“I knew I should have hauled your ass overboard when we first set sail,” Thomas moaned as Myles barged into his cabin. Fortunately for them, they had booked two cabins aboard the merchant ship The Weymouth, bound for Boston, and were now somewhere on the Atlantic. Giles, Thomas’s valet, was with them, but as usual Myles traveled without his.
Thomas had sailed on the first available ship because he needed to get as far away from England as he could before he changed his mind about the whole Hamilton affair. And Myles invading his privacy now was just what he didn’t need. “Make yourself comfortable,” Thomas ordered, “and do not disturb me.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” Myles replied as he took a seat in the only chair in the small cabin.
Thomas settled in his bunk with the correspondence he’d received prior to his departure. His eyes squinted in the low candlelight. No matter how many times he read the letter, the words and their impact did not change one bit.
Dear Duke of Wentworth,
I received your letter, and I must admit to being in shock over my papa’s untimely passing. Could you please explain to me how he died? I had just received a missive from him the previous week, and it seemed as if naught was wrong. I am pained with grief at the loss of my dear papa, and not knowing how he died is only adding to the numerous knife thrusts shredding my heart.
A bit overly dramatic, Thomas mused. He still envisioned a young girl crying copious tears and shrilling like a banshee when her needs were not met in a timely manner. After sighing loudly and ignoring Myles’s questioning stare, he continued reading.
And could you be so kind as to tell me again your connection to my papa? I believe, a long time ago, Papa told me about a friend of his back in England. Is that friend you? Is that why you came to inherit all that belonged to him?
Good gracious. Thomas could just picture the young girl’s face if he broke the promise he’d made to Mr. Hamilton and imagined her response if he explained just how he acquired all that belonged to her papa. The chit’s lips would tremble, and she would turn into a watering pot until her eyes puffed and her nose turned an unattractive shade of red. His body quivered violently at the thought of having such a ward in his care. He’d welcome grave bodily injury before a weepy female in his home. To avoid such a scene, he would do whatever he must to keep the truth from coming out. Thomas would honor Mr. Hamilton’s wishes. Nothing good would come if the truth were known, even if he told her how reluctant he’d been to take on all this.
He ignored Myles’s devilish smirk and continued reading the letter.
I do not want to sound ungrateful for your kindness in stepping into my papa’s shoes, but I believe I am of an age to look after myself. If only you could find it in your generous heart to give me a meager allowance, I shall find a small cottage near my previous home where I lived so happily with my papa. There I will live a simple, quiet life alone.
She could not be serious. At ten-and-seven, could she really think herself mature enough to manage all on her own? Mr. Hamilton would haunt Thomas until his dying day if he agreed to anything as preposterous as to allow her to do that. As happened during other readings of the missive, his teeth began grinding of their own accord. Thomas tightened his grip on the parchment and closed his eyes, envisioning his hands gripping the shoulders of Miss Hamilton and shaking her until she came to her wits. This gel was driving him crazy, and he hadn’t even met her yet.
God forgive him, when did he start having violent thoughts against women? He swore not to read the missive again until he landed in America. But first he had to finish this reading of it.
Please forgive me if I have overstepped the boundaries of propriety. It is just that Papa raised me to be my own person, and that is what I indeed intend to be. If you decide I must accompany you and leave the only home I have ever known, then I suppose I must. But understand it is only until I come of age, and then I intend to travel back to my homeland. Also, if you would be so kind, please explain to me what you intend to do with me once you collect me from Miss Beauregard’s. Toss me onto a ship bound for England and have me deposited at your doorstep? I would like to remind you gently I am not a piece of baggage. I would like to be treated as a young lady with preferences and a mind of my own.
Graciously,
Your Ward, Miss Emma Hamilton
He flung the letter across the way to Myles. “Read this. You won’t believe the nerve of this chit. She insulted me numerous times without any regard for social graces. If this is how they teach ladies in finishing schools in Boston, I will have to procure her enrollment in one of London’s elite finishing schools. If she speaks her mind in person as she does in her letter, she will scandalize the ton within moments.”
When Myles did not react, Thomas continued.
“I have high expectations of sending her off with Mama, Amelia, and Isabella for a season, in hopes of marrying all three of them off at once. I almost pity the three gentlemen who manage to win their hands.” He shrugged. “But then again, the men will be all the richer for it with the handsome dowries they will receive upon their marriages.”
Myles was absorbed in his reading. When he finished, he looked at Thomas and smiled as he offered the letter back.
“Well?” Thomas glared at Myles. “Have you nothing to say?”
He waited and waited, but for naught, because Myles did nothing but laugh uncontrollably until his eyes watered and he gasped for breath. So much for Myles standing by Thomas in his time of need. He would remember this moment the next time his friend asked for a boon.
Standing at the deck railing, Thomas got his first glimpse of America, and the view suspended his breathing. The coastline, full of beige sand, went on for miles and miles. The captain had informed them the storm they had struggled through had pushed them a bit south of their destination, and they were presently off the coast of Plymouth. With a spyglass he was able to glimpse large, stately homes in the distance as the ship tacked north. The large houses were set a good distance from the water’s edge along beautiful desolate beaches.
