The Captain's Lady Read online

  He pulled his hands away so quickly Alexis wondered if she had suddenly caught fire. He took a few steps backward. “You are not my prisoner,” he replied sharply.

  “Take me back.”

  “No.”

  “Then I am your prisoner.”

  “If you wish to term your stay aboard this ship as being in prison then you may do so,” he answered in a barely audible whisper. He tried to maintain his composure. He wanted to slap her for comparing his ship to a prison.

  “You will accept it also? That I am your prisoner?” She walked over to the heavy oak table and sat in the chair he had occupied. She picked at what remained of the orange on his plate, peeling back the skin slowly.

  He also sat down. Sighing he said, “I will accept it. Anything to see this conversation at an end. You are my prisoner.”

  Alexis heard the humoring tone in his voice and she refused to be humored. She put down the orange and held out her arms, crossing her wrists so they appeared to be bound by an invisible rope. “Lock me up.”

  Cloud sharply pushed back his chair. “What?”

  Alexis regarded him with the patience only a mother has for a child. “I assume you have a place on this ship where you keep men who have done something wrong. I want you to take me there.”

  “I won’t do it.”

  “But I am your prisoner.”

  “You know that isn’t true.”

  “Then take me back,” she repeated.

  “No.”

  “Then I am your prisoner.”

  “Damn! Are we back to that again? You are free to go anywhere you want,” he said.

  “Anywhere but where I have to go. This entire ship is a prison for me, Cloud. You don’t even have the decency to call it what it is. You balk when I ask you to lock me up. That would make it very real, wouldn’t it? You want me to pretend just as you do that I have my liberty. Well, I don’t, and since I do not I will do what any prisoner is obliged to do. I will escape.” She put her hands at her sides and waited to see if he would laugh at her decision. He said nothing, stretching his long legs and propping his boots on top of the table. He appeared to be thinking this over and for a moment she suspected he was actually considering her proposal.

  “I’m curious about something, Cloud. If I am not your prisoner, what exactly am I while on board?”

  “You are my guest,” he answered.

  “Hardly. I would prefer a different arrangement.”

  Cloud laughed. “I guessed as much. What arrangement would you like?”

  “I want to pay for my passage.”

  “I cannot accept money. This is not a passenger ship. We do not take on civilians.”

  “Then you do have a problem.” She smiled. “I am certainly a civilian. It is worse than that actually. I am not even American. Really I’m a British spy.” She said it seriously, then laughed at the thought.

  “Stop it. What do you want?”

  “I want to work off my passage. I know something about ships. I can be of help to you.”

  “And why should you want to do that?”

  “Because it would be helping me. Last night I thought every minute I stayed away from Tortola was a waste, but I see I can use this time. Since I am going to go after Captain Travers I will need to sharpen my skills. My crew will have to be able to trust and respect me. I think there are things I can learn from you and your men.”

  She just did not give up. Everything she said or did had Travers as the motive. And what did she know about a ship anyway? “I suppose your father taught you all about navigation from the inside of an office,” he said sarcastically. “Do you think your knowledge of running a line will help you command a ship?”

  “Not at all. George taught me a lot, but something else prepared me for what I want to do now.” She decided not to tell him about her voyage as a cabin boy until he was ready to hear it. “Do you have something I can do here?”

  Cloud was amused now. It was a small request and infinitely preferable to her suggestion of being locked up. He would give her some work and wear her down quickly. It would not be long before she gave up the idea that life on a ship was a romantic adventure. She would realize soon enough that going after Travers was only a temporary goal. Even as he thought it he wanted her to prove him wrong.

  “I think I can find something for you to do. Mr. Landis has been seeing to my personal needs for entirely too long. It is hardly befitting for my second in command. You may have the vacated position. My cabin boy. Do you know what your duties will be?”

  “I believe so,” she answered, barely suppressing her smile. “Where will I stay? I have used your quarters too long already. ”

  “I won’t give in on that, Alex. This is to be your room until we reach port. I have some of my things in the cabin forward of here. No, don’t argue. You will have earned the right to stay here. I’ll see to it.”

  “Good, Captain. Now if you will find me some proper clothes.”

  “But I brought your dresses and things from your home.”

  “Dresses are hardly appropriate attire for a cabin boy. No, I’ll need some trousers and a smaller shirt. You’ll get those things for me, won’t you?”

  “Certainly not. Don’t press the issue either or I may change my mind and take the job away.”

  Alexis smiled. “I won’t mention it again, but I think you’ll see the necessity of my request soon enough. I hope you will not be too stubborn to admit you were wrong.”

  “If you have nothing else to ask me, I suggest you get dressed and meet me on the forecastle. I will show you around the ship so you’ll know where everything is.” He stood and started toward the door. “I forgot to ask you,” he said, facing her. “Are you well enough to start immediately? I don’t want to be accused of putting an invalid to work.”

  “I can manage, Captain,” she replied. “And thank you.”

  That made Cloud laugh. “Save your thanks, Alex Danty. You may change your mind tomorrow.” He left her then.

