Surrender the Stars (8 page)

"No... not particularly, though it's possible. I was a different person then, and so much time has passed that I doubt anyone there thinks of me anymore. Besides, I spent little time in London." He paused, considering. "It wouldn't be particularly difficult to alter my looks and personality just enough so that there would be little or no danger of recognition."

Raveneau laughed dryly. "Devon will be happy to help in that area! She's an expert at creative deceptions...."

From the hallway, Devon called, "Did I hear someone mention my name?"

"Join us,
cherie
," her husband replied, rising to embrace her as she entered. It seemed to Andre that his wife had changed not at all during the thirty-two years of their marriage. She remained a bright, lovely, adventurous, curious, headstrong minx, and he loved her more than ever. Kissing her upswept curls, he remarked, "The hardest deception of all will be convincing people that you are old enough to be Ryan's mother."

"Don't be silly, Andre. Nathan may be only twenty-eight, but Mouette is at least Captain Coleraine's age." She took a chair and waited for the two men to sit down. "Now, first of all, we'll have to dispense with formality. I will call you Ryan and you must call me Devon."

"Or Mother," Andre put in with a straight face.

"You'll have to excuse me... Devon," Ryan said with a rather pained smile, "but I think I'm in shock. I'm still digesting this entire plan, and the fact is, I haven't yet agreed to participate in it."

She waved this off with a tiny hand. "You men! You're all so hardheaded. Andre was terribly difficult for days after Senator Hampshire discussed this matter with him, and he's only just begun to realize how entertaining this adventure could be!"

As he lit a cheroot, Raveneau slanted a wry smile at the younger man. "If you're wise, you'll take a piece of advice from a man who has lived with this woman for over thirty years. Once she packs a bit of snow together and starts it rolling down the mountain, there's nothing to be done. You might as well surrender, Coleraine."

"Do you always follow your own advice, sir?"

Andre and Devon exchanged a meaningful, laughing look before he replied, "I didn't say that I was wise!"

"Darling," his wife chided, "give the poor man an opportunity to make up his own mind! Come along with me into the kitchen. Cassie wants you to approve the hotchpotch of mutton." Firmly, she took him by the hand and drew him into the hallway. When they neared the kitchen, Devon paused to whisper urgently, "I don't know what we'll do if Captain Coleraine doesn't come around almost immediately. Lindsay has made up her mind not to like him, and she herself hasn't agreed to come with us to London. Once she finds out that
he'll
be going, masquerading as Nathan, I shudder to imagine the ensuing scene!"

Raveneau rolled his eyes. "Why can't anything ever be simple?"

* * *

In the study, Ryan Coleraine was wondering the same thing. He was glad to have a bit of time alone to think, but he soon realized that his reactions to Raveneau's proposition were definitely mixed. He had no desire to return to England, especially in the guise of the Raveneaus' rich, fashionable son. The thought of playing that part, coupled with the prospect of sharing a family home, went strongly against his grain. A yearning for independence and a self-governed destiny had been his motivation for leaving Britain in the first place. These days, Ryan treasured nothing so much as his total freedom.

On the other hand, he felt that he owed America a great debt. Could he live with himself if he turned his back on a request from President Madison? And
could
one refuse such a request? Even Raveneau, who was twice as old and twice as powerful as Ryan, had come around.

Sighing, he sank back in the rose-upholstered wing chair and rubbed his bearded jaw. Since the
Chimera
had been destroyed the week before, Ryan had worked to suppress emotions he viewed as useless, chiefly, rage and restlessness. He'd been anxious for Captain Raveneau to return from Philadelphia, certain that the older man would be filled with plans to rebuild instantly—and perhaps even to seek revenge against the British. These new developments were totally unexpected, yet Ryan told himself that Raveneau would achieve the same ends though by different means. The ships would be rebuilt while he was in England, and in the meantime a subtler, more civilized form of revenge could be pursued. Sipping his brandy, Coleraine thought, Perhaps he's right. This assignment may prove more satisfying and challenging than staying around here to wait. At least we'd be busy...

"I'd hoped that you would have the good sense to politely refuse my father's dinner invitation and leave our home," a cool voice said from the doorway.

Ryan blinked and almost smiled as he stood to acknowledge her presence. "Ah, Miss Raveneau! I see that skirts have not improved your manners."

"All that my manners require is your absence, sir!" She stared at him defiantly, blushing under the apparent amusement in his eyes, then took a chair across the study. "Was my father called away by an emergency? I hardly think he would have left you alone with our valuables otherwise!"

Ryan feigned shock. "Have I been insulted?" He'd forgotten how stimulating Lindsay's company was. She might be infuriating and rude, but now that she couldn't cause trouble with the British troops, he was able to appreciate the fact that, unlike most women, Lindsay Raveneau never bored him. And she was physically stunning. Ryan's appreciative gaze swept over her simple white muslin gown, noting the graceful lines of the form it concealed, then lingered on her face. It featured pale, creamy skin accented by flushed cheeks; exquisite bone structure; a lush mouth, narrow nose; and, finally, those beautiful, intelligent smoke-colored eyes with their thick lashes and delicately arched brows. The crowning touch was Lindsay's mass of strawberry-blond hair, caught up in the simplest of loose Grecian knots that released soft, wispy curls to frame her face. She wore no jewelry, no powder, paint, lace, or satin, and Ryan thought that her beauty was heightened by their absence.

"I am baffled by your question, sir," Lindsay replied frostily. "Did you expect flattery?"

