Authors: Heather Manning
Reed moved over to the porthole where he stood on the tips of his toes and peered out, no doubt watching what he could of the battle.
"He does not like me." She laughed nervously. "I can tell he does not. In his eyes, I am merely a stowaway, a criminal. He probably would not even consider me his friend. There are no feelings between us."
The lady pouted. She was quite a beauty, but, of course, Caspian had some sort of claim on the woman already.
"Ah, but I am afraid you are incorrect in that, milady. I have never seen him like this, not even with Isabelle. Caspian practically worships you when you are around… He speaks so well of you all the time. The man has fought duels with the crew to defend your honor. I do not know if he has told you of that, but I do know he truly likes you. Really, I would not be at all surprised if it is love. I suspect you might have similar feelings for the man yourself." Oh, how he missed teasing Addie, his sister about such things growing up. Until he left to sail with Caspian and she was married off to the highest bidder.
Her face grew pink, making her even prettier than before. He could see why Caspian loved her.
"He-he truly doesn't like me, Mr. Thompson…" She objected.
"Ah, milady, what is the sense in lying to yourself? Anyone can plainly see he holds affection for you."
The ship shook from yet another cannon being fired, and he heard the crack of wood. Lady Trenton shivered.
Gage took her warm hand in his and squeezed it. Normally, he would never touch a lady in such a forward way, but she needed comforting, and he viewed her like a younger sister. The corner of his eye caught Reed scooting over to sit beside Eden.
"How old are you, Lady Trenton?" Gage inquired. A brotherly urge to brush away the dark lock of hair that was in her eyes made him move his hand to do so, but he quickly stopped it. He was used to brushing hair out of his younger sister, Addie's eyes, but it would not do with Lady Trenton, although the young woman reminded him of his Addie.
Gage removed his hand from hers. Caspian would be furious if he knew Gage was taking such liberties with his woman, even if he was only doing it to comfort her. She appeared quite flustered.
"I am eighteen."
He felt his heart sink for this poor dear. She was so young, far too young to be running away to a foreign island all own her own, even if she was a year or two older than his sister.
A terrible c
runching
of wood sounded, followed by the roaring of men. They had been hit.
Neither spoke for a moment. Then Lady Trenton broke the silence, "But what has happened to you, sir? How has a gentleman like you ended up as a first mate on a pirate ship?" The lady was sweet to ask a question like that. She would get along well with Addie if the two ever met.
The girl jumped when another cannon boomed. Reed wrapped an arm around her waist and laid his head on her shoulder.
Gage sighed. The lady would not want to hear his life story, but he decided to pour it out to her anyway. Perhaps it would take her mind off of the blasts and screams all around them. "Well… let us just say I did not have the best of beginnings. My home was not a loving one. From the start, my parents had an arranged marriage. Father left us after my mother found out she was going to have another child. Apparently, after knowing me, he didn’t want another baby. When Mama died a few years after giving birth to my sister, Caspian's family found me wandering the streets with a little girl and took us in."
Gage stopped. He had not met a true lady before. Well, not counting his tough little sister. By the shocked look on Lady Trenton’s face, he realized he probably should not speak of such matters in front of a refined woman like her. The lady probably could not even imagine what life had been like for him. She most likely did not know anything but her pampered, well-provided life in her English manor where she had countless servants at her beck and call. She would not understand what life was like for him and Addie in the colonies, adopted by a family where the father disliked him and the mother only took pity on him, never truly loved him. The only family he had ever had was little Addie.
He stood abruptly. "Forgive me, milady. I should not speak of such things to you. Surely it is a most improper thing to speak of. I apologize." The abrasive sound of men cheering and yelling sounded above. Gage suspected his reliable captain had just garnered another victory. This time, though, it was against Moore. Caspian was no doubt ecstatic.
She glanced up at the ceiling, her eyebrows drawn together, but she continued speaking, "Nay, sir; it is perfectly all right. It is not your fault that that is what happened to you. I am sorry your life was so rough-" She was interrupted by a knock sounding on the door.
Gage tensed. He did not want trouble from one of the sailors. Finally, he reached for his cutlass and approached the door. “Enter,” he called.
