by Marie Hall
Again, his eyes traveled to where she stood adjusting ribbons and such, looking closer when she hiked up the skirts and set her foot on a rock so she could buckle her shoe. The skin on her leg teasing him right back to a semi hard state. Damn, what very lucky man he was.
What he’d accidently discovered about his wife today, he’d never dreamed he’d find in a marriageable woman. His little pirate, for all her innocence in the act itself, was aroused by pain. Certainly not great deals of pain, which meant he could use forms of corporal punishment to keep her in line. But a pinch or a squeeze and she went off like fresh gunpowder.
He was lucky too. He’d not ruined her willingness to let him access her body. After his floundering last night Mia, might be leery about letting him anywhere near certain parts. But she’d spread her legs for him as bold as she pleased. And she’d tasted like heaven. It actually hurt to resist taking her here as she tried to bathe. He only did so because he understood she could be hurt, insulted completely, when she wasn’t afforded basic courtesies. He wanted the next time to be something she wasn’t ashamed to have done. Taking her on the ground probably wouldn’t meet that goal.
Devin stood and shifted until Mia stopped looking at him and focused on getting her other shoe on. He was quick to reach down and adjust his cock which started to push against the front of his pants, then fold the sheet over his arms holding it to cover the evidence of how much he lusted after his wife.
A smile touched his lips. A man who could lust after his own wife was indeed a lucky man. He watched her set her foot down, smooth her hands down her hips and turned to look at him. “Are you ready?” Devin asked, bending to lift the repacked basket. “I think I can smell supper cooking from here.”
Mia raised her nose to the wind and inhaled, “Smells good, too.”
“Then shall we go?” He held out his arm, but Mia hesitated.
“I need to do something before I return to the beach,” she said and wouldn’t meet his eyes. “You can go back if you want. It won’t take very long.”
“I think I’ll accompany you,” he said, not wanting to sound as suspicious as he felt. “If you don’t mind.”
“It is a bit of a climb.”
“Mia, you aren’t going on the cliffs. I told you I’m not having it. I don’t care how many times you claim to have safely jumped.”
Her face became a mask of rage and she stomped her foot at him. “I’m not going to the cliffs to jump. You said no jumping today. If I was going to jump, I wouldn’t have bothered to wash the ocean off. And do you see me?” She yelled waving her hand up and down her body. “I’m dressed, right down to shoes.” She stuck out her foot to show him what he knew. “I’d be drowned if I went in like this.” She stomped her foot again. “I’m not stupid,” she finished and tried to storm past him.
“Mia,” Devin snapped, reaching for her as she passed. “Mia,” he yelled her name again as he dropped everything to take a firmer hold on her.
“I’m not stupid,” she screamed at him a second time.
“Mia,” he ground out and gave her a shake. “Haul in those sheets. Calm this storm and haul in your sheets.” He waited until she stopped struggling, but had no hope her rage would sink fast. “I wasn’t saying you’re stupid. I know you’re not stupid. But you are stubborn and willful, hm?” She stopped glaring at him and shrugged her shoulders. Of course she’d admit that. The commodore warned him she was stubborn, with more pride in his voice than should have been. Stubborn and willful weren’t bad traits in her papa’s opinion, so she owned them.
“I wasn’t even thinking about jumping,” she said, sniffed, raised her arm and wiped her nose on her sleeve.
Devin rolled his eyes, then cleared his throat. “Then I beg pardon for assuming such.” She nodded her head, first with some uncertainly then a bit more firmly. “Mia, look at me.” He waited and she lifted those amazing eyes. “You need to stop getting your rigging in a knot so easily. Ah-ah,” he warned when the storm rose up in her eyes. “Everything I say—everything said to you by anyone—isn’t straight away an insult. For mercy’s sake Mia, we’ve barely known each other a week.” How had she been missing from his life for so long? “Not really a week. Yesterday was the first day we even managed to sit together for a meal, was it not?”
“Aye,” she shifted and slumped. Devin knew this was Mia in defeat. It wasn’t a very pretty sight.
