What the Groom Wants Read Online Free PDF Page A

the man could barely stand much less direct a defense.
    Which meant as first mate, the command had been in Radley’s hands. He had given the orders to kill, to destroy their attackers without mercy.
    “Battles on water are ugly things. Hours waiting, seeing them coming, and then it’s all a blur until it’s finished.”
    “You survived though,” she said, her voice barely audible.
    He nodded. “We won. Crippled the pirates, took their ship, and I sailed their vessel home as prize.” He’d also sliced a man’s throat open and barely noticed the warm spray of his blood. He’d watched dispassionately as five men plummeted to their deaths, a result of his order to fire. And worst of all, he’d judged their leader guilty and performed the execution with an icy calm. “I’ll likely gain a captaincy from it.”
    “You don’t seem happy about that.”
    “Oh, I am. I’ve wanted it all my life. My own ship, leading the men to profit, the freedom to choose the best course.” He turned to her. “But I’ve changed, Wind.”
    “You’ve grown up. We all do.”
    He shook his head. How did he explain how different the world was at sea? The deprivations, the unending wet, and the capricious, brutal nature of his life there. And yet, he loved it. There was beauty there. A call to his soul that he didn’t understand but couldn’t deny.
    “What are you thinking?” she asked. “You look sad.”
    “That I’m a sailor, Wind. And when I chose that life, I gave up the part that could live quietly here.”
    “But do you want to live here?” she said. “You’re to be a captain, master of your own ship. That’s better than anyone from the old neighborhood. That’s like being a king.”
    He smiled. “You own a dress shop that caters to the ton , Wind. That’s a miracle that puts me in awe.”
    She smiled, and her whole face brightened, even though her words seemed contradictory to her obvious pride with her achievement. “Constant worries, constant work.”
    “But you love it?”
    She nodded. “As you must love the sea.”
    “Yes.”
    They walked in silent accord then, skirting the trash and the people that clogged the streets. He didn’t like the crowd of buildings, hated the disorganization of London now, although he hadn’t as a boy. At least on the ship, there was a pattern and a rhythm. If there was anything like that here, he didn’t discern it.
    But Wendy obviously did. Even though she was a woman, her fingertips light on his arm, it was she who led them through the streets. She knew the direction to her shop, but more than that, she understood the dance of people on land. And in this, he was content to follow. He wasn’t going to ignore, however, the protective instincts that Wendy’s plight had ignited in him.
    “You have yet to tell me the real problem, Wind. Why have you been suddenly thrown out of your home?”
    She sighed. “I’m not sure. That’s what I hope you can find out. You’re a man and can ask questions that won’t get answers coming from a woman. You’re to be a captain and can talk to solicitors so that they’ll answer.”
    “I would not be too sure of that, but I can certainly try.”
    “And…” She bit her lip, looking suddenly nervous for a second. He wouldn’t have caught the look if he hadn’t been watching her so closely. Then she lifted her chin and spoke her mind. “Perhaps you could meet with Lord Idston. He’s the one who will have the truth.”
    “Do you know where I can meet him? I don’t have any connections to the world he frequents.”
    She nodded. “I have a guess where he’ll be. There’s a gaming hell he likes.”
    There was extra tension in her voice, and he wondered what she knew of gaming hells. How close to that world had she wandered?
    “I’m a sailor on leave,” he said quietly. “It would be the easiest thing to wander into a hell.”
    She looked at him, gratitude in her green eyes. “I need to know. I need to know if it’s an unlucky