Time for Love (10 page)

He sighed. “I mean you no harm. I simply wish to speak with you without chance of being overheard.”

She nodded, obviously not believing a word he said, her hands gripped together so tightly her knuckles turned white. “Yes, my lord.”

He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the bulkhead. “I don’t wish for you to tell Miss Turner…Is that her real name?”

“Yes, my lord. Her given name is Alexandra.”

The headache plaguing him eased slightly. Knowing Alex had not lied about her name relieved his mind somewhat. “I would prefer you not mention to her that I know her secret.”

Evelyn’s mouth gaped open. Whatever she had been expecting, it hadn’t been that. “Whyever not?”

“It would be extremely unsettling to the crew. If I must acknowledge she is a woman, then we cannot go on as we have done. It would be necessary to remove her from her duties and provide suitable quarters. Any number of accommodations would be required. I would rather avoid the disruption.”

Evelyn furrowed her brows. “I don’t understand. She would not demand any such changes. She may be a lady by birth, but I do not believe she expects to be treated as such.”

“Lady?”

“Yes, I’m sure of it.” She edged closer to the exit, while trying to stay out of Nicholas’s reach. “Should not we return to her? I should see to her injury.”

She held something back, but he was willing to let the subject drop. He did not wish the girl to know how deep his interest in her
lady
ran. “As soon as you give me your word you won’t tell her what I know.”

“I will not betray her trust.” The chit raised her chin stubbornly.

Nicholas admired her loyalty.

“Will you keep silent to protect her then? I am unsure how the crew would react to the news the young boy they welcomed into their midst has been lying to them. They may require she pay for her crimes.” He held up his fingers one-by-one. “Failing to disclose your presence, stealing food, misleading myself and my crew—she faces the lash.” Nicholas kept his face perfectly blank.
Would she call his bluff?

The blood drained from Evelyn’s face. “You wouldn’t lash a woman!”

“No.” He couldn’t bring himself to lie about such a thing convincingly. “But there are other punishments…” He let the words trail off to let her imagination supply the rest. “I will waive all punishment in return for your silence.”

“You’ll give me your word as a gentleman that she will not be punished?”

“Yes.”

“Agreed.”

****

Alex gripped her head to keep it from exploding. The bang of the opening door made her wince. She’d been waiting so long, she’d wondered if they’d forgotten about her. They had probably only been a few minutes behind her, but it felt as though an hour had gone by.

Evelyn rushed to her side the moment she entered the room, Alex’s small bag of belongings swinging from her hand.

Nicholas stayed at the door and said, “Let me know if you need anything, miss.” He pulled the door shut behind him when he left.

“Can you lock the door?” Alex asked Evelyn.

Evelyn examined the door. “There’s no key.” She looked back at Alex. “I don’t think he’ll come in; it should be safe.”

“Take a chair and lodge it against the door. I don’t want to take any chances.”

Evelyn shrugged and followed her instructions while Alex started to undress. She couldn’t, however, manage very far. Her hands shook, and she couldn’t steady them long enough to undo the buttons on her shirt.

“Here, I’ll do that.” Evelyn brushed her hands aside and with the practiced confidence of a lady’s maid proceeded to undress her, slowing only to carefully pull the bindings away, which had become stuck to the wound from all the blood.

Alex looked down at herself and cursed, nauseated by the sight. She quickly looked away.

Evelyn peered closely at the razor-thin, five-inch gash and seemed encouraged at the sight.

“It bled quite profusely but doesn’t look serious. Hold still while I clean it.” Evelyn quietly set to work, a frown creasing her brow as she bent to her task, avoiding Alex’s eye.

Alex watched her in silence, wincing now and then, but feeling much better now she could see it wasn’t too serious. Evelyn’s attitude was bothering her more than the wound. She looked like she was biting her tongue, itching to make some comment, but too unsure of herself and their friendship to risk crossing the line.

When the bandaging was complete and Evelyn had helped Alex dress, she bustled around cleaning up, maintaining that same irritating and uncharacteristic silence. After enduring this silent treatment for several minutes, Alex had had enough. “Go ahead. Say whatever’s on your mind.”

