Conquered by the Ghost

by Pippa Greathouse

  Letter in hand, he moved toward his study and closed the door. Taking a seat at his desk, he lit the lamp and stared at the envelope. He was hesitant to invade her privacy this way. It was the main reason he kept his own journal tucked away and locked in the bottom drawer. At the same time, he felt he needed to know its contents. When had she written it? The stationary didn’t look like any they had in the house.

  It was several moments later when he finally took it out, unfolding it carefully. Chloe wrote with a beautiful hand. He leaned back in his swivel chair and read.

  Dearest Sarah,

  I hope this finds you well. Captain Smythe promised to hand-deliver it to you. He says you have become an indispensable asset about the Arabella. Perhaps now you will stop complaining about me insisting you let me teach you to read and write.

  I cannot believe the company supplying the food tried to get away with sending half the allotted amount of beef and substituting unusable pieces. The captain loves telling the story of you wielding your spoon at the owner after you found he had shortchanged us.

  He looked up, smiling for a bit, before turning back to the letter.

  Life here in England is peaceful. Lady Arabella treats me more as a sister than a lady’s servant. In her place, I don’t know that I would have done the same. Back when Papa and Mama were alive, I led a charmed life, not wanting for anything, yet never appreciating all I had. Had Papa’s new wife not betrayed him by selling me into slavery, I would no doubt be wed to some rich Frenchman, looking down on those less fortunate who were bound by birth to serve instead of leading a life of privilege.

  I suppose I owe Papa’s new wife a debt of gratitude, after all. Her actions showed me the way of the real world. It is not until one faces utter despair that one can enjoy the subtle blessings of life.

  His eyes moved toward the lamp. Almost, he could see the blue eyes of the young lady upstairs staring back at him. He frowned. She so well knew his heart. Yet, how could she? The flame wavered, reflecting her face, and finally, he lowered his gaze once again.

  You and Benny rescued me from a life of self-pity and revenge. You showed me the beauty of watching the sunrise on a glorious day and the pride in the fruits of one’s own labor…and the faith in a God who sees beyond the color of a person’s skin or humble heritage.

  Yes, Sarah, I admit I am a dreamer, still, as I was when I worked in the kitchen with you. I remember your fussing at me with your, “Lordy, Lordy, get your head out of the clouds, girl.” Yet I no longer envision destroying my stepmother. You’ll be pleased to know that.

  But when I tell you of my fantasies, I cannot help but be glad you are far away from me, for you would likely beat me with your spoon.

  I am in love, Sarah.

  He paused in his reading, frowning. Why did he feel so disturbed at those words? She was in love? Was there someone back at home worried about her, sick at heart that she had been taken, wondering where she was? And why should it affect him so? He tried to prepare himself for what the letter might next reveal.

  Before you warn me not to get my hopes up, let me assure you, I already realize my dearest desire can never be realized. I understand my feelings are for naught, born of a love of romance and adventure, based in a world where happily-ever-afters are promised, and a person’s past may be overcome with the right dedication.

  You need not fear I will rush off to meet the man who claims my deepest desire, for as far as I know, he is long gone from this world. In life, he was like me. I heard him bemuse his lot in life, boast of seeking revenge on those who wronged him. He was consumed with a bitterness I understand so well. He was a man of flaws, drinking more than perhaps even Benny could handle, and seeking relationships when he drank perhaps best left until marriage.

  So how could I love such a man, a ghost whom I can never touch, feel…a man I can never find that happiness with?

  Because he, too, learned to turn his fate around. He sacrificed himself, so others might be saved. I know this to be true because Lady Arabella speaks of his heroic actions so often.

  Pray for me, my dearest Sarah, for I am still naïve in so many of the ways of life. What other explanation is there for a woman such as myself, to love a pirate—a man who no longer inhabits this world?

  Yet I truly do. I cannot confide in the captain, for he is a man and would never understand. But you, whom I embrace as my mother and dearest friend, would.

