Seductive Wager (31 page)

Kate’s fears were not put to rest by Brett’s glib reassurances. She suspected him of minimizing the danger to keep her from worrying, and from that moment her pleasure in the voyage was almost nonexistent. Still, when several days went by and no strange ships were sighted, Kate reluctantly admitted Brett must have been right, and she made up her mind to do what he said, to stop worrying and concentrate on enjoying the marvelous weather.

But that same afternoon, while she was practicing with her knife on the deck, a shout from the port guard brought the captain and Brett running to his position. Kate could see nothing at first, but finally she made out a tiny pinpoint on the horizon. She couldn’t believe that anyone could tell what kind of ship it was, much less whether it flew a friendly flag or not, but the captain and Brett seemed to have no doubt.

“Get below deck,” Brett ordered her abruptly after only a brief look. “And stay there until I send someone to tell you it’s safe to come up again.”

Kate went meekly because she realized there was little else she could do. If there was trouble, her presence on deck would just endanger others. Her porthole window was on the same side as the sighted vessel and she sat with her nose glued to the pane trying to see what a pirate ship actually looked like. As it grew closer, she strained her eyes to discover anything that would tell her if it was a friendly or dangerous ship. She was soon able to see the flag, but as she was unfamiliar with the flags of other countries, it didn’t help her at all. She could tell that it had one gun, but it was a small ship and the men on deck gave no evidence of hostile behavior or of even being interested in their ship.

One of them, a short, stout little man, was standing at the bow of the craft and occasionally raised a spy glass to his eye to inspect them more closely as they passed. It swept back and forth over the ship, never pausing in its arcs. Then suddenly it did stop, and for one unnerving second Kate was certain the glass was aimed directly at her. She quickly drew her face away from the window, but she continued to watch the man. Even though the glass resumed its sweeping arcs and the man put it away altogether after a little while, Kate could not rid herself of the feeling she had been seen. However, the ship did not come any closer and soon passed off over the horizon.

“The ship has gone on by, but I want you to stay here until we’re sure it hasn’t turned around,” Brett said when he came down a little while later. “It was a strange flag and they didn’t return our salute. The captain feels sure it was just one of the many private ships that abound along the coast and it holds no threat to us. One of the most dangerous things we can do is to let them know we have a woman aboard.” Kate drew in her breath sharply, but Brett smiled at her, and every thought of telling him she had her nose to the window left her head. His look melted her bones, and every time he smiled at her she was helpless for hours.

“One look at you and every pirate on the coast would be after us. I don’t know what they would do with the men, but I’m sure you would be destined for one of the great auction centers in Africa, maybe even as far away as Damascus.” Kate heard him in incredulous disbelief. “Do you realize the frenzy of excitement you would create? Half the potentates of the East would ransom their kingdoms to own a woman like you.”

Kate could not believe her ears. “Do you mean they would put me in a
harem?”
she asked.

“Probably. You might become the wife of some rich lord or the favorite concubine of a powerful soldier, depending upon who had enough money to buy you, but it’s most likely you’d end up as a favorite of some ruler.”

Kate was immobilized by shock and disbelief.

“Whatever they might like to do, I would resist with my last drop of blood,” Brett said, taking her hands in his and kissing her fingers lightly. “I have become very used to having you to myself, and I don’t think I could give you up now.”

But Kate was not listening to him. Several hours ago, even several minutes ago, his words would have been music to her ears, but her fears had moved her beyond the reach of caressing and flattering words. Her mind was racing with thoughts that only yesterday she would have dismissed as too fantastic to be given credence. A
harem!
A
concubine!
She wasn’t sure she had ever actually believed such things existed. She had always accepted them as part of the colorful stories people told about foreign places to make them seem more exotic and exciting. Now she discovered they not only existed, but if the British Navy wasn’t watchful, she might find herself in the ardent embraces of some olive-skinned Oriental potentate. Her mind refused to even begin to grapple with the situation.

The whole idea of being carried off into the desert by savages was too fantastic to be believed, but then two months ago she wouldn’t have believed any of what had happened to her since. It was as though she had been living in a dream, and instead of waking up to find that everything was foolish phantoms, she was sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss of the phantasmagoric. She sought to drive off the curious lassitude that threatened to overcome her, sapping the strength from her limbs and depriving her mind of its ability to function.

She felt the warmth of Brett’s lips on her fingers and the light pressure on her hands as he held them in his firm grasp. This at least was real, and she clung to him with a renewed sense of urgency. But if Brett’s kisses were real, then so were his words, and the dangers around her must be real too, no matter how impossible that would have sounded just a few days ago. It would be better to die than to face such a future.

She made up her mind to carry her knife with her at all times. Maybe she’d keep her pistols loaded, too. She didn’t know what good they would do, but they certainly wouldn’t be any help lying unloaded in their cases.

“I’ll send Charles for you when it’s time for dinner,” she finally heard Brett say. “I need to talk to the captain. We’ll be approaching Gibraltar soon and we haven’t made any plans for the landing.” Kate couldn’t understand why he was thinking about Gibraltar when there were pirates lurking all over the Mediterranean, but he put his arms around her and it didn’t seem quite so important anymore.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you. I’ve only just found you, and I mean to keep you with me forever, safe and sound.” He kissed her lightly. “Now try to get some rest. You’ll feel better if you can take a little nap.”

Kate smiled up at him. “All right,” she said. “I do feel a little tired.”

“I’ll make sure no one disturbs you.”

“You’re sure we’re not going to be attacked?”

“Yes,” he smiled at her, “I’m sure. Now lie down and try to put it all out of your mind. Think about Gibraltar instead.”

“Ill try,” she said. Brett kissed her lightly and left her to her thoughts.

