Once a Mistress (13 page)

“You will indeed discuss terms, Chilton.” Frederick’s voice dripped with menace. “You have three days to produce my daughter. If you do not, the pages of your ledger go to Morgan. And
I
will come for
you
.”

Chilton paled at the blatant threat. “Three days is impossible,” he objected. “She is not on the island.”

“A week then,” Frederick amended. “You will return my daughter within seven days time. And there had better not be a mark on her.”

“You are not in a position to issue threats, Frederick,” Chilton said with bravado. “If you give the pages to Morgan, you may implicate yourself as well.”

“And you are not in a position to test me, Chilton. If I must give my life for my daughter’s safe return, then so be it. Now get your skinny arse from my home, lest my boot show you the way!”

Chilton curled his lip and departed with as much
hauteur
as he could muster. The slamming of the door behind him echoed like a canon blast in the room.

Frederick’s shoulders sagged. He looked heavenward, and clenched his fists.

“Though it may cost my own life, I will see you home safely, Diana. This I vow.”

Chapter Nine

Diana opened her eyes. At first she lay disoriented, confused by her unfamiliar surroundings. Then she remembered. She had been abducted by Marcus and stolen from him by Alex. And Alex was El Moreno. She was asleep in Alex’s bed, in his cabin, aboard his ship.

But where was the man himself?

She abruptly sat up as another thought occurred to her. If she was sleeping in his bed, where had he slept? She glanced anxiously around the room, but saw no evidence of any other bedding. The pillow beside her showed no impression that indicated his head had rested there.

Footsteps echoed in the companionway. She jerked her gaze to the door as it slowly creaked open. With white-knuckled fingers, she pulled the coverlet to her chest.

“Good mornin’ tae ye, lass.” Birk entered the room, balancing a tray. Her empty stomach growled as she caught sight of the food he had brought her. The Scotsman laughed. “I can see ye’re hungered. It’s a good sign.”

“I feel as if I haven’t eaten in a week.” Pulling the sash of Alex’s robe tighter, she slipped from the bed and went to sit at the table as Birk set down the tray. The hot tea and day-old bread looked like a feast, and the bananas were a treat. She knew the only reason she had gotten fresh fruit at all was because they were only a day out of Port Royal.

“Aye, the sea has a way o’ wakin’ the hunger in a body,” the physician answered. He watched her, amusement in his eyes, as she tore into the bread. “Did ye sleep well, lass?”

She flushed and reached for the tea. “I slept soundly.”
 

“I canna say the same for the captain.” Birk seated himself and grinned. “He kept me awake most o’ the night wi’ his rummlin’ and whummlin’.”

Diana chewed a bit of bread and washed it down with a sip of tea. “He spent the night with you?”

“Och, aye.” The twinkle in Birk’s eyes belied the innocence of his expression. “He came tae ma cabin last night and asked me tae spare him a bit o’ space. So I bade him take his rest on the floor.”

Diana put down the bread and stared at him. “You made the captain of the ship sleep on the floor?”

“That I did.” Birk folded his arms behind his head. “He might be the captain tae you, lass, but tae me he is just a man. It’s near ten year we’ve kent one another, and a better friend a man canna find.”

“You know him well then.”

“Nobody kens him better. No e’en his own mother.” Birk shook his head. “Ye shouldna have gone tae him like ye did. He’d be the last man to bed a woman agin her will or because o’ duty. It would have served ye better tae just seduce the man and be done wi’ it.”

Heat surging in her cheeks, Diana grabbed a banana and began to slowly strip the skin from the fruit. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Birk laughed. “Dinna play the innocent, missy. Do ye no ken I’m tryin’ tae help ye?”

She couldn’t deny the truth in the face of those knowing blue eyes. “As much as I appreciate your suggestion, Mister Fraser,” she said, “I doubt seducing him would have done much good. He seemed to resist my charms most easily.”

“That’s because ye’re listenin’ tae what he tells ye and no tae what yer eyes are tellin’ ye. Alex wants ye right enough, that’s easily seen.”

“Mister Fraser!” Flustered by his bluntness, she bit a piece of banana.

He chuckled. “Forgive ma boldness, lass, but I thought ye might be better off kennin’ the situation as it is.”

