“You’re a groom at our house in Lincolnshire. William says you’re wonderful with the horses.”
The incredulous look on Hayworth’s face—as if the very idea of being a groom offended him to the core—made Caro’s heart pound with the certainty that he’d recognize the lie and call her out.
Instead, he squinted up at the sun. “If I’m a groom, what am I doing here?”
“You’re doubling up as Will’s valet,” Caro temporized quickly. “His usual man, Timms, got sick the week before we were due to sail for Madagascar, so you came along instead.”
She waited for him to explode in outrage at her perjury. In truth, he’d only been a passenger on the Artemis because he’d been returning from a visit to see his cousin in India.
Hayworth’s lips did an odd little twitch, as if he was about to laugh, but then his expression sobered and he nodded. “Ah. A groomsman and sometime-valet. That makes sense. I do like horses. And I definitely remember how to tie a decent cravat.”
His hand strayed to this throat, where his own bedraggled neckcloth still hung incongruously about his neck. That it had survived the chaos of the pounding waves when they’d both been tossed from the lifeboat and thrust onto this sandy shore was another miracle.
He untied the sodden knot and tugged the thin strip of linen from his shoulders, revealing an intriguing wedge of tanned chest in the deep open V of his shirt.
Caro averted her eyes, but only after an indecently long look. When she glanced back up at him, guiltily, he’d turned his head away and was gazing out over the blue expanse of water in front of them.
“So. I’m Max and you’re Caro,” he said easily, and she was struck with the renewed suspicion that he was teasing her.
He squinted at the green shape of another island, visible on the near horizon. “How did we get here?”
Chapter 3
Caro couldn’t quite believe that Hayworth was accepting her story so readily, but she swiveled around to face the water, too.
Playful waves tickled the white sand, and the surface of the water within the enclosure of the reef was as smooth as glass. Huge waves still crashed against the outer ring of coral, spending their force with a constant low rumble, but it was hard to reconcile this same scene with the furious, churning cauldron of wind and waves that had flung them both ashore the previous night. Apart from a few tangled piles of driftwood and other flotsam higher up on the beach, there was hardly a trace of the storm.
“The Artemis lost her topsail, then her rudder,” Caro said evenly. “She was blown onto the rocks over there.” She pointed westward. Another island could be seen in the distance, and the ship lay just offshore, lilting badly to one side. It had clearly sustained serious damage.
“When Captain Thomas gave the order to abandon ship, there was a great deal of confusion on deck. You and I somehow ended up in the same lifeboat. You tried to row us ashore, to that other island, but the waves kept pushing us this way. When we neared the reef, a huge wave overturned us; I remember rolling over and over in the water, certain I was about to drown, but I awoke this morning here, on the sand.”
Caro shook her head in amazement. It all felt like a terrible dream.
Hayworth frowned. “So where are the rest of the passengers? Dear God, they didn’t all drown? What of your family?”
Caro smiled at the bombardment of questions. He might have lost his memory, but his imperious, demanding ways were still intact.
“My family was in another lifeboat.” She gestured toward the sliver of beach just visible across the strait. “They made it to shore, along with the rest of the passengers. Look, you can see them, moving about on the sand. I’ve counted them, and everyone seems to be there.”
Hayworth gave a grunt. “Everyone except us.”
“At least we’re alive.”
“What happened to our lifeboat?”
“I assume it must have smashed on the reef. I walked a little way up the beach, but I didn’t see it.”
Hayworth grunted again, then narrowed his eyes at the other island. It seemed tantalizingly close, but Caro knew that the distance was deceptive.
“It’s too far to swim,” he said, as if reading her thoughts. “Even if we held onto driftwood or made a raft. That’s at least two miles, maybe three, and we already know there are hideously strong currents out there.”
“And sharks.” Caro added helpfully. “And probably jellyfish.”
“Quite so.” He slapped his hands on his thighs and stood, full of renewed purpose. “Seems we’re stuck here until we’re rescued, then.”
“It shouldn’t be long,” Caro said, more to comfort herself than him. “They must have some undamaged lifeboats over there. They’ll row over and save us.”
“They might,” Hayworth sounded skeptical. “But it would be extremely risky. A small rowboat could easily get swept out to sea and lost. It’s more likely they’ll see we’re alive and decide not to chance it. If we can see them, they must be able to see us.” He sent a jaunty wave toward the opposite beach.
