Prize of My Heart

Jane hesitated, but seemed to reconsider the necessity for propriety given the circumstances. “Very well, let me cover you.” She dug through her trunk and produced a paisley Kashmir shawl, which she wound around Lorena.

Lorena spilled a tear at the kindness. Jane offered an encouraging smile, then bent down to collect the commode from the deck. She scooped Lorena’s white day dress, bonnet, and cranberry floral spencer off the opposite bunk and into the crook of her free arm. “I shall see about getting these cleaned for you. In the meantime, Mr. Louder, see if she won’t take some more salt water.”

“You have been too kind, Mrs. Ellery, bless you.” Stepping aside to let her pass, George glanced briefly into the commode, likely drawn by morbid curiosity against his will. He gave a flinch of disgust and slipped inside the spartan quarters.

Mrs. Ellery quit the stateroom, closing the door softly behind her.

At the woman’s retreating footsteps, George attempted to touch her arm, but Lorena shrugged him off.

“What’s happening, George? Please tell me that Drew is safe. Where is he?”

He studied her intently. “You have my word. Drew is safe. It is you who worry me. You have been grievously ill, in addition to striking your head, and even now I can see you are still weak and pale. Pray, don’t excite yourself unnecessarily. You’ll grow unwell all over again.”

Lorena wanted to breathe easier at his words, but her pulse quickened in suspense of what news he was holding back. “What is it you’re not telling me? How do you know Drew is safe?”

“When last I saw him, Temperance had him firmly by the hand as they stood on the wharf. While we were searching here, he was across the street, patronizing the waterfront candy shop with the dime I’d paid him for helping load my bags.”

Lorena was finding George’s manner more and more disturbing. “You gave him money for candy and didn’t tell me? You knew he was at the shops? Explain to me why I am here then, sick in the cabin of some outbound vessel, when I should be standing on the dock with Drew and Temperance. The nausea came on me suddenly and for no apparent reason. I stumbled and, in trying to regain my balance, struck my head. But you were there. You saw. You could have helped me get off this brig before it sailed.”

George swallowed as though readying to speak, but no explanation was forthcoming. He simply stared back, shamefaced.

“Answer me, George!” Frustration rose in her so great, a sob welled up within her.

His brow furrowed the longer he continued to study her. “You shall see, Lorena, once you’re faring better and have time to dwell on matters, that the situation is not so unfortunate after all.” His voice was a malevolent whisper.

Lorena thought him absurd. He was truly beginning to frighten her. “There is no time for reflection, George. We must act quickly before the Lady Julia moves farther out to sea. You must go to the captain. Perhaps he can drop his longboat to row me back.”

“There will be no going back,” he announced with finality. “Even if the captain were agreeable to sacrificing his longboat and several of his crew, which is entirely unlikely, we have been too long under sail. But I have seen to everything. I’ve secured your passage and arranged your lodging in this stateroom with Mrs. Ellery. She’s a lovely woman, don’t you agree? Look how attentive she has been already. I hope you don’t mind, but I think I shall make her a gift of one of your mince pies. It’s the least we can offer for her trouble. Don’t fear, my little girl. I shall provide and care for you. You understand now, don’t you, Lorena, how far I’m willing to go to prove my devotion? You’ll see, we’ll be very happy together.”

Lorena felt sick to her stomach in a way that had nothing to do with her earlier nausea. “You’ve tricked me! And what of my family? They are sure to be sick with worry, wondering what has become of me.”

George’s grin sent a foreboding down Lorena’s spine. “I have taken care of that, as well. The note I passed to Temperance on the wharf? It tells a romantic tale of how you reconsidered my proposal and at the last minute decided to accompany me on my voyage. We are to be married in North Yorkshire. It explains how, in fearing they would try to discourage you from leaving, you chose to say nothing directly, but left me to write this parting note on behalf of us both.”

The insensitivity of George’s cool, frank tone rang in her ears, numbing Lorena with shock, even as she tried to absorb the horror of what he was admitting to. “You planned this? Planned that I should be shipbound on the Lady Julia . . . helpless?”

“Bound for England with no money, no belongings, no contacts, dependent on me for your very survival, you shall experience firsthand, Lorena, how very well I can provide and see to your needs. You need me, Lorena. You’ve always needed me. Now circumstances will give you the opportunity to see just how true that is.”

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