Page 34 of A Rake's Revenge
He motioned for his guests to gather around, and in a minute Caroline found Stephan standing by her side. She half expected to see Lady Ann still latched onto him, but Brice had somehow managed to buttonhole her at the back of the crowd. He gave Caroline a wink when she glanced back. She smiled and turned to Stephan. At least he’d made his way to her side, so that must mean he intended to keep up appearances. She hadn’t seen him all day, since the boats had been involved in sea trials, and now was not the time to ask.
“You have all probably heard by now that another French ship was waylaid by pirates last night,” Prinny began.
He kept his voice well modulated and low so the crowd would have to press forward to hear. Caroline’s father had told her it was a trick he often used to contain the House of Lords when they became too clamorous. Even the most heated argument in Parliament quieted down when the lords realized their regent was speaking. Right now, Caroline thought a lady’s hairpin could have been heard dropping on the plush, deep carpet.
“This must stop,” the prince regent continued. “Itwillstop. I have already dispatched a messenger to the prime minister to enlist our Royal fleet.” He looked around the room. “Meanwhile, I am doubling the reward that I offered before for any tip that will lead to the capture of these renegades. One thousand pounds, ladies and gentlemen. One thousand pounds.”
Caroline heard gasps all around. “That is a small fortune,” she whispered to Stephan.
He nodded thoughtfully, his eyes not leaving Prinny’s face. “Yes, it is.”
…
Alfred poured himself a cognac—notA de Fussigny, damn it, but maybesoon—and settled back in the plush chair near the hearth in one of the Pavilion’s guest rooms.
Overall, he was pleased with the way the evening had gone.
That he’d managed to get Kendrick to drop his impassive facade was a fine feather in Alfred’s cap as well. The bastard actuallycaredfor the Nash chit, a slip he’d made obvious with his remark that she wasn’t something to be wagered. Of course she was—women were chattel. But the fact that the marquiscaredwould make Alfred’s conquest of the woman all the more savory. That and her sizable dowry.
He swirled the brandy in the snifter and inhaled. Perhaps he should pursue his rather offhand remark regarding giving Ann to Kendrick as a consolation prize. No dowry would be needed in that case, and Alfred would have eliminated the competition for Caroline Nash.
The marriage needed to take place as soon as possible after the regatta was over. The latest raid at Dungeness Point was the fourth that had cost his superiors their shipments. He wasn’t sure why they were so important, although he had his suspicions. With Napoleon having escaped Elba, there was unrest in France and there were probably Englishmen wanting to recoup losses by stirring up war sentiments, but it wasn’t his business. Hemsbroke held his vowels, and the man had made it quite clear that time was running out before Alfred would be exposed for being near penniless.
Even his boat wasn’t paid for, although for now no one knew that. He’d scraped together enough money for a down payment and forged several signatures of wealthy aristocrats falsely offering to back his investment. He’d made sure when he provided the documents to the shipbuilder that none of those nobles were in the country.
Caroline’s dowry would cover that expense as well as his vowels. Alfred cursed Kendrick again. If the bastard had not literally thrown the gauntlet, challenging Alfred for Caroline’s hand, the betrothal would have been as smooth as cream atop milk. Sir Reginald wanted a grandson who would inherit an earldom. Prinny had no objections, either, since Caroline’s father was one of his favored knights. There were no complications or barriers to signing the papers that would make the chit his wife and transfer her funds to his account.
Winning the regatta purse would have been icing on the proverbial wedding cake. Now it seemed, he wouldhaveto win.
He cursed the Marquess again. In spite of Alfred’s comment at dinner, Kendrick’s boat was not inferior. True, it was not as narrow and long as his own, but theLady of Fortune’screw was more experienced and able to coax the last tenth of a knot out of the wind. Even Alfred’s own captain had admitted as much. Which meant Alfred needed to enhance his own odds of winning. There were always men on the quay looking to make an extra quid. He took another swallow of liquor.
Tomorrow night, under the cover of darkness, he’d get one of those men to loosen the winches onLady of Fortune. Not enough to make a noticeable difference at first, but by the day of the regatta they would be unstable enough to keep the sails from performing their best.
Alfred finished the brandy and put the glass down. Maybe drinkingA de Fussignyon a regular basis wasn’t that far away.
…
It took every ounce of Stephan’s willpower to sit still in the shadowy corner of the pub in Newhaven where he’d agreed to rendezvous with Eric after the Dungeness strike. What he wanted to do was pace to relieve his pent-up impatience, but the last thing he needed to do was draw attention. Better that no one would remember a quiet man simply having a midday meal. Not that he’d eaten much of the stew cooling in front of him.
He’d told Eric to wait three days so suspicion wouldn’t be drawn to himself if he were seen leaving Brighton. Given Prinny’s announcement the day after the raid, doubling the reward, the past two days had seemed like an eternity.
Where in the hell was Eric? The man was never late. Had he been intercepted after all? No additional messengers had arrived at the Pavilion that Stephan knew of, and he hadn’t heard any more about the raid. He pulled out his pocket watch and heaved a sigh of relief. Eric still had ten minutes. Stephan was simply edgy, his nerves frayed a bit by forced inaction.
Two minutes before the scheduled time, Eric appeared in the doorway. He stepped quickly inside to avoid being silhouetted, then took a moment to adjust his eyes to the dim interior. Stephan raised a hand, and Eric headed his way.
“Did you have any problems?” Stephan asked after Eric had ordered an ale.
The other man shook his head. “All went according to plan. Pretty much the same shipment. Our boats are bound for other ports with the loot.” He turned silent as his ale was brought and took a healthy swallow, giving the barkeep time to move away. “Any word on the next attempt?”
“There will not be another attempt.”
Eric looked at him in surprise. “You didn’t lose your contact in France, did you?”
“No.” Stephan proceeded to tell him what had transpired at the dinner. “So, between the prince regent diverting part of the royal fleet to patrol the southern coastline and the amount of the reward, we are going to have to lie low for now.”
“Damn. I hate to see a shipment get through,” Eric answered. “We’d been doing good at thwarting the traitors.”
“I do not like it any more than you do, but I do not want to risk our men.”
