by Merry Farmer
As she hurried down the hallways to the dining room-cum-ballroom, Domenica grinned, imagining how Albert would stare when he saw her. But as she stepped into the already crowded room and spotted him waiting for her to one side, she was the one who lost her breath. Albert wore a full, formal naval uniform, complete with dazzling gold epaulettes and a chest full of medals. He was freshly shaved and had his hair combed back in a rakish style, the grey at the temples lending him an air of distinction. The uniform fit him perfectly, showing off his broad shoulders, and the ceremonial sword that hung from his side added to his powerful demeanor.
“Mi capitán,” she said, breathless, as she approached him. “You are perfection.”
A flush painted his cheeks, but whether out of modesty or because of the way he stared at her was impossible to tell. He boldly took her into his arms when she drew close enough and growled against her ear, “There are no words for how you look. At least, not any that are fit for company.”
Domenica laughed, touching a gloved hand to her hot cheek. Men had complimented her with heat since she was barely more than a girl, but she’d never actually enjoyed it. The way Albert stared hungrily at her now made her feel beyond valuable instead of belittled.
“Shall we dance?” he asked her, holding out his arm.
“Should we?” she asked in return.
“I don’t think we would be particularly successful at not dancing, should we be tempted to try.”
She laughed again, feeling joy all the way down to her toes, and took his arm. “I suppose we should attend our own ball for a while before slipping out to search for….” She finished her sentence with a significant nod.
“Lewis can wait,” he said.
The small orchestra Albert had managed to scrape together sat in the far corner of the dining room, doing their best to play a waltz. A few of the first-class passengers turned up their noses at the effort, but the even larger number of steerage passengers glanced around with wide, happy eyes, taking it all in. The room—which usually seemed so spacious for a ship—was crammed tightly, but there was still just enough space to dance. All the same, Albert was forced to hold Domenica more closely than was strictly proper and they were too restricted to do more than move in a tight circle, but that was more than enough, as far as Domenica was concerned.
“I don’t think I ever want to leave this ship,” Domenica said with a smile and a sigh when they had been dancing for a few minutes.
Something sharp and hopeful sparked in Albert’s eyes. “Is that true?” he asked.
The heat coming from him seemed to increase. A wave of uncertainty shivered through Domenica. “Well, I supposed, in a way, yes, it is?” Her lashes fluttered as she glanced down, too anxious about what he would think of her to face him.
“I’m glad,” he said.
She sucked in a breath, glancing back up at him. There was such gravity in those two words, as if he were saying far more. He couldn’t possibly…he wasn’t really saying…was it possible that he wanted her to stay?
“I think I could make a life on the sea, as you have,” she said, her confidence building. “I think I would enjoy that life, as long….” She swallowed. “As long as I was with you.”
“Would you….” He stopped, running his tongue along his lips and igniting something primal in Domenica. “Would you be willing….”
“Captain.”
Domenica wanted to turn and roar at Mr. Justice for interrupting their dance and everything it was turning into. But as soon as she caught sight of the man weaving between the dancing couples, she knew something had happened. Mr. Justice’s face was set with alarm, his eyes wide and his cheeks red. As he dodged around a pair of young girls from steerage twirling around the dance floor, Domenica caught sight of Lord William watching them from the side of the room. He too looked as alarmed as could be.
“Captain, Mr. Sands is in the kitchen,” Mr. Justice said before he had reached them.
It would have been impossible for Lord William to hear them, as far away as he stood, but he waved to someone across the room with as much intensity as if Mr. Justice had shouted his revelation at the top of his lungs.
Albert let go of Domenica and turned to Mr. Justice. “When did he get there? Is anyone there with him?”
“Bourne, sir,” Mr. Justice answered. “And he only just showed up. He’s been sneaking in when—” He glanced to Domenica. “—when few other people are around to give us instructions.”
