“I’m sorry again. Yes, Captain Brown is fine.”
“Why was he looking at me like that?” I carefully took my focus off his feet and let them travel up his lean body to his face.
He sighed. “You really look like someone he used to know a long time ago. I guess it really shocked him. He apologizes and said he’ll behave better at dinner.”
“When’s that?” I realized I was starving.
“Right now. And then after dinner, I can get you some clothes you’d prefer to be in.” He finally smiled but it was obviously a struggle.
I followed him out into the hall. I hadn’t seen any servants still, not that I expected any to come into the room, but this big of a house with no servants was very odd. “Don’t you have servants?”
He looked at me. “Why? Do you have servants on your ship?”
“No. It’s just I expected a house like this, not to mention a retired captain, to have servants.”
We were at the top of the stairs, the scents from downstairs floating up to us. Whatever the food was, it smelled amazing.
“He only has people cook for us. But as soon as the meals are finished and cleaned up, they leave. He also has a few people who come in and clean a couple of times a week, but none of them live here.”
At the bottom of the stairs, we took a right and went down the hall to the middle door. He stepped aside to let me get a look at the dining room. The walls were a pale yellow, and at the far end was another large, white fireplace. The table itself was so white that it didn’t look like it could be wood and sat twelve. It was in the middle of the room under a chandelier. This one wasn’t as extravagant as the one in the room with the stairs, but it was still very impressive. There were a couple of tall, narrow tables along the right wall around a door that I assumed must have led into the kitchen. There were a couple plants sitting in the corners and some sitting on the tables as well.
There were three places set at the closest end of the table, James led me over to one and pulled the chair out. I assumed he was going to sit in it, so I started around the table again. James cleared his throat, and I turned around. He motioned to the chair he was standing behind. “For you.”
“I thought you were pulling it out for yourself.”
He shook his head but smiled. “No. I pulled it out for you.”
I came back around the table. “It’s part of the courtesy thing, isn’t it?”
He nodded as I stood next to the chair. I started to sit when I felt him pushing in the chair, and when it hit the back of my knees. I looked at him.
“I pull the chair out for you. Then, as you are sitting, I push it in so you’re closer to the table.” He still smiled at me. I wondered again if he ever got impatient.
When I didn’t move, he motioned again for me to sit and he did the same thing. As he walked around the table, I watched him. He was very graceful when he walked. He held his head high and kept his back straight and stiff. I hadn’t noticed this before. He sat down across from me and then looked out the door. “Captain Brown will be a few minutes. He had a couple things to do before dinner. But he said we could go ahead and eat, and from the sounds your stomach is making, I doubt you’re going to complain about that.”
I glared at him as the door behind him opened. The servers set our plates in front of us and then went back to the kitchen. I looked down at my plate and moaned. It looked so good. I wasn’t sure how to eat this though. On the ship, we used our hands, which I knew would not be approved here.
“Use your fork.”
I looked up at James. He was holding two silver objects in his hands.
“Do you not know what a fork is?” When I shook my head, he went on. “On your right is the fork, the one with the four pointy prongs. You use this to pick things up off of your plate, such as the chicken. On the left of the plate is the spoon, which is the one that has the rounded end and isn’t flat. This is used to scoop things. Next to it is your knife, which is used for cutting food into smaller pieces or spreading butter over your bread. Does that make sense?”
I looked down at my plate again. This made sense, but I wasn’t sure why. We didn’t have anything like this on the ship. You saw something you wanted to eat, and you ate it with your hands. And on the ship with James, he brought sandwiches and fruit, so I never needed these utensils. I picked up my fork and knife, the ones that James was holding. He demonstrated cutting the chicken for me. I tried it and found that it came to me naturally. I put the chicken in my mouth and closed my eyes. It tasted incredible. I opened them again to find that James was grinning at me. I swallowed.
“I haven’t had anything that’s tasted like this before.”
“You’ve never had chicken?” He reached for his glass, which was filled with a red, almost purple liquid and took a drink.
“No, we have, but this tastes different.” I watched as he buttered his bread and then scooped some of his potatoes. I scooped some myself and tasted them. They were also unbelievable. “This tastes so good.”
He smiled again. “Captain Brown only hires the best.”
We sat in silence while we ate. If there was anything about me being here that I would gladly deal with, it would be the food. I ate all of it, and almost asked if I could have more when I noticed James had stopped eating. He was looking at the door. I followed his stare where my eyes landed on Captain Brown. He was still in his suit, but he stared at me just as he had earlier. I sat back in my chair and this time stared right back. This caught him off guard and he switched his attention to James.
“I need you to go back into town tomorrow for a few things.”
“Yes, Sir.” James put his fork down and stood up.
I stood up as well, which brought Captain Brown’s attention back to me. He cleared his throat. “My apologizes for my behavior earlier. It was uncalled for. Would you mind reminding me of your name?”
