Page 64 of The Storybook Hero
She had to hand it to him—when it came to making an entrance or an exit into her life, Alex Leigh was nothing if not dramatic.
Fifteen
It was as if a gale force storm was raging in his head. His brow felt like it had been pounded by an ocean of angry waves, and there was a howling in his ears, like wind tearing through rigging, and the tempest wouldn’t seem to stop, no matter in which direction he rolled. Even now, he was being buffeted by….
“Mister Alex, come on now, it’s time you opened your eyes.” Squid gave him another brisk shake. “Look, I managed to bribe the cook’s mate to brew up a cup of your favorite hair of the hound.”
The dull roar sounded like his valet’s voice, but that was impossible. No doubt it was mere wishful thinking, for a swig of the fellow’s special concoction would have tasted nothing short of ambrosial at the moment. Another lurch of his queasy stomach caused him to emit a low groan.
“I think he’s finally coming around, milord.”
Alex finally managed to pry one bleary eye open. The mop of blond curls, the faint scar along the cheekbone—his valet appeared to be more than a figment of his imagination. “What the devil …”
Squid bent closer. “Feeling like a regiment of Boney’s soldiers tramped over your bonebox in their hobnail boots, eh?”
The other lid came up as Alex sought to bring his swaying surroundings into focus. “What in the name of Hades are you doing here in Russia?” he croaked. “And how the devil did you find us—arrgh, stop moving about while I am trying to speak to you! It is making me … seasick.”
A bark of laughter burst forth. “We ain’t in Russia anymore, Mister Alex. We are near half way out through the Gulf of Finland, with a fair wind toward Denmark.”
“Not in Russia!” Alex sat up so abruptly that he cracked his head on the overhanging bunk. “Bloody Hell! Where is?—”
“Calm yourself, Alex. You and young Nicholas are safely aboard one of His Majesty’s frigates, thanks to your courage and resourcefulness.”
Alex wondered whether the blow to his cranium had further addled his senses, for the voice that came from one of the blurry shapes behind his valet sounded exactly like that of his brother William. He closed his eyes and pressed his palms to his throbbing brow, hoping to force his brain into proper working order.
“Octavia,” he muttered hoarsely. “Octavia and Emma….”
There was a brief silence, save for the groaning of the ship’s timbers.
“Er, I believe he is referring to the governess.”
Hell’s Teeth!An excess of Russian vodka must induce not only a wicked intoxication but a number of strange hallucinations as well! Now it seemed to be his uncle Ivor who was speaking.
“Ah, yes. Miss … Hadley, wasn’t it?”
Alex’s lids snapped open at the mention of her name. The figure looming over him was no longer an amorphous shape, butnow clearly bore the familiar features of his eldest brother, as well as his voice.
“As to that, she quite agreed that it was time to part ways, given the circumstances,” continued the marquess. “It would have been impossible to accommodate two females in these cramped quarters.”
“You left them in St. Petersburg?” Alex’s voice was barely more than a whisper.
“Why, yes, of course. Miss Hadley indicated that was what she had expected all along. She assured me that she had adequate funds and was quite capable of managing for herself.” William gave a harried chuckle. “Indeed, I don’t doubt it. An unusual female. One who is not easily intimidated?—”
With an inarticulate roar, Alex lowered his head and lunged at his brother, his shoulder catching the marquess square in the midriff. The force of the attack sent both of them crashing to the deck of the tiny cabin. It took the combined efforts of the earl and Squid to pull Alex’s fingers from his sibling’s neck and wrestle him back to the narrow bunk.
“Mister Alex, have you gone mad?” cried the startled valet, still trying to control his employer’s thrashing arms.
As the marquess rose to his feet rather shakily and began to finger the purpling bruise on his cheek, Chittenden regarded first one nephew, then the other with a look of grave concern. “Alex, we know what an extraordinary amount of strain you have had to bear lately?—”
Alex ceased his struggling and slumped back against the rough planking. “I haven’t lost my mind, Uncle Ivor.” He drew in a ragged breath. “Just whatever shred of self-respect I still possessed.”
His troubled gaze then turned on his older brother. “No doubt you are well pleased to see your low opinion of mycharacter is so justified,” he said with a bitter sneer. “Once again I have left another person to founder.”
William’s brows drew together in consternation. “Why, surely you don’t think I meant to?—”
“Damn you! Get out—all of you!” Alex didn’t care that he was perilously close to shouting. “Except for Squid. And you, you traitorous little whelp of the sea, may take yourself off as soon as you have fetched enough brandy to keep me well under the hatches until we reach England.”
Squid’s remonstrance was cut short by a gruff snarl. “If you wish to remain in my employ, you’ll do as I say.” His lip then turned up in a sardonic curl. “But perhaps you have already decided to seek a more gentlemanly sort of company.”