“I knew it.” Domenica pressed a hand to her stomach. Her glance darted back to Lord William, who had just been joined by Polly. She tugged on Albert’s sleeve. “Mi capitán, we have to move quickly.”
Albert turned to see what she was seeing, and as soon as he did, said, “You’re right.”
They cut their way through the reveling couples toward the door. Domenica kept an eye on Lord William and Polly, who were moving as well.
“I think they know something is happening,” Domenica said, not bothering to keep her voice down. She made a split-second decision. “I’ll stop them.”
“Domenica—”
Before Albert could hold her back, Domenica peeled away and marched across the room to intercept Lord William. One glance over her shoulder told her that Albert didn’t like her tactic, but he and Mr. Justice continued on, leaving the dining room.
Domenica tried to ignore the feeling of being alone that came with Albert leaving. She had a mission in front of her, though. Lewis’s life was at stake. She put on a sultry, if fake, smile as soon as Lord William noticed her. Just as she’d hoped, he paused and answered with a sly smirk, then changed direction to meet up with her.
“Lord William,” Polly hissed after him, glancing anxiously between the nobleman and the door.
Lord William ignored her, raking Domenica with a lustful look. “Well, well. Don’t you look tempting.”
Domenica kept her teasing smile in place, though she noted how agitated Polly suddenly was. She focused on Lord William while keeping Polly in her sights. “Going somewhere?” When he was close enough, she brushed her hand across the lapels of Lord William’s jacket.
“I could ask you the same question.” A flash of malice mingled with the lust in his eyes, and he clamped his hand over hers. Domenica tried to pull away, but he squeezed her hand to the point of pain.
“Let me go,” she demanded, tugging harder, hoping that someone from the crowd around them would see her distress and say something.
“Now, now.” Lord William’s grin widened. “We haven’t had our dance yet. We haven’t had other things that you owe me either.”
“I don’t want to dance.” She dropped all pretense of flirting and yanked her hand away. “And I owe you nothing.”
She turned and marched off, questioning her wisdom in going after Lord William in the first place. As she pushed her way through the crush of people, she glanced around for Polly, but the young woman had disappeared.
She barely had time to be concerned over that before Lord William caught her at the door.
“You’re not going to walk away from me that easily,” he said, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her the rest of the way through the door and into the hall.
CHAPTER 8
I t was a terrible idea to leave Domenica alone with William. As brave and defiant as she was, Albert couldn’t shake the feeling that Domenica didn’t know what she was up against. But time was of the essence in his own mission. He would deal with Lewis, make sure the man was safe, and then he’d double back to get Domenica out of William’s clutches.
“He’s in here,” Justice said, rushing ahead to hold the door open.
Albert marched into the kitchen doing a poor job of swallowing his frustration. Sure enough, Lewis was there, unshaven and bedraggled, looking over the shoulder of one of the under-cooks as he put together savory pastries.
“Lewis, thank God,” Albert said.
Lewis snapped his head up, his eyes wide. Then he bolted for the door that led
to the storage room corridor.
Albert was so startled by Lewis’s flight that for a moment all he could do was stand there as his crewman and friend disappeared around the corner. The kitchen staff leapt out of Lewis’s way, easing his retreat.
As soon as his shock wore off, Albert shouted, “Wait!” He kicked into a run, following Lewis. Fortunately, the kitchen staff didn’t get in his way either.
The corridor which housed the storage rooms was dark and narrow, but Albert was able to dash through it quickly. He spotted Lewis turning the corner at the far end and picked up his pace. Around the corner, Lewis was scrambling up a set of stairs that led to the section of the deck where freight was loaded when they were in port.
“Lewis, stop!” Albert shouted, his frustration growing. “Tell me what’s going on?”
The chase continued out onto the service deck, then up a second flight of stairs to the crew deck. Albert steadily gained on his friend, but it wasn’t until they’d run nearly the full length of the ship that Albert caught him.