Before I could speak, James answered for me. “Andrea.”
“Andy.” I corrected. “Only my father calls me Andrea.”
Captain Brown glanced at James for a moment before he turned back to me. After staring at me for another minute, he smiled. “Andrea. Welcome to my home. I will gladly do what I can to make you as comfortable as possible.”
I nodded. He seemed genuine with his offer.
He looked at our finished plates and sighed. “I am sorry. I had meant to get here a little sooner, but duty called.”
“I thought you were retired,” I heard myself say.
“I am, but just because I’m retired doesn’t mean I’m not needed for things.” He sat down at the head of the table. One of the servers came in and gave him a plate of food.
“It’s also because he can’t say no and doesn’t like to be useless. He may be retired, but he can’t sit still.” James smiled at the captain.
“Hush boy, I want to know more about Andrea.” He looked at him. “And for the record, I can too sit still.”
“If you say so, but I can’t say I’ve ever seen it.”
The captain shook his head as he turned back to me. “So what is your story, Andrea?”
I folded my arms across my chest. I wasn’t going to stand being called Andrea. “Well first, I prefer being called Andy. And second-“
“She’s had a pretty long day, Captain. I think I should just show her to bed,” James interrupted as he came around the table. He stopped next to me and gently placed his hand on my back before applying pressure. “Aren’t you tired?”
I looked back and forth between them. But before I could say anything, James applied more pressure. I stumbled before I caught myself and turned back to James with a glare. He looked a little surprised, but before he could say anything, I whirled around and stormed out of the room. I was halfway up the stairs before he caught up to me.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push you. I was just trying to get you out of there faster.”
“Did you think I was going to say something inappropriate?” I asked sarcastically
but kept going.
“No, it’s just that, well, he doesn’t need to know about your past.”
I stopped abruptly, and he bumped into me from behind. Slowly turning around, I looked up at him. “Why?”
“Well, he… uh...” He reached his hand up to the back of his head and stroked his hair. “He won’t understand your background. He might not-“
“Might not what?” I stepped closer to him, as close as I could get. I could feel his breath on my face.
He shook his head. “Look, it’s just not a good idea to tell him you’re the daughter of a pirate. He’ll probably have a heart attack.”
“Why?” I wasn’t going to back down.
“He was a captain of a ship, Andrea. What do you think a good portion of his duties were?”
I could feel my anger boiling inside of me. “I have told you before, don’t call me Andrea.”
He leaned forward so that his nose was almost touching mine. “I will call you what I want. It’s your choice to respond to it.”
“And what did you mean by ‘what do I think his duties were?’” I hissed.
He gave me a look but kept his voice calm. “What do you think?”
I thought for a minute before it hit me. I leaned back a little. “He attacked pirate ships?”
He nodded slowly.
“And you think he’d do something to me if he found out I was a pirate?” I asked. I started to feel hesitant about being here.
“You’re not a pirate.” He studied my expression.
“Oh yes I am.” The anger returned as I turned around to take a step, but he grabbed my arm.
“Just because you lived on a pirate ship does not make you a pirate.”
I spun around and went to punch him, but he dodged it. He used my movement to pull me into him. In only a second, my back was to his chest and his arm around my waist. He trapped my hand in his so I couldn’t swing at him again. He lifted me slightly, just enough to where my feet brushed the carpet. I struggled against him, but he dodged everything I threw at him. He carried me the rest of the way up the stairs and then down the hall to the room we’d been in earlier. By the time we got there, I was in a full panic. I whined and whimpered as I kicked and jostled him, but he still managed to get me in the room and close the door behind me.
“Let me go!” I screamed, not that it helped.
“Calm down first,” he said quietly in my ear.
“Put me down!” I was crying. Rarely had I ever felt so helpless. I had been successful in avoiding this type of panic for years, which was probably why it felt so out of control.
“Calm down.”
“Let go!” I cried even louder, the panic obvious in my voice.
He set me down although I had no feeling in my legs. I started to collapse, but he caught me.
“Andrea!”
He set me down on the bed where I immediately curled up into a ball. I buried my face into the comforter and continued to sob. I felt his hand on my head as he stroked my hair. I reached back and ripped it off.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t know you’d react like this from carrying you. What can I do?”
I felt my body slowly start to relax and after a few more minutes, I felt the fear and panic start to leave. After another few minutes still, I was able to lift my head off the comforter. James had pulled the chair up next to the bed and was watching me anxiously.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “I really am.”
I felt my heart slow down and buried my face in the comforter again. I didn’t want to see or talk to him. I heard the door open and when I lifted my head, James wasn’t there. I sat up all the way and rubbed my eyes. I felt ridiculous for crying in front of him, but I couldn’t help it. I leaned back against the bedpost to wait for James to come back. If he left the door open, it most likely meant he was going to come back. Sure enough, he came around the corner with a stack of clothes in his hands. When he saw me sitting up, he stopped. He stood in the doorway while his eyes searched my face for an answer.
