To Tame a Highland Earl (23 page)

Lord Rushton grinned. “I can see you sitting
on a stool at the counter alongside the honorable Mrs. Larson.”

Eve laughed with the memory. “I was a sight.
I had a terrible habit of getting as much flour on me and the
surrounding table and floor as I did in the bowl.”

His gaze traveled down her frame and her
cheeks heated. “You aren’t quite as much of a mess now.” He reached
across the table and she froze when he brushed at something on her
right cheek. “A smudge of flour,” he said. “Some things never
change.” He grinned. “You will likely need a bath after this.”

Eve turned her attention to her stew. “One
can only dream.”

“
The captain has a tub in
his quarters. Perhaps I can arrange something.”

She snorted. “You are being cruel. I cannot
believe you would allow Grace and me a bath when you will barely
permit us to leave our cabin.”

“
It would be a great risk,”
he said with gravity. “If the men knew there were naked woman
aboard ship that would most assuredly incite mutiny.”

“
My lord, you make them
sound so ferocious that I wonder how in heaven’s name you have
managed to control such a motley crew.”

“
It hasn’t been easy,” he
said. “Did it occur to you that I spend my time fending them
off?”

Eve rolled her eyes. “They have not so much
as glanced our way.”

“
Oh, they have, indeed,
glanced your way.”

“
How would you
know?”

“
I know because I am a man.
It would be impossible for them not to look.”

A tremor rippled through Eve’s stomach. “Not
all men are like you,” she ventured.

He grunted. “Indeed not, but in this respect,
these men are like me. Unlike me, however, some would not hesitate
to force their attentions upon you.”

“
You did force your
attentions onto me.”

He flashed a smile so charming her breath
caught. “You are too irresistible to resist.”

Eve blinked. He laughed, clearly
comprehending that she hadn’t forgotten his kisses—and more—and she
quickly said, “Where the sailors are concerned, I think you are
trying to scare me.”

“
I am, but it is only
because it is the truth.”

“
You have a flair for the
dramatic, my lord.”

“
I promise you, on this, I
do not exaggerate.” His attention was on his roll and he dunked it
in his stew with obvious relish. “I left no doubt in their minds
that I would kill them if they disobeyed me.”

“
Kill them—you are teasing
me. No one would actually hurt us.”

“
Invariably, there is
always one bad apple, and that is more than enough to do damage.
Now,” his eyes shifted to her, “what payment should I extract in
exchange for arranging your bath?”

Chapter Twelve

Erroll took the final step from the lower
deck onto the upper deck and sighted the captain on the port side
of the ship. The bow lamp in the binnacle had been dimmed, but
moonlight illuminated the looking glass he peered through, aimed at
the Scottish coastline. Erroll crossed to him.

“
My lord,” the captain
said, as Erroll stopped beside him. “Have a look at this.” Captain
Mercantile handed him the spyglass. “To the north there, in the
small cove.” He pointed.

Erroll fitted the glass to his eye and slowly
scanned right until moonlight illuminated the tip of a mast beyond
the rocky crags on the coastline.

“
I would say the ship is a
brigantine,” the captain said.

Erroll discerned a second mast. “You have a
good eye.”

“
According to my map, they
set anchor in a small cove just around that bend ahead,” Mercantile
said. “Well away from any port. Do you have much trouble with
pirates in the channel here?”

“
None.” Erroll lowered the
glass. “With Trafalgar behind us and the Barbary Coast War nearly
two years past, the seas are safer than they have been in decades.
If Jefferson steers clear of our ocean we might be able to deal
with Old Bony post haste and settle back into our lives.” Such as
they were. Erroll returned the glass. “I suspect the brigantine
anchored in that cove in order to deal with an unexpected
problem.”

“
Might they have gone
ashore for water or hunting?” the captain asked.

“
If the captain has a taste
for game bird.”

