Touch Me

"No."

They continued along the deck in a surprisingly companionable silence until she sighed. "I don't remember walking being this exhausting."

He looked down at her face and frowned at her wan expression. "Ready to sit down?"

Her eyes narrowed. "You just love being right, don't you?"

He wanted to laugh at her aggrieved expression, but he restrained himself. "Well?"

"Yes." She gripped his arm tightly with both hands as he led her up a set of steps that opened onto the passenger deck.

"Do you want me to leave you in peace once you are settled in your chair?"

"Don't you dare." She glared at him. "You have a responsibility to entertain me while I'm on deck. After all, you escorted me here. It is the gentlemanly thing to do."

The little baggage. She had insisted on coming on deck and now she tried to make it sound as if the whole enterprise had been his idea.

"I said my mother tried to teach me to be a gentleman. I did not say that she succeeded."

"Nevertheless, you would not wish me to make a poor report to her when we reach England."

"You plan on speaking to my mother?"

"I imagine I will meet her at one entertainment or another. From what Aunt Ruth said, that's about all ladies of quality do during the Season. Float from one soiree to the next."

She sounded disgruntled by the notion, which made little sense considering the Season was her chief reason for insisting on passage aboard his ship.

"You are so certain my mother is a lady of quality?"

"Do not try to gammon me, Drake. You have a lamentable sense of humor, to be sure. You could not be who you are and your mother a common woman who sells meat pasties for a living."

He stopped her and forced her to meet his gaze by placing a hand on her chin and lifting her face. "Who am I, Thea?"

"You are a man of honor and integrity."

He felt warmed by her faith in him. "A common man cannot have these qualities?"

She pulled her chin from his grasp, but didn't break eye contact. "Of course he can. That's not what I meant. You speak like a gentleman, you carry yourself with enough arrogance for a duke, though I doubt you are that or your crew would not call you mister. You are probably a second son, who by rights of personality and bearing should have been firstborn."

&

nbsp; Her assessment hit much too close to reality for his comfort. It was time to change the subject. "Here are the chairs."

She turned to look where he pointed. Several of the elderly passengers occupied the chairs. However, the one closest to them was empty.

"You said you would stay and visit me, but there is only one chair."

He had not actually agreed, but he didn't belabor the point. "I'll sit on the deck."

She sighed. He didn't know if it was with relief or resignation. He pulled the chair away from the other passengers. He did not want to share Thea with anyone.

Once she was settled, he covered her legs with a small quilt he'd taken from her cabin. "Warm enough?"

"Yes." She looked up at him, her expression quizzical. "You take very good care of me, Drake. Why?"

"You're a passenger on my ship. I'm responsible."

Disappointment showed on her face. "Oh."