Love Between the Lines (9 page)

H
e finished examining the pictures and turned his attention back to her. “Will you write to him?”

She shrugged.
“I have sent many letters to my mother, but he forbade her to write back. I expect I shall send picture postcards to them.”

“
The sort of correspondence one doesn’t expect a reply to,” he said. “Will you send letters to anyone else?”

She wondered what he meant and realized he was hinting about any possible attachments she might be leaving behind. This man was too interested in her private affairs.
“Certainly Captain Kelly will be counting the days until he gets correspondence from me,” she said dryly.

She looked at the door held open with a heavy hook.
“You should go follow that steward. He seems anxious to show you to your room.”

“
The man hovering just outside the room is anxious for his tip. Interesting that you don’t know that. You are a New Yorker after all.”

She picked up her coin purse at once, mortified at that simple slip that showed her lack of worldliness.

“I shall take care of the tip, of course,” he said. “That is my prerogative as a gentleman and as your employer.”

Ignoring her employer, she pulled a quarter from the bag and stepped over the doorsill.
“Thank you,” she told the steward who bowed and waited for Sir Gideon. “In a minute,” the baronet said and leaned his back against the rail. The steward backed out of the room but remained close enough to be summoned by a call. He clearly wasn’t having scandalous behavior on his ship. Lizzy felt gratitude for the chaperone.

Sir Gideon
looked her up and down. “You don’t look as shabby as usual,” he remarked.

“
What a gentlemanly remark.”

“
Are you actually offended? Certainly you know your wardrobe is not fashionable. At least not the gowns I’ve seen.”

“
I’ve lost weight, so the clothes are a bit loose. However, I must support myself, so I don’t spend much time or money on my gowns. Perhaps now you’d like to criticize my hair?”

“
It’s quite short,” he said after a moment. “But even if it’s not fashionable, the style is pretty. How on earth do you keep from stabbing your scalp with the hatpins?”

There was no easy way to insult the man. He could take what he dished out. She had to smile.
“I don’t always. And I lose my hats when a wind picks up. I expect some will be flung out to sea.”

He grinned. The steward mov
ed from foot to foot. Sir Gideon rolled his eyes. “I’ll return in a few minutes, shall I? We can explore the ship then.”

She nodded. After he left, she brushed her hair and dug out a more fetching bonnet—and one that tied under her chin.
Too nervous and excited to stay still, she went back out to the rail and stared out over the city’s skyline, wondering when she would see it again.

Her city. The heart of her work.

Sir Gideon’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “Why do you look as if you’re about to cry?”

She wished he
’d stayed put in his cabin, doing important publisher’s work.

“
I’m not about to cry,” she snapped. “But to be honest, I’m worried. What if I can’t write the sort of articles you want?”

“
You will.” He sounded supremely indifferent.

“
But I’m not sure I’ll be able to find my way around your city. Much less know where to find the right people to talk to.”

“
We have weeks before you need to worry about work. Let us stroll about and pretend we’re on holiday, shall we?”

She nodded
“Yes. All right. Thank you, sir.”

“
You do know that just like the real world, on a ship there are areas that are off-limits to a single female. The smoking lounge of course.”

“
Such a pity about that.”

“
Do you long to smoke a cigar?”

She shook her head.
“I meant generally speaking it’s a pity. I know the conversations that go on in such places are not appropriate and I should find them dull at any rate. But I suspect that the information I could find there would be invaluable. I frequently have to bribe other reporters to tell me about conversations they encounter in the places I can’t go alone. The restaurants in hotels. That sort of place.”

“
Hardly matters. You get into places they can’t go.”

“
A sultan’s harem. But where else?”

He laughed.

For some perverse reason Gideon wanted to distract her from work. Or perhaps he only wanted to see if such a thing was possible.
He showed her the ship’s library with mahogany paneling and reasonably full shelves. Once they were under way, the collection would be emptied quickly and there’d be nothing but sad limp leather-covered volumes of bad poetry lying on their sides.

He follo
wed her to a writing desk, realized he was trailing after her like a puppy, and walked over to examine a display of children’s stories instead.

She picked up a copy of
Debrett’s and flipped through the pages.

“
Why are you reading that?”

She rubbed at a bent page with a gloved finger
. “I want to be prepared in case I meet a duchess in a pub. After all, I am going into a strange land and it’s best to know how to talk to the natives.”

The idea that had b
een percolating in his mind suddenly seemed perfect. He forgot about trying to distract her from work.

He could make her happy and not worry about her safety
—and of course, end up with copy that would sell beautifully. “You’re right, you know,” he said slowly. “It would be interesting to hear about the natives. Look here. Have you ever read
With Gun and Bible in New Guinea
?”

She looked up from the Debrett
’s. “No.”

He hummed gently, trying to picture the story he wanted.
“Or perhaps I should only aim for something such as
An Essential Traveler’s Guide to The American West
. It’s at least three decades old, but—”

She laughed.
“That is precisely the sort of book I thought you might be writing.”

“
What on earth do you mean? I? Writing a book?”

“
Remember when I met you, I suspected you were some sort of reporter. And I thought perhaps you were writing a travel guide.”

“
I think you ought to.”

“
What?”

