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She heard his words but heeded them not. She was in a recklessly dangerous mood. “Because I’m a woman, you even deny me freedom of speech. I wish to God I were a man!”
“You lying little vixen, you wish nothing of the sort. You are all woman down to your very bones. You revel in being a female with all their devious weapons, but like all women you are greedy and want all the privileges of a man as well. It was just a bloody game to you, swaggering around in breeches, saying and doing every conceivably outrageous thing that came into that she-devil’s brain of yours. Making a total fool of every man of your acquaintance.”
Antonia tossed her head, making her raven hair sweep about her shoulders in wild disarray. Her angry eyes glittered like emeralds. “I don’t need to make fools of men when they manage all by themselves!”
Savage was no longer angry. He was simply taunting her for the sheer pleasure of watching her. When she was angry she was the most breath-stopping creature he’d ever seen.
“You have no scruples whatsoever,” he taunted.
“Ihave no scruples? I have no scruples! You whoreson!” She flew at him with clenched fists and pounded them against his broad chest.“Youare the one without scruples. You’d do anything for money because money is power. You flaunt the law. You smuggle anything and everything that’s illegal. You bed every influential hostess in London in your afternoons, and spend every night in some brothel. And speaking ofscruples,you’ve justboughtyourself a title, Lord Bloody Blackwater!”
Savage was blazing angry again. She had an incendiary effect upon him. He took hold of her hands and forced them to her sides. He held them in a vice grip while addressing her in a dangerous, silky tone.
“This ridiculous farce of yours was totally unnecessary, as well you know, Lady Bitch. All you needed to say to keep your precious Hall when your brother disappeared was that he had gone to Ceylon to console your mother.”
Antonia stared at him in stunned silence. How simple. Why in the name of heaven had she not thought of it?
“I shall remove my unscrupulous presence. London’s hostesses are awaiting the return of my insatiable manhood.” The silver scar twisting down through his lip mocked her. He waved an all-powerful hand. “Please feel free to enjoy the hospitality of Blackwater Castle as long as the whim suits you. I have a spot of French smuggling to attend to,” he told her quite truthfully.
Chapter 34
Adam Savage rode into Dungarvan at dusk and paid his passage on a ship bound for England. Though he tried to put Lady Antonia Lamb and her antics from his mind, he could not. He relived every thought, every word, from the moment he saw her asleep in the hammock and the full realisation came to him that Tony Lamb was not an effeminate youth but a real female.
The discovery had amazed him, and yet at the back of his mind something nagged at him. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Whenever he thought he was close to what was bothering him, it eluded him.
While crossing the Irish Sea his mind went back over all the time he’d spent with Tony Lamb determined to make a man of him. He groaned over the time he’d taken her home dead drunk and handed her over to Mr. Burke. He recalled vividly handing her a shovel in the stables at Edenwood and watching while she shoveled shit. Suddenly he burst out laughing. She was a plucky female, for by God, she had mucked out at least half a dozen stalls.
He flushed as he recalled telling Tony to climb into his bunk, then deliberately allowing the French authority to believe they were homosexual lovers. Tony’s anger after the man left told him clearly she understood the disgusting implication, but she’d stayed and nursed him through a bad night.
Christ, no wonder she had such good taste in furnishing a home, and no wonder she had chosen to import-export ladies gowns and wigs—she had intimate knowledge of such things. How in the name of Mary and Joseph had he never realized Tony was female? A very beautiful and desirable female at that.
He instantly put a stop to such dangerous thoughts. He was her guardian, she was his ward, and the most maddening, exasperating creature he had ever encountered. What was it about her that seemed, to stir some other recollection? His senses stirred. What was it, what was it he almost remembered?
He would get to the bottom of the bloody Bernard Lamb thing. If he was a danger to Antonia, he’d soon rid her of him. Savage took a turn about the deck, avoiding both crew and passengers, then propped himself at the prow where the wind could blow the cobwebs from his brain. He was certainly wrong about one thing. Men would clamor to offer her marriage. A beautiful woman with her fire and passion was a rarity. Her mother, Eve, paled into insignificance beside her. Those dreamy green eyes that turned to flashing emeralds in seconds, those long, slim legs. Something clicked in his brain. Green eyes, long legs … no, it couldn’t be. Ann! Ann Lambeth! No trace could be found because Ann Lambeth was Antonia Lamb!
The thought was repugnant to him. He was suddenly blazing angry. Far more angry than he’d been at discovering Tony was a woman. The devious little bitch! It offended every sensibility! Christ Almighty, he was engaged to her mother! He was Antonia’s guardian. She was probably going to be his daughter. It was tantamount to incest! A guardian sleeping with his ward breeched every code of honor. It was morally contemptible. His fury knew no bounds. He was in a blind rage. He strode up to the captain at the ship’s wheel.
“I want to return to Ireland immediately!”
The captain stared at him as if he were dealing with a lunatic. “I cannot turn the ship around in the middle of the Irish Sea!”
“Why not?” Savage demanded.
“This is a scheduled run. It’s the middle of the night. There are other passengers. They would demand their money back.”
“I’ll pay you whatever it takes to make it worth your while to take this ship back to Dungarvan Harbor.”
The captain looked at him with speculation and they reached a satisfactory agreement within minutes.
Dawn was reaching pink fingers up the sky when Savage again rode the twelve miles to Blackwater. “Red sky at morning, sailor’s warning,” he murmured, knowing full well of the coming storm-burst.
Blackwater had just begun to stir. The cocks crowed, the cattle lowed. The dew upon the lush green grass sparkled like diamonds and every spiderweb was hung with jewels.
The moment he stepped into the baronial hall the delicious smell of ham and freshly baked bread stole to him. He climbed a staircase, entered a large double bedchamber, and set his bag down. He was drawn to the window, where he quickly drew in his breath as he realized he had chosen the wing that projected out over the cliff. The chamber suited him completely. The oak four-poster was massive, the fireplace hewn from local boulders. The chamber was suspended between earth and sky and the view from the windows was definitely intimidating.
Savage caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and realized that at the moment his unshaven, unkempt appearance was more than intimidating.Good,he thought,she will not dare defy me today. She has no idea I’m back. It will be a surprise attack,he thought with grim satisfaction. In the end his pride would not allow his golden goddess to see him looking so disheveled. Savage shaved and changed his clothes before he went downstairs.
In spite of himself Mr. Burke’s eyebrows rose when he saw Adam Savage. He had heard Antonia weeping last night after Savage had quit the castle in anger, and thought to fix her a breakfast tray to comfort her this morning. Now he realized that was out. Obviously Savage was waiting for her to come downstairs. He had returned for round two.
