The Truth by Jane Lark ~ a free book exclusive to my blog ~ part forty-four

The Truth

© Jane Lark Publishing rights belong to Jane Lark,

this should not be recreated in any form without prior consent from Jane Lark

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18 ,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33,34,35,36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43

Richard

Half-an-hour later Richard walked into the day cabin and slipped off the outer coat he’d started wearing on the poop-deck to combat the chillier winds that now cut through his clothing when he was up there.

He threw the garment on to a chair and looked across the room. Mark stood near Joseph. Both men looked at him in an odd fashion. There was guilt and a question in their eyes.

“Captain Swallow.” Mark bowed suddenly. “Mr Farrow.”

God’s teeth! He did not need this. He felt like striking out at Mark. He did not do so. But his quartermaster must have seen the possibility in Richard’s gaze and that was why he was stating his apologies and withdrawing.

Mark gave Richard a swifter bow, then walked out of the cabin and shut the door behind him. It had taken Mark scarce hours to share this secret.

“Would you care for a cup of coffee. I intend ordering some for myself?” Richard looked at Joseph in a direct way that challenged the conversation he knew was about to happen.

“It is not my place to say this to you,” Joseph began with deep solemnity, without even answering.

“Then do not say it.” Richard interrupted crossing to the bell to ring for the cabin boy.

“How can I not in all conscience, Richard. Is it true?”

Richard stared at his captain. “Is it any of your business?”

“Miss Martin is a passenger aboard this ship. You appointed me captain of it. I am therefore responsible for Miss Martin while she is on it.” Joseph’s pitch was annoyingly restrained. He was turning the tables on Richard. Usually Richard was the calm dispassionate one. But Emerald had changed him.

“I absolve you of your responsibility.” Richard’s voice was a low growl. His hands fisted. “I shall take care of Miss Martin. Both the Governor and her mother placed her under my protection.”

“Is it true, Richard?” Joseph pressed, ignoring Richard’s physical and verbal warning to drop the subject. “Did Mark hear Miss Martin in your cabin this morning?”

“Do not be ridiculous!” Richard barked, forcefully releasing his fingers and turning to the charts spread out across the table.

“She was not there then?” Joseph said to his back. He knew Richard was willing to lie, when a lie served a purpose.

Silent. Richard leaned over the charts and gripped the table.

“Richard…” Joseph pushed.

He tossed a glance over his shoulder, looking daggers at his captain. “Do you wish to keep your job, Joseph?” Then he looked back at the maps, as a convenient rap struck the door.

“Come!” Richard shouted, without looking up.

“Sir?”

He did not look back at the cabin boy. “Coffee, Tim, please. Make it strong.”

“Sir.” The boy disappeared again, letting the cabin door bang shut.

“If she was,” Joseph began, the minute the door shut, moving towards Richard, “then you ought to remember that her mother died little more than a fortnight ago. She needs comfort. She does not need someone preying on her isolation.”

“Is that what I am doing?” Richard released the table straightened and turned to look at Joseph who now stood beside him. “Preying on her? Have you ever known me prey upon a woman?”

Emerald

“Have you ever known me prey upon a woman?”

Richard’s raised voice woke Emerald, capturing her attention. Her thoughts picked through the words and her heart began to thump. She could not hear who he was talking to, or what their answer was.

Richard

“I have not,” Joseph said.

“Then why accuse me of this now?”

“Because she is vulnerable and I know you have an attraction to her. I understand your feelings, but wait, if it is not too late.” The look Joseph cast him was a reprimand, “She is grieving – seeking reassurance. She cannot think clearly in such a situation.” Joseph’s hand lifted to press Richard’s shoulder. “I am speaking as a friend. Have a care for the girl’s reputation and for yours. Mark will not speak of it to anyone else, but you have already changed his judgment of you.”

“Mark ought to have a mind for his own damned business! He will need to look out for another post if he is not more careful!”

Emerald

Emerald scrambled off the bed, looking at Rita as panic cried out. “Help me dress.” She’d taken off her gown and her corset to go to sleep.

“It is not like that!” Another shout pierced the wall of her cabin.

Her throat was dry and her breaths refused to catch in her lungs as she grasped her dress. It would not fit without her corset.

Whomever Richard was speaking to it was not Mr Bishop, and they knew, and if he was not careful the entire ship would know if he raised his voice any louder.

Richard

“No?” Joseph questioned, his eyebrows lifting. “How did it begin then?”

The memory of Emerald weeping in the day cabin punctured Richard’s thoughts. She had sought solitude, not him. He had gone to her. He’d kissed her.

“I have daughters,” Joseph pressed on, “I would not welcome any man pre-empting marriage with my girls. As I said, I know you have feelings for Miss Martin. I am not challenging your motivation. However I doubt her ability to make considered judgments at this time. You should step back – and if it is too late to do so she will have to live with the consequences. You must marry her.”