“This is madness,” he said, both of them panting, as he clamped a hand around Lewis’s arm to stop him from getting away. “I’m trying to help you.”
Lewis blinked at him, eyes round with fear, chest heaving. “Help me?”
“Yes, you daft fool.” Albert let his arm go, but not before giving it a rough shake. “What did you think I was doing?”
Lewis continued to pant, straightening slowly, then leaning against the railing. “That Lord William bloke is your friend.”
“He is not,” Albert replied with a growl.
“But….” Lewis gaped at him. “But you gave him free passage on the ship. I’ve seen you talking to him several times. You invited him to the card game.”
Twin feelings of frustration and regret poked at Albert. He thought his crew trusted him implicitly. It was a shock to see that they didn’t.
“I’m friends with William’s uncle,” he said, working to keep his voice even. “I gave the whelp free passage as a favor to my friend. William is and always has been a peevish, spoiled ass.”
“But…but….” Lewis’s face pinched into a grimace, and his shoulders hunched. “I’m sorry, Captain.” He shook his head and rubbed his face. “Bloody hell.”
Albert wanted to rail at the man for not trusting him, not respecting him, but the timing was all wrong for discipline. “Tell me what happened,” he said instead, jaw clenched.
Lewis let out a sigh, glancing at Albert with bitter regret. “After you and the Spanish woman left the card game, Lord William lost his shirt to me.”
“So I heard.” Albert nodded. “He owes you five thousand pounds.”
Lewis’s brow went up. Then his look of regret doubled. “I didn’t know that you knew, sir. I’m so sorry.”
Albert waved the man’s regret away. “What happened?”
“I left the card game with a signed I.O.U. and headed back to my cabin. But on the way, I changed my mind and decided to head to the kitchens. I saw Lord William head back to his cabin, but I also saw him with that maid of Lady Patterson’s.”
“Polly?”
“That’s not her name.”
Albert frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Her name is Amy Orvis. Her poster is all over New York City.”
“What do you mean, her poster?” Dread began to pool in Albert’s stomach.
“Her wanted poster,” Lewis explained. “Amy Orvis is a known murderess.”
“What?” How had she been able to sneak aboard his ship? Then again, few people would have been looking for a murderess amongst the first-class passengers boarding a ship, especially if they accompanied a woman like Lady Patterson.
As if to confirm his thoughts, Lewis said, “I spotted her right away, but she was with that British lady, and you seemed friendly with that lot. I planned to alert the authorities in London so they could nab her before she left the ship. And I would have had cause too, seeing as she tried to kill me.”
“What?” Albert barked.
“That night,” Lewis explained. “After I changed my mind and headed to the kitchen. She’d been following me, and she had a gun. Fired it too, but, thank God, it didn’t go off. After that, she ran.”
Albert opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say. It galled him that all these things had gone on under his nose, on his ship. He’d been so distracted with Domenica that he hadn’t picked up on clues that he was sure had been there. But even so, he didn’t regret a moment of his time with Domenica.
“There’s more, sir,” Lewis went on. When Albert met his eyes, he said, “They’re planning something else.”
“How do you know? What is it?”
“I’ve been spying on them, sir, not just hiding. They’re up to something. That Lord William doesn’t have the money to pay me. He knows I’m still alive, and now he also knows that I know who Amy is. I know the two of them are in collusion.”
“I can keep you safe,” Albert said, shaking his head. “We can go to the authorities together once we reach London.”
“You don’t understand, sir. The two of them. They’ve been talking about how to stop us from getting to London altogether. They’re plotting something big. Something bad.”
Albert rubbed a hand over his face to keep the twist of anxiety that filled him at bay. This was his ship, dammit. He hated to think that so much was going on without his knowledge.
On the heels of that thought, he caught a sweep of movement on the deck below. Two people, a man and a woman. It appeared as though the man was dragging the woman. The door to a storage cabin opened. There was a sliver of light as a lantern was lit. In the split-second before the door was slammed shut, Albert saw billows of gold silk.
