29. Fathers & Suitors #2
“Because, Admiral I—” Alex stalled before declaring himself in love. His heartfelt sentiments would sound so hypocritical in light of past actions. He dropped his gaze to his palms. “I have come to realize how much she means to me.”
“I thought as much,” Sir John muttered, watching the young man with a look of grudging approval. “Fortunately for you, the opportunity will soon present itself for you to prove that fact beyond doubt.”
Alex started. “Sir?”
“Answer me this: if word got out and Lucinda lost her good name, would your regard for her change?”
“Miles and the count are with me in keeping that entire night unmentioned, sir. I won’t let her folly come to light.”
“Answer the question, Alex.”
“No, Admiral, my regard for her would not change.”
“Very well. You may be interested to learn that Lucinda has taken it into her head to abandon all aspirations of a respectable future. To dispense with her pristine reputation for the sake of testifying at your trial.”
“She what?”
“You heard me well enough. My little Lulu intends to march herself before the King’s Court to ensure the villains who abused her and Miles’ dog are punished. A noble endeavor, no doubt—but one that will see her prospects utterly dashed.”
Alex shot to his feet. “This is madness! She can’t—”
“Can’t?” Sir John asked, surprised. “I should have thought you knew my daughter better, Sinclair.” He extracted a silver flask from his pocket and unscrewed the lid.
“If she takes the stand—if she so much as breathes a word about being in that infernal house—” Alex pivoted. “You must forbid her, Admiral.”
“I would attempt it, my dear boy,” drawled Sir John, regarding the view outside once more. “But for two simple reasons.”
Alex clenched his jaw. “Which are?”
“Firstly, I cannot help but applaud her devotion to justice. Misplaced though it may be.”
“For a dog, sir!” Alex reminded him, scathingly.
Sir John pursed his lips. “Not just for a cruelly mistreated animal; her own injuries were by the hand of some brute she wants to protect society from. Her righteous indignation is…well, how shall I put it? Ah, yes—”
Alex struck in with a grim suggestion. “Foolhardy?”
“I was going to say admirable,” Sir John corrected, returning his flask home.
“And the second reason, sir?” Alex asked impatiently.
Sir John turned on the young scamp he had known, reared, and loved like a son. The young troublemaker had evolved into a tall, well-dressed man with a forgiving heart and a strong sense of honor. He sighed. “The second reason, my boy, is you.”
Alex looked as though he’d taken a punch. “You want me to stop her?”
“No. I want you to be the man who catches her when she falls!” Sir John stilled Alex’s agitated spirit with a hand on either shoulder and gave him a shake.
“I’d have you be the man who pulls her from the wreckage after she’s steered herself straight into the rocks.
” He punctuated this with a forceful jab to Alex’s chest, where his heart hammered.
“Show her, you clodpole, what even this old sea dog knows in his timbers—that she’s your first fair wind and your last clear sky.
Hurt her again, Sinclair, and I’ll feed you to the sharks! Now—will you do it, my boy?”
The silence stretched between their locked eyes.
“I would, Admiral—gladly,” Alex said at last, his voice tight with feeling. “Only—her memory is still hazy. I—I don’t wish to do more harm.” He hesitated. “Not after I—”
“Not after you bungled it last time?” Sir John finished dryly.
“Precisely why you will try again, but at the right moment. When all that is left to her is seclusion, you’ll be there—armed with rather more eloquence than your last ham-fisted effort, I should hope.
Lucinda’s recollection of that night at Sixes & Sevens may be unsteady, but her heart, my boy—her heart still knows its true north. ”
Alex caught the old man’s arm in a tight grip. “Did she tell you so, Admiral?”
Footsteps and laughter in the hall froze them both.
Lucinda burst in, curls bouncing, cheeks flushed. “They’re still in here, sir!” she said over her shoulder. “Papa, you simply must meet our charming Dutchman. Count van der Meer, my father, Sir John Harrington!”
Following in her wake, Johan, a full head and shoulders above his beguiling escort, entered the library. He was too perceptive to miss the charged atmosphere hurriedly being subdued. Without betraying the slightest flicker of awareness, Johan executed a bow with Continental grace to Sir John.
Sir John eyed him, accustomed to appraising a man in a single glance. For all his rank, the Dutchman’s artless manners aligned equally with the old sailor’s brusque nature so they were disposed to like each other almost immediately.
“Well, now, Sir John,” said Johan, signaling an intent to depart after some brief trivialities, “I am here to relieve you of one Sinclair and leave another in his place.”
Sir John harrumphed, “A fair exchange, you think?”
“Miles is upstairs, Papa,” Lucinda said, slipping her arm through her father’s. “And he’s most eager to see you.”
“Perhaps, sir, we might meet again at White’s later. Alexander has been good enough to sponsor me into that most august establishment.”
“I’d like that, Count.”
“Johan, please,” he corrected with a faint smile.
“Very well, Johan.” Sir John patted his daughter’s hand. “Presently, I am to pay my long-overdue respects to Lady Marlstone, who no doubt will have a list of charity events for me to attend. But we will certainly cross paths again. I have been informed you’re a man worth knowing.”
Johan inclined his head humbly. “The pleasure will be mine, Sir John.”
Lucinda gave her father’s arm a little squeeze. “See, Papa—I told you he was charming.”