Earl Interrupted

by Amanda Forester

  He was so accustomed to pushing his emotions far beyond conscious awareness that he had not been troubled by them for as long as he could recall. Yet with Miss Emma St. James, he was definitely feeling…something.

  The thought that he was obliged to offer marriage made him perfectly content. He just needed to keep her safe, track down the men who had attacked them, and then marry her. He slowly wound and unwound the lock of her hair around his finger. Yes, that would be quite acceptable.

  Beside him, Emma stirred. She turned toward him with a sleepy noise, opened her eyes, and sat bolt upright. He released the lock of hair immediately, hoping she had not noticed his indiscretion.

  “Oh!” She stared at him with wide eyes. “Oh dear, I fear I must have been overcome with fatigue.”

  “You are a sensible lady and made a sensible choice,” he reassured.

  She smiled. “Thank you for that. Well, I should remove myself.” She sprung from the bed like it was on fire.

  He was actually pleased at her reaction, for it showed that she was not accustomed to waking up in bed with a strange man. Something important in a future wife. She looked quite wild with a blush on her cheeks and her curly, blond hair shimmering around her.

  “You must be in need of some relief from the pain.” She rummaged through one of the traveling bags.

  “Do not wish to lose my wits.” In truth, Dare was in a great deal of pain but could not risk being put under again.

  “This dose is lower than what I gave you last night.”

  “That was a heavy dose.”

  “It was intended to be,” she replied, “for I was performing surgery.”

  He silently conceded she had a point. She offered him the small cup and he drank down the wretched concoction.

  A small rap at the door brought a chambermaid to tend the fire in the grate. Emma’s cheeks flushed pink at the presence of the sleepy maid. “Is there anywhere I can tend my morning ablutions in private?” Emma asked the maid.

  “Room next to you ain’t taken, ma’am.”

  “Thank you, that would be appreciated,” responded Emma with a certain tone of relief.

  The chambermaid nodded and left as quietly as she had entered, leaving a modest fire.

  “I fear your shirt and cravat are a loss,” said Emma, still in heightened color. “But I laid your trousers by the fire last night so hopefully they will be dry.”

  Dare nodded in appreciation. He would like to get dressed, though unlike Emma, he had no change of clothes. Emma laid his trousers within reach and, gathering up a few things, hustled herself out the door.

  He stared after her, indulging in a small sigh before preparing for the day. The pain required him to move cautiously, and he kept his focus on Emma to distract himself. She would make him a fine wife. He could not wait to make things official between them. He frowned, recognizing that though he should request her hand in marriage immediately, it would be more seemly if he was not half-naked when he proposed.

  Emma glided back into the room in a white frock, looking fresher than he would have thought possible considering the events of the prior day. Her hair was pulled back, with natural ringlets framing her face. She stopped in the middle of the modest room, rocking back and forth on her heels, as if not sure what to do next.

  “Please sit, or I will be forced to attempt to stand,” he directed.

  “You would not dare,” said Emma with twinkling eyes, and she returned to her station on the chair beside him.

  Normally he could not think of anything to say to a female, but in this case, he had a true interest in her—one really should get to know one’s future wife.

  “Why were you traveling to Portsmouth at such a time of night with only your maid as a companion?” Someone had failed her and he meant to discover who it was.

  Her smile faded a bit, and he could see stormy seas in her blue eyes. “I thought I could get to Portsmouth in one day. Unfortunately, with the weather, it proved too difficult.” She gave an excuse he found rather flimsy. He would never send his sister out in such weather with only a young maid for protection.

  “Have you relatives in Portsmouth?”

  “No, I am meeting a traveling companion. I am sailing to America. There, I will meet my intended. I am to be married.”

  Engaged. She was engaged to be married.

  He tried to wrap his mind around this new revelation. He wanted to resist the unwanted news, but of course she was spoken for. How could such a beautiful creature not be?

  “I wish you much joy,” he said mechanically. He suddenly realized what the emotion he had been experiencing was called. It was happiness, strange and rare. And now it was gone.

  He closed his eyes as every drop of joy drained from his soul.

  * * *

  Silas Bones glared at the broad-shouldered man in the black muffler, a bloodstained bandage on his shoulder. Silas had not wanted to come back to England; it was dangerous for him to do so, but more dangerous if he did not retrieve his lost cargo. Capitaine Desos was only one of the many aliases Silas had used through the years, but not one he would use in Britain.

  “What do you mean you lost them?” Silas grabbed the man by his black scarf and twisted until the man’s breath came in ragged gasps. “I told you to bring me Lady Katherine.” He twisted again. “We were going to use her to get Darington to pay me a ransom.” He twisted once more and the man’s lips turned blue. “I need to take back what he stole from me!”

  Silas released the large man, who slumped to the floor of the tavern’s back room. The man coughed and gasped for air. Bones cared not for the misery of this man. It was only a taste of what was to come.

  “Do you have any concept of what Esqueleto will do to you, to all of us, if he finds his treasure has been taken by Lord Darington? Bloody Darington of all people!”