Consequences. Richard had determinedly ignored any thought of consequences from her perspective, because he’d wanted her bound to him. Yet every word Joseph said rang true. But it was not guilt which assaulted him, it was fear. What if her interest was only an element of her grief?

Richard faced the judgment in Joseph’s eyes and saw Joseph recognise that it was too late for this speech. “We have an agreement,” Richard answered.

“Will you have me perform the marriage on board?”

“No! I will not shame her like that! She is not of age. Everyone would know. She should meet her family and complete her mourning and I will stay in England until her father comes and formerly offer for her then.”

And why the hell am I accounting for myself to you! It is none of your business!”

Joseph stared. Not deferring to Richard at all. Yet he was Richard’s captain and he had been employed for his ability to command respect. “You have put her to shame already I think. Leave the girl alone and make amends as soon as you may.”

The cabin boy’s foot kicked the cabin door.

“Come in!” Richard shouted, aggressively, angry at himself as much as Joseph and Mark.

The boy balanced a swaying tray bearing their coffee.

“What of June?” Joseph asked as Richard looked back. “She will not react well to this.”

“I have written to, June,” Richard answered impatiently “I sent word to her when we reached Gibraltar and I–.”

“Who is June?” Richard’s head spun to the open cabin door. It framed Emerald in a halo of day light. “Who is June?” she repeated, her voice edged with suspicion and doubt.

To be continued…

The Marlow Intrigues: Perfect for lovers of period drama, like Victoria and Poldark.

The Lost Love of Soldier ~ The Prequel #1 ~ A Christmas Elopement began it all

The Illicit Love of a Courtesan #2

Capturing The Love of an Earl ~ A Free Novella #2.5

The Passionate Love of a Rake #3

The Desperate Love of a Lord ~ A second Free Novella #3.5

The Scandalous Love of a Duke #4

The Dangerous Love of a Rogue #5

The Jealous Love of a Scoundrel #5.5

The Persuasive Love of a Libertine #5.75 now included in Jealous Love, (or free if you can persuade Amazon to price match with Kobo ebooks)

The Secret Love of a Gentleman #6

The Reckless Love of an Heir #7

Jane’s books can be ordered from most booksellers in paperback and, yes, there are more to come

Go to the index

For

the story of the real courtesan who inspired The Illicit Love of a Courtesan,
another free short story, about characters from book #2, A Lord’s Scandalous Love,
the prequel excerpts for book #3 The Scandalous Love of a Duke

Jane Lark is a writer of authentic, passionate and emotional Historical and New Adult Romance stories, and the author of a No.1 bestselling Historical Romance novel in America, ‘The Illicit Love of a Courtesan’.Click here to find out more about Jane’s books, and see Jane’s website www.janelark.co.uk to learn more about Jane. Or click ‘like’ on Jane’s Facebook page to see photo’s and learn historical facts from the Georgian, Regency and Victorian eras, which Jane publishes there. You can also follow Jane on twitter at @janelark

The Truth by Jane Lark ~ a free book exclusive to my blog ~ part forty-two

The Truth

© Jane Lark Publishing rights belong to Jane Lark,

this should not be recreated in any form without prior consent from Jane Lark

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18 ,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33,34,35,36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41

Emerald

Emerald hurried into the room and closed the door then turned to face Rita who was fully clothed and sitting silently on her bunk. She had put out Emerald’s clothes.

“Miss,” Rita stood up. “Is this wise? Your mother would–”

“My mother is dead,” Emerald answered in blunt denial, a cold pain breathing through her chest. “She is not here to care. Now help me dress. I am late for breakfast.”

As was Richard. The thought brought a smile back to her lips and warmed her inside.

Emerald stood still as Rita pulled tight the laces of her corset and then tied the tapes of her petticoats’. Her body ached from the delicious test of endurance Richard had challenged her with last night. He had displayed a new vitality and he’d seemed so desperate. She could not deny how good it felt to be able to make a powerful man like him desperate for her.

When she left the cabin in Mr Bishop’s company, her hand on his arm, she was smiling broadly, she could not help it. She was living in a dream. The memory of her argument with Richard only made her wish to smile more as she thought of its wicked conclusions.

Mr Bishop held open the day cabin door and she very nearly asked him what had happened about the French ship, when she walked past, only catching her tongue at the last moment when she remembered she should not know. But she had already taken the breath to speak and then stopped. He smiled in an odd way, but then a frown immediately furrowed his brow. He’d been silent as they crossed the deck. She supposed if he suspected, he would disapprove, as Rita who was walking behind them did.

Emerald had a feeling that she blushed. There was only Dr Steel in the room. “Are the others not eating?”

“Mr Pritchard is at the helm and Mr Farrow is with him. Mr Swallow is resting.” It was Dr Steel who answered as he stood.

Rita sat in a chair across the room and Mr Bishop walked ahead of Emerald to withdraw a chair at the table for her. Emerald sat opposite Dr Steel, and felt as though she faced a judge in a court room. But Dr Steel could not know. Mr Bishop would not dare defy Richard and speak even if he had guessed. This was Richard’s ship.

