The Pirate and the Pagan (41 page)

Rory caught sight of her and smiled lazily. He beckoned her to his side, where he stood braced at the ship’s wheel. She couldn’t help comparing his attitude to Ruark’s. He would have ordered her below the moment she set foot on his deck. Rory, however, didn’t give a damn if his sailors leered at her. Slowly she made her way to the bridge. Rory was naked to the waist, enjoying the feel of the sun and the sea spray on his bronzed skin. “Feeling better, sweetheart? Come, I’D let you sail my ship.”

She could never really tell whether Rory was teasing or serious, but he stepped away from the wheel and let it spin wildly. As she dove to grasp it before the ship keeled over he laughed delightedly and came up close behind her as she stood with her hands upon the wheel. His strong brown hands covered hers and he whispered, “Here, sweet, let me show you. To keep a ship on a steady course is not difficult once you learn the secret. You must feel the wind on the back of your head. Never let it come past your left or right cheek.”

Summer turned the wheel until she felt the wind on the back of her head, then she looked up at him over her shoulder. “Is that all?” she asked with disbelief.

He grinned and whispered in her ear, “As simple as making love, once someone has taught you its secrets.”

Desire for him raced through her blood like wildfire. She knew she would never be able to resist the magnetism of his nakedness. The dark mat of hair on his chest drew her eyes and suddenly she didn’t want her hands on the ship’s wheel, she wanted them free to
explore the thick slabs of muscle on his perfect male body, which was almost, but not quite, touching hers.

“Pedro, amigo, take over for me,” he called down to the fore-deck. The grinning giant with the golden earrings took the wheel from her hands, and as Rory led her below a rousing cheer came from the crew, making it quite plain they knew why their captain was taking the beautiful girl down to his cabin.

She was blushing profusely and protested breathlessly as he impatiently swept her up into his arms to speed their journey. He stripped off his breeches and was naked in seconds, but he drew out and prolonged the pleasure of undressing her. As he bared each delicious curve, he kissed and tasted it and she knew an overwhelming desire to lick the salt from his bare skin.

“I’m going to give you a rubdown with champagne. I promise you’ve never felt anything like it. It will make every nerve ending tingle until you’ll want to scream from heightened sensitivity. Then I’ll lick the champagne from your delicious body,” he promised huskily.

The scarlet silk veils drifted about the bed, barely concealing the deeply sensual act of the lovers. Rory’s hands had a magic touch, arousing her to a desire she had never felt before, then his mouth and tongue drove her to a frenzy. His finesse was such that she experienced everything from wild, carnal lust to a sweet, heart-stopping gift of herself where they exchanged a whispered pledge of love. In the end he set out to make her laugh. He drank champagne from her navel, allowed her to shake the bottle until it sprayed all over them, and they playfully rolled about the silken bed like children.

He fell to the floor and she sprang after him like a lioness to bite and scratch him. The sight of her creamy body against the thick black pile of the rug made all laughter flee from his hungry face as he looked down at her. His eyes were stained almost black with desire as he poised above her, then he mounted her, and rode her to paradise.

Before they parted he held her to his heart. “Swear to me you’ll sail with me any time I come for you.”

“I swear it, Rory,” she pledged.

“When, I can’t bear to be parted from you, I’ll come for you. Swear you’ll drop everything to come to me?” he demanded fiercely.

“Yes, yes, yes,” she vowed her commitment to him.

T
hey glided up the Thames at four o’clock in the morning. London was a city which never slept, but at four in the morning it dozed a little, before it stretched itself at five to begin another day at the center of the world.

Rory hired her a carriage, loaded in all her baggage, and lingered long over his goodbye kisses. Summer arrived at Auntie Lil’s along with the morning milkmaid at five o’clock. Lady Richwood was still abed, so Summer crept upstairs to the chamber she had used before and told the maid not to disturb her for the next five hours.

Promptly at ten o’clock Lil Richwood swept into the room like a gust of fresh air.

“Darling, I’ve missed you so much. Wake up and tell me everything!”

