Free Smuggler's Lair by Virginia Henley Page A

females dress in China, I shall sew a Grecian robe that bares one shoulder. When is the party?”
    Falcon consulted a chart that showed the lunar tides. “I need a couple of moonless nights or at least nights when moonrise occurs in the late hours.” A visit to the Mermaid Tavern in Rye had supplied him with a list of vessels that would be bringing cargo to the Cinque Ports for the next month.
    He pored over the chart, knowing a merchant ship was due to dock in the Port of Winchelsey in five days. “How about a week from today? I’ll send out the usual invitations.”
    Tory drew in a swift breath as she felt cold fingers touch her heart. She had been thinking of enjoyment only; she had forgotten that Falcon mixed business with pleasure. Fear of risks he would take and dread of deeds he might commit made her temper flare. “Why do you have to be so calculating? Why does everything in your life have to be illicit?”
    His dark eyes studied her for long moments. “I give you free rein to do whatever you wish. Can you not extend me the same courtesy, mistress?”
    â€œI am not insanely reckless! Come to think of it, madness runs in your bloodline.”
    â€œAh yes, claiming to have traveled through time is perfectly normal,” he drawled.
    She jumped up. “You mocking swine. Go to the devil!” When Tory shouted, the hairs along Pandora’s neck stood on end and the leopard growled in her throat. Tory threw Hawkhurst a furious glance. “Now see what you’ve done!” She stalked from the room.
    The lovers avoided each other for the next forty-eight hours, yet both found that the time apart seemed endless. To Victoria, the days and nights estranged from Falcon were joyless. To Hawkhurst they were unendurable. He held out until the third night, but when the hour grew late, his patience snapped.
    Falcon’s mood was dangerous as he descended to her chamber. He had every intention of breaking down the door if it was locked against him. To his surprise, it swung open when he tested it. A smile of satisfaction curved his mouth. She’s been hoping I would come for her.
    The room was in darkness and when he lit the candles and saw the empty bed, the complacent smile was wiped away. His heart constricted. She’s left me. . . . She’s gone back to her own time! He felt bereft. Sharing things with Tory had given him deep pleasure and brought new meaning to his life. He refused to accept her loss. “Come back to me, Victoria,” he demanded. His glance swept about the chamber and he noticed that the books were gone from the bedside table. A tiny glimmer of hope lit in his heart and he clung to it fiercely as he descended the stairs of the round tower and made his way to the small library. He flung open the door and it crashed against the wall.
    Tory gasped. “I . . . I couldn’t sleep.... I was getting a book.” The undisguised look of relief on Falcon’s face revealed to her what he had feared and her heart softened toward him. “I was never angry with you. My temper flared to mask my fear for your safety.” And my dread of your committing shameful deeds . She quickly shoved the book she’d been reading back on the shelf. It was about shipwrecks caused by accident or by foul deliberation.
    â€œI want no gulf between us, Tory. I’ve always been a solitary man—I never knew what I was missing until you came into my life.”
    She went to him and raised her face to his. “Thank you, Falcon. I feel exactly the same way. Sharing your life fills me with wonder and joy. And I do appreciate the freedom you offer me—my existence was so restricted before. I shall try my utmost to return the favor.”
    He wrapped his arms about her and grinned. “That was our first quarrel.”
    â€œWe feel things so passionately, I doubt it will be our last.”
    â€œPassionate?” He bit her ear. “I’ll show