Elizabeth Meyette - [Love's 01] Read Online Free PDF Page A

reconsidering Michael Denning’s proposal. He thought not. Searching her eyes today he had seen only firm resolution. No, Michael Dennings was not the man for Emily Wentworth.
    “’Scuse me, Captain Brentwood, can I git ya another ale?” A plump, pretty girl was smiling down at him. Millie leaned forward to take his empty tankard revealing much of her ample bosom. “Can I git ya anything else, Love?” she asked invitingly. Jonathon had been at sea a long time, and normally this invitation might not have been unwelcome. But his mind was preoccupied with his new station in life — that of a guardian.
    “Not tonight, Millie,” he replied. He watched the girl turn and sway her hips provocatively, no doubt in the hopes he would change his mind.
    Jonathon rose and went out into the night. Settling George’s estate and readying the ship for departure were enough to busy a man. But the problem of what to do with Emily taxed his mind the most.

Chapter 2
    Emily pressed back into the deep, blue velvet cushioned seat of the coach. Her throat ached with tightness as she fought off another spell of sobbing and recalled the events of the morning.
    Saying good-bye to the loyal household servants she had known all of her life had been difficult enough, but as she turned to Etta, she had broken down uncontrollably. Etta had been like a second mother to her. Ever since her mother’s death, Emily had turned to her beloved housekeeper for advice, consolation and care. So many people were being snatched from her life, but Etta was the dearest next to her brother and father, now gone. She had clung to Etta while the older woman stroked her hair.
    “There, there, darlin’. It will all work out for the best.” Tears streamed down Etta’s face, too. She had no say in this matter, and she had to trust that George Wentworth had only the best in mind for his precious children. She instinctively liked Captain Brentwood and was not blind to the effect he had on Emily. In any event, she was powerless to prevent Emily and Andrew from being taken to the colonies. She loved them like her own, and her heart was breaking just as Emily’s was. But she had been instructed to stay in England and care for the Wentworths’ house and staff. She hugged Emily to herself for the last time.
    “This is not good-bye forever, missy. We will be together again,” Etta whispered as she pressed her lips against Emily’s hair and then let her go.
    “Good-bye, Etta,” the girl choked out before she ran to the waiting coach. Andrew followed her out, also visibly moved by the farewells. He climbed in across from her. Neither spoke as the driver climbed into his high seat rocking the carriage as his weight shifted. Andrew glanced at Emily and, as one, their heads turned for a last look at the only home they had ever known. The driver slapped the reins and the coach crawled down the road.
    A misty drizzle shrouded the silent carriage, and leaden clouds hung low in the gray sky. Puddles parted before the lumbering wheels, and then flowed back together after the coach passed, unmindful of the disturbance. The streets were empty on this early morning, the scene matching the somber mood of the lovely girl who stared, unseeing, at the dismal town.
    A contrasting energy pervaded the atmosphere at the waterfront. Men scurried about loading cargo, yelling orders, climbing up and down the gangplank, the rigging and the decks as they readied the ship and made last–minute preparations for the journey.
    Emily gazed out at the ship that would take her away from everything she knew, her secure, familiar world. The Destiny , a three-masted merchant ship, carried twelve guns. Windows lined the raised quarterdeck and the bowsprit sloped gracefully up from the forecastle. Fully loaded with cargo and provisions, she sat low in the water. Emily was impressed with the ship’s beauty and the efficiency of her crew, but she felt detached from it all, like an observer who would be