by Jo Ann Brown
“Sea battles,” Drake said when the man made an outrageously mistaken comment, “are far different from a general setting his troops on the battlefield, though position is vital in both.”
“A navy man, are you?” The man eyed him as if seeing him for the first time.
“No, sir,” he hurried to reply before the pompous man could launch into another long tale. “I am the master of the ship in the cove.”
“The one that has been badly listing for so long?”
“Yes.” Annoyed by the man’s arrogance, he added, “From a battle with a French privateer. We triumphed by God’s good grace and were able to reach Porthlowen with our prisoners.”
He made a sniff that could have belonged to Mrs. Thorburn. “More mouths for our taxes to feed in exchange for them doing nothing but fighting among themselves, trying to escape, refusing the rations given them. You should have done us all a favor and left them to sink with their ship.”
Drake was shocked. “It is not the way of honest seamen to abandon one another to the sea. No one should be set adrift to drown, whether he is French or English or American or a tiny babe.”
“If you are speaking of the children who were found in the cove...”
“I am.”
“It is a shame the earl is burdened with them simply because his children want instant families. There are places for abandoned children, and they should be there with those like themselves instead of being paraded through decent company like pampered pets.”
Affixing his iciest smile on his face, Drake said, “Not everyone shares your opinion, sir.”
“I would not expect you to understand the reasons.”
“I understand them all too well. I wonder if you understand that none of us is more valuable than any other in God’s eyes.”
The man’s face turned a bilious shade before he mumbled and walked away.
“That was rude, even for Mr. Miller,” Lady Caroline said as she came to stand beside Drake. “But it might help you to know that, since he became the justice of the peace for a parish farther up the coast, he treats everyone as if they are dirt beneath his feet.”
“Even your father?”
She laughed, and he realized how odd it was to see her without baby Joy in her arms. Dressed in an elegant gown of pale yellow, she looked barely older than the young misses flirting with men their mamas approved of and a few they did not. “He fawns on Papa and assumes Papa believes all his Spanish coin.”
“So he is, in truth, a twit.”
Her eyes sparkled as she tapped his arm with her ivory fan. “Now, Captain Nesbitt, you know me well enough to know that I would never agree aloud with a statement like that.”
“Ever the diplomat, I see.”
“I prefer to think of it as being a peacekeeper.”
“‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God,’” said Susanna as she linked her arm with her sister’s. “That is our Caroline.”
Drake smiled. “I would say that is a role all the Trelawneys have learned too well.”
“Memories are long in Cornwall, and grudges last even longer, so it is better not to let one start.”
The orchestra began to play, and Caroline smiled. “Do not let me keep you from dancing.” She kissed Susanna’s cheek, then moved away to talk to two older women who greeted her with warmth.
Again that flattering pink rose along Susanna’s cheeks. It startled him—and also charmed him—how she could be so forthright but also fetchingly shy.
“Let me see if I can do this correctly.” He bowed his head to her, then asked, “Lady Susanna, would you do me the great honor of standing up with me for this set?”
“Why, Captain Nesbitt,” she replied, flicking her fan open, “it is I who is honored by your invitation.” She wafted the fan, then gave him the familiar grin that set his heart to racing like a storm across the waves.
“I cannot promise not to embarrass you,” he said, “but I have managed to foot it a time or two without crushing my partner’s toes.”
“How could any woman turn down such an elegant invitation?”
“That was the plan.” He winked at her and was delighted at her girlish giggle. “And I know how you like plans, Susanna.”
“Only when they are good ones.”
“I believe this is one of our best.” He held out his hand to her.
Closing her fan, she raised her hand to place it on his palm. He closed his fingers around hers as he led her out to the middle of the floor. She gazed at him as they waited for the first notes of the quadrille to begin, but his heart already was dancing with joy to be there with her. She did not move, and he was utterly lost in her silver eyes that glistened like the sun frosting the waves.
Belatedly he realized she had drawn her hand out of his and was curtsying. He bowed, hating that in his haste, he looked as awkward as one of the children would have. She gave him an adorable smile when she took his hand again in the first steps of the dance.
Together and apart they moved in the pattern of the dance. He knew he should offer the other women in their group a smile, but his eyes were focused on Susanna. Each time she returned to him, he wanted to pull her into his arms and spin about—just the two of them—to the sweet song created by their hearts.
Too soon the orchestra stopped. He could not bear for the wondrous moment to be over, so he asked, “Will you stand up with me for the next one, Susanna?”
Her eyes widened. “I shouldn’t.”
“Why not?”
“For us to be partners for a second dance in a row is tantamount to making a public announcement that we are...” Her face flushed red.
He was torn between laughing at her charming reaction and saying he did not care what anyone else thought. He did not want her dancing with another man tonight. For this one so very special evening, he wanted her to be only his.
