Her knees wanted to buckle. “Slavery?” My God when he’d said he didn’t believe in punishing the innocent she’d never imagined…
“I’m sorry,” she said. The words weren’t enough, not nearly enough to make up for what had been done to him. But nothing she could say would make up for it. “What you’ve described is horrible and brutal and no man, woman or child should have to endure such horror.”
He glared at her. “But that doesn’t change your mind about his needing to die, does it?”
Sarah clasped her hands together, willed her emotions to steady. “He’s my father, Aidan. Is he perfect? No. Did I wish he treated me with respect? With love?” Her voice cracked. “Yes, more than you’ll ever know. I’m not saying he isn’t capable of what he did, but I haven’t seen such a side to him. And whatever his deeds, Aidan, I cannot simply stop loving him.”
Aidan bobbed his head. “I understand you love him. What you might want to ask yourself, Sarah, is does he love you?”
With those words striking her heart, he turned on his heel and left.
*
Even the most seasoned of sailors had days at sea where tedium set in. Water as far as the eye could see, nothing to do but repeat the same chores that had already been done, that would need to be done again, nobody to talk to but the same salty crew you’d talked to yesterday.
To Aidan, it was perfection.
But captaining his own vessel? The realization of a long-coveted dream.
He had his ship. Finally. After years of thirsting for the Revenge, dreaming of one day standing at the helm, it was now his. He didn’t mind throwing his back into swabbing the deck or coiling ropes. Not only did he believe his crew needed to see their captain do more than stand and issue orders, he enjoyed taking care of what was his. And as he intended to sail the Revenge until he was an old man, it needed to be well tended.
A ship, he’d learned over the years, wasn’t the only thing that needed tending. A good, dependable crew did as well. His thoughts went back to the dozens of men he’d sailed with from the time Samantha had been Steele to when he’d sailed with Cale. This group of men, he thought as they began to trickle onto the deck and into the morning sun, may not have been the exact crew he would have assembled had he had more time but it was still a fine group of sailors.
These men had either sailed with Luke, Blake, or Cale and they knew him, knew his skills despite his age. They’d agreed to sail under him as they respected Luke, Blake, and Cale and wouldn’t have refused their request to join Aidan. However, he wanted them to respect him as well, not only as a sailor, but as their captain.
Captain. Pride filled his chest. He’d do the Revenge and the name of Sam Steele justice. He’d waited too long not to.
Yet, as he watched his crew work, he couldn’t help but miss a few faces that were not among them. Smoky and Pockets had died when Roche attacked the festivities at Nate’s house. Aidan had sailed with them when Cale was Steele and he’d both liked and admired them. He would have been damn proud to have them aboard. And Vincent, he thought with a sad smile. He hadn’t the privilege of sailing with the dwarf but he had gone into battle with him on Isla de Hueso back when Nate was Steele. Unfortunately the loveable dwarf had been wounded in battle and died before they could make it back to see him to a doctor.
Loveable Vincent. All he’d wanted was to be the next Sam Steele but fate wouldn’t have it. Instead Vincent had asked Blake and Nate to find his brother Cale and have Cale do it in his stead.
Aidan tipped his head back, closed his eyes and groaned. He hadn’t made the connection until now. He’d been too upset with Cale since remembering his past to put all the pieces together. Vincent had been his uncle. He’d fought with his uncle and never known it. Just as he’d sailed with his own father for four years and not known it. Damn whatever fates had conspired to keep him from knowing.
“Sleeping at the wheel, Cap’n?”
Aidan pushed aside the bitterness before opening his eyes and facing his first mate. “Just thinking.” Sleeping was not about to come easily, but especially not at the wheel.
“Looks to be a good day for sailing,” Chunk commented.
“Indeed. It’s a favorable wind and there’s not a cloud in sight. If it can stay this way all day we will cut our time to Tortuga significantly.”
“I still say you should kill Roche there.”
