"I wasn"t angry, Smokey. I was flabbergasted. I thought you told me at Willa"s that you"d never fenced before, and I come in to find you giving Hawk the duel of his life."
Smokey frowned at him, trying to recall what she had said.
"I"ve been fencing since I was a child What I"d never done before was go for a person"s face."
Dallas" eyes slid shut with remembrance. That was what she had said, but she"d been a bit fl.u.s.tered and talking very fast; he had completely misunderstood her.
"No wonder you didn"t believe that I"d escaped him."
"You can"t know how I"ve regretted my words and actions that day." Dallas" voice held pain.
"It"s all right," Smokey told him before he could berate himself any longer. Dallas stared at her for a quiet moment.
"Did he hurt you, Smokey?"
"Not physically. He planned on it, but I escaped" Dallas watched as she wrapped her arms around herself as though cold, and wished he hadn"t asked "He was so big; he loomed over me," Smokey continued softly, speaking to the fire. "He said if I didn"t put the dress on, hewouldput.i.tonforme." Smokey shook her head "I couldn"t let him do that, so I felt I had no choice. I felt so cheap in that dress."
Smokey had begun to tremble. Suddenly Dallas, no longer able to keep his distance, was there, his arms lovingly surrounding her. He held her for a moment and spoke gently.
"I"m sorry I asked you. Don"t think about it anymore. He can"t get you now, and even if he tried, you"d protect us."
Smokey"s surprised gaze flew to Dallas" face. He was grinning at her, and Smokey, forgetting the pirate, laughed with delight. Dallas joined her and snuggled her against his chest.
The silence in the next few minutes was warm and easy. After just a moment of quiet, Smokey continued to talk.
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"I was really anxious on the docks. When you wouldn"t let go of me, I pictured Haamich Wynn coming and killing you in his rage. I couldn"t stand the thought, and so to save you, I ran away.
"I"m sorry I threw myself at you that way," Smokey went on. She felt Dallas" chest move. "Are you laughing?" Smokey shifted to see his face again.
"Yes, I am. The woman of my dreams comes out of the dark, kisses me in a way that makes my blood boil, and then apologizes for it."
"You didn"t feel used?"
"Definitely not. I did wonder, however, where you learned to kiss like that."
"I don"t know; it was my first time." Smokey didn"t go on to tell him that she thought it was always like that when a woman was in love.
Dallas shifted then and could have easily kissed her. In fact, if either of them moved their heads, their lips would come together.
"You could kiss me again," he told her softly as he caressingly studied every detail of her face "You would like that?" Smokey"s voice was just as soft. He was the kind of man a girl dreams of. Warm and caring for those he loved and with a deep love for Christ. Smokey was finding it hard to believe that he really cared for her.
"Oh, yes," Dallas told her. "I would like it very much, and if you kiss me, then I"ll know I"m not pushing you where you don"t want to go."
"And if I don"t kiss you?"
"I"ll wait until you"re ready."
Smokey"s smile was so tender that Dallas" heart melted Smokey reached up and touched the gold loop in his ear before her hand went to the back of his head and she brought his lips to hers.
The kiss was sweet with yearning and pa.s.sion, and when Dallas could speak, he whispered, "I love you."
"Oh, Dallas," Smokey breathed "Do you mean that?"
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"Every word I have for a long time, but you"re such a will-o"the-wisp that I could never keep you with me long enough to tell you."
"I love you too," Smokey said before her small hands came up and gently cradled his face. She"d never had someone care for her romantically in the way Dallas seemed to care for her now. She found herself feeling so cherished that it took her breath away. It certainly didn"t hurt that Dallas was so handsome.
Smokey thought she could stare at his face forever. She was suddenly so overcome with joy that she reached up and kissed his chin.
"You missed," Dallas teased her.
Smokey shook her head "I never miss; I was aiming for your chin."
"Ah. Then allow me to aim for your mouth."
Smokey chuckled, but the sound was cut off as Dallas kissed her again. Neither one knew it could be like this, so sure and so in love. Wrapped in each other"s arms, they continued to talk for the next hour. Smokey was just starting to get sleepy when their host knocked discreetly and came back in.
