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“Smitty, the only way I can bid farewell to you without disgracing myself shamefully is by telling myself that we will meet again,” she whispered.
He squeezed her hands. “I don’t doubt it, my lady. Not for a moment.”
“Thank you for everything, Smitty.” On an impulse she stood on tiptoe and kissed his weathered cheek. “I love you.”
He looked as if he might cry. “Godspeed, my lady. Until we meet again.”
She nodded, then turned to disembark.
The impeccably dressed, devastatingly handsome man who reached up to assist her could not have been Drake Barrett.
But it was.
His features carefully schooled, Drake drew Alex to the dock beside him, releasing her hand as soon as she was steady on her feet.
Alex was astonished. From the tips of his shiny boots to his perfectly tied snowy cravat to the superbly tailored coat and breeches, Drake looked every inch a gentleman.
“You can close your mouth now, princess,” he drawled. “You look different, too.”
And she did. How could he have forgotten the staggering effect of the breathtaking woman he had found in his cabin last March? Soon Alex would have more suitors than she knew what to do with.
Drake wanted to choke each and every one of them.
Then he reminded himself of her earlier behavior, not in his arms but afterward, and his resolve strengthened. He wanted no woman in his life—now or ever.
Alex sensed his anger, and she had a good idea of its source. The instant the patronizing words about her father’s wealth had left her mouth she wanted to retract them. But she had felt so off balance, throbbing with some unfulfilled need that she did not understand. Yet he had been able to distance himself so easily, recover so completely. That reality had hurt.
She looked up at him now, wonder softening her gaze. Today he looked every bit the proper English gentleman … and still his blazing sexuality burned through.
“Welcome to York, princess,” he continued, his expression carefully impassive. “You can finally cast your illusions aside and get a close look at your chosen home.”
The town immediately captivated Alex’s senses. The smell of fish permeated the air, the sounds of the farmers’ market mingled with the shouts of the sailors unloading their cargo. Women with baskets moved about, purchasing fruits and vegetables from tables piled high with mouthwatering delicacies. In the distance Alex could see streets crowded with strolling townspeople.
She was enthralled.
Drake watched the exuberance of Al
ex’s unguarded expression. He knew she had grown up in the lap of luxury, never mingling with commoners, and yet her reaction was anything but the one he had expected.
“I’ll arrange for transportation to take us to your father at once,” he began, only to be stopped by her small hand on his arm.
“Oh, Drake, don’t. I want to see everything, learn everything about Upper Canada! Couldn’t we walk?” She lifted her determined chin and he wondered briefly if that was a request or an order. “Also, I’ve just spent months on a rolling deck, and now it feels wonderful to have solid ground beneath my feet again. I realize riding would be faster, but … please?”
He gave her a grudging smile. “Why not? The streets are so clogged with carts that we will travel just as fast on foot.”
Actually the idea of walking appealed to Drake. He told himself that he needed a change of scene, anyway. The pleasure he was feeling had nothing to do with the additional time he would be spending with Alexandria.
The little shops, the tradesmen, and the plainly clothed women, their heads covered by large bonnets, seemed to fascinate Alex. Drake smiled in spite of himself as she began to fire questions at him.
“What was that great stone structure I saw in the distance?” she asked suddenly.
“That was Fort York.”
She looked up at him as they strolled along a footpath, moving steadily away from the more congested streets.
“Is that where you went when we first docked?”
“Yes, princess, that’s where I went.”
