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“Accidents happen all the time,” she whispered hoarsely.
“Are you hinting, guessing, or insinuating?” His black eyebrows rose questioningly above those cold, piercing eyes.
“No,” Angela said, experiencing a vengeful relief in the telling. “Bernard intends to eliminate his cousin. He’s already planned accidents that have failed. Next time he said he’d use a knife. He’s very good with knives.” She shuddered uncontrollably as she remembered the threat of his blade between her legs.
Adam Savage dropped her hands and reached for his money belt. He had felt her ragged pulse and knew her fear.
“If he knows I peached on ’im, he’ll do me too,” she cried, lapsing into cockney.
Savage placed a calloused hand beneath her chin. “Didn’t I tell you? Bernard said good-bye. He’s leaving the country tonight for a very long time.”
After Indian Savage had departed, Angela stared at the incredible pile of money. If Bernard was leaving the country, it was not by his own choice.
The tall, dark shadow moved silently down the water stairs, then loomed motionless against Wapping Wall. The shadow seemingly had infinite patience. Farther down the dock half a dozen tall ships lay at anchor. The lights and the voices from the decks merged in friendly banter and the crew of an East Indiaman loaded the last of the cargo that had been piled on the quayside.
Bernard Lamb’s footsteps quickened as he caught sight of the ships and hoped his quarry had not yet disembarked. His eyes were already raised to read the names of the ships that rocked at anchor. The shadow allowed him to pass, then loomed up tall and terrible at his back and brought a heavy cudgel down upon his head. It took every ounce of willpower Savage possessed not to smash his skull into red ruin.
A bare-chested Lascar loped down a gangplank and along the darkened dock. Without a word he bent and lifted the unconscious body over his shoulder, then retraced his steps aboard the East Indiaman. After a necessary measure of time had elapsed Adam Savage boarded hisRed Dragon.By midnight he had inspected the cargo in all the holds, save the one that was locked and barred. He instructed his crew to drop Bernard Lamb on the island of Madagascar, thousands of miles away.
All the lovely things Antonia had selected on their voyage to the continent were carefully stowed in the dry holds of theRed Dragon,which had made port in London over a week ago while he had dallied in Ireland. He was glad that the Indiaman sailed on the morning tide before Tony returned, for if she were here he knew she would insist upon looking into every box to assure herself that her exports would arrive undamaged.
He chuckled to himself and shook his head at his own folly. She had been one helluva lot less trouble as a male than she would ever be as a female. He thanked God she had obeyed him for once and stayed put in Ireland for a few days until he’d taken care of the pressing problem of Bernard Lamb.
In Ireland, Tony felt almost abandoned. The rains came to Darkwater and it was as if the sun had gone out of her life when Adam Savage departed. Now that her whole attention was not riveted upon the object of her desire, she noticed that Mrs. Kenny, and the rest of the staff looked at her askance, with disapproval written all over their faces. Perhaps it was her imagination, but even Mr. Burke seemed to have figuratively taken a step back from her so that a cool, polite distance was between them.
The rains were so persistent, she could neither go for a walk nor ride in the pony cart. She tried to amuse herself by wandering about the empty chambers of the ancient castle. The endless shadows took their toll on her thoughts. Why had he left her alone? Why couldn’t they have traveled back together? What business in London was so urgent and important that it took precedence over her? Damned funny business if she knew aught of his affairs. Affairs! There was an apt choice of words, she told herself mockingly. Why hadn’t she questioned him about his pressing business? Because she had been too bloody besotted with him to even think coherently in his presence. Why was it even necessary to question him? If he had nothing to hide, why hadn’t he told her why he must return?
Oh, ye of little faith, Antonia chided herself. Hadn’t he given her his heart? Hadn’t he told her he loved her? When she stepped across the threshold into his bedchamber a wedge of emotion stuck in her throat. His dominant presence was tangible in the very air. She licked her lips, still tasting him there, still feeling the crush of his mouth that made her heart beat so wildly, she almost fainted from its touch.
She reached out a hand to the bedcovers, then snatched it back quickly, afraid that if she caressed the sheets where they had mated, she would be undone. She wrapped her arms tightly about her breasts to still the ache and moved to the window that jutted out over the cliff. Suspended between the earth and the sky was exactly where he had left her!
Antonia went in search of Mr. Burke. “I’m going to pack. I want to leave today.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“I’m not running after him!” she flared.
“I should hope not, my lady.”
By using her formal title it seemed to Antonia that the very proper Mr. Burke was emphasizing her scandalous indescretion. “You won’t look at me with such disdain when I am Lady Blackwater!”
A look of surprise flickered across his face. “When is the wedding to be, my lady?” he asked politely.
His question pinned her to the wall like a helpless butterfly.
“None of your bloody business!” she flared.
Tony packed away her boy’s clothes and swore never to wear them again. They were far more comfortable and unrestrictive than dresses and all the underpinnings that went with them, but as Antonia she would not be in danger. There was also another reason for her decision. The competition for Adam Savage among the women of London was fierce. Now that he was the Marquess of Black-water he would be even more openly sought after. She knew she would have to compete for his affection. Affection? What a ridiculous, pallid word to describe what was between them. Surely he had never made love to anyone the way he had made love to her?
She tried to push that thought away, but others flooded in to take its place. He was more than twelve years older than she, a mature man. Very mature! He had lived for years in the East, where erotic sexual practices were the norm. A picture of Lotus Blossom flashed into her thoughts. A handmaiden in a bathing pool.
Tony slammed the trunk lid closed and fastened the leather straps. He hadn’t even hinted at marriage. Perhaps she was just another conquest. No! No! Hadn’t he told her he loved her? Hope was not yet dead. If he married her and took her to live at Edenwood, she would live happily and securely ever after.
A dreaded thought crept in. The moment Bernard Lamb learned that it was Antonia who had survived the boating accident, he would claim Lamb Hall. Adam Savage must marry her and take her to Edenwood, there was no alternative!
On the sea voyage home and on the coach ride from the coast to London, Tony made herself totally miserable. To insulate her heart against Savage’s rejection she catalogued all the reasons why she should not marry him. She had no trouble counting the reasons. He was a dangerous man. He had a sinister side that she chose to ignore. His past was murky with unsavory acts of corruption. Aye, and not just his past, if she faced the truth. He was an immoral devil who dabbled in smuggling and God knew what other villainous activities to keep his coffers filled.
She was far better off sharing a passionate liaison with him than shackling herself with the bonds of matrimony. He had told her he loved her and she believed that he did. But she had been privileged to discover that men’s ideas of love differed greatly from women’s. To a woman love and marriage went hand in hand. To a man love and lust were synonymous. A wife was someone who took second place to a mistress, or even a whore, if that whore satisfied him in bed.