Dallas removed his arms, but took Smokey"s hand in his own and stayed beside her on the sofa.
"I can hear Da.r.s.ey pacing in his room, so I thought I"d better come down in order to rescue him." Brandon had taken a chair by the fire and now sat grinning at the couple on the sofa.
"You look as though you"ve ironed out your differences."
Dallas and Smokey smiled contentedly in return, and Brandon felt a little surprised that they didn"t tell him they were getting married "It"s not very easy for me, but we"ve talked some about Haamlch Wynn," Smokey told Brandon. "Will I have to tell the magistrate everything that happened?"*
"Probably, yes. I know it won"t be easy, but we don"t want to do anything that will give Lord Lynne a loophole."
"What did you call him?" Smokey wanted to know.
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"Lord Lynne. He"s the Baron of Farmington, and his English name is Lord Darrell Lynne. Why do you ask?"
"During the second capture I heard one of his men say his name, but I thought he said Lordlin and was referring to someone else. It never occurred to me that Haamich Wynn wasn"t his real name."
Brandon"s look was grim. "We"ve known for some time that he was a peer of the realm with an a.s.sumed name."
"So you"ve known all along who he was, you just couldn"t catch him?" Smokey asked "Not really. But it was coming quickly. You see, he hung himself with his own method A group of us met together about six weeks ago in order to compare notes. Lynne hit only ships owned by someone against whom he had a personal vendetta. He"s never liked me, although I"m not sure why, and it was the same with everyone else who"d had ships attacked "When a few names were mentioned and investigated, it didn"t take long for Lord Lynne to stand out. He"s been sloppy lately; he hasn"t even been pirating, just roaming the seas."
"He was looking for me," Smokey put in and both men stared at her.
"He told you this?"
"Yes. He said he"d been following me for quite some time."
She shivered a little, and Dallas put his arm back around her. "Can you tell me what he wanted?" Brandon asked carefully.
"Me." Smokey told him simply, although her eyes were pained Brandon stared at her and nodded slowly. "The magistrate may ask you all of this. It might be easier if you tell me now."
After a moment"s hesitation, Smokey did as he suggested She left out nothing this time, although a few times she spoke with her flushed face averted, so as not to look at the men.
Brandon"s jaw was clenched in anger over some of what she revealed. It sounded as though Lynne planned to make her a permanent part of his life. Brandon told Smokey that the pirate had been married for years. If rumors could be 204.
believed, his wife was a bedridden shrew, but he was married nonetheless.
Suddenly Smokey was very tired. The day had been so full.
As much as she wanted to stay and be with Dallas, she knew she had to get to bed With a soft-spoken word, she excused herself, thinking that the men would want to talk. Dallas surprised her.
"I"ll walk you to your room," he offered, and Brandon rose as they left, taking note of the fact that Dallas rested his hand tenderly on Smokey"s back.
He was about to follow when he spotted his wife"s shoes on the floor. Sunny was forever taking them off and leaving them wherever she had been sitting. Brandon liked to tease her that h^rrwilHi-rwi^b-*"""**---- -*
"I didn"t know you could ride," Dallas said to Smokey the next morning as she and Sunny returned from an early morning jaunt.
"A woman likes to keep some things a mystery," Smokey told him with a cheeky smile, and Dallas started toward her, his eyes watching her intently.
Without so much as a by-your-leave, he reached for her waist and swung her off the horse"s back. As her feet touched ground, Smokey smiled up at him and Dallas dropped a kiss on her nose. He knew they weren"t alone, but he couldn"t help himself. Her hair was coming out of its chignon, her face was flushed, and her eyes were sparkling with love for him. Dallas glanced up to find Sunny grinning at him.
"Good morning, my lady," he said with a slight inclination of the head, his eyes twinkling with humor.
"Good morning, Mr. Knight. I trust you slept well?"
"I did, indeed."
Dallas said no more because Brandon was suddenly there, doing just as Dallas had, reaching for the woman he loved.