He opened the door to discover Johnstead. A grin lit his wind-cracked face.
"Cap'n wishes me to inform ye that we defeated 'em." Johnstead announced, licking his lips when he caught sight of Lady Trenton.
“Captain Archer defeated them?” Lady Trenton leaned forward to look at Johnstead from where she sat.
“Aye, milady.”
Lady Trenton smiled, and Reed cheered. Gage could not stop a grin from spreading across his own face.
"Thank you, sir." Gage pushed the man out the door and then assisted the lady to her feet and led her up the companionway, little Reed trailing behind.
Chapter Eleven
No. He was not in his room. Where on earth could William be? Ivy prayed Lord Rutger had not returned. Egad, what if the horrible man had come back and taken William… or… worse? What if he had killed him like he had promised he would just a fortnight ago? She chastised herself for even thinking of abandoning her dear brother. He was only three years old.
Where could he be? If she could just find where Lord Rutger was, she was certain she could find William… If she could just find where Lord Rutger had taken him…
"Ivy. Ivy… wake up!" Aimee's startled, sleepy cry broke into Ivy’s nightmare. She felt her friend shaking her.
"I'm awake…" Ivy muttered, forcing her groggy eyes open. Aimee was leaning over her, a worried look marring her perfect features.
"Are you all right, Ivy? You were screaming, and then you started to cry. I thought something was terribly wrong. I was so frightened."
"Oh… I am fine, Aimee.” Ivy had to put up a brave front for Aimee. The girl had always been the baby of the friends, and Ivy did not want her to be worried. “Well, I had a nightmare, 'tis all. About Will. I should never have left him alone like that. I’m horrible. What kind of older sister am I to him?"
"William is fine, Ivy. You left him with your parents. He will be all right.”
"Yes, but once Papa hears I have run away to find Eden without even asking him for his permission, he will be furious.” He knew little about children. Her mother had become sick a few months after the child’s birth, and Ivy could not help but wonder if anyone would take care of little William without her there. She shuddered, praying for her darling brother’s safety. Ivy truly was the only person who could be relied on to keep her younger brother out of harm’s way. “And Mama is sick, Aimee. Mama will be too worried about me and too weak to take care of him properly. Oh, I should never have done this, Aimee. I was not thinking properly when I decided to come along." Ivy threw her hands out in exasperation. She jumped to her feet and moved to look out the cabin’s tiny porthole.
"You just have to trust your family, Ivy. William will be perfectly fine without you there to watch his every move. He will be all right.”
****
As soon as Eden placed a foot on the main deck, Caspian rushed over to her with a brooding expression on his face. He lifted her chin with his index finger as if searching for something on her face. "I trust that you remain unharmed, milady?"
Reed ran to the railing and leaned forward to look at the sea rushing past their hull.
"Yes. Yes, of course I am perfectly fine. I am not some weak, little thing that needs to be checked on every couple of hours and then hidden away at the first hint of danger," she snapped, slapping his hand away. The captain had had no business in sending her below earlier. Eden could fend for herself. She did not need any man to protect her. She never would, ever again.
"Good." He frowned at her and then nodded for Mr. Thompson to leave. Reed followed him. Once the man and boy were out of sight, Caspian leaned toward Eden, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Mr. Thompson treated you well? That is what I meant when I asked if you were unharmed."
"He was a perfect gentleman, sir." She flicked a long curl of hair from her face as if it were an annoying insect.
"I trusted he would be. I apologize I didn't go below with you myself, but as the captain, I was clearly needed above to guide the men in battle."
"But why did I even have to go below? It looks like there was no damage done to the ship. I would have been perfectly safe up here. You were here, Captain. Why couldn't you protect me if I am such a weak little thing in so much need of protecting?" All she ever had been was a small, weak woman who needed to be protected by the men in her life. Well, one of the men in her life who was put there to protect her had done just the opposite. And the other one had promised her life to that very monster.
The captain’s face blotched red with anger, and his jaw twitched to some rhythm she could not hear.
"Because, woman, I will not have you dying on my account!" he yelled, garnering the attention of a few crewmembers.
