Captive Hearts Read online

  Matthew frowned. “Where is your cloak?”

  “I left it behind in Edward’s coach. Hannah, my maid, will bring it along.”

  “It’s cold, come share mine.”

  She turned to look at him. He held the folds of the heavy wool garment open. His long coat edged in black satin piping hung open. His dark blue satin waistcoat clung to his lean torso, accentuating the breadth of his chest and flatness of his abdomen. With something akin to awe, she took in the long line of his body slouched against the seat, his legs spread before him, his feet planted firmly upon the floor. A melting heat spread low in her belly. Her heart fluttered like a bird attempting to take flight. The foot wide span between them seemed too short a distance—and too long. She became aware of Talbot and Clarisse watching the exchange, and her cheeks grew hot.

  Matthew slid over closing the distance between them.

  His arm went around her waist drawing her firmly against him. He draped the fabric of his cloak around her.

  The heat of his body clung to the garment, enveloping her in warmth. The defined musculature of his chest lay beneath the hand she placed against his waistcoat. Her breast pressed into the curvature of his ribs and the rest of her body from waist to knee aligned with the length of his. His musky manly fragrance overrode the heady scents of soap, leather and wood smoke. He smelled of vanilla and spice and heat. She swallowed against a tide of emotion she had never experienced before. She felt safe yet threatened. She wanted to burrow against him, yet wanted to break free and run. When he grasped her hand and held it against his chest, she felt too addled to protest. The gentle sway of the coach rocked them against one another. She pressed her thighs together mortified by the empty ache that twisted between them. Dear God, was everything she felt written on her face for Lord and Lady Willingham to read?

  “As angry as you are with him, I would urge you to be careful when dealing with Lord Rudman, Matthew.” Clarisse’s brows puckered with worry. “Until you are aboard your ship and on your way home he will be waiting for any excuse to imprison you again. To have his

  wife prefer another man must surely be a blow to his pride, if not his heart. He has a reputation for holding a grudge to the death.”

  The soft womanly feel of Katherine’s breast against Matthew’s ribs distracted him. She smelled of sun warmed violets and woman. Her narrow waist exaggerated the full thrust of her breasts, or from the feel of her against him, perhaps not. He rubbed his thumb against the calluses on the pad of her palm. It surprised him that her hands were marred. Only physical labor of some kind could have created the thickened areas. And he had never seen any lady do more than raise a teacup.

  “Being able to hold a grudge is something Lord Rudman and I have in common.”

  He felt Katherine’s stillness. He looked down at her, but couldn’t see her expression.

  “Revenge is a double-edged sword, Matthew.” Talbot shifted, his white brows drawn together in a fierce frown.

  “The possibility of losing as much as you gain is too great.”

  “I don’t have any plans to do anything rash, Talbot.” He struggled to relax the taut muscles of his jaw and shoulders. “I don’t want to cause you and Clarisse any more distress than I already have.”

  “But—” Talbot added.

  Matthew remained silent. He couldn’t promise not to pursue some form of pay back if the opportunity presented itself. What Lord Rudman had done to him, out of misplaced jealousy, was inexcusable.

  He had never understood the nefarious thrill that some men got when carrying on a dalliance with a married woman. There were too many others available.

  Virgins were another difficulty to be avoided like a plague. Eagle-eyed mothers hovered near, awaiting an opportunity to help their untarnished offspring capture a mate. The girls, usually part women-part children, dangled their purity like a lure beneath the noses of eligible bachelors as though that alone would make them a suitable wife.

  His attention rested on Katherine’s profile as she attempted to straighten away from him. With his hand resting possessively against her waist, and her thigh

  pressed against his, he felt the jaws of the trap pinching closed. The fact that she already wore a ring he had only an hour before placed upon her finger did nothing to alleviate the feeling.

  He’d never believed he would marry again, had often insisted he’d never do so. He drew a deep breath. She was beautiful, well spoken, and a liar. This was going to be an interesting adjustment for both of them.

  The coach pulled to a stop before the entrance to Willingham’s. Talbot rose as soon as the door opened and stepped down to assist Clarisse. Matthew unfastened the frog at his throat and released the cloak from around his shoulders. He turned and draped the garment around Katherine and caught her attention fastened on his face.

  “Are you always so solicitous of women of your acquaintance, Captain?”

  He smiled at the wary expression he read in her eyes and couldn’t resist deviling her a little. “Only the ones that I’m obliged to marry. Remember to call me Matthew now.”

  Lowering her lashes to shield her expression, she nodded.

  He stepped down from the coach and turned to offer her a hand. The cloak nearly dragged the floor, and she gathered the extra fabric with one hand while she took his hand with the other. The grace in which she accomplished the task drew his attention.

  He found her a study in contradictions, one moment exuding self-confidence, the next biting her lip in uncertainty; one moment acting the debutante, the next a shy young thing with a blush on her cheeks. Her sage advice about not allowing the reception guests to make him part of their entertainment hinted at experience.

  What social trials might she have experienced that she exhibited such cynicism? And why would such a beauty have to go to such lengths to marry?