  “Y-yes.”

  “No, you do not. The only ones who truly know the depths of his depravity do not live to tell the tale.”

  “He can’t have gone far. He’s been shot,” the man said, still gasping, trying to stand once more.

  “Good. But we need to find him before he dies.”

  “He might be with a lady we met on the road. He defended her.” The man managed to get back on his feet.

  “Bring her too, then, and hope he cares enough for her to pay a ransom.” Silas slammed a fist against the table, causing the bottle of whiskey to jump. “I cannot believe you let them both get away.”

  “We found this on the floor of the coach. Must have fallen from his pocket or something.” The man handed over a silver ring.

  Silas snatched it and held it up to the light. “His signet ring. Do you think I am going to be mollified by a damn ring? Now go! Find Darington and whatever chit he has with him and bring them both here. I don’t care what it takes. I don’t care who you have to kill to do it. Just get it done, or I will turn you over to my father myself!”

  “Aye, sir.”

  The man stumbled as he ran out of the room. Silas could hardly blame him, for Esqueleto was a name that struck fear in all, and he was no exception. Slumping down at the table, Silas tried to pour himself another shot but the glass had hit the floor. Without pause, he drank deep from the bottle. Silas had to get the treasure back or his own life was forfeit.

  Eleven

  Emma could not believe she had woken up in bed next to a stranger. A practically naked stranger. The blush heating her cheeks showed signs of permanence. She would not be surprised if it lingered for days. She had shared a bed with a man whose full name she did not even know!

  When Dare had become agitated in his sleep, demanding that she lie down, she had planned to pretend to give in until he fell back asleep and then return to the uncomfortable chair. She feared he would rip out his stitches and cause himself more harm, so it seemed best to humor him.

 
She had underestimated how exhausted she was. Wrapped in the thick covers, she had sunk into the mattress, soothing her aching muscles. She had closed her eyes just for a moment, and the next thing she knew, it was morning.

  And she was still in the bed.

  Next to a half-naked man.

  A gorgeous, muscular man.

  A man about whom she knew practically nothing, not to mention she still had no idea who had attacked her on the road or why.

  “I believe you said your name was Dare?” she asked, sitting primly in the chair, her hands folded on her lap…as if a demure posture could erase the fact that they had slept in the same bed.

  “Robert Ashton, Earl of Darington,” he responded without fanfare.

  Emma caught her breath and stared at the strange man. Did he say…earl?

  Her heart pounded and emotions fluttered through her at this startling revelation. She had read the name in the society papers. He was the one they called the Pirate Earl. She thought for a moment of doubting his declaration but could not do it. His clothes, his manner, his actions all betrayed the truth. He must be the Earl of Darington.

  “I beg your pardon, my lord.” She could not believe she had behaved in such a familiar manner with a member of the nobility. A dangerous member of the nobility.

  “Call me Dare. What friends I have call me by that name. You have earned the doubtful privilege more than most.”

  “Dare, then.” She gave him a hesitant smile. Given how he had defended her, she should not have been surprised to learn he was a man of action.

  “Miss St. James.” He did not smile in return, but his eyes grew softer.

  “If I am to call you Dare, then you must call me Emma.”

  Dare gave a slight bow of his head. “I would say ‘at your service,’ but it seems you are at mine.”

  “No, indeed, I cannot imagine what would have happened to us if you had not helped,” exclaimed Emma. “If you had not bravely stood to defend me, goodness only knows what would have been my fate. And you being shot too! What an adventure we are having!”

  Real-life adventures were much more uncomfortable and messy than reading about them in books, but Emma was no less enthralled. Now that they had survived to morning, the events of the previous night were taking on epic proportions.

  The crease between his eyebrows deepened. He did not appear to have the same enthusiastic view of adventures. Of course, he had been shot, so his perspective was not quite as bright. “Only did what had to be done. Any gentleman worth his salt would have done the same.”

  “I have not a wide knowledge of gentlemen with which to judge,” replied Emma, thinking of her stepbrother. “But I can say for a certainty that many men would not have acted as you did. It is pointless to try to convince me otherwise. You are a hero to me, and you always will be, my lord.”

  “Dare.”

  “Dare.” She smiled. Her hope for one in return was in vain. Perhaps he was not the smiling type.

  She paused, hoping he would say more, but they lapsed into silence. “I confess, that I have been greatly interested in the circumstances that led to you being shot. I hate to press, but if you are up to it, I should like to hear the story.” One could only be polite so long.

  Dare paused and seemed to consider his options. “I hate to involve you.”

  “I believe I am already involved.”

  “Not sure where to start,” he began. “My sister and I had attended a wedding for the Earl of Wynbrook’s sister. We were all riding back to London and stopped at a posting house. Kate, my sister, went outside. I followed just in time to hear her scream and see her being pulled into a coach.”

  “Your sister was abducted on a public road?” gasped Emma. “What did you do?”

  “Grabbed a horse from the stable. Chased the coach. I managed to get her free but got shot in the process.”