“‘Tis you who does not see clearly, sir. Alex has made it most clear that he has no interest in me. I am just another woman to him.”

“Gin that was the truth, lass, he would have passed the night wi’ you instead o’ keeping me awake wi’ his tossin’.” Birk grinned. “He didna take tae yer bargain, that’s all.”

She couldn’t look at him. “He would not accept my gold. And I need his help.”

“Aye, he telt me the way o’ it. As fer myself, I can see that yer father could well be innocent o’ any ill-doin’. But ye must ken that Alex is obsessed wi’ capturin’ Marcus. He can be a wee bit hard-headed in that respect.”

She jerked her gaze to his. “You believe me?”

“I’m just sayin’ that the possibility’s there. There’s equal chance that yer father’s as guilty as the rest o’ the brigands.”

“He is innocent!”

Birk held up his hands. “I’m no the one ye have to convince, lass.”

Her shoulders sagged. “I know that. Alex will not even consider the possibility that my father is innocent. I asked him to help me, and he refused. Nothing I offered would change his mind.”

Birk chuckled. “Aye, ye got yerself in a swither, didn’t ye? Truth be telt, lass, Alex is a reasonable man when it comes to anything but Marcus. But he’s a man that wouldna make a promise he couldna keep.”

“I don’t understand.”

Birk paused, as if weighing his words. “Despite what it seems, Alex is a man o’ honor. He’ll no make a promise he’s no sure he can keep, nor will he take from ye anything he disna have a right tae.”

“A pirate who is a man of honor? I have never heard of such a thing!”

“Pirates have honor amongst themselves. Alex more than most.”

“So you are saying that he did not accept my…offer,” she said, blushing, “because he wasn’t sure he could help my father?”

“That’s part o’ it.” Birk glanced away, causing Diana to wonder what the other part was.

“But I believe he is the only man who can help Papa,” she continued. “What should I do now?”

“As for that, I believe I telt ye what tae do. Seduce the man.”

“Oh, for certain,” she scoffed, indicating her appearance. “I am the very picture of seduction.”

“Ye can be. Gin ye set yer mind tae it.” She rolled her eyes, and he laughed. “I’ll help ye, lass.” He got up and went to the sea chest. After a few moments of rummaging, he produced a set of woman’s clothing: a saffron yellow skirt and matching bodice trimmed with black lace and an underskirt in a paler shade of yellow. “Wear this. It will look bonnie wi’ yer fine red hair.”

“It’s beautiful.”

“Nothing is over good for the captain’s mistress, if ye ken ma meanin’.”

Where once the term mistress had made Diana cringe, now she discovered an advantage to the title Alex himself had bestowed upon her. She smiled slowly. “I believe I do.” She glanced back at the gown. “Whose is this?”

“The captain meant it as a present fer somebody, but he says you needed it more.”

She hesitated, wondering who he had intended the dress for. “I don’t know if it is right for me to wear something he meant as a gift,” she said finally.

He let out an exasperated sigh. “Wheesht, woman! Do ye think tae entice the man while wearin’ Marcus’s breeks?”

She wrinkled her nose at the reminder and reached for the clothing. “Very well. Give it to me.”

He handed it to her, then reached again into the chest to produce a silver-backed brush and a handful of ribbons.

“There are no petticoats?” she asked, examining the gown. “No corset or chemise?”

Birk tossed a plain white chemise on the bed, then put his hands on his hips, still holding the brush and ribbons. “That’s all there is, though I dinna ken what ye would be needin’ that for when ye’ll only take it off again.”

She blushed to the roots of her hair. “Mister Fraser!”

“Lass, ye canna bring a man tae his knees wearin’ six petticoats and a whalebone chastity belt!” He handed her the brush and ribbons, then stomped to the door. “Cry me when ye’re finished. Then I’ll take ye tae the captain.”

Diana blinked as he slammed the door, then looked at the yellow satin in her hands. She longed to get out of the borrowed clothing she had worn since early yesterday morning, but she knew that once she donned these garments, things would never be the same.

It had been easy to talk to Birk of seducing Alex, she thought as she laid the satin raiment across the bed. But now that the plan required action, she found herself hesitating. She had no qualms about sacrificing her innocence to save her father’s life. Yet she had always expected that when she gave herself to a man, he would at least be her husband, someone to whom she had made a commitment.

