Free The Elusive Bride by Stephanie Laurens Page A

night.
    Naturally, given its success, that kiss can only be my first step. It has opened the door, so to speak, and now I must learn what lies beyond.
    I have to admit I am insatiably curious.
    E.
    The next morning, as he’d promised, Gareth went to speak with the captain.
    In order to give himself every advantage in the negotiations that were sure to ensue, he took Emily with him.
    He tapped on the captain’s cabin door, and when Ayabad bade them enter, opened the door and ushered Emily, fetchingly dressed in a flimsy spring green gown, over the threshold.
    Ayabad came to his feet in a rush, then hurried to hold a chair for Emily, who returned his greeting coolly and sat.
    Drawing up a second chair, Gareth sat alongside her.
    She’d been as pleased as punch when he’d asked her to accompany him; he was growing adept at reading her expressions. Of course, she didn’t comprehend exactly why he’d requested her presence, but he saw no harm in allowing her to imagine he needed her counsel, and distracting Ayabad was, he judged, a strategically wise move.
    “Now, Major.” Ayabad resumed his seat behind the small desk. “Perhaps you will be so good as to explain the interests of those who attacked this ship last night, and whether it is likely we will encounter more of their ilk on this voyage.”
    Having already decided what to reveal, Gareth smoothly explained the basis of the Black Cobra cult, and the cultists’interest in Emily as the one who had bravely brought critical evidence to the authorities.
    Ayabad was suitably impressed and intrigued. He exclaimed at the tale of Emily’s ride from Poona and asked various questions, which Emily answered with just the right degree of feminine self-effacement.
    By the simple expedient of not mentioning the copy of the letter he was carrying, Gareth’s tale, supported by Emily, left Ayabad with the impression that Gareth was acting as Emily’s escort on her journey home to England, because the Black Cobra was expected to seek revenge through attacks such as the one the previous night.
    After that, it took little to convince Ayabad that he should support them by continuing to ferry them north to Suez, beating off any cult attacks along the way. Gareth was a shrewd judge of men like the captain; Ayabad and his sailors were only too ready to enliven their lives by joining in a good fight. There was, of course, a fee to be paid. He and Ayabad haggled over the additional sum.
    A glance at Emily showed she was horrified—whether by the amount or simply the fact of the extra sum, he couldn’t tell—but to his relief she remained silent, although he, certainly, felt her disapproval.
    Emily was indeed incensed, but as Gareth seemed to think nothing of either the captain’s demand, or of the—to her quite horrendous—sums being bandied about, she felt she had to hold her tongue.
    Which left her time to note that, given said sums, Gareth Hamilton was no pauper. She hadn’t thought of the expenses he’d been meeting, but the briefest of considerations confirmed he must command resources well beyond that of the average army major. Then again, she’d heard plenty of tales of the wealth accummulated by those in the employ of the East India Company, and Gareth had told her that he and his fellow officers had been, in his words, “Hastings’s own.”
    His wealth therefore would not derive from his army stipend alone.
    His affluence or otherwise made little difference to her—if he proved to be her “one,” she would marry him regardless—but his relative wealth would certainly help in securing her parents’ approval of the match.
    She brought her attention back to the captain’s cabin to discover he and Gareth were shaking hands.
    Both were smiling identical smiles.
    They both looked like pirates.
    She rose as Gareth did, and they took their leave of the captain, who bowed very prettily over her hand. She made a mental note to be sure to do nothing to encourage Ayabad. She