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  Finished eating, Jacqueline stood up to put her jacket on, then her jaunty hat with the single powder-blue feather. Noting the riding habit, Amy raised a black brow and asked, “D’you need an escort? I’d be happy to join you.”

  Jack laughed. “You don’t know about the four bruisers my father hired? I can’t leave the house without them. And Artie wouldn’t have had my horse brought around without sending for them first. I’ll see you later, Aunt Minx. And stop having your feelings about me!”

  “I’ve agreed my feeling might not have been about you, but it was still a good feeling!” Amy yelled after her as Jack rushed out of the room.

  Her escorts were indeed waiting for her, one of them dismounting to help her onto her sorrel mare. She imagined she was still early for her meeting with her mystery man, so she rode slowly on the way to the park. She couldn’t really call it a rendezvous with the man with her bodyguards tagging along. But the two of them could ride side by side while they got better acquainted. And she’d find out who he really was!

  Chapter Seven

  JACQUELINE FOUND THE SINGLE red rose with the small sealed envelope attached lying on the side table with a new stack of party invitations next to it. She picked up everything and took it to her bedroom, tossing it onto her vanity before she flounced on her bed with a forlorn sigh. She wasn’t angry, though she was definitely vexed and keenly disappointed, and the combination wasn’t pleasant. Anger was preferable and easily dealt with. She could yell and scowl, then put it aside, but this crushing combination of feelings would linger until some other emotion took its place.

  She finally sat up with another sigh to remove her hat and shrug out of her riding jacket. And stared at the single red rose across the room. If it was from him, she’d shred every petal, but she didn’t think it was. Her many beaus were in the habit of sending her flowers. They filled every room of the house, and before those withered and died, they were replaced with new flowers that were even more extravagant. But none had ever sent her just one rose.

  She didn’t exactly rush back to the vanity, but she was a little breathless when she opened the envelope and held the note in her hand: A thousand apologies. I was unavoidably detained. And signed, Yours truly. He even underlined the truly. But she wasn’t the least bit mollified after she’d stayed in the park for hours, traversing the riding path back and forth a dozen times. He could have sent someone else to tell her they wouldn’t be riding today.

  Then her maid arrived to prepare her for the soirée she was to attend tonight, another reminder that the hour had grown late because she’d wasted far too much time in the park. But she was excited again by the time she was dressed in a new evening gown of the palest aqua and hurried downstairs. Only a little of that excitement was due to her expectation of seeing the stranger tonight. Most of it was because her brother Jeremy would be escorting her, with his wife, Danny, to give Georgina a respite from the round of parties. And aside from Judy’s wedding, Jack had seen far too little of her older brother since spring when she and Judy had sailed to her American debut.

  She grinned at her brother’s wife, who had snow-white hair and looked stunningly beautiful as usual. Danny had never let her hair grow out, despite not needing to disguise herself as a boy anymore. Having been separated from her parents when she was a child, she’d grown up in one of the worst sections of London with a pack of orphaned thieves, and the short-cropped hair had been to pass herself off as a boy to avoid trouble of the salacious sort. Jeremy would never have met her if he hadn’t needed to hire a thief to help his friend Percival Alden with a personal matter. It had been amusing when Danny had met Nathan Tremayne for the first time and he’d asked if they were related by blood, since his hair was as light a shade of blond as hers.

  “Tell me who I need to scowl at and who gets a friendly pat on the back tonight,” Jeremy said as he put her arm through his to lead her outside to his coach.

  “You don’t need to scowl at anyone. They’re all nice enough chaps. Besides, you really can’t pull it off the way our father does. You’re too handsome, Brother. It quite keeps you from being intimidating. Why don’t you tell me instead why you didn’t show up this morning to bid our father good-bye?”

  “I was too angry,” Jeremy mumbled, then added in a growl, “I hope he thought I stowed away on The Maiden George and he wasted time searching for me before he sailed.”