Summer opened her eyes and tried to sit up, but the moment she did so she was assailed with nausea. She moaned and lay still.

“Darling, you have morning sickness! Oh, what a clever girl you are to already be breeding the next Lord Helford,” she drawled.

“No, Lil, I’m definitely not with child,” choked Summer desperately.

“When was the last time you had your menses?” demanded Lil in a practical tone, her drawl disappearing.

“I … I can’t remember … I haven’t been unwell since before I was married, but—”

“Married! I was astounded when I heard you had actually pulled it off. Lord Ruark Helford bludgeoned into matrimony, It was all over London that he had taken you to Stowe for your honeymoon. So it wasn’t necessary to become someone’s mistress after all.”

“Mistress?” she repeated, blushing hotly.

“How refreshing to see a lady who still blushes; a most rare occurrence in London.” She stopped talking to take a breath, and as she did so she noticed the mountain of luggage Summer had brought with her. Her eyebrows went up instantly.

“I’ve left him,” said Summer baldly.

“You must be mad,” concluded Lil. “Women do take mad fits when they’re breeding, you know. Tell me what all this silly fuss is about and we’ll straighten it out, I promise you.”

Summer sighed. “I might as well start at the beginning. I didn’t have any difficulty getting him to believe I was a sheltered, wealthy, well-bred young lady. He made no secret of how he felt about me and I expected him to offer me carte blanche, but then he surprised me by asking me to marry him. My brother had just been arrested for smuggling and I was so afraid for him—the offer of marriage seemed to be the answer to my prayers about my brother and about the twenty thousand owed on Roseland. The whole trouble was I fell in love with him. Even before we were married, I knew I was falling in love, but afterward I didn’t stand a chance. He held me in the palm of his hand. I was hopelessly infatuated … over the moon … I held nothing back, I gave him my heart and soul. He seemed to be in like case. Damn men, anyway, I should have known better. I waited until after the honeymoon to confess about Spencer’s trouble and the mortgage. He went mad. Called me every name under the sun. Told me I was so clever at getting money, I could pay my own mortgage, for not one copper penny of Helford money would I get.”

Summer hesitated over whether to tell her all of it, then shrugged and said, “He told me he would get the marriage annulled.”

“Oh, darling, that’s just Ruark’s temper. When he finds out about the baby, of course he will forget all about a silly annulment.”

“Lil, no! You mustn’t tell him,” cried Summer. “I’m not pregnant.”

“No, no, darling, you must have the pleasure of doing that yourself,” soothed Lil.

“Lord Helford was the one who bought the mortgage from Solomon Storm,” Summer said bitterly.

“Ruark probably meant it as a gift for you,” said Lil. “I know he must have been delighted with the way you entertained the King and court. Summer darling, I’ve heard nothing this past week but what unique diversions Lady Helford provided. Everyone is going to copy you. Lady Castlemaine is at this moment redoing a room in the Persian style. My sweet, when they learn you are in London, you’ll be the toast of the town, and here you lie as if you had the woes of the world on your pretty shoulders.” It was inexplicable to Lil Richwood why Summer suddenly burst into tears. “Oh, you musn’t spoil your face, darling. You have an entré to the court and I’m absolutely dying to see this Frances Stewart the King’s sister has brought over from France.”

“Lil, my brother’s in prison again. This time he’s been sent to Newgate.”

“Why, he was just here a few days ago. Whatever has the young rogue done? I knew someone with his looks couldn’t stay out of trouble long.”

“He’s done absolutely nothing. One of Lord Helford’s sergeants has a vendetta against my brother and me. He searched him and found my ten thousand pounds on him and arrested him for robbery. It’s all very complicated. I must beg the King’s help. How can I get a private audience with him?”

“Well, Edward Progers keeps in discreet communication with me. I’ll get him to arrange a private audience for you.”

“Edward Progers?” asked Summer.

“His Majesty’s page of the backstairs. He handles private money transactions, secret correspondence, and the like.” She waved her hand airily, skipping over the bald fact that he was the King’s pimp and procurer.

