Page 87 of The Rebellious Countess
Peter’s smile dropped as did the grins of the other pirates.
“Miss, you can’t tell anyone about the earl’s rescue. Didn’t the captain explain that to you?”
He hadn’t said a word to her—he’d avoided her, but this was the perfect opportunity to ask him. “Oh, well I’m certain he planned on telling me all the do’s and the don’ts of the mission. Can you take me to him?”
Her question not only made the first mate’s frown deepen, his brows drew together as well, and she knew immediately what he was going to say. She put up her hand to stop him. “He’s already gone ashore, hasn’t he?”
“Yes, Miss.”
She put on her best society smile. It didn’t fool anyone, least of all herself.“Thank you, Peter. I believe His Lordship is ready. Is Sébastien still aboard?”
“Yes, Miss. He’s waiting on deck.”
She nodded. “We’ll be up right after we change.”
They transferred Simon to the stretcher, and she thanked God he was no longer conscious. It may be a sign of how dangerously ill he was, but it also meant he didn’t have to suffer through the pain. Once he was on his way above deck, Máira closed the door and began changing her clothes.
“I’ll need your assistance with these contraptions. I haven’t worn a corset in over a decade.” Aventine held up the undergarment and shuddered.
“I can honestly say, I am not looking forward to putting one back on,” Máira confessed.
“Then let us go without.” Aventine suggested.
Máira couldn’t help but laugh despite her heart breaking. “It is not done in England.”
“Are we not in Scotland?”
“Currently we are in England.”
Aventine sighed. “Very well. Let the torture begin.”
As the two women served as the other’s lady’s maid, Máira had to ask the question that had been plaguing her since their escape from Mont Saint Michel. “How did you find us at Mont Saint Michel?”
“I knew the Comte Legrand was on his way to execute the earl, so I borrowed a horse so that Tomás would not be implicated if I was caught. When the Comte crossed the bay, I tied the horse up in the woods and followed his horse’s tracks. He knew the way very well.” She lifted her chin with pride. “I did not sink once.”
Máira thought about Aventine crossing the muddy bay alone and in the dark. All to warn them. “You risked everything for us.”
“I risked everything for my son. One day, you will understand why.”
Máira tried to smile, but couldn’t, because she wouldn’t. Children were not in her future.
They made their way to the deck, and she squinted against the harsh brilliance of the sunlight partnered with the jovial spirits of the crew. Their merry banter was in direct opposition to her mood as they went about their duties before taking leave on shore. Máira shaded her eyes and looked up to the quarter deck. Her heart dropped when she only found the second mate standing on the port side yelling orders to the crew. She scanned the rest of the deck to no avail. Her husband, ex-husband, she wasn’t sure what to call him except the owner of her heart, was conspicuously missing. He was gone and had no plans to say goodbye.
Aventine was talking to Tomás and Sébastien, as he walked next to Simon’s stretcher holding his hand. The sailors carried the unconscious earl down the gangplank and onto the docks. She hesitated, waiting…wondering…
“He left early this morning. He had an appointment with the War Office. He told me to tell you goodbye.” She turned to find Ross gazing at her with pity and sorrow in depths of his eyes that brought back all the memories of her childhood. Her brother-in-law wore the same expression the servants had worn when the Blair sisters had left their childhood home. From their gardener, who handed each girl a rose to leave at their father’s grave, a grave filled with questions and no answers, to their nursemaid, who had taken them home and cared for them, never explaining why their oldest sister was living with their new guardian while they stayed in the country in little more than a one-bedroom house. They had not wanted for food or clothing, but they certainly hadn’t dressed or lived as they had when their parentswere alive. They were hidden from the world, and the world had been hidden from them. She should have stayed hidden.
She gave Ross a half smile. “I’d heard he went ashore.”
“Astley was serious about his proposal.”
“He is the best of men,” she admitted.
“You could never go wrong with a man like Astley for your husband.”
“So why didn’tyoumarry him?” she asked.
Ross smiled. “My heart was already taken.”
