“Very well then, Captain,” she murmured, gathering the mare’s reins in her gloved hands. “Thank you for your time.”
Before she could turn her horse around, though, Kyle closed the distance between them and grasped the animal’s bridle. When he looked up at her, Selena could see the green flecks in his hazel eyes and the crinkled web of laugh lines at the corners.
Yet he wasn’t anywhere close to laughing now. He searched her face for a long moment, then reached up to gently touch her trembling chin with a long forefinger. “Moonwitch, if I were free… I really think I might be tempted.”
She forced a smile at his gallantry but couldn’t manage to answer. She was grateful when he released her horse’s bridle and stepped back.
Kyle watched her ride away in silence. When she had disappeared, he raked his fingers through his chestnut hair in consternation, thinking of the reason he wasn’t free. His son. A child he wasn’t able to acknowledge. He loved the boy, fiercely.
He had never expected to feel that way about anything but the sea. Two years ago he would never have credited how profoundly he could be affected by a single dimpled grin from one small toddler. Nothing had ever claimed his heart like that before, not even his family. He had revered his parents, and he held his sisters in great affection, yet the bond between a father and son was stronger, deeper....
Kyle shook his head again in frustration. He couldn’t marry Selena Markham. Not at the risk of losing his son. But he was determined not to let her impossible proposal cut up his peace or spoil his last days as a seafaring adventurer. There were too few of them left.
Snatching up his fishing pole, Kyle took two strides toward the swelling waves. Then abruptly, he turned back and hurled his pole down in the sand.
“Oh, hell!” he muttered, wondering how she had managed to make him feel like such a cad for refusing her.
Selena wasn’t sure whether her fierce disappointment was due more to the captain’s rejection or because she would have to deal with Avery and Edith alone, without even the comfort of a reluctant husband by her side. But she knew she needed to reflect on her options before she took any further steps to resolve her future.
It was unfortunate, therefore, that a proprietor of a large sugar plantation was frequently occupied by concerns of the estate. When she returned home, Selena found several problems to engage her attention and prevent her from dwelling on her own situation—chief among them the difficult birth of twins by one of her household servants. After spending the afternoon in the plantation hospital, where she provided support and encouragement rather than medical expertise, she barely had time to bathe and dress for the lieutenant governor’s ball that was to be held that evening.
If she could have refused to attend the ball, she would have done so, for the thought of confronting Avery about his betrayal tied her stomach in knots. But she knew he would demand an explanation if she suddenly came down with a headache or some other feminine ailment, and she preferred to postpone their discussion till she had time to collect herself, or at least until they could be private.
She dallied over her toilette as long as possible, and when she was dressed in a high-waisted gown of ice-blue silk with an overskirt of silver tissue, and the blue-plumed brimless toque bonnet she had purchased in town the day before, she went to join Edith and Avery in the parlor.
Avery was pacing the floor impatiently. He looked distinguished in an elegantly tailored green coat and tall beaver hat, but his immaculate attire reminded Selena of his fastidiousness with Edith the night before, and she found she couldn’t meet his eyes. When he complimented her on her appearance, she did manage to murmur an acknowledgment but she realized immediately that pretending nothing had changed in their relationship would prove a severe strain.
The carriage ride to the lieutenant governor’s home was every bit as miserable as Selena had expected. She was quiet during most of the trip, although she occasionally forced herself to respond to Avery’s comments while she tried not to shrink from his touch. It was a sheer test of breeding. Avery was sitting beside her in the barouche, and periodically he would take her arm or pat her hand as he discoursed on island affairs. Edith sat across from them in the forward seat, observing them with an expression that was at once smug and innocent. Selena was relieved when she could escape the close confines of the carriage and more relieved when Avery had to release her arm in order to progress through the receiving line.
Mounting the stairs, they moved along an open corridor that bisected the house and created a breezeway. Andrew and Elizabeth Thorpe stood to one side before a pair of stately louvered doors.
