Chapter Thirty-Three
T he sail to London had been fascinating. Adeline had never been on such a fine ship as the Constellation . Observing Malcolm in his role of Commander Iveson intrigued her to no end. He carried himself with such authority. It made her most womanly parts damp with desire. The trouble was that she had been assigned her own guest cabin in deference to damn propriety.
She glanced around her cabin with little interest. It reminded her of a wooden box, with only a small porthole for a window. The bunk was surprising spacious but besides a narrow ladderback chair it was the only furniture in the room. A chamber pot was tucked underneath it and a small wash basin sat on a ledge by the door. Adeline sighed at the depressing efficiency of the design.
She knew that Malcolm was still on duty, she hadn’t heard him return to his room next door. She whipped her woolen shawl around her shoulders and went in search of him. Propriety be damned, she would tell him she did not want to sleep in here alone.
As she emerged onto the deck she took a deep breath. The cold air slapped her in the face and whipped at her hair. From her exploration of the ship earlier in the day she knew that the helm was at the other end. She made her way carefully across the deck. The gentle rocking of the ship disrupted her balance and she wobbled a bit as she rounded one of the masts. There were very few men on deck at ten o’clock at night. Then she spotted Malcolm standing by the big wheel, talking with another officer. Lord, Malcolm was so handsome in his uniform.
Perhaps he could feel her regard because his gaze swung toward her. “Adeline?” he called out.
All the men around him also turned to look at her. She shyly raised a hand. Malcolm came down the stairs and crossed to where she stood. The ship pitched to the left and she did as well.
But Malcolm’s hands gripped her arms to steady her. “Darling, is something wrong? What are you doing out here?”
She jutted out her bottom lip. “I don’t want to sleep alone. I don’t give a damn about propriety.”
He chuckled and pulled her close. “I had no intention of leaving you alone tonight. But you should go back inside. You’ll freeze out here in this wind. I promise to come to you soon.”
Behind his head, she caught sight of the Pleiades star cluster. Tipping her head back, she took a proper look at the night sky and gasped. A blanket of stars spread out above them. Far more stars than she was able to see from her balcony in London.
“Look at the sky tonight,” she breathed out in a stream of white.
“I had a feeling you might get distracted by the stars.” He tugged her down the deck toward the ship’s railing. “Here, lean back, I will hold you steady.”
She leaned back within the circle of his arms and took in the multitude of stars. “Which way is north?”
“That way.” He pointed to their left.
Adeline twisted in his arms so that her back was against his chest and she faced north. Resting her head on his shoulder, she oriented herself. She found the three bright stars of Andromeda making a chain leading to Pegasus. And there were the five stars that formed the distinctive W of Cassiopeia. In the clear sky that stretched above the sea, she could even see the soft red glow of Cepheus. Truly amazing.
Adeline pointed at Polaris. “There is our star.”
He nuzzled her neck; his warm breath welcome in the cold air. “My mother said it would always lead me home. That is you now, Adeline. You are my home.”
She turned her head so that her lips brushed his cheek. “And you are mine.”
*
They arrived in London late in the evening of the third day. Malcolm had her bundled into a carriage straight away, and they headed to Mayfair and Hartwick House. He had insisted no one else should know she was in town. No matter how uncomfortable her secret made Adeline feel, she knew she would be safe with Lucy and Lord Hartwick.
“Of course, you will be safe here,” Lucy exclaimed as she embraced Adeline. “Where have you been?”
Lucy ushered them into Hartwick’s study. A fire roared, and her husband stood from where he had been lounging on a long sofa. “Welcome. What brings you to our home at such an indecent hour?” His smile belied the wry snark of his tone.
Malcolm crossed and shook Hartwick’s hand. “Thank you for letting us in. I didn’t know where to take her where she would be safe. Adeline assured me this was the place.”
Hartwick’s smile dissolved. “Yes, of course. Tell us what is going on.”
Lucy guided Adeline to the sofa. “What’s happened?”
Adeline laid her head on her friend’s shoulder with a sigh. “What hasn’t happened is more like it.”
“Start with where you have been,” Lucy urged.
“Well, the night I last saw you, at the Jansons’ party, my father accepted Lord Bellamy’s offer of marriage for me. I was ambushed with the news while on the dance floor with Lord Bellamy.”
“No wonder you acted so strange when we spoke with you,” Lucy said.
