Hart's Reward (Pirates & Petticoats #3) (7 page)

Landon studied her a moment as if weighing the sincerity of her question. “You know Commodore Hall?”

She shrugged. “Not personally. I was supposed to travel with him to Philadelphia, but he was called away before I could board.”

Landon tilted his head and snorted. “United States Navy warships rarely take on passengers.”

“It was a special favor.” Her voice dropped off and she closed her eyes, already anticipating what he would say next. Every fact she gave him sounded like a farce. Couldn’t they have one conversation where her words didn’t sound contrived?

Landon leaned against the rail and crossed his arms over his chest, his steely blue gaze on her face. “A special favor for whom? I suppose you’re going to tell me that I was the one who requested he take you aboard?”

She swallowed and nodded.

He leaned forward until his nose was inches from her own. “You lie.”

She clenched her jaw closed in an effort to prevent herself from snapping back something she’d regret later. She failed. “I’m not lying. I’ll have you know you stubborn, arrogant rake, that you insisted I go, while I argued to stay with
you
!”

He stepped forward, making her tilt her head back to glare at him, perhaps trying to scare her into recanting her words. To reinforce her resolve, she fisted her hands on her hips, and threw her shoulders back like an angry chicken. She’d show him she could be just as stubborn as he.

She wasn’t prepared for the affect his proximity had on her nerves, though. The heat from his body, coupled with the scent that was uniquely Landon’s…ocean air and leather and something else…distracted her completely.

He trapped her gaze and his pupils widened, darkening the blue of his irises. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and calm and so cold, it made her shiver.
 

“I would never put my
wife
on another man’s ship. If, indeed, I
had
married again I assure you, I would have never allowed you to stray that far, especially since I now know about the silky, soft, pale curves you hide under that leather corset.”

She fought to keep her hands on her hips and her chin jutted out in defiance. She wanted to reach up and bury her fingers in the glossy, black curls that caressed his broad shoulders and kiss away the bitter, caustic tenor of his words. A warmth radiated from her palms. Her hands now rested on his hips. Why couldn’t she keep her head around him? She retreated a hasty step back. Damn that man. She turned and fled.

His soft laugh drifted to her ears through the quiet calm. “The mice always play while the cat’s away.”

Marcel instructed Keelan to take a bucket of water and a ladle up to the deck for the crew to quench their thirst. Gus gestured her over and reached for the ladle. She surreptitiously eyed Landon from beneath the brim of her floppy hat. The sun glittered across the water and gave his skin a golden glow. He had yet to secure the ties, and his shirt gaped open, revealing the chiseled cut of his chest and a light covering of hair. She swallowed, then dipped the ladle in the bucket and served herself a drink. She dipped the ladle in again for Landon when he approached.

“I have an idea.” Landon snapped the spyglass closed and drank.

Gus wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “What plan have ye hatched to give the
Glory
time to escape once the wind catches her sails, Captain?” He raised a shaggy grey brow.

Landon’s gaze flickered over Keelan as he dropped the ladle in the bucket. He grinned at his first mate. “Gus, what would you do if you noticed the breath of a breeze after your ship had been still in the water for days?”

He shrugged. “I’d haul the sheets up to the wind as fast as I could.”

“Aye,” Landon agreed. “But what if that breeze was a stronger gust than you anticipated? What if a squall arose with such force that you worried it would flay the sails or tip the boat into the sea?”

“Could that happen?” she asked, dubiously. “Could the wind blow up so fast that it would catch the sails and fling the boat over?”

“Oh, aye, young Mr. Mahdi.” Gus nodded emphatically, his bristled cheeks spread into a grin. “It could indeed. And has! A gale off the coast is most unpredictable. If it catches too much sail at the wrong angle, it would tip a vessel over as easy as you could tip an empty ale bottle with your finger.”

Gus moved away and began to pace while scratching his salt and pepper beard. “If my ship be caught in the doldrums, I’d have my sails up full, to catch any puff of blow that may come my way.” He frowned pensively. “But, if a strong wind blew in from shore and took me by surprise, I’d order the sails drawn in and furled, to avoid pitching the ship or tearing the sails. Any good captain would do the same.”

