by Wendy Vella
James glared at Eden as the gruff voices reached them. Signaling with his hand that she return to the carriage, he followed it up with a glare. His gestures were wasted as she turned away to look at her brothers.
Sinclair signaled something James did not understand to Cam, then mouthed something to Eden that she seemingly understood. Before James could react to the fact they had not included him, yet again, Devon had urged his horse onto the road. Whistling a ditty, he headed toward the tree line the men were behind.
“What the hell is he doing?”
Cam shook his head at James and this time, it was he who placed a finger on his lips, and followed it up by tugging his ear, which James guessed meant he was supposed to listen.
“Stop. Where are the carriages?”
“I beg your pardon?” James heard Devon say politely to the gruff enquiry.
“There were three carriages on this road. Where are they?” someone demanded.
James had no idea how many men were waiting for them, but his first thought was to get Eden to safety again. He reached for her, intent on turning her horse around, but she pushed his hand aside and pulled a pistol from beneath her skirts, and then charged forward, followed by Cam. James followed seconds later when he had regained his wits.
“Halt or we shoot!” Cam shouted.
“Drop your weapons, gentlemen, if you please,” James heard Sinclair say. He arrived to find three men with masks over the lower halves of their faces. All were on horseback.
“They tricked us!”
“Come now, trick? I believe outmaneuvered is the correct term,” Cam said, riding forward to take the men's guns while Eden and Devon still held theirs trained on them.
“Bind their hands and feet, Cam, and we will leave them attached to a tree and alert the correct authorities... when we eventually find some.”
“We could be out here for hours!” one of the men howled as Devon finished speaking. “We could be eaten by wild animals before they reach us.”
“Imagine my horror”—Cam drawled as he pulled the first man from his horse and dragged him toward a tree—”at the possibility that you may have to suffer in any way when you were about to inflict terror upon my family.”
“May I be of assistance?” James did not attempt to rein in the fury he felt as he joined Sinclair and Eden.
“If you will hold the front, Raven, I will assist my brother,” Dev said, offering James his gun. James snapped his teeth together and pulled his own from his coat.
“Right then.” The eldest Sinclair smiled as he slipped from his horse.
“I cannot believe you and your siblings would be so foolish as to ride into an ambush without first ascertaining how many men were involved and informing me of your plan,” James said softly to Eden. He refused to give vent to his rage and roar like his head was telling him to. He was not his father.
“We are used to dealing with situations ourselves, James. Had we taken the time to explain things to you, we may have lost our advantage.”
“I am not an idiot, madam, I can even understand basic instruction if spoken slowly enough,” James snarled softly.
“I do believe that was sarcasm, James. You are not so very dissimilar to us as you seemed at first.”
“Do not make a game of me, Eden, or you will very much regret it. I am a duke, and we are not a breed who enjoy being the butt of anyone's jokes, least of all a bloody Sinclair’s!”
“Because we are beneath you?”
“I will not dignify that with an answer.”
She was watching her brothers, not him, but James was running his eyes over the soft skin of her cheeks as color flooded them.
“Of course, forgive my rudeness, but I do not like to be threatened, even if it is by a duke.” Her gray eyes were calm as she turned to face him, and James wasn't sure if he wanted to shake or ravage her.
With the men secured, the small party headed back to where the carriages waited. After soothing the children, servants, and Essie, they once again took to the road. This time James was in the lead, with Cam at the rear and Eden and Dev each taking a side of the carriage the children and Essie traveled in. He had no wish to look at any of them until his anger had cooled, or he feared he would say something everyone would regret.
“You're best to just spit it out, James. It can't be healthy to have all that angst roiling around inside a person.” Cam's voice carried to him.
Devon coughed and Eden muffled a giggle. James, however, growled softly and then ground his teeth. Neither action eased his spleen, so he spoke his mind.
“How dare you put your sisters and mine in danger!” James waited for the siblings to reach him. Each had left their position at his first word and now flanked him.
“They were never in any danger, Raven. In fact, my siblings and I did what we had to, to preempt just that,” Devon added.
“You allowed your sister to ride into danger, Sinclair—a woman!”
“And therefore unable to protect herself, James?”
James turned at Eden's words; her face appeared calm yet her eyes were not. The laughter had gone to be replaced by an anger that suddenly seemed a match for his.
“I did not say that, Eden—”
“Come, James, we are all interested in what you have to say.”
James swallowed. How had the conversation veered out of his control?
“Eden, it is our job to protect you, not plunge you recklessly into danger where—”
“I may break a fingernail, or perhaps my skirts would be dirtied?”
“If you will let me explain—”
“Dear Lord!” Eden gasped as if a sudden thought had occurred to her.
“What?” James looked up the road. Was there more trouble ahead?
“Imagine if I was all alone without one of my big male protectors and I had a stone in my slipper.”
Cam was now laughing so hard he was snorting. Sinclair just smiled, but it was wide enough to expose his teeth.
