Bronwyn Scott's Sexy Regency Bundle (86 page)

parts of the ship that had

already succumbed to the weather. Above him, a snapping sound drowned out the

and

grabbed his attention. Lightning struck and saw the mast nearly split through, teetering in its downward descent.

dodged to the right as the massive

Scott

post crashed onto deck, destroying the ship's final hope of outlasting the

Flame

a

toppled lantern burst into the night. Fire spread on the deck in spite of the wet weather.

slipped and felt the heat of flames as he collided with the starboard wall. Heat surrounded him.

Below him the cold Atlantic

The rope that had so recently been a source of safety now dangled him in a perilous purgatory.

at his waist for the knife

strapped to his belt and used the sharp blade to saw through the rope. To stay meant he would bum. To choose the sea kept him alive, even if it only prolonged the inevitable. Gray son chose life.

He made a

slice through the coarse hemp.

For the sake of the nearly bankrupt viscountcy, for the sake of his two brothers, for the sake of his cousin Julia,

took his

chances with the sea.

Chapter 2

The clang of bells woke Elena di Duero with a start.
The Costa da Morte, the Coast of Death, had
claimed another ship.

In the past, the sound of midnight bells would call Elena and the villagers of

to

search for survivors. But over the last year, the sound of the bells represented more than duty for her. They were simultaneously a call to hope and fear.

Elena dressed quickly in

serviceable

clothing and joined her household and the villagers on the beach, lanterns bobbing in their hands, rain drenching them entirely, goaded on by the sharp-cutting wind. It reminded Elena of the night nearly a year ago that her husband's ship had foundered so close to home, the lighthouse beacon failing to bring the men safe to port. Her husband's body had not been found among the wreckage that lined the beaches the following morning or in the weeks

Scott

She had mourned her husband, but she had not been

at his demise. Their

marriage had been

orchestrated by their

parents and marked with indifference.

She had not become

over his

disappearance until Don Alicante swooped in and made it clear that unless he reappeared, she stood to lose the

and all that went with

including her. So she'd struck her devil's deal with Senor Alicante.

Elena shivered, not

the cold but

the remembrance of that

day. In her mind's

eye, Senor Alicante's "offer" was plainly etched.

He'd had the audacity to stand in
her

parlor

just one month

Alejandro's ship had gone

down and put

his proposal. As a woman,

she had no rights to the property except through her husband or other male relative. So without a male heir, Alejandro's property was for sale.

Without the property or means of support, she would become a destitute widow.

Or she could marry him.

She'd pleaded with the don that her husband wasn't dead, merely missing. She'd argued it was too soon to decide the fate of his estate. Senor Alicante had given her a year's reprieve to produce her husband

the watery depths,

alive.

6

's Seduction

But Elena would not countenance such a bald attempt at coercion. She knew that he had had two wives already who had met with untimely fates, and rumors

his villa had not painted him as a

generous husband. She'd had a taste of freedom without Alejandro and she was not willing to relinquish it. While the work on the pazo was difficult and time-consuming, it was a price she was more than willing to pay for the freedom and little

she enjoyed. Without the pazo, she had nowhere to go and no source of income. She needed the pazo regardless of her relish for the demanding work. Without it, she was nothing.

Still, if she had to chose, she'd want life with over the life she'd lead with Don Alicante.

That was why every time the bells rang, desperate hope rose for Elena. Perhaps the bells rang to signal Alejandro's return. But each time she'd risen to answer the bells, there had only been disappointment; another wrecked ship, more lost crewmen, one more dashed hope. And time was running out. She had only one month before Senor Alicante would press his claim.