Read Almost a Lady for Free Online

said readily. “And I can safely promise you that you shall have it. No one will enter here in your presence without your express permission . . . permission I have to add that in my case must not be unreasonably withheld.” He made an apologetic gesture that encompassed the cabin. “All my possessions are in here . . . and, of course, my charts. I can’t sail the ship without access to charts.”
    Involuntarily Meg’s gaze followed his to the narrow shelf attached to the bulkhead where she saw the charts and navigation instruments laid out. She said stiffly, “I fail to see what difference it could make to you if I lock the door. I will of course open it at your request.”
    “No, I regret that this door must remain unlocked at all times,” he said quietly.
    Meg came forward, her eyes all green fire, one finger jabbing towards his chest. “Now you listen to me—”
    He grabbed the finger. “No,
you
listen to me, madam. This is my ship and on my ship
my
word is the last word. Keep that in mind and I see no reason why we should not get along perfectly well.”
    Meg wrenched her finger free. She didn’t like the look of Cosimo at this moment. His expression had undergone a rather alarming change and her stomach was fluttering like a sparrow’s wings.
    “Do we understand each other?” he asked very softly. “No one will enter without your permission, but the door stays unlocked at all times.”
    She couldn’t drag her eyes from the now cold blue gaze. She tried but was somehow transfixed. Finally she felt herself nod, a bare acknowledgment but an acknowledgment nevertheless.
    And his expression changed. He smiled, his eyes once more resembling a summer sky rather than the blue glint of a glacier. “I was sure we could come to some understanding,” he said. “It’s dangerous to lock doors at sea. If we ran into trouble, a storm perhaps, or even a hostile ship, I’d need access to the cabin and you would need to be able to leave it without delay.”
    “A hostile ship?” Meg stared at him.
    “My dear Meg, we are at war with France. Had that slipped your mind?” He sounded faintly incredulous and Meg cursed her stupidity. She remembered the two ships of war at anchor outside Folkestone harbor, and most particularly she remembered the line of guns shining on the upper deck of this sloop she was sailing in.
    “Maybe it had for a minute,” she admitted. “There’s been rather a lot to think about since I recovered consciousness.”
    “Yes, of course,” he agreed solemnly. “And who’s to say what effect that bump on the head could have had on your memory.”
    It was too absurd. Meg laughed. “You know perfectly well it had no effect at all. I was so busy concentrating on my own present ills I forgot the world’s altogether.”
    “Pax?” he asked again with a lift of his eyebrows and a slight questioning lilt in his voice.
    “I suppose so,” Meg said. “I can see little to be gained from open hostilities.”
    “Then come and enjoy the sunshine on deck.” He opened the cabin door in invitation. “I know for a fact that we have some excellent bread, cheese, and salami in the stores, and a particularly fine burgundy. There’s nothing to do until the wind gets up except eat, drink, and get to know each other.”
    Meg had no intention of getting to know this man. He was too damnably attractive and she was all too susceptible to attractive men in unconventional situations. Every instinct told her that dropping her guard would be dangerous here.
    “I’m quite happy with my reading, thank you,” she said, with a gesture towards her book on the bench behind her. “I don’t often have the opportunity to read for a long time undisturbed.”
    Cosimo looked at her, a frown in his eyes. “Are you always this stubborn?”
    Meg flushed with annoyance. “I fail to see what’s stubborn about preferring my own company to yours, sir.”
    His well-shaped eyebrows lifted again at this tart rejoinder.