Mishap Marriage (9 page)

Finding no appropriate retort, she accepted the arm he offered and allowed him to escort her across the plank. She gazed up at the tallest mast, which rose to a dizzying height, and she looked down quickly, glad for the support of her escort’s arm.

‘You have a fine ship, Captain Fitzgerald. You must be proud of her.’

‘At any other time I would be honoured to give you a tour, but I have a feeling you have other things on your mind. Come. We will go to my cabin.’

Some members of the crew stopped what they were doing and stared outright as she passed, while others cast surreptitious glances in her direction, but each in his fashion paused to admire her beauty. The cabin into which she was shown was spacious and well furnished with panelled walls, the smell of tobacco heavy on the air.

Zack poured her a light cordial and handed it to her, perching his hip on the edge of his desk, the surface strewn with charts and ledgers and quills. ‘I didn’t expect to see you down here,’ he said, his expression unreadable. His head, a tumble of dark curls, cocked characteristically, but his eyes narrowed against the brilliant shaft of sunlight slanting through the expanse of window, wrinkled at their corners. ‘I was under the impression that your brother didn’t approve of you coming to the docks and mixing with the common folk.’

‘He doesn’t.’ She sipped at the cordial, finding the taste delicious. ‘He doesn’t know I’m here. I wanted to see you.’

Mocking eyes gazed back at her. ‘I see. I’m honoured, Miss McKenzie—although I suppose it’s perfectly natural that a bride should want to meet with her intended before the wedding. I assume he’s informed you that I have agreed to his demands.’

The remembrance of their last meeting, of the bitter things that had been said, touched Shona deeply, and his implication that Antony had
demanded
this marriage added to her humiliation. ‘Yes—yes, he has. He is naturally angry at what has occurred.’

‘That arrogant brother of yours—’

‘No, he is not. He is my brother—my guardian. He’s upset and disappointed. He doesn’t understand what has happened between us. He feels as if he’s losing control and he can’t function unless he controls all he considers his. But I am surprised that you gave in—which is why I am here. After your firm refusal to agree to a marriage between us, I am puzzled as to your sudden change of heart.’

‘The answer to that is simple. I need to leave this island, Miss McKenzie. I would negotiate with the Devil to achieve that.’

She stiffened, embarrassed, aware of her pounding head and thudding heart. ‘I would like to explain about the other day—’

‘Don’t bother,’ he interrupted. ‘I know exactly how it was.’

‘For what it’s worth, Captain, I’m sorry—about the way things have turned out.’

A muscle in his jaw flexed and his eyes hardened. ‘Why? You’ve got what you wanted all along. A proposal of marriage which will enable you to leave the island. Whatever you may be expecting after that, I cannot imagine. But don’t for one minute imagine that marriage to me will be easy, Miss McKenzie, because you will be sorely disappointed.’

Shona took a shuddering breath, putting her glass on the desk. ‘I don’t know what I expect. I haven’t thought that far ahead.’

‘Then don’t look at me like I’ve just read you a death sentence. I am sure you will find that marriage to me will be full of surprises.’

She glanced away, looking down at her hands, knowing then that she must never nurture any illusions that Zack Fitzgerald would ever come to love her. But what role she would play in his life she did not yet know, only that she would be the mother of his children. Whether he took her with him on his voyages in the future or left her conveniently behind was his decision and one in which she would have no say. But she was determined to face life head-on, taking whatever small pleasure her husband allowed her and being content.

‘I—I imagine it will,’ she said quietly.

Zack looked at her, trying to see her face, which was partially hidden by shadow. ‘And don’t look so wounded. I think I like you better when you’re angry.’

Shona raised her head and met his gaze. ‘I do have a temper. I admit to that. So did my father. Do you have brothers and sisters, Captain?’

He nodded. ‘My name is Zack. If you are to be my wife, you might bring yourself to address me by my given name. The answer to your question is yes, I do have siblings. One brother and two sisters.’

‘Are you close?’

Zack shrugged. ‘As close as we can be considering I’ve spent most of my adult life at sea.’

‘I should like to have had sisters,’ Shona said wistfully.

‘And instead you have one brother and a controversial, acid-tongued sister-in-law.’

Shona sighed and gave him a tremulous smile. ‘Something like that. You don’t trust her?’

Zack gazed down at her with grudging admiration. If he didn’t know better he would think this situation must be devastating for her. She believed she would be leaving everything to face a new way of life...

