He shrugged. ‘I was merely thinking of your comfort. If something made me that uncomfortable, I’d get rid of it and not give a care as to what others thought.’
‘Do you have any siblings, Captain Taylor?’
‘No, but I do have three cousins that I was raised with. Archibald, the Duke of Rayburn, and his two sisters, Grace, who is the Countess of Grahamshire, and Della, who is the Marchioness of Richmond Park.’
‘I have met your cousins,’ she said. ‘The Countess and Marchioness are beautiful and gracious. I only met the Duke of Rayburn once, but I’m sure he’s upstanding.’
‘I wouldn’t call Archibald upstanding, but I do agree about Grace and Della. You’ll see them all at the ball tonight, and between you and I, if either Grace or Della were in your position, they’d take me up on my offer of the knife.’
‘They would?’
He smiled, thinking about his cousins, who were nothing like their brother. ‘Absolutely. They wouldn’t care what anyone thought, least of all their brother or me.’
After a moment of thoughtful silence, she asked, ‘And you’ll close your eyes?’
Using a hand, he made an X over his chest. ‘Cross my heart and swear that my lips are sealed forever.’
She bit down on her bottom lip, as if that would help her make up her mind or perhaps stop her from doing so.
Either way, he reached down, pulled up his pantleg, and retrieved the knife he always carried in the sewn-in leather pocket of his boots. ‘There is one condition.’
Her shoulders slumped slightly. ‘What is that?’
‘Only that you agree to address me as Drake, as I’ve already requested. I’d like to consider us friends, or at least acquaintances. Anything other than strangers after this.’
A genuine smile appeared on her lips, but it was the moment when their eyes met that he felt a deep and unique connection with her.
‘Deal,’ she said, holding out a hand. Then, as if an afterthought, she added, ‘Drake.’
He flipped the knife around and handed it to her handle first. Then, as promised, he closed his eyes. In case she needed room to stand up, he also shifted his legs, making as much space in the center of the coach as possible. ‘Let me know if you need any help.’
‘I can manage.’
‘I’m sure you can, but that’s a sharp knife, so be careful.’ He heard the rustling of material, and some muffled grunting. Doing his best not to peek, he asked, ‘Are you doing all right?’
‘Yes. Do you always carry a knife in your boot?’
‘Yes.’
‘Why?’
‘I’m a sea captain. I’m cutting ropes and tarps, bags of cargo, and many other things on a regular basis.’
‘I suspect you are.’ More grunting sounded before she asked, ‘What’s the name of your boat?’
‘Ship,’ he corrected. ‘It’s theLondon Star.’
‘Why did you name it that?’
She sounded breathless, causing him to ask, ‘Still doing all right?’ He was doing his best to keep his eyes closed—and to keep himself from imagining what was being exposed while Meridith relieved herself of the bustle. That truly was an article of clothing he’d never understand.
‘Mm-hm,’ she replied.
‘Is that a yes or a no?’
‘Yes.’ A loud sigh followed her answer. ‘Why theLondon Star?’
‘It was named that when I took over as captain. My uncle named her shortly after she was built. She’s a cutter, but if all goes well, I’ll be captaining a steamer by this time next year.’ He clamped his lips together and shook his head, surprised that he’d just told her that. Currently, besides him, only a handful of men at the company he’d commissioned to build the new steamer in Bristol knew about his plans.
