He steadied her, then fled in a billowing flare of black, leaping over a low hedge and blending into the shadows. He headed not toward the rear of the manse but to the front, and was gone in an instant. Dazed by his sudden departure, Amelia turned her head slowly toward the garden. She found Ware approaching with rapid strides, followed by several other gentlemen.
“What are you doing over here?” he asked gruffly, scanning her surroundings with an agitated glance. “I was going mad looking for you.”
“I am sorry.” She was unable to say more than that. Her thoughts were with Montoya, a man who had clearly recognized the whistle of warning.
He had been real for a moment, but no longer. Like the phantom she’d fancied him as, he was elusive.
And entirely suspect.
“Would you care to explain what happened last night?”
Amelia sighed inwardly, but on the exterior she offered a sunny smile. “Explain what?”
Christopher St. John-pirate, murderer, smuggler extraordinaire-returned her smile, but his sapphire eyes were sharp and assessing. “You know very well what I am referring to.” He shook his head. “At times you are so like your sister, it is somewhat alarming.”
What was alarming was how divinely handsome St. John was, considering how devilishly his brain worked. Despite the years she’d lived within his household, Amelia was still taken aback by his comeliness every time she saw him.
“Oh, what a lovely thing to say!” she cried, meaning every word. “Thank you.”
“Minx. Fess up now.”
Any other man would have difficulty prying information out of her that she didn’t wish to share. But when the raspy-voiced pirate became cajoling, he was impossible to resist. With his golden hair and skin, thin yet carnal lips, and jeweled irises, he reminded her of an angel, for certainly only a celestial being could be formed so perfectly from head to toe.
The only outward sign of his mortality were the lines that rimmed his mouth and eyes, signs of a life that was fraught with stresses. They’d softened a great deal since his marriage to her sister, but they would never fully dissipate.
“I noted a man’s uncommon interest. He noted that I’d noted, and approached me to explain.”
Christopher leaned back in his black leather chair and pursed his lips. Behind him was a large window that overlooked the rear garden, or what would have been a rear garden if they’d had one. Instead, they had a flat, brutally trimmed lawn that made stealthy approach of the manse impossible. When one had a great deal of enemies, as St. John did, one could never lower their guard, especially for frivolous aesthetic reasons. “What explanation did he offer?”
“I reminded him of a lost love.”
He made a sound suspiciously like a snort. “A clever, sentimental ruse that almost embarrassed Ware and caused a terrible scandal. I cannot believe you fell prey to it.”
Flushing with renewed guilt, she nevertheless protested. “He was sincere!” She did not believe anyone could pretend melancholy so well. That was not to say that she wasn’t aware of something amiss, but she did believe his emotional response to her.
“My men followed him last evening.”
Amelia nodded, expecting as much. “And?”
“And they lost him.”
“How is that possible?”
St. John smiled at her astonishment. “It’s possible if one is aware that he is being followed and is trained in how to evade shadows.” His smile faded. “The man is no lovelorn innocent, Amelia.”
She rose, frowning, which forced St. John to rise as well. Her floral skirts settled around her legs, and she turned to face the rest of the room, lost in thought. Appearances could be deceiving. This room and the criminal who owned it were prime examples. Decorated in shades of red, cream, and gold, the study could belong to a peer of the realm, as could the manse it was a part of. There was nothing here to betray its primary purpose-that of being the headquarters of a large and highly illegal smuggling ring.
“What would he want with me?” she asked, remembering the previous night’s events in crystal clarity. She could still smell the exotic scent of his skin and hear the slight accent to his words that made her insides quiver. Her lips tingled from the press of his, as did her breasts with the memory of the hardness of his abdomen.
“Anything from a simple warning to me, to something more sinister.”
“Such as?” She faced him and found him watching her with knowing eyes.
“Such as seducing you and ruining you for Ware. Or seducing you and luring you away to use as leverage against me.”
The word “seducing” used in conjunction with the mysterious, masked Montoya did odd things to her. It should, perhaps, frighten her, but it didn’t.
“You know as well as I how fortuitous it is that you met Ware while in your father’s captivity and that he is willing to disregard your scandalous past and familial connections.” His fingers drummed almost silently upon the desktop. “Your son will be a marquess and your children will have every advantage. Anything that jeopardizes your future is cause for concern.”
Amelia nodded and looked away again, hoping to hide how the reduction of her relationship with Ware to the material benefits made her feel. She was well aware that she stood to gain the most from their union. As Ware’s friend, she wanted only the best for him. Marriage to her was anything but. “What do you want me to do?”
“Do not venture off by yourself. If the man approaches you again, do not allow him within a few feet of you.” The severity of his features softened. He wore cerulean blue today, a color that complemented both his tawny coloring and the beautifully embroidered waistcoat that hugged his lean waist. “I do not mean to chastise you. I want only to keep you safe.”
“I know.” But the entirety of her life had been spent in gilded cages. She found herself torn between loving the security of it and resenting the restrictions. She tried to behave, tried to follow the rules set for her, but at times it was difficult to conform. She suspected that was due to her father’s blood in her veins. It was the one thing she most wished to change about herself. “May I be dismissed? Ware will be along shortly to take me for a ride in the park, and I must change.”
“Of course. Enjoy yourself.”
Christopher watched Amelia leave the room and then resumed his seat, only to stand a moment later when his wife entered in a profusion of pale pink skirts. As always, the sight of her made his heart race with a mixture of attraction and pure joy.
“You look a vision this afternoon,” he said, rounding the desk to embrace her. As she had since the moment they had first met, Maria melted against him, a lush warm weight that he adored.
“You say that every day,” she murmured, but her smile was filled with pleasure.
“Because it’s true every day.” He cupped her spine and molded her curves to his hardness. They fit together like two matching puzzle pieces, despite their disparity in height.
Maria shared the same glossy raven tresses as her younger sibling, but that was the extent of their physical similarities. Amelia took after her father, the late Viscount Welton, with his emerald green eyes and tall, slender build. Maria, who gratefully claimed a different pater, took after their Spanish-blooded mother with her sloe eyes, short stature, and full figure.
St. John and his wife made a striking couple; their contrasting appearances complemented each other in ways oft commented on. But they drew the most attention for their reputations. The former Lady Winter was still known as the “Wintry Widow,” a woman who was widely rumored to have murdered her first two husbands. Christopher was her third and last husband, the husband of her heart, and he was frequently celebrated for remaining alive.
Christopher would smile and say nothing. It wasn’t true, but he would not refute the misconception. Few would understand how he died in her arms every night and was reborn.
“I overheard the end of your conversation with Amelia,” she said. “I think you are looking at the situation from the wrong perspective.”
“Oh?” This was where their true similarities lay. As different as they were on the exterior, on the interior they were alarmingly alike, both criminally minded and quite wily. “What am I missing?”
