Then he smiled.
Wagers flew as everyone cheered wildly for the two captains, rivals for years, to finally battle it out.
You cant be serious! Nicole shrieked, having shot up from lying over her desk and now fully awake. What do you mean, Fathers in jail?
Got thrown in, Chancey supplied by way of explanation. Wouldnt o woke ye, but he dont have enough blunt in the till to cover bail. He frowned. Dont have any blunt.
Nicole shook her head. I spent all my money on the trip here. But I can sell some things, she added hopefully.
Thatll take time. Ill go see what he wants to do.
Im going with you.
Chancey studied her, and he couldnt mistake her resolve. After a moment he said with great reluctance, If ye want to see him, get yerself dressed and meet me topside.
When he turned to go, she grabbed his arm, Is he hurt?
Nothin that wont heal. Now, git.
Darting to her sea chest, she haphazardly dragged on clothes. She was making a hasty attempt at knotting her hair when she met Chancey on deck.
Nicole had been certain there would be a fight. Shed been terrified that Sutherland would be provoked to hurt her father, all because of her.
Shed never imagined jail.
Nicole followed Chancey blindly into the waning night, still unrecovered from her shock. They moved swiftly, and not many minutes later they arrived at the local constabulary. When she walked through the beveled double doors and into the entrance hall, the sun was just rising.
The inside was not dank and cobweb-ridden as shed envisioned, and for that she was glad. In fact, the russet shutters outside were open to the suns indifferent reach, and dawn streaked in to light the little dust in the air. The wooden floors were pitted but clean. All the same, she wouldnt have cared if this were a manor house. It was depressing to think of her father being kept here.
She pulled her shoulders back and lifted her chin, preparing to face him with a cheery demeanor. Then she turned the corner, and her face fell.
Instead of her father, she locked eyes with Sutherland.
Do you want to press charges, milord?
Derek was undecided. A part of him argued that the fight had been fair, and if hed been released simply because of his title, then Lassiter should be free to go also.
Then he recalled how theyd gotten to this place. When the watchmen finally dragged him and Lassiter apart and out of the tavern, Derek had said, Youll want to release me nowIm the Earl of Stanhope. The officers had looked at him with wide, alarmed eyes. They hadnt exactly been gentle with their two prisoners.
Its true, Lassiter had spoken up, surprising Derek, until he added, and Im the president of the United States.
Derek had ignored him and turned to the closest watchman. I am Derek Sutherland, sixth earl of Stanhope. You are aware of what would happen to you if you jail me.
I cant believe youre pulling the earl stunt again.
Derek only smiled at Lassiter. Perhaps Ill go and see to our mutual friend while youre engaged with the constable.
Immediately, Lassiter had shut up and remained silent during the time it took to convince all involved that Derek was, in fact, an earl. Suddenly the officers werent concerned about a raging public fight that destroyed the tavern that housed it. They were outraged that an American had attacked a member of the nobility on English soil.
Now the constable wanted him to make a decision. Derek wanted to teach the cur a lesson, but
At the sound of voices in the anteroom, he turned slowly and, he could admit, with some pain. He dimmed a look of disbelief when the reason for the fight tumbled into the hall, followed by a behemoth of a man right at her heels.
Her hair was falling out of its loose knot atop her head, and her cheeks were pinkened. Obviously shed just dressed and raced down here. She was the type of woman, he thought unexpectedly, who looked beautiful when she first awoke.
She took in a sharp little breath when she saw him standing next to the constable, but aside from her slight hesitation, there was no semblance of acknowledgment. She nodded to the man with her, who stayed behind as she walked right past Derek to go to Lassiter. The rejection was like a punch in the gut, only this bothered him much worse than the blows hed sustained earlier in the night. In her mind, he didnt warrant even a backward glance. So much for saving her.
What could she possibly see in that American bastard? He supposed women might find the insufferable Yank not absolutely unappealing, but the man was old enough to be her father. Though if Derek were honest, he should wonder what a woman like that would see in himself. He scared many women. It wasnt intentional. Some of it was due to his size, and probably a lot more to his attitude and reputation.
But she hadnt been afraid of him the night before.
Derek stood motionless, ignoring the constable and the man planted behind him. He watched her walk down the wide corridor, slim shoulders back and heels clicking lightly along, until she escaped his vision. Then he heard her gasp. Probably, he thought with a smirk, because shed seen all the damage hed done to Lassiters face. When a soft sniffle followed, his thoughts sobered.
What would it be like to have a woman feel his pain, to be so close that if he hurt, she hurt, too? To have a woman care for him enough to run anxiously to a jail before dawn just to be with him? Hed always known that something vital was missing in his life, but as he stood in that cold jail, his face beaten not quite as much as that bastards in the cell, the lack grew keen.
There was a dull scrape across the floor as she moved a chair. Backing up a step, Derek could see her sitting before Lassiters cell. The hefty man behind him noticed his interest and made a growling noise, but Derek kept watching her. Even knowing shed made her choice, he was enthralled with her dainty but purposeful movements. She was so intent on her protector, invisible to Derek in his cell, she seemed not to notice him staring.
She put her hands over her eyes, and Derek thought with dread that she would cry. He wasnt the type of man who was affected by a womans tears. His mothers never moved him, nor had Lydias the last time shed come to him for money. But here tonight, he didnt know what hed do if the girl wept.
Thankfully, she didnt. She dropped her small hands to her lap and knotted her fingers before she sighed sadly, Oh, Father.
Father.
The first woman hed truly felt something with was Lassiters daughter .
Bloody, bloody hell.
Unfortunately, it made sense. He hadnt been able to find her at the Mermaid, and she hadnt looked or acted like a prostitute that night. Well, she did kiss like a talented courtesan and responded like a wanton. But her bearing and accent were far from a doxys. Now he didnt know if he should be delighted that she wasnt a whore or cringe knowing that she was related to Lassiter.