They stood and gawked while Eden chewed on her bottom lip, trying to ignore their prying stares. Moisture filled her eyes, and she knew she was trembling.
She squeezed her eyes shut tight, preparing to feel the impact of a fist on her cheek or her shoulder.
She should have never evoked the captain’s temper, for she realized it must be just as potent as Lord Rutger's or worse, reasoning he was a rough pirate captain. What a fool she was to ever think he would not hurt her. After all, he was a man. The muscles on his arms were twice the size of Lord Rutger’s, and his chest was much more powerful. Why, he probably would not think twice about striking her the same as he would a disobedient sailor. Indeed, she should not have made him angry. Oh, why did she always fail to keep her big mouth shut?
What a foolhardy mistake!
He shouted something indistinguishable at his crew, and Eden pried one eye open when she was not struck. She flinched when the captain reached out to touch her arm. "No, milady, you are quite safe. Let's move to the cabin. We are causing a scene." He wrapped his strong arm around her waist and practically dragged her to his cabin where he set her gently on the bed. Eden scrambled to a sitting position and drew her knees tight to her chest. It would not do to have her lying there, defenseless.
She wanted to be prepared for the coming beating even if she would be unable to protect herself against a powerful man like Captain Archer. She never had been able to before.
****
The fact Moore had run away like a scared dog with its tail between his legs before a real battle had even begun did not matter to Caspian anymore. After he had seen Eden cower when he had raised his voice, nothing mattered but making her realize she was safe with him.
He took up a pace in front of the endearing girl. Why on earth was she just sitting there, crying?
Finally, she spoke. "P-please just s-strike me now, sir. I know you are cross with me. I cannot bear to sit here in silence knowing what will come in any instant. Do not prolong it. J-just get it over with, I beg of you."
Caspian flew to her side and engulfed her in his embrace. He needed to end her confusion. Instantly. "Nay, milady. I assure you, I do not lie. By now, I had hoped you realized I never lied to you. Blast it, how could you think such a horrible thing of me? By fire and thunder, I have never hurt a woman in my life, and I never will. I had hoped that I had changed your opinion of me with how I have treated you thus far. Please, tell me who has hurt you, sweetheart."
Those dark, gorgeous eyes of hers opened wide, and she shook her head wildly, sending loose pins sailing from her hair. He removed the rest of the pins from her hair by running his fingers through the silky chocolate strands. It was an audacious and most likely improper thing to do, but he found he did not care, and he hoped she didn’t either.
Caspian leaned his forehead against hers lightly, letting out a deep sigh. He realized the poor girl was trembling under his touch with what he guessed was fear. And he had reignited that fear by screaming at her as if she were but a man under his employ just moments ago. With a groan, Caspian leapt up immediately.
He took up a pace about the tiny room and decided to explain why he could not let her stay above and why he was headed toward Port Royal. "My late wife, my dear, sweet Isabelle, died in a battle at sea. It was entirely my own fault. If only I had kept her below, kept her safe, she would still be alive right now. She would not have lost her life.
“We’d been attacking another ship.
Neptune’s Poison
, it was called. The same ship that just sailed away as we were attacking them today. This… incident happened when I was still a pirate. Isabelle wanted to stay above decks. She was never afraid, but she always hated being stifled down in our cabin with no fresh air. Just like you, my dear.” He paused, studying her face as he spoke. “So, being the stubborn girl she was, Isabelle stayed above against my warnings during the battle. My… my wife was so young. We both were so young, and Reed was only a couple months old. He lost his mother that night. He only got to know her the first few weeks of his life." Caspian swallowed down the burst of emotion that had seized his throat. "She… she was hit by a cannon ball. In the chest. I-I could not save her.
I
should have been the one who was hit. It should
not
have been her. Isabelle did not deserve to die. Reed did not deserve to lose his mother before he even knew her. There was nothing I could do to ease her pain, Eden, nothing to help her. She died there, lying on the deck and in agony. I remember h-holding her, Eden… kissing those lifeless lips one last time, pleading with God to bring her back to me. But she was gone. He took her away from me. She was only a girl. She was seventeen years old, Eden. So young. We were both so foolish.