If it wasn’t for his daughter, he thought with a twinge of regret, he might have been willing to go through with a marriage ceremony that wasn’t a sham and give their marriage a chance. Having a wealthy sugar-planter’s sister for a wife would be a benefit to him. And Shona McKenzie was undeniably lovely. He felt an overwhelming desire to take her in his arms. Her fragrance beckoned him, her soft, ripe curves made him ache with the want of her, stirring his mind with imaginings of what loveliness lay hidden from view. There was a need in him to feel the warmth of her beneath him, to sweep her up in his arms and ease the lust in his loins. But he was painfully aware of what he was about to do to her and suddenly he wanted to make his leave-taking as painless as possible.

‘The woman is a true master of deception,’ he said in answer to her question, ‘so the answer is no, I don’t.’

‘I am hardly surprised. Not many people do.’

Zack raised a dark brow and considered her flushed cheeks and soft, trembling mouth. His gaze moved even lower and surveyed her heaving bosom, until Shona wondered wildly if he could see through her dress. Beneath his steady regard, her breasts burned, and she could not control her rapid breathing. Feebly she crossed her arms before her as if naked beneath that stare. Zack smiled evilly and gazed again into her eyes.

‘Ever since we parted yesterday my mind has been tormented by your loveliness and I have been unable to forget even the smallest detail of you in my arms. That image was seared upon my memory as if you had branded me.’

He stared at her for a long time with a serious light in his eyes that made Shona doubt her sanity at ever having sought him out.

As the world seemed to dwindle to just the two of them, the ever-watchful Deverell’s voice cut between them.

Shona was quick to note his arrival in the open doorway of the cabin and the smile playing about his normally taciturn lips as his gaze settled smugly on Captain Fitzgerald.

‘Come, Miss Shona! Your brother has sent me to look for you. He’ll be none too pleased to know you’ve been down to the quay unaccompanied—and even less when he learns Captain Fitzgerald has been entertaining you alone in his cabin.’

‘Yes—yes, Deverell, I was just coming.’ Zack pushed himself away from the desk, his body uncurling to its full, intimidating height.

She looked up at him, unsmiling. ‘Please excuse me. I must go. Thank you for the cordial. Good day.’

‘Good day.’ He bowed slightly to her and watched her follow Deverell out of the cabin.

A moment later he went on deck and watched her walk towards her horse. She moved lightly, her radiant gold hair flowing loose behind her like spun sunshine, her white-sprigged dress pressed against her legs to reveal their perfect form of which he was so enamoured. Zack tensed imperceptibly, sensing the constriction of his heart. He would remember this image of her always, come what may.

* * *

In the silence that followed as she left him, the captain’s words lived on in Shona’s mind, filling her with the restlessness of many questions. She was moved by her admiration of him, by what he said, and disconcerted by the sudden violence of her feelings. He interested her, intrigued her more deeply than she ever cared to acknowledge. Staring back at the ship, she felt oddly disappointed that she had left him.

If we had met in other times, she thought as she rode beside Deverell back to the house, and not as the two people we are, perhaps then things between us would have been different.

* * *

Antony rose to his feet and asked Deverell, ‘And how do you know Reverend Cornelius Clay is not an ordained minister of the church?’

‘Oh, he was ordained all right, but his right to exercise the functions of the ordained ministry was removed when his criminal activities were uncovered.’

Antony sauntered to the window and stood looking down the hill, paying little attention to the lone man who was riding up to the house. ‘And they were?’

‘Smuggling. He was the minister of a small parish in Cornwall. He was also the leader of men who plied the trade. One of the smugglers, who believed Clay had cheated him, informed on him and he was apprehended and convicted of smuggling. He was tried and sentenced to hang, but he had clever friends in the fraternity, who organised his escape. He ended up in America, where he became quite a character and continued to be addressed as
the Reverend.
He is also a drunkard.’

‘And how do you know all this?’

Deverell grinned thinly. ‘For a price, there is always someone willing to talk.’

Antony nodded thoughtfully. ‘And this is the man Fitzgerald has arranged to officiate at his marriage to my sister.’

‘It looks like it.’

Antony’s mouth twisted. ‘Well, well.’ Fitzgerald’s intended deception tore at the very mettle of his pride. Now he knew exactly why he had suddenly been willing to agree to his demands. He had chosen Cornelius Clay. It made the most perfect sense. After the bogus ceremony, Fitzgerald intended to slip away when the coast was clear, leaving Shona to bear the shame and humiliation of it all.

