Within a Captain's Treasure (6 page)

Scanning the area, she spotted a small stock of dressing for wounds. She snatched one, tore the end of the clean strip, and returned to the man. Alice dipped the rag into the water and patiently squeezed water drop by drop between his dried, chapped lips. Silent in her concentration, she repeated the task more than a dozen times.

Alice began to hum softly to the dying man. Words filtered in, and she sang a favorite lullaby she had sung to dear wee James, Captain Steele and Annalise’s infant son. She’d traveled hundreds of miles from that sweet-smelling nursery. A world away from the small bundle of love and joy she’d held in her arms and rocked to sleep. As she remembered the babe so far away, her eyes filled.

The tender song slipped from her lips in words this man could surely not understand, but Alice hoped they somehow soothed him. Swiping away the useless tears, she scolded herself for breaking her rule. She’d looked back.

Alice finished her song and was satisfied she had gotten at least a few spoonfuls of water down the man’s throat. Soaking the bit of cloth again, she then wiped his face with a gentle hand and left him to rest.

She was startled to find Neo standing behind her, staring down at her. His gaze wasn’t frightening, or questioning. He looked at her as if he had stumbled upon some mystical creature he’d never encountered before.

Neo wasn’t her only audience. Gavin stood beyond the sailed shelter in the blaze of the sun watching her. Was he waiting for her to balk at the chore? See if she was too squeamish to witness such suffering? Perhaps he didn’t trust her amongst his men. He considered her a curse upon his ship, after all.

She muttered to herself. Men were an odd lot, and seafaring men where the oddest of them all. After returning to the barrel, she brought water to the next man. He was in better condition and took the drink with little help. Moving on to the third man, Alice cringed and grimaced as the man writhed in pain before her. Neo stood over him. Another sat close.

Alice lifted wide eyes to Neo. “What can I do?” Neo shook his head. The man was suffering. She had to do something. “What causes him such agony?”

Neo lifted the corner of the sheet covering the man. The sight of his leg beneath was horrendous. Alice had to look away. The shackles holding this man prisoner aboard the
Delmar
had lifted the flesh from his bone, and the infection that now raged was sure to kill him.

Rushing into the sun where the air was less fetid, she took great gulps of air to fight the urge to be sick.

“You’ve lost all the color in your face. Sit down before you fall.” Quinn took her elbow.

Alice straightened and looked back at the tormented man. “He…We need a surgeon. Do you have one aboard? Even I can see he can’t survive with his leg like that.”

“The surgeon has seen him.” Gavin’s mouth formed a thin line.

Panic started to well in her. “What is he waiting for? He has to remove that leg.”

“He agrees with you, but,” Quinn looked back at the man twisting in pain and shook his head, “they’ll not allow it.”

“They?” She couldn’t be understanding. Why wouldn’t they allow the doctor to do what needed to be done?

Quinn sighed and held her gaze. “He and his man.”

Disbelief flooded her. “He’ll die.” She lowered her voice.

Quinn held her arm and spoke with quiet concern. “Neo has translated. The man’s name is Kgosi. He is a chief, a prince of their tribe. The man with him calls himself Tau. When the surgeon prepared to remove his ruined leg, they stopped him. He cannot be less than a whole man to his people. He’s also refused laudanum, as it would tamper with his mind. He couldn’t return to them otherwise.”

“Without the surgery, he’ll not be returning to them at all,” she hissed.

“They are a proud people with fierce rules. Tau has wounds of his own, but refuses to leave the side of his chief.”

Alice stared back at the two men. “This is insanity. The man is going to die.” She turned a pleading eye back to Quinn. “Don’t they realize how serious it is?”

“They do.” He held her gaze.

“We can’t just sit and wait until the infection claims him. There must be something we can do.” Alice couldn’t believe how calm he was. She indicated the guns tucked into his baldric. “You. You can force them. At pistol point.”

He shook his head. “We fought to give these men their freedom. That includes a freedom in their deaths as well.”

She stared at him in disbelief. “How can you be so callous?”

“It’s not my choice to let the man suffer,” he snapped. “He is still of his mind, and this is how he wants to die. I’m respecting the man’s last wish.” Quinn released his hold on her. “Do what you can and hope his suffering is short.”

