Part 27 (1/2)
She looked at the edge of his hard jaw, the angle of his straight nose, the slash of a cheekbone. Her heart tightened, and an oh-so-familiar tension, already within her, grew. She remained terribly attracted to this man, against all reason and all common sense. It was as if he were a powerful magnet, she a tiny clip. She could feel the pull that arose from him. Like the very ocean itself, waves emanated from his body, cras.h.i.+ng over her and trying to pull her far out to sea.
It was such a waste, she thought. But Sean was wrong in many ways. Devlin was indifferent and he did not care-this could not be an act. And she was not the one capable of guiding him back to his lost soul.
But everyone deserves a second chance. What is there to lose, my darling?
Virginia shot up, for it was as if her mother, smiling and benign, had spoken.
”We do not have a s.h.i.+p's surgeon, but if you are in extreme pain, I do know where the laudanum is kept.”
She turned to stare at him, aware of how wide-eyed she must be, and his gaze narrowed in return. He was wearing his naval uniform, making his presence even more powerful, more formidable and even more seductive. ”I won't need any laudanum,” she breathed.
Her mother had been the kindest person Virginia had ever met. No one in need was ever left without, not if Elissa Craycroft Hughes could help it. Children were her greatest cause, and one Sunday a month they had made the long trip to Richmond so Father could make repairs to the orphanage there while Virginia and her mother handed out baked cookies and homemade toys. Every other Sunday they went to church in Norfolk. After the sermon they would mingle, with Elissa always asking the poorest folk how they were and what they might happen to need. The townspeople were proud and it was a rare day that anyone would admit to any lack, other than to being sick. Somehow, Elissa always knew what was needed, whether it was a poultice of her own making or a freshly washed and repaired hand-me-down s.h.i.+rt. And finally, they'd stop by the black folks' church, Virginia always hoping to catch the last of the singing of the hymns and the dancing. Elissa was welcomed there as warmly as if she were a slave herself. She was never empty-handed; her grapevine always told her if Grandma JoJo needed a new pair of shoes or if Big Ben's boy had the fever again. And no needy stranger pa.s.sing by Sweet Briar had ever been turned away, either.
”What is it, Virginia?” he finally asked. ”Are you anxious about finally meeting your uncle?”
She started. ”No. I was thinking about my mother,” she said slowly, still consumed with the memories, and she smiled at him.
Instantly he glanced away.
Her mother, Virginia thought ruefully, would agree with Sean. Especially as her daughter was not immune to the man to begin with. She sighed and finally regarded her captor openly. Her heart skipped a little. ”We missed you at supper last night,” she murmured, as he had remained in his study, apparently immersed in estate ledgers.
He s.h.i.+fted and turned his head, settling a cool glance on her. ”I doubt that.”
In the past, such a cold remark would have hurt her. But she understood him a little now. As a child he had lost far more than his youth the day his father had been murdered, and what she had witnessed from the moment of meeting him was the result of that. This man was heavily scarred. And Sean was right. He wasn't a bad man. She had never seen cruelty, sadism or evil. What she had seen was a ruthless discipline, forced upon others and forced upon himself. And what she hadn't seen was any sign of happiness, not once in all the time she had spent with him.
She was torn and confused, not certain of what tack to take, and as uncertain whether she wanted to feel any compa.s.sion for him, but whether she wanted to or not, the fact now was that she did.
”You know, Virginia, I am feeling like an insect in a laboratory gla.s.s.”
”I'm sorry.” She smiled a little at him. ”Were you ill?”
He sighed with annoyance, said tersely, ”I had a migraine,” and stared out of his window again.
She started to laugh.
He glared at her.
She bit it off and widened her eyes innocently and said, ”Men don't have migraines, Captain.”
He simply stared at her, very coldly.
He was in a worse mood than usual this morning. She decided to ignore it. ”And even if they did,” she continued, ”you are not a man who would ever have such a headache.”
”Pray tell,” he said grimly, ”why we are having this conversation?”
She faced him more fully, her heart racing now in her breast. She felt as if she shared the coach with a dangerous lion, one who might choose to bite off her head at any moment with the least provocation. ”Well, it is a good hour to Limerick and we are enclosed together in a very small coach and I am being polite.”
”There is no need.”
”And you did not join your brother and myself for supper last night,” she added.
”I wanted to allow the two of you one last meal alone,” he said mockingly.
She blinked. ”Are you being serious?”
”My brother is in love with you, Virginia,” he exclaimed. ”By now, surely, after that sweet scene last night, even you must be aware of it?”
She inhaled sharply. ”What?”
He smiled at her, but it was mirthless and she realized he was angry.
Was he referring to the conversation she had had with Sean on the terrace before dinner? Had he been eavesdropping? ”What scene?”
He erupted with rough laughter. ”Oh, please, the scene where you held my brother in your arms-or was he holding you?”
”You were spying on us?” she cried, sitting up, aghast and then feeling her cheeks flush.
”I wasn't spying on anyone, Virginia,” he said sharply. ”I wanted some air, but the two of you were so engrossed I decided not to step outside. It was a perfect night for a pretty pair of lovers.”
She gaped. Her mind raced. ”How much did you hear?”
”I heard nothing,” he said sharply. ”Did you enjoy his kisses, Virginia?” he demanded suddenly.
She gasped. And her racing mind realized how it might have looked to Devlin-as if they were lovers, in a prolonged embrace. ”What happened last night was between me and Sean,” she managed, still stunned, ”and it is none of your affair.”
”But I approve of the match,” he said. ”I always have and heartily so.”
She stiffened, his words hurtful. Then she recalled that he had said that Sean was in love with her-and he was right. She stared at him. Surely he was not jealous? The instant she thought it, she almost laughed. Jealousy was a result of affection or love, and this man did not care for her in any way-although Sean would disagree. Carefully, she said, ”Sean is only a friend-a dear friend, my dearest friend.”
He made a derisive sound. His face was so taut the flesh looked like it might snap free from the tendon and bone that lay beneath.
”But you are right. Unfortunately, he has come to have very strong feelings for me, feelings that I do not return.”
”Why not?”
”Why not?” she gasped, and then she was so angry her fists balled up. His gaze moved to them, then back to her own eyes. ”I am not a wh.o.r.e. Or have you really forgotten that you took my virginity, Devlin?”
He flinched and their gazes held, and unfortunately, Virginia thought him to be far more in control of any emotion than she was.
”How can I forget,” he asked, ”when you are forever reminding me?”
She ached to slap him. She did not. ”I think that night precluded any possibility of my ever falling in love with Sean.”
”Why?”
”Why?” She was in disbelief.
”Yes, I asked why. The past needs to remain dead and buried, Virginia, and very shortly you will be free to go where you please. You were very sad to leave Askeaton-and Sean.”
Virginia hesitated, still incredulous, hurt and angry. He is not indifferent to you. It is a sham, a pretense.