Shipmate: A Royal Regard Prequel Novella Read Online Free PDF Page A

are not my concern.”
    “There is nothing to be forgiven, my dear.
In this case, I believe the prince would prefer I share our plans.
Or rather, his plans.” Lord Holsworthy’s wry smile drew
Bella into a commiseration over the unreasonable demands of the
Crown.
    “You do not share the prince’s vision?”
    “Had I my way, I would presently be planning
to sow an oat crop at Holsworthy Hall.”
    Bella tapped her fan on his forearm. “You
surprise me, Sir.”
    “I do? That, in turn, surprises me, as I am
generally the dullest and most predictable of men. How have I
defied expectation, Miss Smithson?”
    “Are you not a sailor to the core, Lord
Holsworthy? I can see it when you speak of your ship. Would you not
be horribly stifled, stuck in the country as a gentleman
farmer?”
    He shrugged. “One does not know whether new
experiences might stifle, until one tries.”
    She thought for a moment before asking, “Do
you grow weary of travel?”
    “Of travel?” he scoffed. “Impossible. But I
grow weary of naught but men day-in-and-out, and of making my home
in a room the size of a band box. I wish to leave a legacy less
fickle than a life at sea. Having been granted a barony in close
proximity to Bristol, it had seemed the Lord was guiding me back to
England to manage my company from dry land. I have spent the last
half-year in expectation of that course.”
    “I see.” She giggled. “So, Our Lord will not
gainsay the prince?”
    “So it appears,” he laughed, pinching her
fingertip. “You are a cheeky girl, Miss Smithson.” Aunt Minerva’s
throat cleared behind them, and Lord Holsworthy continued, patting
Bella’s hand, “and I find it inexplicably delightful.”
    “Might I ask,” she asked cautiously, her
words placed as carefully as her steps on the uneven ground, “why
does His Royal Highness so wish you to take on this mission?
Can he not find another sailor? What have you to offer the Crown
that he cannot hire elsewhere?”
    He stopped short and stepped back from her,
causing Uncle Howard and Aunt Minerva to draw up short, and
Charlotte and Alexander behind them. He said nothing for a long few
moments. Bella became more and more self-conscious. Aunt Minerva
fidgeted, Uncle Howard twitched. Charlotte looked over her father’s
shoulder to catch the action, and her husband pulled her back.
    “Miss Smithson, that might be among the most
insightful questions anyone has yet asked about this endeavor.” He
stepped back into place next to her, leading the column of
aristocrats to luncheon. He squeezed her hand inside the crook of
his elbow. “I will opine on the topic after I have given the matter
some thought, but for now…” They took a final turn to bring them
back into the clearing, where a footman awaited them with lemonade
and canapes.
    “My lord, it seems you have brought your
entire drawing room,” Bella teased, gesturing to the tables and
chairs that would accommodate a party twice their size.
    “Kitchen, too, it seems,” Alexander
observed, at one of two tables, heavily laden with food in warming
pans.
    Everyone hung back, milling about, with no
hostess and no upper servant to direct the order of things.
Eventually, Lord Holsworthy asked, quietly, “How are your manners,
Miss Smithson?”
    She stiffened. “My manners? Do you find
something amiss, Sir?”
    He patted her arm. “No. Heavens, no. You are
everything modest and demure, and a refreshing change from the
young ladies flitting about without an ounce of sensibility. What I
mean, is that I ran away to sea before I was fully fledged as a
gentleman. I haven’t the right manners or training to be a
diplomat, and even in a setting so casual as an outdoor party, my
deficiencies are painfully clear. A woman who is a stickler for
etiquette…” his eyes flitted toward Aunt Minerva in question, and
Bella shrugged agreement, “is likely to find me a great
disappointment.”
    “I am certain that cannot be true, when you
have brought