A planter by birth and avocation, Drew Thorpe was a handsome man with sandy-blond hair and a rakish mustache. His post of lieutenant governor was primarily honorary, since he was required to administer to island affairs only in the absence of the governor. His wife, Beth, was a rosy-cheeked brunette and a particular friend of Selena’s. They were nearly the same age, although Beth had married at eighteen and by now had three children to her credit. Both Drew and Beth greeted Selena with unfeigned pleasure before allowing her to pass on to the drawing room, which was already filled to overflowing by some thirty other couples and the six Negro musicians who comprised the orchestra.
The white-haired governor, Major General George Ramsay, was also present, Selena saw at once. He seemed to take a great deal of space, for in addition to a stalwart figure, he had an intimidating air of command, derived from years of military service.
Avery ushered the ladies before the governor to pay their respects, then procured a glass of sherry for Selena while Edith paused to speak to an acquaintance. He was just remarking on the warmth of the evening when the gay conversation and laughter in the room suddenly lagged.
“I say!” Avery exclaimed rather loudly in the hush. “What the deuce is he doing here?”
Curious, Selena followed his glance to the entrance, where an extremely tall, powerful-looking man attired in elegant evening dress was bowing over Beth’s hand. Selena felt herself flushing. She hadn’t expected Captain Ramsey to be invited, or if he had, to attend. But he seemed to know the Thorpes rather well; Drew was laughing as he vigorously shook the captain’s hand, and Beth was smiling up at her guest in delight.
“He,” Avery continued in a deprecatory tone, “is one of the savages who made such a disgraceful display in town yesterday. A man like that should never be welcomed in polite circles. He does not belong.”
Indeed, he didn’t, Selena thought as she observed the captain. With his great height and sun-bronzed complexion, Kyle Ramsey appeared highly conspicuous, standing there breathing vigor and vitality. He affected the company like a fresh sea wind. Yet for once he was dressed appropriately…for once he was dressed, Selena amended to herself. His curling chestnut hair gleamed a deep burnished brown above a pristine white cravat, while his powerful shoulders filled his coffee-colored coat to perfection. A rugged Viking in gentlemen’s garb, she reflected.
Selena wondered if he might be ill at ease in his formal attire, for the muscular grace she had noticed before seemed subdued by the formfitting coat, ivory brocade waistcoat and tight buff breeches. And once she saw him reach up to tug on his neck cloth as if it might be too confining.
But he must have known how to conduct himself at social functions—or at least how to charm the fairer sex. As soon as he entered the room, he was surrounded by half-a-dozen ladies who obviously knew him and were eager to renew the acquaintance. They were soon joined by several older g
entlemen who no doubt had been pressed by their daughters into begging an introduction.
Captain Ramsey greeted them all with ease and showered on the ladies an attentiveness that couldn’t fail to set their feminine hearts aflutter. When he happened to glance in Selena’s direction, though, she edged back a pace, hoping to avoid his notice. She dreaded the prospect of speaking to the captain, and she dared not even think of their previous intimacy; she very much feared the hot blush that stained her cheeks each time she did would brand her as a wanton. Already the looks being cast her way—some sly, some sympathetic—made her aware that she was an object of gossip.
The small orchestra struck up the first dance then, and even though she was obliged to allow Avery to lead her out, Selena was grateful for the distraction.
After the set, she didn’t lack for partners; she had known nearly every gentleman present for most of her life, and in spite of her engagement, she was a favorite among them. As the evening progressed, however, her spirits sank even lower. Kyle Ramsey never once sought her out. Indeed, it seemed as if he were avoiding her with as much determination as she was avoiding him. His disinterest carried a shaming sting. And even though no one was indelicate enough to mention her scandalous conduct of yesterday afternoon, Selena was quite conscious that it was being discussed.
By midway through the ball, she was fervently wishing the interminable evening would come to an end. Fearing she could no longer keep up the pretense of enjoyment while smiling and carrying on polite conversation, Selena declined the next dance by pleading fatigue. Making her escape, she settled herself in a chair in one corner of the room.