of reproach to Carmelita. Listen, Shona—’
‘No, you listen, Antony. You wouldn’t be talking about reproach if you hadn’t wed Carmelita. She called me a liability earlier. So I deduce that means she wants rid of me.’
‘Rid?’
‘Yes, rid of me, disable me, pack me off somewhere, anywhere, as long as it’s far away from Santamaria.’
Antony’s face became flushed with anger. ‘Stop this, Shona. There is very little I can do about your disagreements, is there?’
‘Except take her side.’
‘I don’t want to take her side. I don’t need to. I have a high regard for both of you. But Carmelita does have a point. Damn it all, Shona! Are you set to be a spinster who rejects every man that comes courting? You have the looks and the wealth to choose among the finest families in Europe and the Caribbean, but you dally like some dreamy-eyed girl waiting for her knight on a white charger who will never arrive.’
‘I am not a silly girl, Antony, and nor am I fanciful,’ she retorted sharply.
‘Be that as it may, the subject can no longer be put off indefinitely. John Filligrew is an unattached, wealthy young man who is smitten by you. He won’t wait for ever.’
Shona gave him a look of disdain. ‘Me and John Filligrew? He is personable, I grant you, and having known him all my life I am very fond of him and we are good friends, but I really would rather die a spinster than attach myself to him for the rest of my life. Let me go back to England, Antony. I would like that and I would be far enough away from Carmelita not to trouble her.’
‘Absolutely not! Father stipulated that you were not to return to England until you have a husband to take care of you. I intend to abide by that. I know what you are like, don’t forget. Away from my protection and without a husband to guide you, I shudder to think what you might get up to.’
‘Thank you for the vote of confidence,’ Shona said drily. ‘But I will not give up on this. I will go back—even if I have to wait until I am of an age when you no longer have any control over me. You could write to Aunt Augusta or Thomas and ask them to keep an eye on me,’ she suggested bravely. Thomas was their cousin, at twenty-nine he was six years younger than Antony and a minister of the church. As a boy and then a youth, he had visited them on Santamaria on two occasions with his parents, Aunt Augusta and Uncle James. Shona adored him and missed him terribly. She had so enjoyed seeing him when she had been in England.
‘As far as I am aware Thomas is having time off from his work, and, since coming out of mourning, Aunt Augusta is too involved with her social life to take charge of an unattached female. He gave her a hard look. ‘Before you go down to meet our guests, I must ask you not to anger Carmelita further.’
That look made Shona shrink. ‘I’ll try not to.’
Antony nodded as if there was no doubt about it.
Having had her fill of reprimands for one day, Shona brushed by him and proceeded along the long corridor to the stairs. She needed to reflect on her options before she took any further steps to resolve her future. One thing was certain. Things could not go on as they were. She had no illusions about her brother. Her greatest fear was that if she failed to find a husband of her own choosing to marry, he would find one for her.
Yes, she longed to return to London. She wanted to dance in ballrooms where gliding, beautifully attired couples waltzed about the floor. She wanted to shop in all the fashionable shops, to promenade in Hyde Park and have handsome bucks falling over each other when they turned to look at her. But, she reasoned with the hard-headed practicality that usually balanced out her dreamy side, she could not have any of that without a husband by her side.
Being in England with time spent in London had given her a taste for an independent life, but like most young women she was a romantic at heart and had long since accepted that she would have to marry eventually. She had no objection to this. Indeed, she welcomed it, providing she could marry a man of her choosing—a man she loved.
Chapter Two
Most wary of the extra guest, Shona made her way down the wide curved staircase with as much stealth as she could manage. At the entrance to the great hall, she halted, suddenly aware of the pounding of her heart. When her eyes focused on Captain Fitzgerald standing near the door, staring out on to the veranda, everyone else faded into the background. An odd, melting sensation came over her, a sensation that somehow made breathing difficult and made her heart race as if she had been running.
Attired in elegant evening dress and buckled shoes, with his height and sun-bronzed complexion, Captain Fitzgerald appeared highly conspicuous, standing there breathing vigour and vitality. He affected the company like a fresh wind. His curling hair, drawn back and held at his nape by a thin black ribbon, gleamed a deep burnished brown above a pristine white neckcloth and ivory brocade waistcoat, while his powerful shoulders filled his olive-green coat to perfection.
A rugged pirate in gentleman’s garb, Shona reflected.
His chiselled profile was touched by the warm light of the candles and the growing ache in her breast attested to the degree of his handsomeness. She observed him reach up to tug at his neckcloth as if it might be too confining and wondered if he might feel ill at ease in his formal attire. But he must have known how to conduct himself at social functions—or at least how to charm the female sex. As soon as they began to gather, he was surrounded by half a dozen ladies who were eager to make his acquaintance. Captain Fitzgerald greeted them all with an ease that could not fail to set their feminine hearts aflutter.
In an attempt to regain her serenity, Shona let out a slow steadying breath and entered the hall, bringing him about to face her as the heels of her blue slippers tapped against the oak floor. He wore an expression of utter boredom on his face, an expression that altered dramatically when his eyes met hers.
Excusing himself, a smile tugging at his lips, he moved across the hall with the grace and speed of a jungle cat. She could not take her eyes off the way he moved—his easy grace, the suppleness of his limbs and the oiled machinery of his body.
The way he carried himself made it easy to believe that all that was said about him was true. Power, danger and bold vitality emanated from every line of his towering physique. When he halted before her he bowed with a grand sweeping gesture. Then Shona met his eyes. At that precise moment she became convinced that there were no eyes in all the world that shone brighter than those which now smiled at her. As she stared into those translucent depths, it was easy for her to imagine a woman being swept away by admiration for him without a single word being uttered.
What the devil was the matter with her? What was it about this man that he should have this effect on her, she who had held in scorn all the gentlemen who had done their best to ingratiate themselves into her good graces?
Mentally casting off the spell he unwittingly cast, she scolded herself for acting as addled as a dazzled schoolgirl.
Smiling, he looked down at her while his eyes plumbed the depths of her beauty.
‘Welcome to Melrose Hill, Captain Fitzgerald. I hope you enjoy your evening.’
‘I am enjoying it already,’ he murmured for her ears alone.
Shona was used to the admiration of young men and though she liked it well enough—what girl wouldn’t?—Captain Fitzgerald was the first
