Authors: Sarah West
Passion's Tide (3 page)
“How are you holding up?”
Amber
jumped at the sound of her uncle’s voice, her elbow knocking the book off the table
.
“What are you doing back so early?” she asked sardonically, as she bent to pick it up
.
He snorted
.
“Early?”
Glancing at the clock, Amber realized with
a surprise that it was nearly one in the morning
.
She set the leather tome onto the table with a heavy thump
.
“I guess I fell asleep
.
Where have you been all day?”
Turning red, he inched towards the door, his hands tucked behind his back
.
“Oh, here and there
.
” She could smell the alcohol on his breath from across the room. “I uh, have a friend waiting downstairs, and I was just about to show him out…” He stumbled over his own feet.
“Uncle Neil?”
He paused, halfway into the hallway. “Yes?”
“Put the candelabra back on the mantle, please
.
And tell your
friend
you’ll pay him back out of your own pocket.” His sunken face flushed as he
replaced the sterling silver
candleholder
.
“Ungrateful child…too much spirit…” she heard him mumbling as he stormed out
.
Amber rolled her eyes, her gaze falling on the open book
.
With curiosity, she noted that the lining on the inside cover had come unglued in the top left corner
.
She ran her fingers along the perimeter of the lining, disappointed when she came across no other imperfections
.
But then she felt a slight bulge in the center
.
She reached into the desk drawer and pulled out a letter opener, sliding it into the flap where the lining had pulled away from the leather
.
C
arefully
she separated the two, and as the lining pulled away she could see a folded piece of paper tucked inside
.
Triumphantly she pulled it out, tossing the lining and the book to the side and unfolding it, her heart fluttering wildly.
Her breath caught in her throat as she scanned the page
.
It was her father’s will, dated sixteen years ago
.
She quickly read through it, noticing nothing out of
order
.
He had
left
his prize thoroughbreds to his sister, his celebrated greyh
ounds to his cousin in Wales, and the rest of his estates to his wife, to be passed on to his daughter
.
Then she read the final sentence, and for the second time that day her blood turned cold
.
“In the case of my wife’s death, control of the estates shall go to Amber’s guardian until she is wed to a suitable gentleman, with a title equal
to
or greater
than
her own.”
Her knuckles were white as she clenched the will, a feeling of devastation washing over her
.
Her mother had been seeking to protect
Amber
all these years by hiding the will from her
uncle
.
The scribbled note was a warning
.
Letting the will flutter to the floor, she dropped her head into her hand
s
.
Her father had been a Baron, though her mother had relinquished the title of Baroness upon his death and her departure from Europe
.
This meant that Amber must herself wed a baron, a
viscount, an earl, a
marquis or a duke. She had no way of knowing how she would accomplish such a feat, but she was aware of one thing: she would have to travel to England immediately and rub noses with the elite, hoping and praying that one of them would find her an agreeable enough companion
to
marry
.
And then she would have to relinquish
what she prized the most
—her independence
.
All because she could not let control of her family’s wealth fall into the greedy hands of her uncle
.
Her gut twisted at the thought of her beautiful home being sold, piece by piece, to pay off bets Neil made and lost while he was intoxicated
.
She couldn’t let that happen
.
She retrieved the will from the floor and slipped it back into its hiding spot beneath the lining of the book, careful to seal up the edges again
.
Then she tucked it under her arm and returned to her bedroom. She didn’t bother to turn on any lamps
.
She just slid the book under her mattress, climbed into bed and fell into a dreamless sleep.
“Logan darling, I really wish you wouldn’t go
.
Please stay the night?” Logan Jeffries turned as he finished buttoning his breeches, sending a devastating smile down at Alyssa Landon.
“Sorry sweetheart, I’m not one for confrontation if I can avoid it. Though the offer is extremely tempting,” he said as his gaze raked her naked body appreciatively
.
She pouted.
“My husband’s not coming home tonight
;
he’s still in Connecticut on business,” she promised him.
He leaned over to kiss her as he laced his shirt
.
With determination she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him closer, but he took a step back and reached for his waistcoat, which he had tossed over a chair in his haste to remove it earlier
.
Shrugging into it, he ran his thumb along her jawbone and lower lip
.
“Sorry.”
She watched silently as he pulled on his co
at, tied his cravat, and reached for his
belt
before trying again
.
“If it’s
Joseph
you’re worried about, he hasn’t fought a duel in years!”
Logan laughed as he set
the
baldric around his waist, resting his hand on the hilt of his cutlass
.
“I thank you, my dear, for your concern regarding my well-being, though I’m fairly sure I could take care of myself should a conflict arise
.
