The crunch and rustle of underbrush drew Arabella’s attention to the man heading toward them from the direction of the house. His strides were long, his face pinched into a mask of worry as he came into view, then seemingly relieved at the sight of them.
William Throckmorton shared a father with Drew, though his mother had been the lady of the house while Drew’s had been a mulatto slave. Despite this, they were uncannily similar in appearance. The hazel eyes rich with golden prisms and tiny flecks of green. The strong features giving them the same prominent cheekbones and sharp jaw. The width of their mouths was similar, though Drew’s lips were decidedly fuller. Even their voices were alike, deep and a bit gravelly, though William’s refined accent and succinct manner of speech proved just one other thing marking the differences between him and Drew.
“There you are,” Will said, shoulders sagging. “Bella, I was just visiting with your father and brother and overheard a servant mention that no one had seen you since breakfast. I thought I’d come warn you that someone will come looking if you don’t return soon.”
Bella offered him a smile, feeling no shame that he’d nearly caught them in a compromising position. The Throckmorton brothers had been friends to her since childhood, her father’s lands bordering their father’s plantation. While she had been raised in luxurious surroundings and catered to in the same manner as William, Arabella had always been closer to Drew. Both born of slave women and the men who had taken them as mistresses, they shouldered a common burden. Set free due to the consciences of their fathers and offered lives far better than others with their brown skin and African features, they might be considered fortunate, privileged even. Particularly Arabella, who had been moved into her father’s grand mansion following the death of his lawful wife. No lady of the house had been there to stop him from bringing his black mistress and mulatto bastard into his home, or to protest Arabella being taught to read and write by one of the best tutors on the island, as well as being instructed in ladylike comportment, various ballroom dances, art, literature, French, and Latin.
Drew was the only person she knew who understood what it was like to not be wholly English or wholly African, and have no defined place in the world. They had felt it as children, even if they hadn’t understood it as they did now. Though William treated Drew as a beloved brother and Arabella like a little lady, the clear differences between them had become clearer with time. She and Drew clung to one another, united in the differences setting them apart from most of the island’s inhabitants, who stood clearly to one side of an invisible line bisecting two very different worlds.
Drew knew what it was like to live in Arabella’s skin, to see the world through her eyes. Even while the two of them had grown closer, the nature of their relationship changing from friendly to romantic, William had always been there—a brother to Drew and a dear friend to Arabella.
“Thank you, Will. If anyone asks—”
“I found you out for a walk on the beach by yourself, and offered to escort you back to the house,” Will replied, flashing her a soft smile. “Worry not, Bella. If you are ever caught, it will not be because of me.”
“A man couldn’t ask for a better brother,” Drew said, releasing her hand to clap Will on the shoulder. “How are you, Will? I haven’t seen you in a while.”
Will fell in step with them as they continued along the rough path through the trees. “Estate affairs have kept me busy. Father left for England a fortnight ago and we don’t expect him back for several months.”
Drew’s mouth tightened at the corners, and their trio lapsed into an awkward silence. Will’s involvement with the plantation he would someday inherit was almost never discussed between them, as the lands he stood to gain would come with hundreds of slaves—people who very much resembled Drew and Bella, their mothers, the families they had been separated from by their elevation in status.
Clearing his throat, Will smiled again, only this time it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Anyway, I am actually free this evening. Care to join me at the Bull’s Head for dinner and drinks?”
Drew squeezed his brother’s shoulder and gave him a little jostle. “I’d love to. If you see Bella home, I’ll meet you there in … say, two hours?”
“That will do.”
“Am I not to be invited?” Bella quipped. She giggled at the outraged expressions on both their faces. The Bull’s Head was a male domain, and the only women who ever set foot inside were barmaids and lightskirts.
Will uttered a foul oath under his breath, and Drew narrowed his eyes at her.
“Do you want to start a riot? Because that’s what will happen if any of the men in that place so much as look at you askance—which they are certain to do.”
“Out of the question,” Will agreed.
With another laugh, she wriggled her way between the two men and looped her arms around their waists. “Oh, but I should be perfectly safe with two big, strong men there to protect me, shan’t I? Or … I’ve got it! I could dress in breeches and pose as a man for the night. With a little binding and the right waistcoat—”
“Bella,” Drew growled.
Will’s neck flushed scarlet as he gave her a sidelong glance, his eyes dipping toward her bodice. “I think we can all agree that no waistcoat is going to conceal … those. You do love courting trouble, Bella.”
Tickling Will’s ribs and producing a grunted laugh, she then turned and pressed her lips against Drew’s shoulder.
“I’m only joking. Calm down, both of you. Though, I do find it endearing that you’re both so protective. My knights in shining armor.”
“Always,” Drew replied.
The massive structure of the Abbot family home showed through the palms in the distance, so she released her hold on the two men. They paused, Drew turning to face them both.
“I’ll part ways with you here. Will, I’ll see you shortly. Bella …”
He took hold of her hands and pulled her into him for one last kiss. She went up on tiptoe to meet Drew, something within her rebelling at the idea of being parted from him. Who knew when they might see one another again? Will remained silent as they whispered their farewells.
“I love you,” Drew murmured, smoothing one of her loose, corkscrew curls through his fingers. “My Bella.”
“And I, you.”
Then, Drew was gone, disappearing toward where he’d tethered his horse.
Will offered his arm with a grim expression. “Shall we?”
They continued toward the house, Will keeping his gaze riveted to their surroundings while Arabella studied her friend with a furrowed brow. His forearm was tense beneath her hand, jaw wound tight and worry lines bracketing his mouth.
“Is everything all right, Will?”
His expression softened as he cut his gaze at her, and he patted her hand. “Of course. I just … I do not wish to upset you.”
“It will upset me for you to keep secrets. Would you have me worry about you?”
“It is I who worries … for you and Drew.”
She came up short, forcing him to halt and face her. “What do you mean?”
He braced his hands on his hips and issued a sigh. The waning sun glinted off his dark brown hair with an orange glow, the long strands caught back by ribbon.