Chapter 5
Five
DAMON
The cabin boy came back from his errand grumbling and dishevelled.
He set the bottle down on the desk a little roughly, muttering out a small apology before returning to his work.
It’d been a long time since I indulged in a cabin boy.
I tended to keep that position vacant. It was another mouth to feed on tasks I could very well do myself. Or order someone else to do them.
The intention was to humiliate the boy, but aside from now, he never complained. While he was left alone to clean the room, Darrow updated me on the boy’s work. He was diligent, and he learned quickly. He’d make a decent pirate if he wasn’t so weighed down by chivalry.
Sitting at my desk, I watched him move about the cabin, dusting and straightening as he went. His mood settled little by little with the monotony of the task, and when his shoulders came back down, I took the time to really look at him.
He was tanned, with a lean figure and trim waist. His clothes were threadbare and too big, the shirt billowing off his frame while he was working on deck, but well cared for with no tears or stains.
His light brown hair was trimmed neatly by his ears, his face clean shaven.
I’d think him average if not for his eyes.
One green, one blue. They were disconcerting at first glance.
Sharp and suspicious, they watched the door to the guest cabin like a hawk.
I could tell he was almost desperate to check on his charges, but he held his tongue and did his work.
My gaze travelled lower, to the shape of his legs, his ass high and tight in his breeches. There was a familiar stirring in my loins when he bent over to snatch up an errant piece of paper, the curve of his ass drawing my full attention.
It’d been too long since I bedded anyone.
Too busy, I suppose. If the boy was here voluntarily, I might seduce him, take the edge off a little.
But given his position, I assumed he’d be more likely to try to kill me first. Besides, he gave no indication of his interests.
The only thing he cared about was protecting his charges.
Unless one of them was his lover? Not the littlest one, of course, but the older one was fair.
“How old are you, boy?”
“William,” he snapped. “I’m twenty three.”
“And your charges?”
He straightened, frowning at me. “What of them?”
“How old are they?”
“Why do you need to know that?”
I didn’t appreciate the backtalk, though I understood his apprehension. I gritted my teeth to temper my irritation, growling out, “Just answer the damned question.”
“Henry is twenty-one, Jane, fifteen, and Daisy, seven,” he replied, ever suspicious of me.
I’d heard of larger age gaps with relationships, but he didn’t speak of the middle one with any inflections or indications of affections beyond that of a steward and their charge.
I dismissed the notion. It didn’t matter.
He was safe from me. I didn’t force myself on my bedmates.
He’d give me some indication he was interested, or I’d move on. End of story.
“Go fetch them their supper. I’m sure they’re hungry by now.”
He snapped to attention, giving me a sharp nod before hurrying off to do as I asked. I shook my head. That kind of chivalry had no place here.
Jameson brought me my meal not long later, but I mostly ignored it, my focus on the papers in front of me.
They were taken from the merchant’s ship, a log of all their cargo.
It was mostly accounted for, aside from what had been used on their journey for food stuffs.
However, there was one crate missing. We’d done a thorough search of the ship before sending them off, minus one dead captain and a few crew who’d tried to put up a fuss, so it must’ve made it aboard, but it was missing during inventory.
Which meant it was either missed during the count or someone was dipping their fingers into the goods without my permission.
That was a punishable offence. I’d hang anyone found stealing from me, and I’d enjoy doing it.
Lockhart came back a few hours later, dragging the cabin boy in with him. He was snarling, and blood dripped from his nose. Indignation rose to the surface, and I shoved to my feet.
“What the hell happened?”
“Less than a day on board and he’s made enemies already,” Lockhart answered, shoving the boy forward. The boy rounded on him, his fists clenched.
“I didn’t do shit!”
“Watch your tongue, lad, or I’ll cut it out,” Lockhart warned. He was a patient man, but he wouldn’t hesitate to dole out punishment if he felt it was deserved.
“Boy!” I barked, silencing him before he could open his mouth again. His jaw snapped shut, but he shot me a scathing look to show his displeasure. I jabbed a finger at the chair across from me. “Sit.”
