. She’s also my ward. Her mother succumbed to a fever last year, shortly before the war started, and left Raven’s wardship to me.”

“Raven? That is an unusual name for a young lady.”

“Perhaps, but it fits. She was born with hair black as a raven’s wing, a throwback to one of my family’s Spanish ancestors, apparently. And she is unconventional in more than just appearance. When I first met Raven, she was a complete hoyden, more at home in a stable or in a beach cove playing pirate. But lately she’s made an earnest attempt to conform and conduct herself as a proper English lady. She’s determined to realize her mother’s dream for her—to be accepted by her English relatives and take her rightful place among the nobility. And one major obstacle has been overcome. Raven has been invited by her grandfather to live in England.”

“Her mother’s father?”

“Yes. He is Viscount Luttrell, of Suffolk. Perhaps you’re acquainted with him.”

Aurora searched her memory. “I’ve met him, but I never realized he had a daughter.”

“Because Luttrell disowned her twenty years ago. But recently he had a change of heart. When he learned of his daughter’s death, he regretted never attempting to reconcile. His health is failing now as well, and he wants to meet his only granddaughter and see her established in society. Raven’s aunt has agreed, albeit reluctantly, to formally present her, but it’s questionable how readily Raven will be received by the ton, given the dubious circumstances of her birth. She’s anxious—passionate, even—to make a good match so she will be welcomed by the society that shunned her mother. Her path would be far smoother, certainly, if she had someone of elevated social status to befriend and advise her.”

“And you wish me to be that person.”

“Yes.” His dark eyes met hers with unwavering intensity. “I don’t care much for being a supplicant, Lady Aurora. It doesn’t set well with me. But I would be grateful if you would extend the same kindness to my sister that you showed me yesterday.”

Nicholas Sabine was obviously a man accustomed to getting his own way, Aurora thought. Helplessness would not be a sensation he would welcome. Yet she had no difficulty answering his entreaty. Her heart would have to be hard indeed to be unmoved by the girl’s situation. “Of course, Mr. Sabine. I would be happy to do whatever I can to make her entry into society successful.”