When Matthew had gone, Faith returned to the kitchen while Ben and Ruth stood alone in the parlor.

“There are problems?” Ruth asked tentatively as she gazed up at him.

“Yes,” he answered tersely, trying to come to face the fact that they might not get the supplies they so desperately needed.

“Is there anything I can do?” she offered sympathetically. She remembered how the injustices of the day had upset her husband, and she wanted to be of any help she could to Ben. He was such a dear man, and he had come to mean so much to her…

Ben turned to Ruth, his eyes dark with unspoken emotion. “Just letting me be here with you helps.”

She sensed the meaning behind his words and boldly took a step closer to Ben. “Really, Ben?” She touched his arm lightly, and there was an immediate feeling of real intimacy to the moment.

Ben found himself caught up in a situation he wasn’t sure how to handle. Should he gruffly dismiss her question or confess to her his long-denied devotion? Frustrated by all aspects of his life at that instant and feeling that things could not possibly get any worse, Ben decided not to hide his true feelings any longer.

“Yes, Ruth. It helps. Your warmth and hospitality are the only sweetness in my life.”

“Just my warmth and hospitality?” Ruth pressed the issue. The feelings she had for Ben had long since passed being strictly friendly. She had been out of mourning for her husband for quite a while now, and she knew it was time to begin life again. Ben was the man she wanted in her future.

Ben was trapped. He wanted to tell her that he had loved her forever. He wanted to sweep her into his arms and make love to her. Casting his fear of rejection aside, Ben gave in to the power of his wayward emotions and took her into his arms.

“Ruth, my darling…you are the one constant that makes my life worth living,” he declared fervently just before his lips met hers. It was a soft, gentle exploration that sent shudders of excitement through him, and when Ruth molded herself willingly to him, he could hardly believe his luck. “Ruth?”

“Oh, Ben! I’ve wanted this for such a long time…” She smiled up at him, her eyes alight with her true feelings for him.

“You have?”

“Oh yes,” she sighed, kissing him again.

“I have, too,” he finally admitted when they drew apart. “You’re always in my thoughts… I love you, Ruth. I always have.”

“But, Ben, I never knew.” Ruth was amazed as they moved to sit together on the sofa.

Ben shrugged almost guiltily. “I was afraid. I didn’t know how you felt about me.”

“Oh, Ben, I love you, too.” She went into his arms again, thrilled at the joy of her newfound love.

He was surprised by the discovery, his blinding happiness dimming his worries about the war supplies and Matthew’s confrontation with Noah. He gathered Ruth close, seeking out her lips for another cherishing embrace. He knew that from this moment on, no matter how dark the following days became, he would be happy. He had his love, and it was a love that would last forever.

Noah sat at the desk in the captain’s cabin on board the Sea Pride, going over the contracts and manifests. At the sound of the door opening he looked up expectantly, thinking to find Captain Wells returning. He was surprised and pleased to find that it was his brother entering the room. Noah came to his feet and moved from behind the desk to greet him.

“Matthew, I’m glad you’re here. I see you got my message this morning.” He hoped that Matt was the bearer of good news regarding his deal with the dissidents.

“Yes, I received it.” Matt’s response was guarded.

“And have you notified Graves?” Now that the Pride was in port, Noah was anxious to conclude the business negotiations as quickly as possible.

“I did.” Matt sat down in the chair before the desk as Noah returned to his seat behind it.

“And?”

Matthew had been dreading this moment since he’d left Ben. He knew his brother’s loyalties, and he knew that there was very little real hope that he would change his mind. Still, he had to try.

“Graves has sent word that they do not have the funds to complete the deal at this time,” Matt supplied levelly. “They do promise to make full restitution if you allow them to take delivery now and pay the balance due later.”

“Damn!” Noah exploded. “I should have known they wouldn’t be able to come up with the money!” Angrily he got up and began to pace the small cabin. His expression was thunderous as he mentally calculated the cut in profit he would have to take in selling directly to agents to the Crown. “Tell him the deal is off. I warned them.”

“Noah…surely you don’t want to cancel the whole thing,” Matt began.

“The name of the game is profit, Matthew,” Noah replied dispassionately. “I trusted them once. I can’t afford to trust them again.”

“What if I tell you I am willing to forgo my share of the profits if you will let Graves have the goods at the price they’ve now paid?” Matt considered this as the only solution for settling the problem to the benefit of both sides.

“What?” His suggestion took Noah completely by surprise.

“I want you to conclude the transaction with Graves, and any monies that are not forthcoming can be taken out of my share of the profits.”

“I can’t let you do that!” he argued logically. “What are you going to live on? You have a wife now, and she’s dependent upon you.”

“I am fully aware of my obligations, Noah,” Matt replied stiffly. “However, there are some things that take precedence. If the sanctions come, as they most certainly will, we have to be prepared. We need those supplies.”

“Matthew,” Noah said in his most earnest tone, “you can’t be serious about this.”

“I am.”

“I can’t let you do this. What will you live on? How will you exist?”

“If I have to, I will get a job. I’m not averse to hard work, Noah.”

“That’s ridiculous! You’re a nobleman…a Kincade, for God’s sake! I’ll arrange a deal through Demorest. I should be able to clear enough to support us both for the time being,” he conceded.

Matthew realized then that the change in his brother had been so complete, he was now sounding just like the avaricious English money dealers who’d gleefully claimed their possessions in payment of their father’s debts. “I don’t believe this…” he remarked, stunned as he perceived the overall view of everything that had happened to them and the final results.

“What don’t you believe?” Noah glanced at him quickly, wondering at his tone.

“I don’t believe that you’ve changed so completely. You’ve actually become one of them.”

“What are you talking about?” Noah demanded in annoyance.

“I’m talking about your obsession with money. Just now you sounded exactly like the bankers and debt collectors who scavenged our inheritance after Father’s death. Don’t you remember how callous they were? Money was all that mattered to them. They didn’t care about the lives that would be destroyed, or the traditions that would be broken-only the money mattered.”

Matthew’s analogy jolted Noah deeply. For the first time he saw clearly how very greatly he’d changed and what those changes had wrought in his life. He had followed the path he’d thought would bring him happiness. He had believed that reclaiming their lost wealth and status would make him happy again, but now he knew it wouldn’t. Happiness was not related to things. Happiness came from within. In that silent moment of introspection, Noah accepted that he was not happy with himself.

He understood then that his quest to return triumphantly to England with his pockets well lined had carried with it a price far too great to bear. He had forfeited his closeness with Matthew. Not only that, but he had been so wrapped up in his pursuit of riches that he had discovered his love for CC too late to do anything about it. Now she was lost to him, too. The social life he had once thought he’d missed no longer held any appeal for him. He was alone, and he was miserable. Lost in a vortex of despairing, yet revealing, emotions, Noah could not reply for long moments as he stared at his brother.