  Alexis stared at the closed door. “We’ll see,” she murmured in her best imitation of Pauley. “We’ll see.”

  Chapter 5

  As the captain walked down the companionway, Alexis swung her legs over the arm of her chair and leaned back, thinking. He was so damned stubborn. Why couldn’t he admit he had been wrong for taking her away? Didn’t he realize that yet? She was no better than a prisoner, whether he thought so or not. And worse, she did not know her crime. He had said he wanted her. Was that why he insisted she go with him to Washington? Was she his prisoner because he found her desirable?

  She could imagine it would be very pleasant to have him touch her. She could almost feel his fingers, lean and strong, in her hair, at the nape of her neck, at her throat, her breasts, sliding down her arms…she stopped. She wanted him as much as he wanted her, but they would deny themselves until one admitted error. If only he would say he knew she would go through with her vow to find Travers in spite of every obstacle he set in her path, it would be enough for her. When he realized the only way to have her was to acknowledge her right to decide her own course, even if he was not ready to let her go, then she knew she would seek him out. She would join him in his bed when he understood he could not hold her prisoner there either.

  Alexis rose and washed her face in the basin on the commode then she braided her hair in one plait behind her head. After removing Cloud’s shirt and laying it aside, she found her lightest, most comfortable gown among those he had brought for her. It rubbed against her back but it was bearable. She found a pair of shoes with low heels suitable for wearing on a slippery deck, and when she had put them on she went to find the captain.

  Cloud had already told his men of the arrangement with Alexis and had insisted they treat her as one of them. He thought if they made no concessions for her she would stop insisting that she work off her passage. Beside him, as if reading his thoughts, Landis was muttering under his breath. Obviously, Cloud realized, John was not convinced
she would give up.

  When he saw Alexis walk across the deck toward him, he wondered if anyone, including himself, would be able to treat her as they would any cabin boy. She was lovely in her pale green dress and she moved forward in a manner that declared her a woman even while the single yellow braid and eager anticipation on her face named her a child. He watched her respond to the men who eyed her suspiciously with an icy glance that sent them back to work in short notice. Those who smiled and wished her good day received a ravishing smile in return. He wondered what kind of reception he was going to get from her.

  “Well, Captain Cloud,” she said when she stood in front of him. “I am ready for duty. What do you want me to do?”

  Cloud smiled at her seriousness, secretly applauding her determination. It seemed to surprise her. “I think I will take you on the tour I promised first. Then you can help Jack Forrest, our cook, with the meal. I’ll want to eat shortly after noon. You can bring it to my new cabin. Afterward you can move my things from your room to mine.”

  “Anything else? That will hardly keep me occupied for more than a few hours.”

  “Oh, there will be lots for you to do. The crew will see to it.” He held out his elbow. “Shall we?”

  “I wasn’t aware that captains offered their arms to cabin boys, sir.”

  Cloud dropped his arm to his side. “As you wish, Alex.” It was not going to be difficult to think of her as one of the crew. She was going to remind them of it every chance she had. He considered the fact that he may have been wrong about different clothes. The tour lasted more than an hour. He was surprised and pleased by the questions she asked. They told him she did know something about ships. When she appeared satisfied with everything he took her back to the galley and introduced her to Forrest. He left her alone to get acquainted with the surly cook by herself.

  Alexis and Forrest got along well from the beginning. He did not disguise his reluctance to have her around and she informed him by way of greeting that he maintained the worst galley she had ever seen. But they became friends quickly, and by afternoon the tall, lanky cook admitted he did not know how he’d gotten along without her.

  “Don’t you dare say it’s a woman’s touch, Forrest, or I will take a meat cleaver to that skinny neck of yours and show you exactly what a woman’s touch really is.”

  He laughed so heartily his meager frame trembled and his mouth formed the first smile she had seen him make. He had nothing but short grunts and tight grins even for the captain.

  “I wouldn’t dream of it, Alex!” he said, wiping grease from his hands on his trousers. “Where did you learn so much anyway? You’ve been on board a ship before, haven’t you? And I’m thinking it was not as a passenger either.”

  “Oi ’ave an’ it weren’t,” she said in a brash tone reminiscent of young Alex Danty.

  “Does the captain know?” he asked, handing her Cloud’s tray.

  “No, and don’t you tell him. He still doesn’t believe I’m serious about working for my passage, but that’s how I got from London to Tortola six years ago.”

  Forrest’s bushy black eyebrows raised in surprise and his low whistle was admiring. “But how? You couldn’t have been more than fourteen.”

  “I was thirteen and it was a lot easier then, hiding the fact that I was a girl.”

  The cook motioned her to be quiet. He heard someone coming. Landis walked into the galley.

  “It’s all right,” he said. “I heard what she said.” He looked at Alexis. “Your secret’s safe if that’s the way you want it, but I don’t understand why you won’t tell the captain.”

  “I will later. But he doesn’t think I can do it now. He will not believe I did it when I was thirteen.”

