The Amber Lady was a medium-sized merchant vessel with three masts and a mermaid figurehead at the bow. It was also, Kit thought, a sight for sore eyes, especially after a snail-paced journey into London, made even slower by the abysmal state of the winter roads. More importantly, it was loaded and ready to set sail to the Low Countries as soon as the tide of the river turned.
Fortunately, the dour-faced Captain accepted his coins without question, allowing him to go straight below deck to a tiny cabin and fling himself into a hammock with a weary sigh. All he wanted now was to escape England as quickly as possible. For one thing, because he didn’t trust George not to send an order from the King summoning him back, for another because he wanted to place some distance between him and Pippa. It was the only way he could think of to put his emotions behind him.
* * *
He must have been more exhausted than he’d realised because the next thing he knew, he was being jolted awake by raised voices outside. Judging by the lack of creaking timbers or any discernible swaying, they hadn’t departed yet, which meant that it was likely some dispute with a trader or another passenger haggling over their fare. Whoever it was, the argument was getting more and more heated. If he wasn’t mistaken, there was a woman’s voice, too. It sounded familiar, but it couldn’t be, not unless… He rolled over, squeezing his eyes shut at the thought. Now he was really letting his imagination get the better of him. Pippa was back at Hampton Court, probably relieved to hear of his departure and already packing to return to Richmond Palace. The last place she would be was on a wharf by the Thames.
On the other hand… He opened his eyes again, curiosity and hope triumphing over despair as he swung his legs to the floor, climbed out of the hammock and made his way up to the deck. It was already dark and the evening air was bitingly cold, blustery and swirling with snowflakes, though all of those facts faded into insignificance at the spectacle before him.
A barge was moored alongside the merchant vessel and there on the harbourside were two familiar figures, though he’d never thought to see them in the same place, let alone working together. The sight was so shocking that for a few stunned seconds, he actually wondered if he were still asleep and dreaming.
‘Kit!’ It was the woman who looked up and saw him first.
‘Pippa?’ His heart stalled in his chest. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I’ve changed my mind!’ She started towards the gangplank, but the Captain barred her way.
‘You haven’t paid.’
‘Oh, for pity’s sake.’ George shoved his way forward angrily. ‘We can see he’s on board now so there’s no point in haggling over information any longer. Here.’ He held out a leather pouch. ‘That’s all you’ll get so you might as well let her on board. Unless you’d prefer an inspection from the King’s customs men?’
The Captain muttered something indistinguishable, eyeballing George for another few seconds before lifting his arm and letting Pippa hurry past.
‘Kit!’ She met him at the top of the gangplank, her cheeks red and glowing with cold, looking wild and stunningly dishevelled. Even her hat had fallen to one side so that her hair billowed in loose strands over and around her face. ‘I want to come with you. If you’ll still take me?’
‘You want…?’ He was too amazed to take in the words. ‘How did you find me?’
‘I didn’t. Your brother sent his men out to find which vessels were departing this evening and to ask if they had any passengers. Then he commandeered a barge for us. I was so afraid that we might have missed you or that you’d ridden to Dover. We must have been out on the river for hours.’
‘But how did you convince George to help you? He wants me to stay and marry Lady Cecily.’
‘I know!’ She laughed incredulously. ‘He told me all that, but then he said that if you were going to throw your future away then you might as well do it properly. And with your father’s blessing, too.’ She lifted a hand and placed it on his chest, over his heart. ‘He said that this is what your father wanted, for you to be free to choose your own path.’
‘And my brother just forgot to tell me?’ Kit clenched his jaw as George made his way up the gangplank behind her. ‘Is this true, about Father’s wishes?’
‘Yes, he mentioned it a few times, pointing out the obvious, that we were cut from a very different cloth, and advising me to let you be. Only I thought I knew better.’ He arched an eyebrow. ‘Perhaps, on this one occasion, I was mistaken. Perhaps I was even a little jealous. Father wanted you to have the life he would have chosen for himself if he hadn’t been born a first son. It’s not a position suited to everyone. We inherit the money and houses, but we have fewer choices, too. A second son, on the other hand, is more…dispensable.’
Kit felt a slow smile spread over his face. ‘You’ve no idea how happy I am to hear that.’
‘So you can let your conscience be clear. And to alleviate mine, I won’t cut you off completely. Easington Manor will have to go to Sidney, naturally, but you’ll still be part of the family should you ever choose to come back.’ George looked between the two of them enquiringly. ‘Now can I consider matters satisfactorily resolved? I’d hate to have wasted an afternoon and destroyed a woman’s reputation for nothing.’
‘My reputation doesn’t matter,’ Pippa interjected, moving her hand away from his chest. ‘If it’s too late for us, Kit, then I’ll understand, but Lady Anne made me realise that I was still living in shadow, letting Nicholas cast a pall over my future as well as my past. I don’t want to do that any more. I want to live in the sunshine with you.’
‘Then what are we waiting for?’ He caught hold of her waist, pulling her the rest of the way up the gangplank and into his arms, capturing her lips and kissing her with an intensity that took both of their breaths away.
‘Well, thank goodness for that.’ George rolled his eyes when they came apart finally. ‘Now if you’ll excuse me from this tender scene, I’d like to go somewhere warm.’
‘Wait!’ Kit put a hand on George’s shoulder as he turned to leave. ‘Thank you, Brother. I’m in your debt.’
‘Good. In that case, I’ll find some way for you to be useful to me in Europe.’
‘I’m sure you will.’ Kit smiled ironically, looking down at Pippa’s bag as one of George’s men deposited it on the deck beside them. ‘Do you have everything you need? Because if you want to return to Richmond first…’
‘No.’ She shook her head quickly. ‘I’m leaving the past behind. You’re all I need—and this…’ She reached into her jacket and drew out a folded piece of parchment. ‘Lady Anne wrote a letter to her brother while I was packing. It asks him to give us a home in Cleves if we ever want one.’
‘Lady Anne gave you that?’
‘Yes, when I told her how much I loved you, on condition that I send regular reports from her homeland.’
He tightened his arms around her waist, tugging her even closer. ‘That sounds like an excellent arrangement to me, but Cleves can wait. First I want to show you Venice.’
‘Truly?’
‘As soon as the weather improves enough for us to travel, but perhaps we’ll take rooms in Bruges for a few months first. Then we can take some time to really get to know each other.’ He pressed a kiss to her forehead. ‘I won’t ask you to marry me until you’re ready.’
‘I think we might not have a choice.’ She gave a ragged laugh. ‘Your brother’s right, my reputation’s already ruined.’
‘Only in England. As for anywhere else, who’s to know? I won’t rush you, Pippa. Tell me when you’re ready, but until then, it’s enough for me just to be with you.’
‘I’m ready now.’ She tilted her head back, lifting her lips to his as a pair of sailors pulled up the gangplank behind them. ‘After ten years, I don’t want to waste another moment.’
* * * * *