Chapter 17

With Jane miffed over the desecration of her dining room, and Eden keeping her distance and acting wary of him these days, the highlight of Devlin’s life was his continued campaign against Finster. He delighted in devising new ways to publicly discredit the accountant, just as Finster had tried to do to him. The difference lay in Devlin’s more devious methods.

He took to following the moneylender around town, shadowing his activities. He listened in on private transactions and conceived of ways to scotch the most advantageous deals Finster had in the offing. This he did cheerfully, with the knowledge that if he ruined the man financially it was no less than Dudley had meant for Eden.

As he had done in the tea shop, Devlin continued to plague Finster with perplexing accidents. The fellow would be walking down the street with a favored client and suddenly lose control of his limbs, his arms and legs thrashing about unaccountably in every direction as Devlin nudged his elbows or tripped him up. After several such incidents, people began to shy away from him, as if he had contracted some strange disease they were loath to catch.

But Devlin’s crowning achievement, the one he most enjoyed, occurred right in the man’s own lending house, with his father looking on in horror. The previous day, a ship had landed in the harbor bearing several important officials from London, who had arrived to inspect various business establishments in Charles Town. They were presently touring the offices of the accounting firm, having been ushered inside with much formality.

Naturally, since there was a lord or two among them, they had gathered a large contingent of curious followers, and the main receiving room was full to overflowing. The elder Finster had designated his son to present a bouquet of flowers to Lady Chamberlain, who had accompanied her husband on the voyage. Puffed with pride, his hands filled with flowers and all eyes upon him, Finster announced pretentiously, “Lady Chamberlain, it is with great honor that I offer you this small token of our esteem.”

At precisely this point Devlin chose to strike. Conveniently unseen, he held out the invisible blade of his sword and swiftly sliced the buttons from Finster’s trousers! The accountant’s britches dropped to his ankles with the speed of a falling stone, while his shirt stayed crumpled at his waist. Since he wore no drawers beneath, his intimate anatomy was completely displayed to one and all, but most especially to Lady Chamberlain!

A collective gasp ran through the crowd, even as the baroness cried out in shock and swooned into her husband’s arms. Finster, as stunned as the rest, abandoned the flowers and hastened to retrieve his trousers.

The irate baron sputtered, finally got hold of his wits, and declared pompously, “I’ll have satisfaction, by God! At dawn on the morrow, you shall meet me with your sword and your second!”

“But my lord! I know not how to wield a sword!”

“Then it shall be a duel of pistols.”

“But your lordship, he has no second!” a voice tittered from the rear of the room.

Finster’s father stepped forward, his face blistered with shame for his son, but ready to defend him nonetheless. “My lord, please! ’Twas an unfortunate accident which we much regret. Is there no other way to rectify this unfortunate incident? I beg your mercy. He’s my only son.”

“Then I pity you, sir, for you got a raw bargain,” the baron assured him. “You would be well rid of him.” 

“Of late, I would agree. But not through his death. I implore you to spare him.”

Devlin would have liked to have argued the point and urged the nobleman to insist on the duel, but as he was presently invisible, he could not. This same hindrance, as well as his own moral code, was what had thus far deterred Devlin from personally engaging Finster in mortal combat, since it wouldn’t be sporting to do so as a spirit, with the man unable to see him. It was one thing to go up against a rowdy band of misfits such as had planned to attack the Winters’s home, or to tangle with cutthroat buccaneers who themselves had no scruples. But Devlin did not deem it fair to remain invisible when facing an opponent less skilled than himself, particularly one generally thought to be a gentleman. Thus, by his own honor, he was forced to limit his revenge against Finster to milder confrontations.

The baroness was quickly reviving from her faint, and it was she who next claimed her husband’s ear. “Harold!” she whimpered. “Did I hear mention of a duel? You promised me, upon your sacred oath, that you would not indulge in such perilous endeavors again. I care not what becomes of this horrid man, except that I never set eyes on him again. Let us return posthaste to England, where we are accorded the respect so lacking in this filthy backwoods colony.”

