Caversham's Bride (The Caversham Chronicles - Book One) (24 page)

Ren collapsed onto her, their bodies sliding against each other. For a moment she was afraid he might have died because she couldn’t hear him breathing, until he heaved a sigh and rolled off her. He pulled her into the curve of his side, wrapping his arm about her.

She pressed her ear to his chest, listening to his racing heart, and was satisfied that all was well when his heartbeat slowed to a normal pace.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“What for?”

He kissed her temple, hugging her close. “No one has ever done that for me before,” he whispered as his hand lightly stroked her side.

“Not even your mistresses?”

“Not even my mistresses.”

“Then you wasted your money on them.”

Ren chuckled in the quickly dimming cabin.

“What is it you find so amusing?”

“You, my duchess. You are a breath of fresh air in this musty old world.”

T
heir voyage to England was made in under three weeks, propelled by good sailing winds and pleasant weather. Lia spent most of her days reading the books in Ren’s small on-board library. They dined together almost every meal, and he kept her on his lap each time. Lia never objected, as it gave them an opportunity to grow closer.

Most days, Ren would allow her to sleep the morning away, especially after a passionate night of lovemaking. And in the afternoons he would escort her for a walk on deck in the unseasonably warm late-April sunshine.

The day they sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar, Lia, sitting in the shade next to her husband asked him, “Were you planning to stop in Tangier?”

“No, I have a wife already,” he said, smiling down at her, “I don’t need another.”

Playing along with him, she said, “You could always start a harem of your own.”

“You don’t leave enough for me to give to another woman,” he said. “Besides, I don’t understand how they make it work. Every woman I’ve ever known had a jealous side to her that was dangerous.” He shook his head, and Lia could understand his dismay, as she hadn’t understood the situation until she’d been forced to live in one. “Hakim has six wives, soon to have a seventh,” Ren said. “He said there were over thirty women—not his wives—in his harem. I cannot imagine that each woman gets the attention she needs. Then too, dealing with the arguments and demands on his time.... Why, it boggles my mind.”

“He doesn’t have to sleep with them all. You do not understand, husband. The number of women in a harem is a sign of wealth and status. Most of Prince Hakim’s women were gifts, given to him by men looking to garner his favor, he hasn’t taken them all to his bed. That is why I was planning to run away if he had not asked for me within a matter of days.” She turned away and looked for
Sea Witch
off in the distance. “As you know, my time was running out.”

“Strong as you are, you never would have made it.” He stared at the approaching land masses on both sides. “First you would have had to make it out of the palace without the guard being alerted. Then, trying to get passage to Italy on a boat would have been impossible for a woman alone.” His eyes softened when he turned to her. “It’s over now. You have your brother safe, for that we are thankful. But alone, you would never have made it.”

She nodded, he was probably right. Though as she told him before, she would have died trying.

The closer they got to England, the colder the weather became, and the sunshine she relished in the Mediterranean became a distant memory. By the time they reached London, her skin had lost its rosy glow, and her cheeks were more wind-burned than sun-kissed. The fact that she still glowed a radiant pink, was because of Ren’s lovemaking, according to him. During the voyage, they made love every day and every night, sometimes several times before the sun rose. Lia blushed when she thought of how many times she initiated their loving. The bed was no place for timidity—especially when she wanted to please her husband as he pleased her.

A few days later, off the coast of Portugal, as Lia peeled a tiny orange to share with her husband, she asked, “Why do you captain your vessel, when you clearly have a capable second?”

“I enjoy it,” he said, “and I don’t often get a chance to do it anymore.”

“And why is that?”

Ren chuckled. “Hmm... Where to begin?”

“As you told me in Morocco, the beginning is always a good place.”

“My shipping interests are an extended family business I inherited from my mother. Before my grandfather would leave me a share of the company, I had to learn how it ran, from the bottom up. It made for an interesting education as I grew up knowing I was the heir to the dukedom, but also partly responsible for the success of an international trading company that I was educated and trained to lead.”

Lia fed him several pieces of the orange, and each time his lips closed around her fingers, she felt a tingling sensation race up her arm. She was discovering more about this amazing husband of hers each day. And as she did, she sent up a silent prayer of thanks for his presence in her life.

“My father inherited a massive debt from his own father, and a crumbling old castle that needed restoration before it fell in on them.

“Though I believe my father grew to love my mother, he married her for the money she brought to the union. You see, my mother was young, beautiful, and had an enormous dowry. As the only daughter of a Scottish shipping tycoon, my grandmother wanted only the best for her daughter. Grandmother brought mother to England one year, to present her to Queen Charlotte. It was said that my father made an offer for my mother within the week. Later, when I asked, he said he couldn’t afford to lose her to someone who couldn’t appreciate her as he would.”

“I’m sure,” she said, as she handed him another piece of orange. “So you are a part owner of a shipping company?” Lia asked.

“Yes, I actually run the company from London, though my investments are wide and varied these days.” He motioned to Angus and had him come up to the wheel deck with them, when he arrived, Ren said, “I realize I have been remiss in giving the proper introductions. Permit me to rectify that, darling.” The endearment, publicly given, caught her off guard, but she had no time to react, for Ren continued, “Lia, this is my Uncle Angus. He is my mother’s brother, and has been a mentor to me for most of my youth. That is why you noticed the familiarity with which he addresses me. He is retired from sailing and manages operations of the company in Scotland. The two men you met in Genoa as my Captains, are actually my cousins, Cully and Flynn, Angus is their father. We are all equal partners in this shipping company founded by my maternal great-grandfather, who started a small trading company out of Aberdeen many years ago. Have I confused you yet, sweetheart?”

