The Cracksman's Kiss (10 page)

Cohen nodded and finished the last bite of his sandwich
. He took a deep drink from the water skin and set it back in the basket at his feet. “How is it you have no baby experience since you have such a large family?”

“As the oldest I helped my father and mother minister to the poor and the sick. Every
day we walked or drove our little dog cart and handed out food and clothing to those in need. My mother often nursed the sick long into the night. My sister Beth looked after the little ones mostly.”

Kassie fell silent. It appeared she had more in common wi
th Cohen than she suspected. He was so easy to talk to. Unlike the earl who did not want to know anything about her, Cohen seemed interested in her. Perhaps she was wrong, and like her husband he was really only interested in her body, she thought, recalling his earlier kiss.

Chapter
Thirteen

The setting sun was painting the sky with orange and pink
hues when they drew up at the docks on the outskirts of Bristol. The small seaside town bustled with activity. Vendors loaded their carts and shopkeepers hurried from their stores, perhaps heading home for the night, she mused. She looked out the window on the other side of the coach. Various ships bobbed in silence on small open patches of water like the abandoned shells of memories.

Cohen pointed out a large schooner anchored at the far end
of the dock. “That is my ship, Discovery.” The coachman opened the door and Cohen tucked a blanket over the basket, holding the baby to keep out the draft. “Wait here.”

Kassie watched him cross to the gangplank and speak to a
young man in a uniform. The two men shook hands, and Cohen said something Kassie could not hear. The man answered and looked at the coach. The two men talked for a few more minutes. Cohen turned and made his way toward the coach, opened the door, and hoisted the basket from the floor. Holding out his hand, he helped her climb down, and led the way across the docks and up the gangplank.

A large man in uniform greeted them, “Good evening, Comté Ashton.”

“Good evening, Rennie,” Cohen responded, shaking the man’s hand. “Has my cabin been aired out?”

“Oui, Comté.”

“Good,” Cohen nodded. “Come Kassie, I will show you to my quarters where you may wait while I run a few errands.”

Kassie followed as he strolled across the ship’s deck. The
y walked down a long passageway until they came to a set of double doors which a uniformed sailor stationed there opened for them. Cohen ushered her into the room ahead of him. She paused, wide eyed, on the threshold of a large parlor. The room was by far more elegant than the earl’s townhouse. A gold velvet settee and two matching chairs were arranged in the corner of the room by a fancy iron brazier glowing with live coals. A large dining table was set in the other corner with chairs for ten guests and above the table a large sparkling crystal chandelier hung. Thick red and gold Persian throw rugs covered the polished wooden floor. Kassie wandered over to a painting on the wall. The man in the portrait looked down on her with a regal smile.

“His Majesty, the Emperor of France, gifted me with this
ship,” Cohen explained. “I was very honored, not many Englishmen are so well respected by the French monarchy.”

She frowned in puzzlement. “You are English? Comté is a
French title, so I thought you were French.”

He nodded. “Most make that mistake. I am English born, but a titled French citizen as well.”

“How is that possible?”

“Many French titles are not inherited, but bestowed upon
those who earn them. My father was a poor English cloth merchant. I sailed to France and earned a title by service to the emperor along with some wealth. After, I sent for my family and brought them to live in France. I have no noble blood, which is one of the reasons the earl dislikes me.”

“Oh,” was all Kassie could think of to say. Cohen was a
s common as she. Perhaps it was why she liked him so much from the start.

“Come, my bedchamber is this way.” He gestured to an open
door to the left of the dining table.

Kassie followed him
and stopped on the threshold. A huge bed took up most of the space in the room. It was larger by far than the bed she occupied at the earl’s. It was covered with red satin and dotted with matching pillows. Did Cohen expect her to sleep with him? She swallowed.

He seemed not to notice her discomfort. “I will have one of Rennie’s men bring you a bath.”