Evelyn looked up, her lips compressed into a thin line, clamped so tight they turned white. She let out a gusty breath, and the words finally burst forth, seemingly against her will. “Why did you interfere? You were hurt. It could have been much worse!” Tears slid slowly down her cheeks. Guilt made Alex flinch as she realized how much Evelyn had worried. “You may be dressed like a man, but you’re not. You should have let it alone.”

Alex started to protest, appalled at the idea of standing by and letting that man rape a child.

Evelyn brought her hand up in a silencing motion and continued her tirade, “How do you think I would have felt had you been seriously hurt or died defending my honor? After all you’ve done for me, I couldn’t bear it.” She was sobbing so hard by this time, she barely got the words out.

“What was I supposed to do? Let the bastard rape you?” Alex asked incredulously.

“Better my virtue than your life!”

They stared at each other in silence for several seconds. Alex didn’t know what to say. How could she convince Evelyn she had no choice? That she wouldn’t have been able to live with herself had she done nothing.

Alex looked away first, too tired to continue. “I’m sorry I worried you, but it wasn’t your fault. No, no, listen to me,” she said as Evelyn looked ready to protest. “Mr. Duff’s been after me since we set sail. I’ve been trying to avoid a confrontation, and the situation’s been getting worse daily. At least with the way it happened today, I was prepared. If he had forced the issue, he would have done it when I was at a much greater disadvantage.” She leaned back in the chair and let her eyes drift shut. “Besides, it’s over now, and no one found out about me.”

Chapter Eight

April 19 (40 Days Remaining)

Alex woke the next morning floating on a cloud. But the scent was wrong. A cloud might smell like the sea and salt breezes but wouldn’t have that indescribable scent that made her nipples tighten and her stomach tingle. She frowned and stretched sore muscles, stopping suddenly as the pain in her side recalled her to reality. Her eyes flew open.

Sunlight flooded the room and ricocheted off a beautiful crystal paperweight on one of the shelves, causing an eye-catching array of rainbows to chase across the ceiling.

She turned her head ever so slowly to the side and released the breath she hadn’t realized she held when she saw the empty space beside her. She couldn’t remember getting into Nicholas’s bed. The last thing she remembered was talking to Evelyn and resting her eyes.

She glanced furtively around the room. She clutched at the sheet tucked up beneath her chin. The whisper soft cotton brushed against her naked breasts. Where were her clothes? How the hell was she going to get out of here?

The door banged open, and Evelyn walked through carrying a tray. She kicked the door shut behind her with a loud thump.

Alex let the sheet she had instinctively clutched to her chin drop an inch, and her stomach growled at the delicious smells wafting from the tray.

Evelyn flashed a cheery smile. “Cook fixed you something special for breakfast. Seems you’re a real hero now. Defending the innocent…” Pointing to herself, she lowered her head modestly, peering up coquettishly through her rapidly fluttering eyelashes. “…defeating the monster, and providing quite a show for the crew at the same time. They can’t stop talking about the fight.” She placed the tray on the bed and gestured for Alex to help herself.

Alex dug into the food, ravenously hungry after the exertions of the previous night. She slowed down when she noticed Evelyn’s disapproving look, which changed to a smile when Alex selected a dainty piece of egg with her fork. Evelyn pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat, immediately setting to work deftly applying needle and thread to Alex’s damp, yet blood-free bindings.

“What happened last night?” Alex asked between small forkfuls. “I don’t remember anything past you bandaging me up.”

“You fell asleep in the chair, and when the captain came to see how you were, he said you could use his room for the night.”

“How did I end up in the bed?”

Apparently consumed with completing a particularly difficult stitch, Evelyn mumbled a reply about Alex waking enough to stumble over.

Alex wondered if she had given Evelyn a rough time but decided not to ask. “Well, whatever. Tell me about the captain. Has he said what he plans to do about us?”

Evelyn looked up and seemed to consider the question carefully. “I don’t think you’ll be punished. Like I said, you’re a bit of a hero to the crew; it might be hard to punish you without causing trouble.”