‘What will you do?’ Deverell asked, eyeing his master carefully. ‘Confront him?’

Antony was a cautious man, a man who weighed a situation. He was watching the rider approach. The man was close enough now for him to see his face beneath the circular brim of his hat. And then a slow smile stretched his lips and he shook his head. ‘No, Deverell. Fitzgerald is to have no notion that I know he is trying to double-cross me. I will play him at his own game—and I will win.’ He turned to Deverell. ‘Not a word to my sister, you understand. The less she knows the better. In the meantime we have a visitor. Show Cousin Thomas in, will you? He couldn’t have chosen a more opportune moment to arrive on Santamaria.’

Deverell frowned. ‘Cousin Thomas?’

Antony nodded. ‘You might say he is the answer to our prayers, but his relationship to me is not to be made known, Deverell. Secrecy is of the utmost importance.’

Chapter Five

T
homas Franklyn was tall and lanky and bone thin. His light brown curly hair was cut short. His coat had shiny cuffs and his linen was worn. Various expressions chased themselves across his face. He was a great one for practical jokes and there were times when what he said was serious or not serious, it was difficult to tell. He had visited Shona often when she had been in England and it had always been something of a novelty among her friends when he had turned up unexpectedly at her school. Life was never quiet or dull when he was present.

His home was in England. The youngest of three sons raised at Ferndene, the family’s ancestral home in Sussex, his ambition had been to go on the stage, but his father had frowned on this ignoble profession, unable to countenance any son of his treading the boards, so Thomas had succumbed to the pressure placed on him by his family and made the church his living.

Eight years spent as a parish parson in the provinces had endowed him with an air of philosophic indifference. Having become disillusioned with his profession, critical and outspoken about the church’s doctrines, with a spurt of rebellion to amuse himself he had written what he considered to be some light verse.

Some of the clergy had expressed outrage at the titillating content, the general consensus being that, instead of filling his head with poetry and writing heathen words, he should be reciting psalms or the gospels. They declared his position untenable, but with friends in high places and highly thought of by some who saw nothing wrong with his verse, by mutual consent he had been granted some time away to indulge his mind in philosophical thought. Seeing it as the perfect opportunity to travel and broaden his mind, Thomas had taken ship for America, deciding to visit his family on Santamaria on the return journey.

Shona looked down at the man who had just entered the house, dumping his baggage on the floor. Surprise widened her eyes. ‘Thomas!’ Laughing delightedly, raising her skirts slightly, she hurried down the stairs, straight into his outstretched arms. ‘This is wonderful—but why didn’t you write and let us know you were coming? And look at you,’ she said, taking in his well-worn clothes and his mop of unruly brown curls. ‘Why, it’s plain to see you have no one to take care of you. What you need is a wife, Thomas.’

‘And why should I want that? I am perfectly happy and content the way I am, without the encumbrance of a wife. But look at you,’ he said, frowning, holding her at arm’s length and studying her features. ‘You have lost weight since last we met—and you are pale. Dearest coz, are you all right? If not, that is easily remedied. The Ship Inn down in the town is close by. They serve the finest meat pies this side of the Caribbean.’ His eyes twinkled mischievously. ‘Or are you too proud to accept your disreputable cousin’s invitation?’

Shona was so happy to see him that she forgot her meeting with Captain Fitzgerald earlier. ‘Thomas, we are family. How can you think that? And much as I would like to accompany you to the Ship Inn, I’m afraid Antony would certainly not approve.’

‘That is what I expected you to say,’ Thomas said with a grin. ‘How is Cousin Antony? Last I heard he had married a beautiful Spanish
señorita.
I look forward to meeting her—although I doubt her beauty can match yours, fair coz.’

Shona refrained from showing her distaste and telling him that in her opinion her brother had made a poor choice for a wife. ‘I had no idea you were so taken with my looks, Thomas. I always thought you favoured my good friend Maria.’

‘Given the opportunity I would disabuse you of that opinion.’ He smiled. It was impossible not to respond to the charm of that smile. This was the light-hearted flirtation her friend Maria had so enjoyed when he had visited her at school. Maria kept her apace of what was happening in London and to other friends she had been at school with. She wrote of carriage rides in Hyde Park and new ballgowns. The gentleman she was to wed was busy training hunting dogs at his country estate in Cheshire and he had presented her with a small English poodle. They were to attend a wedding in London and she was to wear a pearl-blue dress with silver threads. How Shona envied her, but not for much longer. She would soon be taking her place in London society when she reached London as Zack’s wife.

