Free Swept Away by Phoebe Conn Page B

that bitter farewell.
    It had been only a week since Alex and Eden had left for Briarcliff, and Raven had lost count of how many pints of ale he had drunk and how many women he had paid for what passed for affection in all too many sailors’ lives. He had not returned to the townhouse, nor had he sent anyone to collect the mail. He thought it likely several invitations must have arrived, but he did not care enough about anyone he had met to attend the last of the season’s parties now that Alex was not there to insist that he go.
    Alex enjoyed himself everywhere he went, but despite his constant encouragement Raven had never been able to match his uncle’s keen appreciation of life. Their personalities were entirely different, of course, and always had been, but it pained Raven that he had been unable to master Alex’s talent for savoring the moment. His nature was far more serious, but his mood had seldom been as gloomy as it had been since Alex’s elopement.
    Wisely, his crew had stayed out of his way; unfortunately, Stephanie Lawton was not nearly so clever.
    Soon after Raven had returned to his ship, Stephanie alighted from her family’s carriage and with an unladylike haste, dashed up the gangplank. Raven ignored Randy MacDermott’s snicker and strode across the deck to meet her, but before he could greet her properly, she grabbed his hands and began an insistent plea.
    “Is there a place where we might talk in private? Your cabin, perhaps?”
    Alarmed by that request, Raven stared down at the brown-eyed girl, wondering why he had not instantly realized how closely the brunette with whom he had spent the better part of the afternoon resembled her. “I’m not accustomed to receiving young ladies for tea. My quarters can’t possibly be grand enough to entertain you, Lady Stephanie.”
    Frustrated by the coolness of that response, Stephanie’s voice took on a petulant whine. “We’ve got to talk about what’s happened, and we need some privacy to do it.”
    Recalling all too vividly the disastrous result when Eden had made that same request, Raven shook his head. “I’ll escort you home. Your carriage will have to be private enough.”
    Stephanie bit her lower lip to stifle a moan of disappointment as she turned to look toward her carriage. The gleaming black vehicle would indeed provide privacy, but she was not at all certain the journey home would be long enough for what she wished to accomplish. Hoping to make the best of the time they spent together, she smiled coquettishly as she turned back toward Raven, but when his expression failed to become more sympathetic, she gave up as futile the effort to speak with him there. Resigning herself to letting him have his way, she took his arm for the walk down the gangplank and returned to her carriage. When Raven was comfortably seated across from her, and their journey underway, she began to confide in him.
    “I know you must be as dreadfully embarrassed as we are by Eden and Alex’s elopement. Mother and I may never recover from the shock. I’m certain you can imagine how difficult this is for my dear mother to bear. Her sister created the same scandal twenty years ago, and now Eden has followed in her mother’s footsteps and given no thought to her relatives’ feelings. Oh, we’ve gone to all the parties as though nothing were amiss, but we can’t help but hear the gossip. To elope is so dreadfully common, don’t you agree?”
    Common was not the word that came to Raven’s mind, for in Alex’s case he considered it madness. He took a perverse pleasure in arguing with Stephanie, however. “I always thought elopements were regarded as romantic.”
    “Perhaps it is when a chambermaid runs off with a chimney sweep, but surely not in this case.”
    “An earl is not allowed to be impetuous?” Raven taunted with a sly grin. He knew he should have been agreeing with Stephanie since he was as outraged over the haste of his uncle’s marriage as she was,