Brice peered at him over the brim of his cup. “It is Caroline Nash you are wondering about.”
Eric drew his brows together. “The tall, skinny one with brown hair?”
“She is not skinny,” Stephan growled. “She is…never mind.”
Brice wagged a brow in Eric’s direction. “That would be the one.”
“Oh.” Eric took a healthy swallow of his brandy. “It’s just that the little blond chit that tried getting on your boat is more the type you usually like.”
“Liked,” Brice said. “Past tense. No more blondes. Or brunettes. Or redheads.”
Stephan gave him an annoyed look. “Will you stop?”
Brice grinned. “I guess I will have to. I am out of colors, unless you count gray.”
Eric looked from one to the other. “So this is serious then?”
For the first time since Stephan could remember, he felt his face heat. At least the lighting was dim below decks so his idiot friends couldn’t see that he was blushing like some green lad barely out of knickers. He should never have said anything about understanding women.
Brice put his cup down. “I will admit noticing that Caroline has been rather evasive the last two days. What has gone wrong?”
“The hell if I know.” Stephan ran a hand through his hair. When he’d learned Monday morning that Tisdale had left on a quick trip to London, he’d thought he could finally get Caroline alone and tell her he was serious in his intentions. If she accepted him, he also needed to come clean about his other vocations. It wouldn’t be right to hide those from her. Letting Caroline know he was the Midnight Marauder was something he was rather looking forward to, but he dreaded telling her about the piracy. Still, it needed to be done and done privately. But that hadn’t happened.
Every time he’d attempted to suggest a walk in the gardens or a stroll around the Steine, Caroline would suggest that either Lady Ann or Lady Danworth accompany them. Her choice of companions befuddled Stephan. He might understand that Caroline felt sorry for Ann after he’d made his declaration Sunday night, or maybe she just didn’t see Ann as a threat any longer, but Amelia? The Ice Queen who’d caused Caroline’s public humiliation and rumors of scandal to circulate about her? They had been acting like long-time confidantes the past two days. That made no sense at all. And Amelia was acting oddly human instead of her usual marble-statue self. That wasn’t logical, either. Stephan sighed. Women were just not understandable.
“Caroline is my friend, but she does have a temper,” Brice said. “Did you say something to offend her?”
“Nothing that I can think of.”
“Sometimes it’s the not-saying that makes women mad,” Eric offered. “Have you been giving the lady enough compliments?”
Jesus. Stephan couldn’t believe they were having this conversation. It sounded like bits he’d heard from giggling debutantes discussing how to impress potential suitors. He needed to change the subject. Fast.
“I heard a French ship passed by Beachy Head this morning,” Stephan said and gave Eric a warning look. “I hope she was not accosted by pirates.”
“Likely not,” Eric said, taking his cue. “Pirates don’t usually stay in the same area for long.”
“Hmmm,” Brice said. “These raids that have taken place lately have been a bit different, though.”
Stephan practically felt his ears perk. “What do you mean?”
“Well, everyone knows piracy is common along the coast, but usually the entire cargo is taken. From what the prince has said, these raids are selective. Only ships sailing from France. And only expensive items like silk, spice, and cognac are removed.”
Eric shrugged. “The pirates have expensive tastes.”
Brice glanced at the empty brandy bottle sitting on the table, and Stephan felt the hair at his nape prickle. Did his friend suspect something? Damn it. Maybe he should have let them prattle on about his love life. Stupid as that conversation was, it was at leastsafe. “Those are the items most important to Prinny. Maybe that is why he mentioned them.”
“Maybe,” Brice answered. “But how much of a market is there for such things? Farmers and villagers are more in need of common goods that have too-high import taxes on them. Avoiding the excise man on things that are needed is what makes the whole business lucrative, even if it is illegal.”
“Aye. I suppose you have a point.” Eric glanced at Stephan and then looked back at Brice. “It would be interesting to find out where all those expensive goods have gone.”
“That it would,” Stephan agreed. He hated keeping Brice in the dark, but telling him the truth would only expose him to danger. For now, he would say nothing. Hopefully, when John returned from Portsmouth, they would have an answer.
Chapter Twenty
Instead of going down to the boat early on Wednesday morning like he usually did, Stephan decided to stay at the Pavilion and attend the eleven o’clock brunch that had been arranged. Brice had wisely chosen not to say anything when told of Stephan’s plan, although he had beaten a rather hasty retreat down to the docks. Stephan was glad since he didn’t need to see Brice smirking or, worse, taking tales to Eric. Stephan definitely did not need any more “advice” from those two.
Since it was informal seating, Stephan figured if he lingered in the gallery long enough, he could catch Caroline before her recently acquired, always-present friends did. In spite of refusing to answer any more questions from Brice and Eric about Caroline, Stephan had a few of his own for her. Her sudden change in behavior was driving him daft.
