by Becky Lower
A British Heiress
in America
Revolutionary Women
Becky Lower
A British Heiress in America
Copyright© 2020 Becky Lower
Cover Design Livia Reasoner
Prairie Rose Publications
www.prairierosepublications.com
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
CHAPTER ONE
Off the Coast of England, 1775
The minute the ship began to move out of the docks, Pippa’s courage faltered, as if it took a swan dive over the railing and began dog paddling toward the pilings. The shores of her home country faded in the distance, along with her ability to change her course. She desperately wanted a cheroot but couldn’t light up and give herself away even if she had one. Instead, she curled up between the water barrels and closed her eyes, hoping her stomach would settle if she didn’t witness the rocking of the ship. She let the up and down motion lull her into a stupor.
“Blimey! What ‘ave we here?” One of the crew of the Gladys Maria jostled a barrel away, exposing Pippa’s hiding place. She fell backward, hitting her head on the deck, the sun blinding her. She winced, at both the crack to her head, and at the harsh sunlight. One hand shielded her eyes, the other cradled the back of her head, leaving her body exposed.
A swift kick in Pippa’s ribs made her yelp in pain. She curled into a ball, but meaty hands grabbed at her and forced her to her feet. She doubled over and grabbed her midsection, retching.
“Well, iffen it ain’t a little stowaway.” The deckhand laughed as he grabbed the back of Pippa’s shirt and tugged her upright. “Cap’n will not be pleased to see the likes of you.”
Pippa swallowed her bile and struggled as the man grabbed her trousers as well as the nape of her shirt and half-carried her below deck. “I can walk by meself, guv’ner.” She intentionally lowered her voice, but still it sounded more like a socialite than a boy to her ears. Could she pull this off? Her limbs were shaking so badly she wasn’t at all certain she could walk by herself.
He dropped her to the floor once they got below deck but still kept a hand at the nape of her shirt, bunching the fabric in his large hand. “So walk then, laddie.” He shoved her forward, and she stumbled, but kept her balance.
He’d called her a lad. She blew out a breath. At least one man bought her disguise.
“Where to?” As if she had a say in the matter.
He grabbed her arm and hurried their pace. “To the captain’s quarters. That’s where we take all the stowaways.”
She trembled but wrenched her arm away from his grasp. “How many of us are there?”
“Yer the first one I’ve come across this trip, but there’ve been others.” She glanced at the deckhand. His grizzly face was bearded, his sneer revealed a shiny gold tooth, and his matted hair fell to his shoulders. He made her insides quake. Definitely, he was the most fearful person she’d ever come into contact with. “’Tis a pity we’re so far out to sea already. We coulda just tossed you back into the harbor a couple hours ago.”
Pippa couldn’t stop the full body tremor that pulsed through her. She didn’t know how to swim. Young ladies of the Ton didn’t partake in such foolishness. She took a deep breath and faced forward. Not being able to swim was the least of her concerns right now. She had an appointment with the captain, and her fate awaited.
The gnarly deckhand stopped in front of a door and knocked once.
“Enter.”
He opened the door and shoved Pippa inside before he followed.
“I was just about to crack open one of them water barrels when I found this mongrel, hiding in the middle.” He clutched her arm again.
As if she could have escaped this small room, with the deckhand standing in front of the door and the captain staring at her as if she were a bug he wished to squash. She held her breath.
“Nice work, Ben. Leave the boy here. I’ll decide what to do with him.” The captain rounded his desk and continued to stare at her. She stared back. English society had thus far limited her to dancing in ballrooms and charming various titled gentlemen, and she was ill-equipped to deal with the likes of the rugged-looking captain. His face was tanned, his body muscled, and altogether, he was the most handsome man she’d ever met. His jawline could slice paper, his blue eyes matched the sea.
Pippa expelled a breath, feeling the walls of the cabin close in. She’d never been alone in a room with a man before. Of course, her first experience would have to be with the most handsome man ever, and she in disguise as a boy. A disguise she needed to keep up for the duration of the voyage. In the ballroom, members of the Ton applauded her using her feminine wiles on a man, but in this case, those tools would not work. She couldn’t charm her way out of her situation.
She would give anything to again see Ben’s gold tooth flashing among all his facial hair. Instead, she faced the captain with her spine straight, head high. And hoped he wouldn’t see her swallowing her fears. Or see the slight tremor still in her legs.
“So, lad. How did you get aboard with no one spotting you?” The captain’s stare made her blood run cold.
“I, uh, snuck aboard while you were loading the ship. I went behind a shipment of tea, out of view. At least the side of the boxes said it was tea.” Despite her predicament, Pippa straightened even more. She was proud of having circumvented the captain. “Could go for a pot of the stuff right now.”
The captain’s mouth quirked up at one corner. “Cheeky little thing, aren’t you? Well, since we are stuck with you now, we must find some use for you. Welcome aboard the Gladys Maria.” The captain hid his grin by running a hand over his chin.