He sat, though I could tell it took all his effort to be silent about it. He seethed, glaring at the corner of my desk, not putting in an ounce of effort to stem the bleeding from his nose. I tossed a handkerchief at him, mostly to spare my rug.
“You get blood everywhere, you’re the one who's going to be cleaning it up. Do something about your face.”
He pressed the cloth to his nose but said nothing. I raised an eyebrow at Lockhart, but he just shrugged. His job was to maintain order on the ship. It wasn’t his job to coddle the prisoners.
“Who’s at the helm?”
“Mad eyes,” Lockhart answered. I nodded.
“Make sure he gets his supper.”
Lockhart dipped his chin in acknowledgement and stepped out, leaving me alone with the seething cabin boy.
“What happened?” I demanded again once we were alone.
His expression went blank, and he dropped the handkerchief, all hints of his aggravation disappearing into thin air. “Nothing.”
“If it was nothing, you wouldn’t be bleeding right now. Answer the question.”
He said nothing, which pissed me off. I didn’t take kindly to someone refusing to obey my orders. And not only was this little shit refusing to speak, there were others on my ship causing me trouble.
Shoving to my feet, I stormed around the desk, grabbing the boy by his hair.
I dragged him out of my cabin, ignoring his growls as I marched him straight to where most of the crew sat on the deck to eat.
When I shoved the boy to his knees, the crew watched curiously, a few with a hint of malice in their grins.
They were a bloodthirsty lot and didn't shy away from a little violence. I could tell they wanted me to punish him. They’d be disappointed. It wasn’t just him who was the issue.
“Who else here thinks it’s a smart decision to disobey my orders?”
They stayed silent, watching me more warily now, grins disappearing off their faces.
“Are you bored? Do you have so much time on your hands that you are fighting with each other? I can fix that.”
With a growl, I threw the whelp forward. He landed on his hands and knees hard, his head whipping over his shoulder so he could scowl at me. I ignored him.
“I want every inch of this ship scrubbed clean. Top to bottom. And if I hear any complaints, you’ll be spending the night with Davy Jones. Get to work!”
The response was immediate, men lunging to their feet to follow the order. It would take them all night, at least, if they were thorough about it. And they better be, or they’d be scrubbing the hull with their bodies instead.
The boy shoved to standing, looking around with a wary expression. I stepped closer, my voice a deep growl. “You are so eager to protect them by keeping your mouth shut, you’ll be working right along with them all night. I won’t ask twice. Get to work.”
With one last glare to me, he hurried off. I joined Lockhart at the helm, glowering at the crew as they skittered about.
“Boy wouldn’t give up the story?” he queried mildly.
I grunted in response. I had a very heavy urge to put that boy over my knee for his disobedience.
My hand itched with the need. I shoved the thought away, narrowing my eyes as I watched Stiles and the boy glaring at each other as they scrubbed the deck.
I could make a guess who was causing him trouble, but I wasn’t going to do shit about it.
He wanted to survive on this ship, he’d have to grow some balls.
“He’s steadfast, I’ll give ‘im that,” Lockhart commented. “Anyone else would’ve spilled the beans to get some coddling.”
I made an irritated sound. “Too damn chivalrous.”
Lockhart huffed out a laugh. “True. He’ll learn eventually. If he survives long enough.”
That was the question, wasn’t it? Would he even live long enough to earn the chance to learn?
“Tell the crew if I catch them hurting him again, they’ll face me. He’s no use to me broken.”
Lockhart chuckled, but when he realised I was serious, he frowned. I turned my glower onto him and, aside from his confusion, he didn’t argue with me. “Aye, captain.”
He left to deliver the order, and I took over the helm.
I cared less about the fact that the boy was hurt and more about the disrespect to me.
I ordered my prisoners unharmed. The boy was included in that, even if he was given work to do.
I had no intention of keeping him once the trade was made.
He would leave my ship with his charges and I would have one less headache to contend with.
Until he left, he was to be unharmed. Simple as that.