  Please listen as you’re out there, for the whispers of my love. I pray he is out at sea, safe and free from his past demons. Though my arms will never hold him, I shall hold him close in my heart.

  His name? I know you’ll ask when next I see you. You’ll likely remember him, dear Sarah.

  His name is Ezra Miller, and I miss him every single day.

  How I long for my ghost!

  Love, Chloe

  He folded the letter, tucking it back into the envelope, and leaned back, closing his eyes. In a voice he himself could barely hear, he whispered, “Dear God. What should I do now?”

  Chapter 8

  Realizations…

  Purr returned to keep Chloe company when Althea brought lunch. There was a heaping pile of smooth mashed potatoes and she fought back a smile. She refused to give in to it, however. As nice as it had been for Smiley to send up some food, she was still upset Ghost hadn’t brought it, himself.

  Althea smiled and left her with the tray, returning downstairs. Chloe sat, staring at it. She found it hard to eat much. When was he coming back? She was a mixture of emotions; she was tired of waiting for him to find the time to come up and get her. She found herself longing to have him near her again. She longed to breathe his masculine scent once more, despite the fact that he’d manhandled her. Yet at the same time, she was angry as hell at him and never wished to see him again. How could both feelings exist in her simultaneously? She had no idea. A heavy sigh of annoyance escaped.

  Rain pelted the window and the wind sent leaves from nearby trees flowing about as she paced back and forth in front of it. The weather perfectly mirrored her current feelings as she paused long enough to stare out the window. Finally, she threw up her hands and moved in front of the door, resuming her pacing. She stopped only to light the lantern Althea had brought back up with her, when it became hard to watch the door because of the darkness outside. Her kitten watched her from the bed, flicking her tail in time with the footsteps of the hardwood floor.

  “If he thinks I am going to remain locked in this room... I know,” She turned to Purr as if reading her mind. “The door’s not locked. It’s the principle of the thing. Surely, you see that. I had more freedom when I was a slave.” She gasped at her own thoughts. It was so far from the truth. But at the moment, she was so annoyed, she almost felt justified in saying it.

  The kitten watched her silently as she fumed. She cursed and muttered under her breath, demanding to know why she’d been taken, why she was being kept here. If Ghost thought she was going to wait up here in this prison all day long, he was sorely mistaken. Nothing was stopping her from leaving this room. In fact, she was going to do so this very minute—

  The sudden sound of heavy footfalls approaching had Chloe rushing away from the doorway. She sat on the bed and tried to appear relaxed. Crossing her arms over her stomach felt too defensive. Next, she rested one elbow on her leg and settled her chin on her palm. A sharp knock at the door spooked her, and she almost fell forward in alarm.

  “It’s me, Chloe. Extinguish the lamp,” Ghost ordered through the doorframe. “And before you ask, you’ll do it because, if you don’t cooperate, I have a blindfold ready.”

  “Bloody bully,” she complained, getting up to comply. She had put it out as he directed when she heard his voice again.

  “Shall I remind you, young lady, my hearing is quite good?”

  She stared back at the door. Was it her imagination, or did he sound amused?

  “The lamp is out, but it’s quite dark in here. You’ve only yourself to blame if yo
u trip when you try to make your way inside.” She tried to control her tongue, really, she did, but something about this man ignited incredibly strong feelings in her. Chloe knew she was definitely not the docile, perfect lady around him, yet at the moment, she didn’t care.

  The door opened, and he was cast in shadows by the contrast in light between the dark room and the hall. “Althea says you are bored. She insists I come up and entertain you, of all things. I told her you would prefer solitude to my company, but there you have it. And since you’ve been in here all day, I thought I should check on you.”

  At first, she just stared at him, speechless. Then the questions came rushing out, one after the other. “How long do you plan on keeping me here? Why can’t I look upon your face? How did a one-legged, former pirate come to be your cook? Althea says you have several men working here. Are these people more inclined to act like Smiley or Althea? I need to prepare myself for when I encounter them. I won’t take kindly to being gagged and blindfolded just because some grumpy, old man worries I might spook the animals.”