Blast and damn the woman! Devlin could have spit nails! Just when he’d finally cornered the little weasel good and proper, it looked as if Finster was going to escape without the least consequence, not even so much as a slap on the hand!

But perhaps not entirely. As the disgusted crowd began to disperse, several comments were offered up.

“’Twill be a cold day when I do business here again.”

“Mr. Finster, you’ll not see a pence more from me as long as your son is working here.”

“Far as I’m concerned, ye can get yer meat from another butcher, sirs.”

“That goes for me as well. I don’t do business with perverts.”

“That lad’s gone as queer as a three-legged goose!”

Devlin’s retelling of the tale set Eden, Jane, and Nate rollicking. “I’ll wager his father will choose the business over his son, and send him packing off somewhere until the dust settles,” Jane predicted. “That old man is so tight with his money, he probably takes it to bed with him each night.”

“Well, the sooner Dudley is gone, the better it will suit me,” Eden announced.

Nate agreed. “And good riddance to the varmint! I just wish ye’d told me what it was ye were up to today, Dev. I’d have paid to have seen it.”

“Well, I’m more than glad Eden and I were absent, thank you. I don’t wish to have my daughter viewing such a spectacle. Once was quite enough,” Jane put in, obliquely referring to the day Dora had whisked the sheet from Devlin’s nude body, exposing him to Eden’s eyes.

Eden blushed. Devlin merely laughed and said, “Truth be told, there wasn’t much to see today. Mayhap that’s why the lady fainted. Mayhap she thought him malformed!”

Jane glowered, but commented sweetly—too sweetly. “Captain Kane, your mouth could do with another soaping from your shaving brush, anytime you’d care to oblige.”

“And I wield a wicked razor, too, if you’ll recall,” Eden added.

Under their dual assault, and much to Nate’s amusement, Devlin sought a swift retreat. “Methinks I’ve decided to grow that beard after all.”

Though Devlin had never had much to do with farmyard animals, there was one area which could almost be termed domestic in which he excelled. In the days following the episode with Zeus and the cat, he put his knowledge of carpentry to good use, as a means of getting back into Jane and Eden’s good graces. It also served to keep him occupied when he wasn’t needed at the warehouse, or when Eden was otherwise engaged.

Within a short time, he had repaired two sagging dresser drawers, replaced the chipped cornice above the corner cupboard, refitted the loose rungs of several chairs, and refinished the top of a drop-leaf table. He also mended Eden’s office chair, the one that had been all but destroyed when her office was ransacked. It would never be quite the same, but at least he’d managed to save it from the kindling pile.

Jane was thrilled, and very grateful, for these needed repairs. Eden was moved to tears, and properly astounded. “Devlin! I had no idea you were so talented. Where did you learn such a wonderful skill?”

A shadow crossed Devlin’s face. “From my father,” he admitted. “He was a carpenter by trade, and he taught me.”

“How marvelous to have such skill run in the family. Where are your parents now?”

“In England,” he answered brusquely. “In their graves.”

“Oh, Devlin! How thoughtless of me to ask such a thing.” Though grieved that her curiosity had obviously brought him pain, she could not help questioning him further. “Has it been long?”

Squatting back on his heels beside the window frame he was bracing, Devlin let the wedge of wood he was holding drop unheeded to the floor, his mind turning backward in time. Just when Eden had decided he was not going to answer her, he spoke in a voice made husky with emotion.

“ ’Twas eleven years ago. We were planning to move to the colonies, where my father was going to join his brother in the carpentry shop he had begun here. Before we’d completed our packing, and the sale of our house and shop there, London was hit with the cholera. It swept through the city like wildfire. Fearing for my health, Mother and Father decided to send me on ahead of them to the Americas. I didn’t want to leave them behind, but they insisted. You see, by then the port officials were reluctant to allow ships out of port, fearing the transport of the disease. My parents promised to follow as soon as possible.”

“And you left? All by yourself?” Eden queried in soft commiseration. “Did you have no siblings, no other relatives to come with you?”

“There were just the three of us, though I’m sure Mother wanted more children. I was sixteen, well able to fend for myself, and big for my age even then.” 

“How long was it before you learned of their deaths? I assume they died of the cholera, did they not?” 

