Chapter Fourteen
“I think Talon is asleep.” Kate glanced up at Daniel, then closed the book and put it aside. “I’m going to stop reading, if you don’t mind.”
Daniel leaned back in his chair and gave his brother a sympathetic glance. “He really does have a heart of gold, doesn’t he? He’s nothing like I imagined.”
Kate stared down at Talon’s beautiful, battered face. His lashes lay thick and dark on his bruised cheeks, and his broad chest rose and fell in soft rhythm. “Exactly how did you picture him?”
Daniel gave Talon a pensive stare. “He showed up at the London house when I was a boy. I was playing on the steps when this filthy ragged urchin approached and told me he was my brother. Father sent him away, of course, but from then on he delighted in telling me of his successes.”
“Where did he go after that? How did he live?” Kate was horrified at the thought of the earl rejecting his own son. No wonder Talon hated his father so much. And poor Daniel. It must have been hard to live in the shadow of the brother he’d never known.
“He went to sea and worked his way through the ranks until he finally commanded a ship of his own. Father loved to tell me how brave Talon was, how resourceful. I expected to hate him.”
“He’s rather hard to hate.”
“Yes, he is.” Daniel shook his head. “I can’t help but admire him. He had none of my advantages, yet he managed to make something of himself anyway. He went from the streets to being one of the most successful privateers to sail the seas. He amassed quite a fortune before he was arrested last year for piracy.”
“He’s a pirate?” Kate couldn’t have been more surprised. “I don’t believe you.”
Daniel sat forward, his blue eyes serious. “They called him the Hawk. His ship was a gorgeous clipper calledThe Western Sky. He targeted mainly British ships, my father’s in particular, but who can blame him for wanting revenge? He raided this very ship not long ago, which is one reason why he’s so worried for our safety. He and the captain are not on the best of terms.”
Kate squeezed Talon’s slim, bare foot. She loved his feet. They were fine-boned and elegant, just like his hands. “I never would have guessed.”
“He was condemned to life in Newgate for his crimes. I thought Father was going to let him rot there forever, but he finally intervened and had him released a month ago.”
“So that’s why he was so thin and pale when we first met.” Kate was horrified to think of this strong, kind man trapped in a filthy, windowless cell. “No wonder he spends so much time on deck.”
“I still haven’t figured out why he’s been so decent to me,” Daniel mused. “Surely he must hate me and everything I stand for.”
Kate reluctantly released Talon’s foot. “I’ll bet he’s anxious to reach the Carolinas so he can be rid of us.”
“He’ll be glad to get rid of me. But I don’t think he minds your company at all.”
She stood and stretched, feeling the kinks in her body relax. She’d been sitting in one place for far too long, unwilling to move for fear she’d lose the warmth of Talon’s body. But this conversation with her husband had reminded her once again why she must keep her distance.
She didn’t care whether or not Talon was a pirate, but she realized now, more than ever, how impossible it would be to hold him. He belonged to the sea. “I think I’ll skip our card game tonight, Daniel. I’m rather tired.”
“Sweet dreams,” Daniel told her. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
* * * * *
Talon wasn’t sleeping. He’d heard the whole conversation, and he barely managed to restrain himself until Kate left the room. As soon as the door clicked shut behind her, he sat up, pinning his brother with a furious glare. “How dare you tell her those things?”
Daniel flinched in surprise then shrugged and gave an easy laugh. “Don’t you know it isn’t nice to eavesdrop?”
“Why did you tell her all of that? Christ, how could you do this to me? I thought you wanted me to seduce her.”
Talon was still stung by the dismay in Kate’s tone when Daniel had told her he’d been imprisoned for piracy. He’d wanted to deny it at the top of his lungs and beg her to believe in him. He’d do anything to keep from losing the one thing she’d given him that no one else ever had—her esteem.
She had thought him a hero.
“Don’t be an idiot.” Daniel gave him a smug smile. “You’ve been slacking these last few weeks. Kate’s gotten too close to me. Hell, she’s even pledged her undying faithfulness. I had to do something.”
“What do you think you’ve accomplished by this?” Talon wanted to bash Daniel’s face until his brother looked as battered as Talon felt. He couldn’t believe a few short hours ago, he’d thought the two of them might someday be friends.
Besides, Kate’s undying faithfulness was nothing to scoff at. He wanted it for himself.
Daniel stood up, stretching. “I gave her something to think about. The dashing pirate Hawk. What woman could possibly resist?”