“I wonder, James”—his name should not sound so sweet spilling from her lips, especially considering she'd spat it out through her teeth—”if you could locate my needlework.” Eden looked around her as if it would magically appear.
“I did not mean to suggest you were unable to care for—”
Eden held up at hand to halt his words and once again, much to his surprise, he compiled. Her eyes flashed at him, cheeks flushed. She looked wild. A luscious wild virago, he thought, staring at her mouth. Hell, he wanted to close the distance and kiss her into silence.
“I understand your views, James, yet thankfully I have, for the most, forward-thinking brothers and do not have to adhere to them.”
“Thank you, darling.”
Ignoring Cam, she continued. “So perhaps for the remainder of this journey, you should endeavor to understand that I am different from the cosseted women of your acquaintance. Now if you will excuse me, my sister is calling me.”
Before James could react she had turned away from him, and he was sure she muttered “addlepated fool.”
Devon was still smiling, although he attempted to rein it in as James glared at him.
“A word of advice, Raven?”
“What.”
“My sisters do not take direction kindly. It is best to guide them as one would a bad-tempered animal. They are headstrong, intelligent, and spirited, and I would have them no other way, though I beg you do not alert them to that fact.”
“Sinclair, I would rather fall into a pit of venomous snakes than further acquaint myself with your siblings,” James snarled rudely. He then rode back to the head of their little caravan and refused to feel any guilt over his words. They had been wrong to take such risks, and he would not allow them to do so again while he and his sister were keeping their company.
…
By the time the small inn came into view James's ribs were throbbing, he was exhausted, and more than ready to stop. However, he would rather have a tooth pulled than admit that
to the Sinclairs. The remainder of the journey had been a long, quiet one, with the three other riders conversing occasionally but making no attempt to do so with him, as of course, he'd directed them to do. The problem was, he enjoyed listening to them and had even had a few things he'd wanted to add. Of course he hadn't, and knew it would not be appreciated. He was obviously more tired than he realized because usually he shied away from contact.
Darkness had fallen and the small building looked inviting to the weary travelers. Lights flickered in the windows and servants came out to take their horses.
James heard Eden groan as she dismounted, and then stretched her hands to the night sky, trying to ease some of the cricks hours in the saddle had left her with. The gesture was surprisingly graceful, and he found his eyes on those bloody curls once again. She then made her way to the carriage that held her siblings. He joined her seconds later.
“They are all asleep,” Essie whispered when he reached the open door.
“Are you able to carry your sister inside with your sore ribs, James? She is asleep.” Eden's words were as cool as the night air.
“Of course.” James had never carried his sister anywhere—she never let him get close enough—but he wasn't telling Eden that.
A small chain was formed and Sinclair took Warwick, Cam, Dorrie, while Essie picked up Somer. Lastly, Eden handed him his little sister. Samantha slept deeply, her face relaxed in slumber. No fear clenched her features or clouded her eyes. Christ, she looked sweet. He had to inhale around the lump in his throat.
“Is everything all right, James?”
Lifting his eyes from the sleeping child, he nodded to Eden. “She never lets me get this close to her.” The words left his lips before he could stop them.
“She will.” Eden ran a finger down Samantha's cheek. The girl wrinkled her nose then turned her face into her brother's chest. She had never turned to him, only away in fear.
“Come, we will get her settled for the night.”
James did not think he could have spoken at that moment, so he simply followed Eden inside.
“There appears to be a problem, Raven. There is one extremely small room that has a single bed and a larger one with two. As you are the duke, the proprietor believes you should have the larger one, but as I'm sure you have no wish to share with—”
“I will take the small room,” James snapped.
“No.” Sinclair shook his head. “I could not allow it.”
“Sinclair, I am tired, my body aches, and I have no wish to discuss the matter further. I will take the room, as I also have no wish to share with your brother, who I'm sure would spend the night annoying me, a pastime I have already gathered he much enjoys.”
“It's not personal, Raven. He does that to his siblings as well.”
“That does little to reassure me.”
“If you are sure?”
“Yes.” James nodded. He could sleep anywhere, and a small room did not bother him in the slightest; in fact, he was bloody insulted that Sinclair had even brought it up.
“You'll beg my pardon, your Grace, I did not realize there were so many of you.”
James nodded to the proprietor. “’Tis of no mind, a bed is a bed.”
“Very kind of you, Raven.”
James only just refrained from striking Sinclair for his simpering tone, as he still held his sister.
While James’s servants readied everything in their rooms and brought in the luggage, they were shepherded into a parlor where the comforting warmth from a blazing fire welcomed them. Lowering Samantha into a chair, James watched as she opened her eyes. Kneeling, he then untied the satin ribbons of her bonnet, his large fingers feeling awkward under her small chin.
“It is all right, Samantha, you fell asleep in the carriage and I carried you inside.”
“Thank you, James.”
He gave her a gentle smile that she tentatively returned, and he wondered how such a small gesture could make him feel fifteen feet tall. Perhaps because it was the first smile he had ever received from her. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he rose and looked at the Sinclairs. All the children had now woken.
