Edith Layton - How to Seduce a Bride

The fourth book in the Botany Bay series, 2006

English folk song

Port Jackson, New South Wales

1817

Be damned to all men, the young woman said angrily. Ill marry and be done with them! She stood on the dock, her back rigid and her hands closed to fists.

Oh, Daisy, you dont mean it, her friend exclaimed.

Well, maybe I dont, Daisy said with the winsome smile that drove half the men in Botany Bay mad with desire and set the other half to lustful daydreams. But Im going to leave this place on the next fair tide, see if I dont. Im bound and determined to marry again. Thats the only way to be safe from unwanted attentions.

There are plenty of single men right here, her friend protested.

Yes, Daisy said. But not a gentleman among them. Ive friends here Ill miss, true. Its a good enough place to live if youre free. But Im not free, even though Im single again. Especially since Im single again. She watched the horizon and the departing ship, and as it became smaller her voice became firmer. I know what I mean to do and how Im going to do it. And if a randy captain thinks he can keep me off his ship unless I share his bed, let him. There are other ships and other captains, and not all of them such horn-mad, lusty-guts neither.

Daisy! Her friend gasped. Youll never catch a nob with a mouth on you like that.

Daisy laughed. Oh, really? Ive never heard any complaints from you before. Then her expression grew sober. But youre right, thats not me; its the me I became in order to survive. A gentleman wants his wife to be mealymouthed as a parson, no matter what he likes his light-o-love to whisper in his ear. And the man Im going to marry is a gent, through and through.

So, not to worry, she said with resolve. By the time I get to England, Ill speak so well Ill put duchesses to shame. Thats how I spoke before I set sail from England, before I met you. Id quite forgotten the way of it. Its easy enough to remember and feels more natural, too. Soon it will be habit again, just as will my living like a lady. I wont be traveling in chains in the hold at the bottom of the ship this time, either. And I wont have to marry to get out of the hold. No, this time Ill be up on the top deck, sipping champagne with the Quality. When I get to England, Ill live with them, too. When I thought Id spend the rest of my life here, I made the best of it. But Tanner was taken so suddenly, by accident, it set me thinking. Lifes short.

So why not dare while were still above ground? I know what I want and am lucky enough to be able to go after it at last. Im a widow now, not the frightened girl I was when I got here. So why shouldnt I try? Ive been a prisoner and a wife-which is like a prisoner only you eat better-and now Im free, rich, and still young. Its time to dare.

But after all that traveling to get to him, her friend protested, you dont know if hell marry you!

Daisy laughed at the disapproval she saw in her friends expression. Im not being vain. I know he liked me well enough. You saw his face whenever he looked at me. He called me charming, didnt he?

But you were married then. And he was always a gent.

You think he didnt mean it?

Why not write to him first?

Writings cold, Daisy said, shaking her head. My father wasnt a lucky man but he knew how to gamble. He always said, Play your strongest hand. Im not a monster of conceit, but only a fool doesnt know her assets. I know what Ive got and its all face cards, and I mean that exactly. My brains first rate, but forget that, because men do. All they care about is my face and whats below it. I cant remind him of that in a letter.

Daisy, her friend said sadly. Youre the belle of Botany Bay and a beauty, no mistake. But there are thirty men to every female here. Londons full of beauties, many wellborn and rich as they can stare.

Daisy said nothing, but the morning sunlight spoke for her. It shone through the windows, highlighting the rosy gold hair that tumbled to her slender shoulders, turning her simple muslin frock transparent, outlining her graceful, lithe, lush form. Daisys tilted, almond-shaped, brown-gold eyes were sober, the feathery brows over them arched in sad surprise.

I can measure up to any woman in London and go her one better, Daisy finally said, lifting her chin. Im rich now, wellborn enough, and I have a full pardon, too.

But hes twice your age, her friend lamented.

Yes! Daisy said. Exactly! Hes past the age of all that cuddling and knocking nonsense. Even so, hes not dead, and so I might be able to get a child from him one day. That would be beyond wonderful. But I likely wont, what with his age and my history. I didnt have one when I was married. Still, Tanner never blamed me for it, and he would have if he could have, so I think it might have been his fault.

She shrugged. Whatever happens, it wont matter much to a man my gentlemans age. Hes got his son and heir already, and two more fellows that he calls sons. Theyre all married now, so hes on his own at last. Hes perfect for me. He liked me; I respect him. I can make him happy; he wont ask for much but I wont begrudge him much, either. Dont you see? I could live free with him, she said fervently. I know I could live safe and in peace with him.

You could marry anyone here.

No one here would give me the freedom he would. Wealthy noblemen in England let their wives have their own bedchambers as well as their own social lives. Their own beds! Can you imagine a man here allowing that?

She gave a theatrical shudder. Besides, soon I wont have a choice anymore, what with the way Thompson and Edwards are acting and the way that horrible Hughes is talking. I dont dare go out after dark and have to keep my doors locked at all hours. Ive no influential male to protect me. No, no matter how much money she has, a woman alone has no power or freedom here. The sames true in England, but at least there Ill have my choice of husband. And I choose Geoffrey Sauvage: once a convict, now the Earl of Egremont. Who would understand what Ive been through better? Who would suit me better? Hes old, wise, and kind.

I wish I were half as brave as you are! her friend blurted. But Im not. Though I suppose I could make a life again in England, Im not willing to chance it.

Daisy turned, her eyes grave. Im not brave. The truth, after all my bluster, is that I dont have the courage to stay here any longer. Her smile was sudden, radiant, warming, like the sun coming out from the clouds. But I can pretend to be brave, and I will. I mean to take my chances, because at least this time, theyll be my chances to take.

I wish you luck, her friend said. Though I dont think youll need it.

Thank you, but I mean to make my own luck, so please send me off with prayers instead of wishes. I have wishes enough. Now I have to go and make them come true.