Sutcliffe, of course, had been behind it all. He’d bribed his bastard son with an estate in hopes of getting an heir of his own blood. Daniel had been all too willing to play along. He’d schemed to become her friend, done everything possible to encourage her relationship with Talon.
“Talon.” She sank to her knees in the middle of the floor, slain by the knowledge that every sweet word, every tender touch had been a lie. She had loved him, damn it. She loved him still.
She pressed her hand to her stomach, praying she wasn’t pregnant.
She wanted to remain childless and never let any man touch her in passion again. It would be worth remaining alone and unloved just to see the earl die without his precious heir.
Her gaze darted to Daniel’s closed door. He had a lot to answer for, and she preferred to channel the emotions inside her into anger instead of giving in to the anguish that lurked just beneath the surface.
She got to her feet, marched over and flung open the door. The sound was very loud in the silence of the small room. Daniel sat bolt upright, looking confused until his gaze settled on her face.
“Kate,” he whispered, his voice rough with sleep. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“I read your letter todarling Philip,” she told him. “I know everything. I know you and your father bribed Talon into seducing me.”
Daniel paled, putting his hands up as though to ward her off. “God, Kate. I never thought you’d snoop through my private correspondence.”
“And I never thought you were such a conniving, low-down, lying jackass.” She’d lost all semblance of control. She knew she should try to be quiet, but she was beyond caring if someone heard her. “I trusted you. I thought we were friends.”
“We are friends. I’m sorry if this hurts you, but it was for your own good, you’ve got to believe me.”
Her temper flared even hotter. “Don’t you dare try to make it sound as though you had any regard for my feelings.”
His blue eyes were imploring. “I wanted you to have a child. I wanted you to know love and passion. I wanted you to have all the things I could never give you.”
“You wanted to return to your lover. You’ve never given a damn about me. God, I feel like such a fool to have fallen for your belated attempts to pretend you did.”
“When you calm down, I’m sure you’ll see there was no other way. Once you hold our precious child in your arms, you’ll realize it was for the best.”
“Ourchild?” She laughed, making no effort to rein in her rising hysteria. “No baby of mine will ever be yours, Daniel.
He flinched and looked away.
“I’m through talking to you.” She would never let him know he’d helped break her heart in a million pieces. “And you can tell that scheming brother of yours to stay away from me. I never want to see him again.”
* * * * *
The storm hit the ship with all its fury at dusk. Talon couldn’t believe his father had let such incompetent fools behind the wheel of one of his finest ships. Instead of circling the storm, Percy had tried to outrun it. Now they were in a maelstrom of twenty-foot swells and continuous lightning.
Talon had volunteered his services, knowing the captain needed every able-bodied man if they were to have a chance of surviving this. But within two hours, he knew they were fighting a losing battle.
From the coordinates he’d stolen a peek at earlier, he figured they weren’t far from the Virginia shore. He began to think about the skiffs fastened to the sides of the ship.
Once the ship began to break apart, he wouldn’t be able to keep Kate safe. He refused to subject her to a lifeboat full of angry British sailors.
He knew his own skill. The wisest course of action was to get himself, Kate and Daniel into a boat of their own, where he at least had a semblance of control over their fate.
He needed supplies, lots of them. Blankets, food, fresh water, a weapon, oilcloth… He mentally ticked the items off in his mind. He would take what he needed and not worry about anybody else. His first priority had to be the safety of the people he cared about.
Strange that he’d come to include Daniel in that number.
Stealing into the pitching galley, he took everything he could find then went back out on deck, securing the supplies under the canvas that covered the most out-of-the-way skiff. No one paid any attention to him, and he prayed his luck would hold.
Ducking his head against the wind, he struggled down the side of the wheelhouse and headed for the hatch that led below. A figure appeared ahead of him, and he was surprised to see Daniel.
“What’s wrong?” Talon grabbed his brother by the shoulders, peering at his face through the rain, yelling to make himself heard over the noise of the storm.
“It’s Kate,” Daniel yelled in return. “She knows everything. I’ve never seen her so furious. She told me to tell you to stay away from her.”