  “I take it you are not satisfied with my opinion of the captain as a good man.”

  “Oh, he is a good man, Mr. Landis, and from what I have seen he is an excellent commander. But he presumes to know what I want better than I do. We do not see eye to eye.”

  Landis laughed. “Well, things are not going to get any better for you if you don’t hurry with his lunch. He thinks you’ve given up already.”

  Alexis gripped the tray tightly and cast the two men a purposeful glance. “We’ll see about that.”

  When she left the galley Forrest shook his head slowly. “I don’t know about you, John, but I almost feel sorry for the captain. She is going to make his life miserable until he takes her back to Tortola.”

  “She told you about going after Travers?”

  “She did. Can’t say that I blame her. I can understand the captain not wanting to return her though. She’d end up killing herself going after him.”

  “Maybe,” said Landis, tugging at his beard thoughtfully. “And maybe not.”

  Forrest regarded his friend curiously for a moment, then he remembered his reputation. “John, get the hell out of my galley, will you? I got work to do.”

  Alexis knocked on Cloud’s door. When he answered she walked in briskly and placed his tray in front of him on a small table. “Do you want anything else, sir?”

  “Yes,” he said, annoyed. “Stop the sir. Captain or Tanner or Cloud is all that is necessary.”

  “Will there be anything else, Captain?” she asked blandly.

  “Some wine, Danty. You’ll find it in a cupboard in your cabin. Bring me the bottle and a glass.”

  Alexis nodded and obediently went to get the wine. Returning, she poured him a glass. “If there is nothing else, I would like to move your things. I will get your tray later.”

  “There is something else,” he said, peering at her with sharp green eyes over the rim of his glass. “Sit down.”

  Alexis pulled out a chair and did as she was told. She held her body rigid, hands folded in her lap. She returned his stare, willing herself not to be controlled by it.

  Cloud put down his glass. “Another, Danty. Pour yourself one if you want.”

  She refilled his glass but refused to take any for herself. “You said there was something else, Captain.”

  He nodded. “You never asked me what my men and I were doing on Tortola. Weren’t you curious?”

  “I was. I would have asked you this morning but our conversation took a decided turn for the worse. I didn’t want to know then, but I’ll ask you now. What were you doing on the island?”

  “I was sent there to arrange for your father to build us some ships.”

  “Oh.” She stared at him blankly.

  “Dammit!” Anger gripped him and he released it by throwing his glass across the room. “Doesn’t that help you understand why I cannot take you back? I have to get to Washington and tell my commander what happened. They will want to know as soon as possible there will be no ships coming from Quinton.”

  “It only explains why you won’t turn around now,” Alexis said calmly. “It does not explain why you ever took it upon yourself to take me in the first place.”

  “I already told you why. You needed medical attention.”

  “That is what you told me.” She leaned forward in her chair, putting her hands on the table, intertwining her slim fingers. She looked at him expectantly. “Cloud,” she said softly, liking the stressed intimacy of his name on her lips. “I asked you earlier what there was for me in Washington but I answered my own question. I said there was nothing. I have been thinking I would like you to answer that question. When I get to the United States I will still want to return to Roadtown. Will you help me?”

  “No.”

  “So what is there for me in Washington?”

  He drew in his breath.

  “I don’t know any longer. I only know I can’t let you go.”

  Alexis smiled tentatively, almost shyly at him. Her eyes searched his face and she was pleased to know he spoke the truth. “Thank you for being honest.” She wondered if he knew it was the thing she valued most.

  She stood, her posture resuming its former stiffness. She was the cabin boy in the presence of her captain. “Am I dis
missed now?” she asked.

  “Yes. When you come back to move my things be sure to clean up the glass.” He watched her leave. When the door shut he cursed softly under his breath. He knew then she was everything he wanted. He couldn’t let her go. Would she understand that he respected her for trying to fulfill her vow but that he could not allow it? He admired her strength, her determination, her honesty, and her beauty. How could he let her slip from his grasp?

  He remembered his own desire to escape from the prison of the British Navy. He had been punished for it twice and only Landis’s skills had saved him after the second flogging. But still he had tried a third time and he had made it. And why had escape been so important? The answers pressed against him with almost physical force. Because he had been taken against his will; forced to serve without regard to his liberty. What he had wanted to do with his life was not what the British wanted. Was that how she saw him? Was he the enemy to her? If that was true, then she had no choice but to escape from him. Still, he would do everything in his power to see that she failed.

  It did not take Alexis long to complete her assigned tasks. She began immediately after she heard Cloud leave his cabin and in a little more than an hour she was finished. She had cleaned his quarters, made up his bunk, and put his clothes away. She had taken special care in transferring his navigational charts and equipment. Even his liquor had been carefully removed from her cabin to his. When she was satisfied her work was completed she went back to the deck to ask what other chores he had for her.

  She saw Landis first and went to him. “Captain Cloud—where is he? He might have something for me to do.”

  “He is in the hold, checking some crossbeam supports,” he replied. “Some of them are rotting. He won’t be needing you for a time now.”