‘And how was Aunt Augusta when you left England? She must visit us here, Thomas.’

Thomas’s mother, who had left her humble origins behind on the rise to power of her brother, Shona’s father, had married into the nobility.

‘Since my father died, my mother is rarely at home in Surrey,’ Thomas replied with a smile. ‘She prefers St James’s and the gaieties of the London Season. I know she would like to visit Santamaria, but as you know she is not a good sailor. Now,’ he said, looking about at the grand surroundings, ‘when am I going to see my cousin and meet his lovely wife?’

‘My wife is very lovely, Thomas,’ said Antony, striding out of his study to greet his cousin, ‘and shortly to give birth to our first child. She is resting at present, but you will meet her later. It’s good to see you.’

‘My visit is brief, I’m afraid—a week or so, no more. I’m on my way back home after spending some time in Virginia. I could not come all this way without stopping off to see my cousins.’

‘You are most welcome. Your arrival at this time is most fortuitous.’

‘How so?’

‘Shona is to be wed—before the week is out. But come. I will put you in the picture over refreshment.’ He glanced at his sister. ‘Order refreshment, Shona. We’ll be on the terrace.’ In a quiet voice he said to Thomas, ‘There is something I would like you to do for me—or I should say for Shona.’

As Antony led their cousin off to the terrace to tell him all about Shona’s fall from grace, Thomas looked back and winked at her.

* * *

When Antony told Thomas what had transpired, he looked incredulous.

‘I’d welcome your help in this, Thomas. Fitzgerald is out to cheat me. I’d let him leave the island, but that’s not the point. He’s ruined Shona. Besides, she is impatient to return to England. Santamaria is not enough for her any more. She adored Father. Now he is no longer with us there is nothing to keep her here.’

‘Then allow her to go to England. She doesn’t have to wed to do that. My mother will be more than happy to take care of her.’

‘No disrespect to Aunt Augusta, but I can’t let her go alone.’

‘And my mother would not exactly be a good influence. Oh, don’t worry.’ He laughed when Antony would have contradicted him to spare his feelings. ‘Always one to live her life as though it were one long party, my mother is hardly the perfect role model to take on the chaperonage of a young girl.’

‘It’s not just that, Thomas. Because of the way she looks and the large dowry Father settled on her before his death, he was certain Shona was vulnerable to fortune hunters. I promised him I would see her suitably married before she left the island. I will abide by that. But by God, Thomas, how long can I stand Carmelita and my sister being at each other’s throats day in and day out? Something has to be done and soon.’

‘And how does Shona view Captain Fitzgerald?’

‘After what I witnessed when I came upon them in the creek, she is certainly not averse to him. Quite the opposite. They were all over each other. At present there is no cleric on the island. This man that Fitzgerald has arranged to marry them is a fake cleric. He intends to dupe me. I cannot allow it to pass. I will not tolerate being made a fool of. Co-operate with me, Thomas.’

‘What you ask of me is against everything I represent. My life has always been conducted on the highest principles.’

‘You mean nobody knows anything about you,’ Antony pointed out drily. ‘Come, Thomas. You may be a man of the church, but you are no saint.’

‘Try not to offend me, Antony.’ Thomas chuckled.

‘Will you do it? Cornelius Clay is a drunk. It should not be too difficult rendering him incapable and putting yourself forward to perform the ceremony.’

Thomas hesitated, aware of the enormity of what Antony was asking of him and knowing that he was about to risk his credibility in the church. But the thought of Shona’s suffering as Antony had detailed to him, made him feel he had no choice. His expression suddenly became serious and he fixed his cousin with a level gaze.

‘I have developed a great fondness for Shona. She is a fine young woman and it grieves me to think of her in such unhappy circumstances. I had no idea things were so—difficult for her on the island. I’ll have to think about it.’

‘There is no time, Thomas. A decision has to be made.’

Antony felt quietly confident. If Thomas had not meant to accept his request, he would have rejected it firmly. His promise to think about it was almost as good as acceptance. He would consider it and do battle with his conscience, but he would do it.

Antony was right. Thomas had reached a decision. ‘If marriage to this...this Captain Fitzgerald is what she wants, then I am more than happy to do this small service for her. I can only hope that he makes her happy.’

There was no mistaking the sincerity in his voice and Antony, exultant but somewhat shamefaced, turned away. ‘It’s settled, then?’

