Читать книгу Seducer - Kayla Gray - Страница 8

Madelaine woke to the first pink glow of dawn over the Charleston dockyards. She had passed the last few hours of night huddled in an alley against the side of a warehouse, tall clumps of scratchy sea grass concealing her. Now, her legs were cramped and her head was pounding as a result of Geoffrey’s brutality. As she uncrossed her arms to rub her temples, the sight of blood caught her attention. In the morning light, there was no hiding the dark stains that marred her fingers and palms.

Was it Geoffrey’s blood?

He had fallen…and then she hadn’t seen him move again.

But she had only knocked him unconscious. Hadn’t she?

Oh, dear God, no. What had she done? Tears threatened to spill, but she swiped them away with the back of her hand.

She had killed him. She knew it as surely as she knew her life was over.

There was no question of going back to apologize. No explanation would suffice in the murder of a man like Geoffrey Townsend. She had no choice but to leave Charleston as quickly as possible. However, the decision whether or not to go to London had been made for her. She wouldn’t bring her disgrace upon her aunt and cousins.

But where was she to go? Madelaine decided she would settle for travel on any ship, going anywhere as long as she could leave right away. She would figure the rest out once she was far, far away from Charleston.

She tore open the pocket in her petticoat and retrieved her money, then tucked it into her bodice. She scrubbed the blood from her hands in a muddy puddle, then straightened her hair and dress as best she could manage without a mirror.

The sun was breaking through the haze, promising a bright day, perfect for sailing. She could hear people moving about, men’s voices, the cries of seagulls and the sounds of goods being moved from warehouse to wharf and loaded onto ships by outgoing merchantmen.

Madelaine looked all around her before stepping out of the alley. She tried to put on her most confident face, despite the sick knot of regret that lay heavily in her stomach. She saw a young woman about her age standing next to a large assortment of trunks and boxes wearing a lovely green striped traveling dress. She was in the company of a man who appeared to be a sailor or a dock worker. The young man seemed to be quite taken with the girl, who appeared more than a little uncomfortable with the attention.

Madelaine looked around for the girl’s escort—a father, brother or husband. She saw no one. Not even a maid. The man was getting bolder in his approach and the woman backed away a step, which only brought the man closer to her. He reached out and touched her cheek, and Madelaine could see the panic in the girl’s face as she recoiled and glanced about.

The memory of her own mistreatment just hours ago burned Madelaine’s blood. She would not stand by and watch this woman get treated roughly or even impolitely. She rushed to the girl’s side, took her arm and pulled her aside.

“There you are. I’m so sorry I’m late,” she said to the flustered girl. Then she turned to the rough young man. “What do you think you’re doing, sir? Leave us this instant.”

“I was just talkin’ to the lady. Ain’t no harm in that, is there?” he said, scratching his hat across his blond head.

“Yes, as a matter of fact, there is. You have no business talking to this lady. You clearly saw she was momentarily without her escort and you could have compromised her reputation immensely with your ignorance.” Madelaine tried to make her tone as pompous as she could, praying the young man would be intimidated enough not to question her.

“I…I’m sorry,” he said to Madelaine. Then he turned to the girl. “Sorry, miss, I didn’t mean nothin’.”

He then tipped his dirty hat and scuffled on his way. Madelaine let out a breath, then turned her concern to the stranger, who took Madelaine’s hands and squeezed them.

“Thank you, darling girl! I just didn’t know what I was going to do about him. Why, you’re my guardian angel. I just know you are.” She spun about, as if looking for someone or something, her green floral hat bobbing prettily. “My goodness, are you alone? Oh, my name is Olivia, by the way. Olivia Bradford.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Olivia,” Madelaine said, still trying to calm her racing heart. Olivia was like a bubbling brook at the bottom of a dangerous waterfall. “I might ask you the same question. Where is your escort?”

“I must be creating quite a scandal. Well, it’s a tragedy of sorts, you see. My governess took ill yesterday. And now she’s in no condition to travel. But I am determined to get back to Virginia right away. You see, I’m going to be engaged.”

“You are?” Madelaine asked, struggling to put aside her own problems for the moment.

