He was married to the sea and would be for life. The last thing he needed, or ever would, was someone attempting to set him up with a potential wife. He’d never let himself be tied down like that. Not even by Coastal Shipping Line. That was why he needed a partner to take care of everything on the shore while he sailed the seas. Any wife of his would be destined to be left at home each time he sailed. A marriage such as that would be a failure right from the start, and Drake was committed to never failing. Not when it came to delivering cargo, and not in any other aspect of his life.
‘As had I,’ Meridith said with a sigh.
‘What was that?’ he asked. ‘That you had concluded?’
‘That my brother was forcing you to escort me,’ she answered. ‘He tends to believe that I should be, well, seeking men who might be interested in marriage.’
Drake’s spine stiffened. ‘That wouldn’t be me. Your brother knows the reputations that ship captains have.’ Everyone knew that, so Drake quickly added, ‘And he knows that I’ll be heading out to sea again as soon as possible.’
‘He does?’
‘Yes, I told him so myself.’
‘When?’ she asked.
‘The day of the garden party.’
Her head tilted sideways, as in thought before she asked, ‘Before or after the croquet game?’
‘Afterwards,’ he replied.
‘Well then,’ she said, squirming slightly in her seat. ‘That’s good to know.’
It certainly was. He’d make sure to remind Chesterfield of it, too. If necessary.
Due to the way Meridith’s attitude had changed when the butler had mentioned her sister, he assumed they both had been wrong in their initial conclusions. But it was all too easy for Drake to jump to the dimmest possible view of people’s actions. Blame it on experience. His cousin Archibald was always finagling things. Actually, he could be downright underhanded, and used to that, Drake had simply assumed that Chesterfield was, too. That was why he’d told Meridith that by not going to the ball she would let her brother win. Years ago, he’d learned that some people never played fair, and it didn’t do either party any good not to recognize that.
He had no doubt that Archibald was lurking behind the scenes right at this moment, probably trying to make a deal to sell the shipping company out from beneath him. He’d warned his cousin against doing so, but warnings had never meant much to Archibald.
A soft gasp drew his attention away from his own thoughts.
There was still enough daylight for him to notice the way Meridith was clutching the edge of bench with both hands as the coach rolled along the cobbled streets. It was far from a smooth or gentle ride, despite George keeping the horses at a slow pace. ‘Is there something I can do to make the ride more comfortable for you?’ he asked, gesturing towards the bench seat.
‘Thank you, but no. I do hope that escorting me wasn’t too far out of your way.’
‘Not at all. My townhouse is but a short distance away. On Albany Street.’
‘That’s g—Oh!’ The coach bumped roughly, and Meridith cried out, then clamped her lips together, clutched the seat even harder. ‘I apologize,’ she said, with what sounded like a soft growl. ‘It’s difficult sitting properly when one is dressed as a rosebush.’
Puzzled, he asked, ‘A rosebush?’
‘Yes, that is what I look like. A rosebush, with a padded bustle that takes up most of the seat and threatens to send me onto the floor at every bump in the road! Before you question why I would wear something so cumbersome and uncomfortable, allow me to enlighten you. I simply didn’t have a choice. My sister Janine had her seamstress make this gown, along with several others, for me to wear this season, and my sister Diana informed me that this was the gown I was to wear this evening.’
‘Why do they not let you choose your own clothing?’
‘Because I’m their youngest sister,’ she replied. ‘The baby of the family. The one who they claim can’t think for herself because she’ll make the wrong decisions, the wrong choices, even though they sent her away to Bath for four years, to Miss Ada’s Finishing School for Young Ladies, to learn everything there is to know about being a proper lady.’
It was impossible to miss the disdain in her tone. It was also impossible not to smile at how she’d spoken about herself in the third person. ‘You didn’t enjoy your time at school?’
‘I don’t know,’ she said, squirming to remain on the seat. ‘At the time, I thought I hadn’t, because I hadn’t wanted to leave home. However, since returning, I wonder if those had been the best years of my life. Since my father died, that is. Before his death, life was grand.’ She pressed a hand to her mouth, but only momentarily before returning it to clutch onto the seat again. ‘Forgive me, Captain Taylor. I’m normally not so outspoken. Especially with a mere stranger.’
‘Please call me Drake. And after winning a game of croquet together, I wouldn’t consider myself a mere stranger.’
‘Perhaps not, but I do imagine that you think I’m quite immature, carrying on as I have since the moment you walked in the door of my brother’s house.’
The more Meridith talked, the more he wanted to know, and the more he wanted to get to know her. The real her. Not theone she thought she was, nor the one her siblings saw her as. ‘Well, let’s get a few things straight. For one, I don’t think you look like a rosebush. I think you look very lovely, and if it would make you feel more comfortable, I will loan you my knife and close my eyes so you can cut the belt holding that bustle around your waist. You can leave it here in the coach and I won’t ever tell another living soul. For two, I don’t think you are immature. I think you are frustrated that your family still sees you as a young girl instead of a woman with her own mind. For three, I think you are bright enough and bold enough to stand up for yourself, and I can imagine that gets you in trouble at times.’
Meridith’s eyes had grown wide, and her lips were parted, as if she was prepared to speak, but wasn’t sure what to say. After a moment, she shook her head and sighed. ‘It does at times, and most certainly would tonight. My sisters would be beside themselves if I cut off my bustle.’
