Miss Lavigne's Little White Lie Read Online Free Page B

filled him with longing.
    His mistress had been right about one thing earlier. Nights on the Cecily became lonely after a time. How many lonesome nights had Madame Lavigne suffered since losing her husband?
    His mouth grazed her ear. “Perhaps we may find comfort in one another, my dear. I can be a sensitive lover when the situation calls for it.”
    She drew back with a soft gasp. “You want me to be your… lover ?” This last word was whispered.
    Her surprise pleased him. She was a widow and couldn’t be ignorant to the ways of men and women, but she was not wanton either.
    “The journey would be more pleasant for both of us, I believe. Would you be amenable to sharing my bed on occasion?”
    She stood tall, her spine rigid. “If this is your requirement, I’m in no position to argue, am I?”
    She darted into her room and closed the door before he could respond.
    “My requirement ?” Well hell. They’d have to clear up that little misunderstanding as soon as possible. He liked his widows willing or not at all.

Four
    Lisette’s head spun as she slipped into the room she shared with Serafine and Rafe. Sweet Mary. Had she just entered into an agreement with Captain Hillary to be his companion in exchange for passage? She paused inside the door, wavering between running after him to deliver a proper set-down for his lewd suggestion now or waiting until morning.
    Serafine bolted from her seat beside the bed. “Where have you been? I’ve been fretting for the last half hour.”
    Lisette pulled the pins from her hat as she swept to the dry sink to avoid meeting her cousin’s gaze. “I was engaged in negotiations with Captain Hillary.”
    “Didn’t Monsieur Baptiste take care of everything?”
    Lisette tossed the hat beside the washbasin then filled the bowl with water. “Apparently there were some final details he didn’t settle with the captain. We are to arrive at the docks at dawn.”
    “Early is better.” Serafine’s hushed voice was filled with relief. “Now if we can only stay hidden from Reynaud.”
    Lisette grimaced before scooping water with her hands and splashing it over her heated face. Patting her skin dry with a towel, she contemplated how much she should reveal to Serafine about her dealings with the captain. “There is a chance my presence in the tavern did not go unnoticed.”
    “Indeed?” Serafine fanned her face, her nutmeg skin glistening from the sticky heat.
    “It’s nothing.” Lisette carried a wet cloth to her cousin.
    “ Merci .” Serafine wiped away the perspiration then held the cloth against her neck.
    Lisette and Serafine shared little in the way of family resemblance, aside from their green eyes, despite their mothers being sisters. Serafine had inherited the high cheekbones and regal bearing of their West Indies ancestors, leaving Lisette feeling less intriguing with her rounded features and café au lait complexion.
    “I suggest we sleep while we are able,” Lisette said.
    Serafine crossed to the door and turned the lock, which Lisette had neglected to do in her haste to avoid questions about Captain Hillary. “I shall sleep with one eye and ear open,” Serafine said.
    “As will I. Together we provide a set of both.” That summed up their relationship. They were a pair, and had been since Serafine had come to live at Passebon House after Rafe’s birth.
    They crawled into the small bed with Rafe cradled between them, under the guise of catching rest. Lisette lay in the dark a long time, assessing every creak and bump in the inn. All she could think on was her agreement with Captain Hillary, and whether she could retract her promise without jeopardizing their passage. When she did succumb to the land of dreams, images of Reynaud’s rage-filled face woke her with a start.
    She abandoned all pretenses of sleep when the robins outside began their wake-up chorus. She tried to memorize the sound of their carefree warbling to recall in the days to come, heaviness