“I could fight in a dress if I needed to,” I retorted, squeezing his hand slightly. “Anything for you.”
“Aye. Anything for you.”
Scooting closer, he brushed the side of my face, touching his mouth against mine. It was like breathing, being with him like this. Every time we touched, each look we shared spoke to my heart. I’d found my soul mate, born more than three hundred years before me.
Hooking a finger in the front of my bodice, his lips crossed over my cheek and down my neck, his tongue licking my collarbone. I hummed in encouragement, pushing my hands into his hair as he rolled on top of me and reached down for the bottom of my skirt. Upon finding it, he slowly pulled it up, his hand sliding to my thigh as he settled back on his knees.
“Sir?”
Groaning at the knock on the door, I scooted away from him, sad that our time together was being interrupted.
“What is it?” Tristan called, grabbing my hand and keeping me from rising.
“The captain wanted me to inform you we will be arriving in port within the hour. He requests you and your lady join him for a drink to toast our good voyage.”
“Tell the captain we’ll join him shortly,” Tristan replied. “Thank you.”
“Aye, sir.”
The cabin boy’s footsteps faded slowly away and Tristan yanked me back into his embrace, kissing me thoroughly once more.
“I love ye, Samantha,” he whispered fiercely against my lips. “Don’t forget it. Things will be different here, but that will never change. No matter where ye are, or when, my heart belongs to ye.”
Smiling, I suddenly felt a little teary at his words, touched by the sentiment. It was odd, after fighting pirates and traveling through time, that I felt so worried about having to spend a small period away from him. We hadn’t really been apart since I arrived here, though. The few weeks I spent on board a different ship had all occurred before I knew I couldn’t live without him. Now, I felt like I was being thrust into a situation I wouldn’t be able to handle on my own.
“And I love you,” I whispered back, holding him tightly. “Just don’t be gone long, okay?”
“Ye’ll do fine,” he assured me again.
“Even meeting the King?”
“I think ye’d be surprised.” He chuckled. “I’ve met him once before. He’s a very energetic and opinionated man, but smart. Ye know that he’s been at war with Spain and England for some years?”
“I had heard that, yes.”
“Aye. Well, he’s calling for peace now. Ye’ll be meeting him when he’s on his best behavior—and ye’re married to a man from the country he tried to liberate. True, he wanted his own relative on a throne that sat over all of the Éire, but he fought for the people. Gran was quite interested in knowing how that turned out. Had he won, we might have returned to be members of his court. But, alas, it was not meant to be. Ireland belongs to the English now, and it will always be that way.”
“It won’t,” I replied, smiling slightly. “I don’t know a whole lot about world history, but I do know Ireland is its own country in my time.”
He chuckled, resting his chin on my head once more. “Then it will have to be enough for me to know that they will have their freedom someday.”
“Does King Louis know that the Knights are in his court?” I asked. “It was a French monarch that tarnished his own name and saved them all those years ago, after all.”
“I don’t think so. If he does, no one is sharing that information with me. As far as I know, the man is simply a king, but what king doesn’t own his share of secrets?”
Mulling over his words, I fisted my hand in his shirt. I’d never been one for politics. It gave me anxiety just thinking about how people ran countries, and here I was, about to be thrown into a hierarchal society I couldn’t even begin to understand. What was worse, I knew almost nothing about what was going on in the world. Thank heavens Tristan had thought to mention to me that peace was now being sought after. All anyone had been concerned with was telling me when I needed to bow and what fashion was like. It wasn’t very likely I would be discussing war at length, but the women would know what was going on, wouldn’t they? What if it was brought up?
“Ye’re working yerself up again,” Tristan commented, rolling away from me. “Honestly, ye’ll be fine.”
“I don’t know anything. If someone were to ask me what I thought about some situation or place, I wouldn’t even know what to say.” Frowning, I stood, straightening my skirt and running a hand over my long, pulled back hair. There wasn’t much in the way of grooming on a ship, so I’d taken to tying the brown locks into a bun every day, a few wisps hanging around my face. I would have killed for a bath at this point, but had made do with what I had. Cleaning myself could wait until we were on shore, as gross as that made me feel. I wanted to look presentable when we arrived.
Gran had supplied me with a number of dresses, her personal team of seamstresses having worked night and day to finish them in the short amount of time we’d been there. Among them was a maternity dress, much to my embarrassment. Hopefully, we wouldn’t have any children until this was all done with and we could feel safe. I faithfully took herbs to protect against a baby every day. The loose dress was the least of my worries, though.
The gown I wore now was simple enough, a white fabric with little blue, silk ribbons accenting my waist and chest, but some of the gowns were fit for royalty. They had huge skirts and fancy tops, embroidered and covered with lace. The underthings looked like an ungodly contraption meant to torture me; there were massive hoops, padding for my hips, and corsets that had designs all their own. There was no way to get dressed by myself, let alone undressed. Gran had insisted she send a maid with me, as was proper, but I refused. As a result, we were now carrying enough money to hire one in the city.
I’d never felt so pushed into anything in my life—politics, dresses, and now a live-in servant? How would I ever survive without Tristan with me every step of the way?
