Mistress Below Deck

by Helen Dickson

  ‘And Jane?’ she asked tentatively.

  ‘The sultan has failed to free any of the women in the harem.’

  Sick horror froze the air, paralysing the young woman who had waited so long to hear the outcome. She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice failed, and she moved her head in a small, helpless gesture that was more pitiful than words. The sight of her distress sent a physical pain through Tobias’s heart.

  ‘I’m sorry, Rowena. I know how much this means to you.’

  Her eyes were wide with an effort to hold back the tears of angry despair. At that moment all the hope now lay in ashes at her feet. ‘No—by merciful heavens, it can’t be true! It can’t possibly. It’s a disaster,’ she cried out, anger fighting with a disappointment more profound than she had ever known.

  Tobias knew the pain in Rowena’s heart. He could feel it almost as a tangible thing. She was in a different world, far removed from the peace and quiet of her home town of Falmouth. Here she walked in a land of strangers, whose culture and religion were so very different from her own. For all that, he was moved by her frustration and bitterness.

  ‘It doesn’t have to be a disaster, Rowena.’

  She stared at him, becoming aware of how tired he looked, and how hard he must have tried on her behalf. ‘No, you’re right. It doesn’t. We must go on. We cannot weaken and let go. We have come so far. I cannot abandon Jane to the life that will be forced on her. Her position will be intolerable. What is your answer to the problem, Tobias?’

  Needing to have something to do, she began placing pieces of wood on the fire. It flared into rosy sparks, and, placing a can of water in the middle she sat back on her heels.

  Tobias looked at her candidly. She seemed more thoughtful than she had earlier and was struggling within herself. He was silent for a long time, then he cleared his throat. ‘What you say is right. There is only one important fact as I see it, and that is what we both agree on and what we see is right. I too have made up my mind not to abandon Jane.’

  Rowena spread her hands on her knees, her face strained. A small muscle worked in her cheek and her hands trembled slightly. She looked him full in the face, a deep respect in the depths of her eyes. ‘Thank you, Tobias. You’ll never know how much it means to me to hear you say that.’

  She felt the tears gathering in her eyes and kept her head bent as she poured the boiling water over the tea to infuse the leaves. When it was ready, Tobias took the cup she offered.

  Making herself more comfortable on the ground, she took a sip of the hot liquid and looked around her. ‘The wildness and brutality of this place has changed me,’ she murmured at length. ‘It has brought out strengths and weaknesses I didn’t know I had. And it will go on testing me until I get back home.’ Her lips curved in a wobbly smile. ‘Probably all spent and worked out.’

  ‘But not defeated,’ Tobias said softly.

  Her smile widened, but it was a brave, tired smile. ‘No, not defeated. Were all the English captives released?’

  ‘Those who have survived the enforced labour and the brutality of their captors—apart from the renegades.’

  ‘The renegades?’

  ‘The apostates—those who renounced their Christian faith.’

  ‘Even though they did so against their will?’

  He nodded slowly. ‘Even so.’

  ‘Then they have the rest of their lives to regret doing so. What shall we do now?’

  ‘I raised the issue with Commodore Stewart. There is nothing he can do—in fact, he intends leaving Meknes with his released captives before the sultan changes his mind and prevents him. Stewart is of the impression that Suleiman, who is close to one of the sultan’s wives, can be bribed.’

  Rowena’s eyes flew to his. ‘Suleiman? Will you…?’

  ‘We have nothing to lose.’

  ‘Only our lives should the sultan find out,’ she pointed out quietly.

  ‘That is true, but we have to think positively, Rowena.’

  ‘I do try,’ she whispered, her stomach tightening with the cruelty of it all. She had set her mind not to be frightened, yet her knees were weak and an uncontrollable trembling made holes in her resolve. Her chin quivered and the sting of tears smarted her eyes. She was terribly afraid, not knowing what was in store for them, but convinced the miscreants of Meknes planned some hideous fate for them all.

  ‘I have always thought of myself as strong and able to cope with anything, but nothing has prepared me for this. This place frightens me so much. We can expect no more than slavery here and I soon recognise our plight will scarce be better than that of Jane’s if we fail.’

