Captivating the Captain by Leighann Dobbs & Harmony Williams

Author:Leighann Dobbs & Harmony Williams [Dobbs, Leighann & Williams, Harmony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Leighann Dobbs Publishing

Gray had begun to despair of finding anywhere to bed down, even the barn of a local farm. Fortunately, as the track widened and began to grow passable again, they came to a crossroads. At the crux was a shabby little inn, two stories tall. It would have to do.

The innkeeper didn’t seem particularly pleased to be roused from bed after midnight. The proprietress’s frown deepened as she noticed who was at her door. Her dress, hastily donned, gaped over her upper chest. Her hair resembled a bird’s nest.

Gray straightened his shoulders. “Madam, I beg your pardon for arriving so late in the evening, but we are looking for a place to spend the night and rest our horses. I am Captain Graylocke of the Royal Navy, and this is Lieutenant Stills.”

“And would she be your wife?” The woman’s voice dripped with censure.

Charlie bristled. She drew herself up, no doubt to deny the accusations, but Gray slung his arm around her shoulders and tucked her into his side. “She is,” he lied. “You may address her as Mrs. Graylocke.”

Given the way Charlie stiffened next to him, he would come to regret giving her that moniker, albeit temporarily. He only prayed that she wouldn’t speak the truth. The innkeeper didn’t seem likely to grant them shelter at this hour if she believed Charlie to be a fallen woman.

Fortunately, Charlie held her tongue—likely a testament to how exhausted she was. She leaned into Gray’s embrace. He wondered if her ankle was giving her grief.

The innkeeper’s face softened as she returned her attention to Charlie. “You poor dear, you’re soaked to the skin. Why don’t you come in and sit for a moment? I’ll rouse my husband to tend your horses while I start a fire in two of our rooms. We’ll see you and your husband settled straight away, Mrs. Graylocke, don’t you fear.”

Two rooms. Gray swore inwardly. He hadn’t thought far enough ahead. In the ton, most husbands and wives kept separate rooms. However, they were far from London; she hadn’t recognized him as a duke’s son, or she would have jumped to accommodate him regardless of Charlie’s fictitious position as his wife. Now, if he wanted to keep up the ruse, he would have to share a bedroom with her.

To sleep in the same bed with her warm body next to him would be far too much temptation.

Heedless to the torture to which she subjected him, the innkeeper bustled into a modest common room filled with wooden tables and benches. Stills remained outside, holding the horses and the lantern while he found the stables. The only light inside the establishment came from a tallow candle perched atop the nearest table.

“How long have you two been married?” the older woman asked as she found a second candle and lit it from the wick of the first.

When Charlie looked a bit panicked, Gray answered for them both. “Not long,” he said, biting off his words.

“On your honeymoon, are you?” For all her earlier sourness, she seemed in a remarkably amiable mood now.

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