“Such a fancy name for such a small ship.” She may not be able to charm him, but she could distract him. Obviously, there was a story behind the ship’s name, and she’d never met a man who didn’t like to talk about himself.
The captain’s gaze snapped at her. “You regret the ship is so small? Perhaps you should have chosen better. A larger ship would have possibly delayed your subterfuge by a day or so. But any crew would have caught you sooner or later. There have only been a handful of stowaways clever enough to get away with a free passage.”
“I can work for my passage. Tell me what to do.”
“What’s your name?”
She nearly stumbled out her real name. She was a long way from Lady Philippa Worthington, even a long way from Pippa, the name her friends gave her years ago. “Uh, I’m Pip, sir.”
“All right, Pi-i-i-p-p.” He dragged out the three letters, as if testing the name. “I am not a ‘sir.’ You call me Captain.”
“Yes, sir, er—Captain.”
“Why are you a stowaway? Why not come to me when I was loading freight and ask for a job or offer to pay for your passage?” He peppered her with questions.
“Would you have hired a scrappy young boy like me?”
The captain's blue-eyed gaze lingered on her, casually moving from her head to her toes. A lock of his dark hair fell over his brow as his gaze wandered over her, and she held her breath. Her tightly bound breasts felt naked under his stare. It was as if he could see right through her. Through her ruse.
“Probably not.”
She exhaled slowly. “And I have no money to pay for
passage. You see, my only choice was to stow away and hope for the best.” Pippa’s voice rose and she grimaced. She needed to stop whining.
“Why is it so important you leave England? Are you running from the law? Because I won’t be harboring a fugitive.”
Pippa’s cheeks puffed, and she straightened her stance. “I am no fugitive, but it was crucial I leave England immediately.”
The captain’s gaze fell back to his maps. “Since you’re here now, and it’s too late to toss you into the harbor, you can be my cabin boy for now. There are a lot of things needing my attention once a ship gets moving. Find your way to the galley and fetch me something to eat.” He motioned to the door.
Pippa swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. She had passed her first test. Her heart pounded as she ran from the room. “Aye, aye, Cap’n.”
CHAPTER TWO
Pippa leaned up against the door to the captain’s quarters as her legs gave out and took a few deep breaths. The captain had given her a chance to prove her worth. Now she needed to find her way to the galley, which must be a kitchen of some sort. Her stomach grumbled at the thought of finding a tasty apple, or maybe some meat. She highly doubted the “galley” would be on the open main deck, so she headed below, down the narrow stairs. Thankfully, she was petite, so didn’t have to duck her head or pull in her arms.
Ben was seated at a crude table. He chomped on an apple while he squinted at her.
She waved a hand at the basket of fruit on the table. “Cap’n wants some food.”
“Expect so.” Ben nodded at the apples. “Take some of those and get some cheese from the bins behind you.”
“Aye, aye. Ben, is it?”
He flashed his gold tooth at her. “Iffen the cap’n wants to use you as a cabin boy, that takes a load off me. You must have said somethin’ he liked. Sorry, then, about the kick in the ribs.”
She rubbed her aching side. “I’m all right, Ben.” She reached out a hand to him. “I’m Pip.”
He gazed at her hand as if it were a snake. “Didn’t ask yer name. Yer ‘boy,’ that’s all. I don’t cozy up with the likes of a stowaway, since they usually are running from somethin’. And whatever you’re running from, I want no part of.”
She backed away from Ben. She wasn’t running from something so much as she was running toward something. “Boy” was just fine with her. She hurriedly put together a snack for the captain and scurried back to his office, stopping to rap on the rough door before entering.
The captain was standing over his desk, staring intently at a map and using some kind of tool. He barely glanced up when she entered but motioned for her to bring the food to him. She delivered the snack and then stood in front of the desk, unsure of her next move. Of course, she’d be content to just stare at him for the entire crossing. He was far more delectable than any of the men in the Ton with whom she’d shared dances.
The captain finally lifted his gaze from the map and raised an eyebrow. “What?”
She swallowed, hard. “Can you explain to me what yer looking at? How you can read a map of the vast ocean and know which way for the boat to go?” She waved a hand over the map.
“No.” He examined the map once again and plotted a course with his finger. Men had never ignored her before and she didn’t much care for it. Damn the man.
His head snapped up again. “And it’s not a ‘boat.’ It’s a ship. Remember that, or I won’t care how far out of the harbor we are as I toss you into the brink.”
She took a step back. And waited. Kept her spine straight and didn’t break eye contact, as if she were awaiting an audience with the king. In a way, she was. This captain was the king of his domain. The ship rocked slightly, and she had to widen her stance to keep upright. Pippa shifted her weight. She’d poked at him enough for now. She needed to act more like a boy.
He broke their eye contact first and glanced around the room. “I want you to sort those books alphabetically for me.” He motioned to a small bookcase with a glass door. “Can you read?”
“Aye, Cap’n.”
“Well, get to it. And keep quiet.” His gaze went back to his maps and charts.
