Chapter 15 Unwritten #2
Some of the dancing figures paused their performances, and small gatherings ceased their talk to stare at my family.
They were all white noise compared to where my eyes locked.
Blond hair perfectly styled, his trim figure dressed in the finest clothes.
He was handsome, with his sleek jawline and heart-shaped lips.
Even from twenty feet away, his amber eyes locked onto mine, his mouth dropping open.
James Allan. Funny, he should have chased me across the ocean, but it was I who found him first.
My lips curled up as the ancient man beside him whispered in his ear frantically, but James had gone pale like he was seeing a ghost. I spent hours imagining this moment, and none of it felt as good as the reality of it.
To see the horror and shock play on his handsome face.
To see the moment he closed his mouth and swallowed hard, knowing that I won.
That all his scheming and hatred amounted to absolutely nothing.
It was the first nail in the proverbial coffin, but it felt damn good going in.
My family and I entered as one, and in their own way, I felt their support. Scandal or not, they knew what this meant to me, and they were willing to sacrifice their reputations for it. That mattered more than any words ever could.
Just as I had a year ago, I walked over to James, eager to end this. Lord Smith at his side was still hissing words that fell on deaf ears. Edmonds stood to the other side of them, a small smirk playing on his otherwise stoic eyes. I would keep my end of the bargain if he did.
I felt Oscar and Oliver a step behind me, but refused to turn and verify. This was something I needed to do on my own.
James tracked each of my movements like I would vanish at any moment.
When I stopped a foot away from him, he shook his head.
“You’re dead,” he whispered.
All of Fairview’s eyes were on us. From engaged to scorned lovers to reconciliation. We were more entertaining than any conversation they might have been having.
I made a show of pressing my fingers to my neck and squinting my eyes.
“Odd, I was sure I was alive a moment ago,” I said.
He stepped forward and reached a hand out to me, but I stepped back.
“Don’t touch me,” I ordered, amusement falling away like a bridal veil.
Murmurs broke out in the room, but I kept my eyes on him.
“Rosamund,” he said, voice dangerously low. “Do not make a scene.”
I could see his deep eyes calculating, trying to resolve the mess he was in.
“Do you want to tell them or should I?” I asked.
All of my earlier anxiety was gone under the hatred I felt for him. I let myself feel every fake compliment that reeked of insults he ever gave me. I reminded myself he chased me down and took what I loved most. Fed my brother to the wolves at the first chance.
His eyes flicked to Oscar behind me, and his eyes flashed, latching onto whatever chance he thought he had to overcome the inevitable scandal.
“Edmonds, what is the meaning of this?” James asked.
“I’m not sure I know what you mean, Lord Allan,” Edmonds smirked.
James whipped his head towards Edmonds, and the two held a silent conversation. It was a delight to see James’ face fall beneath the blatant amusement of Edmonds.
“We should all retire to the library for a more private conversation.” Lord Smith said, stepping forward.
I tilted my head and smiled up at him.
“I don’t think that’s necessary. After all, I’ve waited so long for this moment, and I know someone else who has waited even longer.” I said.
All the color that ever existed in Lord Smith’s ancient wrinkled face evaporated in an instant.
The hard edges of his severe face pulled back, and I could see nothing of the man I loved in him.
Not even the blue eyes they shared could ever echo the sea of Bash’s.
Whatever made up Lord Sebastian Smith was long dead.
“Edmonds, I demand you explain this instant. We had a deal,” Lord Smith said.
Edmonds shrugged. “I made a new deal.”
James twisted to face him, his hands balling into fists. The careful gentleman he played, falling away in only a few moments.
Edmonds held up his hand. “I would, both of you, think very carefully about your next moves.”
I felt his eyes on me like a single light amongst the darkest night.
He was my beacon on rocky shores. I turned to the stairs and my breath caught.
As always, his timing was impeccable. The last months had carved away at the muscle of him, but he was still the man I longed for in the middle of the night when everything else melted away.
His face was freshly shaved, and his shoulder-length hair was pulled back into a tight bun.
He looked out of place in his fine black jacket and white trimmed shirt beneath.
Like he wasn’t a pirate captain at all, but instead born for London society.
If it weren’t for the wooden hand at his side, he would have been a portrait on the galley walls.