Suddenly, I realized he’d been talking to me and I’d missed it. “I’m sorry. Could you say that again?”
“If ye don’t know, ye tell them the truth, lass.” His voice was soft and caring as he got to his feet and came over to me, cradling my face between his hands. “Ye were born in America. It’s all ye know. No one would expect any more explanation than that.”
“So I just play dumb.” That didn’t make me feel any better. I’d be the “stupid girl” who was lucky enough to snag Tristan. No one would care to ask about me personally; everything depended on whom I was married to in this time.
If that weren’t enough, I would now have a paid slave following me everywhere. That part made me the most uncomfortable. At least we would be paying the woman. The only comfort I got was in knowing whomever we hired would get money in exchange for helping me.
“Don’t think about it, aye?”
“That’s all you keep saying!” Frustrated, I moved away, breathing heavily.
“It’s the best advice I can give ye. Be yerself, Sam. Let the other things do what they will.”
Nodding, I looked at him over my shoulder. His smile somehow made my anxieties lessen, aided in part from his hair, which was poking up from our nap. Resisting the urge to giggle, I marveled at how someone so strong and daring could look so innocent and young in that moment. At the same time, the line of his jaw held the roughness of the sea in it, his hands, resting on his hips, those of a pirate who did whatever he needed to get what he wanted. He was everything to me, each breath I took and every sight my eyes saw had him in them. Continuing my appraisal of his appearance, I bit my lip at the sight of his white shirt hanging out of the waist of his black pants, the front untied and hanging open in a very enticing manner. Barely visible, the saber scar Captain Rodrigues had given him across his shoulder, during their fight to the death reminded me of what he would do for me—lay down his life without another thought. The memory both thrilled and terrified me as I looked down to h
is bare feet, seeming to grip the floor.
“Here,” I said, turning back and taking the strings of his shirt in my hand. “Let me tie these for you.”
“Pity,” he mumbled, watching me work. “I’d have liked to undo yer laces for ye.”
“There’s time enough for that later,” I replied, snickering. “The captain is ready for us now and we have a whole city waiting to greet us.”
“This isn’t Paris?” I whispered the question to Tristan who grinned like an idiot and pulled me aside.
“No. We’ll board another, smaller ship here and sail the Seine into Paris. The water is too shallow for a big ship, savvy? It’s not much further, though; we should be in the city by tonight, tomorrow morning at the latest. The wind is good.” He nodded at a crewmember that was carrying one of our trunks down the gangplank and motioned for me to follow. “We’re in Rouen now.”
Looking out over the large city, I felt some trepidation at having to travel even further; I had really been looking forward to a bath.
Shaking myself, I stepped off the vessel and onto the plank that reached to the shore. Tristan had said we might be in Paris tonight, which meant I could still rediscover some relaxation, if at all possible.
Rouen was a bustling mass of trade and transport, being the last stop on the river that large ships could get to. Our own captain had informed us that he would be returning to the Channel in the morning, headed for London. With talks of peace being entertained, it was now considered safe to travel between the two countries without the fear of being bullied into the Navy.
We didn’t stay to see any more of the city than the dock, immediately booking passage on a boat leaving for Paris within the hour. It felt like I’d hardly had any time to blink before we were on our way again, sailing smoothly down the river.
The closer we got to our final destination, the more excited I became. I’d taken Tristan’s advice and put the political aspects of our journey out of my mind and instead focused on the city itself. Paris had been a place I’d always wanted to visit. What would it be like now? Would I be allowed to explore Notre Dame? Would there be trees lining the avenues and statues dotting the landscape? This was when the beautiful Paris I longed to see was being constructed. How much of it was available already? The Eiffel Tower wouldn’t be built until the eighteen hundreds, but I wasn’t too upset over missing it.
When the sun had set and we still sailed on, Tristan beckoned me over to him and we strolled around the deck, watching as the small crew steered our ship. There wasn’t even a hold, since the vessel was so tiny.
“When we arrive, we’ll go find an inn to stay in for the night.” He took my arm. “The Order has arranged a place for us to live while we’re here, but I don’t want to be searching them out in the dead o’ night.”
“And in the morning?”
“We’ll get settled in. I’ll have to meet with the Grandmaster right away, for a new assignment.”
“Do you think there’s a chance he’ll tell you not to go after Thomas?” My stomach clenched at the thought, and I instantly felt ashamed for wishing we could let everything go in this instant. Thomas had all but marked Tristan and I as his nemesis, though.
“Aye, I do. I don’t plan on letting him. I need a ship and crew, which I could persuade him of easy enough. However, he’ll need convinced of the situation. I imagine he’ll be wanting to meet ye as well.” Smiling at me, he patted my hand. “Ye’ll have to wait to be called.”
“I expected as much,” I mumbled, sighing.
“I’m sorry, Sam,” he said softly. “I know ye don’t like being treated as a secondary person.”
“It’s a man’s world,” I replied evenly. “As much as I don’t like being allowed to not make decisions on my own, I understand things are different here. I’m sure there are plenty of strong willed women helping their husbands behind closed doors. I’ll just have to learn to do so discretely, as they do.”