Pippa opened the door to the bookcase and sat on the floor. She inhaled the scent of old books, leather bindings, and the captain’s cheroot. She’d love to ask for some tobacco of her own, but that would tempt fate too much. Instead, she opened the first book she’d removed from the shelves. Gulliver’s Travels. Dipping inside the pages, she deduced it was an adventure book.
“Ken I read any of the books in here?”
The captain glanced up and nodded. “That’s a good one.”
Since she was about to become a sailor, for a little while, at any rate, it made sense for her to get acquainted with a book about sailing and travel on the high seas. She’d see if Gulliver’s Travels could hold a candle to her own adventure. She set the book on the floor and quickly organized the rest. She rose, closed the glass door, and held the Gulliver tale to her chest as she stared once again at the man poring over his charts. She had trouble catching her breath. If all American men resembled the captain, her exile might be even more exciting than stowing away on a ship. And stowing away on a ship was the most exciting thing she’d ever done in her life. She scratched the back of her neck, unused to the coarse fabric of her pilfered shirt.
The captain wandered from the desk to the food Pippa had brought from the galley. He took a huge bite from the apple before he headed to the porthole and gazed out at the rough waves. He shifted his focus to her. “Let’s head up on deck. I want to see what the sky looks like.”
He exited the room quickly. Pippa laid her book on the desk, grabbed her tweed cap and followed as his long strides made quick work of the hallway and he bounded up the stairs. The wind whipped her short locks around her face as she arrived on the deck and found the captain at the wheel. The many sails overhead snapped in the wind. He took over from the burly sailor who had been steering the ship and Pippa placed her cap on her head, taming her locks.
The captain scanned the horizon. His dark hair poked out from his cap and his blue eyes focused on the water. Pippa stood alongside and devoured him with her gaze. He was far more toned and muscled than any of the simpering men she’d come across in the London ballrooms. If he’d graced one of the dances, she and her friends would titter behind their fans as they detailed every inch of the man’s face and form. Especially his rather divine backside, encased in his form-fitting tan breeches, hugging him like a second skin.
Pippa forced her gaze away from the man, who until now, at least, had been her salvation. She too, scanned the horizon, searching for other ships, but she could see only miles of water. She took a hasty gulp, swallowing her fear. The Gladys Maria was propelling itself over the surface at a rapid pace.
“Do we usually go this fast?” Pippa took hold of a spoke on the wheel to keep her balance.
The captain laughed. “If we’re lucky. Unless the wind dies, we should be in Boston in about six weeks. Here, hold her steady while I take a piss.”
Pippa grabbed the wheel and tried to keep it in the same position the captain had it while he strode to the railing, unbuttoned his pants and released a stream of urine into the ocean. Even though his back was to her, she could feel the blood flowing to her cheeks. She’d never witnessed such an intimate act from a man. Or a woman, for that matter.
Could she keep up the charade for the entire voyage? With any of the crew taking a piss over the side of the ship whenever they felt like it? And doing whatever other bodily functions men did? Where would she sleep? With the crew? How could she take care of her own bodily functions? Six weeks. Forty-two days. She’d always craved some excitement in her life and now that it was upon her, she doubted her ability to handle it.
Goose bumps broke out on her arms. There was no other recourse. Damn her father and his lack of spine, anyway! He would not use her as chattel, nor would anyone else. Ever.
How she longed for a cheroot to
soothe her mind, to untangle her nerves. Forty-two days to go, if the wind filled the sails.
• ♥ •
Back in the small cabin, Pippa sank into what she had designated as “her corner” with the book the captain allowed her to read. Gulliver’s Travels was a tale of a shipwreck and being washed ashore on a strange land and had enough intrigue to keep her attention from flagging, even though she was immensely tired. The story line paralleled her own life, hopefully without the shipwreck. But she was about to set foot in a strange land. First, though, she needed some privacy to use the chamber pot, and that meant waiting for the captain to sleep.
Finally, he stood from his desk where the charts and instruments were laid out. He poured some water into a washbowl and splashed it on his face. Then, he ran a hand over his eyes and sank into the hammock on one side of the room. He glanced in her direction. “Pull a blanket over by the door, Pip, snuff out the candle, and sleep there. I don’t want anyone barging in here while I’m asleep.”
“Aye, aye, Cap’n.” She removed a blanket from under the hammock where he was stretched out and took a step toward the door. If she blew out the candle, would she be able to find the chamber pot? “I’d like to read a bit longer, though. Yer Gulliver’s Travels book is really good.”
The captain chuckled. “That’s exactly what my daughter says when I read it to her.”
Pippa’s stomach nose-dived. Someone was married to her handsome captain? “You have a daughter? It must be hard being away from her and your wife for so long at a time.”
His shoulder muscles tensed as he shrugged. “No wife. Just a daughter. Good night, Pip.” He rolled over and faced the wall, shielding himself from the light.
She sat, propped up against the opposite wall with a lot of unanswered questions. What had happened to the mother of his child? She must be dead, since no woman in her right mind would stray from the captain’s side voluntarily. And did he have any inkling that she resembled his daughter in more ways than their taste in literature?
