The Captain's Pearl (21 page)

“Bryce, I need this chance,” she said. “I must do what I think is right.”

“What's right for you right now is to kiss me.”

“Don't change the subject.”

“We'll discuss this.” He stared at her lips, wishing he could focus on her words instead of how he wanted to feast on them.

“But when?”

“Later, blue eyes.”

He could no longer resist the temptation of her lips. When he sought beneath her cape to find her magnificent curves, she gasped with the craving he sensed in her fingertips at his nape. The sound spellbound him, stirring his seething desire into a frenzy. As her hands glided down over the back of his trousers, she pressed to him. He moaned as her breasts caressed him.

He released her. She spread her hands against the rough wall behind her as she stared at him, her chest heaving with the power of the need that ached in him. He reached for her, then let his hands drop to his sides. She shared all of herself with him, even her dream to build a mill in her father's memory.

With a curse, Bryce said, “Convince me.”

“Pardon me?”

Taking her hands in his, he raised first one, then the other to his lips. “Convince me, Lianne. I
am
your business partner. Show me why Trevarian Enterprises should do this.”

“All right. Come with me.”

When Bryce offered his arm, Lianne put her fingers on it. She led him out of the mill and down the slippery path toward the creek. She huddled into her cape as her skirts swirled about her legs. The only sounds were their footsteps on the uneven ground and the percussion of the water against the stones.

Standing on the edge of the stone dam, she said, “The building is solid, Bryce. We have water power, and there are many in town who want to work.” She watched his face as she added, “The Shadow ships could transport raw materials and finished product.”

“Is that what those proud ships shall be? Delivery barges?”

She wanted to soothe his pain, for she shared it. Putting her hand on his arm, she said, “Only for now. When things are better, we may find we want to sell the mill.”

He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his pea jacket and nodded as he looked at the motionless wheel. “You are determined to do this, I see.”

“Father believed it was a good idea.” She raised her chin. “And so do I.”

With a wry grin, he nodded. “All right. Let's go over the books. If you can pay for this without taking money from the Shadow ships, you should try this.”

“And succeed!”

“That is yet to be seen.” He pulled her into his arms as he murmured, “Let's go home, blue eyes. Before we go over the books, I would like to go over you.” His eyes glowed with longing. “Very closely.”

She smiled as she tipped his mouth over hers. He trusted her as his partner in Trevarian Enterprises. Maybe he would eventually trust her with his heart.

Bryce knocked dirt off his boots as he opened the front door. He glanced back toward the harbor and at the
China Shadow
. This afternoon, he had taken the ship on a trial voyage to the end of the cove and back.

Hyett rushed to him, distress on his aged face. “Thank heavens, you are home, Captain Trevarian. Miss Tildy may need your help to get in to dinner. She fell again.”

“Is she hurt badly?” He shrugged off his salt-stained coat and tossed it atop the newel post. “Where is she?”

“In the back parlor tending to her ‘dignity,' as she says.”

His dismay eased. If Tildy could joke, the injury was not bad. His jaw worked. Although they had not needed a doctor since Captain Catherwood's death, he knew one day they would have to send for Newberry. He might not come.

The acrid odor of liniment greeted him in the back parlor as Great-Aunt Tildy called, “Come in, Bryce. Just pretend you don't notice the smell of what I put on my dignity.”

He smiled. “It is not your dignity I am worried about. Did you hurt yourself?”

“Just bruised myself here.” She pointed to her left hip which was pressed to a heated brick wrapped in muslin. “Now don't start clucking over me. Hyett has the house all atwitter.”

“If you would behave yourself, we wouldn't have to be worried.”

“True.” Her blue eyes twinkled with mischief. “And I'm the one to be punished for it. Not only will I have an aching limb, but Hyett shall have the staff spying on me, so I do not climb up on a ladder to check my drapes again.”

“The drapes?” He shook his head, then frowned. “Where is Lianne? I thought she would be here with you.”