Bash’s blue eyes drank me in like I was water after the drought.
The announcer cleared his throat, eyeing Bash skeptically. Duty outweighed his skepticism, and his voice called across every crevice of England.
“Mr. Edward Smith,” he announced.
Behind me, Lord Smith hissed out a swear, but my attention was firmly on my captain.
He closed his eyes for the briefest of moments, and I knew he was soaking in this moment.
When he opened them once more, he looked to the man who fathered him in name only.
I hoped with all that I was that it felt like everything it should.
Pride erupted, sharp and bright in my chest when he took his next step. Captain Sebastian Flynn did not run from a challenge. He’d worked his whole life for this moment, and even though it looked different than he thought it would, I was proud of the role I played in its fruition.
The music came to a screeching halt, and every eye tracked Bash’s movement, but his gaze was all for me.
Whatever he found on his father satisfied him enough that everything that was left of him was for me.
My arms ached with the urge to go to him.
These past months were an eternity, and I needed to feel his body against mine.
But this was a carefully crafted dance, and I knew every step.
“I will ruin you, Edmonds,” Lord Smith said behind me.
“I’m sure you would, but I suspect that we are both sinking ships. It’s up to you how quickly that occurs,” Edmonds said.
“That man is a damn pirate,” James hissed.
“Is he? Looks more like a handsome gentleman to me,” Oscar said behind me.
“Rose, what are you trying to accomplish here? You will ruin yourself and your family,” James said. “I agreed not to expose Oscar, but I won’t hesitate if you even think about telling-“
I smiled at Bash, feeling like it was only us there as he reached us. I should have paid attention to the faces around us to assess how to play the situation, but I was all his.
“Rosamund,” Bash said in that depthless voice of his.
For the barest of seconds, I closed my eyes and let myself fall into it. My captain.
“Hello again, Mr. Smith,” I said, lowering my head.
A small sound broke from him, and I let my smile grow. I liked to think this was torture for him. That the urge to touch me was slowly killing him. It only seemed fair since I was going to explode any minute if I didn’t feel his touch.
“I don’t know what you think you are doing, but this will not end well for you,” Lord Smith whispered.
Tension rippled around the room, everyone hanging on their last breath, hoping to catch a single word. After all, there was only lord Smith, and he had yet to claim an heir.
“Rose, think very carefully. I control North Star Line,” James said.
The anger that rose in me was not enough to keep the words from my mouth. One year ago, James tried to blackmail me into marrying him and tried to ruin our family. He deserved to know the truth of what his action wrought.
I twisted and faced the man I once loved before I saw what he truly was. A coward and a disgusting human.
“And who do you think it was that sank all your ships? Who do you think has been investing in your competition?” I hissed.
There it was. The first moment of understanding, and it was fucking beautiful.
For one second, I understood why Bash would spend his entire life working to destroy one person because this feeling was intoxicating.
It rose inside me and bloomed, threatening to break open my chest. Tears pricked at my eyes, and I didn’t even care if some of the effect was lost because this was for me.
The things I’d done to get here were carved into my bones, and this was the payoff.
James’ eyes widened, and he searched my eyes before stepping forward and whispering into my ear.
“You lie. You expect me to believe-”
“If you want to leave here breathing, you will step away from her,” Bash growled.
“Oh fuck me,” Oliver whispered. “Can we move on to the part where we avoid more scandal.”
“If we must,” Edmonds sighed.
James looked from Bash to me and back again, and there it was.
The dropping of his lips and the flash of pain in his eyes.
Finally, all the pieces were aligned perfectly, and there was no pretending left to do.
His hands balled into fists, and he pulled back his arm, but Edmonds slapped a hand to his shoulder, stilling him.
“Lord Smith, if you wouldn’t mind, I would be honored to introduce your nephew to your guests.” Edmond’s smile was wide and eager.
“My nephew,” whispered Smith, quite in shock and pale as a ghost.
I smiled up at Bash and watched understanding fall over him. All my carefully laid plans unfolding and blooming before my eyes. I couldn’t have said what I expected him to do. Be grateful? Laugh? Brood triumphantly?
All I knew was that I didn’t expect the red that came to his cheek and the narrowed eyes he flashed at me.
No, Sebastian Flynn was not impressed with my scheming; he was angry.