THE INSTANT THE ship left the docks, Josie realized she’d made a terrible mistake. She grabbed the arm of the closest sailor and cried, “I have to get off this ship. Please, we have to turn around and go back!”
“Sorry, miss. Once the captain sets sail, there’s no turnin’ back.”
Josie fought back a sob of regret, as she staggered to the rail. What had she done? She hadn’t realized how she truly felt about Blackthorne until it dawned on her that she might never see him again. She loved him. And she’d left without even telling him goodbye.
She rubbed her thumb across the gold band that held the Blackthorne ruby on her finger. There hadn’t been time to leave it safely behind. It was coming with her to America. If Blackthorne wanted it back, he would have to come after her to get it. She wondered if that was why she’d kept it on her finger, to give him a reason to come after her.
She’d made her escape with the duke’s nephews, all right, but she felt sick at heart as she watched the flickering lights of the town receding from view.
The two boys were sleeping soundly in tiered bunks in a stateroom belowdecks. For them, sailing to America was a great adventure. Her only uncomfortable moment had come after she’d settled them both in bed, when Spencer asked, “When is Uncle Marcus joining us?”
Josie had hesitated only a moment before telling the truth. “He isn’t coming.”
“Why not?”
He wasn’t invited. “He’s very busy fixing up Blackthorne Abbey. It’s been neglected for many years and needs a great deal of work.”
“What you mean is we’re too much work,” Spencer muttered.
She’d tucked Clay in, then rose and stood next to Spencer’s head, speaking in a voice only he could hear. “Your uncle loves you. I’m sure he does. He’s been very sad at the loss of his wife. And very unhappy because it seemed for a long time that everything he valued, all the Blackthorne lands and properties, would be forfeited because his father—”
She cut herself off as she was about to say “and your father.” Instead she finished, “Had run up a great many debts. That’s why Uncle Marcus left you so long at Tearlach Castle, not because he didn’t love you.”
“So why didn’t Uncle Marcus ever come to see us?”
Josie didn’t have an explanation or excuse for Blackthorne’s behavior, so she didn’t make one. “The good news is that I was able to use my fortune to help your uncle pay his debts and begin repairs at the Abbey. Now there will always be a place for you and Clay to live, whenever you’re in England.”
“So why are we going to America?” Spencer asked.
“Because my eldest sister is very sick, and I want to see her before…”
Josie didn’t complete her sentence, because she didn’t want to put into words what might happen to Miranda. She kissed Spencer’s forehead and said, “You need to sleep. When you wake up in the morning, you and Clay can come up on deck, and we’ll watch the wind fill the sails and blow us across the sea.”
“Good night, Aunt Josie.”
“Good night, Spencer. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
She’d waited until both boys were asleep before she’d gone up on deck, arriving just in time to see that they were underway, to panic at what she’d done, and to make a fruitless plea to turn the ship around.
Josie stepped to the rail and listened to the wind in the flapping sails, speeding them on their way. She shivered, and wrapped her wool scarf more tightly around her against the cold.
Except it wasn’t the night air that had chilled her to the bone. It was the knowledge that she’d left her heart behind in England. She heard Blackthorne’s whispered words lifting her up, telling her how strong she was, even as his protective arms held her close.
He wasn’t an easy man to love. Too proud. Too used to getting his own way. But somehow she’d fallen, deeply and surely, in love with him.
Her heart sank at the thought of what she’d left behind. And sank even further when she imagined what she might find when she got where she was going. She folded her hands on the rail, closed her eyes, and prayed, “Please fight to live, Miranda. Don’t give up. I need to see you again. I need to talk with you again. I need—”
“I need a wife. And you were about to rob me of her.”
Josie whirled at the sound of the beloved—and furiously angry—voice. “Marcus?” She clutched her scarf to her throat, suddenly frightened at the sight of a tall figure wearing a black cloak that whipped around him in the wind. It couldn’t be Marcus. She’d left him behind in England. “Who? What?”
“Don’t panic, my dear. It’s only me. Your wayward husband.”
“Marcus? Is it really you?” Josie felt a rush of joy so strong it brought tears to her eyes. “What are you doing here?”
“I think I should be asking you that.” He reached out and rescued a stray curl that had blown across her face, tucking it, as he always did, behind her ear.
She held herself still, aware that his angry voice was at odds with the tender gesture. “My sister Miranda is desperately ill. There wasn’t time to consult you before I left.”
