Page 32 of The Swan Syndicate
She barked out a laugh. “I have my moments.”
“I’d say several,” Jamie looked in his mug before taking a drink. “Beckworth gave me an earful about letting you come with us on this mission.”
She shrugged, then played at the edges of her sleeves, almost laughing at the thought she might have picked up Beckworth’s habit of pulling at his cuffs. “He’s not talking about sending me back to Waverly, is he?”
“Not yet, but depending on what we hear about Cheval, that might change.”
She felt her temper rise but took a deep breath instead. She considered using AJ’s technique of counting to ten, but it had never worked for her. “I’m not going to be sent home like some errant child.”
Jamie raised his hands in surrender. “I’m only stating what Beckworth might ask. I agree with Hensley that your role on this mission is between you and me. But it would be unwise not to listen to his advice and opinion. Though he’ll be looking at it from a different perspective.”
“I know he wants to protect me. And though this trip back in time was supposed to be a holiday for us, I wouldn’t think of stopping him from following his heart. But neither will I step aside and let him go on his own. Besides, if trouble starts, the ship should be a safe enough haven.”
Jamie smiled. “Then we don’t have a problem.”
She gave them her best broker smile. “Excellent. Then I’ll finish up in the galley and take a rest before our evening at the inn.” She picked up their plates and mugs and spent the next hour cleaning the galley. When she returned to the cabin, Beckworth hadn’t returned. She managed to untie her dress and crawl into bed. She didn’t have time to wonder what he might be up to before sleep took her.
Beckworth leaned against a stack of crates and watched the schooner make last-minute preparations for sail. There was nothing special about the ship, no different than the four others floating dockside. It wasn’tThe Horsemanor MacDuff’s ship, but he’d overheard two men at the pub talk about their next destination and the apparent secrecy of their cargo, so he followed them back to their ship.
If this were any other mission, his gut instinct would be to follow the lead. But the only way to follow was by ship, and that was too much of a risk for the slim information he’d overheard. For now, he wanted to ensure he’d recognize the ship if they came across it again. He took note of her name, and his patience finally won out when a man strolled to the railing, looked up to the sails, and yelled an order.
Though daylight was fading, he was able to make out the man’s features, and whether he was captain or first mate; it wasenough for now. Once the man moved away from the railing, Beckworth backed up several steps then turned and headed for theDaphne.
His thoughts turned to Stella. Would she be mad that he took off without telling her? He didn’t think so. In Baywood, they always told each other where they were going when leaving the house. It made sense in that timeline. But this wasn’t Baywood or Waverly. They were on a mission. One that might have grown more dangerous than anticipated.
His natural instinct was to send her back to Waverly. He chuckled to himself as he strolled along the docks, keeping an eye open for anyone who looked familiar. She would fight him at this point of their travels, and he doubted he’d have any support from Jamie. Not yet. Rumors weren’t enough. The problem was, the more trouble they found, the less likely she’d agree to return to Waverly.
The damn woman was as protective of him as he was of her. And the sentiment made him smile. Not that long ago, he once believed he’d find a woman who followed normal conventions. A wife like Hensley’s Mary, who managed the manor, went to dinner parties, and planned ones for Waverly. A woman excited about the London season and would spend months there visiting friends, going to balls, and attending luncheons. There would be friendship and tenderness between them, and perhaps eventually some form of love. Then Stella dropped into his life and ripped away all his future plans.
At first, he’d thought it nothing more than a passionate love affair, knowing she’d go home to her place in the future. He’d had no desire to leave Waverly. Yet, once she’d returned home, his manor held nothing for him but memories of her.
Fortunately, Sebastian—the monk who’d been the one to get them involved in the Mórdha stones in the first place—had provided him the answer. He’d given Beckworth one of thestones and a new incantation that would allow him to live in both worlds with little risk. But to be honest with himself, even without the new incantation, he would have walked away from Waverly for her.
The question was whether their infatuation with each other would survive everyday life. Their first meeting and eventual romance had occurred under dire circumstances. Yet, when they’d found safety in London, she wanted to meet his friends from the old days when he was running with the crews.
He snorted. That had been part of his problem. He’d lived in two worlds his entire life, and chances were, with any other noblewoman, he would have to hide his past from her. But not Stella. She saw him for who he was and seemed to love him all the more for it. And while she continued to chip away at the hard shell he’d placed over his heart, she also made him crazy with her willingness to jump into the fray, risking her own life for him.
That had been unexpected, unnecessary, and downright irritating. She knew the risk—to a point. But he’d seen loved ones die for nothing. Ones he wasn’t able to save. And he didn’t like how his chest tightened with the thought he could lose her just as quickly.
TheDaphnewas quiet when he boarded her with dusk fading to darkness. A few sailors were top deck working on repairs that were difficult to care for while at sea. Soon they would be in their bunks or at the pubs. He nodded at the men as he made his way toward the stairs, passing through the galley on the way to their cabin. He knocked softly before entering and smiled.
Stella was face down in the bed, wearing nothing but her undergarments, her head turned to one side. Her dress had been thrown over a chair. She was a heavy sleeper when she felt safe and didn’t stir as he removed his jacket and boots. They wouldleave soon for their evening mission, but there was enough time to join her for a nap.
Once he’d stripped down to his own underwear, he crawled onto the bed and lay next to her. Though she never woke, she seemed to sense him and leaned into his embrace, her head close to his. The sounds of her slow, steady breaths lulled him to sleep.
Something flicked his nose, and he turned his head away. In his drowsy sleep, he swatted at the next light touch, thinking it an irritating fly. When it happened a third time, his eyes popped open, somewhat disoriented.
“Wake up, sleepy head.”
The sultry voice cleared his sleep-befuddled brain, and he turned as she brushed one of her swans over his nose.
He grinned and pulled her down for a kiss. When he tried to tug her into bed, she stepped away from him.
Her gaze suggested she wanted to jump in with him, but instead, she tossed him his pants and shirt. “Lando, Lane, and Michelson have already left. Jamie says Fitz never returned, so he wanted us to find him before going to the inn.”
He sighed. She was already in mission mode. “The last I saw of him was at the pub on the far side of the docks. He was just heading in. It’s a bit of a rough crowd but it should be safe enough for a quick drink before the inn.”
She wore one of the new dresses he’d bought earlier. It was plain and better fitting for this port and their task. But unless they did something with that auburn hair and her face, men would easily pick her out of a crowd.