“Not at all. You are fortunate to have such a large and loving family.”

“Ah....” Ren let a sardonic little chuckle. “Only on my mother’s side”

“Aye, on the Scots side, lass. A few of the lad’s English relatives might be better connected, but they’re not better people,” the gruff Scot said. “If I say so m’self.”

Nearly the same size and height as her husband, the old seaman’s gray hair and beard were neatly trimmed and his skin weathered from his many years on the water and under the sun. When he smiled Lia could see a family resemblance. She thought of the captains on the other two ships and said, “Both of the young captains are your sons?”

“Aye, I even claim the red-headed one,” Angus said.

Ren laughed. “Yes, even Flynn, who cannot tolerate rough seas without getting sick, is part of the family.”

Angus grew sober, then turned to Ren and said, “Have ye told her about the other side of your family yet?”

“I was just about to do that,” her husband replied.

“Good. It’s about time she knows what’s waitin’ for ye when ye get back to Town.”

The old salt arched a brow at the wheel, Ren said, “I’ll stay here a while longer.”

“My father had a younger brother who died many years ago. His son, my cousin, Thomas, is a year older than me. We grew up together, were tutored together, and went to Eton together. He was more than my cousin, he was my best friend. And along with Lord Michael Brightman, the three of us were some pretty smart mischief makers.

“We were close. When I was nine, my mother died after my sister Elise was born. A few days later Thomas found his father dead. We mourned together for our parents. Then his mother remarried and moved with her new husband down to Cornwall. Thomas continued at Eton with us but didn’t do as well in his classes after that. He went to Oxford with us for a while, quit, and chose to go to Town and live off his allowance. By this time my father ascended to the title, and my maternal grandfather had died leaving me the shares of this company. Years later my father remarried, a lovely woman, Amelia, who gave birth to my youngest sister, Sarah, and whom Elise came to look upon as her mother.

“After university, I went to work with Angus and my cousins, I sailed for a few years, until...,” he paused, sighing deeply, then saying, “until my father and stepmother were killed in a tragic accident.”

He sighed again, and shifted his position. “Instantly my responsibilities went from near none, to almost overwhelming. Suddenly I was a young man—almost twenty-six years old—with no wife and no heirs. If something were to happen to me, my cousin, Thomas, would inherit all, the title, the fortune, everything. So I sought to correct the first issue right away, and after mourning my father, began the tedious task of finding a proper wife.”

“There’s your first mistake,” Lia replied. “You weren’t looking with your heart open to love, but rather like an employer filling a position.”

“Perhaps,” he grumbled, before going quiet again.

“So, where is your cousin now? Is he protecting you from runaway horses as you cross the road?”

Her husband let out a choked cough and stared at Lia as though she’d sprouted two heads.

“Ah, no,” her husband said. “After he left school, I finished university. Thomas chose a life of leisure, expecting to have everything provided for him. I chose work, to increase the family coffers. While Michael was apprenticing in law, and I was away negotiating contracts with growers and textile manufacturers in the Caribbean, India and Africa, Thomas befriended the wrong sort. He didn’t really have the money to move in those circles, so he began to gamble.”

Lia felt his heavy heart as he exhaled. This is the first time she’d witnessed his sadness. His cousin’s actions truly hurt him.

“Thomas is currently the heir to my title and estates.” His gaze raked over Lia’s form, settling on her belly. She instinctively put her hand over her womb. “But hopefully, not for long,” he said.

“I see.”

“No, I don’t think you do,” Ren replied. “What I haven’t told you yet is that he’s a very desperate, dangerous man. He attempted to kill me while I was out on a hunt. My game keeper witnessed him running away after my horse was shot out from under me. After that, I asked for an inquest into the carriage accident that took my father and Amelia’s lives, as I was not in the country at the time.” He checked the binnacle off to the side, then said, “The findings were inconclusive.”

“Do you think he killed them?”

“I believe so. Yes.”

“What do you think he will do when you return with a bride?” she asked.

“I don’t know, but you will be protected at all times. I promise you. When we arrive we will spend as little time as possible in London, and I shall take you to our home, the ducal seat, Haldenwood. Before I left I saw to it that my grandmother and sisters were well-protected, while the detectives searched for him.”

“You left them? Did you not fear for their safety?” She was amazed that he would leave the country with his women at home.

“No. It’s me he wants,” her husband replied. “Me, and whoever stands between he and the title and fortune.”

Lia leaned back against the railing of the wheel deck, knowing she was now likely a target of his cousin. She wondered, too, if her life would ever return to the quiet idyll it once was.

T
he afternoon before they were due to arrive in London, Ren opened the door of the cabin, to find Lia, clad only in her chemise nervously pacing the room. Her one trunk was open, and all of her dresses lay either on the bed, or over the rooms single chair. Her back was to him, and she never heard his entrance as she lifted first one dress, then another, and tossed them both back to the bed. She repeated this several times before he stopped her by clearing his throat.

Lia’s head nearly hit a support beam overhead when she jerked upright in surprise. Her bright green eyes widened in shock, then relaxed upon realizing who it was. “Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you enter.” She held up one of her new dresses, a simple, pale rose muslin with an ivory lace overskirt from the high waist to the floor. Ren thought the square neckline would come daringly low. Too low for her to be seen outside of their bedroom. With Lia’s full breasts to fill it, the bodice would barely cover her dusky brown nipples.

He shook his head. “I paid for something with such a daring decolletage?”

“This dress covers more than any of the others! What am I to do?” Ren could see tears welling in those wonderful eyes of hers. “Whatever shall I wear to meet your family tomorrow? I don’t want them to think I’m an unfashionable simpleton without a clue of how to dress. Or worse, a
puttana.”