“You shouldn’t,” he whispered, “but will you?”
“Yes,” she answered just as softly.
He smiled and offered his hand again. Her fingers froze in midair as her gaze swept past him. All color faded from her face before she whirled, the lace on her hem grazing his shins, and fled.
Drake stood, his hand upraised like a footman without a tray. What had happened? He scanned the room but saw nothing but the guests.
He recognized fear and dismay. What had put those expressions on Susanna’s face? Or who?
* * *
Susanna closed the door of the room where the ladies could come to fix a torn hem or replace hairpins. No one was inside, and she dropped to sit on the tufted green satin bench. She covered her face with her hands.
How could she have fled when she was about to dance again with Drake?
The sight of Franklin and Norah Chenowith walking into the ballroom had sent her back to that day when she was lost in hurt and fear. Hadn’t she forgiven them? She had, but maybe Drake was right.
She had not forgiven herself for failing to see that her betrothed and her best friend had been falling in love. No matter how many times she replayed the preceding weeks in her mind, she could not discern any signs that they were about to betray her. Yes, Norah had been quiet and had looked a bit gray, but she had reassured Susanna that she was not ill. Had guilt of what she planned to do with Franklin stolen the pink from her cheeks?
That was the past, and Susanna yearned to put it behind her. The only way was to confront it, not hide here for the rest of the evening. Raymond and Elisabeth were depending on her.
What to do?
Susanna tossed away idea after idea on how to excuse herself for the evening. If she claimed to be ill, Miss Oliver would insist that she stay out of the nursery so not to carry the “illness” to the children.
Even avoiding Franklin Chenowit
h and his wife was not worth such a high cost.
Why had they come tonight? Who had invited them? She recalled Raymond mentioning a few weeks ago that Elisabeth’s great-aunt had asked them to invite everyone in the neighboring parish where Elisabeth had been born and raised.
And the Chenowiths lived in the nearby house left to Norah by her great-aunt. Because they had vanished from her daily life, Susanna had allowed herself to forget how close they dwelled.
She squared her shoulders. If she remained out of sight, Franklin was sure to think that she still harbored affection for him. She did not love him any longer. Nor did she hate him any longer. She had forgiven him, and now she must forgive herself for wasting so many years of her life on recriminations.
Slowly she stood. She owed Drake an apology and an explanation, but first she must put her past to rest. Checking the glass, she saw her face was ashen and her eyes dim. She tried to smile, but it was a fearsome grimace. Somehow, she had to look natural. Unsure how, she left the room and walked to the ballroom.
Many of the guests, both of the ton and of the village, swirled and made intricate patterns in the center of the room. Other guests watched and talked and laughed.
Susanna scanned the room. Where was Drake? Had he left to find her, or had he left, disgusted that she had abandoned him in the middle of the ballroom?
Franklin and Norah stood a few feet away. Franklin looked as polished as ever, but she was startled to realize she preferred Drake’s rough edges to Franklin’s perfectly tailored clothing and black hair that lay sedately across his head as if not daring to be out of place.
Beside him, Norah had grown into the promise of her beauty. Her once-bright red hair had matured into a wondrous russet that flattered her porcelain skin. Her freckles had vanished, but her nose was still pert and her mouth looked ready to smile.
Susanna walked toward them, trying to keep her breathing slow. She clasped her hands behind her so neither Norah nor Franklin could see how they shook. With regret? With uncertainty of how to speak to the two people she had never guessed she would have trouble talking to?
When she was close enough for them to hear, she said, “Good evening.”
Norah whirled and gasped, “Susanna!”
Franklin turned, but said nothing as he stared at her as if she had appeared out of midair.
“Susanna, it is so good to see you.” Norah smiled and held out her arms as if she was about to hug her.
Susanna stepped back and saw Norah’s face fall. Wanting to apologize, for her aim had not been to hurt her onetime friend as she had been hurt, she could not find the right words. Instead, she said, “I know Raymond will be pleased you came tonight.”
They exchanged an uneasy glance, and she could not blame them. Her tone suggested they had never been anything but strangers.
“What about you, Susanna?” Norah said while her husband remained silent. “Are you pleased we came tonight?”
“I am glad to see you looking so well.” She wanted to take the words back as soon as they left her lips. Why couldn’t she say something from the heart instead of acting as if she had never met Norah before?
“Is there somewhere we can talk privately?” Norah looked at her silent husband, then at Susanna. “Just the two of us. Please. I think we need to talk.”
“Yes, it is long past time. Come with me.” As she walked with Norah to the closest door, she looked back and saw Drake talking with Papa.
He glanced at her, a question in his eyes. Papa said something to him, and his brows rose. He took a step toward her, but Papa must have cautioned him, because Drake did not follow as she led Norah out of the ballroom.