  ‘I won’t pretend it will be easy. These people hate the Christians so much, if they find out one has escaped from the harem they will become like untamed beasts. They hate us so much that they are unable to contain their joy at having one in their power. If anyone takes their prey from them, they will probably tear the whole place down.’

  ‘Let them,’ Rowena cried. ‘I don’t care. We don’t belong to this country. It is a wicked, evil place and I hate it. The only thing I care about is Jane.’

  Tobias flashed her a sidelong glance. ‘And that is all?’

  She turned her bright, blue-green eyes on his and declared with some arrogance, ‘Yes, yes, it is. Jane is very dear to me and I cannot bear the thought of the hands of those infidels touching her, and even if I should lose my life in the attempt, I must try every means of saving her.’

  Tobias’s mouth curved in a silent smile while a sparkle danced in his eyes. ‘And who said anything to the contrary? I merely remarked that it would be difficult and that we run the danger of sparking a revolt, that was all.’

  ‘I know and I’m sorry, Tobias. But I do so want us to succeed and I shan’t rest until I see Jane.’

  ‘We won’t fail.’ It was the thought of Jane being handed over for the sultan’s pleasure that made the palms of Tobias’s hands go damp and he was conscious of a terrible empty feeling in the pit of his stomach, although he endeavoured to reassure Rowena. ‘We have to do it now. Fortunately the sultan has been so preoccupied with Commodore Stewart’s visit that as yet he’s not looked at the new additions to his harem—although his black guard have eyes and ears where others don’t, so I shall take care to avoid them. I have enough gold to make it worth Suleiman’s while. Lesser men have attempted to cheat the sultan, when well aware that he would order them to be put to death. They were too greedy or stupid to care, and though Suleiman is not stupid, he is certainly greedy and may be persuaded.’

  ‘Tobias—I know just how much I am asking of you. Yes, I want Jane freed, but not if it means you will come to harm.’

  He grinned easily. ‘I am deeply touched by your concern, Rowena, but you can rest assured that when it comes to danger I am like the proverbial cat with nine lives.’

  ‘And how many of those lives have you left, Tobias?’

  ‘Maybe one—or two,’ he said, getting to his feet. ‘We shall have to wait and see.’

  * * *

  Sam and Henry had gone to sleep. Rowena wandered away from camp to where Tobias sat some distance away behind a clump of bushes. He was looking down into the valley, at the twinkling lights coming from the houses outside the city walls. His arms were round his knees and he seemed preoccupied. He had been noticeably quiet all day and Rowena knew he was feeling the strain of waiting.

  Tobias heard her approach and turned slightly to acknowledge her, before returning his gaze to the scene below him.

  Rowena sat beside him, drawing up her knees in a similar pose. ‘You’re quiet, Tobias. How are you feeling? You look tired. You’re feeling the strain, aren’t you? I can tell.’

  He turned his head and considered her a moment and then he smiled. ‘I didn’t realise I was so transparent.’

  ‘Well, you are,’ she said, getting to her knees, ‘and I would like to do something about that.’

  He smiled lazily and stared at her. ‘What do you suggest?’
/>
  ‘Well, I could make you feel more relaxed—if you will let me.’

  He considered protesting, and then, feeling the heat of her, he decided against it. ‘And how do you aim to do that?’ he asked in a tone of mild curiosity.

  ‘By massaging your shoulders. Fatima showed me how to do it. She was very good at it, so don’t expect too much from me, a mere novice, but it might help.’

  ‘Ah, Fatima,’ he breathed. ‘And did Fatima teach you anything else by any chance?’

  ‘Such as?’ She knelt behind him, unable to resist touching him. Placing the palms of her hands on his shoulders, she casually began kneading the muscles that she felt were taut and all knotted up.

  Tobias closed his eyes, savagely aware of her. His whole body quivered when she ran her warm hand up the back of his neck beneath his hair. ‘How to please the opposite sex. Now what are you doing?’ he asked without giving her chance to reply to his query.

  ‘Trying to relax the muscles at the back of your neck. They really are very tight. Does this help?’