“She had some work that she needed to finish. She is in Samuel's office.” Tildy patted his arm. “It is about time you got around to asking about her.”

“I was worried about you.”

“Uh-huh.” She gave him a dubious frown. “Do you believe that excuse or are you just trying to lather an old woman with compliments? Or is it that you just don't understand?”

“Apparently I don't understand.” It was not like Tildy to talk in riddles, and he was not in the mood for jesting.

“Don't you? Or maybe you just don't want to?” She sighed. “Forgive me, Bryce, for sticking my nose in what may not be my business. All I want is for you to understand that she loves you deeply.”

He let his breath slide out past his clenched teeth. He did not want to talk about
this
now. “I suspect you may be right.”

“She has never said?”

“No.” He almost laughed at Tildy's shock. “Lianne is reticent about many things.”

“Odd,” mused the old woman. “Maybe these old eyes are seeing things only because I want to see them. I know how splendid it would be for you two to fall in love.”

Locking his hands behind his back, he said, “My life is the sea. She knows that. After all, she's a Catherwood.”

“Not exactly,” she answered with a gentle mournfulness.

“What do you mean? The captain claimed her as—”

“She has Catherwood blood, but she is of China as well. That you can't deny.”

“No,” he admitted softly.

“She thinks too much of duty and obligation. Go and cheer her up, my boy. No young woman should spend so much time at business when her husband is eager to tell her about his ship.”

Bryce forced a smile.
Eager
is not the word he would have chosen. As he walked toward Captain Catherwood's office, he sighed. This was not going to be easy.

When he opened the door and looked in to see Lianne bent over the desk writing furiously, he sighed. This was going to be even more difficult than he had imagined because, as she raised her enticing blue eyes, he did not want to tell her what he must.

“Bryce, how was the trial?” she asked, coming to her feet. She slipped her arms around him.

With the greatest effort, he stepped away. “Poor.” He went to the sideboard where the captain had always kept a bottle of brandy. Pouring a glass, he took a drink. Its heat in his gut was weaker than the longing searing him when he thought of holding her. “Her mast will not hold. I will need to have the
China Shadow
towed to Maine, where I can purchase a new one and have it fitted.”

“Maine? When?”

“Tomorrow.” He took another drink. “It should not take more than a couple of months.”

She sank to sit on the settee, a shattered expression stealing the glow from her eyes. “You have to be gone for two months, Bryce?” She faltered, then raised her chin with the pride that had impressed him even in Canton. “I need you here.”

“No, you don't, blue eyes. You are running Trevarian Enterprises well.” When she gasped, he wondered if she guessed he was intentionally misunderstanding her. He wanted to avoid speaking of the emotions he could see in her eyes, for he might have to explore his own. He raised his glass in her direction. “To a successful voyage and to success for the latest venture of Trevarian Enterprises.”

When she did not reply, he watched as she rose and, crossing the room, put her arms around him. His arms enclosed her, savoring her gentle warmth that he would not share during the long months he was gone. Was he mad? Maybe, but what choice did he have? He had been given what he had dreamed of all his life—a line of ships of his own. He had worked so hard, fought so hard, to reach this day. Throwing it away to stay here with his wife would label him a fool.

His lips touched her forehead, and she trembled as her fingers rose through his hair. Gently he tasted her silken cheek, the tip of her nose, the curve of her chin, before settling on the breathy yearning of her mouth. His hands climbed her back, bringing her closer, so every inch of him could rediscover her luscious curves.

Her hair flowed along her back as he released it. Gathering her to him, he drew her down onto the settee. He wanted her this one final time before he returned to the siren song of the sea. He smiled and sampled her warm skin as he loosened the hooks on her black gown.

His eyes widened as she took his face between her hands and whispered, “I love you. I know you may not be able to say the same to me, Bryce, but I must tell you before you leave.”

“Lianne—”

She put her finger to his lips. “Say nothing. My heart is a gift for you. You can't refuse it.”