  Jack burst out laughing. “No, you don’t.” Jeremy helped Jack into the coach and, once inside, sat near to his wife, across from Jack.

  “I don’t doubt he did,” Danny put in. “I’ve never seen him this angry.”

  Jacqueline raised a brow. “Well, I can’t say I’m surprised when I feel the same way.”

  Jeremy suddenly unrolled a map, put it on Jack’s lap, and pointed at an island. “That’s where Father’s fleet is going. And this is where he captured Pierre Lacross all those years ago.”

  She stared at the spot Jeremy was pointing to. “But there’s nothing there.”

  “Because that island is unnamed and too small to appear on this map. There are many tiny islands in the Caribbean where criminals of one sort or another can hide. Like I told you before, I know those islands well.”

  Danny leaned back with a sigh. “He’s obsessed with this mission, if that’s not clear to you yet, Jack. I’m having a hard time talking him out of catching the next ship that’s heading that way.”

  Jacqueline debated for a moment whether to say she’d go with him, then said instead, “For what purpose, Jeremy? To catch up with Father so he can lock you in a cabin for the duration of the voyage—and be furious that you didn’t obey him and stay out of it?”

  “See?” Danny said, gloating only a little. “I said nearly the same thing, didn’t I, Jer?”

  “You two do know that I’m not still the teenager he found in that tavern all those years ago, don’t you?”

  Danny suddenly chuckled. “I do wish I could have seen James’s face that day when you told him you were his son, yet you stood there the spitting image of his brother Anthony when Tony was that age.”

  Jeremy still looked uncannily like their uncle Anthony, but then Anthony and Jeremy shared the black hair and cobalt eyes of their Gypsy ancestors, while James didn’t. Tony’s wife had actually accused Tony of lying about Jeremy’s parentage. Even James found that to be amusing—mostly.

  “So he didn’t believe me at first, at least, not until I told him who my mother was,” Jeremy said. “All beside the point, which is he still treats me like that child.”

  “It couldn’t have been pleasant, growing up in taverns,” Jacqueline remarked. “At least, until he found you.”

  “It wasn’t that bad, though I would have much preferred taking to the seas with him. And I got to for a while, until that sea battle with Nick. Father bought that plantation in Jamaica so he could have a place to park me after I nearly got injured in that battle. But at least he took me with him when he went back to England to get even with Nick, and you know what a surprise that turned out to be, with Nick having married our cousin Regina. Then Father left me with Uncle Tony while he went back to the Caribbean to dispose of that plantation. Of course, you never would have been born, Jack, if things hadn’t played out that way.”

  “I still find it amazing that your father was actually a pirate,” Danny said.

  “Gentleman pirate,” Jeremy and Jack said at the same time, then laughed because they’d both corrected Danny.

  But Jeremy continued, “It was just a game to him, bedeviling any ship that appeared to offer a challenge so he could test his skills. And I had it straight from his first mate, Connie, that the only reason he went to sea was because he’d gotten so jaded being one of London’s most notorious rakes that nothing stirred his emotions anymore, not even duels.”

  “So it took a full decade for him to start feeling again?” Danny asked.

  “No, he was gone that long because his brothers ended up disowning him. But his time on the hig
h seas was his salvation, too. He enjoyed it and might never have returned to the fold if he hadn’t found me.”

  “Your father’s decision to return to England is directly responsible for quite a few marriages,” Danny remarked. “His, mine, Amy’s. Even three of Jack’s uncles wouldn’t have met their wives if your father hadn’t brought their sister to England. Think of all that happiness he created for himself and the rest of us by making peace with his brothers—for you. We should start calling him Cupid.”

  “Bite your tongue,” Jack choked out.

  “Hell’s bells, Danny, you don’t want to insult m’father,” Jeremy said with a groan.

  “I was joking.” Then with a wink at Jacqueline, Danny added, “But kindly remember how a few minutes ago you were ready to make him angry at you for hying after him. I believe I’ve made my point?”