“Yes. My father gave my beau permission to ask me to marry him, but he said we had to wait until the end of summer. Well, it is now the very end of summer and I intend to be home as fast as the wind will carry me. Did you tell me your name?”

“Madelaine.” She thought it best not to give her last name, under the circumstances.

“Madelaine. I like that. Where is your escort, Madelaine?”

“I, uh, I don’t have one,” she said, suddenly wishing she had an excuse in case the girl asked.

“We are in the same boat, then, aren’t we?” Olivia said, laughing gaily. “Where are you bound for?”

Madelaine stalled and glanced around at the various ships, as if she’d find an answer painted on them. “Ah, well, my destination is a bit in question at the moment.”

Olivia’s lips puckered in thought while her sable brows wrinkled across her forehead. “That sounds mysterious, Madelaine. Tell me, have you ever been to Virginia?”

“No,” Madelaine said. She glanced all around them, searching faces for anyone showing undue interest in them.

“My, it’s hot this morning. You won’t tell on me if I take these off, will you?” Olivia asked, winking as she pulled off her leather gloves.

“Of course not.”

“I just had a splendid thought.”

“What’s that?” Madelaine asked, distracted. Her heart skipped as two couples and their maids rushed past them. In her own mind, everyone was searching for the maid who had left Geoffrey Townsend to bleed to death on the floor of one of his guest rooms.

“Neither of us has someone to travel with, which, of course, is terribly inappropriate for gentle young women like ourselves. I was thinking we could travel together. You could accompany me to Virginia and then stay with my family until you’re quite ready to get to wherever you’re going.”

Madelaine’s mouth dropped open. No one had offered her such a kindness since before her mother had died. Words failed her as she swallowed a lump in her throat. She managed to nod her agreement. It was the perfect solution to get her away from Charleston. She just prayed they would be leaving very soon.

“We are going to be the best of friends. I just know it, don’t you?” Olivia said, taking Madelaine’s arm and guiding her down the dock. “I’m quite hungry. What about you, Madelaine? Have you eaten this morning?”

“No,” she managed.

“Come along. Allow me to buy you breakfast. I saw a sausage stand over there under the trees when I arrived this morning.”

“No, I—”

“I quite insist. It’s the least I can do to repay you for saving me from my persistent admirer,” she said, with a roll of her pretty brown eyes.

Though she thought her stomach was too unnerved to handle food, Madelaine was grateful for the large hunk of cornbread. As she held it in her hands, she tried not to imagine the dried blood she had washed away a short time ago, but it was no use. Geoffrey’s blood would always be on her hands.

By the time they had finished eating, the Oxford was ready to sail. A thin man with red hair came over to the bench where they sat in the shade under a large oak tree. He greeted Olivia and then introduced himself to Madelaine as Captain O’Brian. He seemed relieved that Olivia had a traveling companion and invited the women to board the Oxford at their convenience. They would be ready to sail within the hour.

“Captain O’Brian is such a nice man. We were introduced two afternoons ago at tea, and when he heard I was in a hurry to get home, he kindly offered to take me on board the Oxford. He usually doesn’t take passengers, only cargo. In fact, we’re going to one of the islands to drop off some sugarcane and rice before actually sailing up to Virginia,” Olivia commented.

She looked to Madelaine, who glanced over her shoulder for the tenth time in the last half hour.

“Are you all right, Madelaine? You seem troubled.”

“I’m fine,” she responded, trying not to twist her fingers into a knot in her lap. She couldn’t very well admit that she feared the authorities could come for her at any moment.

“Are you certain that’s all? You seem almost frightened. Is there anything I can do?” Olivia asked in concern.

“I just wish we could be on our way.”

Olivia stood up and smoothed the front of her dress, then pulled on her gloves and held her hand out to Madelaine. “Let’s go, then, shall we?”

Madelaine stood and took one last look back as Olivia pulled her along. For a moment she worried that when Geoffrey’s body was discovered, her father would be accused of his murder. But everyone in the dining room had seen him leave before the meal had even been served. Besides, if she was brutally honest with herself, her father was no longer her concern. In a way he had been dead to her for years—certainly since the first time she had seen him strike her mother in a drunken rage.

