Authors: Heather Manning
She glared down at him. “If I had known this was some sort of trick, I never would have agreed to it. You, sir, are a horrible cad, and I will be bidding you good day, now! Here I had thought… I had thought… oh, never mind!” She exclaimed, clenching her fists in frustration and turning away.
He had not meant to upset her. He had never meant to upset her.
“Ede-Lady Trenton!” he called, willing her to stop and listen to him before she stormed away like she always did when she got upset with him.
"Now what?" She whirled around.
"Why, jump in, of course. I suppose you could just leave your dress on. Please, don’t leave, Eden! You may leave your dress on, but I will not promise to keep you from sinking anymore then. The dress might weigh you down quite a bit. And I was simply joking before." He was enjoying teasing the poor lady far too much.
"Are you mad? How could you say such a thing? I certainly will not jump in now, with you acting in such a childish manner," she objected, straightening.
"You will be perfectly fine, Eden. I promise I will catch you. I’ll not let you drown I assure you. And I already apologized for what I said, milady."
She glanced away, frowning yet again.
"Trust me just for once, ‘Miss Eden’.” He hoped she noticed the wink he offered when he called her by the same name his son always did. Maybe she enjoyed answering to that name. She certainly liked the boy much more than she liked him. Maybe she would like him more now, too. It could not hurt to try. “I will take care of you. Let someone besides you take care of you for once. You may find that you enjoy it, milady."
Eden took a deep breath, that little worry line forming between her eyebrows like it always did when she frowned.
She leaned down, out of sight for a couple of moments. Two small thumps told him she was removing her shoes. Finally she stood and then bravely flung herself over the rail, her arms flailing.
Caspian caught her before she even touched the water. The trembling woman clung to his neck like he was a lifeline, which he probably actually was to her.
He found he liked someone depending on him like this. True, Reed depended on him, but it was not quite the same. Reed was his son, not a beautiful young woman. Caspian held her closer to him than propriety allowed, he was sure, but he didn't care, and he suspected she didn't either. Really, he adored the feel of her soft curves pressed tight against him. Their bodies seemed to be made for one another with how perfectly she fit against him. Maybe they had been made for each other.
"Look at me, Eden. Just look at me, dear. I do not want you to be afraid. You should have a good time when you first learn how to swim." Although he had not. Just after he had first learned how to walk, his father had thrown him into the ocean and expected him to learn for himself, which he actually did.
Caspian’s fingers brushed the hair from her face like a reflex. He found he enjoyed doing that. He would miss it when they reached port, and he had to leave her there to fend for herself. Well, he certainly could not take her with him to search for Moore in taverns and all sorts of rough places. No, that would not do at all. And he definitely did not want her to be with him when he confronted the man once again. He would not let that cur take the life of yet another woman he… loved. No, he could not be certain it was love yet.
But he was certain he would never let another person under his care be harmed.
Her wide, coffee-colored eyes slowly met his as he requested.
"I've got you, sweetheart. You are safe. There is no need to tremble as you are now," he whispered, kissing her forehead gently. She shivered, and he hoped she was trembling from something other than the fear of drowning. He could not resist a grin. "Do you want to learn to swim now?"
"No," she gave him a shaky smile he found entrancing. “I… I think I will learn to swim some other time. I-I am almost too frightened to, now I am actually in the water.”
Caspian sighed with relief. He truly did not want her to leave his embrace, even if it meant teaching her a new skill. "Do you wish to stay in the water though, milady?" He gently stroked her hair, praying she would answer “yes”.
"Yes. For now," she answered, curling up against his chest as he treaded water to keep them both afloat. Caspian knew his legs would soon start burning from the exertion, but he did not care. As he held the woman tight against himself, he realized just how deep his feelings for her ran. He actually did love her: the feel of her soft curves, the delicate features on her creamy skin, her wild mass of brunette curls, her kind, loving spirit, how gentle she was with Reed, and how brave she was inside, although she never believed him when he told her she was courageous. Could he tell her he loved her, ask her to marry him instead of abandoning her to fend for herself once they arrived in Port Royal? The precious lady needed to be taken care of, to be cherished and respected, and he was the only man he trusted for the job. Some man had hurt her in some way, and he almost did not want to know how they had done it. The thought of this dear woman being abused by a man sickened him. How helpless the poor sweetheart must have felt. He just wished he could have been there to protect her.