Kassie nodded and Cohen left. Once the door closed behind him she went to the wardrobe to hang up her few gowns. When she opened the doors, Cohen’s familiar spicy sent drifted out. His expensive tailored clothes hung in neat rows. Did he intend to share the room with her or would he move his attire elsewhere? She pushed them closer together and hung her garments in the cleared space.

The baby began to fuss in the other room, and Kassie hu
rried to pick him up before his fussing turned to wailing. The baby sucked on his fist, making loud slurping noises. She set him back in the basket and reached behind her neck to undo the buttons of her dress so she could feed him. She managed the first two buttons, but could not reach the ones between her shoulder blades. Picking up the baby again she went to the door. When she opened it and looked out into the corridor, the sailor she had seen earlier was still stationed by the door, the comté was nowhere in sight.

“Do you know where Comté Ashton is?”

The man looked at her. “Pardon Mademoiselle?”

“The comté?” She tried again,
realizing he did not speak English.

The man shook his head and said something in French Kass
ie did not understand. She shut the door. Now what was she going to do? There was no way she could undo the buttons down the back of her dress to nurse Lucca without assistance, and there was no way she wanted to ask a stranger to help her. She put the baby to her shoulder and patted his back, trying to calm him.

Two men entered the room carrying a brass tub large enough to sit in. Th
ey set it down in front of the fire and left, returning with buckets of hot water. Kassie tried to ask them if they knew where the comté was, but neither of them spoke English. The baby began to get more upset, his whimpers turning into fitful wails.

Kassie was near tears when Cohen finally entered the parlor almost an hour later.

He looked surprised to see her pacing the room, trying to calm the screaming baby. “Why do you not feed him?”

Kassie glared at him. “I could not get my gown undone because the b
uttons are down the back and I cannot reach them!”

He shut the door behind him and put the packages he carried on the table.

“You left me here alone … and no one speaks English … and I could not ask anyone for help,” Kassie rambled, tears spilling down her cheeks. She swiped them any.
Why am I crying? I am angry, not sad. Perhaps I am simply overtired.

Cohen turned her around and
made quick work of the buttons and then peered over her shoulder as she lowered the baby to her breast. When the baby was suckling and content he led her to the settee to sit down. “I am sorry. I did not stop to think you might need me while I was gone.” He crossed to the table and opened the packages “I could not find a wet nurse in the village, but I did find you some pheasant blouses that lace up in the front. I also purchased a few skirts to go with them. I have some bolts of material in the ship’s hold you may use if there is anything you need I have neglected to purchase. You did mention you sew.” He pivoted and held up a padded chemise. “I also bought one of these,” he gave her a sheepish grin. “One of the seamstresses recently had a child and said she uses one of these with pieces of cotton in the breast panels to, ah, absorb any leakage.”

Kassie started to giggle but before she knew what was happening the laughter turned to sobs.

He frowned examining the undergarment. “I do not think it looks that bad.” She cried even harder as he crossed to the settee and knelt down in front of her. “I tried to find a wet nurse, but none would leave England.”

Kassie shook her head. “It is not that.”

“Then what is the cause of your distress?” Concern softened his gaze.

She took a shaky breath. “You have been so kind to
me when you do not have to be. And I am such a mess…”

Cohen smiled and brushed a stray tendril of hair from her face with gentle fingers. “
You are not a mess. You have just had a baby and been through a horrible experience, your tears are to be expected. Besides, it is my fault we are in this mess, and I can do no less than my best for my son.”

She sniffed and wiped her eyes with the handkerchief he handed her.

He took the baby from her when he was done nursing and put him to his shoulder to burp.

“Go and have your bath before the water gets cold, I will see to
Lucca.” He stood and picked up the packages from the table. He carried them and the baby to the bedchamber, closing the door behind.

