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“The Thousand Islands, princess. Lovely, aren’t they?”
She stared. “There are hundreds of them!”
“Actually, there are close to two thousand of them in all, each one unique. There are many legends about then-creation. Magical, romantic legends.” He felt the islands’ natural splendor pull at him more intensely, envelop his senses more fully than ever before, this time, with Alex beside him.
“Will you tell me the legends?” She looked up at him.
God, those eyes, those silver-gray, fathomless depths, clear as the sea, turbulent as a summer storm. He could drown in them.
Drake swallowed hard. If he wasn’t careful the walls he had erected these weeks would topple all around him. He couldn’t let that happen, not at this point. They were too close to their destination.
“Another time, princess.” His voice was gruff as he struggled to control his emotions. “Right now I have to concentrate on steering the ship into Lake Ontario.”
Alex studied Drake’s handsome features, this time seeing through his intended brusqueness. The realization shouldn’t have mattered to her … but it did. With a warm glow, she reveled in the intuitive knowledge that, despite his struggle to the contrary, Drake cared. Somehow she had reached the impenetrable Captain Barrett.
“All appears to be peaceful in Little York,” Smitty observed. “Yes” was the terse response from the helm.
Smitty studied Drake for a long moment. Despite the calm that prevailed as the brig moved through Lake Ontario toward the docks of York, Drake had been moody and silent since they sighted the modest buildings and sandy beaches that marked their destination.
His political concerns were not responsible for his foul temper. His impending separation from Lady Alexandria was.
Smitty frowned. He was torn between annoyance at Drake’s damned stubbornness and hurt at the agony that tormented Drake’s soul.
No father could love his son more than Smitty loved Drake, nor could anyone better understand the reasons for his protective walls. But everything had changed now. Smitty suspected that Drake knew that only too well, and he was fighting it.
It was time to break a cardinal rule. Drake’s happiness was at stake.
“You don’t have to let her go, you know.”
The softly spoken words made Drake tense.
“Let it be, Smitty.”
But Smitty could not. “Do not let your bitterness blind you to the truth.”
“I’m too damned well aware of the truth.”
Smitty suspected that they were speaking of two different truths. “She is not like other noblewomen,” he persisted.
Drake gave a harsh laugh. “I know that, Smitty. And she is even more dangerous to me because she is different. For, in the end, she would be my downfall, and that is something I will never allow.”
Smitty knew Drake was remembering another time, long ago, and a young boy’s pain and disenchantment with the world. The damage would be near impossible to undo, but Smitty had to try. “She cares for you, Captain,” he told Drake softly, knowing he was treading on thin ice. “And you for her.”
“She doesn’t even know me,” Drake countered.
“Doesn’t she, my lord? I believe she knows you quite well, indeed.”
“But not who I am. To Alexandria it would make a world of difference.”
“Then tell her and see.”
Drake shook his head. “There is no need. In but a short time she will be with her father and we will be on our way back to England with our timber. It will be over.”
“Will it?”
The astute question pierced Drake like a knife. No, it wouldn’t be over. For even now, as he stared out at the approaching shoreline, all he could see was her laughing face, her small, utterly feminine body hidden beneath those ridiculous men’s clothes. She had worked her way inside him; there was no denying it.
It was up to him to pry her out.