  ‘Mmm,’ he admitted as she pressed her thumbs into his flesh and circled in a gentle insistence over his neck muscles until they began to loosen by degrees. Had she no idea how she tempted him, how his whole body was beginning to ache and throb with his need?

  Moments passed in which Tobias allowed himself to drift into the pleasure of her touch. Slowly the tension began easing from him. ‘You didn’t answer my question?’

  ‘What question?’

  ‘About what else Fatima taught you?’

  ‘I didn’t want to answer it, that’s why. I know Fatima has skills beyond my comprehension—skills I am sure would please you—but she only taught me a little of what she knows, so you will have to be content with that. Now would you kindly stop talking and enjoy your massage—or perhaps you would prefer me to stop?’

  Feeling suddenly deprived along with a huge pang of disappointment when she stilled her hands and he thought she had done with him, Tobias tilted his head back and smiled ruefully at her. ‘Don’t stop. I promise not to say another word. Do as you will, Rowena,’ he murmured, closing his eyes in surrender, growing lax and mesmerised by sensation as her fingertips moved with feathered lightness over his back. ‘I am completely in your thrall. My body is yours to do with as you wish. I am like clay in your hands.’

  With a subdued answering smile and her wide, warmly glowing eyes holding a certain ingenuous naïveté—a slight betrayal of her inexperience—she continued with the massage, pausing just long enough to lean over his shoulder, her soft face almost coming into contact with his and her short hair tickling his cheek as, to his amazement, she unfastened the buttons on his shirt. Pulling it down over his arms she slid her hands inside and over his bare flesh, moulding them over the warm bulk of his shoulders, savouring the maleness of his steely muscles and satiny skin.

  Feeling the muscles tauten beneath her fingers, she said softly, ‘Don’t. I’m trying to get you to relax, not tense up.’

  Tobias could not believe his good fortune. He was entranced—he had never been so aroused in his life as, like some pagan worshipper, Rowena continued kneading and caressing his flesh, her hands sliding over his shoulders and down his chest and upper arms. He had not asked for this and she didn’t have to do it, and that only meant that she wanted to. He was barely even aware that several moments had passed when she asked,

  ‘Do you mind if I ask you something?’

  ‘I thought you wanted me to be quiet.’

  ‘I’ve almost finished now, so it doesn’t matter.’ Pulling his shirt over his shoulders, she went and sat in front of him, hugging her knees to her chest. She peered at him in the gloom, pleased to see the harsh planes of his bronzed face were smooth and the contours of his square jaw softened. Seen like this, he looked much less forbidding. ‘Are you feeling better now?’

  His heavy-lidded gaze fastened on her soft lips. A huge constricting knot of tenderness and desire tightened his throat and he was tempted to draw her into his arms, but he managed to resist and smiled, a deliciously warm, languid smile. ‘No, much worse.’

  Rowena was a little wounded by his reaction, a cloud of disappointment sweeping over her face. ‘Oh—I’m sorry,’ she said, her magnificent eyes searching deeply into his. ‘In what way do you feel worse?’

  He gave a soft laugh, captivated by her artlessness.

  ‘I feel the way every man always feels when he wants to make love to a woman and he is denied doing so.’

  Rowena felt her face flushing. ‘Oh! Is that really how you feel?’

  ‘It is, but I can wait,’ he murmured, his words meaningful, reminding her of their bargain. ‘Why did you do it—the massaging?’

  ‘Because I thought the strain was getting to you. I thought you needed to relax.’

  ‘Then feel free to repeat what you have just done to me whenever you think I’m looking—strained.’

  ‘Did I do it right?’ she asked almost shyly. ‘You can tell me the truth.’

  He started to laugh at the absurdity of the question, but he went motionless when she said,

  ‘I’ve never done anything like that before.’

  He stared at her.

  ‘You didn’t like it,’ she said, her heart sinking as she read his face.

  ‘Like it? Of course I liked it. Now come here so that I can convey my thanks,’ he murmured, taking her hand and pulling her towards him. Taking her face tenderly between his hands, he silenced her fretful worries with a gentle kiss that deepened. Fully expecting her to protest and draw back, when no protest was forthcoming, slowly he parted her lips and tasted her tongue, his mouth caressing and savouring the satiny cushions of her lips.

