Page 59 of The Make-Believe Marriage
He could be injured and lying helpless.
Every moment lost in saving him was precious. “The Admiralty would not penalize you if your carriage broke down or a torrential storm slowed you down, would they? How could they punish you if you stopped to save an injured man?”
“I will have word sent to the Gretna Green constable to conduct a thorough search of the area. If a broader search is necessary, I’ll see if a scouting force can be spared from the Greenock barracks to be sent down there.”
“Ifnecessary?Ifthey can be spared? What are they doing other than whiling their time away doing marching exercises? No one is attacking Greenock.” Syd tried to remain calm, but did a dismal job of it. “How can you be so casual about this? Time is precious.”
“So is my career. I am not going to jeopardize it for your arse of a father. He’s cost me enough, as it is. Not to mention, he almost cost you your life tonight.”
She gasped. “He is not…all right, he is not the best father, I will grant you. But he ismyfather and I love him despite his numerous faults. Why will you not do this for me? I am begging you.”
His eyes turned as cold as ice. “If you were the object of my search, I would move heaven and earth to find you. But your father is not you. He is a selfish, inconsiderate excuse for a man, completely useless and worthless. I will do all I can for him, but not at the peril of my Royal Navy obligations. Enough, Syd. You are not going to change my mind.”
“You think he is worthless.”
He gave her another cold, hard look. “I will not deny it.”
“Do you think I am worthless, too?”
CHAPTER 11
OCTAVIAN SPENT MOSTof the evening giving the local constable information about Sir Henry and his obsessive desire for Syd. He also relented for the sake of Syd and arranged for the constable to send out a search party for her father. He supposed it made sense to send this constable and his men down immediately rather than merely sending word to the Gretna Green authorities. This constable had seen the damage caused by Sir Henry and might search more diligently because of it.
He still felt this was a big concession to Syd. However, she was so worried her father was sill alive but too injured to seek help for himself, that he could not find it in his heart to deny her.
As they were about to return to their bedchamber, Syd implored the constable not to give up the search until his men had found her father.
“Aye, m’lady. I assume there’s to be a reward for the safe recovery of the earl?” the man asked.
“Yes,” Octavian said in resignation, knowing it would be coming out of his pocket. He had already agreed to pay the entire cost of the search, so what was a little more tossed in as a reward?
He tried not to show his irritation, but Syd was no fool and understood what the heavy air of his silence meant. They had been married only a few hours and he was already piling up expense on top of expense to save the undeserving man. Octavian had already agreed to pay her father’s debts to Sir Henry. Now it was costing him the cost of a search partyanda reward.
Syd had asked nothing for herself.
Could she not see her father was a worthless leech who sucked the life and coin out of everyone he touched? In truth, Octavian would not be surprised if he was not hurt at all and merrily cheating his way back to London. The man was a master at avoiding harm to himself while piling it on others.
Unfortunately, Syd did not see it the same way. “I do not see why we cannot return to Gretna Green and search along with the others. We are the only ones who know what he looks like.”
“We’ve given the constable a good description, and any of the Armstrongs will be able to identify him, assuming they are still in the area. That is enough.”
“It isn’t nearly enough,” Syd muttered, allowing herself to stew and worry with renewed fervor now that they were back in their guest chamber. The tub had been rolled out sometime while the chaos and interrogations had taken place downstairs, so Octavian did not even have the chance to bathe.
The tub itself, or lack thereof, was not the point.
He resorted to obtaining fresh water to refill the ewer and scrubbed himself clean with a damp cloth. Using the last of the fresh water, he washed his hair. Since Syd had taken their one comb to brush out her long tresses, he merely used his fingers to rake through the wet strands of his own and brush them off his face.
As if this was not bad enough, Octavian watched with mounting irritation as she set out a pallet for herself beside the hearth in their already cramped quarters.
Well, it could have been worse.
She could have demanded separate rooms.
“Great,” Octavian muttered. “You’re still angry because I am refusing to return to Gretna Green even though I am now paying through the nose to find your father?”
Syd said nothing, merely continued to set out her pallet.
What a way to spend their wedding night.
