Love With an Improper Stranger

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Authors: Barbara Devlin
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desk.”
    “I will be right back.”  Lucilla ran to the door but paused.  “If you are going to fight, will you wait until I return, as I would dearly love to watch?”
    “You have my solemn promise.”  Blake chortled, until Lucy shut the door.  Then all hint of humor vanished, and he bent and kissed Lenore.  And kept kissing her.
    Searing heat scorched her from top to toe, and soon, she wrapped herself about him, parted her lips in welcome, and came at him with a yearning she could neither interpret nor manage, but she could not help herself.  When he suckled her flesh and groaned, she gasped, came alert, and stumbled backwards.
    For several seconds, they simply stood there, breathing heavily and gawking at each other.  Then an obvious revelation occurred to her.
    She sighed.  “You did not mean what you said.”
    “Well, I was sincere about part of it.”  The naughty grin reappeared with a vengeance.  “You would never make it to the kitchen.”
    “Must you always be so impossible?”  And why could she not resist him?
    “Lovely Lenore, where you are concerned, I am quite possible.”  To her surprise, he caressed her cheek.  “Now let us revisit our earlier conversation before Lucy returns.  Do we have an agreement?”
    Ah, yes.  He wished to explore the realm of courtship, and she knew not whether to welcome or dread the protection he offered.  But Lenore was not alone in her dire plight, and there was her little sister to consider.  Thus far, Blake had been kind and indulgent with Lucy.  He would make an excellent brother-in-law, and that counted in his favor.  And while he possessed other attributes, she remained unprepared to investigate the promise he posed.
    With shoulders squared, Lenore lowered her chin.  “We have a bargain, Captain.”
    “Wonderful.”  He well nigh pounced on her.  “Then let us seal it with another kiss.”
    As he claimed her mouth, she could only pray she made the right decision—and that he had an ample store of rum in the cargo hold.
    #
    Amid heavy snowfall and a wicked gale, the helmsman maneuvered the Tristan into position, as Blake prepared to moor offshore in Ritzebüttel.
    The boards were alive with the hustle and bustle one would expect of a ship coming into port, as the crew scrambled into the ratlines, and men of the watch perched in the tops.  When the anchor slipped into the water with a mighty splash, he noted his primary charges huddled at the waist.
    “Portman, the deck is yours.”  Securing his many-caped greatcoat, Blake descended the companion ladder.  “Lenore, you look beautiful in your fur-lined pelisse.  And little Lucy, you are absolutely charming in your blue bonnet.”
    “Lenny made me wear it, Cap’n.”  The young gadling scrunched her face.  “But I would love to try breeches and boots, which seem a vast deal more practical in this weather.”
    “We will make do with what we have, sister.”  Lenore adjusted her tan kid gloves.  “And proper ladies do not wear such things.”
    “You had better never let Caroline hear you say that.”  For some reason, an image of Lenore, similarly garbed, formed in his brain, and he made a mental note to commission a special wardrobe upon their return to London.  “As that is her customary fencing attire.”
    “She fences?”  With an expression of wonder, Lucy squealed.  “Is that even allowed?”
    “Of course, and she parries like a pirate.”  Blake growled with pride as he recalled fond memories.  “Just as I taught her.”
    “ Oh , will you school me, too?”  He could have wagered Lucy would ask that.  “And do you use a real foil?”
    “Of course.”
    “Absolutely not.”
    “Please, Lenny.”  With hands clasped beneath her chin, Lucilla pouted.  “Need I point out you are not my mother, and I may do as I wish?”
    “But I am your keeper, a responsibility I take seriously.”  Lenore bit her lip and glanced at him.  “And it sounds awfully

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