“Domenica.” Her name came out choked with fear. Lord William had her. She was in danger.
That was all he needed to know. Without a word, he broke away from Lewis and ran up the deck toward the nearest stairway.
“What should I do, sir?” Lewis called after him.
Albert was forced to pause and turn back to Lewis. “Alert Renshaw. Have him telegraph ahead to London to let them know what’s happening.”
“Aye-aye, captain.” Lewis nodded.
Albert jumped into action once more. He had to reach Domenica before William could do anything to her. And as soon as he caught the whelp, Amy Orvis wouldn’t be the only murderer on his ship.
“Let go of me,” Domenica demanded as Lord William pushed on, practically dragging her down the hallway and away from the dining room. A few people heading for the dance gave them a second look, but no one intervened. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Why not?” Lord William asked in a mocking tone. “You went fast enough with Tennant.” He turned a corner, marching toward a stairway leading up to one of the decks.
“That was different,” Domenica said as firmly as she could. She didn’t like the shake in her voice that had nothing to do with the blast of cold air that hit her as Lord William pushed open a door leading outside.
“Once a whore, always a whore,” he growled.
“I am not a whore,” Domenica shouted in reply. Her voice seemed to disappear into the black night and the sea around them.
Lord William snorted. “Please. Do you think I didn’t hear the two of you through the wall separating my cabin from his?”
“I—” Domenica clamped her mouth shut. Of course he would be able to hear them if she had heard him that first night.
“Believe me,” he went on, leering at her as he turned another corner and pushed her across the open deck toward a storage room. “That whining termagant Amy is a poor substitute to slake the kind of thirst you raised in me.”
“Amy?”
He reached past her to open the storage room door, then tossed her inside. Domenica stumbled in the near pitch black and fell into what could only be a massive coil of rope. She twisted to face Lord William, ready to defend herself. In the dim light of the night sky, she wat
ched his silhouette as he struck a match and lit a lantern hanging from a hook inside the tight room. As soon as the light flared, he shut the door.
“Now lift up your skirts, whore, and give me what should have been mine from the start.” He reached for the fastening of his trousers.
A thousand old fears rushed in on Domenica. She’d been trapped in this situation before, and nothing good had ever happened next. But instead of pushing her fear to the back of her heart and doing what was demanded of her, she struggled with the rope, scrambling to her feet to face Lord William.
“No,” she said. “I wouldn’t touch your filthy pita with a glove and a stick, or let it anywhere near me.”
He advanced on her. “You’ll swallow it with a smile, if that’s what I pay you for.”
Domenica gasped and backpedaled, and Lord William managed to pin her to the wall. He tugged the front of her bodice down, exposing her breasts.
“Get off of me,” she growled.
“When I’m done.” He pinched her nipple.
She jerked her knee up, aiming for his groin, but he caught her leg with a sinister laugh. “Is it money? Is that what you want? I’ve got plenty of it.”
“No you don’t.” She struggled to break free of him, but he kept her pinned to the wall with his hips, grinding the bulge in his trousers against her. “You lost it all at cards, or do you not remember the way you were humiliated?”
“Dead men don’t collect on their debts,” he hissed, fumbling to hike her skirt up.
“Mr. Sands is not dead,” she said using that fact to give herself confidence. Albert was probably talking to him that very minute….
Talking to Mr. Sands instead of realizing she’d been snatched. He wouldn’t know she was in danger until it was too late.
“Sands will be dead soon enough,” Lord William growled. “You all will be.”
Domenica gasped. Her moment of surprise was enough for Lord William to overpower her. He wrenched her away from the wall and threw her toward the coil of rope. As she pitched forward, he grabbed the hem of her skirt and tossed it over her back. Try as she did, Domenica couldn’t gain the leverage she needed to push him back. He wrenched her legs open and held them apart with his knees. The sound of a belt unbuckling followed.