Sinclair was carrying the youngest sibling on his shoulder and making the child chuckle as he whispered into his ear. Cam was doing something with a bundle of rags that James remembered was a doll, while one of the twins—which one was beyond him—was instructing him. Essie and Eden sat before the fire with the other twin draped across their laps, listening attentively to what she said. He had to admit they seemed to have a very strong bond, and he envied the comfort they obviously shared in each other's presence.
“Right, children upstairs for a wash before dinner, I can smell you all from here,” Devon said, eliciting several loud comments of a teasing nature.
“Would you like to come up with us, Samantha?” Eden said, holding out one hand.
Nodding, Samantha slipped past James and took the offered hand. He couldn't blame her. James was half tempted to take it himself; such was the charm of the woman. Although she'd probably bite him if he tried.
After the women and children had left, silence settled around the three men. A servant entered bearing tankards of ale, which he distributed to them. Informing them that dinner would be served soon, he then withdrew.
“I fear we are about to receive another lecture, Cam,” Sinclair drawled from his position near the fire. “I can feel the tension in the room.”
James, who had been forming and discarding words the entire journey, trying to find a tactful way to say what needed to be said, saw red at the eldest Sinclair brother's cavalier attitude. He hadn't disputed Cam's request that they use informal names, yet his rank gave him the right to do so. He'd put up with their teasing and continual nettling of him, but no more. He would have his say now, and they would bloody listen. They may have saved him, and yes, their families had history, but enough was enough.
“I wish to reiterate that for the remainder of this journey my sister is not to be placed in danger, and I would hope you feel the same about your family.”
“Excuse me, James, but you have no right to tell us how to protect our family.”
Sinclair placed a hand on his brother's arm as Cam spoke. “He does not understand us, Cam, or for that matter, Eden.”
“I understand what you did was foolhardy!”
“Eden can shoot better than any man I know, and always carries a pistol,” Devon said slowly. “Essie’s weapon of choice is a bow, and she is extremely accurate. I realized when I returned home that they must be able to protect themselves should their brothers not be near, so I undertook the task of training them.”
A vision of a pistol strapped to Eden’s soft thigh slipped into James’s head. He forced it aside.
“She is a woman, and as such it is your job to protect her, not thrust her into danger. We should have turned the carriages around while we dealt with the threat. My sister was endangered, and that I will not tolerate.”
Sinclair pinched his nose, a gesture James had seen several times in their short acquaintance and knew spoke of his frustration. Too bad, he was still bloody angry and they were going to feel the brunt of it.
“I would never put my family in danger, Raven, and if you say so again I will take it as a personal insult,” Devon said softly. “My brother and I would lay down our lives for them, and it would be unwise of you to suggest otherwise.”
“Are you threatening me, Sinclair?”
The two men stood toe to toe. Cam flanked his brother.
“If you wish to take it as such then that is your prerogative, Raven. But know this, the happiness and security of my family comes before anything else in my life.”
“I understand we are something of an anomaly, James,” Cam added, his voice now calm as he tried to ease the tension between the men. Suddenly he was the voice of reason, which James was sure he would find ironic when anger did not cloud his thoughts. “But I would ask you not to judge us and instead form an opinion on
closer acquaintance.”
Sinclair shot his brother a surprised look. “Such eloquence, brother.”
“You must be rubbing off on me.”
“That you are different is obvious, and I am aware of the debt I owe you, but I will not allow you to take further risks where my sister's safety is at stake,” James said softly. “I hope you can understand that.”
Sinclair did not reply as the children once again filed back into the room, but James could feel his anger because it matched his. London could not come soon enough as far as he was concerned. Then he could forget about the dark-haired sister with the soft gray eyes and lush body and her unusual family.
He had dismissed it at the time simply because he was concerned for Samantha’s welfare, but now James wondered how they had heard and seen those men today intent on robbing them. He had detected nothing, yet these Sinclairs had. Unease stirred inside him. Where these people a danger to the Raven’s or like history suggested, was their intention to protect he and Samantha? One thing he was certain of, was that he would be watching them closely from now on.
CHAPTER SIX
Eden had heard the argument taking place between her brothers and the Duke, but if she had not she would have felt the tension upon reentering the room with her sisters. Dev and the Duke were scowling, and Cam drew a finger around his neck as she looked at him.
His comments today had angered her, but that anger had cooled as she realized that he did not understand her or her family. How could he? Sometimes even she struggled to accept what they were capable of. To an outsider they would appear reckless, but in truth they had been in total control today, their senses had ensured that.
The problem was that the Duke, she was sure, had lived a solitary life that he no doubt controlled ruthlessly, and Eden imagined the women who had passed through his life had bowed to his every wish. Something that neither she nor Essie would ever do.
“Do you want a drink, Eden?”
“No thank you, Dev. I wish to talk with the Duke.”
He looked wary at her words, but what she had to say to him could not wait, especially considering what she knew was taking place above them.
