In Deep (11 page)

“You agreed to sail into the one port where they want to hang you?” Maxfield was bold enough to bring his fist down onto the table, shaking the instruments out of place.

“No.” Connor gave him a stern look of warning. “I agreed to take her to the Colonies. I didn’t realize it was Georgetown at the time.” Of all the large seaports she could want to go, how was he supposed to know it was the one small spot he needed to avoid?

Maxfield folded his arms over his chest. “You should have asked.”

“I am aware of that.” Connor made sure his glare conveyed that Maxfield was close to pushing him too far. “I wasn’t thinking all that clearly at the time.”

“I wonder what could have had you so distracted that you didn’t think
all that clearly
.” Maxfield sniffed. “It’s not like you to be so careless.”

After a pause, his first mate searched his face. “It’s the woman, isn’t it?” At least his tone was quieter now and less impertinent.

“Yes.”

“What is she to you, then?”

“That, Mr. Parrish, is my business.” Connor looked down his nose at Maxfield. It was his own fault he’d indulged Maxfield too much. “Careful, now. She is a guest on my ship and a lady. That is all you need to know.”

Still, Maxfield persisted. “You can’t expect me to sit back and let her sail us into your death.”

“I have not lost all my senses yet.” Connor narrowed his eyes at Maxfield. “I will think of something. I do not plan to go to the devil any time soon, even if we are sailing toward hell.”

At that, Maxfield sat back, avoiding Connor’s glare in a sign of defeat. Silence stretched between them; silence so charged with unspoken words and hidden import that Connor could almost touch it, cut it into slices, and feast on it.

“I would not want to lose you, sir,” the young man whispered at last.

There was more meaning in that than Connor wanted to deal with at the moment. He had too much on his mind to worry about Maxfield’s moodiness right now. In Maxfield he’d found a complementary spirit. Connor had helped him understand who he was, and in the process their relationship went beyond what was normal for a captain and his closest officer. The young man was nosing around where he shouldn’t be. Hell, those were recesses of Connor’s mind even he himself didn’t dare to tread right now.

“And how is Drusilla? Did you have a letter while we’ve been docked?” At the mention of his fiancée, Maxfield blushed. Connor knew the guilt associated with what she didn’t know about her would-be husband served to stop the mate’s previous thoughts in their tracks.

“She is well.”

“Good. Well, back to your duties, Mr. Parrish. I don’t want one bad word about our guest and our destination from you or the crew. Is that clear?”

Maxfield rose from the table and bowed his head. “Yes, sir.”

Connor also stood and they made their way back to the deck.

As they walked past Black, one of the older crew members checking the rigging to the mizzenmast, Connor heard a slightly disgruntled murmur. He couldn’t make it all out, but the words “woman,” “bode ill,” and “you’ll see” were clear.

Connor just shook his head. He should be stern with him. But the man was in his last years and still refused to leave the sea. So Connor tried another tack first. “Mr. Black, a word, if you please.”

“Yes, Capt’n.” The older sailor turned and stepped closer.

“Did you see my guest come aboard?”

“Aye, Capt’n. May I say, she’s very lovely, sir.”

Connor waved that aside and instead wrapped his arm around the wiry older man as if he was imparting a great confidence. “Keep an eye out for me, will you? She is so lovely that I think she might just be a selkie. I’ve a mind to find her seal skin and keep her.” Acting surprised now, Connor leaned back, regarding Black with exaggerated suspicion. “Now don’t you go trying to beat me to it.”

The wizened sailor looked at him as if he’d gone insane.

“What? You don’t believe in legends like selkies, Mr. Black?”

The old man stepped from one foot to the other, reluctantly shaking his head in the end.

“Well, I do suppose selkies and all those other superstitions about women and the sea are really just rubbish to talented, dedicated sailors like us.” Connor gave him a friendly slap on the back as he stepped away.

“Aye, Capt’n.” Black nodded quickly and went back to work.

Mr. Parrish was standing by the wheel when Connor joined him. Watching the flurry of activity, he followed Maxfield’s gaze and saw both Winston and Jaidyn walking their way. “How is Mr. Matthews fitting in?”

“Very well, sir. He seems to be an able seaman.”