“Aye, and it took me six interminable years to know of it.”

Eden was aghast. “Six years!” she exclaimed. “My word, Devlin! Why so long?”

He gave a chilling, mirthless laugh. “Fate, my sweet. A black-hearted pirate by the name of Swift took it into his head to attack the ship transporting me to the colonies. The only thing that kept me from a watery grave-was my youth, my size, and my carpentry skills, which the Gai Mer was badly in need of. Even that would not have saved me had I not agreed, under duress and much persuasion, to sign the Articles of the Brethren, thus effectively, and upon my solemn oath, joining the order of pirates.”

“If the Gai Mer is yours, what became of Swift?” Eden wanted to know.

“First of all, the Gai Mer jointly belongs to Nate and me, since we organized the mutiny against Swift some six years after my capture. As for Swift, who made so many years of my life a living hell, I may be granted yet another opportunity for revenge against him, since rumor now has it that he is still alive. In days past, I’d joyously imagined his bones, and those of his loyal followers, adorning the beaches of the uninhabited island upon which we marooned them.”

Eden grimaced delicately. “What occurred after that?”

“I, Nate, and the part of the crew who had decided to align with us headed back to England. There, finally, I learned of the death of my parents, and for the first time set flowers upon their graves. My sole consolation was that they never knew that their beloved only son had become involved in such a nefarious life.”

Tears swam in Eden’s eyes. “Then why did you not give it up and join your uncle, as was originally planned?”

Devlin returned her look with a smile of self–derision. “By then, my dove, I had become accustomed to a much richer life than the carpentry business could provide. Piracy can be very seductive, as can the sea itself. I thrived upon it, and upon commanding my own vessel.”

“Did you ever visit your uncle? Does he know what became of you?”

Devlin shook his head. “I suppose he may have heard, but I’ve never gone to see him. He’s not the sort to condone brigandry, and I felt ’twould only embarrass him, were I to show up at his door. He has his family to consider, and I wouldn’t want to shame them.”

“And what of you, Devlin? Do you not long for the companionship of your own kin? Do you never wish for a home and family of your own? To quit your lawless wandering and settle down to one place?”

He caught her gaze with his, holding it and reading the yearning she tried to hide from him. “Eden.” He sighed. “My sweet Eden, if anyone could tempt me ’twould be you. But sailing is in my blood, lass. I could not forsake it for long.”

She ducked her head to conceal her disappointment. “But must it be piracy? Many a man is content to sail the seas lawfully. Why not you?”

He shrugged. “That could be somewhat difficult, wraith that I am. If this ghostliness proves to be permanent, I would be a most formidable sea robber, don’t you see? At any rate, I fear I am too restless to make a good husband.”

She dared to look at him. “Do you know what I fear, Devlin?” she said softly. “I fear for your life, if you continue down this path of crime and violence. I fear for your soul.” She rose and made her way slowly to the door, as if weighted down with her bleak thoughts.

There she turned to deliver a final, solemn comment. “You say you would not make a good husband? Could it be, great strong rogue that you seem, that you are afraid of committing yourself to one woman, to one place? If so, you are condemning yourself to a lifetime of loneliness. And it may prove to be a very short one, at the rate you are going.”

Eden could have cut out her tongue, for she had inadvertently revealed more of her feelings to Devlin than she’d wanted. Indeed, more than she should have, since Devlin had felt it necessary to warn her away from thoughts of marriage to him.

Lord, but she felt such a fool! Here she was, the dowdy Spinster Winters suddenly thinking herself so irresistible that a man as handsome and footloose as Devlin should fall over himself to gain her hand and her heart? Ha! What a farce! And how humiliating to be so bluntly reminded otherwise! The man had no designs on her heart, no desire for her hand. The randy rogue only wanted beneath her skirts. That was the long and the short of it, and high time she faced up to that fact once and for all!

But, drat it all, he had seemed to care. When he hadn’t been trying to sweeten his way into her bed, they’d talked and laughed together. True, they’d yelled and argued equally as often, but they’d also shared private portions of their lives. He’d held her as she wept, and dried her tears with his kisses. Was this the act of a man who did not care?

