The Pirate's Secret Baby (7 page)

"Aye, Captain," she said, but that bottom lip jutted out. He continued reading of the exploits of Captain Davis, then closed
A General History of the Robberies & Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates
. More tales of mayhem would wait for another evening.

"You have a busy day tomorrow, Mattie, so I'll say goodnight."

"Tuck me in, Papa?"

"Always, Marauding Mattie."

She scooted down and he tucked the covers around her, then she raised her arms for a kiss goodnight, which he gave her on each cheek.

When he straightened, the governess was watching him with an unreadable expression, and Robert felt warmth in his own cheeks. He could kiss whomever he chose from his crew. He was the captain, after all.

Miss Burke leaned over to kiss Mattie on the forehead, reminding him of his other reason for stepping in here this evening.

"When you are finished, Miss Burke, report to my cabin."

* * * *

Lydia brushed moist palms down the skirts of her gray gown. Taking a deep breath, she raised her hand, but before she could knock a voice said, "Stop dithering and come in, Miss Burke."

She stepped over the threshold of the cabin and when he said, "Close the door," she clasped her hands before her.

"If it is all the same to you, I would leave the door open, Captain St. Armand."

"It is not all the same to me. Close the door."

His back was to her as he returned his book to the railed shelf above his compact desk. His pantaloons must have been carefully tailored to give him such a close fit, the lines of his long thighs and the muscles they displayed all too evident.

"If you are done admiring my backside, let's chat," he said, turning with a grin.

"I am not--you cannot speak to me that way!"

"I just spoke to you that way. It was not difficult at all. Take a seat, Miss Burke."

Lydia sat at the table where they'd dined, and did her best to keep her face expressionless. The captain found cat-and-mouse games entertaining, did he? He was not the first charming rogue who'd crossed her path, and if she couldn't outfight him, she was confident she could outthink him.

She relaxed, clasping her hands in her lap again, but not from nerves this time. He took his time pouring them each a glass of wine in delicate goblets that looked out of place aboard a ship at sea. The wine caught ruby glints in the soft lamplight, the same light caressing his face and form, making the satin that strained across his shoulders gleam.

He seated himself across from her and took a sip of his own wine.

"Now that is a vintage worth stealing. Confess, Miss Burke, you are pleased to be aboard a vessel where you have fewer concerns the food will kill you."

"I did not come here to discuss wine, Captain St. Armand. I am here to discuss Mathilde's lessons, and then I wish to seek my bed."

As soon as the words left her mouth she knew they'd been a mistake. One should never say "bed" in this man's proximity. It raised too many images and issues. She plowed on.

"Mathilde has a good head for numbers and is ready to learn her multiplication, Captain. Her penmanship needs improvement, and it is not too early for her to learn some history and geography, especially since she will be moving to England. I teach by incorporating all aspects of study as a whole, using natural philosophy, mathematics, geography, history and literature together around themes, such as the ocean and travel. Since we are at sea, and since you are already sharing some of your nautical wisdom with Mattie, it only makes sense to continue along those lines. However," she added dryly, "I would prefer you keep lessons of bloodshed and mayhem to a minimum."

"Do you believe in beating children who do not do their lessons?"

For a moment Lydia was stunned silent. "I would never strike a child for not studying! If you think that is an effective teaching method, you have kidnapped the wrong governess!"

She stood to leave, but he only nodded, his face serious for a change.

"Sit down, Miss Burke. As it happens, I agree with you. I said, sit down. Please."

He stroked his chin as he thought, those long fingers reminding her of the sensual furnishings she now enjoyed in her cabin, furs and silks once caressed by his hands.

"That sounds like a good course of study for the child. It is hard for me to remember my own lessons from when I was her age, but I trust your judgment. I do want Mattie to learn mathematics and a range of other subjects. Too often girls' education is neglected, but someday Mattie will receive funds from me and she should know how to do more than embroider cushions."

"That is a liberal attitude--" she paused.

"For a pirate?"