Kassie slipped off her dress and undergarments. She tested the
water in the tub. It was still warm. With a grateful sigh she stepped in and sank in the waist deep water. Leaning back she rested her head and closed her eyes. The warm water soothed her muscles, cramped from sitting in the close confines of the coach. Kassie realized with a start she had not asked what Cohen was going to do about the earl.
Does he have a plan? Will his family accept me, knowing I am a fallen woman? Perhaps the
comté possesses the power to take Lucca away from me once we are on French soil. What will I do then?
I do not even speak French. Have I made a huge mistake in trusting him? He did not mention anything about protecting me, only that he would do anything for his son. Is he only keeping me around to nourish the baby until he can find a wet nurse?

“I brought you a towel.”

Kassie sat up with a start and covered her breasts. Cohen stood beside the tub barefoot, holding out a towel. She had been so absorbed in her own thoughts she had not heard him enter the room and cross the carpet.

He raised an eyebrow when she didn’t move.
“I would not mind bathing before the water is ice cold.”

She snatched the towel from him. “You could give me some privacy.”

He shrugged and stripped off his shirt. “I do not see why, since I have already seen what you have to offer.”

Kassie scrambled from the tub as he tossed the shirt to the
floor and began to peel off his black breeches. His laughter rang in her ears as she bolted for the bedchamber before he became totally naked.

She checked on t
he baby. He was sleeping in the middle of the big bed, his tiny lips curled up into a cupid’s bow. Careful not to wake him she stroked his soft cheek against which his long dark eyelashes rested.
My son. He is so beautiful.
Satisfied he would sleep for a while longer she changed into the new clothing. She decided to leave off her corset so she would not have to ask Cohen to lace it up for her and sat at the dressing table to brush her hair. She could not help but listen to the sounds as he splashed in the tub. The idea he was so comfortable shedding his clothes in front of her made her blush. What would his body look like? The earl always wore a nightshirt to bed so she did not even have him to physically compare the comté to. She tried to remember the feel of the man who made love to her in the dark, but failed. Her body had been too alive to make note of anything but what his touch did to her. Silence in the outer room told her the man was finished bathing. In order to occupy her fingers and restless mind she began to braid her hair.

Cohen padded into the room, naked except for a towe
l wrapped around his waist. She peeked out of the corner of her eye as he crossed the room and opened the wardrobe. Smooth muscles rippled under his taunt sun bronzed flesh, with little or no hair to mar the beauty of him.
He has the body of a god.
He pulled out clean trousers, shirt, and a waistcoat. Before he had a chance to drop the towel from his waist, Kassie headed for the parlor.

There was a tap on the door, and Cohen called out from the bedchamber, “Entrée.”

The sailor she saw Cohen talking to earlier entered with a tray. He nodded and smiled at her, and then crossed to the table. He took the lid off the tray and set out a meal of sausage pastries, steaming soup, sliced beef, and baby potatoes. With another nod and smile he produced a bottle of wine from his sleeve which he set on the table before leaving.

Cohen strolled into the room dressed in clean
black trousers, a white shirt open at the throat, and soft brown slippers. He rubbed his hair with a towel as he crossed to the table. “Ah, I see dinner has arrived. I am famished.” With an easy grin he ran a hand through his tousled hair and flipped the towel over the back of the nearest chair.

Kassie held back the wistful sigh threatening to escape her lips.
He is so handsome and at
ease.

He filled a plate with a little of each food and handed it t
o her. After loading up his own plate he took it, and the bottle of wine, to one of the chairs by the coal brazier. Kassie sat opposite him as he poured two glasses of wine, passing one to her. He lifted his in salute. “Here is to a most lucrative burglary.”

Kassie raised an eyebrow. “Burglary?”

He took a sip from his glass and then grinned at her over the rim. “Yes. In addition to stealing away you and my son, I also acquired the earl’s one of a kind Egyptian tablet.”

“Oh.” Kassie set her wine glass on the table beside her chair and concentrated on her meal.
He is too pleased with himself. Arrogant is the word for it….

* * * *

Kassie’s head drooped to her chest. With a jolt, she sat up straighter and then blinked at the clock. It was past ten.