22. Jonto #2
Trying to ignore the pressure of those long fingers on her bicep took a herculean effort on Jonto’s part.
She’d tossed and turned many nights, thinking of how much she’d enjoy three or even four of those slender fingers deep inside her core.
Pulling in a breath only made things worse as Isla’s distinctive, delicate scent floated between them.
This was only day four. Jonto wondered what a jumbled mess her feelings would be on day nine or even day twenty.
Rising from her knees with what she hoped was an inconspicuous step to the side, Jonto moved away from Isla’s hand, raised the lid, and slid open two panels wrapped around the upper compartment to reveal the cabinet’s interior.
“If you pull those lower cupboard doors open, Lady Brighton, you’ll see how everything is kept safe from the rough movement of the waves during inclement weather. ”
Isla did as requested and revealed a carefully designed lower interior cabinet and four rows of bottles carefully secured inside both doors, two rows to a door.
Robert moved closer. “I wondered how you kept the bottles and glasses safe during a storm, but I see that each bottle nestles down into a velvet-padded ring, and the glasses have their own velvet-lined cubby, each with a delicate silken strap to hold them in place.” He looked at Jonto.
“This work of art could very well be in a museum. Do you think the artist would build a similar one for Pris and me?”
Out of habit, Jonto pressed a button, causing a built-in shelf running the length of the entire right side to swing up.
She caught the bottom half and, with practiced ease, flicked a switch along the edge of the shelf, releasing a leg that swiveled down to hold the platform in place.
That done, she picked out five tumblers and two wine glasses and set them up, ready to be filled.
“Possibly. The last time I asked, the wait was three years out. He’s in high demand in several kingdoms. In fact, he’s done many pieces for royalty around the globe. ”
Robert’s brows descended. “I wonder why King Jaydon’s never heard of him. I know he’d commission several pieces if he saw a cabinet of this caliber.”
The reason was apparent to Jonto, but she knew not to inadvertently offer insult by giving voice to her thoughts.
Their kingdom was possibly the smallest in the known world.
In fact, it wasn’t well-known to many realms apart from those closest to its shores.
“I don’t know why. Does King Jaydon travel much beyond your borders? ”
Everyone shook their heads, giving Jonto a perfect excuse to move on.
“I have the Martell I mentioned, a good whiskey, or white and red wines. Name your poison.” In the end, only Lily opted for a white wine.
The second wine glass was exchanged for a brandy snifter after Robert noticed a bottle of Hennessy Cognac nestled among the offerings.
They had about twenty minutes to enjoy their drinks before the ship’s two stewards, three servants, and Ilona came through the door carrying platters and trays, which they set in the middle of the table. The servants and Ilona took their leave while the two stewards served everyone their meals.
Jonto carefully selected her crew from kingdoms the world over, and the chef aboard the Jest was one of her finest acquisitions.
Like Ilona, she’d been trained by the best to serve royalty.
Unfortunately, she’d been abused by said royalty to the point that she’d appeared at Jonto’s door asking her to take her on as ship’s cook.
The term cook didn’t begin to describe the woman’s talents, though, and the roasted swordfish, sauce vierge, and rice pilaf, followed by a custard fruit tart had her guests exclaiming about the excellent repast. Afterward, Jonto, Robert, and Nico went on deck to enjoy an after-dinner cigar.
When they returned, the women had settled into their respective cabins for the night.
For Jonto, it had been a very long day. The storm had been unexpected, and there’d been some crew issues she’d had to deal with throughout the day, not to mention the added stress of having the Fitzgeralds riding herd on Isla during their visit.
After setting her clothing out for the morning, she quickly undressed and fell into a much-anticipated sleep.
A few moments later, or so it seemed, Jonto awoke from a sound sleep to someone quietly knocking on her outer door. She growled loudly enough for the interloper to hear, “This had better be important, or I’m going to strangle whoever thought it was necessary to wake me in the middle of the night.”
She grabbed a breastband and wrapped it around her chest. In the ten years she’d been aboard the Jest or had left the ship to visit people on land, she never left her rooms without binding herself.
Too much was at stake to get lazy and have someone notice that her manly chest was, in reality, a woman’s breasts.