"I was going to say, 'for a father.' Many men are solely concerned with their daughters making a good marriage, so they wish governesses to focus only on the womanly arts and not fill their heads with what they consider 'useless booklearning.' Mattie should learn those arts as well, but rich or poor she'll need to know how to manage a household, and that takes a variety of skills."

"Did your father want you to only learn the womanly arts, Miss Burke?"

She sipped her wine, then looked at him. "My background is not up for discussion here."

"If I were hiring you, I would need to know your background and get letters of reference as well."

"If you were hiring me, I would share that information with you. You kidnapped me, Captain St. Armand."

She rose, and he stretched his long legs out before him.

"Miss Burke, you have an annoying habit of jumping up and trying to leave when I am talking to you. I do not wish to rise every time you do."

"Never fear, sir, the last thing I look for in a pirate is gracious manners."

"Sit."

It was his tone rather than his words that had her obeying like a well-trained spaniel.

"Much better. You have the run of the ship, but do your best to stay out of the way of the men as they work at their tasks. Is there anything else you need for this voyage that you did not bring with you?"

"No, I have all my supplies for teaching Mattie."

"You and Mattie will take your meals with me, unless I say otherwise. I am up with the morning watch, so you may miss me at breakfast."

Her face must have reflected her thoughts because he added, "No, I do not sleep until noon, at least not when I am aboard my vessel. If you find I've overslept, feel free to come into my cabin and wake me. Do not send Mattie. I sleep in the nude. You blush easily, Miss Burke."

"I know that," she snapped, and this time when she stood, she was determined to leave. He'd have to physically restrain her to keep her here a moment longer. The idea of being restrained by this pirate only made her face heat up more, but he took pity and rose himself to open the cabin door.

This had the unfortunate effect of bringing them too close together in the confines of his cabin, inches apart as he reached around her to open the door, brushing against her in the process. Lydia looked straight ahead, but out of the corner of her eye she saw him distracted by his own mirror as he paused to look at himself. She scurried away to her cabin, but couldn't resist one final glance back over her own shoulder. A thick lock of hair cascaded down over her ear, slipping from beneath her cap, and she made a sound of annoyance.

The pirate stood in his doorway, watching her. He gave her a short nod and a smile before closing his own door again.

Lydia reached up to tuck her wayward hair back under, and realized more hairpins had gone missing while she was in the pirate's cabin. He'd pretended to be distracted by his own pretty face to rob her again. She was about to pound on his door and demand he return what he'd stolen, but stopped, reminding herself to outthink, not outfight him.

Fortunately, in a contest of wits, she was better armed than the pirate.

"Try again, Mattie. You had it almost perfect this time."

"This is not fun, Miss Burke! Pirates do not need to learn multiplication tables!"

Lydia fixed her charge with a stern eye and put her finger in the text to mark her place. The author of
The Young Ladies' New Guide to Arithmetic
clearly had been focusing on teaching household account skills rather than division of pirate booty, but numbers were numbers and Lydia never gave up on a recalcitrant pupil.

"Mathilde, we had an agreement. You were not to argue about lessons. Back to your recitation, miss."

Mattie sighed as if her world conspired against her, but began reciting. "Two times two is four, two times three is six, two times four is eight..."

When she recited all the way through to the twelves without a mistake Lydia said, "Well done. Let us stretch our legs, Mathilde, and I will show you interesting tricks about multiplication."

Mattie looked skeptical at the offered treat, but jumped up. Lydia knew this child was so full of energy she would not tolerate sitting still for long. When Captain St. Armand arrived in England, she hoped he would find the right governess for the child, one who would not seek to suppress Mathilde's enthusiasm and energy.

The thought of the child's future brought a flutter of anxiety as she contemplated her own future, but she did her best to push it aside. There was nothing for it now, and while she could plan and scheme, nothing would happen until they reached England. Then her task would be to get back out of the country as quickly and quietly as possible, and she could only hope St. Armand would not stand in her way.

