by Jenny Lykins
Those men now swarmed onto the ship from both sides, some prodding the hostage crew together, some disappearing into the bowels of the ship.
Shaelyn could make out nothing more than random shouts. Alec, Captain Finley, and the captain of Griffin’s ship - both masked as well - oversaw the proceedings while holding the third captain at the point of a sword.
Hatches flew open all over the ship, and an incredible stench suddenly permeated the air. Shaelyn gagged and covered her face, thinking this must be what an outhouse smells like. No, it couldn’t smell that bad, because no one would ever go in one to use it.
Just as she thought she might lose last night’s dinner over the rail, she drew in a choking gasp at the sight of slaves - men, women, and children - crawling weakly from below. Some needed help just to stand. All of them squinted and hid their eyes from the sun. Most of them wore scraps of rags that hung from their bodies, covering little. Filth clung to them all, the likes of which Shaelyn didn’t even want to contemplate.
Alec barked orders, pointing to Griffin’s ship and then to his own. Suddenly he went rigid. Shaelyn realized he was staring straight at her.
Uh oh.
She’d completely forgotten to stay hidden. No sense cowering now. She straightened her shoulders and stood tall.
He went back to barking orders, louder and angrier, gesturing toward Griffin’s ship. The crewmen who had been leading some of the slaves toward Alec’s ship stopped and turned, then herded the poor, weak group toward Griffin’s.
What was he doing? Changing his plans because of her? She crawled out from behind the crates and headed toward one of the planks connecting the ships.
Alec shoved the fat captain face down onto the deck and bellowed an order for the prisoners to follow suit. Not until they’d all disappeared behind the rail did he leave the helm and make his way toward her.
“If you so much as take another step, I will tie you to the bunk and lock you in your cabin,” he gritted through clenched teeth as he leapt to the plank and marched across.
Ordinarily an order like that would have guaranteed that Shaelyn do as she pleased or die trying, but something stopped her this time. She had no doubt he would do just as he threatened.
He dropped to the deck in front of her, grabbed her arm, and hauled her out of sight of the other ship.
“You infuriating little fool! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
She yanked at her arm but his grip remained ironclad.
“Let go of me, you big jerk! I was just watching. I wasn’t doing any harm.”
“You could be recognized! Why do you think we’re all masked? Because we like to play pirate?” He held fast as she continued to try to break his hold. “Stop fighting me! Even now one of that crew may have seen you. Not to mention the trap Franklin Tilburn has set for us. We’ll be evading him during this entire trip.”
She stopped fighting when the implications hit her. Alec could be recognized through her.
“Okay.” Her mind raced for a solution. “Give me one of those masks, then bind my hands like I’m a prisoner and tie me to something out there so they can see me. If I’m ever recognized later, I can say I escaped.”
He looked as if he might argue, but Shae could tell he was thinking over her plan. With a muttered, “Stay,” he disappeared onto the bridge and returned with a black silk scarf.
He tied it below her eyes, then grabbed her hair, wadded it up, then shoved the curly mass down the back of her shirt. He pulled a piece of coiled rope from his pocket, bound her hands so loosely she had to hold the rope on, then made a display of yanking her roughly back into view.
“At least act afraid, blast it,” he growled under his breath. “Curl into a ball and sit still. The less they see of you, the better.” He looped the rope around a mast and acted as if he were knotting it. “If anything untoward happens, and I mean anything, Shaelyn, run like hell to the cabin, bar the door, and get the firearm from my desk.”
“Yes, master.” She looked up at him and gave a mock quiver of fear. A muscle in his jaw twitched and he clenched his fists as if he wished they were around her throat.
He turned on his heel.
“Ten lashes to the imbecile guarding the prisoner,” he roared as he stormed back to the other ship. As one, the men turned and looked at Jimmy, who stumbled at the looks and made a great show of cowering when Alec drew near.
They boarded the pitiful human cargo onto Griffin’s ship, then several of the men transferred casks of fresh water from Alec’s to Griffin’s.
“Give them water to bathe,” he ordered, “and all they want for drinking. Best make their meals bland at first.”
The bedding for the captain and crew of the hostage ship was taken for the slaves, as well as what clothes could be found.
Shaelyn watched all these proceedings, wishing like heck she had her mini-recorder. The moment the slaves had emerged from that putrid hold, she’d known what Alec had done. He hadn’t been out to rescue a couple of seasick slaves on the underground railroad. He’d taken a shipload of them coming straight from their native land, before they ever hit the shores of this country. The thought of him battling severe seasickness of his own to rescue these poor wretches made Shaelyn’s heart swell with pride.
She watched, trying to memorize every minute detail. If only she could get over in the middle of the action. But if she even looked like she was going to slip from the ropes, let alone cross to that ship, she had no doubt Alec would have her locked in the cabin before she could manage to stand upright.
She couldn’t see much of what was going on aboard Griffin’s ship. From what she could tell, the slaves had huddled together, obviously not realizing they’d been rescued.
Jimmy, Harker, and the first mate, Welford, as well as some of Griffin’s crew, passed buckets of drinking water through the fearful crowd, gesturing patiently that they could accept without fear of recriminations.
