For the Love of a Pirate by Edith Layton by Edith Layton

Author:Edith Layton [Layton, Edith]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Avon
Published: 2011-03-05T13:20:58.578000+00:00

Neither did Lisabeth. But she wasn’t alone. All her life, when things troubled her, she had conferred with her grandfather. When it was something to do with being female, she talked with Lovey. And when she did, she sat in the kitchen with her, discussing it over a mug of hot, honeyed tea.

“I care for him, yes,” she told Lovey, staring down into the amber contents of her mug.

“That’s naught,” Lovey said, tipping another jot of rum into her mug, and then into Lisabeth’s.

“You care for the vicar too. Do you want him?”

Lisabeth sighed. “Aye, Lovey, so I do. From the first. Though then it was because he looked so much like the Captain Cunning of my dreams. When I saw how stiff and proper Constantine was, I changed my mind. By the next day, I’d changed it again, because I swore I saw the man he might have been beneath all that starch. And then, little by little, he became that man. It was as if all the starch were washed away by our rains and blown away by our sea winds.”

She looked up at her old governess. Her eyes pleaded for an answer. “Thing is, am I imagining him, or is he real?”

Lovey shrugged and took a swallow of her laced tea. “Only you can know that. Have you made love to him?”

“I only kissed him, and … cuddled, a bit.”

“And did you like it?”

Lisabeth nodded.

“And did he?”

“I think so!” Lisabeth said. “But he pulled away just as it started to become wonderful. And the next time he got the chance, he didn’t let it go that far.”

“But he didn’t say anything?”

Lisabeth shook her head.

“Then he’s being a proper gent,” Miss Lovelace announced. “And he thinks you’re a lady. If he didn’t want you, he’d say it. But he knows that if he starts serious canoodling, my love, he’ll have to marry you. That’s a gentleman’s code. They’ll swive any lass they fancy if they think she’s beneath them. And that’s even before they actually put her there,” she added with a smile. “But they’re proper as parsons with ladies of breeding. Until he decides to declare for you. Do you want him to? Or do you just want some pleasure before he goes away again?”

Lisabeth’s eyes widened. “I hadn’t thought of it that way.”

“Well, you ought,” Miss Lovelace said. “There’s many a lad who’s delightful in the night, and a bore when the dawn comes. There’s many another who’s charming in the day and a boor when night falls. If you want to test him, that’s one thing. Then you mustn’t expect anything from him. If you want him for all time, that’s another thing entirely. Then you should be sure he returns your affection. Now, Liz, my love, you decide what you want. The gentleman isn’t involved anywhere else, and you’re free as the wind. Do you or don’t you want to stay that way? Or just have some fun? That is the question.”

“He is involved,” Lisabeth said sadly.

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