Susanna said nothing while she walked to a room where she and Norah once spent hours talking and laughing together. They should not be interrupted there. The mingled sounds of music and voices were cut off when she closed the door.
“I always liked this room,” Norah said as she gazed around with a nostalgic smile. She went to a large window that offered a view of the stars twinkling over the back garden. “I remember how we used to sit on the floor and listen to your mother tell us stories while she worked on her embroidery.”
“After she gave up trying to teach us.”
“I am surprised I don’t have scars on my fingertips after all the times I poked myself with a needle. I still cringe at the idea of sewing. I am glad that my cousin Helen loves to sew, or my children...” She lowered her head.
“Why don’t we sit?” Susanna clung to etiquette as a rudder to guide her through the unknown waters of what to say to a woman she once could have said anything to without hesitation.
Norah sat and waited while Susanna chose the chair across from a low table near her. “Until the invitation came for tonight’s assembly, I had no idea why you declined any invitations I sent to you or why you did not ask me to call. Then I discovered that Franklin did not do as he had promised me.”
“What did he promise?”
“Susanna, you need to remember that he loved both of us, and I know you loved both of us, too. I was closer to you than my own family.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “Yet, I was aware that Franklin loved you in a very special way, which is why I was thrilled when he asked you to be his wife and you agreed.”
“You wanted to talk about the wedding plans more than I did.” She could not keep from grinning at the memory.
A fleeting smile fled across Norah’s face. “You were happy, and I was happy for both of you.”
“So why...?” She swallowed, unable to speak the unspeakable words to Norah.
“Why did I steal your betrothed? Is that what you are finding hard to ask?”
“Yes.”
“The answer is simple. I was enceinte.”
“Pregnant? You and Franklin—?”
“No! He is not the father of our oldest daughter, though he loves her as if she were his blood. Her real father was a man who took advantage of my yearning for someone to love me as Franklin loved you. What I did not know was that he was already married.”
“Who is he?”
She shook her head. “I have never spoken his name, not even to Franklin, and that truth must die with me. My daughter’s father has no idea that she is his child, and my daughter believes Franklin is her father. I want to keep it that way because it is best for my daughter. You and Franklin are the only ones, other than me, who know the truth.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? I would have done anything to help you.”
“I know, but when I realized I was in a delicate condition, I could not think of anything but how ashamed my family would be. I was scared. I had no one to turn to except my best friends. Yet how could I lay such a burden at your feet when you were in mourning for your mother and brother-in-law? That left Franklin, so I went to him. When he offered to marry me to save my reputation and my family’s, I accepted. I assumed that he would explain to you, because I suffered greatly from morning sickness and was focused on hiding it from my family until we were wed.”
“He never said a word.” She reached across the table and across the years that they had been separated. Taking Norah’s hand, she looked into her friend’s eyes. “Norah, I wish you had told me. Even though I believed myself in love with Franklin, I would have stepped aside. No, I would have done more than that. I would have been there to help you in any way I could.”
“I know you would. I knew it then, so that is why I was so hurt when you turned away from us.” She blinked back tears. “Once you shut us out of your life, Franklin realized the time had come and gone when he could have been honest with you...and with me.”
“That was the promise he made?”
“To tell you the truth, but he didn’t want to hurt you, either. Time went by, and it became even more impossible.”
Susanna stood and, not letting go
of her friend’s hand, sat beside her. “I am glad you decided to tell me.” She smiled. “Though I may punch Franklin because he was too scared to do as he promised.”
“I will be happy to hold him still while you do.” Norah laughed. “Susanna, I have missed you so much.”
Hugging her friend, Susanna asked Norah about her children and told her about the little ones from the jolly boat. Soon they were talking as if they were young girls again, letting their laughter heal the wounds that had driven them apart. She could not wait to share the news of their reconciliation with her family and with Drake.
Drake!
She jumped to her feet. “Norah, I have to go!”
“Yes, your guests.” Norah’s eyes narrowed. “Or is there one special guest on your mind? Perhaps that handsome man you were dancing with? From your smile, I would say the answer is yes. Then let’s go. I cannot wait to meet him.”
“I cannot wait to introduce you to him,” she said as her heart sang. Thank You, Lord, for this joyous evening.
It was sure to grow even more wonderful when she danced with Drake. She could barely wait.
Chapter Seventeen
Drake walked out into the back garden and drew in a deep breath of air that was clean of cloying perfumes. He would prefer to be dancing with Susanna, but she had not yet returned to the ballroom. When Lord Launceston explained that the woman with her was Norah Chenowith, Drake had to hold back his instinct to protect Susanna. The woman who had married Susanna’s betrothed had injured her deeply already.
He waited in the ballroom as long as he could endure the subtle insults aimed at him by some of the earl’s guests. It was silly to take umbrage from people who looked down at everyone in trade. He should let such comments slide off his back like water slipping through scuppers.
