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Their lovely passenger was right about one thing, he acknowledged: they were nearing open waters. He could feel it, and so could his ship. Like an eager child, her sails tugged at their restraints, longing to be free. Soon she would get her wish. They would not need to coast gently much longer, for the wind was already beginning to change. He had timed it perfectly. The ship would gracefully sail into the Channel, needing little time to pause in the Strait of Dover.
Triumph danced through Drake’s blood. As always, he and La Belle Illusion made an incomparable team—he in planning the strategy and issuing the commands, she in sleekly and unconditionally carrying them out. She followed his orders without question, responded to his every touch, shared his thirst for freedom and adventure, and asked no more of him than he was willing to give. The perfect woman.
The sun began its descent, vibrant shades of lemon and orange streaking the western sky. Drake flexed his muscles, enjoying the beauty of the late afternoon.
“Congratulations, Captain. It seems you were correct, after all.” At the grudging admission, Drake glanced down in surprise to see Lady Alexandria standing beside him, gazing out to sea. None of his men ventured onto the quarterdeck without permission. Yet there she stood, uninvited, as if it were her right to do so. The woman was maddening.
“I usually am.” Taunting her gave him pleasure.
Alex knew he was not going to make this voyage an easy one for her. “Usually? But not always.” She gave him a sideways look. “If you are fallible, Captain, surely you can accept my noble acquiescence in good faith and end this unnecessary bickering.”
His anger faded into amusement. Acquiescence would hardly be the word he would have used to describe her reluctant admission. “Can I? Well, since you have admitted your inferiority, I suppose that it is the least I can do.”
Alex swallowed, then gave him a practiced smile. “I might just succeed in taking you down a notch or two before we reach our destination, Captain.”
“I look forward to the experience, princess.” His husky voice made her shiver, and she gazed out to sea, ignoring his comment.
Drake chuckled at her reaction. She really was a little spitfire. “Where did you learn to sail?” he asked curiously.
“At Sudsbury.”
“And where, pray tell, is Sudsbury?” Drake almost laughed aloud at his own feigned ignorance. After all, he was supposed to be a mere ship’s captain.
She did turn to look at him now, explaining as one would to a small child. “Sudsbury is my home. It is a large estate on the coast of Kent. Kent is along the English Channel, and its distance from London—”
“I know where Kent is,” he int
errupted, unable to endure her ridiculously patronizing explanation any longer.
Alex looked surprised, then nodded. “Of course. You must dock there on occasion.”
“Of course.” He could barely conceal the sarcasm from his tone.
“Do you stay in one place for any length of time?” It was her turn to be curious.
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“On how potent the charms are in that port.”
Alex flushed. “Do you never speak of anything but your animal needs?”
Drake gave her an innocent look. “I was speaking of the land, princess.” He shook his head in mock dismay. “Careful, my lady; your true colors are showing. It does not befit your station in life. Remember, you live in a world far above us mere mortals. It would not do for your mind to be in the gutter.”
Alex looked as though she had been slapped. Never had she been spoken to with such cruel disrespect. Certain that the hurt she felt was reflected on her face, she turned away, unwilling to let him witness her vulnerability.
She did not turn soon enough. Drake saw her reaction immediately and acted instantly.
“I apologize, princess,” he said softly, touching her arm. “You did not deserve that.” It did not occur to him at that moment that he had never apologized to a woman before.
Alexandria turned back, her expression now curious. “Why do you assume that I feel superior to you?” she asked.
“It is part of your aristocratic education,” he responded, wondering how she could change from a willful child to an arrogant “lady” to a beautiful and vulnerable woman in rapid succession. “I don’t believe that you are even aware of it. But trust me, princess; I know of what I speak.”
“You seem to know a great deal—about sailing, about women, about the nobility. Is there nothing left for you to learn, Captain?” She searched his face.
“Perhaps not, my lady. Perhaps I have seen it all.”