She looked back at her sewing. “As for me, he hasn’t said anything, but I don’t think it will be too bad. Everyone’s been very nice, much nicer than I deserve. I haven’t been treated like a criminal at all. If I’m lucky, he’ll hire me as a scullery maid and garner my wages until I’ve paid him back. It will take many years, but he seems like a kind man, and I could do worse than being maid to a Marquess.”

“And if you’re not lucky?” Alex didn’t like the sound of Evelyn’s best-case scenario—indentured servitude had never been described as a pleasant situation in any history book she had ever read. If Evelyn considered that the best case, how bad would the worst case be?

“If luck is not with me, he’ll consign me to debtor’s prison.”

She shrugged as if it was no big deal, but her hands trembled, and the moisture in her eyes collected as she tried to hold back tears.

Alex wrapped the sheet around herself and got up to put an arm around Evelyn’s shoulders. “Don’t worry. It’ll be all right.”

Evelyn turned in her arms, and Alex held her tight as she wept, a few silent tears sliding down her own cheeks to fall unheeded on Evelyn’s head.

Surely, Nicholas wasn’t the kind of man to do such a thing? But then again, how well did she really know him or his views? From what she’d read, and granted most of her knowledge was from historical fiction and romances, but still, the aristocracy wasn’t known for its concern for the serving class. Nicholas might have no idea what would happen if he handed Evelyn over to the authorities thinking he had no other choice.

Whatever the case, Alex couldn’t bear the thought of anything more happening to Evelyn. She had to help the girl, no matter the cost. She began to form a plan as she patted Evelyn on the back, waiting for the tears to subside.

****

A short while later, wearing her second best set of clothes with the newly repaired binding clinging damp and clammy to her skin but still disguising her figure, Alex went up on deck to confront Nicholas.

At this time of day, he would be on the quarterdeck with Mr. Grayson, overseeing activity on board and issuing orders. Unlike many merchant captains, Nicholas didn’t spend a great amount of time in his cabin. He preferred to be above deck when possible.

She didn’t get past a few steps before the crew besieged her to shake her hand and discuss the fight.

She paused to bask in the crew’s newfound admiration and let them bolster her spirits before the task ahead of her. She hadn’t realized how much it had bothered her being alienated from the crew as she’d been. She’d told herself it didn’t matter what they thought of her, avoiding a fight had been the wisest course of action. Knowing she was right hadn’t made her feel any better.

But now she was welcome into the fold with open arms. She had never felt quite so accepted before in her life. To these men, she had shown her courage, and that was all they needed.

With promises of an exhibition of her skills once she felt completely healed, she was allowed to make her way to the quarterdeck.

She paused when he came into view. He laughed at something said behind him, his face turned to the side. The wind plastered his shirt tight to his body, exhibiting an impressive display of muscular chest and arms. His hair whipped around his head, tugged loose from the little strip of leather he usually wore.

Thank goodness he didn’t follow the common practice among sailors of using tar to keep their hair under control. She loved the way his hair looked flying this way and that. She could imagine what it would be like to bury her hands in it.

He belonged on the cover of a men’s magazine with a caption, “Ideal Body in 15 Minutes a Day—See Page 95 for our exclusive new workout.” Or maybe the cover of one of her favorite romance novels, all that was missing was a beautiful heroine glued to his side, looking breathlessly into his face, waiting to be kissed.

Alex blinked and shook herself when she realized she pictured herself as the heroine. The image sent a thrill all the way to her toes.

He turned then and saw her. She forced herself to focus and move toward him, outwardly calm. She hoped he would attribute her flushed cheeks to the exertion of being up and about so soon.

“Feeling better?” he asked, as she came up alongside him.

“Yes. Thank you,” she replied. “I appreciate you letting me use your cabin. I hope you weren’t too uncomfortable last night?”
Jeez, what am I doing? Get to the point already!

“Not at all. I bunked with Mr. Grayson. I had worse quarters in the Navy. It was no problem for one night.”

She glanced at Mr. Grayson, but he made a great show of examining a length of rope and seemed disinclined to join their conversation. His attitude toward her had changed, but she put that thought to the back of her mind so she could concentrate on the task at hand.

She took a deep breath and looked Nicholas straight in the eye as she asked, “So what do you plan to do about Evelyn?”