“Exactly!” Landon responded, eyes alight. “Any good captain would do the same.”

“I don’t understand,” she said. “How does that help Captain Hall and his ship?”
 

Landon seemed a little surprised by her question, or surprised she was interested enough to ask it. “Eventually, the stillness of the sea will be interrupted by a gust of wind, or a whisper of breeze. It can’t stay like this forever. When the wind picks up, we can make it
look
as if it took us by surprise and we were hit by a great gust. The ship will tip; we’ll haul up the sails by the brails and clew lines in apparent confusion, as if it was impossible to carry a yard of canvas.”

Gus nodded, his eyes bright. “Then we’ll drop our sheets, to make it seem we are trying to save them from being shredded by the wind.”

“The British ships will witness our apparent panic and they’ll mimic us in anticipation of receiving the same gust.” Landon locked eyes with Keelan and he grinned. For the thousandth time, the spell he cast with his smile made her heart jump.

“Except, we will not have fully dropped our sails in said panic,” Gus continued, excited now. “But instead, we’ll merely allow the sheets to willow on to the deck for a few moments. As soon as the British have hastily dropped or, we hope in their panic,
cut
their sails free, we will raise ours and catch the wind and be on our merry way before the Brits can untangle and repair their lines and haul their sheets back up to the wind.”

“It will give the
Glory
the head start she needs to break free of the blockade,” Landon finished, nodding.

It sounded like a good plan, but how would they execute it? Making a ship tilt seemed like a big undertaking.
 

“But how will you make it appear as if a great gust hit the ship?” She faced the shore. “What if the breeze isn’t really that strong?”

“Ahhh!” Gus smiled knowingly and rubbed his hands together. “Now that is the stuff what makes a plan
brilliant
!”

How could they possibly pull off any type of plan when there wasn’t even a whisper of a breeze? She helped the crew over the next few hours. They lowered each sail and soaked it with water, to force the fibers to expand and hold as much wind as possible. After Keelan had done her part, she sat on one of the water barrels and observed as her husband stood with legs braced and called his crew to the mid-deck and proceeded to divulge to them his plan. The men grinned broadly and clapped their hands in approval then listened intently as Gus gave each their instructions.
 

She shaded her eyes and noted that a launch and a small cutter from the
Glory
continued to take turns lashing the anchor to the boat, rowing ahead to the length of the extended chain then dropping it to wait for the big ship to haul to them by weighing in the anchor. As the
Desire
had been doing for the past three days, they repeated the entire process.
 

She moved her gaze to the closest British ship. Her stomach twisted; the British ship had also attached an anchor to each end of the hawser, which passed through a pipe on each side of the bow, allowing the crew to warp the ship ahead continuously, one anchor being carried forward while the other held on to the ocean bottom. The crew did their best to cut the distance to the
Glory
. How long would it be before the British were within firing range?

“I have a task for you.”

She jumped before she could prevent it. Turning, her gaze collided with Landon’s throat. His ties were still undone and she froze. Couldn’t the man at least cover himself in the presence of a woman? She lifted her gaze to connect with his lusty leer.
 

“My offer still stands, you know.”

“Offer?”

“To exercise my husbandly duties in a strident attempt to prod my memory back to the present.” His eyes drifted to her chest.

 
Keelan dropped her voice to a whispered hiss. “And my reply still stands as well, Captain Hart. Until you remember how we met, or our first kiss, I’ll continue to decline. I won’t play a whore to a husband who doesn’t remember loving me.”

He laughed, shrugged, and handed her the spyglass. “Then we are at an impasse until your ‘brother,’ Conal, can confirm he witnessed our handfast vows.”

It was ironic, really. It had taken some time before she had believed Landon’s intentions were honorable enough to trust him with her heart. There’d been too many warnings given to her about men of the sea and their aversion to commitments to anyone but their captain and their vessel. She’d tried to resist his charms and the lure of his spirit, but there had been something more that had drawn them close, an unseen essence that pulled them together.