Lydia stretched her own limbs, deeply inhaling the salt air. It was such a lovely day out on the ocean one simply could not stay below in the cramped and dank cabin, not when there was sunshine and fresh air and the temperature left tropical memories to be cherished on colder, darker days ahead. Mattie chatted with Paget, who paused in his task to show the child how to tie a complicated knot. Lydia admitted to herself that these rough men were not what she envisioned when she thought about pirates. Despite their coarse language and unschooled manners, they treated Lydia with respect and seemed genuinely fond of the girl who had the run of the ship.

Glancing now back to the stern where Captain St. Armand talked with Mr. Fuller, she suspected discipline was more important than she would have suspected, and that for all his fashionable airs, the captain ran a tight ship. The men here seemed better fed and less downcast than the sailors aboard the
Clementine
.

Today the fashionable captain was dressed for working, his raven locks secured beneath a red bandana to keep them from getting in his face. He'd stripped down as the day warmed, leaving off the snowy white linen shirt and leather vest he'd worn at breakfast. He paused from speaking to Fuller and looked at her, his azure gaze daring her to say something so he could respond in a way that would make her uncomfortable.

Lydia turned her back on the distracting captain and shook out her skirts, taking advantage of the break in routine to move about the deck, stepping carefully around the gear where the men worked. Mattie was still talking with Paget, who described the schooner's rigging to the bright-eyed youngster. Mattie nodded, the straw hat shading her head bobbing up and down as she gestured at the collection of ropes and cloth that appeared so arcane to Lydia, but whose configuration made sense to the sailors.

Lydia put her hand atop her own straw bonnet, plain but for the faded blue ribbons securing it beneath her chin. The edges of her cap ruffled about her face in the stiff breeze and as she brushed them back she frowned. When she went to don her cap this morning there were only two in her luggage. She knew there were three when she started her journey, and could not imagine what happened to the third cap. She wasn't careless with her wardrobe, as she had to scrimp and save her wages to buy or make what she had, and she hoped the missing cap would turn up at a later date.

Thinking of her wages reminded her there were still lessons to be taught this morning, and she called her charge back.

"Miss Burke, do you know what they call the boy who climbs aloft to fix the fouled lines? A rigging monkey! I could do that! I just need to practice climbing aloft and then I can be a rigging monkey and I'll spot ships and win a brace of pistols!"

"There will be no climbing until your pa--your captain or Mr. Fuller allows it, young lady. As you know, a good crewmember follows orders, and your orders this morning are to study your multiplication. Now, fetch your slate and I will show you those tricks with numbers I mentioned."

Mattie sat crosslegged next to her in the shade provided by an awning thoughtfully rigged by Mr. Fuller. Lydia sat on an overturned box, with a pillow atop it from the collection on their bunks, more comfortable than if she'd been forced to sit on the deck with her legs akimbo and her skirts hiked up. She could only imagine what kind of comments from the captain that might generate!

"You know all your twos are even numbers when multiplied. There are more ways to know whether you're multiplying correctly. Recite your fives for me, please."

Mattie did, then looked at her governess.

"Now, what do those numbers have in common?"

"All of them end in five, or zero."

"That is one way you know you're multiplying your fives correctly--the answer, or product, must end in five or zero. Now, pass me your slate and I will show you another trick."

Lydia took the slate and scratched on it.

"What do you notice about the product of these numbers, Mattie?"

Mattie studied the three examples. "All of them have factors of nine?"

"Yes, but they have something else in common. Look again."

Mattie stared at the numbers, her brows pulled down in a frown. "I think--I see! When you add the numbers in the product it's nine! Fifty-four is nine times six, but five and four is nine! Eighteen is nine times two, but eight and one is nine!"

"Bugger the bishop, she's right!"

Lydia twisted her head around. Turnbull and Nash stood behind her, looking over her shoulder at Mattie's slate.

"I never knew that, Miss Burke," Nash said. "Show us some more number tricks!"