Nick turned his attention back to his dinner companions, two of Bermuda’s most determined spinsters, identical twin sisters. He’d always imagined a pair of twins fighting for his affections, though the twins in his fantasies didn’t even remotely resemble the plain and quite homely Sinclair sisters. “The weather, Miss Sinclair, is quite unlike what I am used to. I suppose it is a bit warm for me.”
“Perhaps it's not the weather,” Agnes Sinclair whispered from across the table, her pronounced lisp ruining any chance to sound remotely seductive.
No, it was definitely the weather since it was most assuredlynotthe roaming foot of Agnes Sinclair, which even now was inching back up his leg. Dear God. She put the whores in London to shame. “I suppose," he said flirtatiously hoping to draw out the giggling girl again, “that it could be something else.”
Agnes Sinclair’s cheeks pinked immediately. She batted her eyelashes at him and sat, arching her back so that the small bit of bosom she possessed thrust forward at him. Her sister, Bertha, ran a hand down his thigh.
Nick shifted in his chair, a false smile pasted on his face as he wondered if the twins would attempt to molest him through the meat course.
He heard it again, even over a loud discussion about the salt trade taking place to his left. Nick didn’t turn his head, he merely slid his glance down the table. This time, he saw her clearly as she seemed to be so overcome with hilarity, she neglected to hide herself.
The girl bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud, but every so often an amused snort escaped her lips. Obviously, she found his plight humorous beyond belief. Her shoulders continued to rock as she attempted to contain herself. A lock of light brown hair loosened and bounced to her shoulder.
That stray lock seemed familiar.
Augustus Corbett leaned in and shushed the girl, no doubt voicing his disapproval at her antics.
Nick had several encounters with Augustus Corbett during his brief stay at the Governor’s mansion and thought the younger man a terrible stick in the mud.
The girl promptly sat back again, her laughter silenced.
“Tell me, Mr. Shepherd.” Governor Lord Corbett's voice boomed from the far end of the room. “How you came to land on our fair shores. Surely with a connection to the esteemed Dowager Marchioness of Cambourne, opportunities would abound closer to home.”
Twenty pairs of eyes turned to Nick as the table grew quiet in anticipation of his answer.
Agnes Sinclair’s foot ceased its roving.
Lady Corbett frowned at her husband and stabbed at her fish.
“True, true,” Nick stated nonchalantly in a respectful tone. “I wish, my lord to thank you first for your enormous generosity.”
“Hear, hear!” The entire table lifted their goblets in toast.
Lord Corbett didn't flinch or acknowledge the compliment. He narrowed his eyes at Nick, waiting for a response.
Nick drained his glass and regarded his host. “The Dowager Marchioness is a distant cousin on my mother's side,” Nick lied glibly. “My parents, God rest their souls, died when I was only a lad. The Dowager was kind enough to offer me assistance.”
Well, at least that's true.Donata Reynolds, the Dowager Marchioness of Cambourne,hadoffered him assistance as a lad. She often gave him a place to stay when Nick was on the outs with Henry, his grandfather. She knew him quite well, Nick being the closest friend of her grandson, Sutton. Only she knew of his purpose in coming to Bermuda and wrote Nick his false introduction letter without a qualm.
“Indeed?” Lord Corbett speared a bit of plantain on his fork.
“The Dowager was quite generous with me. She insisted that perhaps I should go on an adventure and make a name for myself. Be my own man.”
The Sinclair twins glowed with rapt attention.
Lady Corbett smiled.
Lord Corbett merely raised a brow. "I see. Related on your father’s side are you?”
The Governor sought to trip Nick up. “Sorry, sir. The Dowager Marchioness and I are related on my mother’s side,” Nick said smoothly. “She loved my mother dearly and despaired at her death. Lady Cambourne, knowing that I wished to be my own man and not live at her largesse, directed me to Bermuda. She spent some time here as a young woman and remembered the people of Hamilton quite fondly.”
Lady Corbett gasped in happy surprise at Nick's comment and clapped her pudgy hands together. Her desire to become an acquaintance of the Dowager's was akin to a thirsty man's want of water.
Several people at the table nodded in approval at Nick's words.
The sisters Sinclair both looked at Nick greedily, he could almost hear their minds whirling with scenarios in which they could compromise themselves at his expense.
“Interesting, no doubt that dear lady visited long ago.” Governor Lord Corbett bit into a roll. “Before my time.”
