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probably at Harker’s anyway. He will find an empty Station House and nothing more. But I shall take my leave and meet him there, anyway.” Pru stood. “I am sorry, and do hope you don’t take offense that I told the captain you were one of the poor. But, of course, we have no poor in Gravesly.”
    “Thanks to you.”
    “Oh really, Leslie, I hardly deserve …”
    “Of course you do.” She bustled forward and helped Pru on with her cloak. “But what of tonight? The captain could not have chosen a worse day for his arrival.”
    Pru stopped for a moment. “Yes, ’tis a smugglers’ moon.”
    “The schooner is sure to come into harbor tonight.”
    Pru closed her eyes. “I guess I shall think of something.”
    “Wait!” Leslie Redding turned on her heel and ran into the kitchen, returning almost instantly. “Here.” She thrust a jar of what looked like dust at Pru. “Put a pinch of this in his tea, and he’ll sleep through till morning, I promise.”
    Pru stared at the jar. “Oh, goodness, you want me to drug him? What if I kill him?”
    “A pinch’ll do him, no more, and if you’re careful, no harm will be done, Pru.” Leslie shook her head. “I’m afraid it’s necessary. If the boys don’t get that schooner unloaded tonight, it’ll be bad for us.”
    Pru took the jar from her friend. “Pray for us,” she said as she walked out the door.
    “Don’t you go out with them, Pru, not tonight.”
    Pru just waved her hand and swung herself into the wagon. She stowed the jar of sleeping dust carefully beneath the seat since she had forgotten to bring her reticule, and slapped the reins against her horse’s back.
    Her heart thumped against her ribs as if she had just run at least a mile. She had always dreamed of an exciting life. In those dull days when she was living with her elderly parents, she had always wondered what it would be like to be a heroine in one of the novels she kept hidden beneath her mattress.
    She surely had adventure now. But she suddenly wished for a dull, boring life as she set off to drug the captain.

Chapter 3

    J ames squinted through the eyeglass at the horizon. He saw nothing, but that didn’t mean there was nothing out there. A noise made him swing around, and there in the circle of the eyeglass were Lady Farnsworth’s kissable lips. James blinked and lowered the implement.
    Lady Farnsworth was riding up in front of the Station House. As James continued to watch her through the window, she pulled the horse to a stop and sat for a moment. Finally, with a visible sigh, Lady Farnsworth hooked the reins around the brake and jumped from the wagon.
    James pushed the telescoping eyeglass together and set it on the table, took one last look at the deserted Station House, and went to meet Lady Farnsworth at the door. The last thing he needed now was to be alone with the woman in a room with two unmade beds at the ready.
    He was through the door before Lady Farnsworth had even mounted the first step.
    “Oh, Captain Ashley,” she said quickly. “Are you finished here, then?”
    He stared down at her for a moment. A crisp breeze rose from the ocean, tugging loose strands of the lady’s golden hair. One bit settled just at the corner of her delectable mouth, and James had a most unwanted urge to reach out and smooth it away.
    And then he would definitely wish to place his thumb where the errant strand of hair had been, perhaps even bend down and brush his lips against her skin. God, to move his mouth and actually kiss her would probably be a wondrous experience. He had never in his life seen a mouth more made for kissing, among other things.
    “The officers are not in residence,” he answered harshly, and descended the stairs, keeping his hand on the railing opposite the one against which Lady Farnsworth leaned. He hesitated for a moment, but then his gentlemanly breeding demanded that he offer his arm.
    Lady Farnsworth blinked for a moment at his proffered elbow. James held his