“If it’s possible, I will. I know Pockets was your friend. He was mine as well and Roche will pay for what he’s done. But I won’t risk having every scoundrel and scallywag opening fire. If I catch Roche alone, or in an opportune location where there is little chance of repercussion, I’ll take the opportunity. Otherwise we stay the course.”
Chunk agreed but he didn’t look any happier about having to wait than Aidan was. “Slim has breakfast ready. You should eat something.”
Chunk and Slim sailed on Luke’s Freedom and it never failed to amuse Aidan that their names, like their physiques, were complete opposites.
“Thank you, I will. Then I’ll check on a few things and try to get a few hours of sleep.”
“Aye, Cap’n,” Chunk agreed and took over the wheel and the compass Aidan passed him.
Aidan greeted the crewmen he passed on his way below with a nod or a ‘good morning’. When he walked into the galley two men were gathered around the small table and Slim was standing at the cook stove. Aidan inhaled and his stomach rumbled in anticipation. It wasn’t uncommon to have unappetizing meals on board a ship, especially if it was running low on supplies, but clearly the Revenge still had enough stock to make good meals.
“Something smells good, Slim.”
“Eggs, sausage, and cheese.” He grinned over his shoulder. “Roche’s men didn’t have her long enough to eat everything. But if we can’t get anything in Tortuga I’ll have to start rationing and we’ll be eatin’ more biscuits than we’d like.”
“I can’t chance the Revenge docking. After I’m away in the longboat I want the ship to remain well away from shore.” Aidan took his plate and his mouth watered at the smell of peppers, onions and sausage. “We’ll use this meal to celebrate having our ship back, but rations start now. Whatever we have left, let’s make it last.”
Slim sighed but didn’t argue. No sailor enjoyed biscuits. Aidan poured himself a cup of grog and joined the two sailors at the table. For men who’d been deep in conversation when he’d arrived, they suddenly seemed to have nothing to say.
“If you have a problem you can also discuss it when I’m about,” Aidan stated before putting a forkful of the fluffy eggs into his mouth.
The oldest of them, a reed-thin man named Clarence, set his cup down then leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “We was wonderin’ why the prisoner isn’t locked in the brig instead of livin’ comfortably in your cabin.”
Aidan swallowed. “Because she’s not a prisoner. She’s leverage.”
“She’s Roche’s daughter,” Peter, the other man, said.
“I know who she is,” Aidan said. “But she wasn’t with him when he attacked us at Nate’s, was she? She doesn’t sail with him; she had never even left the island before we took her from it.”
Clarence glared at Aidan over his cup. “If the tree is rotten, so is the fruit.”
Aidan had known taking over as captain wouldn’t simply be a matter of taking the wheel and sleeping in the captain’s cabin. He’d known at some point his decisions would be questioned. It did not mean, however, that he had to like it.
“You don’t have to trust her, Clarence. I don’t either. But we’re at sea and we have her outnumbered. She’s not likely to sink the Revenge when she’s on it, is she? She has no weapons; I ensured there was nothing in the cabin she could use as one.” He looked at the two men sitting with him. “If she does anything to prove herself an enemy, I will be the first to lock her in the brig. Until then, she’s simply here to bring Roche to us.”
“Not to mention a wet place to put
your cock,” Peter muttered.
Cold fury swept through Aidan. He wasn’t as tall as Nate or as broad across the shoulders as Cale, but he’d spent years at sea and hundreds of hours helping Sam and Luke build ships. He was strong, quick, and knew how to fight. Yet he sensed leading with emotion would do more harm than good. And if he did, Peter would be on the deck with Aidan’s fist in his face.
Instead he met the man’s insolent gaze with one of his own. “Are you interested in every sailor’s cock on this vessel or only mine?”
Peter’s face went scarlet. “Roche’s men killed some of my friends.”
“And some of mine.” Aidan shoved his plate aside and leaned forward. “You’re hardly the only one here who’s lost something at Roche’s hand. Most of us have. Have you forgotten he nearly killed my entire family in that house, including me?”
Peter slapped his hand on the table. “That’s what I be meaning. If you know what he’s done why are you sticking it in his daughter?”
