She’d thought he could be her perfect mate, but he’d spurned her and then gone off to fight a war against her countrymen, and thus had become her enemy. Now, not only was he back in England but she had promised to consider helping him.
“What do you wish of me?” she finally said.
“To start, I need an introduction to society. The enchanting Lady Katharine is the toast of the polite world. Who better than you to help pave my way? From what I hear, you rule the ton with your charm and wit.”
Kate laughed. “Hardly. But with Ash being a marquess and my cousin Quinn an earl, I do have noble family connections that might benefit you.” Her expression sobered. “Aunt Bella also mentioned that you are looking to wed.”
Deverill nodded. “I am three-and-thirty. It’s time I settled down and took a wife.”
Hearing him confirm what she already knew—that he wanted to marry—affected her oddly. But she had vowed to repress any rebellious pangs of jealousy and turn his need to her advantage. “Are you interested in making a marriage of convenience? Or something deeper?”
He cast her a swift glance, although his expression was inscrutable. “Nothing deeper. Isabella claims that you can find me a suitable bride. She says you are a matchmaker at heart, and that your past endeavors have been highly successful.”
“I have developed something of an expertise at matchmaking, true,” Kate admitted. “Not to boast, but I aided most of my family in finding their ideal mates. I am willing to advise you as a favor to Aunt Bella, but I would like to make a bargain with you in exchange.”
“What sort of bargain?”
She took a deep breath. “If I find you a bride, you must escort me to France at the end of the Season.”
Deverill rinsed his face with water from the washbasin and began drying it with a towel. “Why do you wish to go to France?”
“I believe you know how my parents were killed?”
“They perished at sea when their ship sank in a storm.”
“So we thought.” Kate frowned. “It is rather a long story, but to be brief…You may remember that my aunt Angelique was French—the daughter of the Duc and Duchesse de Chagny, who were guillotined during the Revolution.”
“Your cousins Quinn and Skye’s mother?”
“Yes. Angelique wed my uncle, Lionel Wilde, Earl of Traherne. Their branch of the Wilde family is somewhat distant from ours….In any event, the priceless de Chagny jewels were hidden while Britain was at war with Napoleon’s armies. Then during the Peace of Amiens, my parents travelled with Angelique and Lionel to southern France to recover the treasure, and on their return shortly before Christmas, their ship sank just off the coast. For years we believed everyone on board perished, but recently we learned that their ship was actually sabotaged and that my mother made it to shore and survived a short time before succumbing to her injuries.”
Falling silent, Kate stared down at her hands as she recalled the shock and pain of discovering the truth about the shipwreck two months ago. She’d been ten when she lost her mother and father to the tragedy, and with the new revelations, she had relived her grief all over again.
Moreover, imagining the suffering her mother had endured and picturing her father’s watery grave beneath the sea had only added to the persistent nightmares she’d had since childhood.
Kate twisted her fingers together as her voice dropped to a murmur. “Mama had a pauper’s burial, and Papa and my aunt and uncle had no burial at all. I would like to visit Mama’s resting place to put a headstone on her grave, and search for the shipwreck while I am there.” She gave a faint, apologetic smile. “I confess, it has become an obsession of mine. Perhaps I am foolish, but I want her to have a decent burial.”
“I would not call you foolish.”
She lifted her gaze to find Deverill watching her, a gentle look in his eyes, as if he understood her need. She was grateful that he wasn’t teasing her about an uncertain—perhaps perilous—undertaking that was so close to her heart.
“Anyway,” she went on, “the saboteur was brought to justice and most of the treasure recovered, although some of the jewels sank with the Zephyr.”
“And you wish to salvage the rest?”
Kate hesitated. “I doubt that is possible. It has been over a dozen years. But I hope at least to locate the ship’s remains. We can guess at the general site based on reports from that night and where pieces of wreckage washed ashore. The Zephyr was rocked by an explosion and caught fire. Although attempting to limp back to port, it only came close to shore but may have sunk in shallow water. Quinn has done actual calculations and drawn maps for a salvage effort. The problem is, there are pirates inhabiting the nearest villages along the coast.”
“You seem to know a great deal about the circumstances. How did you obtain your information?”
“I believe you know Beau Macklin? He was a colleague of yours in the Foreign Office, along with Skye’s new husband, the Earl of Hawkhurst.”
“I know Macky.”
“Well, some months ago, he went to France to investigate for my family.”
“So why do you need my escort? Why can’t you call on Macky?”
“He has done enough already. But mainly, I need an experienced sailor. Someone I can trust.”