Page 50 of A Rake's Revenge
“You will act as chaperone.”
Brice stared at him as though he’d suddenly taken leave of his senses. “I…you want me to be achaperone?”
“Yes. It is quite brilliant, is it not?”
“No. It is not.” Brice gave him a look of real concern. “In case you have forgotten, we both have reputations for beingrakes.”
Stephan shrugged. “All of theton—even her father—knows you and Caroline are close friends. You would protect her as a brother would.”
“That may be, but this is still a daft idea.” Brice frowned. “Do you think the prince would agree to it?”
Stephan grinned at his friend. “Prinny has been playing us all like a cat with cornered mice. This will add a bit of speculation. It keeps thetongossiping and remembering for weeks.”
“Dining with Caroline alone on your boat will be more than a breath of scandal,” Brice warned. “To say nothing of making Tisdale furious.”
Stephan’s grin widened. “Even better, wouldn’t you say?”
Brice opened his mouth and then closed it before shaking his head. “Chaperone,” he muttered.
…
Caroline couldn’t recall having spent a more frustrating twenty-four hours in her life. Yesterday, when she’d learned that Tisdale wanted to implicate Stephan in the piracy raids, all she could think about was getting to Stephan. Then she’d had to endure sitting with the earl in the gardenand then, to avoid being groped by an old duke at dinner, she had to feign illness.
This morning, Stephan had already been gone when she came down for breakfast, and he hadn’t put in an appearance all day. Now, she practically jogged along the quay on the way to his boat.
“Ladies are not supposed to run, you know,” Brice said, his long strides easily keeping up with her.
“Ladiesare not generally found on the quay at this time of evening, are they?”
“I suppose you have a point.” Brice grinned. “It is obvious you are eager to see Stephan.”
Ladies weren’t supposed to be obvious, either, but Caroline really didn’t care. Nor did she care, at the moment, if Brice assumed her eagerness came from less-than-ladylike intentions. He wouldn’t be totally wrong. Spending an evening dining alone—well, almost alone—with Stephan had all sorts of possibilities, some of which made her body warm to the point that she felt she was wearing too many clothes. But first, she needed to warn Stephan about the vicious rumor.
“I am still not sure how Stephan made this happen. My father nearly had an apoplexy.” Caroline bit back a smile as she recalled the incredulous look on her father’s face when Brice had delivered the invitation earlier to dine aboard theLady of Fortunethis evening.
“The prince agreed to it,” Brice answered as they slowed at the boat slip where theLadyfloated. “And here we are.”
Stephan’s head popped up from the companionway, followed by the rest of him. He stepped off the boat onto the small finger pier with the practiced ease of someone used to everything moving and offered his hand. “Welcome aboard.”
Caroline put her hand in his, feeling the warm strength of his fingers as she placed a foot on the bobbing deck. She teetered precariously for a second before his other hand was at her waist, helping her get her balance.
“Steady there,” he said as he nimbly hopped up beside Caroline.
“You make it seem so easy.” Caroline looked around for something to hang onto. Toppling over on her nose or landing on her backside was not the kind of impression she wanted to make, even if she was wearing a cycling dress with leather sewn into the hem so it wouldn’t fly up in the wind. Lying sprawled across the deck like a landed fish would hardly be a good start to the evening.
Stephan smiled. “It takes a bit of time to get your sea legs.” He led her to the companionway and turned around. “It is easier to back down the ladder. Let me show you.”
Caroline widened her eyes as he seemed to disappear into the dark depths of the boat. Beside her, Brice chuckled.
“It really is not that far down,” he said. “Go ahead.”
Caroline turned, holding onto the edge of the hatch and easing one foot down. It swung in the air a moment before she felt Stephan’s firm grip on her ankle, guiding her foot onto the ladder rung. As she lowered herself and searched for the second rung with her other foot, she felt his hands on her waist.
“I have you,” he said.
Firm, steady hands lifted her the rest of the way and set her down, feet planted firmly on the floor. His hands lingered for a few seconds, and Caroline became fully aware of how near they stood in the enclosed space. She inhaled his scent, slightly spicy with a hint of sea salt clinging to him. She felt strangely cold when his hands dropped and he stepped back.
“Welcome to my home away from home.”