“So you decided to grab my nephews and steal away on the first ship headed for America without a word of warning? Without saying goodbye or even good riddance?”
She ignored the pain she heard in his voice and asked, “How did you know I brought Spencer and Clay—”
“I know a great deal, my dear. I visited Tearlach Castle. Why didn’t you tell me what was going on there? I would have—”
“What would you have done, Marcus?” she interrupted. “Brought them to live with you?”
“I might have.”
“But you didn’t. In all the time I was at Tearlach Castle, you never once visited them. Why did you leave them to languish for so long? I’ve seen that you’re a caring man. What happened? Why did you abandon them?” She met his gaze, surprised by the pain she saw in his eyes.
“To my shame, I have no excuse. Fanny discouraged me from visiting, but as it turned out, she simply didn’t want me to discover you were there.”
“I don’t understand. How did she know where I was?”
“Fanny was the architect of the Machiavellian scheme that resulted in your being held captive at the castle.”
Josie stared at him wide-eyed. “Fanny put me there? But why?”
He tightened the knot on the wool scarf she’d wrapped around her shoulders. “Because she knew how I felt about you.”
“How you felt? How did she even know I existed?”
“Because I told her how much I admired your defiance of someone who was determined to whip you to death. I made no secret of the fact that I was enchanted by the girl I’d rescued. She also knew she was dying. So she made a plan.”
Blackthorne’s eyes caressed her, while his hands found excuses to touch her.
Josie was entranced and spoke without being quite aware what she was saying. “A plan?”
“Fanny tucked you away at Tearlach Castle for safekeeping, so there would be a way for me to find you after she was gone. Seaton was supposed to tell me you were there, but when he realized I needed to marry an heiress, he decided to save me from myself and kept your whereabouts a secret.”
“Then the Pinkerton found me, and I came to London hoping there was some way I could rescue Spencer and Clay, and met you and—”
“Married me,” he finished. “Fanny was right about one thing.”
“What?”
“That, given a chance, I would fall in love with you.”
Josie shook her head. “You can’t love me. We barely know each other.”
“I’ve loved the idea of a woman like you for two years. It’s taken me only two weeks to fall in love with the woman I married.”
Josie’s heart skipped a beat. “You love me?”
“I do.”
She suddenly felt terrified of the choice she might be forced to make. “I’m still going to Texas to see my family. And I’m taking the boys.”
“How would you feel about my coming along?”
Tears of relief and joy brimmed in her eyes. She laid a hand against his chest as a way to reassure herself that this was really happening, that he was here and wanted to come to America with her. She opened her mouth to tell him how happy she was, but what came out was, “There’s no place in the stateroom for you to sleep.”
He twined one of her curls around his finger. “Spencer and Clay can share the stateroom. The captain loaned me his cabin, so we can finish our honeymoon.” He hesitated, released the curl, and said, “Assuming you care enough for me to want to finish our honeymoon.”
Josie was surprised that Blackthorne was giving her the choice. She lifted her chin and said, “I suppose you expect me to forgive you for your treatment of Spencer and Clay.”
“That would be nice. I don’t deserve their forgiveness—or yours—but I promise to take better care of them from now on. With your help, of course.”
“I suppose you expect me to say I love you. That you’ve turned my world upside down. That I’m head over heels for you.”
His lips curved in a cautious smile. “That would be even nicer.” He closed the distance between them and clasped her cold hands in his warm ones. “Do you? Have I? Are you?”
“You’re too arrogant.”
“Guilty.”
“And toplofty.”
“Guilty.”
“And stubborn.”
“Guilty.”
“And I love you more than—”
His mouth captured hers, as his arms bound them together. She was a prisoner once more, but this time, Josie had no wish to escape.
“I love you, Marcus.”
“I love you, too, darling. But I think I’m getting a little seasick up here on deck.”
Josie laughed. “You? The great Duke of Blackthorne? Seasick? I don’t believe it.”
“Laugh all you want, but I suggest that if you don’t want to see a demonstration of the matter, we retire to the captain’s cabin.”
Josie put her arm through Blackthorne’s and tugged him away from the rail. “Just keep saying ‘I will not be sick. I will not be sick.’ That’s been working for me.”
“I will not be sick. I will not be sick. I think it’s working.”
“Good. I don’t want to miss even one night of my honeymoon.”
“I will not be sick. I will not be sick. I will make love to my wife, instead.”
Josie laughed. “Faker!”
Blackthorne swept her in his arms and headed for the captain’s cabin.