She opened the door and found Vickers waiting. “I asked Mr. Nettle if he would dress his lordship in the cabin he’s sharing with Mr. Preston, and he agreed.” By the time she’d finished the sentence, Elizabeth was out of her traveling gown and washing. “What I want to know, my lady, is how you expect him to fall in love with you if you keep pushing him away?”
Elizabeth’s jaw almost dropped. How did her maid know about that? She did not remember Vickers being in the room at the time.
Elizabeth dried her face and stood as her maid placed a pale pink gown over her head. “Not pushing him away did not work.” She heaved a sighed. “I have to find something that will work. My only hope is to try this.”
“If you ask me, he was acting like a man in love.” Vickers rewound Elizabeth’s hair into a knot high on her head.
“So I thought.” So everyone had thought and they’d all been wrong. She was about to ask her maid how much the woman had overheard, when the door opened, and Geoffrey, in a fresh cravat and jacket, entered the room.
Lord, he was handsome. His jacket molded his shoulders before skimming down to his slim waist. Elizabeth did not dare glance at his knee breeches. That would be her undoing.
Ruthlessly, she shoved her desire for him away. Or tried to. Even after his betrayal, her body and mind responded to him in the most wanton fashion. The sooner they were around others, the better.
God help her if she had to sleep in the same bed with him. She did not think she’d be able to ignore the temptation.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“You look particularly lovely, this evening.” Geoffrey held out his arm. Trying not to touch him more than necessary, Elizabeth placed her fingers on his jacket. “Shall we join the captain?”
As they strolled down the passageway she made sure she kept her other hand on parts of the ship—one hand for the boat, her grandfather always used to say. The ship heeled sharply, and Elizabeth held Geoffrey’s arm as he stumbled.
“Are you all right?” he asked after finding his feet again.
“Perfectly. You?”
“Yes, of course.” His voice was firm, yet he seemed a little shaken. “I wasn’t expecting the ship to move that way. Ah, here we are.”
She was surprised to see that the captain had a separate dining room for himself and his officers. In all the ships she had been on, the captain’s table was in his cabin.
“My lady, welcome.” Captain Higgins bowed.
“Good evening, Captain.” Elizabeth smiled. The long table was set for eight. It was affixed to the sole of the ship, and was so highly polished that it gleamed under the lamps attached to the wall, and one larger lamp hanging from the ceiling. Eight heavy wooden chairs were tucked along the sides and at either end. A sideboard with raised edges to keep the plates from sliding off was filled with covered dishes.
Lord John stood at another cabinet, holding a glass of wine.
“What a lovely cabin,” Elizabeth said.
“Thank you, my lady. I hope you will enjoy the food as well.” The captain bowed to Geoffrey. “My lord, good evening.”
“Captain.” Her husband inclined his head rather stiffly. Could Geoffrey be a little jealous that she had allowed the captain to escort her below earlier? She remembered what his grandmother had said.
“I led him a merry dance. We were in Paris, and I flirted with every Frenchman, including the king. That last part almost got me into a fix I couldn’t get out of. Henry was so jealous, he finally forbade me from flirting. That’s when I told him that if he didn’t want me there were a lot of gentlemen, including the king, who did.”
She could hope her husband would be jealous as well.
“My lord.” Elizabeth dipped a curtsey to Lord John as he bowed.
“You have definitely got your sea legs, my lady,” Lord John said. “I’m afraid it’s going to take me a while.”
Motioning to the cabinet, Lord John said, “I hope you will join us for a glass of wine.”
As his lordship poured, Mr. Havers, his first officer, and Mr. Benchley, the ship’s master, entered the room along with Major Dalton, Lord John’s Brigade Major, and greeted those already assembled.
Rather than stand, they took their places at the table. After several minutes of stilted conversation about the weather and other innocuous subjects, she decided to encourage the gentlemen to discuss the coming war.
“It’s a shame Wellington can’t have his old Peninsular army back,” Captain Higgins opined.
“Many of his old units were diverted, and some have returned, but others are still in America,” Lord John said. “We still have too great a number of raw recruits as well. From what I understand, the duke plans to spread his experienced soldiers among the inexperienced ones. It’s a good idea. We’ll hold those recruits together. Isn’t that right, Will?”