Besides, everyone in the colonies is aware that your husband has turned a blind eye to your many…” he paused to grin down at her, “indiscretions.”
“Then why won’t you stay?”
Logan’s smile disappeared
.
“I have business to take care of before I sail tomorrow.”
“But you just got in two days ago
!
S
urely you can’t be leaving already?”
“I’m afraid so.” He picked his hat off the dresser and placed it on his head. “Goodnight, Alyssa.” Without another word he left, closing the bedroom door behind him.
He sighed
.
It was a shame that Alyssa was getting too
attached
.
Her husband was often traveling, leaving her alone in a large, understaffed house
.
It was even rumored that when he was in town they slept in separate bedrooms
.
So it made sense that she was such a willing partner whenever Logan docked and came to call in the middle of the night
.
Still, it was his habit to remain emotionally detached from his companions, as he was in no way prepared to settle down
.
He made this clear at the start of every relationship
.
As a general rule he never spent the entire night with a woman, fearing it would foster attachment, and awkward mornings were to be avoided at all costs
.
He walked down the hall, descended the staircase, and with a nod to the
footman he would never see again, he
walked out
into the cold winter night
.
The light in Alyssa’s room shone through the large window, making visible her alluring silhouette pressed up against the glass
.
He avoided looking up as he hunched over and began the walk towards the inn near the harbor.
The promise of a warm fire and a clean bed hastened his steps, and wit
hin minutes he was shaking off the snow and ordering a drink
.
Mug in hand, he scanned the room until his eyes settled on the scarred face of a man sitting alone by the hearth
.
“Evening Roderick,” he said cheerfully as he settled on the bench across from the sullen
person
, who pulled out a pocket watch and scowled
.
“S’about bloody time you showed up,” he
grunted.
“Another ten minutes and I’d have left, and then where would you be?”
“You know I’d be lost without you mate, that’s why you put up with me. Out of the goodness of your heart
.
I do recommend, however, that you tone down that accent a bit
.
You know how these colonialists get whenever they hear
an accent from the motherland
.
They think
you’re trying to steal their ships or something,” he said with a
smile
as Roderick choked on his ale
.
“Now, what have you got for me?”
“It’s not fair,” his friend grumbled
.
“Here I am, running around in the cold trying to arrange everything, while you’re lying in the arms of some comely wench.” He glared at Logan
.
“You look like a right dandy, all dolled up like that.”
Logan glanced down at his floral waistcoat and red-heeled shoes. “Come on Roddy, it’s not that bad, and besides, it helps me blend in
.
Actually, you might think about getting yourself a new
ensemble. Who knows? The ladies might fall at your feet.” Roderick struggled not to smile
.
“So tell me, just how comely was she?”
Logan groaned as he finished the contents of his mug
.
“Incredibly so
.
Long blonde hair, large blue eyes, a soft body, and an absent husband.”
“Then why the frown? You did bed the chit, didn’t you?”
“Course I did,” Logan said with a disgruntled sigh
.
“It’s unfortunate, but tonight marks the end of our short affair.”
Roderick grinned knowingly, aware of the effect Logan had on the fairer sex
.
Women had a tendency to fall head over heels for the rake, despite his best efforts to remain unattached
.
True, he had little to do but walk into a room and they would swoon
.
Standing at six feet four inches he
stuck
out in a crowd, even if he wished to remain
unnoticed
.
His body was well tanned and toned from a harsh life at sea, his broad shoulders and sinewy arms
noticeable
even when he was fully clothed
.
His s
houlder len
gth black hair was currently held back from his face by a strip of leather tied at the base of his neck, and his stormy grey eyes were the first to belie
his
emotions
.
When they narrowed and flashed with anger, it was in your best interests to calmly excuse yourself from his presence
.
E
specially if you were the
one who had
spark
ed
his fury.
“What did this one do to send you from her bed, propose marriage? Claim she was carrying your child?”
“Calmly told me that her husband had no desire to challenge me.” Roderick threw his head back and guffawed, an ugly sound that had half the
patrons
turning in their seats to stare at him
.
“I’m assuming the lass doesn’t know about your current occupation?”
“None but a few are aware of that, my friend
.
And speaking of which, do you have the list with you or not? I’m sailing out in several hours and I need to get some rest, as charming as your company is.”
“Don’t flatter me boy, I’m too old for that,” he said as he presented Logan with a rolled l
ength of parchment.
Logan unrolled it, quickly skimming the list of ships
.
“All of them?” he asked, raising his head and tucking the paper into his pocket
.
“Aye
.
Think you can manage it?”
“Aye,” Logan echoed with a grin
.
Throwing down enough money to pay for his drink, he pushed back the bench and stood, heading towards the room he had rented for the night.