Thea didn't know what to say to that, so she said nothing. Lady Boyle pulled knitting needles and yarn from a bag in her lap. Soon the clickety clack of her needles added to the sound of wind and sail surrounding Thea.
"Pierson is a nice young man. You could do worse."
"I don't know what you mean."
"He comes to your cabin daily to visit, my dear. His intentions are obvious
."
"How did you know he came to see me each day?"
Lady Boyle snorted with amusement. "Come, young woman, surely you realize that gossip aboard ship is worse than in a small village. I would venture to guess that every person down to the potboy knows of his visits."
Heat stole up Thea's cheeks. "I know how it must appear to you all, but he only comes to see me because he's concerned about my health as I'm a passenger on his ship."
"Don't be ridiculous, gel. A man such as Pierson does not visit a young woman unless he wishes to."
Thea had begun to suspect that very thing, but she doubted Lady Boyle was correct in Drake's motives. The man had at first believed her to be a lightskirt.
"I'm sure you are mistaken. He is quite wealthy. He told me so himself. He can look much higher than a woman of moderate means and few connections, like myself."
The older woman gave her a measuring glance. "I see you don't know about his background. He ain't exactly above reproach."
Thea did not want to hear anything derogatory and said repressively, "I'm sure I don't know what you mean."
Lady Boyle nodded and gave Thea a measuring glance. "Just as I thought. He should have told you himself. Now, it's left to an old woman to break your heart. The young have no sensitivity to their elders."
Thea was torn between wanting to know more about the enigmatic Drake and refusing to hear anything uncomplimentary said about him. Her curiosity won out. "I assure you, my heart is quite safe."
Snorting again, Lady Boyle shook her head. She clearly did not believe Thea's avowal. "He's the natural child of a nobleman who has never even tacitly acknowledged him."
What did she mean? Of course Drake was natural. Did Lady Boyle think that he should be unnatural in some way? Then something she had overheard Aunt Ruth discussing with the wife of a local plantation owner tickled at Thea's memory. Natural child was the polite way of referring to a nobleman's bastard.
"His father has never acknowledged him?" That would be horrible for a man of Drake's proud temperament.
"No. Such a shame, too. Pierson's done well for himself and is accepted by most of polite society."
Thea had to agree. "His father is a fool." She could not imagine a father not wanting to acknowledge the dynamic man she had come to know. "If he's a natural child, how is he accepted so readily by Society?"
From what her mother had always said, Society was unforgiving about things of that nature. In fact, on occasion, Thea had received a less than warm reception even on their small island. No one knew who her father was, and not everyone believed the story her mother had concocted about early widowhood.
"His mother is the daughter of a duke. She never married, but her father would not allow her to be ostracized. In fact, he showed favor to Pierson in every way. No one who wants the duke's friendship dares ignore his daughter or grandson."
"The duke allowed Drake's father to refuse to marry his mother?" It occurred to Thea that Drake had left her with someone who knew him quite well.
"His mother was a sweet child. Too beautiful for her own good. Pierson's father dallied with her before announcing his engagement to another woman. She didn't tell the duke she was with child until her erstwhile lover had married the other woman."
"I don't understand. Wouldn't a duke's daughter make a more advantageous match than someone else?"
Lady Boyle nodded. "In the normal way, yes. But Lady Noreen is the duke's youngest daughter. When he married the others off, it became common knowledge that he had tied up their portions in ironclad marriage settlements. Pierson's father needed cash to repair his fortune. He married a very wealthy young lady who had control of her own fortune. Upon their marriage, that control passed to him."
Thea could not believe what she was hearing. Were all Englishman without honor, or was it merely her and Drake's fathers? "That is terrible."
"Yes."
"Are you a very close friend of Drake's family?"
"He's my great-nevvy."