“Good.” He turned to Mr. Matthews as they arrived. “I trust our cargo is secure and safe?”

Jaidyn piped in before Winston had a chance to answer. “Yes, May Hem is well as can be aboard ship again after what she suffered the last time.”

With a curt nod Connor dismissed both Mr. Matthews and Maxfield. “Back to work, gentlemen.” They both headed off to their duties.

Jaidyn turned to watch the harbor as it grew smaller. Connor joined her, covering her hand on the railing with his own. “It must be hard for you too?”

“I’ll be fine, truly.” She eased her hand from under his. “Thank you for bringing May Hem. I don’t know what to say. I had planned on trying to send for her as soon as I could.”

“It was my pleasure.”

“It was a surprise to see Winston on board also.” She spoke hesitantly like she wasn’t sure if he’d object to her mentioning their friendship.

But now that he knew that truth of how Winston had saved her, he only felt gratitude toward him. “It’s nothing, really. When I spoke to him at the Jolie Rouge last night to talk about your horse, I may have mentioned that my pilot had recently retired. And he may have mentioned he was available.” He shrugged his shoulders in a dismissive gesture.

“Just as well. It’s nice to see another familiar face.” No matter what she said, Connor knew this couldn’t be easy for her.

If she only knew just how hard their destination made it for him. But Connor knew just what he was going to do to distract them both from their worries. If they were sailing to his possible destruction, he was damn sure going to make sure they both enjoyed the ride. Those figure-eight coils of thin twisted rope and the set of unused leather straps he’d asked Maxfield to find him last night and that were now resting on the rolltop desk in his cabin would be just the beginning.

The world shifted hard to one side, groaning in pain. Then the awful sound of splitting wood woke Jaidyn seconds before Annie burst into the room. Still groggy, Jaidyn couldn’t understand what the maid was screaming about or why she’d grabbed her and was shaking her with so much force.

“They’ll take you! They’ll take you! We must do something!”

There were shouts overhead Jaidyn couldn’t understand. And fireworks.

Fireworks?

“Please, miss, please! Wake up! We must do this quickly.”

The ship lurched again. Jaidyn was on her feet but stumbled, falling hard into her trunk. Things were so loud and jumbled, she had to cover her ears.

Forcing Jaidyn’s hands away from protecting herself, the maid dragged her back up on her feet. “Don’t you understand, we’ve been boarded by the French and they will take you if they know you’re a lady! You must put my spare dress on so they don’t know who you are. Quickly, now!”

Jaidyn struggled to understand. Why wouldn’t the fog in her mind lift?

“Damn the laudanum,” the maid cursed. “Please, miss, listen! Put this dress on and hurry!”

The world spun in loud, crashing circles. The next thing she knew, Jaidyn was dressed as her maid and Annie pushed her out of her cabin into the blood-covered hands that grabbed her and dragged her on deck.

She sat with some others, she didn’t know who, huddled against the biting wind on the aft deck. Her eyes fell on the captain. He lay there, not five feet in front of them. A growing bloodred blotch over his chest colored his pristine shirt. His eyes were staring, unblinking, empty. Dead. Jaidyn’s stomach lurched.

A well-dressed woman appeared, looking regal and obscenely out of place. It took much longer than it should have for Jaidyn to recognize her own new emerald day dress and ermine-lined traveling cape. What was happening?

“My lady.” A man bowed to place a slobbering kiss on the woman’s knuckles. “Rest assured you have nothing to fear from us. I will personally guarantee you safe passage to your father.” His thin lips split into a lecherous grin.

Still petrified, Jaidyn shook her head. What was this? They were under the impression … mistaking Annie for her! Jaidyn stood on shaking legs, determined to right the wrong and to wipe that disgusting grin off the man’s face in the process. “Annie? What is this?”

Turning around, the maid stared down her aquiline nose at Jaidyn. The look in her eyes was unlike anything Jaidyn had ever seen before on her. It was foaming with icy contempt. Loathing so strong it felt like a physical punch to Jaidyn’s stomach.

“Why are you wearing–” Sudden agony numbed Jaidyn’s mind, crimson dots scuttling around blindingly white stars. She fell to the deck. The whole side of her face exploded in pain as her own mother’s ruby ring broke her skin.