  Still on her knees, Rowena began to melt against him, returning his kiss more urgently. Tobias felt her desire and ended the kiss, breathing heavily. Pulling back, Rowena stared at him, her eyes big and dark and strangely haunted in the pale light of the moon. He trailed a finger down the soft curve of her cheek.

  ‘I want to make love to you—properly—to return the favour.’

  Turning her face, Rowena lightly kissed the palm of his hand. ‘You will get your wish, Tobias, when Jane is free.’

  ‘Yes—I shall insist on it. I think you said you have something to ask me. Go ahead.’

  Her eyes were candid as she asked, ‘What really happened on the night my father was shot? He was convinced it was you. He also convinced me, but now I cannot equate the man I have come to know with a villain who would shoot a man in the back in cold blood.’

  Apart from a tightening of his expression, his face remained unchanged. ‘Contrary to what your father told you, it was true what I said when we first met. I am not guilty of shooting him—although since his back was turned to his assailant and he knew I had come looking for him, I can understand why he would think that I did.’

  ‘Do you know who did it? After all, you were there. My father can’t recall what happened exactly, but he remains convinced it was you.’

  ‘One day, hopefully, he will learn the truth—that the man he employed as his captain was a cold-blooded killer.’

  ‘Jack Mason? But why would he shoot him?’

  Tobias shrugged. ‘Who knows how the mind of a murderer works? But I would say the Dolphin and the cargo were an incentive.’

  Rowena sighed and let her eyes stray towards the city.‘Poor Father. I think he’ll want to kill Mason himself if you don’t do it first.’ On a sigh she stood up and looked down at him. ‘Good night, Tobias. Hopefully it will be the last we will spend in Meknes.’

  Tobias watched her go, feeling lonely now. How good it had felt to have her close, the feel of her under his hands, the heat and velvet of her, the taste of her, and the response in her to his kiss. He had set out to make a conquest of her, only to discover the terrible loneliness of his own heart, the emptiness inside him that cried out for her tenderness.

  To kiss Rowena, to serve her, to give her so much pleasure until he had her mo
aning and sighing in his arms, would give him pleasure—at one time such thoughts would have made him step back, for that was a very dangerous situation indeed, but not with Rowena. He wanted to give her the earth, and, if not the earth, then whatever he was capable of.

  * * *

  Commodore Stewart managed to establish contact with Suleiman and sent word to Tobias at their camp. It took sixty minutes and the princely sum of one thousand pounds to overcome Suleiman’s scruples. After which Tobias was told to wait outside the Bab Mansoor gate at noon the next day, where the young woman would be brought.

  There was more than a trace of uneasiness in Tobias’s voice when he told Rowena.

  ‘Then if you are to go, at least let me go with you.’

  Tobias looked at her and smiled, shaking his head. ‘I would rather you didn’t.’

  She sighed. ‘I can’t help worrying.’

  ‘I don’t want you in danger.’

  Rowena paled, her stomach contracting with foreboding. ‘Then you could be in danger?’

  At the fear clouding her eyes, Tobias took hold of her hands, surprised to find them trembling. ‘If everything goes to plan there should be no danger. But it is wise to be careful. In this garb I shall be quite safe. When I return, you must be ready to leave.’

  ‘Will you ride to the meeting place?’

  ‘No. Mounted I would be more conspicuous.’

  Rowena was prey to increasing anxiety all day and throughout the night as she waited for the time when Tobias would have to leave. Fretting that everything would go wrong, she watched and listened to the distant sounds of the city, telling herself that there was no reason why Suleiman couldn’t be trusted and why everything shouldn’t go well and, given luck, Jane would be riding with them back to Sale.

  * * *

  It was time for Tobias to go. Rowena stood facing him, taking judicious note of the taut set of his jaw and feeling the first tendril of fear coil in the pit of her stomach.

  ‘You will be careful?’ she whispered anxiously, placing her hand on his arm, only then noticing the menacing air of excitement that rippled through his big, lean frame.