“I would not refuse such a gift.” He kissed the curve of her breast above her chemise. As always when he held her, he switched to Cantonese. “Love me, blue eyes, for it will be months until I can hold you again.”

“Will you miss me?”

He laughed. “My little fool, I shall miss you so much that I ache already with a loneliness only you can assuage. Open yourself and soothe me within you.”

“Yes, my love,” she whispered.

He knew he should tell her not to be foolish, but he could not, as ecstasy swelled through him, making him a part of her as he would not be again, until he returned to tell her farewell when he left for his next voyage to China.

For the first time, that thought did not give him pleasure. Yet, he had his duties and obligations to honor as much as she did. He had found his dream in the Shadow Line. He must not do anything to risk losing it, not even fall in love with his wife.

Fifteen

“Come away from the window, Lianne,” Great-Aunt Tildy said as she limped into the back parlor, her hand on her hip. “You know he will not be back for several months.”

Lianne turned from the window. “I was watching the sunset.”

“The sun set more than an hour ago. Do you expect me to swallow that fish tale?”

“No.” She smiled in spite of the ache deep within her heart. “But I had hoped you might.”

“You need to trust him, child.”

“I know.”

“You trust him with your heart, so why not with everything else?”

Lianne did not have an answer for the question she had asked herself so often in the past week. Since she had watched the
China Shadow
leave Stormhaven Cove, she had tried to keep herself so busy she could not think about Bryce leaving her to focus on his first love—that blasted ship! She spent hours each day at the mill working with Mr. Bergen and even more shut away in her office. It did not matter how long she worked, because each night she had to return to the rooms she shared with Bryce and discover how empty they were when he was not here.

“You must listen, child,” Great-Aunt Tildy said, “for maybe past mistakes can help you understand.”

“Whose mistakes?” She sat on a chair facing her great-aunt.

“Mine and your father's.”

“I don't understand.”

“Listen, and you may.” Great-Aunt Tildy picked up her knitting, a scarf she was making for Bryce. Although Lianne wanted to tell her that Bryce would have no need for it when the
China Shadow
was repaired, for he would be sailing for warm Canton, she said nothing as her great-aunt continued. “More years ago than you can imagine, I let the man I love believe that other things were more important to me. He was lost at sea, never knowing how my heart was his. I do not want that to happen to you and Bryce.”

“Neither do I.”

“Nor do I want you to grieve as Samuel did for your mother, who held his heart from the moment he first saw her.” She looked up from the navy blue yarn. “Much as I suspect you captured Bryce's attention.”

“But not his heart.” Her hands tightened until her knuckles became pale. “That belongs to his ship.”

“Bryce has a big heart, child. I believe there is room in there for both you and the
China Shadow
.”

Lianne surged to her feet. “Why are you telling me this? I know the state of my silly heart. Bryce is the one who refuses to believe what you are saying.”

“Maybe I shall just say that to him when he returns.”

“No!”

Great-Aunt Tildy looked up again, amazement widening her eyes. “Child, you sound frightened of the very thought of my speaking to him about this.”

“I am.” Knowing that nothing but the truth would serve now, she said, “I want to go on believing that Bryce and I will have a happy-ever-after ending like the stories in my thousand stories box.”

“But I may be able to help alleviate your fears.”

“No!” She grasped her great-aunt's hands. “Promise me that you will not speak to him of this.”

“Lianne, you are being irrational.”

“Maybe, but promise me.”

Great-Aunt Tildy slowly nodded. “Very well, child, if that is your wish. I promise you that I will say nothing to him of this.”

“Thank you.”

“I am not certain that you should thank me, child, when you are asking me to leave you in the dark about this.”

Lianne must have replied, but several hours later when she was climbing the stairs to her room after another long session of work in her office, she could not recall what. She rubbed her aching eyes before kneading her lower back. If she did not lessen her work, she soon would be as stiff as Great-Aunt Tildy.