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rot in peace, instead of trying to waste away herself and tearing out his heart in the process?
Because she wasn’t like other women.
Lilli threw herself into the fire, head first, with her own brand of passion.
Her determination and naive charm enthralled all in her path. Even his crew.
Though none had dared voice their opinion, even Hancock, Drex knew from their disapproving stares they all thought him a scoundrel of the worst sort.
He had a hard time sleeping, faced with the knowledge that she seemed to grieve the loss of a bond that could never come to fruition. Knowing that a simple word or two, a gentle touch, would make her world right again. Still, passion so easily given would easily pass. Ryan had proven so with Chantal.
Regardless of Lilli’s flight of fancy, he ached to restore her peace of mind, share the tangle of yearning and pain in his heart. But she was his twin’s ticket to freedom.
His own heart would simply have to break.
* * *
When Christina emerged from the captain’s cabin the following morning, it was to the sight of an unfamiliar rocky coastline. Not that it mattered. The sun’s glare against gray clouds burned her aching eyes. Her head throbbed, her stomach turned. The Black Dragon was nowhere on deck.
“G’bye, Miss Lilli,” Davie rushed to say. “We’ll miss ye.”
Holding back tears, she clutched his hand. “God be with you.” She glanced at the others behind Davie. “All of you.”
Hancock took her arm and led her away. He assisted her into a dinghy and rowed for the shore. Water crashed against the craggy bronzed rocks of the coast in a magnificent spray.
“Ever been to Cornwall, lass?” Hancock asked.
She glanced at the diminutive man, then turned her gaze back to the coastline, heart sinking that he had brought her to England after all. She
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wondered if he’d come to tend to his business or ransom her back to Grandfather. “No.”
“A savage sight, ain’t it?”
“Hmmm,” she murmured her assent absently.
Her stare remained on the damp cliffs, but her mind wandered elsewhere.
Had the captain disembarked already? Or perhaps he wasn’t coming ashore.
Maybe, in his final act of cruelty, he had banished her to land without even saying goodbye.
She refused to cry again today. The captain had chosen to forsake her, and she would accept his decision with dignity.
Once they made dry land, Hancock assisted her from the tiny boat. A bitter wind whipped strands of hair across her face.
“Ye need me coat, lass?” he asked.
In truth, she’d barely noticed the cold. “No.”
They walked the length of the dock. Christina observed the curious stares of the sailors around her, but didn’t care. Other peoples’ opinions no longer mattered now that her heart had shattered into a million pieces.
They climbed a steep path that wound its way through the stony surface of the hillside. At the top, Christina spotted an austere black coach.
The Black Dragon stood beside the vehicle, black clothing whipping about him in the wind as he saddled a horse.
She swallowed the thick lump in her throat and told herself his presence did not matter to her in the least.
Her racing heart and watery vision proved that she lied.
The captain paused in cinching the saddle to glance across the distance at her. He didn’t move, didn’t speak. Christina felt the effect of his gaze all over her trembling body. Hot and cold quivers raced across her skin, delved into her stomach.
Christina wished she knew what he was thinking. She shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. Still, he didn’t look away. Did he stare out of latent care and concern, or a curiosity to know if she’d survived his cruel desertion?
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She, for one, did not plan to stay and find out. Turning away from the blackguard, she tried to ignore the desperate ache swirling with the writhing agony in her stomach.
A moment later, Christina heard the creak of leather and the sound of hoofbeats. She looked up to find the captain riding away in a flourish of dark hair and a black cloak.
She bit the inside of her lip to restrain oncoming tears. At her side, Hancock peered into her face curiously.
“It’s fer the best, lass. Ye and the cap’n, ye come from different worlds. He doesn’t understand yours, and ye don’t belong in his.”
She nodded, trying to accept his outlook, and took his arm as they walked to the coach. He handed her up into the empty vehicle and shut the door behind her. Within moments, the gig rolled away toward a future she knew nothing of.
* * *
Drex pulled on the reins of his horse in a copse of trees in front of the Fox and Hound Inn. The little known establishment on London’s outskirts would suffice for his secrecy. His arrival in the morning’s wee hours would make discovery less likely.
But he had to shed his disguise as the Black Dragon.
He unknotted the silk at the back of his head, feeling exposed yet freed at once. The damp summer air kissed the few parts of his face his beard didn’t cover, and he gave an unfettered shake of his over-long hair.
If only stripping his heart of Lilli were so easy.
With a sigh, he stabled his horse, then made his way inside the inn. A room awaited in Greg’s name, just as he had instructed his friend via missive to arrange. He’d also had them ready another room for Christina’s arrival with Hancock tomorrow.
Mounting the stairs two at a time, Drex headed for his room, wanting nothing more than sleep. He opened the door to find wine, a light repast of bread and cheese—and Greg sitting by the flickering firelight.
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The man’s cheerful smile indicated clearly that Greg was quite awake. Drex knew his friend well enough to realize he’d want a long talk.
Greg stood. “I feared I’d become an old man before you arrived.”
“The rain in Devonshire slowed me.” Drex set his cloak and mask on the chair before him, then shut the door.
His friend stuck out his hand, and Drex clasped it tightly.
“Now that we’ve exchanged pleasantries, would you please tell me what the hell your note means?” Greg demanded.
Drex sighed and drained the wine glass. “Where should I start? I suppose with the fact that no one could find Christina Delafield because she stowed on board my ship.”
Greg’s blue eyes threatened to pop from their sockets. “What? Are you certain?”
“Now I am.” Drex waved a hand through the air in a dramatic sweep. “After I found out she wasn’t married, didn’t have a dying mother, and wasn’t fleeing a jealous lover.”
Greg frowned. “I’m afraid I didn’t follow all that rubbish. Married? A jealous lover?” He shrugged and scowled. “Her mother died over ten years ago.”
Drex smiled bitterly. “Her lies had more holes than a fishing net. I didn’t know what to believe.”
“So you brought her back to England to ransom her for Ryan?”
Drex closed his eyes, wishing he could see any other way of freeing his brother, but he’d already exhausted all alternate avenues months ago. “Yes.”
“Why Cornwall? Manchester will expect you in London.”
“Exactly. If he expects me to land in England at all, it’s at London’s docks.
This way, I traveled by coach virtually beneath his nose and take him by surprise. I don’t plan to give the knave enough time or information to arrange an ambush.”
Greg nodded. “Good thinking. Does Lady Christina know what you intend?”
He shook his head. “I haven’t spoken a word to her since—”
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Drex broke off, realizing what he’d been about to confess. He couldn’t tell Greg—or anyone—that he’d made love to Christina, that he would do it again if he didn’t have to sacrifice her in this ugly game of politics and prisoners.