His thoughts were snapped back to reality when Eden slipped from his arms. She let out a shriek as she sank into the water.
Caspian noted her fear and caught her by the waist before she sank any further into the deep ocean. Panting, the woman smiled up at him. She recovered quickly from the scare.
Caspian looked down at those full, pink lips that were curved into a smile, and his whole body ached with the need to kiss them. He lowered his mouth to hers slowly, and she actually did not object but kissed him back. He tilted his head and deepened their sweet kiss as she tightened her arms around his neck, making a soft noise from the back of her throat.
An obnoxious catcall met his ears. He reluctantly pulled away from the lady and noted that one of his crewmembers had not gone back up to the ship yet.
"Go up, Mr. Hansen, or it will be a lashing for you, I promise."
The man obeyed, grumbling.
Caspian turned back to the girl in his arms and smiled. Her face was as red as her slightly swollen, parted lips, and she was gasping for breath. Manly satisfaction swept through him. Before she could bound away like the little hart she was — which actually could hurt her, since she didn't know how to swim — he held her tight and kissed her hair, inhaling that familiar scent of coconut and vanilla.
"I-I…”
“What, Caspian—er, Captain?” she inquired, looking up into his face, a serious expression contracting her features.
“First of all, Eden, please call me Caspian. I would think it is proper after all that we have been through. Second, I think that… you are… a wonderful woman, Eden." He held back what he was going to say about loving her, for fear of frightening her. Surely it was far too soon in their relationship to tell her something like that, if they even had a relationship. He was not even sure. Why, he had not even properly courted her yet. But what did he know of courting a lady like her? He was just a pirate cad, worthy of the ladies who worked at the taverns in the worst sections of cities, not a lady like Eden who hailed from a posh manor in England and had never worked a day in her life. Isabelle had only been a plantation owner’s daughter he had known growing up in New Providence. She had loved the idea of adventure and eloped with him quickly. No, he was not worthy of Eden. As soon as he could, he needed to stop whatever was going on between them. It was of most importance.
He glanced down at her. She was staring at him so sweetly from underneath those thick, dark eyelashes. No. He could not do it. He would not be the one to end what they had.
He cupped her face in his hand and stroked her cheek with his thumb. The precious girl's skin felt like the silk he had taken from an enemy's ship once. Her wide, brown eyes searched his in unbelief. She finally frowned, shaking her head and causing those beautiful coffee-colored curls to bounce left and right.
"Believe me, sweetheart. You are very precious to me. I think you are the best woman I have ever known. I-I do not want our arriving in Port Royal to be good-bye for good, darling." Caspian’s breath was coming hard from the effort it took to keep them both afloat, but if Eden enjoyed staying in the water, he was willing to swim until he breathed his last.
"No one has told me something like that before, Caspian," she whispered, tears filling her eyes. He loved hearing his Christian name come from those beautiful little lips.
And then she began to cry. Caspian's heart sank. He had brought this sadness, wherever it had come from, on her. What was wrong with him?
Well, he could not rightly blame himself when he had no idea
why
she was crying. All he knew was she had done it after he had spoken. If just his speaking had triggered it, he would never utter another word in her presence. He had always hated it when women cried in front of him, but it made him feel even more terrible to see Eden upset.
"What's the matter, sweetheart? Please, don't cry. Everything is all right."
She pushed away from him, flailing her arms and legs in an attempt to stay above the water, and clambered up the ladder.
What had he done wrong? Had he offended the dear girl?
He prayed not.
And yes, he did pray. He suppressed a grin when he remembered how Eden had scolded him for saying he prayed while he had no faith in a God he thought cared nothing about him.