  “I cannot believe such a brazen attack! Who attacked you?”

  “Not sure. But I expect we were targeted.”

  “You were targeted?” she asked, hoping he would explain, but he frowned as if remembering something.

  “Did you say you thought the men were after you?” Dare asked.

  Emma sat back in the chair, not sure how to respond. “I…I thought perhaps.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Why?” His voice was so low it came out as a growl.

  Emma took a breath, trying to determine how much to reveal. “Well, you might as well know. I have run away from home.”

  The eyebrows rose in surprise. “Why?” He caught himself and shook his head. “Not used to female company. Don’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

  “No, I understand. I have been curious about you too. My problems come from inheriting my father’s estate. I come into my majority…well, actually, today!” She realized it was her birthday.

  “Many returns of the day.”

  “Thank you. My stepbrother, Mr. Eustace Ludlow, was not pleased with me inheriting. He made things…uncomfortable, so I decided to accept an offer of marriage and have an adventure.”

  Dare’s frown returned. “I see.”

  She was not exactly sure what he saw, but he clearly wasn’t pleased with the view.

  Dare cleared his throat. “Miss St. James, I am greatly indebted to you. Without your help, I would be dead in the hedgerows. But you need to leave. Now. Get somewhere safe.”

  Emma shook her head. “I cannot abandon you while you are still injured.”

  “It would be different if we…” He paused and pressed his lips together, giving his angular face a severe expression. “You are engaged to another man. I have no right to trespass on your time and your good name. You need to leave.”

  Emma swallowed hard. She acknowledged the sense of his words, but still, it was difficult not to feel rejected. “I would not feel right leaving you in such a condition. Besides, we have taken this room as husband and wife. It would look rather strange should I abandon you now.”

  “But in truth, we are not married, and your reputation will be irrevocably damaged by remaining here.”

  “Fortunately, my betrothed is an ocean away,” she said lightly.

  “In addition, we do not know who those men are, why they attacked, or if they are still looking for us. You need to run as far and as fast from here as you can.” His voice was firm, and it was clear he was a man accustomed to giving orders. She, however, was not easily cowed.

  Once she had grown into womanhood, and her body had developed a decidedly rounded and unabashedly plump figure, most men addressed themselves to her bosom and never gave her another thought. Apparently, according to conventional wisdom, a lady with a generous bosom must not have a logical thought in her head. People seemed to believe one could only grow brains or breasts. Not both.

  “I will do as my conscience dictates,” she said calmly, folding her hands in her lap.

  He glared at her. She continued to regard him with placid determination. If Eustace, with all his threats and unpleasantness could not force her to obey his demands, surely an injured man could have no hope in securing her compliance.

  “You need to leave.” He also was a man of determination.

  “Even if I were inclined to leave, I have no way to do so at this point. My coach is quite damaged and… Oh, the coach.”

  “What about it?”

  “Well, I had to leave a little earlier than I planned and so I took my own coach. It is still lying there in the road. Even if those men were not sent by my brother-in-law, he will certainly come looking for me.” The overturned coach would be a beacon telling him she was in the area.

  “The mail coach comes by in the evening. You will be on it,” said Dare firmly.

  They shared equal looks of resolve, in a silent battle of wills. Finally, she acknowledged his plan with a slight incline of her head. “As long as yo
u are recovering and can manage without me.”

  “I hope your future husband is of an understanding sort,” he muttered.

  “I hope so too.” She sighed when she said it, and a spark of suspicion ignited on Dare’s face.

  “May I ask the name of the fortunate man who has won your heart?”

  Emma smiled to cover her discomfort. Her intended may have a marriage contract on his side, but certainly not her heart. “He is the son of Captain Redgrave, an American.”

  “I am familiar with the name. Fearsome opponent. Good privateer. I have not met him in battle. Which son are you to wed?”

  Emma looked away and busied herself with smoothing her skirts. “I am not rightly sure.” She coughed a little in a futile attempt to hide her discomfort.

  “You are not sure?” He raised an eyebrow.

  “Oh, it is a long and boring story. I think you need some rest.”

  “I think you need to tell me the story.”

  Emma again struggled with how much to reveal. In truth, she longed to share her situation with someone. Someone who might be sympathetic. Someone like Dare. And yet as she turned her predicament around in her mind, the story sounded rather sordid. She wanted to reveal herself but maybe soften the edges a bit, for she could not bear to be pitied.

  “It is an arranged match,” she began hesitantly. “The Earl of Langley’s daughter married the American, Captain Redgrave, apparently against her father’s will. The earl is now concerned that his grown grandsons find English brides. I am being sent as a bride for one of them.”

  Dare’s frown etched deeper onto his forehead. “You are being sent to wed some man you have never even met? And you don’t even know which brother you are to wed?”

  “I have always wanted to travel.” Her smile was beginning to hurt her face. “I am very excited to see the New World. I feel I am a great explorer.”

  Dare’s face told her he did not like her arrangement. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again, deciding instead to glare at her in an accusing manner.