Landon had shifted from a free-roving bachelor to a man who earnestly bound himself to her. When that happened, she’d been able to let down her shield and open her heart and trust him.
 

The tides had turned.

He gestured to the left side of the ship. “We are windward-upwind-of the Brits and the
Glory
, meaning any squall off the coast will hit us first. I want you to study the shoreline. Look for gulls or pelicans,” he said.

“Why?” She put the glass up to her eye. A coastline of tan sand gave way to pale, shaggy clumps of grass. Farther away, a verdant green line of pine trees spiked toward the sky.

“When the wind picks up, you’ll be able to tell by the way the birds react to it.”
 

At her quizzical look, Landon explained further. “Instead of flapping their wings to move, they’ll be able to face the shore and hover in place while they scan the water for prey. It’ll seem as if they’ve been suspended from a string. Understand?”

At her nod, he headed back toward the helm, speaking over his shoulder. “Let me know immediately when that happens.”
 

Keelan made a face at her husband’s back. “Aye, Captain,” she muttered through clenched teeth.

How did she fall in love with such a conceited, lewd, arrogant scoundrel? The tall, broad shouldered man strode toward the helm like a panther prowling the jungle. His shirt was untucked but beneath it he had a lean tapered waist and strong muscular thighs. He was a handsome devil, to be sure, but he was not the Landon she had fallen in love with. This Landon Hart was a different man. Is this who he’d been five years ago? Bitter? Derisive? Wary?
 

Cold?

The pain in her heart stole her breath. Where was the man who’d fought pirates to save her? Where was the man who’d used his body as a shield protect her? Even when she’d chosen Dr. Garrison’s offer of marriage over his, Landon still returned for her and asked her to sail away with him. He’d not allowed his pride to stand in the way of his heart’s desire, then.
 

A quick movement beneath one of the guns drew her attention. Soon, a scruffy ear and a pair of green eyes peeked around a wheel as Louis crouched low and followed every move she made with those yellow-green eyes.
 

“You,” she said. “You’re another one who’s too proud to let down your guard.”
 

She reached into her pocket, pulled out a small chunk of cheese and broke off a bead-sized bite, then tossed it toward the cat. He pounced on the tidbit and promptly ate it, then sat up and stared at her.

“Oh, no.” She shook her head. “If you want more, you’ll have to ask nicely.” She pinched off another morsel and held it out.
 

Louis stared at her a moment, warily twitching his tail back and forth. After a moment, he rose and slunk toward her, like a tiger stalking prey. Keelan kept her perch on the barrel and waited. She dropped her hand down and let the cheese roll on her palm. When he reached the barrel, Louis studied her a moment before he stretched his front paws up the side until he could swat the cheese from her palm.
 

She smiled and wrinkled her nose at him. “See? I’m not as horrid as you think I am.” She broke off another small piece and nibbled it.
 

Louis licked his lips and sat down to contemplate her words. Or, more likely, wait to see if she would offer him another bite. When she ignored him, he sauntered around to the other side of the barrel and sat once more.
 

She still did not acknowledge him. He twitched his tail, impatiently.

Decision made, he leapt up to the barrel and rubbed his face on her arm then sat and gave her a soft yowl. She fed him another tiny piece, but didn’t try to touch him.
 

“So, the way to a cat’s heart is through his stomach, just like a man, is that it?” He pounced on the cheese and wolfed it down then licked his chops.
 

She turned her attention to the helm. Landon stood, legs braced wide. Strong shoulders. Powerful thighs. Large hands that caressed her skin as gently as a feather. An easy laugh and a good heart. A
good
heart, not a lecherous one.
 

Landon Hart might be cocky and self-centered on the outside but inside…
inside
, he believed in doing the right thing over the easy thing. He didn’t fear adversity or hard choices. Yes, he was proud and stubborn, but he was strong enough to admit when he was wrong.
 

That was
her
Landon.

But this one…if only she could find a way to help him remember
her
. Landon hadn’t given up on her when she’d rejected him. So, she’ll not give up on him. He fell in love with her once. He would fall in love with her again. She’d make sure of it.