“You bitch,” her maid hissed, small droplets of spittle showering Jaidyn’s face. “What a lousy maid you are to see to your own safety and leave your mistress behind.” Pivoting on her heel, she stomped away but not without one last snarl. “Set her adrift with the rest.”

The disgusting man wearing that awful tricorn stepped up to her, his dirty hands cupping Jaidyn’s chin, turning her head from side to side for closer inspection. His face was pockmarked, his breath foul, his touch revolting. Jaidyn slapped his hand away.

“Feisty little thing. Pretty, too. We’ll find a better use for you.” Jaidyn fought not to gag. He let her hear his nasty cackle then looked up at his minions. “Take her and what other belongings we might use.”

Fighting with all her might against those hands coming at her from all sides, Jaidyn tried to fill her lungs with enough air to let out an ear-splitting scream. But to no avail. Those hands made it impossible for her to move, to breathe, to–

With a start, Jaidyn woke. Her limbs were entangled in the blanket, her body covered with a sheen of cold sweat. She was back on the
Brightstar
, her mind howled, her instincts screeching for her to get up and take flight.

Finally, she woke enough to realize where she was. She was vastly grateful she hadn’t found her voice and screamed. It wouldn’t do for anyone to come running, thinking she was hurt. It would be too hard to explain.

Jaidyn rubbed her face to help her weary mind scatter that appalling memory.

Connor had insisted she take the time to rest and refresh herself. But she hadn’t wanted to leave the deck. Somehow she’d felt calmer above where she could see everything that was happening and scan the horizon for other ships.

It was silly, really. She was so much wiser now than she’d been on her first journey.

Connor had nearly dragged her down here earlier. She’d sat on the bed only to appease him, but when he was gone, her lids became heavier by the minute. Rising so early that morning coupled with the emotional whirlwind of late, Jaidyn hadn’t realized how tired she’d really been.

Sitting up on Connor’s bed now, Jaidyn stared out of the large bank of windows at the ship’s stern. She was on board the
Coraal
and she was safe. Connor wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

Well, not anything that he didn’t do himself, but that was a whole different set of worries.

Rising, Jaidyn went to the washstand. She splashed her face with water to dilute the last remains of that recurring nightmare. When reaching for a towel, her gaze fell on the tiny knob in the wall right next to her.

It wasn’t just a knob, it was attached to a door. She’d nearly missed it because it was almost completely hidden by Connor’s coat hanging from a hook. Jaidyn couldn’t help but give in to the urge to see what that door hid. When she turned the doorknob, a small alcove opened, and to her surprise she saw that tiny space set into the wall boasted a small copper bathtub.

Well, she might not have more to wear than those three old-fashioned dresses Madame Poivre had kindly provided her with, but now she knew she could at least take a bath whenever she wanted to. Like now.

The tub wasn’t very big, so Jaidyn used what water she had in the washstand pitcher. She shed her garments and took a quick sponge bath that left her feeling refreshed and more in command of her senses. After donning a fresh chemise and a pale green gown with lace the color of salmon around the neck and petticoats, she set out to brush her hair until it was shiny.

Leaving the recess of the captain’s dormitory through the opening in the folding doors, which Connor had drawn to give her some privacy, she now stood in the middle of the captain’s cabin.

It might not be huge, but that was understandable. The
Coraal
wasn’t a huge, cumbersome ship either. To her left she saw a rolltop desk and wondered if that was where all his sailing instruments were kept. To her right was a table with nautical charts neatly rolled and secured.

Jaidyn sat down, tracing the outlines of islands and other strange markings on the open sea map in front of her with one finger.

It was a strange feeling to be finally on her way to Georgetown. She could almost sense her new home getting closer with each passing minute. Jaidyn understood now more than ever that she mustn’t let her feelings for Connor grow. They were too deep already as it was.

She felt protected–something she hadn’t experienced in a long time. Jaidyn also felt …
treasured
, she supposed was the word that fit best, in a way. Somehow Connor had discerned her secret wish and had brought May Hem here. Before that she’d learned he’d hired Winston away from those thuggish buccaneers. His actions …

Yes, well, perhaps he was a good man, but that didn’t change anything. She had wrongs to right and obligations to fulfill once they landed. If circumstances were different, maybe–