“We’re not like other people, other married people. We haven’t had years of association, months of courtship and such to learn about each other. We certainly need to learn how to speak to each other if we’re going to find our course and stay on it. I didn’t mean to suggest you were stupid. And perhaps my tone was unnecessary.”
“Aye,” she snapped, but with little bite.
He cocked his head to the side and offered her a smile. “Then I apologize for that as well. However, for nearly the full length of a day you have nagged me to jump from the cliffs. You even said there was no real reason to go up other than to do just that.”
“I don’t want to go all the way up,” she whined.
“Did I know that? Did you give me that information?” She shook her head. “No, so what might I have thought?”
“You didn’t give me a chance to explain.”
“I didn’t. Again my mistake. Yours was assuming I wanted to disparage you. There was no need to scream at me and stomp your foot like a child. Ah-ah.” Again he doused that flame trying to spark. “It’s childish to stomp. If you stomp your foot at me again, you will feel the lash across your stern. You’ve no reason to stomp. You’re too much of a lady to resort to such things.” That got him an upward twitch of her lips. Praise, even poor praise, was very welcomed by her. “All you needed to do was inform me there is something else up that way you want to do.”
“See,” Mia corrected
“Something you want to see then. I’ll correct course if I get blown off, Mia. I’m not one to sail into the rocks out of pride.” He dropped his hands away and bent to gather the basket and sheets. When he had them, he faced her catching her again wiping her nose on her sleeve. He snorted causing her to lift a brow at him, but he also smiled and she returned it. “Shall we go?”
Devin followed her up a slightly overgrown path, leaving their cargo at the bottom at her suggestion allowed him to balance and leverage forward motion as they climbed. Mia’s surefootedness, a testament to her familiarity with the area, had them stepping onto the plateau overlooking the cove in less than an hour. Mia headed straight towards a large rock covered with growth. With a sad sigh she started pulling the vines. Devin watched a moment then joined her in the task.
The last tangled vegetation gave way and Mia brushed her hand over the stone in a loving caress. Stepping closer Devin could see the words carved into the rock.
In your search for happiness, don’t look betwixt the heavens and the seas. Look rather between your shoulders and your knees.
“Good advice,” Devin remarked.
“What do you mean?” Mia asked again, letting her hand run over the gouges.
“It’s good advice. Certainly, I have heard it put many ways, but as a seaman, I think that’s the best I’ve heard it.” He reached forward and pulled down a stray vine. “Who put this here?”
“My mama,” Mia almost whispered. “She put words like these all around these islands. Anywhere she knew Papa would stop. Mostly, I don’t even know what she meant by them.”
“You know this one?” he asked. She shook her head no. “Mia.” He set his hand on her shoulder. “It means you won’t find happiness or satisfaction always chasing the horizon. You’ll never catch it. It’ll always be ahead of you, out of reach. Happiness is found standing beside you, between your shoulders and your knees so to speak.” He pulled on her a bit and she leaned in. “I think it was Ovidius Naso who said it first, something about crops in a neighbor’s field. But I can’t be sure as I was bored out of my mind in my classical literature studies. This,” he gestured to
the stone, “is a much better way to say it. You say she put writings like this all over the island? Is there another you’d like to see before we must go?”
“No, she only put one on any island, she only put one any place at all.” Mia stepped away and pressed her cheek against the stone, again caressing the cuts, letting her fingers fall into the marks.
Devin stepped away allowing her a moment of privacy. He’d not thought about where Mia’s mother might be. Now though, he should guess her to be dead, and given the yearning in Mia’s face, long dead. His wife had only stones by which to remember her mother. Then again, so did anyone whose mother was dead. Why then did it seem to him to be more tragic? He couldn’t say and he couldn’t watch. Not when his little pirate looked so fragile. Stepping through a hedge, he found himself out on the very cliff he’d warned Mia to stay off.