Thinking only of himself, he had left her at Geoffrey’s, to live or die by her own wits and skills—and she would. She wasn’t so sure what would become of him. She had been the one to keep food on the table and a roof over their heads. Maybe he would regret his decision and come looking for her. Eventually.

But she doubted it. He would go in search of cheap ale before he would come for her. She was on her own.

And despite the contrition she felt over taking Geoffrey’s life, she couldn’t bring him back. She had only been trying to defend herself, and though the guilt was excruciating, she didn’t have the courage to stay and hang for the man.

Olivia ushered them past the numerous long wharves that were now teeming with people. Ships were being loaded with kegs, barrels and boxes of all sizes. The smells of livestock and hay mingled with the ever-present scent of seaweed as the morning breeze picked up. Shops and offices lined the wharves and people rushed about minding the details of their busy lives.

The two women walked up the gangway of the Oxford, a large, two-masted merchant ship fitted with square sails and one of the many versions of new flags being created by each of the Colonies. Olivia kept up a steady stream of conversation, pausing only long enough to nod shyly at two sailors who smiled as they hurried past, carrying the last of her trunks on their shoulders.

“Welcome aboard, ladies. I hope you’ll have a pleasant voyage. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do for you,” Captain O’Brian said, tipping his hat as he approached.

“Thank you, Captain. We’ll be quite fine, I’m sure. Your ship is lovely and I thank you again for your kind assistance in seeing me home,” Olivia said.

“My pleasure, miss. We’ll be under way soon. Good day, ladies,” he said, bowing slightly before taking his leave.

“Come, Madelaine, let’s stand at the railing and watch Charleston shrink into a tiny little spot on the horizon,” Olivia said, rushing to the port-side railing.

Madelaine joined her new friend, though she was reluctant to stand in such a conspicuous place. She positioned herself a step behind, hoping Olivia’s wide sun hat would conceal her. She felt weak-kneed with guilt and began to second-guess her decision to flee. If she turned herself in, she could explain…. Maybe, just may be the courts would be understanding.

But she struggled with her decision too long. The anchor was raised and the Oxford slipped out of her mooring into the harbor. No one on the docks was rushing toward them, coming to take her away in irons.

“I take it you are not going to miss Charleston,” Olivia ventured gently.

Madelaine shook her head slowly. “No, I won’t. I’ve lived here my entire life…but things have changed so much,” she said, placing her hands on the railing next to Olivia’s.

“Perhaps things will change again and you could come back someday.”

“I don’t ever wish to come back here,” Madelaine replied.

“But what about your family?”

Madelaine swallowed hard but couldn’t answer.

“You know, you still haven’t told me why you’re leaving Charleston.”

“The less you know about me, the better you’ll be.”

“Oh, Madelaine, you are in some kind of trouble,” she whispered, placing her hand on Madelaine’s arm. “You can trust me. I promise I’ll try to help you.”

“I appreciate that, truly I do. But we’re going to be together for only a short time and I know it would be best that I keep my secrets to myself,” she said, trying to sound less frightened than she truly felt.

Olivia nodded and smiled gently. “Do you have family in Virginia?”

“No. I have an aunt and cousins in London,” Madelaine replied, leaving out the fact that she had already decided against that option.

“You simply can’t travel to London now. The blockades are terrible. And dangerous. You must wait until it’s safer.”

Madelaine sighed. Olivia was smart. And persistent. “Well, perhaps I can find employment when we reach the island. Which one are we sailing to?”

“Oh, dear, Captain O’Brian didn’t say and I didn’t think to ask. I’m quite excited—I’ve never been to the islands. I hear they are brilliant with color. But, Madelaine, you simply can’t stay there.”

“Why not?”

“Because I know already that I would miss you terribly,” she said, with a kind smile. “Besides, didn’t we already agree that you would accompany me to Virginia?”

Madelaine attempted to smile and then nodded.

“The matter is settled, then. You will come home with me. Mother will be as pleased as rose petals to have company. You’ll stay at Riverside for as long as you like.”

“That’s very kind, but I won’t be able to stay for long.”

“But why? You don’t have anywhere in particular you have to be, right?”