Erroll thought of the excellent meal he’d
shared with Miss Crenshaw earlier that evening. If the brigantine’s
captain had a cook as skilled—and beautiful— he would certainly
find reason to keep her busy in the galley…and his bed. Something
Erroll should be working on, instead of stopping to help a ship in
trouble. The lady had agreed to bake another batch of bread thus
ending the negotiations for her bath with his acquiescence.

The thought of indulging in more of her rolls
tomorrow—and the thought of her naked in the captain’s massive tub
at this very moment—were enough to induce Erroll to order Captain
Mercantile to slow their speed. He would hate to reach their
destination before he’d had a chance to enjoy more rolls…and her. A
mere fantasy. Oscar wasn’t about to let her out of his sight long
enough for Erroll to kiss her, much less strip her naked. Not to
mention, Somerset stood guard along with the brute to ensure the
ladies’ privacy while they bathed. That left only the pleasure of
the morrow’s bread making for Erroll to enjoy.

“
Do you know this
area?”

Captain Mercantile’s question intruded upon
the mental picture of Miss Crenshaw at the counter pounding her
bread batter into submission wearing nothing but a white apron.

“
Yes, I do,” Erroll said.
“My father owns land on this side of the island. Travel by coach is
impossible from here, which is why I wanted to put in at Tobermory
in the north. Let’s have a look at that ship, Captain.”

Captain Mercantile called an order to change
course and, twenty minutes later, they glided into the cove with
Erroll and the captain on the quarterdeck. The captain stood ready
with a megaphone while Erroll scanned the ship through the
spyglass. His gaze snagged on the swivel guns mounted to the side
of the ship. They appeared well kept. A shout went up and Erroll
shifted the glass. Half a dozen men on deck pointed at the collier.
One man disappeared below deck and, a moment later, the man
returned with another man Erroll wagered was the captain or first
mate.

Once the collier drifted close enough, the
captain shouted through the megaphone: “Captain Mercantile of the
Margaret Ann. “Are you in need of assistance?”

“
Captain Johnson, here,”
the biggest man shouted back through a megaphone. “We discovered
water in the bilge and put in to have a look.”

“
How much water?”
Mercantile called.

“
A few inches.”

“
Did you find the source of
the leak?”

“
No,” Johnson shouted, “but
there’s no new water in the last two hours.”

“
May I?” Erroll nodded to
Captain Mercantile’s megaphone. The captain handed it to him, and
both men took two steps to the left to stay closer to Johnson as
the collier drifted while Erroll shouted into the megaphone, “What
are you transporting?”

“
Wool from Fort
William.”

“
My first mate is an
engineer,” Captain Mercantile told Erroll. “He can have a look, if
Johnson likes.”

Erroll relayed the information, but Captain
Johnson shook his head. “Thank you, but no. We have lost precious
time as it is. My investors will be none too pleased if we fall
further behind.”

Erroll grinned. “Aye, investors are often a
pain in the arse. As it happens, I represent Captain Mercantile’s
investors. We delivered coal in Belfast and are sailing onto
Tobermory to meet with prospective buyers about importing coal onto
the island.” To Erroll’s relief, Captain Mercantile listened to
this lie without betraying surprise.

“
You are not familiar with
these waters?” Captain Johnson called back.

“
No,” Erroll replied. “We
were told the game on the island is excellent, though. I anticipate
a little hunting. This cove has easy access. What do you know of
the bird game here?”

Captain Johnson took several steps to his
left to keep in line with them and shouted, “I sent someone ashore
earlier. My man said there was nothing of consequence within a half
hour walk.”

“
Would they hunt at night?”
Captain Mercantile asked Erroll out of the corner of his
mouth.

“
Wild boar or deer,
perhaps,” Erroll answered, “but they would have to know the land.
Since I do not recognize the captain, I doubt that is the
case.”

“
If you are certain you do
not need anything…” Erroll called to Captain Johnson.

“
No, but I thank
you.”

Erroll waved goodbye, and he and Captain
Mercantile started down the stairs to the main deck. “Have your men
set sail.”

