Page 20 of A Countess Captured for the Captain
“I was foolish in my bravado, marching straight up to her father at Hampton Manor and expecting no repercussions. But I would not avoid my duty in that regard,” Nox said, as Nicholas offered him another glass of brandy.
“Hardly the words of a pirate,” Nicholas said, shaking his head and looking around at the others.
During all this conversation, Duchess Sinclair was peering curiously at Nox. She had not even demanded her usual introductions, but fixed him with a searching gaze, as though attempting to recall some long-forgotten memory. Samantha watched her nervously, for her behavior was quite different from normal, and suddenly she let out a cry of recognition, stepping forward and pointing at Nox, as though she had seen a ghost.
“The very image, unmistakable, it has to be,” she declared.
Nox looked up in surprise, his brandy glass midway to his lips, and Nicholas turned to look at his mother with a puzzled expression.
“Mother? What are you talking about?” he asked, and Duchess Sinclair came right up to Nox, peering down at him, nodding and muttering something to herself.
“You are him, it is there in your face, unmistakable,” she said, shaking her head.
“Duchess Sinclair, what do you mean?” Samantha ventured, for the entire room was now in a state of confusion, the others looking at one another in astonishment.
“You cannot have seen him before, your Ladyship,” Catherine said, but Duchess Sinclair dismissed her with a wave of her hand.
“I never forget a face, Catherine, and this face I am certain of. Norman Osmond, it is you, is it not? I have not seen you since you were a child, but the likeness is unmistakable. I knew your father and mother, God rest them, and when the tragedy struck in the Caribbean, I was the first to commiserate with your dear Uncle Albert. What a tragedy, your poor parents. It was the very talk of the ton,” she said, speaking as though the others would know precisely what she was talking about.
“Mother, this man’s name is Nox, he was captain of a ship,The Rosa Mystica.I explained all this to you in the carriage, did I not?” Nicholas said, and the Duchess shushed him.
“No, Nicholas, you told me the story you knew and were sincere in that, I am sure, but this is the truth. There can be no doubt. I always remember a face,” and she peered harder at Nox, who now looked extremely uncomfortable.
Samantha was confused. She had never heard of a Norman Osmond before, though the mention of an Uncle Albert brought with it a vague memory. She had heard her father speak of the Osmonds, an aristocratic family, much like her own. The line was that of the Earl of Brimsey and now that she thought hard about it, she recalled the mention of a ship lost at sea, the drowning of the Earl and–
“I know nothing of what you speak,” Nox said, shaking his head.
“But of course, you will not. You were but a child, no more than… let me see, thirteen years old. Yes, your dear parents, such a tragedy, but then why they went off like that I will never know. Gallivanting around the Caribbean, goodness me, it was quite the scandal,” Duchess Sinclair continued.
She said all this in such a manner that there appeared no doubt in her mind that this extraordinary revelation was certainly true, despite Nox’s confusion. It was clear from the look upon his face that he had no notion as to the truth of what the Duchess was saying, though his history was confusing. He had told Samantha during the voyage that he had no recollection of life before Strap andThe Rosa Mystica.It was conceivable that what Duchess Sinclair said was true, but what proof was there? Only a recognition, one which would hardly stand up to scrutiny.
“Mother, I think perhaps we should not pursue this matter any further,” Nicholas said, but Duchess Sinclair only waved her hand dismissively.
“What I say is true, his Uncle Albert will confirm it. He and his wife were the only ones that survived the shipwreck, returning to London with a tale of pirates and so on. But there is no mistaking this man for who he is. Have you nothing left of what was once your inheritance?” she asked, addressing Nox, who glanced around at Samantha, his face looking still thoroughly confused.
“Well, I have a pocket watch. It had belonged to my father, or so I believed. But what can that prove?” he asked, rummaging in his pocket and pulling out the watch, which was encased in gold, with a delicate chain designed to be attached to a lapel.
Duchess Sinclair snatched it from his hands and began to examine it, before letting out a triumphant exclamation.
“But have you never considered how you came to possess such a fine piece? This is no ordinary pocket watch, look at the design, and the inscription. And what of the coat of arms engraved here?” she said, as the others peered forward to see.
The watch was an exquisite piece, the fullness of the artist’s craft. Duchess Sinclair was right, it was no ordinary watch. The engraving was delicate, and the coat of arms finely etched. Samantha had seen those arms before, a coronet with lion and stag beneath, supplanted upon a bishop’s miter and a cross. Presumably these were the arms of the House of Brimsey, and Samantha now peered closer, trying to make out the inscription below.
“What does it say?” Rebecca asked.
“To Norman, ever loved, of P & N,” Duchess Sinclair exclaimed, a note of triumph in her voice.
“But I do not know who P and N are,” Nox said, shaking his head.
“But I do, Nancy was your mother, Philip was your father, this watch was commissioned at your birth, alongside other trinkets and so forth. I remember it all now,” Duchess Sinclair said, as the others looked at one another in astonishment.
“But… no, it cannot be, impossible. I am no son of an Earl,” he exclaimed, shaking his head, half laughing, half astonished.
“But have you never wondered who you are?” Duchess Sinclair persisted.
“I know who I am, I am Nox, captain ofThe Rosa Mystica,” he replied, sounding somewhat defiant.
“But the watch? Where do you think it came from? It was a gift from your parents and surely the only possession you clung to on that fateful day. I am telling you, there can be no doubting it,” Duchess Sinclair continued.
