Captain's Bride by Kat Martin

brocade waistcoat to blot them away.
    Damn the woman for the provocative creature she was!
She was determined to make his stay a living hell, and she was damn
well succeeding. She was all he’d been able to think about from the
first moment he’d seen her.
    Glory straightened and walked toward him, proudly
holding a long teakwood cue beautifully inlaid with ivory. It was
thinner than the others, which were kept on the wall, obviously
custom made for her slighter frame, and Nicholas fought to suppress
his amusement. She was full of surprises—delightfully so. And the
more he felt drawn to her, the more he wished he’d never come to
Summerfield Manor.
    They were playing pocket billiards. Nicholas racked
up the balls, and they lagged for the break. Glory won. Nicholas
chalked it up to luck until he watched her sink the one ball on her
opening shot. The two and three followed, but she missed the
four—barely. A difficult bank shot Nicholas would probably have
missed as well. He silently saluted her skill.
    Nicholas sank the next three balls with ease but
missed his fourth shot, and Julian sank only two. Glory ran the
table. The smile she lavished on him was so exceedingly smug,
Nicholas found his temper rising again. A woman playing billiards.
It was unheard of. Unladylike. The girl should be taught her
rightful place, and Nicholas was just the man who could do it! The
thought intrigued him more than a little. If only she weren’t
Julian’s daughter.
    The evening wore on. They were excellent players, and
all three won their share of games. In the end, Glory came out on
top. Nicholas put her winning off to the advantage she held in her
low-necked gown. He found it nearly impossible to concentrate on
the game with the girl’s beautiful bosom threatening to overflow as
she leaned over the table to place her shot. No wonder women
weren’t encouraged to play.
    “Well, Captain, I hope you’ve enjoyed the evening as
much as I.” Glory smiled broadly, her even teeth pearllike in her
beautiful oval face.
    Nicholas barely lifted one comer of his mouth. “I’ve
never played billiards with a woman before. I’m not certain I could
survive the experience again. But one thing I’ll say for you, Miss
Summerfield: You never cease to amaze me.”
    Glory wasn’t sure whether his words were a compliment
or an insult, but right now she didn’t really care. She’d beaten
Nicholas Blackwell this evening, and she felt exhilarated.
    “Good night, Captain.” She moved past him to where
her father rested in a tufted leather chair and kissed him on the
cheek. “Good night, Father.”
    He patted her hand. “Get a good night’s rest, my
dear,” he told her. “We’ll see you in the morning.”
    Glory nodded and left the room, a satisfied smile on
her face.
    Glory awoke the next morning feeling better than she
had in days. She recalled her evening with Nicholas Black-well as
she stretched and yawned. April scurried about, opening the
mosquito netting, drawing the curtains, and folding wide the heavy
wooden shutters to allow the cool morning air to cleanse the room.
At last Glory had won the upper hand with the captain. His mood had
been black by the time they ended the games. Glory smiled at the
thought. It was time someone bested the man at something. From the
look on his face, it was not a common occurrence, and Glory reveled
in her victory.
    “Hurry up, chile.” Plenty bustled into the room just
as Glory finished dressing. “You got company. Mr. Eric down in the
receiving room with your daddy and the captain.”
    Glory smiled. “Tell them I’ll be right there.”
Dabbing a spot of cologne behind each ear, she turned to her maid.
“April, you’d better hurry and finish my hair. We wouldn’t want to
keep our guests waiting.”
    Plenty waddled back out the door, and April began
brushing Glory’s hair. She was going to visit Miriam today—she’d
had quite enough of the captain—but a little of Eric’s flattery
always gave