“Ye’re something else.” Laughing, he leaned over and kissed me, stopping our walk. “Sometimes I think ye might still be a witch of some kind.”
“If I were a witch I would have conjured myself some hot water and candle light days ago.”
Gasping, one of the crew members, who had heard our easy talk of witchcraft, crossed himself in earnest and scurried away, glancing over his shoulder every few seconds.
“Well, he didn’t like that, did he?” Tristan mused as I snickered.
Eventually, Paris began to emerge out of the darkness around us, candlelight flickering in windows and gas lamps illuminating the streets. Even in the shadows, I could tell how beautiful it was. There was such exquisite architecture everywhere I looked. The only dim part of town seemed to be the poorest, and even the tall, skinny houses there had lights in the windows facing the streets.
“Welcome to Paris, love,” Tristan said, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind. “Our home for the next little while.”
“We’ve never had a home that wasn’t a ship,” I replied conversationally, my grin growing wider by the moment. “I’d never thought of that before.”
“I have. Someday, I will bring ye home to a house more beautiful than ye can even imagine. It will have a garden and more than enough land to raise animals. Our children will run through the halls, filling the space with laughter and love. And I will tell ye how much I love ye every day, until ye’re old and can’t hear, and then I’ll shout it at ye.”
Laughing, I leaned against him, letting my head rest on his shoulder. “Where will this house be?”
“Anywhere ye want. As long as I’m with ye, I couldn’t care less where we are.” Kissing my neck softly, he continued to hold me as we sailed to the shore.
“Do I have to?” I moaned, sitting down in the small chair by the window.
“If ye want to be able to get dressed and leave the house.” Tristan’s mouth twitched as he obviously tried to hold back a smile. “It’s only a maid, lass. Not the end of the world.”
“I don’t like the idea of having a servant,” I replied sourly. “It feels . . . wrong.”
The window of our room at the inn was dirty, but everything else felt very comfortable and clean. I’d had my bath—finally—and dressed with Tristan’s help. A delicious breakfast had been served to us, the remaining dishes of which I could smell in the kitchen below us still. However, it was time to sort out our business now, which mean Tristan was leaving to speak to the Order. In the meantime, I was to hire my maid.
“It’s not wrong,” he continued, straightening his long tailed coat and buttoning it. “Ye’re paying her for a service rendered. Ye’ll not tell me that people don’t do that in yer time?”
“That’s not fair.” Pouting, I peered out the window again. The street was alive with activity, despite the early hour.
He was right. There were still nannies, housecleaners, cooks, drivers, and all sorts of people who made money by working for someone in their home. It hadn’t ever been a luxury I’d experienced. I’d always felt bad for those who had to put up with those kinds of duties.
“We’ll not be here long.” Tristan’s voice had softened and I turned to stare at him, taking in his entire formal apparel. Black buckle shoes, white stockings, blue pants that covered down to his calves, and a matching coat that covered his white shirt with the frilly neck piece. Lace peeked out of his sleeves, finalizing the look of the period.
“I know we won’t.” Glancing down, I twisted the green fabric of my dress between my fingers. “I just—I don’t like knowing that a stranger will be helping me get dressed. I feel like it’s something I should be able to do by myself. I would in my own time, why not here?”
Smiling gently, he crossed over to me, squatting beside the chair and taking my hand. “It’s a different time, Sam. Things are not the same. Ye know that better than anyone. Find a lass and give her the money and care she needs. Let her help ye in return. Savvy?”
Nodding, I held back the tears I desperately wished to she
d. I’d felt ridiculously emotional of late and I didn’t like it. At first, I’d wondered if I was pregnant, but that time of the month had arrived almost immediately after I thought it.
“What’s bothering ye? I know it’s not the maid. Ye’ve always handled the differences here with ease.” Tristan stared at me expectantly, as if all his plans had suddenly been canceled for the day and he had every moment to listen.
“Nothing,” I muttered, looking up and blinking hard.
“Ye’re still upset over what happened on Oak Isle? With James?” He waited for me to answer, watching my face with love and worry in his eyes.
Lip trembling, I sucked in a ragged breath, instantly able to recall the horrible images from the bottom of the Treasure Pit. In one second, Thomas was shooting James. In the next, it was Tristan at the end of the barrel. Then there was the end—James opening Pandora’s Box and being killed by it, his mouth hanging open in a silent scream.
“Sometimes I have nightmares about it.” The whispered confession left my lips with great relief. It was hard, going to bed knowing James might be waiting for me in my sleep. Of all the things that had happened to me here, it was his death that bothered me the most. It had been so far out of my realm of control. If I’d been any closer to him, the jar might have taken me through time again, or killed me as well.
“Me too.” His tone was soft, fearful even, but it held all the comfort I’d needed from him.
I cried then, the weight of what we’d been through crashing down around me. It hadn’t been so bad when we were in Africa, but now we were getting ready to throw ourselves back in the whole mess. What if it was Tristan who was captured and killed this time? What if our ship was burned and sank again? Just the thought of ever seeing Thomas made my skin crawl. I would have given anything to forget him and the horrible events he orchestrated.
Carried Away (The Swept Away Saga Book 2) Page 6