The wide, flat and remarkably clean area still stretched out before him a good three hundred paces. It extended out over the ocean like a plank and Devin swore he could make out the line used to run from here to the end and off. It had to be at least a ten yard drop to the ocean. So maybe it wasn’t worse than jumping from the mizzen or main mast of the ship into the water as some young sailors did. Still, he didn’t want Mia doing it. If she hit the water wrong, if she slipped when jumping and hit her head before tumbling in… No, he might not have wanted her a week ago, but at this moment he didn’t think he could live without her.
“She’s a very pretty vessel, Captain,” Mia said startling him as she stepped next to him.
“Pardon?” He didn’t think she could read his thoughts, but he’d been thinking Mia was quite lovely. Beautiful and so much more. More he’d need to discover.
“Your ship,” she said pointing downward. The Iron Rose rocked gently in the early evening with a number of lights on. The glow from the lanterns caused her hull to seem more alive, warm.
“Aye, she’s a beauty.” Devin agreed. Mia snorted and slapped his arm.
“Pretty, Captain. Pretty is as far as you get. She’s just a brig and Royal Navy at that. Now my frigate, that is a beautiful ship.”
“You can’t deduct from her beauty just because she’s navy,” Devin countered. Working to sound completely insulted but remain in the spirit of the teasing. “And brigs are perfect ships, not like those lumbering whales frigates are.”
He heard Mia gasp and looked to see her mouth hanging open. “Lumbering whales,” she spluttered, “I’ll have you know I have easily made twenty knots in the Merry Lyn. That is hardly lumbering.”
“Twenty? And did you have cargo?” She frowned and shook her head. “A complete crew perhaps?”
“Minimal.” She was starting to look peeved.
“Guns even?” He held back his laugh until she threw up her hands. “See. Look at my beautiful ship. Fast and she can come round in under two,” he boasted.
“Well, we should get back to your beautiful ship before your crusty crew eats everything,” she said and he again laughed at the pout in her voice and expression.
“I’ll agree there. The crew is crusty,” he said taking her hand as she led him back down the path. At the bottom, before he retrieved the basket, he pulled her against him. “And while I’ve not seen her myself, Mia, I’ll allow that yours is probably a most beautiful ship.”
She leaned in and set her hands against his chest. “Prettier than yours?” she asked, looking at him a bit sideways and more than a bit coquettishly.
“If she is anything like her owner, I might concede.” He bent his head intending to get one more taste of her until he could feast tonight.
“Captain? Mrs. Winthrop?” He heard the call. “Captain?”
“Ah well,” he sighed settling for nothing more than a quick peck. “All aboard, I suppose.” Taking her hand and the supplies, he tugged her along at a good clip. They broke from the grove and hit the beach. Mia, a little winded, bent and put her hands on her knees.
“It would have been faster and easier to jump,” she said with a laugh as she clutched her side.
“I’ll take your word, but I’m not going to find out,” Devin said pulling her along then helping her climb into the last boat.
“Had a moment to worry about you, Captain,” Mr. Quiggly said, as the boat was shoved into the wave. “Thought maybe Mrs. Winthrop committed mutiny after all, drowned you in the pond.” A nervous chuckle went around as the men took up the oars and started rowing.
Devin and Mia looked at each other and while he said it with humor and she said it with a pout, they both said at the same time. “Wasn’t deep enough.” The laughter was enough to disrupt the synchronized rowing. And everyone chuckled as they boarded the ship and made ready to sail.
Damn yes, and praise to God. He was a very lucky man.
Chapter 10
Mia nearly choked at the comical look on Devin’s face as the man next to him finished his tale. She supposed maybe it was more some men’s nature to never throw caution to the wind and take risks, even small ones. Papa always said the greater the risk the greater the rewards, or the tragedies. But always something learned.
Apparently, the men saw them at the cliffs and thought perhaps Devin changed his mind about jumping from them. Several men said they’d like to try it and a few stories about daring acts in the pursuit of fun and adventure were told. Her husband might know what her mother meant with those words chiseled into the stone, but he didn’t know what it meant to be footloose for even a moment. He wasn’t one to sail without every foot solidly attached to the boon. Cautious men though made for good sailors and even better captains. Papa was cautious, but he had his time as a younger man to chance the jibes and take risks. Mia herself still wanted to push against the currents. Marriage, especially to a man like Devin, meant staying the course. She wasn’t at all sure she could.