“I must get dressed. I’m going to Newgate to try to see my brother. I must try to get some money to him until I can gain his release.”

“Speaking of money, darling, I owe you some you can have for Spencer. I sold the Brussels lace for a fortune. You don’t know where you can get your hands on more?”

“Life is such an ironic bitch, Lil. The last time I was here lack of
money made my life pure hell. Now I have money to burn and it doesn’t solve one problem for me.”

“That’s not quite true, sweet. It will certainly help ease life for your brother. We’ll have to be very careful how we dress for Newgate. The place is crawling with thieves and debtors.”

“You mean you’ll come with me?” asked Summer, quite surprised.

“Why, of course, darling. It’s very fashionable to visit the place. It’s called Lord Shaftsbury’s pride and joy. The place runs the gamut from sumptuous to cesspool. When a nobleman is clapped up for some crime, he lives in luxury, paying to have everything brought in from meals to mistresses. Highwaymen who are unfortunate enough to get caught hold court in their rooms, where visitors pay to go in and visit them, like Gentleman Jackson. There was even a rumor going around that a certain king’s mistress paid to sleep with him simply for the thrill of it. The place absolutely stank when they beheaded the thirteen regicides who condemned the King’s father to death. Their heads were put on spikes to decorate London Bridge, but first they were sent to Newgate to be pickled and cured and then their bodies were thrown into a pit outside—oh, sorry, darling, I forgot your nausea.” Lil took a breath and plunged on. “It’s behind St. Paul’s, we can take the carriage and leave it in Paternoster Row. Wear no jewelry but our clothes must show we have money. If he’s on the common felons’ side, it’s not fit for a baboon. They have their wrists and ankles shackled and drag about in chains. Still, he won’t have it as hard as a female would. Do you know it’s barbaric the way they treat poor women in these places. The poor unfortunate girls who get with child without benefit of wedlock are whipped through the streets at the cart’s tail. They are naked from the waist up. Lords and ladies of the court sometimes make up parties and go and watch the poor girls for sport. Oh, darling, there I go again running off at the mouth so tactlessly when you are breeding.”

Summer sighed. There was hardly any point in continuing to deny she was pregnant, for Lil believed what she wanted to believe.

“Now, let’s see, we’ll need vizard masks so we won’t be recognized. We’ll need snood nets on our hair so we don’t pick up lice, and spiced pomander balls to ward off the stench, and—oh yes, I’ll find you a pair of the lastest fashion: pattens. Little wooden platforms that fit onto your shoes to keep your skirts from trailing in the mire. They make you feel taller than high-heeled shoes!”

*   *   *

Summer looked at Lil Richwood in amazement as they stepped up into the carriage. Though she had advised Summer to dress conservatively, she wore pale blue brocade with an elaborate underskirt embroidered with golden thread. Her snood covering her blond curls was gold mesh and her vizard matched exactly.

Summer wore a gray walking dress with a black snood and velvet mask. Lil had given her the pattens, which she would definitely have to get used to, and she’d also handed her an orange studded with cloves and threaded onto a black satin ribbon. Summer carried a small clutch purse with her money inside, since a reticule on a string would have been too tempting to prison inmates.

The carriage let them off on the doorstep of Newgate so they didn’t have far to walk, but Summer saw with horror that the gutters running from the prison were dankly clogged and black with flies. The moment they knocked, they were admitted by a turnkey and taken to the common room. This was a very large, open place like a yard where prisoners who were not dangerous could gather and socialize. A high catwalk ran around the perimeter, where guards idly watched the gathering below. Summer scanned the faces in the crowd, hoping to encounter her brother. She felt anything but hopeful.

“Ho there—you down below!” Summer looked up at an exquisitely dressed man on the catwalk who had been standing talking with a guard. Apparently they had been trying to get her attention for quite a few minutes. He held up two ten-pound notes and raised his eyebrows. In shock, she looked at Lil for confirmation of what she thought he meant. “How dare you, sir, go away!” she called.