  Jeremy said no more about it, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t silently stewing. But they’d arrived at the home of Gladys Marshall, who was hosting tonight’s soirée, where there was to be music and a buffet. And Jack’s curious stranger wasn’t there. If he was, he didn’t make himself known, and after glancing around the room for a few minutes, she was pretty sure she knew every man there.

  She came up with dozens of excuses why he appeared to be giving up the pursuit. He couldn’t get an invitation because he wasn’t even gentry. He was so hideously ugly that he was ashamed to show her his face. He was a coward after all who didn’t want to bother with someone who had such a dangerous father. He didn’t want to settle for just friendship, which she had assured him was all she was offering this year. All of her other beaus knew that, too, and only a few had given up early on. The rest were confident they could change her mind given enough time.

  There was still no gossip about her mystery man either, though a few debutantes mentioned to her that they’d noticed him at the masked ball and wondered who he was. But even they were more interested in asking her about her father, since he was still the prime tidbit for the week.

  Giles was the first of her beaus to approach her. He was one of the more handsome young lords pursuing her, and she liked his wit and humor. She even hoped he’d still be unattached next year when she would get around to choosing a husband. It was likely he would be since he was a professed rake.

  “Are you ready to marry me yet?” he whispered beside her so Jeremy wouldn’t hear.

  “You can’t maintain your rakish reputation if you keep asking me that,” she scolded with a smile.

  “I’ve sworn I’ll give up everything for you, Jack.” But then he glanced around, no doubt to make sure James wasn’t there, before adding, “I couldn’t help but notice how intimidated my competition was last night by your father. I’m not, you know. In fact, I was thinking about inviting him for a round or two at Knighton’s Hall to get to know him better. I’ve heard he enjoys exercising there occasionally.”

  Jack laughed. “If you want to call it that. But you’ll have to wait until he returns to London. He’s away for a few months.”

  Giles looked thrilled and swept her onto the small dance floor. Jack chuckled to herself. She’d have to warn Giles that he ought to watch one of her father’s matches before he took the plunge—if he was actually serious about such a silly notion.

  THE NEXT DAY, JACK rode in the park again just in case her mystery man showed up, but she didn’t stay long this time. With a shrug, she decided she’d wasted enough time and thoughts on a man she didn’t know and would likely never know. It was time to forget about the curious stranger and get on with enjoying the Season.

  Returning home, she found another single red rose on the side table in the front hall. Jacqueline laughed and ran upstairs with it, placing it carefully on her bed while she quickly changed out of her riding habit and into a comfortable skirt and blouse for the rest of the afternoon, until she had to dress for tonight’s party, which was still hours away.

  She opened the new note and read:

  Circumstances have conspired to thwart me. I must leave England on a family matter and don’t know when I can return, or if I should. Only you can draw me back to London, Jacqueline Malory. I merely require a little bit of hope that you might want me to return and you can give me that if you will come to bid me farewell. My ship sails at dusk with the tide and is anchored in the Thames near the London Docks at Wapping. I will await you at the Wapping dock stairs until the last minute.

  Once again, he signed off with Yours truly. And once again he underlined truly. Jacqueline smiled to herself. Of course she was going to go and . . . She paused. The docks? At dusk?

  She read the note again, then again. Why the devil would he suggest such an unsavory location? And his handwriting seemed vaguely familiar in this longer note. She compared it with his first note and still felt she’d seen it somewhere else, she just couldn’t remember—and then she did.

  Her smile was back. She was definitely going to meet him at the docks; she just wasn’t sure how yet.

  Chapter Eight

  OUR PLAN IS IN motion, so there’s no turning back now,” Jeremy remarked. “Nervous?”

  “Not even a little.” Jacqueline sat beside him in the chaise, offering a grin to prove it.

  “I hope you’re right about this, Jack.”

  “So do I. But in either case, we’re prepared.”

