Harriet dropped to her knees again.
Impossible.
This could not be happening to her. How had he found her? Well, it didn’t matter, did it? He had. Luckily, the gangway had already been removed. There was no way the captain wouldallow him to board the ship. She had barely made it by the skin of her teeth!
“Hold the ship!”
Harriet’s eyes widened. She would never mistake that deep, gruff voice for anyone else’s.
The captain stepped up to the edge. “Can’t do that, sir. We are about to depart.”
Harriet clutched her valise to her chest.
Thank Heaven.
“You have a passenger on board your ship who does not belong there.”
The captain cast her a curious look where she hunkered at his feet. “All my passengers have paid for their passage. We’ve already searched for stowaways. There are none.”
“I did not say they were a stowaway,” Leeds called. “The passenger is my betrothed. She would be this high, with blue eyes and brown hair.”
Harriet held her breath as the captain arched a white, bushy brow.
“There are many women with your description,” the captain said. “And none of them is my problem.”
“She is my betrothed,” Leeds repeated, this time steel coated every word.
Harriet flinched.
“Then why did she plead to board my ship as a matter of life and death?”
“So, you have met her?”
“Maybe.”
“It’s an arranged marriage,” an unfamiliar voice filled the air. “The lady is a bit skittish.”
Harriet resisted the urge to jump up and curse the man.
“You’ll have to meet up with your betrothed in Charleston. We are weighing anchor as I speak.”
“I will meet with her now,” Leeds insisted.
The captain just stared. Harriet wanted to kiss the old man.
“Allow me to introduce myself,” the other man called out to the captain. She still did not recognize the voice. “I am theDukeof Calstone, and I’d advise you to let theMarquessof Leeds retrieve his lady, who happens to be the daughter of the honorableMarquessof Hatton. They are to be married today.”
The captain scowled. “A pleasure to make your lordships’ acquaintance. Allow me to introducemyself. I am thecaptainofThe Royal Oak. Here,Ihave the highest rank. I make the rules. I am the law. As I said, you can meet up with your betrothed in Charleston.”
Harriet sagged in relief.
“Name your price.” Leeds, that scoundrel, refused to relent. “I’ll pay it.”
Harriet started, and before she could stop herself, she shot upright, pointing a finger at him. “Captain! Do not believe this wretched rogue’s tongue. He is penniless!”
Leeds’s gaze locked onto her. Narrowed.
Drat it!Why had she gone and done that? Not that it truly mattered, she supposed. The old man had already let the cat out of the bag.