She sighed. Slowly she untied the sash of Alex’s robe and let the garment fall to the floor. She was attracted to Alex. Admitting that to herself made her task a bit easier. Yet to actually lure the man to her bed in exchange for services rendered smacked of harlotry. He had named her his mistress before all the crew, and now she would become so in truth.

She stepped out of Marcus’s breeches and kicked them aside with pleasure. Naked, she ran her fingers through her tangled hair and then looked down at her unclothed body. She knew she was beautiful. Yet was she attractive enough to entice Alex? She smoothed her hands over her hips. There was only one way to find out. She picked up the chemise. From this moment on, everything would change.

She managed to dress by herself, though the lack of a corset made the garments fit uncomfortably. The laces in the back of the bodice would not meet, and the ones in the front were false laces, for decoration only. The skirts hung long without the petticoats to hold them up. Still, anything was better than Alex’s robe. Even though she couldn’t lace up the back, she felt proud of herself. Never before had she gotten dressed without Maude’s help. She tried not to breathe too deeply for fear of losing the bodice, and she left the laces dangling, thinking to ask Birk’s help with that small duty.

Her hair proved a difficult task, and she now understood why Maude tended to mutter beneath her breath while dealing with it. She could not duplicate any of her normally fashionable hairstyles, but she managed to brush the tangles free and tie it back in some semblance of order.

Once finished, she stood a moment and contemplated what she was about to do. The moment she stepped out of the cabin, she would become a pirate’s mistress. She gave up her virtue and her reputation without any misgivings out of love for her father. Yet part of her feared what would happen when she sacrificed her virginity to El Moreno. Would he be gentle out of care for her maidenhood? Or would he rend her like a beast and devour her for his own pleasure?

She prayed that the flirtations she had learned from society would be enough to entrance him, that he might approach her as a lover and not a conqueror. But if it saved her father’s life, she would endure even that.

With a small sigh, she opened the door and went to meet her fate.

Alex watched over the repairs with a critical eye. They would arrive at Besosa late tomorrow afternoon, where they would repair the hole in the hull…and put Diana ashore.

He closed his eyes to avoid thinking about his comely captive and her outrageous offer. Instead he inhaled the sea air and listened to the creaks of the timbers and the snap of the sails in the wind, reminding himself that
this
was his idea of heaven.

“Good morning, captain.”

His eyes flew open as Diana made her way across the deck, with Birk following her like a protective duenna. Daintily she sidestepped the men scattered about mending sail, apparently immune to the stares and leers of the crew around her. She had donned the dress he had meant for his mother, but it did not look quite as he had expected it to.

While the saffron silk looked wonderful with Diana’s vivid coloring, and the black lace trim enhanced her very fair skin, the gown was cut lower than he remembered. Diana’s bountiful bosom looked as if it would fall out of the top that she held to her chest with both hands. The breeze blew her skirts against her, clearly outlining her legs and announcing to all and sundry that the woman wore not a petticoat underneath. Knowing he had purchased the proper undergarments for the gown, he wondered what the devil she hoped to accomplish by marching about his ship half naked.

He glanced at Birk. His good friend shrugged and rolled his eyes, indicating his total helplessness in the face of Diana’s will.

“Do you not even say good morning?” she chided as she came to a stop before him.

“When it
is
a good morning.” He scowled.

“I see the foul humor of last night plagues you still, captain.”

“Aye, there’s a plague about, a red-haired plague.”

She clucked her tongue. “Captain, how unkind.” Her voice carried the teasing lilt he had often heard in ballrooms. She smiled, her gray eyes warm, and desire stirred his blood.

“Is there some reason you have chosen to honor me with your presence this morning, Mistress Covington?” he snapped, irritated by his uncontrollable reaction to her.

“Why yes.” She turned her back to him. “I believe I left my lady’s maid at home. Would you mind?”

He looked at the garment before him, half laced and all but falling off her. He was uncomfortably aware that only one layer of flimsy cloth separated his hands from her bare skin. Torquemada could not have created a better torture. He looked up and glared at Birk.

“You couldn’t have done this?”

“I’ve no wish tae lose my hands fer touchin’ the captain’s woman,” Birk said, all innocence.