Aidan jumped to feet. “On deck, now.” He looked at Slim. “You may as well hear this as well.”
Aidan called out the same order to any man he saw on the way from the galley. Once he was on deck he signaled Chunk down from the quarterdeck. With his men gathered around Aidan jumped up on a cannon to ensure not only he was heard but also to judge reactions.
“I will not tolerate insolence on my ship,” he began, his gaze on Peter and Clarence. “If any of you do not like my methods or my strategies, then feel free to get off in Tortuga. But do not”—Aidan warned—“ever think I will let Roche get away with what he’s done. He murdered and tortured my mother and sold me like a goat. He will pay. I won’t rest until he does.
“As for his daughter”—he continued with a cutting glare at Peter—“she is a means to an end. I will not see her harmed as she is not to blame for her father’s crimes, which is why she’s in my cabin. The only reason she’s in my cabin. You don’t have to like it, or her, or me for that matter. But if you cannot follow my orders then you have no business being on my ship.”
The ship rocked over a small swale and Aidan grabbed a line to hold his balance. “Now then, who will want off in Tortuga?” He scoured the faces of his men. He saw boredom, restlessness, disinterest, and, yes, resentment. But as nobody called out or reached for their weapon, he simply said, “Then get back to work.”
He remained where he was, watched and waited but they went back to their stations and tasks. He kept a sharp eye on Clarence and Peter but they, like the others, simply went back to their duties. Aidan let out a deep breath and jumped onto the deck.
He signaled to Chunk that he was going below. His breakfast was cold when he returned to the galley but that was of little importance to Aidan. Good food never went to waste on a ship, not when there were too many times tasteful meals were hard to come by.
Slim took his plate the moment it was empty.
“Thank you.”
“ ’Twas a good speech, Captain.”
“The crew needed to know where I stood.”
“Aye. There’ll be no doubt of that now.”
Aidan raised a brow. “Was there before?” He supposed he should have asked Slim sooner as the cook had the perfect job to overhear things. But privacy was a luxury on a ship, especially one as small as a sloop, and Aidan believed in giving his men that privacy if he could. Unfortunately there were times when he couldn’t afford to.
“Ah, the usual grumblings, you know how it is amongst the men.”
“I do.” He’d had his share of years being ‘one of the men’. “If you hear something I need to know, I hope I can trust you to tell me.”
“Yer Luke’s boy, you’ve got my trust and my word. If I feel you need to be knowing, I’ll be telling you.”
Luke’s boy. He bowed his head. He’d been so proud the day he’d taken Luke’s name. It hadn’t mattered that he wasn’t Luke’s blood; it had been enough to know he’d been wanted. Bitterness rolled over his tongue. He’d been wanted more by a man who’d only known him a few months than he had by the man who’d sired him. It always came back to that. How he could have sailed with his own father for years and the man hadn’t recognized him. Or so he claimed. But he hadn’t admitted the truth until after Aidan had remembered him. Then suddenly he was thrilled to have his son again and then, only then, had he wanted to talk. Well, he’d had four years hadn’t he?
“Captain?”
Aidan opened the fist he hadn’t known he’d clenched, rubbed the tense muscles along the back of his neck. “What?”
“I asked if you’ll be wanting a plate to take to Roche’s daughter.”
“Oh.” Aidan pushed his hurts aside. He couldn’t change the past therefore he needed to concentrate on the present and future. “Yes, thank you.”
Slim whistled while he worked and soon handed Aidan a plate of eggs and a cup of grog, which he took directly to his cabin. He set the food down to open the hatch and called down to ensure it was proper before climbing down into the cabin.
Squawk. “Aidan bring food. Aidan bring food.”
Smiling, he passed the parrot a nut before looking at Sarah. She was standing next to the table, her hands laced together. The gown she wore was wrinkled but her blue eyes were bright and alert and her brown hair had been brushed, twisted and pinned in a simple style at the base of her neck that emphasized the long, elegant column of it. He wished he could deny it, but he couldn’t; she was pretty. Lord knew it would be a hell of lot easier on him if she weren’t.