Chapter 18

At dinner the captain made a few remarks about the incident and then dismissed it as unimportant. What did interest him was Brett’s proposed expedition to Gibraltar. He was certain Kate would be anxious to see that recently acquired station.

“It will be no problem to stop for the day. And the commander of the garrison can probably tell Mr. Westbrook something of the latest happenings in the Mediterranean. Positioned as he is, he can hear quite a lot about the movements of the lurks and Africans up and down the coast.” Even though Kate showed no more than a polite interest in seeing the famous station, he immediately made plans to stop.

“I’m sure I’ll enjoy the excursion,” she said, feeling she ought to show some appreciation for the captain’s efforts to please her, but it was difficult to imagine why she should become excited about looking at a big rock. After all, the rock itself couldn’t be interesting, and she could see more impressive vistas of the ocean from the ship.

The next day dawned clear and cool, perfect weather for the intended expedition. The commander welcomed them into his home and almost immediately sent them on their way before it became too hot. Kate agreed the views were magnificent, but having to walk so far took the edge off her pleasure. She didn’t have proper shoes for the rough ground and her feet hurt. They were throbbing painfully by the time everyone returned for lunch. With the commander’s wife’s encouragement, Kate took off her shoes and soaked them in warm water before it was time to eat.

During lunch, Kate got her first real information about the nature of Brett’s mission. Though she was unable to get a clear picture of the political ramifications from their random remarks, she did understand that Brett was supposed to somehow convince the dey of Algiers to stop harassing the French. The Foreign Office feared if the French put an army in Algeria, they would conquer it, and England was determined to keep France from increasing her colonial holdings. Losing the thread of conversation completely after that, Kate tried to talk to the commander’s wife.

But Kate’s life had been very isolated, and she soon found she didn’t know any of the people the commander’s wife knew, she had no knowledge of international events of the past few years, and she had never seen a play or been to a fashionable party. That effectively brought their conversation to an end.

It was with a sense of considerable relief that Kate rose from the table to return to the ship and her pistols. That was something she
did
know about, apparently more than was considered proper for a well-brought-up young lady. The commander’s wife had made no attempt to conceal her scorn for a young woman, however beautiful, who showed so little knowledge and interest in London and English political life, and who had no accomplishments to compensate for this lack. In her mind, weapons were vulgar and no young lady of breeding would aspire to learn to use them, or be foolish enough to admit it if she did.

Kate was made to feel ashamed of her poor education for the first time in weeks, but she was also angry at the woman for being so insensitive as to expose her ignorance and openly condemn it. With a little adroitness she could have talked of virtually anything else and spared her guest embarrassment.
If I’m ever an important hostess,
Kate thought angrily,
I will make it a point to see all my guests feel appreciated.

Kate returned to the ship with relief, and as they watched Gibraltar disappear in the distance, the sun turned the sky a fiery red with streaks of orange and purple running through it.

“It’s much more beautiful when seen at a distance,” Kate mused. “You’d never know it was just a hot rock that hurt your feet.”

“I don’t think you ought to tell the Foreign Office that,” Brett said, chuckling at her prosaic point of view. “They like to think they got a little more for their money.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it. There are times when a little ignorance is a good thing. Which reminds me …” she said, making an abrupt change of subject, “there’s one thing I’d like to be a lot less ignorant about, and that’s what you’re supposed to be doing on this mission of yours.”

“Ill explain it after dinner if you’re really interested,” Brett offered. “At least I’ll tell you as much as I’m allowed to tell anyone. Charles already has a general idea, but Mark knows less than you do. We can all gather in our cabin.”

Kate had never been more anxious for a dinner to end. The captain kept droning on about first one thing and then another, and Brett did nothing to discourage him. Usually Kate laughed at his stories as much as anyone else, but tonight she was in no mood for amusing anecdotes. Her curiosity about Brett’s mission was eating away at her composure even more than she had expected.

Kate had never forgotten Brett’s remarks about her being sold into a harem, and when the commander talked of Turkish activity in the Mediterranean, Kate’s interest was rekindled. Though she put less credence in the stories with each day they completed in safety, she wanted to know everything she could about the Turks. To her they seemed a nation of dangerous but terribly mysterious barbarians. She left the men to their brandy hoping Brett wouldn’t linger, but she didn’t expect him to hurry just because she was anxious to get started. Men never seemed to consider things like that, she thought to herself.

Mark arrived first, then Charles, and the three of them waited impatiently. Charles refused to tell her any of what he knew. “It’s not my story, Mrs. Westbrook, and I know Mr. Westbrook would rather tell it from the beginning.”

“That may be true,” Kate remarked irritably, “but he seems in no hurry to get started.” She paced the room, castigating the thoughtlessness of egotistical men in general and Brett in particular. When he finally did arrive, she pounced on him in such a fever of curiosity he burst out laughing.

“I didn’t mean to keep you waiting, but I never thought you’d be so interested in dry political maneuvering.”

“Not interested?” she echoed in amazement. “You drag me thousands of miles away from home, threaten me with pirates and sultan’s harems, say you’re going to leave me in a strange town where I don’t know a soul and can’t even ask for a glass of water, and you didn’t think I’d be
interested?”

“I’d never thought about it in quite that way,” he admitted with a disarming smile. “Sit down and I’ll tell you all I can, but I warn you, it’s going to be less interesting than you think.” He drew a chair forward for her and waited until she was comfortably seated before he began.

“My mission is easy to explain, but it may even now be too late. The commander at Gibraltar says the French already have a military force in Algeria, but he’s not certain it’s large enough to fight. If it is, and they have already engaged the dey’s troops, we might as well turn around and go home.”