Instead of replying to his expression, I whispered, “You apologize a lot.”
He looked at me curiously. “I do?”
I nodded. “Yes. I lost count already at how many times you’ve done it today.”
He shrugged. “It’s a habit I guess.”
“Oh.”
He took a step into the room. He kept his expression cautious as he opened his mouth to speak.
But before he could, I held up my hand. “I’m fine.”
He set the clothes down on the chair and came closer. “What happened?”
I shrugged. I wanted to act as if this was normal for me instead of completely embarrassing. “You grabbed me from behind.”
“I realized that. But what happened to make you respond like that? I’ve never seen anything like it.”
I stood up and went over to the clothes. I picked through them before I started to sort them. He’d given me a couple pairs of pants and a few more shirts. They weren’t like what he was wearing now, which was still his uniform, but more like everyday commoner wear. He came closer to me. My body tensed, but I tried to force myself to relax.
“Why won’t you tell me?” His voice was soft and anxious.
I looked up at him. I studied his expression before I said “Why should I? I know nothing about you. Plus, why should I trust you when you’re the one who kidnapped me?”
He sighed. “I know that’s how it looks, but you’re going to need to trust someone.”
“I can trust myself just fine.” I looked back at the clothes.
“You really think being independent is going to help you right now? I’m trying to help you.”
“Kidnapping me from my life is not what I would consider as helping me.” I slowly turned back to him. “How would you feel if I kidnapped you from this life and made you join mine?”
“I’m a little more carefree in my thinking than you are.”
“So you wouldn’t have cared?”
“The fact of the matter is that you have not kidnapped me but I have kidnapped you, so how about we change the subject?”
I threw my hands up in the air, quickly frustrated. “What is it that you have against pirates? What have we ever done to you?”
He opened his mouth to answer but then shut it. He sighed and covered his face with his hand. He held it there for a second, and then dragged it down his face. When he opened his eyes again, he didn’t look at me. He reached beyond me for a pair of pants and a shirt. Then without looking at me, he handed them to me and walked out of the room. I watched him and was about to ask what his problem was when he appeared in the doorway again.
“I will be back. I’m just giving you your privacy to change.” He reached in and closed the door. I looked down at the clothes in my hands and then down at the dress that I had forgotten that I was in. I threw the clothes on the bed and ripped the dress off, flinging it across the room.
Chapter IV
James knocked on the door before he entered. I was standing at the armoire, just closing it after I had put in the rest of the clothes he had given me. Since he was taller than me, I had to make some adjustments. I had done it most of my life, but most of the time the clothes were, at least, close to my size. This wasn’t the case with James’. He had a larger frame than I did. I had rolled up the cuffs of the pants along with the sleeves of the shirt. The waist of the pants was a bigger problem, but I had tried to gather a couple of the belt loops in front and tied the loose shirttails in them. It may have looked odd, but I worked with what I had.
James reached up to the lamp on the wall and lit it with a candle from the hallway. He hadn’t looked at me yet, but I noticed that he had changed out of his uniform into similar clothes that I was in. He kept his back to me as he went to another lamp next to the mirror and lit it as well. I always preferred natural light, but there was something about the way the candles flickered in this particular room that had a settling effect on me.
James w
ent to close the door and then turned to face me. When he eyed my clothes, I could tell I’d caught him off guard. He had looked ready to continue our conversation when he had come in, but now he was trying to hold back laughter. When he saw how I was looking at him, he stopped immediately and sat down in the chair. I came back over to the bed and sat at the foot. I crossed my legs under me as I leaned back against the post.
“So what do you want to know about me?” he asked.
I folded my arms across my chest. “What will you tell me?”
“Well, I was born right here-”
“Where is here to be exact?” I interrupted.
“Port St. Martha. Anyway, I was born here and lived with my mother until she died when I was twelve. I don’t know what happened to my father. My mother didn’t like to talk about him. I only knew that he left quickly after I was born. So after she died, I was wandering the streets when Captain Brown found me. That was about eight years ago. He brought me here and introduced me to his son, William, and we became friends quickly, and I’ve been here since.”
“I thought you said your father was dead.”
“Well, I consider him to be. I’ve never heard from him or heard anything about him. It’s just simpler to say he’s dead than try to explain.”
“I guess. You don’t have a very exciting history.”
He leaned back. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but unless I get more specific questions, I don’t know what to tell you.”
Because of this statement, we stayed up all night. I asked him question after question and he answered honestly to all of them. I learned what he liked and disliked about people, why he was able to get away with not doing any work on the ship when he brought me here (which was because he didn’t actually work on the ship), and much more. This was probably the easiest way I’d ever gotten information from someone. With pirates, or other men in general, if I wanted to know something I’d ask without holding back, but usually they wouldn’t tell me the truth.
Forgotten Truths (The Forgotten Truths Series) Page 6