While Eden was wallowing in mortified confusion, Devlin was busy flaying himself with self-derision. Blarst! He felt as if he’d just tromped on a helpless chick! The pain on Eden’s face had torn at his heart. But he could not rescind his words, for they were true. Indeed, he did love roving the seas; he did enjoy the life of a pirate; he would make a poor husband. And there was possibly some unfinished business with Swift, which could soon take him sailing again.

Yet he could not deny that he had led Eden down the garden path a bit in his pursuit of her. Oh, he’d never declared undying love, or anything of that sort. No, he’d been much more subtle, more underhanded. Without committing himself, he had led her to trust him, to believe in him. He’d watched her blossom beneath his praise and attention, and just when she’d felt secure, he’d pulled the rug out from under her feet! All in the name of lust! And damn him if he didn’t still want her, even as guilt gnawed at him.

Before leaving Charles Town, he would keep his vow to her. He would rid her of Finster and the problems at the warehouse. He would also keep his pledge to himself. He would make love to Eden, right or wrong, regardless of her mother’s threats or any other consequences—and mayhap then he could rid himself of this obsessive desire, this relentless need for her. Perhaps then she would cease to haunt his every thought, waking and sleeping, stop taunting him in his dreams each night. Aye, he had to have her, if just once, before he sailed. Then he had to make certain he never set foot in Charles Town again, because Eden was much too bewitching to resist twice in one lifetime.

The two of them proceeded to tiptoe around one another like a pair of wary alligators. Even as she accompanied him to town, while Devlin continued to sell and trade the merchandise he and his crew had stored at her warehouse, Eden remained uncharacteristically aloof and quiet.

Then Devlin did something curious, something that shocked her out of her morose musings. He ordered Nate to bring the Gai Mer ashore, to beach the frigate on the short stretch of sand next to the warehouse wharf. She couldn’t help but question this command, or die of inquisitiveness, all the while hoping it somehow meant he’d decided to give up sailing after all.

Her prayers were not to be so easily answered, however. “I’ve decided we might as well careen the ship, since we have the time and the opportunity,” he explained. “Besides, we’ve been in port so long that the men are beginning to get restless. They need more to keep them occupied, lest I lose them to another captain.”

“Careen?” Eden echoed. “What is that?” She stared at the huge vessel, now toppled helplessly on its side on the beach, wishing he would tell her it meant to dismantle the ship for all time.

“To scrape the hull free of barnacles and sea debris,” he told her, blithely unaware that he was deflating her hopes once more. “A ship’s underside needs a good cleaning every now and again, and ’tis a job that can only be done correctly on dry land, since the timbers usually need to be re-tarred as well. Unfortunately, we’ve let the Gai Mer go longer than she should, and she’s showing signs of sluggishness.”

At Eden’s puzzled look, he went on. “The cleaner the hull, the faster the ship will sail, and in my business, speed is essential.”

“Then you are making ready to sail soon,” Eden surmised, swallowing a lump in her throat and blinking back sudden tears.

Devlin shrugged, scarcely noting the added brightness of her eyes or the extra huskiness of her voice. “I’ve no definite plans to do so, Eden. There is still this business with Tilton and Finster to finish, and I’ll not go until I’ve seen it to a satisfactory conclusion. However, I want the frigate ready when I am, and it takes a while to do the chore properly.”

“How long?”

“A couple of weeks, give or take a few days.”

Eden wanted to scream. Two weeks? A mere fortnight more of having Devlin in her life? Oh, God! How would she ever bear it, knowing he would be gone so soon? No wonder he’d been so intent on selling his cargo and clearing it from the warehouse. Even then, he’d been thinking of leaving, anticipating his departure.

“What of your invisibility, Devlin?” she asked hesitantly. “I thought you intended to remain in Charles Town until you got your body back.”

“I may never get it back, and I can’t remain here forever. As I said, the crew is already showing signs of restlessness. However, I’ll stay as long as I can, and hope for a miracle before I go.”

As will I, Eden thought. A miracle to keep you here. A miracle to make you love me too much to leave me.