door and tell him that I said he is to escort you to the children’s home and return you to your inn tonight.”
“But—no.” Arabella’s cold hands were pressed into her skirts. “You needn’t. That is to say—”
“He is a good man, in my employ, and you and the children will be considerably safer crossing this town with him than without.” He scowled again. “You will do this, Miss Caulfield, or I will not take you to Saint-Nazaire on my ship.”
Her heart turned about. “You will take me there?” Upon his ship. Upon the sea.
He scanned her face and shoulders. “To whose home are you traveling, little governess?”
He was no longer teasing. She must be honest. “I am going to Saint-
Revee-des-Beaux. It belongs to an English lord, but the Prince of Sensaire is in residence there and he has hired me to teach his sister before her debut in London society at Christmastime.”
“Saint-Revee-des-Beaux,” he only said.
“Do you know it, Captain?”
“A bit.” His brow cut downward. “Miss Caulfield . . .”
“Captain?”
“My ship is not a passenger vessel. There will be no other women, no fine dining or other amusements. Aboard it, you will be at my mercy. Mine alone.
You do understand that, do you not?”
“I . . .” She hadn’t given it thought after so many people in port recommended him. Naively, she had assumed it meant he was a gentleman.
But gentlemen had lied to her before.
She had no choice. “I understand.”
“We depart at dawn, with or without you.”
He moved away, and Arabella released a shaking breath. Forcing a bright smile, she pivoted about and beckoned the children to her.
A
With the publication of her debut novel in 2010, KATHARINE ASHE earned a spot among the American Library Association’s “New Stars of Historical Romance.” Amazon awarded
Reviewers call her books “breathtaking,” “lushly intense” and “sensationally intelligent.”
Katharine lives in the wonderfully warm Southeast with her beloved husband, son, dog, and a garden she likes to call romantic rather than unkempt. A professor of European history, she has made her home in California, Italy, France, and the northern United States. Please visit her website at www.KatharineAshe.com.
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By Katharine Ashe
