Catching Captain Nash (Dashing Widows #6)(22)

So he returned to discussing his daughter. No great effort. He burned with curiosity about her. “So where did the name Kerenza come from?”

“It must sound outlandish to you.” Morwenna’s lips twisted wryly. “It’s an old Cornish name that I’ve always liked. We’d never discussed children, let alone what we were going to call them. And Silas and Caro already had a Roberta.”

He gave a relieved exhalation. “Thank God for that. Roberta? No daughter of mine should be saddled with that burden. Did you call her anything else?”

“Yes, Charlotte for your mother.” She studied him uncertainly as she set the picture on a side table. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Mind? You couldn’t have done better.”

She looked charmingly shy. “Would you like to see Kerenza? I could write to have her brought to London. She could be here within the week.”

He shook his head and only realized how Morwenna might misinterpret that response when he caught the dismay in her eyes. He spoke quickly. “I’d like to see her more than anything. But why don’t we go to her? It would save time.”

And he had a horrible suspicion that while he might gradually find his feet in the luxurious sanctuary of Silas’s house, he mightn’t be nearly as steady amidst the city’s hustle and bustle. Especially as his return offered a feast for the gossipmongers.

Morwenna’s expression brightened. “I’d love that.” And repeating what he’d already decided, “I also think some quiet days in the country might be what you need. Although with all the children at Woodley Park, quiet might be at a premium.”

A sudden longing to see his boyhood home gripped him. He’d spent so long convinced he’d never get back to his wife and family, he had a powerful need to revisit beloved places. If only to prove that he could.

He caught Morwenna’s hand and raised it to his lips. “Let’s go then.”

“Yes.” The sound was a sigh and her fingers tightened over his.

He loved the way she reacted to his touch. Her eyelids drooped, lending her a breathtakingly sensual air. His susceptible senses stirred, and he glanced toward the bed behind them.

Her lips quirked up. “You’re insatiable.”

“Do you mind?”

She shook her head. “We have a lot of time to make up for.”

“We do. So?”

To his disappointment, she shook her head. “You need to go to the Admiralty, and I need to get ready to leave for the country.” She paused. “Or we could pick up Kerenza and go on to Portsmouth.”

“You’ve kept the house?” The neat little villa where they’d spent their brief time together.

“Of course. It held all my memories of you.” She frowned. “What is it?”

He shook his head and struggled to speak past the emotion clogging his lungs. “I’m not...I’m not used to making plans. For so long, I was never sure I’d see my next sunrise.” He swallowed again, but still that damned rock jammed his throat. “It’s…it’s overwhelming to talk about flitting around the country as if I’m free.”

“Oh, my dear.” She touched his cheek with more of that tenderness as powerful as thunder. “You are free. I hope you’ll soon understand that.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think I’ve come back to myself yet.”

Although the fact that he felt safe enough to reveal his feelings to Morwenna hinted he’d traveled a long way along the road to recovery. Largely thanks to this woman he loved.

“But you’ve come back to me. That’s enough for now.” Her smile was tremulous, and her beauty struck him like a blow. What a lucky dog he was, to have such a wife.

His hold on her hand tightened. “You said you’d come to the Admiralty with me.”

She shook her head. “I know I did. But I think you might do better with Silas. If you encounter difficulties, he’s a man of influence. And those old men there won’t pay a moment’s heed to the hero’s wife.”

He sent her an admiring glance. The girl he’d married had been unworldly. He enjoyed this glimpse of a woman who knew how to get what she wanted.

But he had to clear something up. “I’m not a hero.”

Dear God, he cringed to think of the days on end when his courage completely failed and hope disappeared under a mire of filth and pain and humiliation.

That tremulous smile didn’t falter. “You’ll always be a hero to me.”





Chapter Nine





* * *



Robert approached the Admiralty with no expectation of a warm welcome. After all, apart from his scars, he had no proof of where he’d been and what had happened to him. But to his astonishment, none of the senior officers expressed any doubts about his story, which even in his own ears, sounded more and more unlikely with repeated tellings.

He received a hero’s reception and was quickly ushered in to make his report to the Sea Lords. He spent hours recounting his experiences and imparting what intelligence he could share about the pirates infesting the South American coast. In the end, only Silas’s influence managed to extricate him from the labyrinthine corridors of Somerset House and back out into the rainy afternoon.