Ransome's Quest (36 page)

W
ill you please stop mumbling to yourself?” Charlotte tossed the coat and waistcoat into her sea chest and slammed the lid shut. She stepped to the door between the sleeping quarters and the day cabin. “Either speak aloud or keep your thoughts inside your head.”

Everything about the cabin, the ship, and even Charlotte annoyed Ned this morning. “What I said was I wish you would have let me know you were planning to stay in the sick berth the entire night.” He threw the wardrobe door open hard, and it banged against the wall.

“How was I to know two of the men would become violently ill and I would need to stay?” Had her voice always been so shrill? “At least you were able to get a good night’s sleep. I was awake all night cleaning up sick.”

Ha! Sleep? Worrying about where she was, about who might be discovering her true identity through the guise of Charles Lott? How was he supposed to sleep? Besides, he’d never even gotten to kiss her last night.

He fought to get his arm through the sleeve of his uniform coat. One of the buttons popped off the cuff, hit the floor with a
thump
, and rolled under the desk. An oath popular amongst the sailors nearly popped out of his mouth, but, with a quick glance at Charlotte, he stifled it and something nonsensical came out under his breath.

She clenched her fists, closed her eyes, and her whole body shook for a brief moment. “Stop doing that!”

Ned bent down to retrieve the button, but his fingers were too thick to reach it.

“Oh, move out of the way.” Charlotte pushed his shoulder, knelt down, and easily swiped her finger under the desk to fish out the button. Muttering to herself—it was fine, apparently for her to do it, but not him—she opened the valet drawer in the wardrobe and withdrew needle and thread. Without speaking to him—but continuing to mutter to herself—she grabbed his arm and sewed the button back onto the sleeve while he still wore the coat. She bit the thread off with her teeth and returned the sewing implements to the drawer, which she closed none too softly.

“Now, if that is all,
Captain,
sir, I came back up here hoping to get some sleep finally.” She shooed him toward the door with a waving motion of her hands. “So if you will go about your business, I’ll be fine here on my own.”

He would strangle her. It would stop the ringing in his ears and make him feel much better. “No. Orders from your brother. You are to attend me to
Alexandra.”

Her mouth dropped open. “When?”

“Now.”

“Now?”

“Yes. Now.”

“But I have not slept all night. I smell like the sick berth, and I have nothing to wear in which I’m fit to be seen.”

Ned dug his fingers into his hair and squeezed his temples between the heels of his hands. “I have not slept all night, either. And you are not going to a ball, so put something on. We should have left near half an hour ago. I don’t care that he is your brother. Commodore Ransome is my commanding officer and I must obey my orders.”

Charlotte looked down at the loose white blouse and indigo trousers she was wearing and then returned to the sleeping cabin.

Ned closed his eyes against the sound of the renewed slamming of her sea chest’s lid. He glanced toward the brandy decanter left behind by Captain Parker. Ned had not touched it before now, and only the earliness of the hour kept him from doing so.

Charlotte entered, buttoning her uniform coat. “I lost my hat when I went out on deck to save Kent.”

“You will not need it. Let’s go.” He grabbed her hand and dragged her from the cabin.

In the wheelhouse the marine guard, the sailing master and his mates, and the midshipman and lieutenant of the watch all looked conspicuously away from Ned and Charlotte. Lovely. His men had heard them arguing.

As soon as they got back to Kingston, Ned would find out what it would take to get their marriage annulled. Because he was not certain it was legal, he hoped it would take nothing more than burning the marriage certificate he and Charlotte had signed.

“You’re doing it again.” Charlotte yanked her hand from his grasp when they reached the entry port. She turned and put her foot down to find the first slot of the accommodation ladder.

“What?”

“Muttering.”

“You do it too.”

Charlotte gasped. “I do not!”

Ned rolled his eyes and sighed. After she disappeared down the side, he started down after her.

“Wait! You’re going to step on me.”

He growled deep in his throat. “Go faster.”

“You go slower.”

Ned looked down, over his shoulder. In the boat below, Lieutenant Martin and the crewmen stared up at him and Charlotte, wide-eyed.

What must they think of Acting Captain Ned Cochrane now? Doubtless that he could not control his wife or a wayward midshipman, whichever they thought Charlotte to be. Either way, their opinion did not bode well for his continued leadership aboard
Audacious.

Except to give his men commands, neither he nor Charlotte spoke on the trip across the bay to
Alexandra.
At one point, he thought he saw her eyes drift closed as if she were dozing off, but when she opened them—slowly—and noticed him watching, she turned her face away from him.

He sent her up the side of
Alexandra
first and followed behind. She stood just beyond the entry port when he attained the deck, rubbing the top of her left arm, her brows pinched.

“Welcome aboard, Captain Cochrane. Commodore Ransome is waiting for you in his quarters.” Lieutenant Campbell touched the fore point of his hat.

Ned returned the salute. “Thanks, Angus.” He settled his hand on her lower back to move her toward William’s cabin and leaned close. “Is your arm paining you?”

She dropped her right hand. “Only a little. From climbing the ladders.”

“When we return, I could have them use the bosun’s—”

“No. I am well enough to make use of the ladders.”

Ned smiled to himself. That was the Charlotte he loved—the one with spunk and spirit, not one to give in to a minor injury, such as getting shot.

