Compromised for Christmas

by Jane Charles

the ground. “I have tea and biscuits.”

  “Thank you.” Elizabeth sat up and stretched.

  “I’ll leave the door open for now. But if we see another ship, I will have to close it.”

  John nodded his head in understanding and stretched his arms above his head. Almost noon? He had slept close to twelve hours. Well, he did need the sleep, as did Elizabeth. He turned to look at her. Most of the color was back in her cheeks, though they had lost some of their roundness. “How are you feeling?”

  “Oh, I feel marvelous, finally.”

  He doubted she felt that well, but anticipated her recovery would be quick once the fever had broken.

  “And I am famished.” She lifted her skirts up, crawled across the bed to the tray of food, and poured two cups of tea. There was no milk or sugar, not that he cared. He was too busy staring at her ankles. If anything, these days had led them to become quite comfortable in one another’s presence.

  John sat and accepted a cup and biscuit from her.

  “How soon before England?”

  “I don’t know. It will depend on the weather, how far out of the way they have had to go to avoid the French. The trip could take two days to a week, depending.”

  “A week?” Elizabeth squeaked. “What day is it?”

  “The fourteenth. Why?”

  “We can’t be in the Channel a week.” If it were possible, John suspected Elizabeth would pace. Her agitation grew with each lapping wave outside the cabin window. “Grandfather expects me in Yorkshire by the twenty-fourth.”

  He had forgotten the message she’d received that started this whole escape off in the first place. Had they still been working in their previous roles, she would have not gone. He supposed now that they had to return to England, there was no reason for her avoid the holidays with her family.

  “And he expects me to bring my husband. Oh dear, what am I to do?”

  John stared at her. Should he offer? No. If either he or Elizabeth wanted to continue in this work, the fewer people who know who they really were, the safer they would be. “I would offer but I can’t.”

  Disappointment flashed in her eyes, but Elizabeth smiled instead. “I understand. I would insist if we were going back, but we aren’t. I will think of something to tell Grandfather.”

  John placed his cup back on the tray and reached over to grab her hand. “It isn’t that I don’t want to, and I would, but I can’t be recognized.”

  She frowned and her eyebrows furrowed. “Someone in my family would recognize you?”

  A smile pulled at his lips. Since that letter, he had known who she was but he’d never revealed his own name. “I roomed with Edgeworth one semester at Eton. He will know in an instant that I am not Jean Pierre Bouvier, as well as his brother, Julian.

  Her mouth popped open in surprise, and her eyes sparkled with delight. “Who are you, really?”

  John moved to the open door. The cabin was empty and the door shut. He settled back on the mattress beside her. “John Phillip Trent.”

  Her eyes grew wide again. “I remember Nick mentioning your name. You were close friends at one time.”

  “That was before I took a job with the Home Office and disappeared.”

  Elizabeth sighed and leaned back against the wall. “It is too bad you cannot come with me. I am sure Nick would like to see you again. I was closer to Nick and Julian than the others. Julian spent much of his time at our house, especially when my mother was so ill. Nick visited almost as much, though he was more protective of me. I sometimes thought he considered me a younger sister to be protected instead of simply another cousin.”

  John would like to see Edgeworth, too. Well, unless Edgeworth learned any of the details of the time John and Elizabeth had spent together, such as the kissing, undressing, and sleeping together. The man would beat him to a bloody pulp, and he had no doubt Edgeworth was protective. It was his nature. “It would be good to see him, but it’s impossible.”

  “You still have family in England?” Her head tilted to the side as she asked the question. For a moment, he didn’t answer. The light caught the blond in her mussed hair, and her smile was enchanting. If he didn’t know better, he would think Elizabeth had just been tumbled and was quite happy with the experience. Desire shot to his groin. She was the last lady on earth he needed to think about tumbling if he valued his life and nether regions.

  “My father is Earl Bentley. I have two older brothers and a younger sister.”

  “And you haven’t seen them in a very long time, either.” Her smile was gone, replaced with a sympathetic frown. It was hard on both of them going so long without returning home. “They will be thrilled to see you at Christmas, I am sure.”

