His to Hold (Regency Scoundrels Book 1) (20 page)

Elizabeth grunted, as she stared up at Rafe. His arm was still firmly wrapped around her, and her cheek was pressed up against his chest. She scrunched up her face, and tried slipping out of his hold. After a good deal of effort on her part, she finally managed to wrestle out of his viselike hold.

Grimacing, she searched the cabin for something to wear. It looked as if Rafe had split her belongings between her cabin, and the Captain’s cabin.

She found her periwinkle blue dress quickly enough, and donned the matching spencer. Slipping her feet into kid slippers, she slipped out the cabin door.

Closing it quietly behind her, she nearly fell against a bulkhead when a young pirate went rushing past her.

“He’s up to no good again, Riley,” The weirdly dressed pirate muttered.

“Saints preserve us,” Seamus muttered, as she came up on deck.

“Good heavens,” she cried. She craned her neck to stare up to where Seamus was pointing. Charles was perched on one of the lookouts, and sailors were scampering to reach him. “Doesn’t he realize that he could fall and crack open his head?”

“Here’s to hoping,” Seamus muttered beneath his breath.

Charles looked down and caught sight of her. He waved madly and grinned from ear to ear.

“Why doesn’t he just come down before he gives me heart palpitations?"

“Will you be requiring smelling salts, miss?”

“Seamus, after this, I think I shall require a large drag of rum.”

“It’s not unusual for a lad of his age to be sailing on a ship this size, you know.”

“I know, Seamus,” she sighed, and stared at him. Placing her hands on her hips, she stepped forward to where Charles was standing, and called out, “Charles, you get yourself down here at once. Why, whatever would your father say if he saw you now?”

“He would say the little blighter could stay up there until the first dogwatch, for all that I care.”

She whirled around at the sound of Rafe’s voice, and rounded on him furiously. “You are not helping me in any way. As his father, you are supposed to set a shining example for him.”

“Is that what your father did for you, then?” he chuckled, and rested his hands gently on her shoulders. “I have no need to worry, my dear. Look at the boy. He managed to scoot up there like a little monkey, and I’ll suspect that if he is able to get up, he will be able to climb down as well.”

She sputtered, as seawater splashed up at them.

“A fine day for sailing,” Rafe murmured, sucking in the fresh salty air.

“Aye, we should have a good course today, Captain,” Ethan muttered.

“You look a bit haggard, Ethan. Are you feeling queasy?”

“Not at all. I am, however, quite bug eyed. That little squirt kept me running all night. He has beans in him that one does. And when you are sharing your berth with him, one discovers soon enough that sleep is definitely out of the question.”

“I shall place him in Elizabeth’s cabin, tonight,” Rafe decided, glancing toward the companionway.

“You shall not,” she hissed. “I shall require my own berth tonight.”

“Ah, but you shall not.” His voice held a hint of impatience, and his eyes were glinting with what seemed to be pent up anger, or frustration. Seeking to change the subject at hand, she walked over to the bulwarks, and leaned over to catch some more of the sea breeze. To her unending disappointment, she noticed that he had followed her.

“Why did you leave?”

“I couldn’t sleep.” She kept her answers brief, and wished with all of her might that some unforeseen calamity would occur that would require his attention.

“If you could not sleep, you should have just awakened me, for I could have entertained you with a grand show.”

“Oh, go on. You are too much, Rafe,” she muttered, rolling her eyes. Rounding on him, she looked up at him. “You should be spending time with your child.”

“I don’t even know if that little heathen is mine. I wouldn’t say I was the only man that Chastity invited into her bed. To be sure, that poor boy could have numerous prospective fathers to choose from.”

“Aye, I understand that. But look at him! He obviously needs a guiding hand.”

“Did you require a guiding hand once your mother died?”

“I had my grandfather…and for his part, my father made sure I wanted for nothing.  My aunt played the role of mother pretty well until my grandfather died, and left me part of the inheritance she believed should have belonged to her son, at which point her theatrics ended.”

“Your grandmother was a St. Martin, was she not?”

“How did you know that?” Her voice fell to the barest of whispers and she leaned forward. “And my grandmother married into the Drake family. She made a good match, and she loved my grandfather. I only vaguely recall her…she died when I was very young. Before she became ill, she and my grandpapa made the voyage across the pond to see me. She said I was the most beautiful girl she’d ever seen. She was very kind, and had a gentle nature. But you know an awful lot about me, while I know almost nothing about you.”

“I do my research,” he said carelessly, shrugging his shoulders. “I found out all that I needed to. I do happen to know that the St. Martin Family is one the greatest noble families that have ever graced England’s shores.”

“I take it that you had a fancy for one of the St. Martin sisters?”

She was unprepared for the snorting and coughing jag that followed her question. He kept coughing until she whacked him a few times across the back.

“You could say that,” he said hoarsely, wiping tears out of the corner of his eyes. “Though I daresay, I’ve never had any carnal desires for them.”

“Ah, I see. Far out of your class, then,” he coughed again, and had to lean over the rail to catch his breath.

“Yes, they are far too good for the likes of me,” he said honestly, staring up at her with shining blue eyes. She smiled at him, as her heart melted. He was carrying her away again and if she wasn’t careful, he would have her tucked back into his bed, so quickly, it would make her head spin.

“If you don’t think that Charles is your son, what will you do with him?”

“Well, if he wishes it, he can have a permanent placement aboard my ship. But if he doesn’t, he may go his own way.”

“Why do you think that Charles is not your son?” She had to ask the question, for she could not help herself. She still sympathized with Charles because she did not want to see him turned out into the cold.

“I do not think the child is mine, because I have not been intimate with Chastity for eight years.”