“William does not need to know of my injury,” she whispered as they crossed into the shade of the wheelhouse.

“I fully agree.” No need to let his commanding officer know he’d let the man’s sister place herself in the path of incoming fire from an enemy vessel.

The marine guard stepped aside for Ned to knock on the door. Dawling let them in and then led them around the dining table and into the day cabin.

“Julia!” Charlotte rushed toward her sister-in-law, who sat, rather stiffly, in one of the straight chairs at the large round worktable. William caught Charlotte with one arm around her waist.

“It is all right, William.” Julia reached her left hand out to Charlotte, and William released his sister. “I have several cracked ribs, and William did not want you accidentally hurting me.”

Charlotte took Julia’s hand and leaned over to kiss her cheek before kneeling by her side. “I was so worried about you. When we found out that Shaw had you…” She pressed Julia’s hand to her cheek.

“Captain Cochrane,” Julia inclined her head at him; Ned bowed. “It is good to see you again.”

“Mrs. Ransome, I am relieved you are safe and well. Except for the cracked ribs, of course.”

“Captain Cochrane,” William said, “I do not believe you have met my brother, Captain James Ransome.”

“James!” Charlotte jumped up, spun around, and flung herself at her brother, who groaned, staggered, and then put his arms around his sister.

“’Tis good to see you too, little sister.” The similarity between James and William astonished Ned. He wondered if the third brother resembled them so greatly.

She stepped back and reached up to touch the scars across his cheeks. “How came you to be here?”

James and Julia exchanged a dark look. “It is a long story, Charlotte, that must wait for another time.”

“What’s wrong with your voice? Are you ill?” Charlotte ran her hand down his waistcoat, as if trying to feel his lungs for sickness.

“A throat malady, but nothing catching.” James smiled, but his expression seemed forced.

Julia started to rise. William was instantly at her side to offer his assistance. Charlotte did the same on her other side. Julia smiled at her and Ned. “Dr. Hawthorne gave me some laudanum to take, but I wanted to wait to see you first.” She tucked a lock of Charlotte’s hair behind her ear. “Your hair is growing back so fast. Perhaps by your wedding it will be long enough that we can do something with it.”

Charlotte looked at Ned, William, James, and then back at Julia. “Our wedding?”

“Yes, in the chapel at Tierra Dulce. I believe it will be good to wait for the banns to be read—not that for the two of you it would matter here. It will give us time to plan the wedding breakfast properly and give our neighbors time to plan to attend.” Julia pressed her hand to her right side, pain clouding her face, and she leaned into her husband’s side. “And until we reach home, Charlotte, you will stay here on
Alexandra
with us.”

Charlotte shook her head, but Julia was not looking at her. She looked instead at William, who in turn looked at Ned.

“Captain Cochrane, I will make it an order if I must.”

Ned thought back to the half hour past—the way Charlotte’s shrill voice rubbed on his nerves like a holystone against the deck, the way she disobeyed and countermanded him, the way she scolded him for doing things she herself did, the way his men heard all of it. Perhaps it would be better if Charlotte traveled back to Kingston aboard
Alexandra
.

He straightened under the stern eye of his commanding officer. “Commodore Ransome, Mrs. Ransome, you must do what you think is necessary, of course. I know you are concerned for her welfare and reputation. I am also.”

Charlotte’s face fell from expectation to disappointment.

“So Charlotte will stay with me on
Audacious.
She is my wife.”

Charlotte Cochrane loved her husband very, very much. She couldn’t show him how much with her two eldest brothers standing there staring at her, but she would find a way, somehow, to let Ned know just how much she appreciated how he stood up to William so they could stay together.

“We will discuss this later.” William helped Julia into their sleeping cabin.

So that was where Ned had picked up that phrase—from William. She wondered if William liked lecturing Julia as much as Ned liked lecturing her.

With just James left in the room with them, Charlotte crossed to Ned and wrapped her arms around his middle. “Thank you. And I am sorry about our quarrel earlier.”

He squeezed her back. “I as well.”

They dropped their embrace when William returned moments later. He closed the door to the sleeping quarters and came back to stand in front of the worktable, arms crossed. “Why were you so long in responding to the orders to report to
Alexandra?”

“That is my fault, William.” Charlotte stepped in front of Ned. “I had been down in the sick berth all night attending the sick and injured, and I had to get cleaned up and changed before we could come.”

William looked down at her uniform with an arched brow. “Changed?”

“Out of my soiled uniform into this one. They are the only garments I have left. Fortunately, my sea chest remained behind on
Audacious
when I came to
Alexandra
in Barbados, so all of my belongings are still there.”

Her brother did not seem to find this news as cheerful as she did. His lips pinched together. “Perhaps Captain Witherington has more women’s clothing he would be willing to part with.”

“Those gowns are for his fiancée.” Charlotte swiped her hair back behind her ears. “Besides, they are far too big on me. You saw how long the blue dress is on Julia, and she is much taller than I. I wore it once when I was Captain Sal—Captain Witherington’s guest.” So everyone now knew that Salvador was actually Julia’s brother. Good. She liked him very much and was glad to now call him family.

“We shall discuss this later.” William called for his steward.

Dawling appeared almost immediately. “Aye, Com’dore?”

“Pass word for Dr. Hawthorne.”