  “I suppose so.” Over the years, he had tried not to think of his family because the homesickness could be too much. Not that he would ever admit such a thing. But four years was a very long time. When he left, Madeline, his younger sister, had just turned sixteen. She must have married by now. Did she have children? Were his brothers married too? Did Clayton now have his heir and spare? John shook the thoughts from his head. He would know soon enough.

  “What do they think you have been doing all of this time?”

  “Nothing as settled as being married and living in a chateaux along the Mediterranean.” Her face pinked at the reminder of the lie she had told her family.

  “They believe me a wastrel, sowing wild oats, flitting from one thing to another.”

  “Wine, women and gambling?” She laughed.

  He returned her grin. “Something like that.”

  She looked down and picked at the blanket. “Does it bother you?”

  “What?” He wished she would look up so he could gauge her thoughts.

  “That they don’t know the truth and are allowed to think the worst.”

  “At times.” More times than he cared to admit. The last letter he received from his father was three years ago, demanding that he come home and do his duty and quit wasting his life. John was given one month to become an upstanding citizen, or his funds would be cut off. He didn’t know if his father had gone through on his threat, but John had never heard from him again. What would this homecoming hold for him? At least he felt secure his step-mother would be happy to see him.

  Elizabeth crawled across the bed and peeked into the cabin.

  “What are you looking for?”

  She bit her bottom lip before answering. “I, well…”

  John chuckled. Her need wasn’t any different from his, and if she knew that he had helped her with those same needs while she was ill, Elizabeth would probably die of mortification. John followed her into the cabin. There had to be a chamber pot in here somewhere. “Here.” A pot sat snuggly in a hole bolted into the floor.

  Elizabeth turned to him. “Do you mind?” She shooed him with her hand back into their hiding place.

  John retreated, allowing her the privacy she desired. When they had both seen to their needs, John placed their lunch tray on the table in the cabin, then walked about and stretched. As long as the door was open, it was safe to move around, or so he supposed. Who knew if they would be shut away again?

  Elizabeth did the same. She moved with ease, which meant she was well on her way to being on the mend. Only occasionally did she bring her had to her side.

  “We will need to return to the hold.”

  John walked over and looked past her shoulder out the window. A French frigate was bearing down on them. He sighed and they turned towards the opening just as the young sailor entered.

  “We saw them out the window,: John said before the sailor could instruct them to go back into hiding Moments later, they were locked in darkness again.

  Elizabeth lay in silence. There was so much she wanted to say but didn’t know the words. Jean Pierre…no, John, had been part of her life for these past years, and very shortly she would leave him. Who knew if they would ever see each other
again? She wasn’t sure she was ready to let him go. No, she was sure. She was not ready for John Phillip Trent to walk out of her life. But what could she do about it?

  She rolled to her side to try to make out his profile in the darkness, ignoring the pull at her injury, and placed a hand on his chest. “John.”

  “Hmmm.”

  “Even if your family doesn’t know, I do. It has been an honor to work with you. It was a comfort knowing you were there for me.”

  His hand came up and covered hers. “Thank you. It was an honor to work with you, too.”

  A grin pulled at her lips when she remembered his initial reaction to her assignment. He did not, under any circumstances, want to work with a woman. “Even though I was female and too young by half?”

  She felt his chest rumble when he chuckled. “I was wrong.”

  Happiness burst inside her from his admission. She hadn’t even realized how much she had wanted his approval, but her breast swelled with pride knowing she had it.

  John rolled to face her, and she wished she could see his face. “I am going to miss you.”

  “I believe I will miss you, too.”

  Silence followed, and Elizabeth wished she knew what he was thinking. His breath came closer, and soon his lips were on hers. This wasn’t for show, or to avoid being caught, but because he wanted to kiss her, and Elizabeth wanted that kiss more than anything. She opened for him and allowed the pleasure to assault her senses.

  John angled his head, and Elizabeth rolled onto her back. He leaned over without ever breaking