An Officer but No Gentleman by Bronwyn Scott

Author:Bronwyn Scott [Scott, Bronwyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Romance, Anthologies, Historical, Collections & Anthologies, Historical Romance, Romance - Historical
ISBN: 9781472082886
Google: U_JeAgAAQBAJ
Amazon: B00HELJSHY
Goodreads: 20310895
Publisher: Harlequin Historical Undone
Published: 2013-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

And his horse. She got to bring a valise. He got to bring his horse! “How is it that I only rate one bag?” Elowyn tried a halfhearted attempt at humor down in the hold where Aramis was stabled. But it was hard to be funny while the water rolled and pitched beneath her feet. They might be ahead of the storm coming down out of the North Sea, but it certainly didn’t ensure smooth sailing.

Grahame gave a little chuckle and stroked Aramis’s dark mane. She allowed herself a moment’s jealousy, imagining those hands on her. She could use a little stroking about now. She’d been in difficult spots before but that didn’t mean she liked them, or excelled at them. “If this ship goes down, you’ll be glad he’s here.” Grahame crooned to the big stallion. “You’re a fabulous swimmer, aren’t you, old boy?”

That was too intriguing to let pass. Elowyn scooted forward on the bale of hay she sat on. “And we know this how?”

“He and I swam to shore after a transport we were on sank off the coast of Crete. The Mediterranean was a bit warmer that time of year than the Channel would be, though.” He smiled, letting the effort crinkle the corners of his eyes as he looked at his stallion with unmistakable affection. “Aramis and I have been through a lot and I’ve had no truer friend.”

Grahame sobered and looked her direction. “If the worst happens, get him free and hold on to his bridle. He’ll get you to land. Do you have your knife?”

Elowyn lifted her skirt to reveal the sheath on her calf.

“Good. You can cut your skirts off if you need to. They’ll drag you down.”

“Is all this really necessary?” She did not care for such grim talk, especially from the indomitable Grahame Westmore. She had no doubt that if strength of will could keep a ship together, he would be the man to do it.

Grahame shrugged. “A crisis is always better when you have a plan. But no, I don’t think you’ll need it. Ships have crossed safely in far worse weather. Odds are we’ll be fine. Captain Anderson has no death wish. He wouldn’t have set out not feeling certain it was the best choice.”

Elowyn managed a smile. “I’ll try to find reassurance in that somewhere.” The boat lurched and she braced herself with a hand to the wall.

“You can go up. Anderson has his cabin set aside for you,” Grahame replied as he steadied Aramis.

“No, I’ll be fine here.” No matter how bad the night got, she would be safe with him and his swimming horse. That might have been the moment she fell for him, right there in the dark hold of a storm-tossed ship. All else might be turmoil around them, but he was a literal pillar of strength—confident and sure, never wavering in the long night.

So sure of that strength was she, Elowyn actually slept, her head braced against the wall, her body curled on the hay bale.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.