Once the band was in place, she quickly pulled on some breeches and a tunic and went to answer a second knock on the door.
“Yes? What is it?” She expected an adult to be standing there and was momentarily disoriented when she didn’t immediately see anyone waiting outside her door.
Her sleep must have been deeper than she thought because the movement of Alpia’s arm as she tugged on her forelock had Jonto glancing lower than initially intended. “What is it?”
“Master Tilden sent me to fetch ya, Cap’n.”
Tilden was the helmsman for the middle watch, which ran from midnight to four in the morning. Jonto squinted down at the young message bearer. “What are you doing up so late, or should I say so early since Tilden doesn’t come on until midwatch?”
“Ya knows I only need a few bells ‘a sleep, and night time’s the best time to be roamin’ ‘cause nobody bothers me none. Anyway, Tilden said to fetch ya because he didn’t know what to do with her.”
“Do with whom?”
“With th’ lady from th’ cabin across th’ way.
” Alpia pointed at Isla’s closed door. “She come out and started wanderin’ th’ decks.
She be wanderin’ an’ starin’ out to sea an’ Master Tilden don’t know what to do with her.
Makes him nervous, he says, to have a woman wanderin’ around on her own like that. ”
“You mean Lady Brighton?”
“Aye, that’s th’ one.”
“Go tell Master Tilden I’ll be right up.
” Jonto shut the door and returned to the bedroom to pull on her boots before slipping on a woolen overcoat.
She glanced at her brass seaman’s clock mounted on the wall to the right of the door, wondering what Isla was doing out at two in the morning.
She didn’t think she’d had trouble sleeping on previous nights and couldn’t imagine why she left the cabin to wander the deck.
When she emerged from the wardroom door onto the quarterdeck, she looked at Tilden, who lifted his chin towards the fo’c’sle.
It was a moonless night, leaving only the minimal light of the stars to see by.
Add to that the predictable fog that had rolled in, making it more challenging than usual, even for seasoned sailors, to safely navigate the obstacles common to the working deck of a sailing ship.
Jonto made her way forward, carefully avoiding coiled ropes, water barrels, and storage crates.
She held onto the railing as she mounted the steps leading to the fo’c’sle.
The ghostly fog swirled as she moved through it, its haunting tendrils dancing around her like a room full of ghosts attending a ghoulish ball.
She spotted Isla’s dark silhouette jutting up from the prow.
As Jonto approached, she realized the lady was leaning forward, resting her forearms on the polished wooden rail.
Isla held her hands clasped lightly together as she stared into the dense, ashen fog.
At least she wore a thick woolen cape wrapped around her for warmth.
Jonto stepped beside her and mirrored her position, leaning on her forearms and looking out to sea. “It’s not a good idea for you to walk alone on deck, especially during a foggy first quarter moon, My Lady.”
“I couldn’t sleep, and after several turns around my cabin, I needed to get out.”
“I can understand that, but I’d ask that you not come out on deck at night alone. If you need respite from the confines of your cabin in the middle of the night, please feel free to knock on my door anytime, and I’ll accompany you.”
They remained quiet, listening to the waves slapping against the hull as the ship glided through the water.
The sound could either soothe or frighten, depending on the circumstance.
Jonto hoped it was the former as she continued, “Would you like to talk about what’s keeping you awake?
Did you have nightmares, or perhaps the swordfish disagreed with you? ”
Isla shook her head and looked down at her clasped hands. “It’s nothing, My Lord. Nothing you can help me with anyway.”
Letting problems fester never ended well for Jonto. She guessed the same would be true for Isla and took a stab at what had kept her awake into the early morning hours. “You’re worried about Montfort and what the King might do.”
Isla’s immediate response was clipped, and the words pouring out contradicted her earlier claim that nothing was wrong.
“Of course I am. I could lose everything simply because I trusted my overseer. Montfort is a hateful man who treats his servants abominably. If the King forces us to marry, I hate to think what will happen to my people, to Lily, Tansy, and even young Perrin.”
She turned her head and tried to wipe away a tear without Jonto seeing. “I worry more for them than I do for myself. He’s been known to take advantage of the women, and I’ve heard rumors, unsubstantiated, mind you, but rumors all the same, that he has his way with little boys as well.”