  Once the reception was finished, they would be having a long conversation. ****

  Katherine focused her attention on Matthew’s stock as he smoothed back a stray curl from her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. She tried to relax beneath his

  touch, to appear normal when he focused his attention on her, but it was difficult when the experience was so new.

  At the prison, his lack of fear in the face of the Hicks’s enmity had made her doubt the wisdom of a partnership with him, but at the time, she had not had any other choice. Now faced with the strong, self-assured, devastatingly handsome man he had become, she knew she had made a mistake. If he held a grudge to the death, how would he respond when he discovered a woman had once more betrayed him? How would he react to sharing his name with a woman whose reputation had been sullied? How would he feel when he discovered he had married a woman no longer a virgin?

  She shuddered. Betrayed by Lady Rudman, he had lost his freedom for nearly three months. Married to a woman who had lied by omission, he would feel even more trapped—if they could not dissolve the marriage.

  No matter what happened, she would not hold him to the contract. She had struck a bargain; her reputation might be in tatters, but her honor was still intact. When his supplies were loaded aboard his ship, and he had assembled his crew, she would wish him on his way—if she were around to do so.

  First, she had to get through this reception. As they congregated in the dining room for a meal, she skimmed the faces of the twelve couples who made up the party.

  Some she had met at her uncle’s house, others were strangers. All seemed to view the marriage with—for lack of a better word, shock.

  Matthew held her chair for her and slid it forward when she was seated. She caught the sullen expression on Lady Rudman’s face from across the table. The woman’s blond, tightly curled locks hung against her shoulder like fat caterpillars crawling across the deep emerald gown she wore. Her green eyes held an arrogance that hinted at challenge whenever she looked at Katherine.

  In her opinion, Matthew’s rejection of the woman showed good judgment, but his continued gestures of affection toward hi
s new bride lacked wisdom. “You are courting disaster, Captain,” she said in a hushed tone as he ran his thumb over the back of the hand he held. “You are encouraging her to make a scene.”

  He smiled. “That will be her husband’s problem, not mine.”

  “No, it shan’t, it will be mine. It will be I who will be trapped in the parlor with her while you gentlemen are smoking your cigars and drinking your brandy after the meal.”

  He studied her, something in his gaze sharp and probing. “If it comes to a contest of wills, I’ll place my money on you. Any woman who would brave a prison in search of a groom is made of much sterner stuff than Jacqueline Rudman.”

  She drew a deep breath. “The point is not whether or not I can handle her jibes, Captain. It’s whether or not I am willing to. It is not very complimentary to either of us that you are showering me with attention only to pique her jealousy.”

  He cocked his head his expression intent. “Would you rather I ignored you and caused a wave of speculation among your friends?”

  “These are not my friends,” she said with more fierceness than she intended.

  “Are they Edward’s then?”

  “Yes.”

  He nodded, his black brows drawn into a frown.

  For months, she had endured public speculation, rumor, and innuendo. She had ignored the men’s insults, deflected the women’s attempts to divine information, and learned to show a calm immobile face in numerous socially uncomfortable situations. He would invite all those things if he continued and Jacqueline Rudman caused a scene.

  He would soon discover he had taken on more than he bargained for when he became aware of her situation.

  She owed him something in return for that at least.

  She leaned close as though to whisper in his ear, her cheek nearly brushing his. “I understand your desire for revenge, but what are you willing to risk to gain it?” She drew back to look into his face.

  He rested a forearm on the table at the same time he caught her hand. He toyed with her fingers as he studied her features. As the pale blue intensity of his gaze settled on her face, an airless feeling filled her chest, and it

  became difficult for her to draw a full breath.

  “Certainly not my freedom again or my family.” His voice sounded husky alerting her to the fact that he too felt the tug of attraction between them.

  She looked across the table at Lord Rudman in conversation with her uncle. “Then leave it. Go back to America and try to forget the past three months. As horrible and humiliating as it has been, it was just a temporary inconvenience. You will have your ship and the money and you will have your life back.” If she could go back to what had been before, she might forget her own quest for justice. But as much as she wished it otherwise, nothing would ever be the same. She no longer had a reputation or a family to lose. The advice she offered him could not apply to her.

  “When do you plan to return to America, Captain Hamilton?” Jacqueline Rudman jumped into the lull.

  Katherine was grateful, for her groom was looking at her with more and more interest as their conversation progressed.

  “Within the month,” Lord Rudman answered for him.

  Matthew’s expression hardened instantly and Katherine placed a hand upon his sleeve in warning.

  Jacqueline’s light brown brows rose. “That leaves little time for you and your bride to enjoy being entertained as a couple.”

  The thought of dealing with the normal social situations their marriage might encourage brought a knot of anxiety to her stomach. “Less than you know, Lady Rudman. We must travel to Summerhaven to retrieve my clothing and a few other possessions before the voyage.” Edward, sitting at the opposite end of the table, flipped his hand in a prissy, dismissive gesture. “A servant could do that. There is really no need for you to travel to Birmingham to an empty house.” She tensed, surprised. “What do you mean by empty, Edward?”

  “I have let the servants go and closed the house.

  There was no need for it to remain open when no one was there.”