  “Full of demands, aren’t you?” He walked to stand in front of her, his large arms crossed over his impressive chest. “I’m quite ready to gag you, myself. I advise you to pause between your inquisitions to take a breath, Miss Tucker, before you pass out from lack of air.”

  “I won’t be cooped up in this isolated room indefinitely. I swear, I will escape or go mad if you try to make me.” She tapped her foot with agitation.

  He took a step forward, and she vowed not to move. However, his large frame was so intimidating that she ended up taking a step back. Her retreat continued as he advanced until her thighs hit the bedframe and she fell to a sitting position.

  “You are sassier than I rememb…” he began to lecture, but paused before finishing “…than I considered you might be. Now, Chloe, you would be wise to listen to me. There will be no escape attempts. Any efforts along those lines will be met with swift, painful punishment. Not only would you put yourself in grave danger, but you might endanger my men in the process. That’s unacceptable, considering all they have done to help me protect you.”

  “Protect me from what?” She scooted across the bed and bounced off, her arms crossed over her chest in defiance when he failed to give her the answer. “Fine, if I am to be a prisoner, at least, provide me with something to do with my time.”

  “Such as?” He did not seem disinclined to humor her.

  “If I am allowed light in here, I could, at least, do some needlework.”

  “I’ll see to securing the necessary materials, tomorrow. Now, if you will excuse me, I will go back to more pressing tasks.” When he started to take his leave, she threw herself in front of the door to block his path. “Chloe,” he said in a warning tone.

  She gulped. She might not be able to see his face, but his tone was clear. “Please,” she begged. “Stay a bit longer? I’ll go crazy if I spend another moment here with only Purr for company. Especially since I don’t know what’s going on.”

  When he answered, there was almost a grin in his voice. “Stay so you can pester me with endless questions I have neither the time nor the inclination to answer?”

  “Please, I don’t want to stay in here alone.”

  He paused. Something in her plea must have touched a chord of sympathy within him. Chloe heard him sigh. She almost threw her arms around his neck in gratitude.

  “I know this must be hard for you. All right. Do you play chess?”

  His question confused her, at first. “Yes,” she said. “But it’s impossible to concentrate on one’s next move when the room is dark.”

  “Good point. Give me time to consider it, and I’ll return.”

  He picked her up by the waist and moved her aside before she could protest and disappeared out of the room. “The bloody man left me alone, anyway,” she muttered to her kitten. “Bastard!”

  She stumbled back to the bed and fell back in frustration. A few moments later, heavy footsteps echoed in the hall. Chloe leaped up and rushed to the entrance. Before she could so much as grasp the handle, a low voice stopped her, “Chloe? Is the lamp out?”

  “Yes.”

  “All right. Go sit on the bed and face away from me, toward the far wall.”

  The chess match…

  Chloe forced herself to comply, muttering with resentment. The door opened, and she heard shuffling across the floor. Something heavy was set on the secretary desk, and the sound of its chair being pulled out had her inching to turn around to see what was happening.

  “Listen carefully, Chloe, because I’ll be quite put out with you if you disobey my instructions. In a moment, I’m going to light the lamp in the room. You’ll allow me to guide you around to face the desk. So long as you face away from me, the blindfold stays in my pocket. Try my patience, and I’ll not only put it on, this time, but it will be secured each time I enter here, in the future. Do you understand?”

  Chloe was strongly tempted to stamp her foot in frustration again, but instead, she did as he bid her, for fear he would disappear again. His strong hands settled on her shoulders as he maneuvered her around the room, a moment later. An old chess set had been set on the desk, and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling and clapping her hands in delight.

  “You’ll have to set up the pieces,” he told her.