When Sunny was on the ground, the four of them made their way to the house. They were nearly to the door when Smokey spotted Da.r.s.ey in the yard. With just a brief word, she excused herself and walked to see him.
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The old friends said nothing for a moment, but studied one another in open honesty. They were both satisfied with what they saw. Smokey saw Da.r.s.ey"s blessing, and Da.r.s.ey beheld a sweet serenity in Smokey"s small face.
"Were you really worried about me last night?"
Da.r.s.ey grinned. "Just a mite. If the look on Dallas" face during supper was any indication, I knew he was going to declare himself. I didn"t have a problem with that, but you"re not married yet, and I just didn"t know if I should leave you alone."
"Actually," Smokey said, as they began to walk through the gardens, "we haven"t spoken of marriage."
"But he loves you?" Da.r.s.ey pressed her carefully, not wishing to intrude.
"Yes, and I love him. If he does ask me to marry him, I"ll accept in a moment, but I don"t know if his mind has moved that far. As he said last night, I"ve been elusive for so long that he never had time to say what was in his heart."
Da.r.s.ey nodded, satisfied with her words. He was also terribly relieved He was feeling a need to return to the ship.
"Since you now know where you stand with Dallas, would you object to my returning to the Aramis?"
"Why, no, Da.r.s.ey, not if you want to. Is anything wrong?"
"No," he a.s.sured her. "It"s just a restlessness that comes over me when I can"t smell the ocean and see the waves. I"ll be more comfortable on board knowing everything is all right."
"Maybe I should come too," Smokey began, but Da.r.s.ey cut her off with his hands on her shoulders.
"There"s no reason for you to come, la.s.s. Stay here and enjoy yourself; you deserve a rest. After this it"s the trial, and then everyone will be back to work. Take this time while you can."
"If you"re sure," Smokey began.
"I"m sure. Now let"s get into breakfast. I"m about starved"
Da.r.s.ey would have moved away then, but Smokey suddenly threw her arms around him. She hugged him with all her might, and he hugged her in return for long minutes.
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"I love you, Da.r.s.ey," Smokey finally said "And I love you, la.s.s," he answered her, one huge hand tenderly cradling her face.
"It"s all right with you about Dallas and me, isn"t it?"
Smokey had to know.
"Of course. My only concern was not knowing his intentions,"
Nodding in contentment, they walked together to the door. After Smokey entered Bracken"s huge front door, she ran upstairs to clean up. She was late to the table then, but to come in and find Dallas and Da.r.s.ey talking amiably and then to have both of them turn and smile at her in love was worth any apology she had to make.
Da.r.s.ey left for London right after breakfast. For the next few hours, everyone went in his own direction. Dallas didn"t seek Smokey out until just before lunch. He found her on the lawn with Sterling. Sterling"s nurse was not far away, but only Smokey and the baby occupied a huge quilt where they played and laughed Dallas smiled at the sound as he approached Sterling moved a little closer to Smokey when Dallas dropped down beside them.
"This is Dallas," Smokey told the child Sterling stared with wide eyes at the tall, unfamiliar figure.
"Can you say Dallas?" Smokey prompted, and watched as he put a thumb in his mouth.
"He can"t really talk, can he?" Dallas wanted to know.
"Not the way you and I do, but sometimes he"ll try the sounds. You should hear his version of Smokey. Can you say Smokey, Sterling?"
He grinned around the thumb in his mouth but didn"t 208.
speak. Smokey laughed at his look, and he laughed with her, all with the thumb firmly planted. The thumb was removed quickly, however, when Sterling glanced behind Smokey to see his father approaching.
The little boy dropped onto all fours and began to crawl toward the edge of the blanket as fast as he could move.
Smokey grabbed him before his knees. .h.i.t the gra.s.s, but he struggled until Brandon"s hands were there to reach for him.
Both Dallas and Smokey watched as Brandon tossed his small son into the air and caught him in a burst of giggles.
Smokey watched them play like this for some time, until she chanced to glance at Dallas. He was looking at her with such an odd expression that the smile died from Smokey"s face.