Alice watched him walk away. Was he asking her to resign herself to this? She wouldn’t give up. She’d get Neo to translate. Damn stubborn men. What was wrong with them? Taking a dipper of water and another bit of cloth, she knelt next to Kgosi. His breathing was rapid as he fought through the pain.

Raising dark eyes, he drank some, lifted a hand toward her, but dropped it and turned to Tau. The two exchanged a few words before Tau reached out a long arm and placed his wide hand upon her breast. Alice jumped to her feet in surprise.

Taking a step back, she collided with Neo. “Believed he is seein’ visions. Makin’ sure ye’re a real woman.”

“Real enough.” She pushed the stray hair away from her face and tugged at the hem of her shirt. “Neo, you speak their language. Tell them—”

“Told them.” He stared her down.

Alice threw up a hand. “He’ll—”

“Knows.” Neo crossed his arms over his wide chest. Legs splayed he resembled a mountain.

Frustration made Alice groan. “I don’t understand.”

Neo pointed to the water barrel. “Not yer duty te understand.”

The situation was impossible. All the water in the sea wouldn’t keep this man alive. She might as well scream into the wind for the good her words would do. Her jaw tightened as she brought another dipper of water to Kgosi and helped him drink. Even through his pain, he nodded his thanks.

Kgosi captured her with the deep gaze of his dark eyes. For the briefest of moments he was still. Stepped beyond the pain. As if he’d found a tiny mote of tranquility. And in that single beating of her heart, Alice saw wisdom and pride and a profound knowing in those eyes. He knew there was no hope for him, but he would do whatever was necessary. Suffer whatever pain he needed for his people and his proud culture.

Alice nodded. He was silently asking her to understand, beseeching her to be strong for him. Nothing else. She nodded again, and smiled past the tears he would not want her to shed.

He lifted his hand to touch her cheek. Taking it, she patted the back and placed it gently upon his fevered chest with a silent vow she’d stay close and help in any way they allowed.

Alice had worked herself into an exhausted knot and curled up against a coil of rope to sleep. Quinn had to wake her. Kgosi was dead and Quinn needed to tell her her vigil was over. She’d been at the side of the sick slave prince for two straight days, but now it was over. Kgosi had died with honor and dignity, and his guardian Tau had stood over him and protected him from all. Another day at sea and they would be able to return the fallen prince to the rest of his people.

During the last days, Alice had shown him the extent of her tenacity. She was indeed a force to be reckoned with. One moment she’d be singing lullabies, and the next she’d be railing at him about how the entire population of men were nothing but stubborn mules. Spooning broth and staring down Tau when he refused food. Cooling Kgosi’s skin with damp cloths. Dropping water between dry lips. She never complained once about anything other than the steadfast determination of her patient to die.

Quinn was present when she breached the stoic wall of Tau and tended his wounds while Kgosi rested. She talked to him the entire time cleaning and bandaging his injuries. He spoke to her as well, but without Neo close by, they were lost to anything but each other’s tone of voice. At one point, Tau reached out and lifted the thick braid of Alice’s hair from her shoulder and made a gentle comment.

“I wish I knew what you were saying.” She smiled at him. “Didn’t sound like a curse this time. I’m keeping a count. Does this mean you’ve joined the ranks of men not horrified to have a woman aboard?” She laid a hand on his finished dressings. “I’ll take your silence for a yes.”

And Quinn wasn’t the only one to take notice. Instead of alienating herself from his crew, her actions had only served to win over many of the men. They all called her Tupper now.

Robbins kept asking her for news of Captain Steele and his wife. Or as she’d corrected him, it was Lord Steele, now. He had become a marques. Quinn had to admit, when he’d heard Alice tell Robbins of Jaxon and Annalise’s blessed life and dear infant son, the ensuing slice of envy had stung deep.

Alice was steadfast in her work. She’d spent every minute above deck. Sleeping little and eating less. Even Neo had good words for her. She’d only lost her temper and composure once more in his presence, and that was simply out of frustration for the certainty of Kgosi’s outcome.

Even Bump had taken a fancy to her. Alice had ruffled his hair once in passing and Bump had begun following her about her duties as a duckling attaches himself to a mother duck. In fact, there were only a handful of men left not impressed by her. Jessup was leading the pack.

