Cloudy with a Chance of Marriage

the Royal Navy?”

He bit into a hunk of bread and, while he was chewing, smirked at her. “Rather obvious change of subject, Miss Jones. Are you sure you’d not like to go back to the other?”

She turned to face him, her arms now crossed over her chest. “What happened just now can’t happen again. Ever.”

“Ever?” He had a glint of mischief in his eye.

Damn him for not believing her!

She took a deep breath. “Ever,” she said flatly. “If you want me to stay on this roof with you—if you want to continue speaking with me at all—then you’ll respect my wishes.”

He took a swig of water, all the while looking directly into her soul, it seemed. Could he tell she harbored a secret? That she was a wanton to have kissed him so willingly?

“All right.” His expression was clear and untroubled. “I’ll respect your wishes.”

“Good,” she replied.

Yet somehow she didn’t feel as if he’d promised her the same thing she’d asked.

She sank down on their crude seat and tore into her own piece of bread in a fairly uncivilized fashion, rattled and frankly indifferent to the social niceties at the moment. Captain Arrow hadn’t observed them, had he?

Kissing her in broad daylight!

What if any of the neighbors had chosen that moment to glance at her roof?

Thank God none apparently had. She stretched out her legs in relief that this time, she probably wouldn’t suffer any consequences for using poor judgment.

“What are you doing, Miss Jones?” The captain cast an admiring eye at her hemline.

Goodness. Her ankles were showing.

“Enjoying the weather until you noticed,” she said crossly, tucking her feet back under her gown. “Now tell me your tale.”

“Yes, madam.” His voice was sleek. “The story goes I was born the son of a poor fisherman and his wife. But I never met my father.”

“What happened?” Everyone should know their father if they possibly could, she thought, and felt a tad regretful for being harsh with him.

“My mother told me he drowned one summer during a torrential gale. I arrived two months later.”

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

He gave a careless smile. “It’s quite all right.” He threw one buckskin-clad leg up on the brick ledge and leaned back against the chimney, the portrait of a healthy male at ease. “I had an idyllic childhood. Lots of neighboring men stood in as fathers. We were close in my village. But one day the fun came to an end. An earl who lived nearby decided to send one poor boy to Eton, along with his son, who was supposedly a weak sort. My mother said the earl hoped whoever he chose as a charity case would serve as that boy’s protector.”

“That’s not such a bad idea.”

“No, it seemed reasonable enough. At any rate, the village elders recommended that I accompany the lad. The earl interviewed me and then agreed to send me. I had no desire to go, but my mother gave me no choice. I was educated at Eton, was never called upon to assist the weak boy—who seemed perfectly healthy to me—and when he and my own friends later left to attend Oxford or Cambridge, the earl’s largesse rightfully ceased. I went to sea instead. From there a captain took me under his wing. I saw a great deal of action during the Wars, so I quickly rose up through the ranks. Anybody would have—I just happened to be in the right places at the right times.”

“Don’t be so modest, Captain. I’m sure your skill had much to do with it.”

“Now you’re being kind,” he said.

“Not at all,” she replied. “I don’t believe in false flattery.”

“Neither do I,” he said. “This scone is delicious.”

She smiled. “It’s an old family recipe.”

“I saw you deposit some on other neighbors’ doorsteps.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t give you any,” she said tartly, and felt her cheeks heat. “But I couldn’t reward you for your bad behavior.”

He laughed. “That’s quite all right. Had I known what I was missing, I would have piped down.”

“Really?”

“No.” His eyes crinkled at the corners. “It’s a shame to extinguish a very good party.”

“I knew you’d say something like that,” she said, charmed in spite of herself. “Now go on about your story.”

“There’s nothing more to it,” he said. “The Wars are over. That pirate I always wanted to capture is now sitting in a gaol, thanks to me and my crew. I’m ready to start the next phase of my life.”

“What an interesting tale,” she said. “You became a great success, just as your mother had hoped.”

“Yes, it does sound like a nice story, doesn’t it?”

Jilly noticed a trace of bitterness in his voice. “What’s wrong, Captain? Was it traumatic being sent away from home without your permission?”

“It’s not that.” His eyes were half lidded of a sudden. “Recently, I found out the real truth about my birth. Well after mother died, a village elder wrote to tell me that the earl who sent me to Eton, Lord Stanhope, was my father. That’s when I found out that I’d inherited this house on Dreare Street. The whole village knew my situation and conspired to keep it a secret from me. They invented the tale of the father who drowned at sea.”

Jilly put a hand to her mouth. “I’m so sorry. To be lied to all these years—it must have been terrible to find out after your mother’s death.”

Stephen shrugged. “I thought I knew my mother and all those people in my village. But every time I went home to visit, every time they smiled at me and patted me on the back”—he stared across the street at Lady Duchamp’s house—“they were concealing the truth.”

There was a beat of silence, broken by the faint sound of a broom seller hawking his wares on Half-Moon Street.

“I’m sure they did it to protect you,” Jilly said, realizing full well she was deceiving him now.

But she must, she reminded herself.

She had no choice.

Nevertheless, she felt terribly guilty.

“I’m certain they thought they had my best interests at heart,” he said cheerfully enough, then stood, lit a cheroot, and inhaled upon it. Blowing a plume of smoke, he looked back at her. “I’d have been better off knowing the truth. It may hurt, but at least it allows you dignity.”

“I imagine you were very dignified, Captain, in your uniform.” She couldn’t believe she’d blurted that out. Because she had imagined him in uniform.

She blushed to the roots of her hair.

He laughed. “In my uniform, yes, I could play the part as well as any naval officer. But you’ve seen me out of uniform. You know that given a choice, I choose the undisciplined road. You and others on Dreare Street might say I choose impulse and feeling over caution and reason. And I do.”

“But that’s because you don’t know what the truth is anymore,” she said.

He gave her a long look.

She stared back, refusing to be cowed.

“You’re not only a beguiling bookseller but a perceptive one, too, aren’t you?” He reached out and rubbed a scratchy thumb over her chin.

She stepped back. “If you insist on flirting with me, Captain, I’ll ban you from the store.”

He dropped his hand. “But how will I do your bidding then?”

“You’re mocking me, sir.” Her heart was still pounding from his touch and now he had a look in his eyes that made her knees weak.

He chuckled. “You’ve got it all wrong. I admire you and your independence. Tell me more about yourself.”

The rumble of a carriage coming down the street saved her from having to answer. They went closer to the edge of the roof and peered down.

“Perhaps it will stop at Hodgepodge,” Jilly said, leaning farther out for a better look.