  “But how will you sit across from me to play? Surely, you aren’t going to keep extinguishing the lamp only to relight it after you move me around, just so I can’t see your face.”

  “I’ll play from this side of the board. It’ll be challenging, but I think I can manage. You will sit in the chair facing the board while I stand behind you.”

  She made quick work of preparing the board for play and took a seat when he indicated it was time to begin. The logistics of how they would play this game from the same side confused her, but she appreciated his efforts and tried to follow his directions.

  It was only a few moves later that she felt the tingling sensation. Each time he moved behind her to reach toward the board, she felt the gentle brush of his hand on her neck. She almost looked up to see him when he gathered her hair in one hand and moved it over one shoulder. The feeling it created went all the way to her toes.

  “Clever, young lady,” he said in her ear, as he rested one hand on her shoulder and reached around her on the other. “This is apparently not your first chess game.”

  Every touch seemed to send a thrilling sensation through her, and Chloe found it hard to concentrate. His possessiveness was arousing, to say the very least. She shivered. Did he feel it, too?

  Chloe had not played chess since her father’s passing, but the rules came back to her. It took her mere seconds to decide her next move, while Ghost plotted quietly, taking several minutes to finally commit to a plan of attack. When he captured one of her pieces unexpectedly, she started to turn around without thinking, and his strong fingers took hold of her shoulders, halting her.

  “Remember my rules, young lady.” His deep tone of warning made her tremble.

  No longer willing to let instinct guide her playing, Chloe began pondering her own moves carefully. It was terribly difficult to concentrate when his hard chest accidently connected with her back as he made another move. His woodsy smell made her lightheaded with desire, and she found herself shifting uneasily in her seat.

  “Chloe? Be still. You’re distracting me,” he said, more than once.

  She tried but found it impossible, and a few commands later, he paused the game to stand her up and place a few, hard smacks on her bottom. When he finished, his reprimand growled in her ear, “Since I cannot trust you to obey and stop moving about, I have no other choice.”

  “No, please—not the blindfold!” she protested with alarm, but his hands spanned her waist and moved her closer to the table. It sounded as if he took her seat. A second later, she was lifted her off her feet and brought her back roughly to sit on his lap. His arm settled around her waist and pulled her back
until it was impossible to turn backward.

  Now she was deathly still. Chloe realized this was much more disturbing than his occasional touch. His hard thighs seemed to scorch her thighs and bottom, and she felt a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. She tried to focus her eyes on the board. Perchance the blindfold was preferable to being this close to him? If she dared to suggest such a thing, she feared what he might say or do.

  Her eyes locked on the board, and she wondered if ending this game was her only option now. A moment later, however, she saw her chance.

  “Check,” she announced. Her voice sounded strangely high pitched for some reason as she took an opening after he had moved his knight a second before.

  A rich, satisfied chuckle into her hair made her tingle as he reached past her. “You just left your queen exposed, dear Chloe. I’m afraid I have no choice but to capture her. That’s checkmate.”

  Suddenly, his strong thighs and masculine scent did not concern her so much. Her mind reeled as it stared at the board, replaying the last few moves again in her mind. Even playing from the opposite side of the board, Ghost had skillfully planned his attack many moves back, leading her into a deadly trap. Perhaps he’d purposely pulled her to sit in his lap, knowing it would put her off her game.

  “Imagine that,” she protested, her voice heavy with reproach. “You swoop in to grab my only female piece when no one was paying attention. You seem to make a habit of that.”

  “Cross because you lost, eh?” he chided, chuckling again. “You might not have been paying attention; I obviously was.”

  She made an attempt to stamp her foot in frustration but realized, sitting on his lap, she was unable to reach the floor. Her only other option would have been to kick his shins, and she dared not do that.

  “I demand a rematch.”

  He pulled her back and whispered in her ear, “I have to finish a few things, but I’ll be back. We’ll see if you’re still intent on losing again so soon. And you’ll sit in my lap the entire game, next time.”