Free Scandal at Dawn (A Regency Rhapsody Novella) by Elizabeth Cole Page B

Me By Moonlight
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WATCH FOR ME BY MOONLIGHT
An excerpt from sequel to SCANDAL AT DAWN
by Elizabeth Cole
    The beach was a different world in the nighttime. Emily regretted her decision to come down from the cliff house—especially as the moon was hidden behind clouds—but it was too late now. She had just scrambled onto the top of a large boulder when she heard footsteps descending the lowest stairs. 
    “Miss St George?” Robert asked, stopping in front of her rock.
    “Who were you expecting?” she retorted. “A mermaid?”
    “May I join you?” Without waiting for her reply, he vaulted easily to the top of the rock and sat near her. 
    Emily was quite conscious of him so close, of his steady, quiet breathing. She chose to be annoyed by it. “Oh, please go away,” she said finally.  “I am not done pouting.”
    “You were not pouting, and Mrs Fairweather should not have said that. Any of it.”
    “All the same, I’d rather be alone.”
    “No,” he said simply.
    Emily looked over, curiosity cutting through her frustration. “You realize staying with me is hardly an improvement.” Indeed, the idea of him alone with an unmarried lady like Emily was borderline scandalous.
    He shrugged. “A risk we’ll have to take. Once you’re physically safe and back at the house, we can worry about any threats to your reputation. Until then, I stay.”
    “What do you think could happen? I’ll be swept away by the sea? Or kidnapped by a selkie?”
    “I doubt you’d let yourself be kidnapped by any mythological creature. You’re too practical for that. Owls, however, are a possibility.”
    “Owls?”
    “That’s what they sometimes call smugglers around here.”
    “Smugglers are nearly as much a myth as selkies. Isn’t all that something belonging to last century?”
    “It may not have the glamour of previous generations, but as a trade it will never die. Cornwall has more than its share of smugglers, you may be sure. I’ve heard about a few already.”
    “Truly?” she asked, interested in spite of herself.
    “It’s common knowledge around here. Folk talk. I listen.”
    “You didn’t listen when I told you to go away.”
    “I did listen—I chose to disregard your request.”
    “I should have expected that,” she retorted, remembering the last time she’d seen him in London. She asked—rather boldly—for him to partner her in one dance at Olivia’s wedding, which he never actually attended.
    His eyes narrowed, remembering the same thing. “I’m sorry I could not see you at the wedding. In fact, I had to go to India.”
    Emily didn’t expect that answer. “India? To do what?”
    “Business, actually. I shouldn’t bore you with it.”
    “When I’m bored, I’ll tell you so.”
    “Yes, you would,” he commented. “My older brother holds a title and has the income of most of the family’s lands. I am quite ordinary, but I wanted to better my situation. I had an opportunity to invest in some ventures in East India. My partners wanted someone they could trust to assess the operations.”
    “What operations?”
    “Cotton production. There are new mills in Manchester, and need for cotton to process. While a lot of cotton is grown in America, the recent…let’s say political strains…make it unreliable as an export for us. Thus, Indian grown cotton. Am I boring you?”
    “Not at all. That sounds rather challenging. I wouldn’t know the first thing to do.”
    “It’s not terribly difficult. I discovered one of the overseers was corrupt. I sacked him and installed another in his place. The process wasn’t speedy—nothing is in India. But everyone knows now such corruption won’t be tolerated. Mr Fairweather was content with the changes.”
    “Mr Fairweather?”
    “He is one of the partners. That is indirectly why I’m here now.”
    “And they hope to marry Nerissa off to you to consolidate their influence?” she asked.
    “No decisions have been made,” he said, staring at the