“I imagine you must be hungry.”
“I am, indeed.” She took the plate he passed her, sat at the table. “It smells wonderful. Have you eaten?”
“I ate in the galley.” He set the cup next to her plate. “Your father and his men hadn’t had time to clear the Revenge of her supplies. We won’t starve.”
She was solemn when she spoke. “I’m sorry for what he’s done to you.”
“It’s not for you to apologize.”
She looked over her shoulder to him. “Isn’t it? Then why do I get the feeling I’m held in the same light he is?”
He grabbed a chair adjacent hers and sat. “I admit some of the crew is having difficulty separating you from your father. I reminded them you aren’t your father and therefore are not going to be treated as he would be.”
“The crew needed reminding, or you did?” She poked a forkful of eggs and lifted it to her mouth.
Aidan nearly forgot the question as her perfect pink lips closed around the utensil. “Mostly they did,” he said honestly. “I won’t lie to you, Sarah, we all loathe your father—for good reason—and you’re his blood.”
“I couldn’t even leave the grounds! How could I possibly be guilty of anything?”
“It’s what I told them, as well. I told you I would be honest with you, which is why I’m telling you some of the crew has a problem with how you’re being treated.”
“They’d rather see me in the brig?”
Squawk. “In the brig. In the brig.”
“Indeed,” he said.
“I’ve been thinking,” she said before taking another mouthful of her breakfast. “There must be some chores I can do.”
Having her amongst the crew, knowing they already resented her, was not a good idea. “Sarah—”
“Listen before you discount it. They think you’re treating me too kindly, is that it?”
“Yes,” he said hesitantly.
“Then put me to work. It will show them you expect me to pull my share of the workload; that you aren’t doting on me. Besides, I need something to do. At least at home I could wander the grounds, I had lessons. Aidan, I need to do something.”
He leaned back, crossed his ankles. Her idea had merit. It would show them she wasn’t being coddled. But the men looking at her all day, with the swells of her breasts rising above her bodice, could create another whole series of problems.
“I won’t be wearing a gown, Aidan,” she said, effectively catc
hing him staring at her breasts.
Damned if he didn’t feel his ears burn. “What were you planning on wearing if not a gown?”
She smiled. She had a pretty smile. “I had months to plan my escape. It gave me time to sew a servant boy’s clothing.” She shrugged. “I had no way of knowing what I would need or what role I would need to play in order to survive.”
Intelligent indeed. “You thought of everything.”
His praise brought a lovely pink flush to her cheeks. “I tried.”
“All right,” he nodded, hiding a large yawn behind his palm. “Let me have a few hours’ sleep first.”
Her eyes filled with concern. “You have not yet slept? You’ve been awake all night?”
“Yes, but it’s not unusual. We take our turns manning the helm at night. I’ll just get a few hours at the bow and—”
“You cannot sleep on deck.”
“Why not?” he asked. “I’ve done it countless times. We all have.” In fact, it was a particularly favorite spot of his.
“It cannot be comfortable.” She pushed aside her empty plate, drank deeply of the grog. “Why can’t you sleep here?”
Squawk. “Sleep here. Sleep here.”
Aidan’s eyes slid to the berth. The visions that filled his head made swallowing difficult. They also made him glad he was sitting down and his lap was hidden beneath the table.
“I can’t sleep in the cabin with you, Sarah. The men will think…”
She looked from the berth to Aidan. Her eyes widened as she understood what he meant. She dropped her hands into her lap and her gaze immediately followed. The situation would have been humorous if Sarah hadn’t started nibbling on her bottom lip as though she was considering such a thing.
She cleared her throat. “I don’t feel right about you sleeping on deck while I stay in your cabin. Perhaps you could give me a task to do now. That way I’ll be out of your cabin and you can rest here.”
“No,” Aidan answered. “I trust most of these men but, in truth, I haven’t worked with many of them before. I don’t want to be asleep when you’re working among them.”
In the Arms of a Pirate (A Sam Steele Romance Book 2) Page 11