  “But if it is the blackguard who abducted you and we capture him, just imagine what the elders will say. They’ll see I’m as capable of handling a dangerous mission as my father. Much obliged for the opportunity to prove it, minx.”

  She grinned. “My pleasure.”

  It was still a long ride to the docks at Wapping. But any of London’s docks or riverfronts could be dangerous even in the bright light of day, let alone near dusk, so she and her brother were well armed for their mission. And well protected. She glanced behind her to make sure all four of her big, muscular guards were keeping up with them on their mounts. They were.

  And she hadn’t lied to Jeremy. How could she be nervous when she was exhilarated? No matter the outcome, she’d have answers tonight.

  Jeremy was driving his two-wheeled, single-horse chaise, which only had a wide perch that was designed for one but could accommodate two. He used this vehicle to get around London by himself, when he was out and about without his wife and children, since he wasn’t fond of riding a horse. He’d brought it tonight so they could both sit on the wide perch, which would allow them to see far ahead of them when they neared the Wapping dock stairs.

  A while later, Jeremy remarked, “You know, if this is actually a suitor of yours, he had time to call on you for any farewelling in a nice, safe parlor. Didn’t that occur to you?”

  “My beaus get turned away at the door, so he couldn’t. He might have tried, then left the note instead.”

  “No callers a’tall? Hell’s bells, Jack, I thought you were going to have a normal Season. This doesn’t sound the least bit normal.”

  “I am, and I was, but—”

  “Never mind, there’s nothing normal about the number of your suitors, either. You’re going to force Artie and Henry to retire, you know, if they’ve been having to slam the door shut so often.”

  “Nonsense, those two old salts love slamming doors. They complained when they had to let my suitors in!”

  Jeremy tsked. “I would have thought you, of all women, would have had no trouble a’tall dismissing the men you aren’t interested in marrying. You’re certainly not known for being subtle, Jack.”

  “Nor was I. I warned them I’m not considering marriage proposals this year. They’re just being stubborn. So it’s not my fault if they figure out too late that when I say something, I bloody well mean it.”

  “Did I strike a nerve? Or are you nervous?”

  “Neither, but maybe you can tell me why a man thinks he can change a woman’s mind about him simply by persevering?”

  “You’re joking, right? A no never discouraged me, it merely made me more charming.”


  “So it’s just the chase that keeps men interested? Or more likely the competition in this case?”

  “Probably both, but foremost, it’s simply you, minx. You’re the prime catch of the Season. It would also be the coup of the century for a young buck to marry James Malory’s daughter without getting trounced first.”

  She laughed. “There is that, I suppose.”

  “But what if you’ve got it all wrong,” Jeremy persisted, “and we only have to contend with an obnoxiously determined suitor. D’you actually favor this fellow above the others?”

  She grinned. “I told you. He piqued my interest because he posed a mystery, professing to want to win my heart but refusing to give me his name. I’d like to solve that mystery before he leaves England.”

  “Hell’s bells, Jack!” Jeremy stared at her for a moment before he shook his head. “You’re being played. Sounds like something I might have done if I was determined when I was still chasing skirts. He’s worked his way to the top of that ridiculously high stack of yours, hasn’t he? So his ploy worked. And I’m going to bloody well pummel him m’self if he’s lured you to the docks just to get you alone, away from his competition. He probably wants to steal a kiss before—have they been stealing kisses?”

  Suddenly Jeremy looked quite angry. Jacqueline chuckled. “Course they have—well, course they’ve tried—but I’m not interested in kissing yet. Even had to sock Lord Giles to get that point across a few weeks ago. Blackened his eye and didn’t feel the least sorry for it, though I did accept his apology the next day. But when I’m ready for kissing, I’ll likely be the one stealing them, so you needn’t worry about that.”

  “That’s supposed to put my mind at ease?” Jeremy snorted with a roll of his eyes, but said no more about it.

  Chapter Nine