Sometime later Myles joined Thomas deck side and requested the use of the spyglass. Soon they would be docking at Boston Harbor, scene of the infamous Boston Tea Party.
“It does not look quite as savage as some have depicted,” Myles commented. “Rather, it looks quite like any other bustling port in England. Do you think we will encounter Native Americans while we’re here? It will be to the disappointment of everyone back home if we don’t.” Myles passed the glass back to Thomas. “How many days are we staying in Boston?”
“Three. I’m anxious to travel to New Bedford and glimpse my holdings and meet with Mr. Hamilton’s solicitors.”
Myles frowned and grabbed the rail just as the ship nudged the dock. He looked around at the bustling waterfront. “Do you see what I see? I want to spend more than three days here. Visit a brothel or two and see if American ladybirds have different skills than our courtesans.”
Myles could not be serious. Thomas hadn’t traveled numerous weeks, through a violent storm no less, just to visit a brothel. He’d come to find out about his newly acquired fortune, not to mention the situation with Miss Hamilton. Leave it to his friend to think of his body’s pleasure needs first.
“Why am I not surprised you have nothing on your mind but arranging an assignation with a courtesan?” Thomas complained. “Actually, it might not be a bad idea. We have been long on the ship. A little drink and taste of exotic flesh might be just what we need.” Myles slapped him on the back.
Thomas continued. “But first we’ll make inquiries for lodging and then hire a team so we can visit Miss Hamilton.” He had no intentions of visiting a brothel, but if it made Myles more agreeable to his suggestions, he would pretend to go along with it.
The sound of Myles’s growling, deep in his throat, did not surprise him. “You want to see the chit now, before we’ve slaked our thirst for drink and occupied a woman?”
“Exactly what I had in mind.” Thomas had never shared his friends’ taste for brothels. He preferred widows and unhappily married ladies of the ton. He liked to think he did them a favor by servicing them, rather than the other way around. Thomas took great pains to be an attentive and thorough lover. No female left his bed without experiencing multiple pleasures. And he took his pleasure in return.
Besides, he was extremely particular about the women he bedded, for he did not want to contract any diseases. Hence he rarely visited establishments centered on the pleasures of men. His father had taken him to a brothel when he was ten-and-five. He paid a young ladybird, not much older than Thomas, to take his innocence. After that experience he was half in love with the gel. She had not, however, appreciated his penned poems and the serenades in the dark. The owner of the brothel finally sent word to his father. Thomas remembered the thrashing. He’d been unable to sit a horse for a fortnight, and thus had ended his love of ladybirds and their favors.
Ahhh, jaded by the tender age of ten-and-five.
“Wentworth, are you even listening to me?” Myles interrupted his reverie.
Thomas turned to his friend. “What were you saying?”
Laughter sprang forth. “I was saying that our luggage has been off-loaded, and we need to disembark.”
“Oh, sorry…lost in thought.”
“If only I could be privy to the thoughts going around in your head.” Myles paused and shook his head. “Never mind, I don’t want to know your twisted and sadistic mind. I might have to beg off our friendship if I did. What say we find our lodgings and stretch our legs for a bit before we venture forth to meet Miss Hamilton? I, for one, need to be rested and in good form so as not to miss your reaction when you meet your new ward.”
“I’m so glad you find my situation humorous. Just you wait until you inherit the earldom. If I recall, you have three, no, four…Make that five younger sisters to marry off if your father does not manage that before you inherit.”
“Yes, well…” Myles winced. “My father is still considered somewhat young and in fine health. I have complete faith that he will foist my sisters off on suitable young bucks long before I inherit.”
Thomas laughed and stepped inside the hackney Giles hailed to take them to the Concord Colonial Inn. Once settled on the seat, he faced his longtime friend.
“Why don’t you mention to your father that Lord Amesbury would be an excellent choice for Marissa?” Thomas suggested. “She is coming out this season, is she not?”
The scowl Myles gave him had Thomas laughing again.
“Why the face? What is wrong with our dear friend?”
“Amesbury would never suit my regal sister. She maybe only be ten-and-seven, but she is mature beyond her years. I can’t see them together. Nor would I wish my sister upon him. I know her too well, and poor Amesbury would never have another moment’s peace if he wed her. Marissa is the most opinionated and stubborn chit.” Myles snorted.
“She actually made a list of husband-to-be qualities. I found it tucked inside a book in the library. You would not believe the long list of qualifications Marissa expects. There is not a gentleman alive who could possibly live up to them.” Thomas smiled in amusement. “It will be my undue pleasure watching all the gentlemen chase after her only to be sent packing with their pride stuffed up their arses.
“All right then, Marissa is wrong for Amesbury. Maybe he would be interested in my sister Amelia. She is of marriageable age now. I’m not looking forward to every single man in all of England sniffing around her skirts. I hate thinking about having to entertain all those suitors who will surely have the audacity to call upon her at my residence. Most are not worthy of an introduction, never mind the privilege of courting Amelia.” Myles burst out laughing. “We might never marry off our sisters and wards if we don’t lower our expectations.”