Dr Steel offered her the basket of fresh bread. She still did not want to speak to him. She had not forgiven him for not speaking up about her mother’s illness. Her smile was wiped away.

She accepted some bread and reached for jam. They had cured ham too, which they’d brought aboard in Gibraltar and oranges, with strong coffee or hot chocolate. As she helped herself, Dr Steel asked, “How are you?” His voice formally polite.

“As well as I might be when my mother died unexpectedly a little more than fortnight ago.”

“Am I never to be forgiven, Miss Martin,” he challenged quietly as Emerald took a slice of ham from a plate Mr Bishop held for her.

She looked directly at Dr Steel. “I should not think so. You cannot change the fact you did not tell me and I cannot change the fact my mother is dead and I had no chance to say goodbye. I must endure my pain. You may endure my lack of forgiveness.”

Dr Steel smiled, but it was only an acknowledgement that her jab had cut him as intended. “I am sorry my decision caused you such distress. Yet forgiven or not, if you need to talk to anyone, I am willing to listen.”

She frowned at him. Listen to what? She did not answer.

“Will you sit on the deck this morning?” Mr Bishop’s tone was curt, when normally he was always so pleasant.

She was sure she was blushing again when she looked at him. “Yes, please. I know it is getting colder and soon it will be too cold to do so.”

“Would you like a companion?” His tone was still terse.

The pitch in his voice brought a sense of uncertainty. She wished to ask if he knew about her and Richard and if so would he speak of it? If he would then she would beg him not to. She did not want Richard judged badly because of her. But she could not say anything because what if Mr Bishop had not guessed.

“I would be grateful, if you may spare the time?” Her gaze dropped from his and she focused on her food.

“I may. I know you prefer not to be alone.” There was a change to his voice, it held sincerity and it drew her eyes to look back at him.

He smiled.

She smiled too, remembering how in the beginning she had wanted Richard to be more like him. But she had never been attracted to Mr Bishop, he was kind and polite but he had no spark. It was Richard’s fire which ignited her.

The door into the day cabin from the deck opened. She looked across to see Richard enter accompanied by Mr Swallow.

Mr Bishop stood.

“Sit, Mr Bishop.” It was Mr Swallow who made the direction.

“Gentlemen, Miss Martin,” Richard said in greeting. He bowed his head formally towards her. Her smile became broader again, parting her lips . Less than an hour ago they had been in his bed, wrapped up in each other. She felt another blush and caught the movement of a twist in his lips that implied a smile. She looked away once more, at her food. But when he walked past she distinctly felt the tip of one of his fingers brush across her back.

“What are your plans today, Miss Martin?” he asked when he was seated as he began filling his plate.

She glanced at Richard, very aware of Mr Bishop watching them, and she could not seem to stop blushing. “I have agreed to sit with Mr Bishop on the deck this morning.”

“Then I shall entertain you this afternoon.”

He had not spent time with her for days to avoid suspicion. “Thank you.” She glanced at Mr Bishop and met a look of what seemed to be sympathy. Why? She frowned. Oh. But Richard was probably playing games and facing Mr Bishop’s suspicion head-on denying fear of any speculation. Richard Farrow at his most venomous. But then Mr Bishop would be foolish to speak out. She would not fear it either.

When they had finished breakfast they all stood. “Miss Martin,” Mr Bishop, lifted his arm. She looked back at Richard. He bowed his head then smiled slightly.

“Might I have a word with you later, Captain?” Mr Bishop asked as her hand rested on his arm.

Mr Swallow’s eyebrow’s lifted. “Of course, look me out when you have finished keeping Miss Martin company.”

“Thank you, sir.”

As Mr Bishop walked her from the room, with Rita following, Emerald glanced back again. Richard was talking to Mr Swallow but he saw her look and smiled at her over Mr Swallow’s shoulder, a lightness rising in his eyes. It was the greatest acknowledgement she would receive before his crew.

To be continued…

The Marlow Intrigues: Perfect for lovers of period drama, like Victoria and Poldark.

The Lost Love of Soldier ~ The Prequel #1 ~ A Christmas Elopement began it all

The Illicit Love of a Courtesan #2

Capturing The Love of an Earl ~ A Free Novella #2.5

The Passionate Love of a Rake #3

The Desperate Love of a Lord ~ A second Free Novella #3.5

The Scandalous Love of a Duke #4

The Dangerous Love of a Rogue #5

The Jealous Love of a Scoundrel #5.5

The Persuasive Love of a Libertine #5.75 now included in Jealous Love, (or free if you can persuade Amazon to price match with Kobo ebooks) 😉

The Secret Love of a Gentleman #6

The Reckless Love of an Heir #7

Jane’s books can be ordered from most booksellers in paperback and, yes, there are more to come

Go to the index

For

the story of the real courtesan who inspired The Illicit Love of a Courtesan,
another free short story, about characters from book #2, A Lord’s Scandalous Love,
the prequel excerpts for book #3 The Scandalous Love of a Duke