Once all the slaves had been boarded and control seemed to reign, Griffin’s crew stowed the planks, removed the grappling hooks, then pushed away from the slaver.
Alec’s men cut the sheets to the slaver’s sails, then the men swarmed back onto their own ship as quickly as they’d left it. Alec was the last to leave. He jumped atop a bridging plank, then turned and pointed his sword at the fat, furious captain.
“Follow and you die.”
As the man sputtered with rage, Alec jumped to the deck and marched toward Shaelyn.
She tried to stifle her smile, then realized no one could see it behind the black scarf anyway.
While the men shoved away and followed Griffin’s ship, Alec whipped Shae’s ropes loose, pulled her to her feet by her forearm, then dragged her toward the cabin.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Alec pushed the infuriating woman into the cabin and slammed the door behind him. She stumbled and caught herself on the desk, then spun around and yanked the silk kerchief from her face.
“Criminy, Alec! You can cut the caveman act now. Nobody can see us.”
“This is not an act, Shaelyn. When I give you an order, I expect it to be followed.”
“Oh, that.” She waved her hand as if his orders were nothing more than pesky insects to be batted away. “You have to remember, I’m a journalist. That was history in the making. I couldn’t possibly have sat down here and not witnessed a shipload of slaves gaining their freedom.”
An aching throb hammered at his temples as he fought to keep from throttling her.
“I mean, think about it. Things like this go down in the history books. We made history today.”
“We may be recognized, thanks to you and your very noticeable face!” Though he wanted to choke her, he couldn’t stop the coil of pleasure in his chest at her use of “we.” And he had not failed to notice she’d included herself on that first day at sea when she’d said Smythe didn’t suspect them.
Instead of seeming upset for possibly compromising their identities, she blinked wit
h a smile and self-consciously pulled her hair from the back of her shirt. She gave the curly mane a gentle shake with her fingers.
“You think I have a noticeable face?”
Oh, if she only knew.
“Saint’s blood! The reason I saw you was because half Griffin’s crew were gawking.”
“Well, geez, the guys on the slaver probably didn’t see me without the mask, and if they did they’ll just think I was a prisoner. Besides, aren’t ships recognizable? What will keep them from identifying your ships?”
“There are hundreds of vessels on the water identical to the two we used. We never use the same ship twice, and we cover any name or identifying marks.”
She raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips. “Makes sense.” She paced a few steps and turned. “Why did you load all the slaves on Griffin’s ship? Some were moving toward this one until you saw me.”
He sighed. “Quite frankly, until I saw you, I’d forgotten you were on board.”
“How flattering,” she muttered. He ignored her.
“I realized you might not be safe, so I ordered - ”
“I can take care of myself,” she stated with exaggerated patience.
“I am painfully aware of that.” Just the thought made his groin ache. He glared at her, part of him itching to choke her, part of him noticing how her hair sparkled with glints of red and gold when the sun came through the porthole. “This is not the first time I’ve rescued these poor devils, and until they realize they are safe, some of them bear watching. They speak no English, so there is no way to tell them except through kindness. And the vast majority of them have never seen a white woman.
“Oh. I hadn’t thought of that. You’re right.” She paced away and he started to chastise her again about not following his orders, but she turned back and looked at him, her gaze downright worshipful.
“You were awesome out there today,” she said. “I was so proud of you.”
Any harsh words evaporated like wisps of fog in the sun.
“Well...I...I was just - ”
“You were just wonderful. Standing up there, the wind in your hair, that irate captain at the end of your sword.”
He unconsciously straightened his shoulders and stood a bit taller.
“The Dramamine must have really helped,” she added.
His shoulders slumped.
She smiled at him with an impish twinkle of mischief in her eyes. A twinkle the color of moss kissed by the morning dew.
He reached up and smoothed a silky errant curl off of her cheek. She closed her eyes at his touch and leaned into his hand, sending a sweet ripple of heat through him, like ever-widening circles on a pond. She opened her eyes and looked at him, invited him. He cupped the back of her head and drew her nearer.
“Sir,” Jimmy’s happy voice called from behind the door. “I’m here for my ten lashes.”
*******
The past two days had been absolutely idyllic.
The past two nights had been hell.
Since Griffin’s ship had all the passengers, Alec found himself with little to do. He’d sought out Shaelyn, finding her with Mr. Harker, helping to mend sails, or with Mr. Ort in the galley getting a lesson on high seas cooking. Yesterday when he’d caught her climbing the rigging with the lookout, Mr. Gilyard, he bellowed for Gilyard to bring her down posthaste and risk a lashing if he ever took her up there again.
While Shaelyn verbally abused him for his high-handedness, calling him some sort of male pig in her non sequitur language, he fought to swallow his heart back down into his chest. One small misstep and she could have been dead on the deck in front of him.
“How long will we travel with Griffin’s ship?” Shaelyn asked. She sat cross-legged on the deck, barefoot, a clean pair of Jimmy’s britches rolled up to her knees and another of Alec’s shirts billowing on her small frame. The wind lifted her hair in swirls behind her. Alec’s fingers tingled to bury themselves in the silky strands, to hold her head in his palms while he kissed her senseless. To lift her from the deck and carry her to the -
“Hello?”
