Mistress Below Deck. Helen Dickson

people suggest, as you must have noticed. What did you say to Mr Whelan, by the way? He didn’t even wait to see Father. Jane told me you spoke to him and that the two of you left together.’

      ‘I merely told him you were spoken for.’

      Her eyes opened wide and her tone was indignant. ‘You told him that? It was a lie and you had no right.’

      ‘Surely you would not choose to wed an old man over me.’

      ‘Oh, I shall marry—if it will get you off our backs—but never would I consider you, Mr Searle.’

      His eyes narrowed. ‘Worry not. Before you know it, your father will come up with another suitor.’

      Rowena glared across at him, holding a tight rein on her temper. ‘It is none of your affair.’

      ‘On the contrary, my dear Miss Golding. Everything your father does is of primary importance to me. I have an investment in your family. I seek only what is my due, and if marrying you to some tottering ancient is his only means of acquiring the money to settle his debt, then so be it.’

      ‘Mr Searle, I may be many things, but I am certainly not your dear.’

      A soft chuckle and a warm, appreciative light in his eyes conveyed his pleasure. ‘You are by far the loveliest and dearest thing I’ve seen for many a year, Rowena.’

      His gaze swept over her, from her shining head, sliding leisurely over her rounded bosom and down the length of her legs. Her hand went to the ears of the panting dog, which she fondled and smoothed and pulled, to the dog’s evident delight, and she was rewarded by the thump of a black tail. It obviously meant a great deal to her the way she was fussing over it. Tobias felt a strange sensation come over him and he could hardly believe it when he realised it was resentment—that he, Tobias Searle, who knew himself to be attractive to women, and not because he was one of the richest merchants in Bristol, but because—and he would make no bones about it—he was handsome and had a certain way with the ladies, could be jealous of a dog.

      Casting a wary eye over both animals, he saw they were big dogs, gentle and affectionate, but let anyone make a move they didn’t like against their mistress and he suspected they could become fierce as tigers.

      A lazy smile dawned across his tanned face, and Rowena’s heart skipped a beat. Tobias Searle had a smile that could melt an iceberg. She immediately wished she’d worn her riding habit, which was less revealing than her breeches, for his careful scrutiny left no curve untouched. When his eyes returned to hers, her cheeks were aflame with indignation. He smiled into her glare.

      ‘Yes, Rowena. You really are quite lovely, you know.’

      ‘And you are the most insufferable man I have ever met.’

      She fell silent, looking at him openly. His face was virile with a compelling strength, which said that no matter what words she flung at him, he would never yield to them. His dark curling hair was cut short, glossy and thick, dipping across his wide forehead. His eyes were steady and narrowed in a deep brilliant blue when he smiled, and his mobile mouth curved across strong white teeth in his brown face.

      ‘What are you doing here? Were you spying on me?’

      ‘I grew bored with Falmouth and came to see if the sights were better up here.’ The corners of his lips twitched with amusement, and his eyes gleamed into hers as he added, ‘I am happy to report they are much better.’

      ‘It’s a pity you have nothing better to do than go about ogling women.’

      ‘I could find plenty to do, if I weren’t waiting for your father to come up with the money he owes me. So, with time on my hands, I can’t think of anything more enjoyable than being in the company of a very attractive young lady.’

      ‘So, not only are you a man hellbent on ruining my father, you are also a womanising rake,’ she sneered.

      Making himself more comfortable Tobias grinned leisurely. ‘Don’t mind me. It’s just my way. You must forgive me. I’ve been too long at sea and have grown forgetful of how to behave when I find myself in the presence of a lovely lady. It will take a while for me to re-adapt to civilised society.’

      Rowena’s eyes flared with poorly suppressed ire. ‘Then go and re-adapt with some other unsuspecting woman. Falmouth is full of willing wenches. I’m sure you will be able to find one to your taste—or perhaps you already have.’

      He laughed softly. ‘A gentleman never tells, Rowena, but I’d rather spend my time with you. I’d like to get to know you better. Besides, we have to delve into this matter of how your father is to pay his debt to me.’

      ‘How he does that is his concern.’

      ‘And yours. I hate to think you’ll be forced into marriage because of a debt owed to me. You’re worth much more than any debt.’

      ‘Mr Searle, you have clearly taken leave of your senses if you think of me as compensation for my father’s unpaid debt to you.’

      ‘That is exactly what you are. To get himself out of his mess, he will have you bought and sold to the highest bidder before you can blink an eye.’

      Rowena’s jaw dropped with indignation and her eyes flashed like fireworks. ‘Please don’t insult my father. My father and I might argue like the best of them among ourselves, but when family honour is called into question I can be counted on to unite with him against the world if necessary. So condemn him to others if you must, but do not do so to me.’

      Tobias clamped his jaw shut. Apparently he had pricked her defences, for she looked irritated and could not let it lie.

      ‘You don’t know him,’ she went on, ‘what kind of man he is. When he was younger he had the tough-fibred tenacity that every man who tries to make a living at sea, whatever the size of his concern, needs to make a success of it. My father had it, for in his veins runs the blood of the stout-hearted Cornishman who would fight for his own bit of ground until they buried him in it. But ever since he returned home to live the life of a cripple, something inside him has shrivelled and died.

      ‘I’ve watched the fight drain out of him—the force, the need, or whatever it was that drove him—and with it the means for us to survive. Our house is tottering like a house of cards, Mr Searle, but I will not see my family homeless and forced to manage like the meanest beggars. No matter what you accuse him of, I honour my father and would not deceive him by taking up with the likes of you.’

      Tobias considered her seriously for a moment, then got to his feet, slipping his hat on his head. Looking down at her his mockery was subtle yet direct. ‘No, I don’t imagine you would—and that was a commanding speech, by the way.’

      ‘My father is deeply concerned by your accusations. If you truly believe he was behind that terrible incident with your ship, then there is nothing I can say to change your mind—only that perhaps you don’t know the true nature of Jack Mason. With every day that dawns my father’s burden—and mine—will become more wearisome, and that is because of you. You set your verdict against a decent, honourable man before he could voice a plea.’

      ‘As he did when he accused me of shooting him in the back.’

      ‘Are you saying you didn’t?’

      ‘That is precisely what I am saying.’

      Rowena was staring up at him, waiting for him to continue, to tell her more, but he chose not to. He looked back at her, at the tumbling mass of hair swirling about her shoulders. Beneath its fullness dark fringed, smoky blue-green eyes glowed with their own light, the colour in their depths shifting like richly hued jade. Her nose, finely boned yet slightly pert, was elevated, and gently rising cheekbones were touched with a light flush of colour. Her lips, not the pouting lips of some simpering females, but gently curving, were expressive and soft.

      She was flaunting, outrageous, and he was sure that no man could come within sight of her who was not fascinated by her. He drew his breath and then looked away so