Page 46 of A Scandalous Proposition
He smiled at her in a knowing manner, and she heartily wished that he wouldn’t do so. It was a smile of gentle intimacy that lingered for too long, curling glamorously around his lips and lighting up his expression. Florentina met his gaze and immediately regretted that impulse also as he caressed her with his eyes. In a highly agitated state, she couldn’t have looked away if her life had depended upon it. She felt as though she were floating on a tide of emotion as the silence stretched unnoticed between them. It took every ounce of what strength she still possessed not to move towards him, into the circle of those strong, safe arms.
‘What did you wish to know about Dawson?’ she asked, her voice sounding clipped and unfamiliar.
‘Everything you can tell me. How do you know when and where he will be making port?’
‘That’s the hardest part of our business, and were it not for Lord Madison’s assistance we wouldn’t have been able to manage it at all.’
‘Madison’s a good chap.’
‘Yes, and determined too. He got someone in his employ to infiltrate Reynolds’s circle in London. Reynolds is the key to everything, you see. He arranges for Dawson’s human cargo to be transferred from his ship and finds somewhere to keep the poor souls until they are sold on to bawdy houses.’
‘I see.’
He stretched his arms above his head and smiled at her. That same, infuriatingly somnolent smile that promised so much, and yet…and yet, apart from taking her hand to help her to her feet, he’d not laid so much as a finger on her. The balance of their relationship had undergone a marked change. Two days ago he wished to bend her to his will and she’d been unwilling. Now he appeared to have no interest in her, other than a noble desire to assist her unfortunate countrymen. Naturally she was delighted to have no complications getting in the way of their shared responsibility.
‘Florentina?’
His voice snapped her out of her reverie and she was mortified to discover that her eyes had been fixed on his thighs. Colour flooded her face.
‘I beg your pardon, my lord, what did you say?’
‘I asked if you know when Dawson is likely to reach these shores again.’ His infuriatingly smug smile remained fixed in place. She harrumphed and sent him a damning glance. It was too much to hope that he’d not noticed the direction of her gaze. Pointless trying to convince him that it had been unintentional. ‘Presumably, if he’s just been here it will be some weeks before we can expect him again.’
‘Oh no. He hasn’t just been here.’
Adam frowned. ‘I understood your recent trip to the capital was to help liberate the latest arrivals.’
‘Yes, it was, but apparently they’d been in this country these several weeks. We were aware they were expected but they changed their landing place at the eleventh hour.’
‘Because they knew you were likely to intercept them? They’re getting wise to you.’
‘Yes, and by the time we learned where they were being held, some of them had already been sold.’ Florentina heard the disgust in her voice. ‘But those remaining, the ones on the estate now, were still being negotiated for. At least we helped them.’
‘So, it’s reasonable to suppose that Dawson will be back fairly soon?’
‘Yes, his trips are becoming more frequent. In spite of our best efforts, he still manages to regularly outwit us. The young people he brings in are not his only form of income. His smuggling activities are exceedingly lucrative, but I don’t care about that.’ She looked up at him, sighing with frustration. ‘He appears to enjoy pitting his wits against us, and I don’t think we’ll be able to keep one step ahead of him for much longer. Which is another reason why I’d very much like to see him put out of business once and for all.’
‘He alters his port of call. What else does he do to frustrate your efforts?’
‘He no longer makes port inThe Albatross.Instead hedrops anchor offshore and brings his cargo in by wherry.’
‘Many smugglers reduce the possibility of detection by that method.’
‘Christine heard yesterday from Lord Madison’s man that he’s likely to drop anchor off Southsea within the next week or two, depending upon the weather.’
‘He’d only be able to row ashore from that location at high tide.’ Adam threw his head back and closed his eyes. ‘High tide will be in the early hours over the next few days, which will entirely suit his purpose.’ He smiled at her. ‘But the cover of darkness will suit ours too.’
‘It won’t be so easy to keep Reynolds in our sights if they’re using deserted landing places. When he used busy ports we could blend in more easily.’
‘I’ll talk it through with Madison tomorrow.’
‘What do you intend to do?’
Adam shrugged, as though the answer ought to be obvious. ‘Intercept the wherry when it makes for shore.’
‘What if Dawson isn’t aboard?’
‘I think he will be. In his position I would want to deliver such valuable cargo personally. But, if he’s not, we’ll take charge of the wherry, row it back toThe Albatrossand take command of the boat.’