Thomas nodded. ‘It’s settled.’ He grinned. ‘I give you my word, coz, that I shall keep Mr Cornelius Clay sinfully occupied, thus rendering him incapable of conducting a wedding ceremony—bogus or otherwise.’

* * *

The only cloud hanging over Shona at this time was the island’s gossip circle. The ladies were already clucking their tongues in disapproval of her behaviour, echoing one another’s vicious words. After all that fine schooling, more than one said, didn’t she know how to behave...? How could she? There were some kind souls who tried to defend her, but the gossipmongers were no longer listening.

In the eyes of the elite on the island she was a shameless wanton, soiled and used, unfit company for unsullied young ladies and gullible young men. She had broken the rules governing moral conduct and not even with someone that she was acquainted with. She might as well start packing now, they said.

To avoid causing any more trouble for herself, Shona threw herself into preparing for her new role in life as the wife of a shipping magnate. There would be much to learn and, in truth, more responsibility involved than she had expected. But she was excited and impatient to be Zack’s wife. Her marriage became more real by the hour.

To avoid coming into contact with her neighbours she limited the days’ activities to reading in her room and short walks around the garden. She had looked forward to spending time with Thomas, but he had left the house shortly after his arrival, which she thought most odd. With brusque impatience, Carmelita told her he had returned to the ship which had brought him to Santamaria, that he had things to do and could by no means stay at the house until the end of the week. Both Antony and Carmelita had about them the air of grim irresolution that Shona recognised as the prelude to crisis. She noted Carmelita’s tone as she told her, the haste. Hastily she memorised the signs on her face, to puzzle over and interpret later.

* * *

With the wedding just days away, disconcerted by Shona’s silence and long seclusion in her room, feeling better disposed to her now she was to leave Santamaria, Carmelita sought her out in her chambers. The walls of her bedchamber were a soft magnolia complemented by the subtle hue of pastel-green and the vibrant turquoise of the chairs and sofa. A luxurious Aubusson carpet combined all the colours in the room and a green silk canopy hung from the large tester bed.

‘You mustn’t take things so hard, Shona,’ she said, crossing to where the young woman was curled up in a wicker chair on the balcony, an unopened book in her lap. ‘Despite that unfortunate incident in the creek, this marriage is really rather a good thing when you think about it. A lot of girls will envy you and not a few grand ladies, too. And Captain Fitzgerald is very handsome. You may even grow to love him. Whatever happens, you will be a titled lady and kept in the manner to which you are accustomed.’

‘I am sure you are right, Carmelita,’ Shona replied drily. ‘Although I don’t imagine for one minute you are concerned one way or the other.’

Ignoring her sarcastic remark, Carmelita let her eyes stray towards the rows of Shona’s shimmering gowns through the open door to her dressing room. ‘You must instruct Morag to begin packing your things, Shona. Captain Fitzgerald has insisted that as soon as the ceremony is over he wishes to leave the island.’

‘Do not concern yourself, Carmelita,’ Shona said, opening her book and looking down. ‘I’ll be ready when the time comes.’

* * *

Three days later, on the day that Zack was to marry Shona, but with no sign of the reverend on board, cursing quietly, Zack went in search of him. He was directed to the Ship Inn. A chorus of rowdy voices greeted him when he pushed his way into the dim interior. A fiddler’s bow scraping a jarring note on the strings battled to be heard above the din of voices. The place was crowded, the air thick with the fug of tobacco smoke, stale ale and unwashed bodies. Zack’s nostrils flared in disgust. Men seated on upturned barrels argued over a turn of a card, or squatted in circles wagering upon a throw of the dice. His eyes narrowed and his lips set in a grim line as his eyes located the reverend propped in a corner—it soon became apparent that he had been there for some time. Zack strode towards him, taking hold of his shoulder.

‘You mule-headed idiot,’ he barked. ‘You sure pick your time to get stinking drunk. Get up, you laggard. Have you forgotten where we’re meant to be in an hour’s time?’

His command penetrated the reverend’s deep torpor and sluggishly he raised himself to a sitting position. Through half-open eyes he looked up at his captain. Something must have penetrated his inebriated brain for he managed to shove himself to his feet. Taking a few tentative steps, he slumped back down and his eyes rolled back.

With his shoulder propped against the frame of the open door, Thomas watched with unbridled amusement as the captain again tried to force the Reverend Clay to his feet. ‘Look at that, will you?’ He laughed. ‘The man can’t even walk without stumbling.’