“
Not just a travel guide. A…a sociological study. You know, observing the natives and their curious habits. I expect Brinker might act as something like the local expert for you. He could give you advice.”

“
The native guide who can translate what the drums are telling me?” She gave him a twisted smile as if she understood a joke but didn’t particularly appreciate it.

Several giggling young ladies accompanied by a maid came into the library. Gideon jerked his head toward the entrance
, and she nodded. They walked out to the deck again.

He liked his idea and wasn
’t going to give it up easily. “I’m serious, you know. This could be just the thing. Humorous, perhaps, but with real descriptions. Satirical, do you see?” He rubbed his hands together.

“
I am not a humorous writer,” she said coldly. “I write of important situations.”

He decided to put off convincing her, but he would have his way. He was the employer in this situation after all.
“We shall have to define ‘important situations’ later.” He gave her a nod and walked off without a more formal good-bye.

He found Brinker arranging his toiletries in the cabin. “I want you to tutor Miss Drury on how she might get on in society.”

“
I beg your pardon, sir?”

“
How to dine, order of precedence, that sort of thing. Don’t attempt to change her too much. You’ll only exhaust yourself. But I hope you can make her understand the basics. I have plans for her to mingle with the higher ranks.”

“
Sir! Are you thinking of introducing her to your social circle?”

“
Oh, don’t worry. She’s only going to be there as an observer. I promise. She won’t be vaulted into the ranks of the most exalted nobility permanently. That’s my dream, not hers.”

Brinker
’s face had gone blankly stiff, obviously trying hard not to demonstrate disapproval.

“
Go on. Tell me what upsets you.”

“
Well, sir, if you try to introduce her into society and it is suspected she is more than an ordinary employee, your reputation will suffer. She will not be received. You will risk losing all good will if it is suspected you are performing one of your japes. A lady reporter is bad enough. But a high-spirited one…” He coughed discreetly.

“
You mean if it appears I’m trying to foist my unmarried mistress on society in any way, I’ll be drummed from the ranks. If she were a quiet, well-born widow, that’s one thing, but not Miss Drury. You’re right, no doubt.”

Gideon
pondered the matter. “And I suppose you’d point out that Lady Edith wouldn’t like that at all.” He easily imagined his nearly betrothed’s mild, sweet face, pale and drawn tight with distress.

“
Yes, sir,” Brinker said.

“
Then I shall keep her direct connection to me as secret as possible for as long as I can. I shan’t socialize with the Drury female on board and will treat her only as an employee henceforth. That should be easy enough. I’d write her a note explaining the situation, but that would be the height of folly, and what can one say? ‘Sorry, but I shan’t be friendly with you any longer’? Ah well. I’ll speak to her. Briefly,” he added when he saw the stiffness return to Brinker’s face. “We shan’t be talking in low voices with our heads together for hours at a time. It shouldn’t take long. She’ll understand.”

“
Perhaps she might react strongly.” Brinker stood with his hands folded. No, he didn’t seem to be mocking Gideon at the moment.

“
I expect she’ll laugh at me,” Gideon said.

Brinker gave a gentle cough.
“I think it best if I explain, sir.”

“
Do you? Seems silly to me, but go to it. I promise she won’t fall into a swoon. She would probably be glad for an excuse to stop me from teasing her.”

Gideon studied
the man’s pointed nose and pale slightly protruding eyes. Brinker was handsome enough. “Although she might allow
you
to tease her if you wish. She likes you, you know,” he said and wished he had managed a lighter tone. No need to sound churlish.

Perhaps it was his imagination,
but he thought Brinker wore the ghost of a smirk.

“
Don’t go breaking the female’s heart,” Gideon warned, only half joking. After all, he told himself, he didn’t need a pining reporter.

“
If you’ll pardon my saying so, sir, she is not like most of the delicately nurtured.”

“
Oh?”

“
For instance, sir, I don’t think Miss Drury requires marriage.”

Surely Brinker
meant that because of her career she didn’t require marriage for her personal happiness. He couldn’t possibly be referring to anything lascivious. Could he? Anything was possible.

Gideon didn
’t ask. He’d grown tired of the subject of Miss Drury, and obviously Brinker wouldn’t bed a female they both knew. For a second, he imagined the gentleman’s gentleman naked and rutting. A disturbing image, although the thought of her naked proved disturbing in other ways.

By evening
they were well out to sea already. He dressed for dinner, then went out on deck to admire the view of stars twinkling in the darkening purple sky. Too bad the moon wasn’t full. He wouldn’t admit it to his best friend even if he were dead drunk, but the sight of the moon’s reflection on the chop of the ocean always gave him a thrill.

“
Lovely, isn’t it?” She’d sneaked up on him and now stood far too close. The soft light from the cabin behind them glowed on her hair and her smiling face. “The view, I mean.”

“
Hmm.” Gideon might be a thorough sap, but no need to advertise the fact. He looked around to make certain no one was watching. “Miss Drury, I’m glad I can speak to you. It’s best if we don’t meet during this voyage.”

“
What do you mean?”

“
We should not spend time alone in one another’s company.”

She
sounded curious rather than offended. “This only just now occurred to you?”

“
I had thought that the professional relationship would be enough to stop the talk—”