Yet her tantalizing beauty, her feminine grace, her silvery laugh were only a small cause of his possessiveness toward her. He couldn’t help recalling the image of Kate at her most defenseless, when he’d brought her to passion not once but twice in the past several days. The flush suffusing her face, the dazed look in her green eyes…He would do well to forget those sensual memories during a visit from her brother, though.
When Ash appeared at his hotel room door promptly at nine, he began with a not-so-subtle warning. “I presume you remember that Kate is my sister? I am trusting you to safeguard her during your time in France.”
“You know I will do my utmost.”
“It’s surprising that she even consented to a provisional betrothal,” Ash mused. “If I recall your manner toward each other years ago, you sometimes quarreled yourselves into a standstill.”
“Perhaps that was a large reason I couldn’t forget her during all the time I was away,” Brandon admitted. “In truth, I primarily returned to England in order to claim her.”
Ash seemed at first relieved, then amused. “You ought not tell her you mean to claim her.”
“I won’t. I know better than to get her back up.”
“That’s our Kate, independent to the bone.”
“I intend to convince her that we make a suitable match. For me, she is the most ideal candidate by far, and I believe I am the same for her.”
“I suspect so.”
“Then I have your blessing to wed her?” Brandon asked.
“Yes. Frankly, I would be grateful if you would,” Ash replied. “Kate is much too alone, especially now that the rest of us have wed. Someone with her nature is not meant to be alone.”
“Indeed,” Brandon agreed wholeheartedly as he led the way down to the hotel dining room.
“How do you plan to succeed where so many others have failed?”
“I hope that finding your parents’ shipwreck will go a long way toward winning her favor.”
“You already have her favor. It is her heart you must win. I doubt she will marry without love.”
“So she says.”
Ash smiled. “As long as you realize what you are up against, you stand a chance. You can count on the family’s assistance if you need it.”
“Thank you. I very well may call on you.”
He was under no illusions about the difficulty of his challenge—to change Kate’s mind about mutual love being a condition for their marriage, so that she would accept him just as he was, closed heart and all.
To that end, he intended to alter his strategy. Passion was not likely to convince her, he’d learned over the past few days. So he would woo Kate as she wanted to be wooed—with “emotions and feelings,” as she was so fond of saying. No more seduction, at least of the physical kind. Instead, he needed to share more of himself, to curb his conquering male instincts and follow her rules of proper behavior for a change.
It would be a novel approach, pursuing her with the intent of winning her heart rather than only her body. Women had always come easily to him, but he would have to work hard to win Kate. He could also help his case by showing that he belonged in her family, and that he had their support.
Settling at a breakfast table with her brother, Brandon recalled a long-ago moment when the Wildes were partaking of a picnic by the lake at Beauvoir. Kate was in her element, surrounded by her loved ones, her laugh filled with life and joy.
She was much more guarded now, and he was largely to blame. He could see through her sophisticated social mask, though. Could sense her vulnerability beneath her confident, independent demeanor.
He was counting on that vulnerability to aid him when he embarked on a real courtship. If she wanted romance rather than passion, then he would endeavor to provide it.
To plan for the journey, Brandon set his meeting with Beau Macklin at his cousin Trey’s house that afternoon. It would be a reunion of his former fellow Guardians—almost like old times. Additionally, the location would allow Kate the opportunity to meet another auburn-haired beauty—Trey’s wife, Antonia.
Macky was already present when Brandon arrived with Kate. Once the introductions were made, Antonia graciously invited them to stay for tea after they finished the business of their visit: Determining the date and details of the voyage, preparing to visit the pauper’s grave where Lady Beaufort was buried, and finally, developing a strategy to deal with the pirates they would likely encounter while attempting to locate the shipwreck. Trey sat in on the discussion to offer his counsel and volunteer his expertise if needed.
Macky began by reporting the findings of his investigation some months earlier, repeating for Brandon’s benefit his conclusions about Lady Beaufort’s demise and the explosive fire that had occurred on board the ship, the Zephyr, over a dozen years ago upon its attempted return to England. Then he laid out maps of Aquitaine and the southwestern coast of France.
Watching them pore over the maps together, Kate remarked, “It appears as if you have done this before.”
Brandon smiled, remembering the many clandestine missions the Guardians had planned while he was a member. “We have.”