“It’s so much worse than just the engagement. The next morning, the servants found George on the front steps, almost beaten to death. You see, my father owes money to some very bad men. Which is why he was selling me off to Bellamy, who promised to write him a bank draft immediately. Not soon enough to save George from becoming the warning to pay up. Then, the next evening, Kingsbury came through my bedroom window and kidnapped me.”
“What!?” Lucy and Hartwick said in unison.
Malcolm held up his hands. “Love, you are skipping some important details.”
She was so tired. “You tell it.”
“I was brought back to London because my superior needed me to investigate some missing items that were brought here illegally from Greece. There were several investors in this ship, which was full of silks and other goods originally coming from Istanbul. These investors were all peers, and Admiral Daniels wanted me to use my title to mingle and find these missing artifacts without raising any eyebrows.
“It quickly became apparent that Rawlings was at the center of it. The night of the Janson fete, I followed him and overheard a conversation he had with Lord Bellamy, the Foreign Secretary to Greece, where they spoke about auctioning off the items. Rawlings was complaining about the timeline of getting money from the sale, and the deal for Adeline’s hand in marriage was struck. The next day I went to see her brother George. I wanted to give him a chance to come clean and return the items to me. He refused to betray his father, but he asked me to safely escort Adeline to his estate in Wiltshire.”
“Perhaps kidnapped was a strong word. But he did come through the window.” Adeline smiled.
“Unbeknownst to me, Adeline took the most valuable of the artifacts in a bag I thought was full of books.”
“I thought that if I took them, there would be no evidence to link my family to the theft. I believed I was saving them from their own bad decisions.”
“Over the next several days, we had bad weather, a carriage accident, and Adeline was attacked. Her father sent men to bring her home and retrieve the artifacts. My guess is that Bellamy was less than pleased to have his paid-for bride disappear with the loot no less.”
“I was saved by the strangest man.” Adeline frowned. That gentleman was still a piece she hadn’t figured out.
“I decided to switch our destination, and we went south to my estate in Dorset. No one has been in residence for fifteen years, so I hoped no one would look for us there. I sent word to my lieutenant of my whereabouts to relay to the admiral. Then, a few days ago, Trent showed up with the news that Admiral Daniels had been shot. We knew we must return and settle things once and for all.”
“I have heard the news about Admiral Daniels,” Hartwick said. “They are saying he was attacked walking home from Whitehall.”
Malcolm shook his head. “I doubt it. He was figuring out how to handle accusing two peers of smuggling and get the artifacts returned before it caused an international incident with Greece, which Britain is supposed to be helping, not stealing from. If I was Rawlings and Bellamy, I would want to silence him before any scandal erupted. We know what her father is capable of.”
Adeline sent Malcolm a desperate look. She was not ready to discuss with Hartwick about what her father had done. It was all too much right now.
Malcolm gave her a soft look of understanding. “Tomorrow, I must go to Whitehall and speak with whoever replaced Daniels. Originally, we received intelligence information from the Foreign Office, so someone else must know what is happening.”
The Foreign Office had also been gathering information? “What did the intelligence from the Foreign Office entail?” she asked.
“Only that the stolen items were on board. They had been tracking the shipment from Greece, I guess. Perhaps they were involved because of the diplomatic consequences?”
Perhaps. But something else niggled at her about the whole thing. She was too tired to think it through now.
Lucy wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You look dead on your feet. You are safe here. Let’s get you to a bed.”
The men stood up.
Hartwick extended his hand to Malcolm. “Don’t worry, we will watch out for her. After your meeting tomorrow, let me know if there is anything I can do. I am happy to use my influence.”
“Thank you, I will.” Malcolm crossed to her and enveloped her in his embrace. She snuggled against his chest. “Get some rest. Don’t go out or let anyone know you are here.”
Adeline nodded. How she wished they could share a bed tonight and have his strength wrapped around her all night.
She pulled back to look up at him. “Be careful. Something about all this still doesn’t sit right with me.”
He gave her a swift kiss. “Don’t worry about me. I am going to Whitehall, not walking into a den of vipers. See you tomorrow.”
“Come on,” Lucy said to her after Malcolm strode out of the room. “I will let you get some sleep, but tomorrow, I need to know all about what’s going on between you and Lord Kingsbury. And whether we should be upset with him for absconding with you.”
Adeline covered up a long yawn with one hand and shook her head. “He loves me. We belong to each other.”
Lucy exchanged a look with her husband, then slid her arm around Adeline. “I’ll show you to your room, dear.”