“Pardon, Captain. Mrs. Winthrop?”
Mia looked up to see one of the topsmen standing by. She smiled up not yet familiar with every man aboard.
“Pardon, ma’am,” he said and she saw him color up. “We, ah, that is, these were had in the catch today and seeing as it was you that knew where the oysters were,” he stuttered, then thrust out a tin cup.
Mia took the cup and looked inside. The entire bottom was at least two layers deep with pearls. Mia laughed and handed him back the bounty. “You keep them. I’ve no need. If I want, I’ll get mine from the Laccadive Sea, the Gulf of Mannar gives up beautiful ones.”
“Ma’am?” the man asked reluctantly, taking back the cup. Devin snatched it away.
“Mrs. Winthrop,” Devin asked as he used a finger to stir around the pearls. “You don’t want these?”
“No, I thank you. It’s a very generous offer,” she said, taking the cup from her husband and handing it back to the sailor who looked dumbfounded. “I’ve enough pearls already. Far too many still not strung or set.”
“Mia?”
“Here, I know what you should do. Find out which of you has a sweetheart waiting in port, give each one pearl and he can have it set or strung as a gift to his love. There’s a marvelous craftsman in Saint Croix.” Mia laughed again at the man’s expression. “No fear, the Dutch may have sold out, but the Americans have yet to chase all the good skilled men from the rocks. The jeweler there will make a lovely sea themed piece for very little if you supply the pearl.”
She saw the man’s eyes shift to his captain. Devin only shrugged and said, “It sounds like a good course.” The young man smiled shyly, then holding the cup close rushed back to the group of men he was sitting with. “Mia, are you sure you don’t want those?”
“No Didn’t you see? They were mostly milky, not very valuable. Besides, I have enough unstrung pearls.”
“You do?”
“Yes, and of far better quality.” He didn’t know the extent of her wealth at all. Not hers personally or Papa’s. How wonderful. Papa said don’t let a man marry her for her fortune. He’d only want her until the money was gone.
“Oh,” D
evin said leaning back against the rail, “do tell.”
She might as well now they were wed. “Well, the box of black pearls must have at least eighty. And I think the blue ones could be at least twelve. I’ve so many pink an entire gown could be sewn with them. I always let Papa keep the white ones. Too plain.”
Devin’s drink spewed out of his mouth and the man next to him patted him hard on the back while he coughed and choked. “Mia,” he coughed and cleared his throat. “You jest?”
She turned to look at him then. He almost looked to be pleading with her to say she did indeed jest. “No, I have what I claim. You weren’t told you were marrying a wealthy woman?”
“No.” He climbed to his feet and offered her his hand.
She took it, glad to stand. After hours of sitting on deck enjoying food and camaraderie, her aft was a little sore.
“How rich exactly?” he asked, waving down the men who made to stand at their departure.
“Well, if you only look at me, my three ships generally bring in a good five-hundred thousand a year, and then I’ve the two silver mines, but those don’t do as well. I’ve investments and stocks throughout Antwerp and some quite small ones in America. I don’t really trust them yet to make it on their own. Then of course—”
“Stop Mia, you are making my head hurt,” Devin said moving aside so she could go first into their quarters. “And my gut.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m not rich. I’m not even wealthy, though I have means. As nothing more than a sailor—not a private one—the last twenty-three years a royal navy sailor. I’ve only been a captain the last six. I haven’t earned much.”
“Oh, don’t bother about it, Devin. I have money, but I have it because I don’t spend it. I don’t live as frivolously as my belongings allow me to. Most of that is my papa’s and the crew’s and a good deal is what I’ve kept that belonged to my mama.” If a navy sailor made even one quarter what a merchant sailor made, it would surprise her. And they were always cheated out of their payoffs once in port.
