“We’ve only been married one day, Raven. Surely you did not plan to leave me alone tonight.”
Raven’s heart was pounding so loudly in his ears he wasn’t at all sure what Eden had said. What he did understand was the sweetness of her smile and the tenderness of her welcoming gesture. He closed her door behind him, and drew her into his arms to begin what he now knew would be another night of the most incredible pleasure he would ever have. That he did not trust Eden, nor her motives for being such a devoted wife, was the farthest thing from his mind.
Chapter Ten
August 1863
Eden stood beside Raven at the port rail as the Jamaican Wind sailed out of Lyme Bay. Silhouetted against the morning sun, Briarcliff seemed to glow with a majestic light. As the pale gray stone mansion slowly faded in the distance to no more than a sparkle on the cliff, a lump came to Eden’s throat that she could not dislodge. She had spent the happiest month of her life there. She had also buried the dear husband who had made those four brief weeks so memorable.
“I have to go below,” she apologized hastily before turning away.
Concerned, Raven laid his hand on her arm. “Are you not feeling well?”
“No, I’m fine. I’m merely tired is all,” Eden assured him, but after only a few minutes’ rest in his cabin, the anguish of her memories was replaced by an annoying sensation of queasiness. Certain she would feel much better in the fresh air up on deck, she rejoined her new husband.
Raven took Eden’s hand and pulled her close. “Did you miss me so terribly that you couldn’t stay away?” he asked with a teasing grin. Too nauseated to appreciate his humor, Eden gulped in the sea-scented air and shook her head. “I needed some air. I never used to get seasick, but I haven’t truly felt well since, since
When she hesitated, Raven readily gathered from her tortured expression what she found impossible to say. “Since Alex died?” he offered softly. “It’s no wonder. There are times when I can almost forget we’ve lost him.” He paused a brief instant, as though certain she knew precisely which times those were. “Neither of us will ever forget him, but in time we’ll be able to talk about Alex without becoming so badly depressed.”
People always said sorrow became easier to bear with time, but Eden doubted that would be true in this case. She was grateful Raven had such an understanding attitude, however, and gave his arm a warm squeeze. She was embarrassed by how badly she had misjudged him. There was far more to the man than the unfavorable impression she had initially formed based solely on his darkly menacing good looks. Why hadn’t she had the wisdom to see that?
“I feel better already,” she remarked with a shy smile. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For understanding why I can’t always be happy.”
Eden’s expression was so appealingly innocent Raven could not r
esist leaning down to kiss her. He kept her by his side for the remainder of the morning, then after they had eaten a light meal at noon, he insisted she take a nap so that she would not become overtired. When he returned to the deck alone, Randy MacDermott approached him almost immediately.
“I think our long friendship gives me the right to speak,” he announced with a cocky self-assurance. “I had thought her brave, but it sickens us all to see Lady Clairbourne so comfortable in your arms when Alex has been dead only a week.”
Infuriated that the mate thought he had the right to offer such a personal comment, Raven immediately reacted with a hostile glare. He knew he had shocked his friend when he had asked him to be his best man, but he had expected whatever criticism there might be of their hasty marriage to be directed at him rather than Eden. Randy’s remark presented an unfortunate eventuality he had not foreseen and that failure alone was enough to anger him.
“Do you realize that duels have been fought over remarks less offensive than yours?” he replied in a challenging hiss.
“Duels?” Randy gasped hoarsely as he began to back away.
“Yes,” Raven continued in the same threatening tone, “Lady Clairbourne is my wife and I’ll not tolerate a single word spoken against her. How could you have thought otherwise? I don’t want to hear another such comment, ever. If I see so little as a frown directed toward my wife, I’ll flog the man who wears it and that includes you.”
Randy cursed his own stupidity in speaking his thoughts aloud, but he could not help himself. “I meant only to warn you,” he insisted.
“Warn me? Of what?”
“Of the type of woman she is. Just look how quickly she betrayed Alex’s memory.”
When Raven took a step forward, Randy took another step back. Raven then reached out and grabbed the mate’s shirtfront to draw him close. “She is a lady,” he reminded him coldly. “She hasn’t betrayed anyone and she is to be treated with the utmost respect at all times. Our return trip to Jamaica will be the most miserable voyage of your life if you fail to remember that.”
Raven had expected gossip aplenty from outsiders, but not from his crew. That Eden was relaxed around him was a source of great pleasure to him and he would not keep his distance to satisfy some ignorant fools’ concept of propriety. Damn it, Eden was his wife, and he did not care who knew it! He released Randy with a rude shove and turned his back on him, their conversation over as far as he was concerned, and the mate wisely chose to retreat.
Peter Brady was standing not ten feet away and Raven knew he had to have overheard his argument with Randy. The groom had sailed with them and would ride back to Briarcliff in order to return the mounts he had rented when he had carried the news of Alex’s death to London. Rather than ignore the man’s presence, Raven walked right over to him. “Does the staff at Briarcliff harbor as uncharitable feelings about my marriage as my crew does?”
“No, my lord, I heard naught a word said against either you or Lady Clairbourne. Briarcliff is your home. None of us would speak ill of you there.”
Peter looked so badly embarrassed, Raven dismissed him immediately. Unlike sailors, who could seek work on another ship, the staff of Briarcliff considered the estate their home as well as his. He knew they would not dare criticize his actions for fear of losing their positions, and Peter’s words had not been in the least bit reassuring.
When Raven joined Eden in his cabin for supper that night, he was still preoccupied with the dark thoughts Randy’s ridiculous criticism had raised. Other than a few distracted smiles, he offered little in the way of company. A loner by nature, he was content without conversation, but he knew he ought to try and make Eden feel welcome on board his ship. He was just not up to making the effort that night.