The Captain's Kidnapped Beauty by Mary Nichols

Author:Mary Nichols
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2012-08-02T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Everything had conspired against her and Charlotte felt as low as anyone could go, but not so low as to allow the earl into her bed. When supper was finished and she could no longer keep the conversation going, she made her excuses and retired to her room. Having made sure the window was secured, she heaved a chest across the door and lay on the bed without undressing. It was unbearably hot and she longed to open the window, but dare not.

* * *

An hour after retiring she heard footsteps outside her room. Someone lifted the latch and, finding the door firmly barricaded, laughed softly. ‘Never mind, my dear, there is plenty of time.’

This was followed by a female giggle and the footsteps retreated. A door shut along the corridor and then there was silence. Charlotte breathed a huge sigh of relief and got up to open the window and let in what little air there was. The sky was clear and a full moon lit the scene in a silvery glow. The pale stucco of the nearest buildings stood out starkly throwing long shadows. Somewhere, out of her sight, the river wound its way to the sea. Somewhere down there the Vixen lay at anchor. On board would be the men she had come to know, those who were courteous because it was their nature and those who were polite because they feared the wrath of the captain. Was Captain Alexander Carstairs on board? Why hadn’t she exposed his deception to Captain Brookside? Why had she carried on with the pretence that he was Lieutenant Fox? Why couldn’t she get him out of her head?

She turned and went back to her bed where she lay awake, determined to be gone from there before anyone else was up the next morning. She would go to the British Consul and tell him her story; he was the obvious one to help her.

* * *

As soon as it was light enough to see, she tidied her clothes and, listening carefully for sounds of anyone moving about, dragged the chest away from the door and crept from the room. She made her way through the silent house, pausing outside the earl’s bedroom door. All was quiet. Heart in mouth, she opened the door from the kitchen and made her way to the iron gates. They were locked. Almost crying with frustration, she ran round the wall until she came to a section that had been damaged, probably by the earthquake. Even so it was a struggle to climb up and over and her gown was torn and both knees grazed by the time she found herself on a rough track on the other side.

‘Such an undignified way for a lady to behave.’

She looked up from shaking out her skirt to find herself looking up into the amused eyes of the Earl of Falsham. He was leading a saddled horse and was evidently returning from a ride. She cursed her ill luck. A minute sooner or a minute later and she would not have encountered him.

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.