“
Lee-ho,” the captain
called out.

“
Lee-ho,” the first mate
repeated in a loud voice.

Then Mercantile called, “Ready about.” The
first mate repeated the order as Mercantile said to Erroll, “What
do you think they’re up to?”

“
Smuggling.”

“
French brandy?”

“
There is little else of
worth to smuggle these days. But this cove is too far north for him
to have come from Fort William, which makes me curious why he
lied.” They reached the stairs leading below deck. “There’s a tiny
cove just up the coast. The cliffs on the shore are higher than
those here, so they cannot spot our masts as we did theirs. We will
put in there. I’ll go ashore and double back to have a
look.”

“
They may sail before you
return.”

“
True, but we cannot risk a
confrontation. Did you see the swivel guns mounted on the outside
of the hull?”

“
I did,” Captain Mercantile
said.

“
They even had a howitzer,”
Erroll said. “You have some fine cannons on this collier, and a
good crew, but I suspect those smugglers are better armed than your
sailors. I also have the ladies to consider. Please inform me when
we reach the cove.”

Half an hour later, Erroll jumped from the
jollyboat into the calf deep water at the shore of the small cove.
The two men with him hopped out and the three of them pulled the
boat onto shore. They hiked into the trees, over the hill, and
finally reached the edge of the trees on the other side. The
brigantine remained anchored in the cove, and the clouds parted to
illuminate two longboats beached on the shore.

“
So the buggers went ashore
after all,” Joseph said in a thick Irish brogue.

Erroll scanned the beach with the spyglass.
“Indeed.”

Clouds marched across the moon in a steady
stream and Erroll watched through the spyglass in the intermittent
gloom. They waited fifteen minutes before men emerged from the
trees. Erroll counted eight young men and boys herded by four burly
sailors. Anger whipped through him. He’d expected illicit
contraband, not slavers. In a flood of moonlight, Erroll glimpsed
Gordon and Nab, youths from a tiny village half a mile inland.

“
Bloody hell,” Joseph
snarled. “A press gang. I didn’t know the slavers worked the Inner
Hebrides,”

“
Neither did I,” Erroll
replied. “Aberdeen is their main hunting ground. So much for
Parliament abolishing slavery this past week. I wager Captain
Johnson steered clear of the main cities in case citizens decided
to take the new law into their own hands. That may explain why he’s
keeping to the coast.”

“
Bastards,” Erroll’s second
companion, David, cursed.

“
We can’t let them sail,”
Joseph said.

“
I agree,” Erroll said.
“But by the time we get the collier back here, they could be gone,
and we have the women to consider.”

“
I’ll swim out and board
the bloody ship,” David said.

“
Very brave of you,” Erroll
said. “But we have no idea how large their crew is. I have only a
single shot revolver, as do you gentlemen.”

“
Two shots and powder.”
David produced a pistol from the back of his waistband, then turned
his hip slightly to reveal the pouch strapped to his
belt.

“
I have a knife,” Joseph
said.

Erroll gave an approving nod. “Well done, but
the odds are still very much against us. If we confront them in the
collier, we could end up sinking the ship with the men chained
below.”

Joseph cursed under his breath. “The men have
a better chance if we let the slavers take them.”

“
Sadly, yes.” Erroll
wondered how he was going to tell Gordon and Nab’s mothers he’d
watched while the slavers took their sons, then realized he didn’t
have to. “Are you two gentlemen good shots?”

“
I can hit a fly at fifteen
paces,” Joseph said.

“
I can hit a man, well
enough,” David said.

“
Fine, then we will do our
best to save these lads,” Erroll whispered. “There are four men and
we have four shots.” Only the angels of God could direct their
bullets to all four intended victims with the first shots—and that
would take Michael the archangel, the only celestial being willing
to commit murder, no matter how justified. “Joseph, if you would,
give me your knife. I will attack head on,” Erroll said. “You two
stay here and fire from the trees.”