Page 69 of Heiress Gone Wild

“It was when he first went to America.”

“Well, that’s one story we’ve missed hearing over the dinner table, haven’t we?” Irene said, then glanced past Marjorie’s shoulder. “Ah, I see more guests coming up the gangplank, if you’ll pardon me?”

Marjorie and the others moved out of the way, leaving Irene to greet the next group of arrivals. Rex went in search of David to see how he could help, Carlotta ensconced herself in a deck chair, and Clara and Marjorie walked toward Jonathan in the bow.

“Look at you, sailor,” Clara greeted him as they approached, causing him to look up from his task. “Decided to do an honest day’s work for a change, have you?”

He straightened, grinning at his sister. “Says the woman who’s sipping champagne and doing anything but working.” He paused and pulled off his cap to wipe sweat from his brow with his wrist. “Still,” he added as he settled his cap back on his head, “the two of you look so pretty, I can’t complain.”

It was a compliment, but a glib and impersonal one, the sort he might have given any female acquaintance, and to Marjorie, the invisible wall between them seemed more impossible to breach than ever.

“That’s why,” he went on, still smiling at his sister, “I haven’t the heart to point out how lazy you’re being.”

“Lazy?” Clara cried, giving a huff of mock aggravation. “Well, I like that. I don’t think we need to listen to any more of my brother’s backhanded compliments. C’mon, Marjorie. I shall give you a tour of the ship.”

Marjorie turned and started to follow, but then, she glanced back at Jonathan, thought of Rex and Clara’s conversation about him in the carriage, and changed her mind. “You go ahead,” she told the other woman. “I’ll be along in a minute.”

Clara gave a nod and continued back toward midship, and Marjorie turned to Jonathan again. Occupied with his task, he seemed oblivious to her presence, but she spoke anyway. “I understand Clara and Irene offered to bring you back into the company.”

He didn’t even look up. “Yes.”

“But you turned down their offer?”

“I did.” He tied off the knot, grabbed a bit of rigging, and hauled himself upright. Balancing on the point of the bow, he swung around the sail he’d just secured and slid back down to secure another.

“But why?” she cried, spurred on rather than deterred by these taciturn responses. “Your father’s gone, so you wouldn’t have to worry about his interference. And coming back into Deverill Publishing would give you back what you lost.”

His hands stilled. “Nothing can do that,” he said and glanced past her. “You’d best go,” he advised and returned his attention to his task. “Clara’s waiting for you.”

It was a clear dismissal, and it stung, making her suck in a sharp breath. So much for smashing down walls, she thought and turned away, wondering why she’d even bothered to try, but she’d taken only two steps before his voice stopped her. “Marjorie?”

She forced herself to look at him, pride keeping hurt at bay. “Yes?”

“You should keep your parasol up,” he said.

She blinked, startled by such an unexpected remark. “What?”

“Your parasol.” He nodded to the ebony-handled concoction of white linen, black ribbon, and mauve lace in her hand. “The sun’s brutal on the water, and that little boater you’ve got on won’t do a thing to protect you. Your skin is so—”

He broke off, swallowed hard, and looked down, forming a knot with the rope in his hands. “Your skin is fair, and you’ll burn if you’re not careful.”

It was the first truly personal thing he’d said to her in days, and she was so astonished and relieved, it took her a moment to think of a response. “This is a bit like old times,” she said, laughing as she opened her parasol over her head. “You advising me about my wardrobe. It reminds me of our days on theNeptune. Do you remember?”

“Yes.”

One word, and yet, the intensity of it was like a shot, reverberating through the air between them. He looked up, and when he did, she almost dropped her parasol, for in his face was everything she’d seen at Claridge’s.

Her body responded at once. Warmth pooled in her midsection and spread outward, her lips tingled, and her heart gave a leap of pure, unreasoning joy in her chest.

But then, as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone, and he continued his work as if nothing had happened, making it clear the wall between them was still very much in place.

She waited a moment, but when he made no effort to continue the conversation, she gave up and walked away, vowing not to waste a single moment of what promised to be a glorious day worrying about him.

As the day went on, however, she found it a hard vow to keep, for with each hour that passed, it became more painfully obvious that no matter where she was, he wanted to be someplace else, and it left her feeling both baffled and hurt.

One would think that on a hundred-foot yacht, avoiding a particular person for an entire day would be impossible, but somehow, Jonathan managed to avoid her. If he wasn’t up at the helm with Henry, or helping David and Rex, he was playing checkers with Paul, or laughing with Hetty, or talking with any number of the other forty guests aboard.

Marjorie’s considerable pride enabled her to hide the sting of being so obviously and inexplicably snubbed, but it wasn’t until midafternoon, when theMary Louisawas starting back to Queen’s Wharf, that she was able to finally quell the hurt. She stopped scanning the deck looking for him among the crowd, she gave up wondering what had gone wrong with their newfound friendship, and she decided that if he wanted a wall between them, that was just fine with her. It was at that point that she finally began to enjoy herself.

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