Page 51 of Much Ado about a Widow

“The parapet.”

At the top of the castle. Goodness. Georgie breathed heavily, but was still dazzled by the incredible view. To the back of the castle lay the boxwood maze and beyond that a forest, mostly black spires at this time of year. To her right was the crushed shell driveway that led toward the tiny parish of St. Just. And if she swung around the other way, she looked down on the top of the crags, the blue ocean just beyond, stretching onward seemingly forever. Breathtaking, even if she had no breath left to give.

“You can stand here and look straight down the cliff.” Rob had ventured dangerously close to the very edge of the parapet, a short, raised ledge all that stood between him and a drop to his death.

“No, thank you.” She licked her lips and swallowed hard. Heights always made her queasy. “Why don’t you come back over here.”

“But don’t you want to see—”

“No.” The man would try the patience of a saint. “Rob, please.”

“I am perfectly fine, Georgie.” He turned his back to the ocean, mere inches from the edge and that terrifying drop. If he stepped back, hit the back of his legs against the rim . . .

Hand over her mouth, she turned away, horrified at the thought of what would happen if he stepped back, even one step.

“Georgie.” His voice sounded close to her ear, and she almost slumped with relief. He put his hand on her shoulder, and she flung herself into his arms.

“Oh, Rob. Please don’t ever do that again.” Clinging to him, head buried in his chest, she tried to control her sobs.

“Sweetheart, I am sorry. I had no idea heights affected you so.” Slipping his arms around her, he pulled her tight against him. “They have never bothered me at all, so I don’t really think about it. I’ve been running around up here since I was about six years old. I used to love to hang my head over the side and gaze down on everyone.” He chuckled, and it rumbled in her ear. “I thought I was the king of the castle up here.”

“You can just as well be king on the first floor,” Georgie muttered into his jacket.

“Yes, my lady.” Hugging her closer, he brushed his lips on the top of her head. “It will be as you command.”

Relief flowing through her like a river, she sighed and rubbed her cheek on his comfortable chest. “Rob, would you tell me something?”

“Anything, my dear.”

She raised her head to peer at him. “Was that story you told me at Charlotte’s party, about you and the smugglers, true, or were you simply trying to impress me?”

Laughing and shaking his head, he stepped back to look in her face. “My dear, I will never know what to expect from you. What made you think of that?”

“The view out to sea. I remembered you talked about stealing into and out of the cove at night, whenever there was a smuggling run. I should think that would be very tricky in the dark.”

“Believe me, it is. And yes, during the war years, when I was much younger and wilder, I went out a time or two with the local smuggling ring.” He gazed into the distance, a fond smile on his lips.

“Wilder?” Lord have mercy. How much wilder could the man have been and lived to tell the tale?

“Much. I wanted all the adventure I could find, and, this close to Land’s End, smuggling was about all I could do to slake that thirst.” Pointing out toward the cove, he continued eagerly. “We would sail out about an hour or so due south of here, meet up with a ship from France, load a part of their goods—usually brandy, but one time it was a lot of French silk—then sail it all back into the cove. I don’t know how it traveled out of St. Just. I was never privy to how it was moved, but it kept many a family’s larder well stocked and their homes in good repair.”

“Do they go out still, your smugglers?” None of this surprised Georgie. Still, she did hope he was no longer a party to this criminal activity.

“No. The whole operation dried up after the war ended. No need for it when there was free trade once again between the two countries. Pity.” His mouth drooped. “When we go down I’ll show you the smugglers’ tunnel that goes out from the castle to the harbor. My ancestors dabbled in the trade a bit more than I did.”

“I told Jemmy I thought you wanted to become a pirate.” Oh, yes, she’d known it all along. “I see I was right after all.”

“A pirate?” Rob’s laughter boomed out over the parapet, causing several seagulls perching on the stone wall to squawk and take flight. “I don’t think I ever fancied myself that, although I can see a connection with the smuggling. They are both rather adventurous occupations.” He grasped her hands and pulled her into his arms again. “But I am done with those sorts of adventures.”

“Have you, truly?” Being in his arms made her hope with all her heart that was so.

“I have. The only adventure I crave now is you, Georgina.” He kissed her brow, her ear, her cheek.

Fire licked through her veins, melting her insides just from that fleeting touch.

Cupping her head, he brought her mouth close. “And now I will claim my forfeit.”

“Why did you bring me all the way up here to claim it?” Staring into pools of darkest gray, she thrilled to the very closeness of his body.