The devil himself seemed to prompt Ryan's answer. "I had hoped you might find it in your heart to treat me with the same kindness you might show your brother. After all, soon we'll be living under the same roof—"

"What?"
she cried. "I knew it! You're a madman!" Looking over her shoulder, Lindsay saw her parents appear in the entryway in response to the sound of raised voices. "Papa, you must ask Captain Coleraine to leave! He's ranting like a lunatic that I should treat him like a brother—"

Ryan's brows flew up as he cast a beseeching look at his hosts in the hope that they would perceive the truth of the situation. He and Lindsay were both on their feet, tense with antagonism, and he saw familiar sparks of fire in her smoky eyes.

"Sit down, both of you," said Andre Raveneau in a tone that Lindsay remembered from her childhood. "My patience and diplomacy are at an end. The fact is that none of us have any choice about this matter. We
must
go to England, like it or not, so both of you may as well dispose of your arguments." He turned to his daughter.
"
Lindsay
,
President Madison feels that it is very important that a young man be part of our family in London. As you know, Nathan is unavailable and I have asked Captain Coleraine to go in his place. No!" He held up his hand to silence her. "I cannot begin to imagine why you have taken such a violent dislike to a man I hold in such high esteem, but unless you will tell me that he has done you an injury, it is of no consequence. You have treated a guest in my home with uncharacteristic rudeness and I would have you beg his pardon."

She widened her eyes in shock. "But, Papa, you don't understand! He—he—"

"You offer me evidence that he is dishonorable?"

"N-no, but—"

Raveneau cut her off with a steely glare. The air in the study was thick with resentment and confusion as Lindsay clenched her fists and forced herself to look at Ryan Coleraine.

"I apologize if I have been uncivil, sir."

He saw how her pride was suffering and experienced a pang of conscience. "Might we make this apology mutual? If you have been uncivil, Miss Raveneau, I have encouraged it. Neither of us could be held up as models of mature decorum based on this afternoon's encounter. However, I am willing to call a truce if you are."

Lindsay nodded stiffly, impatient to put an end to the scene. Every moment spent in Ryan Coleraine's company was sheer torture as far as she was concerned.

Looking over to find the Raveneaus watching them in consternation, Ryan offered a bemused smile and a shrug. "I'm afraid that what we have here is a simple case of two people who've gotten off to a bad beginning. Your daughter and I seem to have been at odds from the moment we met."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but you'll have to make the best of the situation. I realize that both of you resent being coerced into this—" Andre broke off suddenly and narrowed his eyes at Ryan. "
Mon Dieu!
Didn't Lindsay say that you told her you were going to be her brother? Does that mean that you've decided to agree to President Madison's plan? May I dispense with the threats I've been rehearsing?"

The younger man smiled dryly. "I thought it over and realized I would save myself a great deal of frustration by surrendering to the inevitable with as much good grace as I can muster."

"That doesn't mean I will," Lindsay announced defiantly.

"Oh, you'll surrender,
ma fille,"
her father said in a dangerous voice, "gracefully or not."

"It would be humanly impossible for me to treat this—this
person
as I would Nathan! I cannot begin to imagine playing the role of loving sister to this—"

"Odious, high-handed, arrogant, vain, uncivilized
man
?" Ryan supplied helpfully.

"Oh!" she cried. "I see that you also listen at keyholes! Not that I'm surprised. Nothing could be too low for you!"

"Might I be so bold to suggest that if you do not want your private opinions to be overheard you ought to refrain from talking to yourself? When you unleashed that string of insults, I had just left the cabin and was still in the gangway!"

Devon decided it was time for her to step in. "Now, children, I haven't the slightest notion what this is about, but I must ask that you behave yourselves in this house!" she chided lightly. "I'm sure you'll learn to get along. Lindsay, you have always possessed great reserves of control and patience, and this is the time to call on them. In any event, it's a well-known fact of life that siblings frequently quarrel. I'm sure no one in London will be suspicious if the two of you appear to dislike each other. In fact, it may make our little charade all the more believable." She put an arm around her daughter and urged, "For now, though, let's all cry peace and seal it with a toast over supper."

As they started toward the dining room, Devon saw Lindsay cast a sulky look at Ryan and he responded with a sardonically amused smile. Devon recognized the appealing gleam of deviltry mixed with anger in his eyes but could not fix its meaning. The entire situation foiled her usually unerring female instincts. For the first time in years, she was at a loss to explain human behavior, and her frustration was all the worse because the person who baffled her the most was her own daughter. She and André had just gotten used to the idea that Lindsay would always be poised rather than impulsive, thoughtful rather than emotional— and now, out of the blue, she was acting like a true member of the Raveneau family!

Devon had a disquieting feeling that, before their planned sojourn in London ended, she would discover whole new meanings for the word
adventure....

Chapter 5

May 2, 1814

"I feel as if I am in the midst of a bad dream," Lindsay told her mother as she gazed around at the trunks and bags that cluttered their small house in Stonington.

"Nonsense," Devon replied briskly. "The only dreamlike aspect of this day is the beautiful sunrise over the water. You should be excited, Lindsay! We're embarking on a wonderful adventure that should only improve as it progresses. Aren't you anxious to see your sister and your nephews in London? There is much to look forward to."

"The prospect of spending the next few months with Ryan Coleraine casts a dark cloud over the rest," Lindsay said stubbornly.

Devon was spared a reply by a knock at the front door. "That must be Able with the carriage." However, instead of Able Barker she discovered an earnest young man with blond hair standing on the brick walkway in front of the house. "Why, it's James Post, isn't it? What are you doing in Stonington, James, especially at this hour?"

Smoothing his green waistcoat, James peeked hopefully at Lindsay. "I would have come to say good-bye in Pettipauge, Mrs. Raveneau, but I only heard last night that all of you were leaving for England."