  Anger, like molten lead, began to simmer inside her.

  “Why would you do that?”

  His beaky nose rose, his expression smug. “I had every right, my dear. It is after all part of my inheritance.”

  Fighting back the emotion threatening to choke her, she kept her features under taut control.

  “You do not have any use for my apparel, Uncle.” She leaned forward to study him with a purposely speculative light in her gaze. “Do you?”

  Edward’s face turned red, and he answered in an indignant tone. “Of course not. If it is so important to you, you may send someone to fetch your things from Summerhaven.”

  She held her tongue with an effort. She would be going to Summerhaven if she had to walk. No one would be going in her stead.

  She turned to find Matthew watching the exchange.

  He leaned back in his chair, his long lean frame settling into a relaxed slouch, his arm resting on the back of the Chippendale chair in which she sat.

  “I don’t mind accompanying Katherine if she wishes to go. There may be things a servant would find difficult to locate.”

  A smile leaped to her lips as quickly as Edward’s smirk died from his.

  “If you are to leave within a month, Captain Hamilton, you have precious little time to spend collecting Katherine’s possessions,” Edward said.

  “I think I can spare the few days that the trip there and back will take.”

  Containing her relief and satisfaction with an effort, Katherine nodded. “Thank you, Matthew. I appreciate your consideration.”

  Edward set his wine glass aside. “Suit yourself, but the servants will not be there to see to your comfort.”

  “I am sure we will manage, Uncle.” His sour look said he hoped they did not.

  “Though I have servants in my home in Charleston, living on board ship six months out of the year has insured that I can manage my own care sufficiently.” Matthew toyed with loose curl on her shoulder. “I think I’ll even be able to assist Katherine in that as well.” Her cheeks burnt. The images that his suggestion

  brought to mind stole her breath and made it impossible for her to meet his gaze.

  “Matthew, you must not tease Katherine so.” Clarisse flashed him an admonishing frown from down the table.

  He offered Katherine a smile. “My apologies, sweetheart.” He raised her hand to his lips to brush her knuckles with a kiss.

  She wished the warm moist heat of his lips did not inspire her limbs to go weak as warm butter.

  “Will Mrs. Hamilton be traveling with you on board your ship?” one of the other women asked from down the table.

  “No. This will be my last voyage as a sea captain.

  Now that I’m wed, I’ll be settling into married life and concentrating on being a husband and father.” Her lips parted in surprise. She wondered if he truly intended to give up his ship after all he had gone through to get it back.

  “Would it please you to have me underfoot and at your disposal, Katherine?”

  She had been toyed with enough. She pretended to straighten his immaculately tied stock and offered him a smile. “It is a relief to know that you will be settling down. No woman wishes to think her husband enjoys being away from her for nearly half a year at a time.”

  “You seem such an adventurer, Captain Hamilton.” Jacqueline Rudman’s attention focused on Matthew, her expression projecting polite concern. “I hope life in America will not seem boring after life at sea.”

  “I’m looking for challenges in other places now, Lady Rudman. I believe I’ll find it in marriage and fatherhood.

  I’m sure Lord Rudman feels the same way.” Avery Rudman frowned, making his jowly bulldog features appear even less attractive. “Indeed, Hamilton.

  Marriage is a challenge, but fatherhood sounds an equally worthy endeavor.”

  Katherine bit the inside of her lip to contain a smile.


  Lady Rudman appeared less than enamored with the idea.

  Clarisse commented from her place at the foot of the table. “You and Lady Rudman have been married a reasonable amount of time, Avery. I am sure you would

  both find it rewarding. With a family to see to, women look within their household for fulfillment and place less importance on the adventures of the exterior world.” Katherine met Lady Willingham’s gaze. When the woman winked at her, she bit her lip again. Some of the tension eased from her shoulders as she realized she had an ally in the room.

  “Being unmarried I know precious little about parenthood, but I do know about the adventurous spirit.” At his words, she turned her attention to the man at her right and searched her memory for a name as she studied his square-jawed features. He appeared to be in his mid forties. His brows were heavy, his hair thick and wavy and barely contained within the black lace at the nape of his neck. His beard grew so dark a shadow colored the lower half of his face. She had earlier experienced a moment of recognition when introduced to him at the chapel, but she hadn’t been able to place where or when she had seen him before.

  “I have made investments in America both before and after the war, Captain Hamilton. Profitable ventures. You are a lucky man to have captured one of our English beauties so easily, especially one with so illustrious a blood line who is willing to leave England for America.” She caught Edward’s satisfied smile and his attempt to straighten his posture.

  The man continued. “I knew your uncle many years ago, Mrs. Hamilton. Lord John Wesley Pemberton was a fine soldier.”

  She almost laughed aloud as Edward stiffened then frowned. “Thank you, sir. My mother was very proud of her brother.”

  “He and my sister’s husband, Lord Ardsley, served together before his death. You have obviously inherited some of your uncle’s adventurous spirit if you are eager to leave England for climes unknown.” Something in the man’s smile caught and held Katherine’s attention.He seemed so familiar. “A woman must follow where her husband, and her heart, leads, Mr.