Historical Romance Boxed Set by Brenda Novak Page A

been as a baby, and she could be in just as much danger. “How did you meet Nathaniel?”
    “We served in the same frigate during the Opium War. Nathaniel was only eleven then.” Trenton’s voice softened as he warmed to the tale, no doubt as eager as she to keep their minds off their present anxiety. “He was a powder monkey, and the quickest one I’ve ever seen. At first, the other men teased him about his arm. They liked to rile his temper, and Nathaniel’s got a good one.” He chuckled. “But through the years he stood toe-to-toe with every last one of them until no one dared say anything about his arm or anything else, especially as he became stronger and quicker with only one than they were with two. He certainly earned my respect. I was a bit older than he when we met, closer to seventeen or eighteen—”
    “You don’t know?”
    Trenton shook his head. “I grew up as an orphan. My mother abandoned me when I was young, and I was raised in a workhouse. That place was hell,” he murmured, his words holding no self-pity. “I ran away to join the navy early on, and believe me, I’ve never looked back. Nathaniel’s all the family I’ve got.”
    Alexandra couldn’t help but feel a twinge of empathy for the tall, brown-eyed man in front of her. When he fell silent, she tried to draw him into conversation again. “How long did you serve together?”
    “Nearly five years, until our ship was decommissioned. Then we struck out on our own. We worked for a Swedish merchant for a while who took quite a liking to Nathaniel. Said he was the son he never had. When Sven died, he left his ship to us.”
    “So why would you risk your lives and your ship stealing other people’s cargo?”
    Alexandra’s words caused Trenton to glower. “I don’t expect you to understand. You were raised with all the money you could ever dream of, with finery and plenty to eat. Nathaniel and I had nothing, some days less than nothing.” He paced in front of the door, brooding. “Even still, for Nathaniel, it’s not the money.”
    “What about the housekeeper who rescued Nathaniel? You said she raised him as her own. Certainly he knew love.”
    “Martha did her best, but servants don’t make much, and she had to live with her employers. Nathaniel stayed with her sister, Beatrice, and Beatrice’s eight children. I guess Bee was none too kind… or generous.”
    “I see.” Alexandra tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, understanding to a small degree what might have formed Nathaniel into the bitter man he was. “Is Martha still alive?”
    “No.” Trenton spat into the empty chamber pot and arched a brow at her. “Your father staged an accident. Nathaniel was nearly killed, too. It happened just after Martha took him to meet the duke—”
    “Meet him?” Alexandra repeated in surprise.
    “Aye. He was only seven or so, and she thought Greystone might change his mind when he saw how capable and clever Nathaniel was. Evidently he didn’t.”
    Alexandra shivered. “How did the, er, accident happen?”
    “They were traveling post. Someone ran their carriage off the road, and it overturned. Martha was pinned beneath it. Another fellow was killed, too. A stranger. But Nathaniel managed to crawl out.”
    “Did he go back to Martha’s sister’s then?”
    “For a while. But without Martha’s income, times got even harder, and Beatrice became more resentful of his presence. He ran away several times. Lived on the streets for almost a year. Then he joined the navy.”
    “By the law, Nathaniel is the duke’s rightful heir. There is nothing Greystone can do about that,” she pointed out.
    “There is if no one can prove the duke is lying.” Trenton gave her an aggravated look that told Alexandra he didn’t believe she hadn’t heard any of this before, but he continued with the story anyway. “Your father claims the son his first wife bore him died the day of its birth, only minutes after his mother. Martha was