“I’m afraid you don’t understand. I know I haven’t explained myself very well. It’s just…I don’t know how to say this, really,” Madelaine said, pushing a curl from her eyes.

Olivia’s velvety brown eyes filled with concern, a tiny stack of wrinkles forming just between her brows at the top of her pert nose. Madelaine felt she could trust the girl, though she had never given her trust to anyone so quickly.

“My family…I am alone now. Everything from my past is gone and…well, I must find employment,” Madelaine finished, averting her gaze. She felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment at having to make such a humiliating admission. It wasn’t that long ago that Hartwell House was filled with servants and luxuries of every kind. Olivia would have been her peer.

“I’m terribly sorry about your family, Madelaine,” Olivia said, draping her arm around Madelaine’s shoulder.

They looked out over the choppy waves for a few moments in thoughtful silence. The sun warmed Madelaine’s shoulders and the salty breeze lifted her hair off her neck.

“I may have a solution to both of our situations,” Olivia said, clapping her hands with a smile. “You need employment and I need a companion. My governess is far too busy with my sister to keep up with all of my social engagements. My father wouldn’t have allowed me nearly as much freedom if I hadn’t been dragging the dear woman with me everywhere I wished to go. But I know he would approve if you would accept the position,” she said, with an artful lift of her dark brows.

“I don’t know….”

“We’ll go to Market Square and eat at Chowning’s Tavern. We’ll go about Williamsburg as if we hadn’t a care in the world. And as soon as you’ve saved enough money, you can go to London or wherever else you wish to go. See? This is a perfect arrangement, don’t you think? You must accept,” Olivia said, presenting her case with her gloved palms outstretched facing the sun.

“It hardly seems fair for you to pay me to spend time with you.”

“But you and I both know it is fair. I understand that you have suffered family tragedy, Madelaine, but that cannot change the station to which you were born. You could never be less than the genteel lady you are. And that is precisely the type of companion my father would insist on me hiring.”

Madelaine lowered her head and swallowed, feeling relief flood over her guilt. It was a perfect arrangement, indeed. Now, Olivia was acting the part of guardian angel and Madelaine found she couldn’t say no. Nor did she want to.

“I accept.” She stuck out her hand to shake Olivia’s, setting the deal.

Olivia laughed and pulled Madelaine into a hug. The petite brunette smiled as if she was used to getting her way. Madelaine hardly remembered a time when she felt like things might actually work out for the best.

Two sailors coiling rope nearby were talking and their voices carried on the wind to Madelaine. She listened merely to distract herself from thinking of Geoffrey, his lifeblood draining into the Oriental rug.

“I hear that Angel sank another one,” one man said.

“That one came straight from hell. He ain’t no angel to us English merchant ships, for sure.”

“Damn Colonials. Think they’re above the king’s law. They ain’t no better than pirates, takin’ what they want and killin’ like animals.”

“They are pirates. Can’t get no navy so they just go out and plunder us honest blokes just tryin’ to make a livin’.”

“General Gage is gonna be mighty grateful for them hundred guns we got hidden in the hold.”

“Think we’ll really be goin’ to war?”

“That’s what Cap’n O’Brian said. And the more weapons and ammo we steal from them Colonials, the more we line our pockets.”

“As long as Angel don’t find us out.”

“God help us if he does. I heard he tortures everyone before throwin’ ’em overboard and torchin’ the ships. Don’t even give ’em a chance at a trial. He don’t care about the law; he just likes killin’.”

The other sailor crossed himself and spit a line of tobacco juice in a bucket on the deck. Just then an order rang out and both men dropped the ropes they were coiling. They took off their shoes and shirts and climbed into the rigging to unfurl the last of the sails for more speed.

Madelaine shivered despite the heat of the morning. Olivia still looked out toward the shrinking coast, unaware of the conversation between the sailors. She wouldn’t tell Olivia that they were on a British ship merely disguised as American. She didn’t want to worry her and there was nothing they could do about it now. At least the captain was flying Colonial colors. She prayed that if the American pirate they spoke of was out there on the water with them, the Oxford would slip by unnoticed until she and Olivia were no longer passengers.