The Husband List by Janet Evanovich, Dorien Kelly Read Free Book Online

unblemished ivory. She also seemed unruffled by the stares of others, almost as though she found them amusing.
    She definitely sensed Caroline’s rapt attention because she looked up to the gallery. This was no time to become reticent. Caroline nodded to her. The woman smiled slightly and nodded back. Caroline’s hands tightened on the railing. She’d wanted adventure. Even a few words with a woman such as this would qualify. The woman murmured something to her partner. He turned and looked up.
    Caroline froze. It was Jack Culhane.
    His eyes were shaded by the brim of his hat. She wished for the same protection. Her shock had to be obvious, since her heart was leaping at a hare’s pace. She wanted to know who this woman was to Jack, but at the same time she wanted to pretend she’d never witnessed them.
    Caroline rounded the curved railing until she was in a spot where she could neither see him nor be seen. But Jack, too, had moved, and without his companion. He looked up at her. She’d never witnessed a pirate’s cocky smile any more than she’d worn a bright yellow, low-cut gown in the early evening like his lady friend. Still, she’d wager a buccaneer had a grin no bolder than Jack’s.
    Caroline was irritated by his ease. She was the polished product of a lifetime of education in etiquette, decorum, and maintaining one’s composure. But those lessons had fled. She wheeled around and nearly tripped over two little girls who’d been walking with their parents behind her.
    “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said but didn’t stop hurrying toward the stairway.
    When she reached the stairs, Jack already stood at the bottom. Since there was only one way down for her, he looked quite pleased with his location. Caroline debated going back to the gallery, but the laughing glint of challenge she caught in his eyes stopped her. If she were still a reckless child, she’d bring him facedown on the carpet. Unfortunately, she was grown.
    Caroline started down the stairs. She was two from the bottom when she spotted Annie quickly weaving through the other passengers. Her black coat was half-buttoned, and no hat sat atop her head.
    “Annie?” Caroline called.
    The maid halted. Relief washed over her features.
    “There you are, Miss,” she said as she shouldered her way in front of Jack. “Berta sent me to your cabin to dress your hair. Your mother’s ready to dine. We must move quickly!”
    Caroline brushed by Jack.
    “Saved by the maid,” he said as she passed.
    *   *   *
    HALF AN hour later, Caroline sat at the captain’s table with her sisters and mother, an elderly couple from Boston, a scowling Philadelphia banker, and Captain Davis. All the room’s white linen–covered tables were filled with diners. The long, narrow space buzzed with conversation, nearly drowning out the violinists who sat in the far corner playing to no one in particular. Waiters in black coats bustled about filling water goblets and whisking away empty plates.
    Mama and Captain Davis were discussing the new ship currently being built for the line. Mama was giving advice regarding the décor, suggesting either Baroque or Louis XVI. Based on the mix of ornate woodwork and austere columns in this room, Caroline doubted the line’s owners felt constrained to just one style. And since she didn’t especially care, she let her attention drift.
    Jack and the woman in yellow sat on the opposite side of the room at a table with one other couple. She was smiling at something Jack was saying to the gentleman across from him. The table broke into laughter. Caroline sighed. Clearly, their conversation didn’t center on furnishings. Now the woman was speaking, and the couple opposite had seemed to move in closer. Jack looked as dark and handsome as ever, blast him. And if he sensed her watching, he wasn’t letting on.
    “Caroline, is that Jack Culhane over there?” Amelia asked.
    Caroline lifted her fork as though she’d actually been eating the