The Lucky One (Brethren Of The Coast #6) Read Free Page B

and I vow to weigh your offer with due consideration.” He chuckled, a rich throaty rumble that had her curling her toes in her slippers. “But, for now, I wonder if the governor has mentioned a rogue band of vagabonds stealing from docked ships, in the area?”
    “Why—yes.” Daphne almost swallowed her tongue. “But they are, to my knowledge, harmless, as they seek nothing more than food. Would you raise such a ruckus over a few missing potatoes?”
    “How remarkable that you seize upon some of the precise missing items, as I said nothing of what the thieves pinched from my stores.” Dalton caught her in a steely glare. “Can you explain your extraordinary powers of divination, my dear?”
    “Actually, my father has apprised me of the situation and the complaints.” So enthralled by his bold behavior, she almost betrayed the truth. “But no one has pursued charges, as their loss was minimal, and hunger thrives in these difficult times. Do you lack a measure of compassion for those less fortunate than yourself?”
    “I take issue with your characterization, as these particular criminals are not so virtuous as you have been led to believe. Indeed, they stole a priceless family heirloom from my cabin, and I will not cease my hunt for the villains, until the item is surrendered to my custody.” In that instant, the curious agitator stood and rested hands on hips. “Do you condone such theft? Is lawlessness the standard in these parts?”
    “No, of course not.” The implications of his words struck her as a bucket of icy water, and she shivered. “But—are you absolutely certain of your accusation? Perhaps you lost the item.”
    “The invaluable bauble had rested on my desk.” At that moment, her mesmerizing guest produced a red velvet purse and held it for her inspection. “It was a lady’s brooch fashioned of solid gold, etched with a lotus and bearing a large oval sapphire and four rubies, and it was contained in this pouch, which the scoundrel dropped as he fled my ship. Given to my ancestors, for services rendered to the Crown, in the fourteenth century, it is more than a piece of jewelry. It is an irreplaceable part of our history, and I will not stop until the artifact is recovered and the unknown miscreants are captured, brought to justice, and punished.”
    “Sir Dalton, you are angry, and I understand your ire.” Daphne prayed for calm, as her mind raced in search of a response to placate her new nemesis. Then she would confront the source responsible for the significant complication, reclaim the article, and somehow restore the precious gem to its rightful owner, without discovery. “But there is no reason to overreact, when I might intervene on your behalf, with favorable results. If you would allow me to make some discreet inquiries, I am positive I can retrieve your expensive keepsake.”
    “You pose a compelling, if not altogether satisfactory, proposition, Miss Daphne.” Then Dalton lowered his chin, and she gulped. “What have you to persuade me not to notify the Crown of your father’s dereliction of duty and to accept your approach to our conundrum?”
    “I do not comprehend your meaning, sir.” She would have taken issue with his unflattering and unfair assault on her father’s character, but she could ill afford to insult the unwelcome interloper. Lost in her musings, she started, as he drew her from the chair and escorted her to the window. Her first instinct was to run in the opposite direction. “What would you have of me?”
    “You are blessed with the bluest eyes I have ever seen.” For a long while, he simply met her gaze, and the air sizzled with a foreign intensity she tried but failed to identify. But all of a sudden, he cupped her jaw in his hand, turned her left and then right, and his expression sobered. “Have dinner with me.”
    It took her several seconds to realize he had spoken, and even longer to discern his overture, which left her wondering at his