Had Quinn had a change of heart as well? He frowned as he watched her sleep and noticed the new sprinkling of freckles across the bridge of her nose. Why was it so hard for him to acknowledge her presence and be done? Carry on as if having her here was of no consequence? Why had he spent the last two days finding every excuse possible to keep her within his sight?

She was his last thought at night as he lay in his bed, and his first thought come morning. Even that he could explain away given the oddity of a woman aboard, but it was more than a sense of protection for her.

No, it was the dark, dream-filled hours within those long nights that caused the most unsettled thoughts. He’d been correct. The vision of her in tight breeches continued to haunt the cloistered part of his mind. And his body. Damn it, he was only human. He’d shielded himself from women for a dozen years, and here was an ordinary woman thrust into an extraordinary situation. Of course he’d pay attention to her—to all the soft curves of her, and the memory of a tender pale thigh.

Gavin rubbed a weary hand over his eyes hoping to erase the vision in his mind. He could make all the rational explanations necessary, but the truth of the matter screamed louder than an angry gull. He was captivated by the good Mistress Tupper, as was most of his crew. If he were to keep his head, he needed to stay more than a fair distance away from her. The sooner they turned this ship in the direction of Virginia, the better.

Quinn knelt by her side. “Tupper?” He quelled the urge to brush the stray wisps of hair from her cheek. “Alice?” He lowered his gaze to her lips. They appeared impossibly soft. A more powerful urge to test them coursed through him.

Lifting his eyes in a slow sweep of her face, he was surprised to meet the green of her gaze. “You’re awake.” Their closeness made the hush of his voice all the more intimate. “I need you…” He cleared the sudden dryness of his throat. “You need to know about Kgosi.”

“I guessed.” Alice brushed her hair away from her face and sighed. “Is it wrong to be grateful?” She worried her lip.

“No.” He fought to keep from reaching out and stroking a finger along that lip.

“I’m saddened by his passing, of course, but I can imagine him strong and vibrant now. Young and proud for eternity.” She glanced past Quinn. “Are Neo and Tau seeing to his body?”

“Aye.” Her continued concern touched him. For him, death was as common as breathing. It was a daily occurrence. Perhaps she was right, he was callous. Time had hardened him. Life had hardened him. For all her bravado, this was still no place for her. The sooner he could get her away, the better.

“Another to commit to the sea. How many does that make?”

Looking into her wide eyes, he couldn’t recall the figure. Too many. “Kgosi’s body will not be buried at sea. We’re close to the coast of Africa now. His people will want to honor him in their own way.”

Alice nodded and stretched her back. Quinn nearly groaned at the innocent yet sensual gesture. He shifted his body to still its impulsive behavior. She scanned the remaining cots. “The rest are doing much better. Proper food, water, and fresh air have done their work.”

“None have worked harder than you.” Gavin stood and offered her his hand. “You’ve proved your worth these last few days.”

Alice shrugged one shoulder as she got to her feet. “Earning my keep. You’ve worked as tireless as any. I see why your crew respects you.”

“Perhaps you’ll find your way to your quarters now. Not a large space, but you’ll be able to sleep on a proper cot and have a bit of privacy. Luxury aboard ship.”

“I don’t need luxury.” She brushed at the seat of her pants.

“Solitude is the only advantage of the space I’ve found for you.”

She straightened her shirt and adjusted her belt. “I didn’t displace someone, did I?”

“Storage is all.” As Alice tidied herself, he couldn’t look away. It was as if she were dressing before him. Never had anything so innocent affect him so sensually. It had been a long time since he’d shared company with a woman. He’d forgotten all the small ways they could beguile a man.

Picking up her ridiculous hat with the feather, she gave him a small smile. “I should thank you.”

Clearing his throat, he shook his head. “Best see it before you offer thanks. You’re dismissed from duties for twenty-four hours. After we’ve delivered Kgosi and the other survivors back to their shores, we set sail for Virginia.”

“Virginia.” She blinked at him and fiddled with her ring.

Something in the tone of her voice caught him as strange. “That was your destination.”

A frown creased the space between her eyebrows. “Yes, I… It’s strange. I somehow got it in my mind I’d never get there.”