How Caspian loved the woman's spirit, her bravery. He believed Eden had led him to trust in this loving God of hers as he had in his childhood. Maybe the Lord had taken Isabelle away from him just so Caspian could meet Eden. He never would have been in London and heading for Port Royal if it had not been for Isabelle’s death. Even if he had somehow met Eden, he could never have fallen in love with her while he was married to someone else. No, it appeared only God could have brought them together. And he certainly was grateful it had happened. He might even visit a church when they stopped at the port.
Chapter Thirteen
Eden stripped off her soaked undergarments and replaced them with dry ones and a simple yellow dress she had found in the back of the armoire. She assumed most of the dresses she wore came from other ships or perhaps the captain’s dead wife. A pirate ship did not seem to be a place to find miscellaneous dresses lying around.
She wrung her damp hair out and tied it up into a tight bun, all the while trying to put a stop her sobbing.
Why she had fled from Caspian like that, she was not sure. The poor man certainly had not done anything to hurt her or make her act like that. He did not deserve her childish reaction. But she was so… so touched that someone would say something like that… say that she was special, that she had simply not known what to do. So she had run.
As she always did to escape anything that troubled her.
A knock sounded on the door. Startled, she leapt up. Should she open it? It was probably just Caspian, coming in to console her. Again. Did the vexatious man not understand that when she left him like that it meant she wanted privacy, and not to be hunted down by him? Why could he not just leave her be?
She shook her head and opened the door a crack, lest he become worried because she failed to answer the door.
But the door was forced open upon her touch, sending her scrambling against the bulkhead to regain her footing.
Caspian would never be so rude to her. That much she knew for certain. Who could it be on the other side, forcing his way in?
Kelton’s leering face met hers. His sun-streaked, blond hair hung in disarray around his shoulders, and his black eyes sparkled with lust.
“What is it you want, sir? The captain is not here. I am afraid I must ask you to leave.” Egad, she should not have said that. She wanted to get rid of him, but she did not want him to realize she was all alone without Caspian to protect her. How foolhardy could she possibly be?
By the look in his eyes, she had divulged exactly what he wanted to know.
He gave a lecherous grin that sent a tremble all the way from her spine to her feet and confirmed her fears.
“Good. I do not want that prissy, little man here anyway. And isn’t it perfectly obvious what I do want, my little trollop?” Placing both hands on her waist, he shoved her backwards in one sharp swoop.
“I am most definitely
not
yours, and I am certainly no trollop!” She tripped on a bit of the bulkhead that jutted out before stumbling downward.
Eden’s head struck the bedpost as she fell and she cried out in agony. It seemed as if she had hit the same exact part of her head as when she had bumped into Caspian’s desk earlier in the voyage. Her vision swirled and she took several long, deep breaths as she struggled to maintain consciousness.
“So, the captain has left his little mistress unattended? How foolish of him. It is about time he shared his precious treasure with the rest of the crew. It is about time I show you what a real man is, unlike your feeble, diminutive
Captain
Archer.” He laughed wickedly.
Eden did not have the strength to rise so she remained on the floor, whimpering and ignoring his jabs at Caspian. He was just trying to make her angry. Maybe he wanted her mad at him so he had an excuse to beat her. A bit like Lord Clive Rutger.
But maybe he was different. Would shameless begging work on him? “Please — please, sir. I have done you no wrong; please do not hurt me.” She prayed for someone, anyone, to come to her aid.
“Ah, believe me, lady; you will be begging me for more by the time I am through with you. You will see I am entirely different than your current lover. Now get up.” He chortled at her weak struggles to rise and move away from him.
“No! He is not my lover, and I can already see he is nothing like you. Caspian is a… a
gentleman
and you, sir, are nothing of the kind, I assure you of that! You will never even live to be half of the man that Caspian is!” She refused to be a part of this. This could not be happening again. There was nowhere to run this time. He would beat her just like Rutger had and quite possibly do much worse.