“Then, we must find out how old Charles is. He certainly doesn’t look any older than eight, even though he sometimes behaves like a rascal of twelve, or thirteen.”

“Chastity’s life probably forced him to grow up before his time,” Rafe mused. For being a pirate and a man without any money to his name all of his life, he certainly did have good teeth, and his skin was not sallow in the least bit. “I am accustomed to seeing lads his age, as callow-eyed youths that don’t know the bow of the boat from the stern. But that young one, he probably knows as much as an old salt.”

“It is a sad thing, indeed,” Elizabeth sighed. She hated to see people that were robbed of their childhoods. She turned back to stare out to sea, when a loud whistle filled her ears. Fighting the impulse to cover them, she whirled around, just in time to see Rafe wrench the pipe out of Charles’s hand.

“Where did you get a hold of this you, little scamp?”

“I found it.” Charles grinned, and made Elizabeth furrow her brow.

“Have you eaten yet, Charles?”

“I gave him some ship’s biscuit,” Seamus butted in, scowling down at Charles. At Elizabeth’s horrified gasp, Seamus sighed, and grunted. “It was the Captain’s orders. We all know what happens when you don’t follow the Captain’s orders.”

“Aye, we do, but I for one, am someone that shall pay them no mind. Charles, are you still hungry?” she asked, extending her hand so that he could place his little hand into it.

“Aye, I am,” he said sweetly, smiling up at her. Her heart melted again.

“Then, my boy, you shall have a full breakfast. Seamus, make the lad what you made the Captain and I this morning.”

“Captain?” Seamus asked, seemingly exasperated to his wits end.

Rafe seemed as if he were about to blow a gasket, but he kept his composure, just barely. Sighing heavily, he crossed his arms, and nodded his head.

“Ethan, will you take Charles down to the galley?”

“I know me own way,” Charles said brightly.

“No doubt that you do, but nonetheless, I shall require that you have an escort.”

“Fine, but tell him to not get in my way.” Charles went running ahead of Ethan, while Ethan tried to keep up the pace.

“What the hell was that about?” Rafe asked, sending icy daggers her way.

“I wanted the lad to a have a decent meal in his stomach.”

“He had a filling meal in his gut!” Rafe raged, walking down to the stern. “Has it ever entered your pea sized brain that maybe, just maybe that little scalawag has been placed on this ship as a spy?”

She snorted, and then rolled her eyes. “Whoever would come up with such a ludicrous notion?”

“Me.” Rafe served her with a disgusted glare. “We still aren’t in the all clear, you know, little miss. We could meet back up with Antonio at any point in time, before we reach safe harbour.”

“Speaking of safe harbour, you shall have to run your true colours once we reach British waters.”

“Those, miss, are my true colours.”

“You know what I mean, you had better run the…”

“Aye, I know. Do not worry, I shall run the colours of my homeland. Now, my little miss, I know that you tried to dance around the issue at hand. But you will not dissuade me. The little scamp shall remain under watch.”

“Why? Just so that you can throw away your own child, under the pretence that he’s a spy?”

“I would never discard my own child so carelessly. But I have my own reasons to suspect that Chastity has not borne my son.”

“And what are those reasons?”

“If she had truly fallen pregnant with my babe, I feel quite certain she would have wanted to publicly announce it.”

“For what means? It isn’t as if you have any money, and you aren’t a public figurehead of any kind.” The deck had become eerily still. “You are just a troublesome pirate that has nothing but your reputation.”

“I am known as someone much different in England.”

Ethan interrupted his words, before he could go any further. But her interest was piqued. So, what kind of a man was he in England? He’d probably been no more than a wanted criminal. Perhaps, he’d been a highwayman.

Elizabeth sighed heavily, and turned away from them.

“The boy, he’s fallen ill,” Ethan whispered.

Elizabeth turned around, and swallowed thickly. “What do you mean sick?”

“He’s retching all over the place.”

“Get him to my cabin. Now!” she ordered. Lifting her skirt, she ran toward the companionway, nearly skidding on a wet patch of flooring. “Bring me some cool cloths and some boiled water, right away!” she called out, once she had reached the cabin.

“What is it, do you think?” Rafe stood by the foot of the bed, and the frantic look on his face belied the fact that he was actually concerned for Charles. Despite all his blustering, he had the heart of a saint.

She gasped, as she suddenly remembered a story that one of her governesses had told her. During the war, there was a Royal Navy ship that had been told to go into quarantine because they had come in contact with an outbreak of the Black Death. The Captain’s foolishness concerning said quarantine, nearly endangered the entire fleet.

“Would Chastity oblige by quarantine rules?” Her stomach plummeted as she considered the type of illness that the boy might be battling.

“Damn it all.” Rafe’s eyes were filled with understanding, and he looked about ready to break something. On the upside, she would not have to explain to him what her fears were. “I doubt it.” Rafe’s eyes glinted with fire.

“I don’t know what Charles has, but he’s raging with fever. Rafe, it could be…”

“I know what it could be. I will summon the ship’s surgeon immediately.”

“Captain, the Doc, well, he…” Ethan looked apprehensive.

“He’s drunk as a wheelbarrow, isn’t he?” Rafe asked.

“Oh, he’s three sheets to the wind, sir. He finished patching the men up, and then, well, he got into the rum.”

“Bloody hell,” Rafe sighed heavily, raking his hand through his hair. “I knew he was an elbow-crooker when I took him on,” he sighed. “I should have expected this.”

“Wait, Rafe,” she murmured.

Skimming her hands over the boy’s body, she stopped when he moaned. Lifting the light cotton that he wore, she peeked underneath. “Good lord, look Rafe!”

“That would be an infected gash.” He hovered so close to her that she could feel the strength and warmth emanating from him.