Page 31 of Devoted to the Spanish Duke
She swallowed deep, forcing the first signs of panic down as best she could. With more than a little reluctance, she followed Lisandro as he headed for a nearby ladder. Every rung that she stepped on was a descent into fear, and a battle against a rising tide of nausea—one she thought she may lose.
When they reached the main deck, Lisandro pointed toward a small cabin.
“That’s yours. I hope you will be comfortable enough in it,” he said.
I have wardrobes bigger than that.
Her cabin, if one could call it that, was barely a door and a thin bulkhead comprised of alternating slats. While it would afford Maria some privacy, it would also hem her in.
It’s like a tiny prison cell.
Reaching out, she took hold of Lisandro’s coat sleeve. “I have to tell you—I am not good with small spaces. They give me nightmares, and I tend to wake up screaming,” she said.
“Good to know. Thank you for telling me. I will be sleeping in a hammock just outside your cabin, so if you have any problems during the night you only have to open your door and I will come to your aid,” he replied.
Maria studied his face for a moment. What was it with this man? Every time she posed any sort of issue, he always seemed to be able to find a solution. Nothing she asked for ever appeared to be a problem.Remind me again how it is that you are the enemy of my family?
“Let’s go back up on the weather deck. We will be setting sail shortly; you might want to give England your final goodbyes,” he said.
As soon as her head cleared the main deck and she was able to breathe the fresh sea air again, the tension in her neck and jaw eased. Grinding her teeth was a nervous habit she had never been able to overcome.
While the crew busied themselves about the yacht, she and Lisandro stood gazing back at Portsmouth Harbor. In the distance, she fancied she could see Stephen and Gus waiting on the shore, still protecting her.
“You have the finest of friends. I don’t think many people would be able to count on such loyalty or bravery from even their own family,” she said.
“Yes, they truly are good comrades. But don’t think for one minute that they are not capable of misdeeds. Every one of them is up to his neck in some sort of dirty business,” he replied.
She glanced in his direction. “Something tells me that they might say the very same thing about you. You are loyal and brave, but it takes a particular kind of man to be able to do what you did at the house in Queen Anne Street. To risk your life for someone else. I don’t expect that was something you had planned for your life when you were a boy.”
Lisandro’s gaze remained fixed on the shore. “Sometimes you have to make decisions which lead you in a different direction to that which you had planned. The war with Napoleon did that for many of us, including my English friends. What is happening in Spain at the moment will make other men have to face similar choices.”
And women. Don’t forget that Spain is our country too.
They moved to the bow of the ship, out of the way of the sailors who readied the ropes and canvases. The sea breeze was stronger here and it whipped Maria’s hair about her face. She attempted to tuck her wayward strands behind her ears, but it was to no avail—the wind was too strong.
Lisandro shifted to the other side of her, sheltering Maria from the gusty turbulence. They were close enough now that her shoulder brushed against his coat sleeve. Lisandro slipped his arm free and wrapped it around her. Maria leaned in against him.
Neither spoke. This moment didn’t call for words. It was as if a curtain had been pulled back, giving them both a glimpse of what a future together could look like. And as they silently stepped through that doorway, she knew this was what she wanted. They would never again be strangers.
Gus’s words came back to her mind.“I think you may have stolen his heart.”
She had stopped fighting the knowledge that Lisandro was the man who could give her a different life to the one she had so recently thought was her only destiny. In Lisandro’s arms she would always be safe.
But as much as she now trusted him to protect her, Maria was no wilting flower. Whatever lay ahead, she was prepared to fight alongside him. Without the others to protect them, she was determined to be someone he could rely upon. For him to know that she would fire a pistol without hesitation, if it came to it.
“Gus said that we would face more danger when we got back to Spain.” She broke free of his embrace and turned to face him. “I need to know what you think might happen. Please don’t keep me in the dark. Give me a weapon if you need me to wield one.”
He nodded. “We are sailing into Bilbao; it is the only major port where this yacht can berth without raising too many suspicions. I couldn’t risk Zarautz even though it is closer to Castle Tolosa.”
“Castle Tolosa?”
“I am not taking you home to Villabona. Diego and I agreed that until we know who is behind your kidnapping, it would be safer for you to remain hidden at my home.”
She stared at him, mouth agape with shock. No one had made mention of this before. “What did Diego tell you? He must have his suspicions.”
Lisandro glanced over his shoulder back down the deck. The crew were well out of earshot.
The expression on Lisandro’s face was grave. He closed his eyes, then let out a slow breath. “When you and Señor Perez were attacked on the beach. Did you see him fall?”