“Hmm?” He dragged his mind back to her question. “Oh. We’ll break away just south of Port Helm. Captain Reynolds will take Grif’s ship to an island cove and wait while Finley deposits us and takes on fresh water and food. They’ll meet back up and sail together to Canada. The slaves will be given the choice to stay there or return to their homeland.”
“Oh.” She nodded. “Makes sense.” She stretched her legs out in front of her and wiggled her toes.
“Really, Shaelyn. I still insist that it is most unseemly for you to show your calves and feet. The trousers are bad enough, but - ”
“Don’t start with me Alec.” She stretched like a cat, swung her feet around, then plopped her head in his lap and smiled up at him. “Why do I never hear you men complaining about too much cleavage from a woman’s gown?”
“Well, that’s different.”
“How?”
“Well, it’s...that is to say...” How could she expect him to think straight with her head in his lap, smiling up at him so endearingly?
“Uh huh. I didn’t think so.”
And so had gone their relationship for the last two days, since Jimmy had interrupted Alec’s contemplations of kissing her and she had cursed under her breath.
She was like no other woman in the world. And, God help him, he realized she was the only woman he wanted.
How in the world would he deal with Faith?
“There’s an elephant.”
He looked down at her.
“I beg your pardon?”
“An elephant. Up there.” She pointed skyward and his gaze followed her finger. “See it? That big cloud to the left of the sun. See? There’s its trunk. And its ears. It must be African with ears that size. And there’s its tail. Oops. No more tail.”
Alec watched the elephant distort into a turtle and then into a mound of whipping cream. Shaelyn argued that it was an aardvark, but since he’d never seen one, he could hardly be a judge.
They picked out animals in the clouds until the last wisp of white gave way to flawless royal blue from horizon to horizon. The ship glided across glass smooth waters, and for the first time in his life Alec found himself enjoying the gentle rock of the deck, the snap of sails in the breeze, the taste of the salt air on his tongue.
He leaned against a crate and relaxed. Shaelyn’s eyes had drifted closed and she breathed as if she were sleeping. Her hair fanned across his lap and spilled onto the deck.
He ran his finger up one of the spirally curls, careful that she couldn’t feel such nonsense. He closed his eyes and fought the ache in his chest that had plagued him for the past two nights as he’d tossed in his bunk until Welford had thrown a pillow at his head.
With a sigh he opened his eyes and looked down at Shaelyn. His gaze met the dark, mossy green of hers. Her eyes no longer twinkled with mischief, but studied him with a seriousness he’d seldom seen on her face.
She reached up and took his hand from her hair, then brought his fingers to her cheek. She leaned into them with a look of sweet agony, then turned her head and pressed a kiss into the center of his palm. The agony shot up his arm and rocked throughout his body.
She looked up at him, her eyes bright with moisture.
“I’ll miss you,” she whispered.
*******
The full lovers’ moon mocked him as Alec paced the deck. He hadn’t even bothered to try to go to bed. Shaelyn’s words rang in his head like the ship’s bell, and try as he might, he could not wipe them from his mind.
She had resigned herself to leaving. She believed he wanted to marry Faith. And just when he’d opened his mouth to tell her he didn’t want her to go, Jimmy had come galloping up to show her the seals sunning themselves on a nearby island. She had jumped at the chance to break the tension, and she and Jimmy had watched the seals until the dinner bell rang.
He toyed with the notion of throttling hi
s meddlesome cabin boy.
And now, as she slept peacefully in Alec’s cabin, he paced the deck like a caged bear.
Where did she think she would go? She had contacted no one and no one had come looking for her. What if, even beyond the realm of possibility, she truly was from the future? If she managed to get the ring off, would she indeed disappear back to the time she claimed was hers?
He shook himself at the thought. He must truly be overwrought to even consider giving credence to her ridiculous claim. But regardless of the fact that he didn’t believe her story, he admitted to himself that he loved her. Had fallen in love quite possibly that first day when he watched her stumble onto the deck, and he was still falling. Every time she looked at him, every time she touched him, aside from the torment she caused his tortured body, there was a rightness. As if two soul mates had come together at long last.
He scraped his hair back along his skull with both hands and continued to pace.
But she was wrong for him, he argued with himself. She was infuriating, entirely too outspoken, unconventional, unpredictable. Mad. She would keep his life in constant turmoil.
He could marry Faith. Sweet, serene, sane Faith. His life would be ordered. Calm, organized, uneventful.
Boring.
As boring as poor Grif’s was with Florence.
And he knew now that he didn’t love Faith, at least not as he should. He had loved her twelve years earlier, as a youth loves a girl. But the love he felt for Shaelyn was the love of a man for a woman. A fiery, tempestuous, volatile love for the same kind of woman.
And she loved him, as well. She’d said as much the night she moved into the cottage. She’d left because it hurt too much to watch him with Faith.
Oh, how he regretted the pain he caused her.
But he would make it all up to her now. He would tell her in the morning how he felt.
No, by damn. He would tell her now.
