Chapter Seven
Maisy was happy to stay on deck with Jack, enjoying the excitement in her brother’s eyes as he took everything in. She couldn’t help her own enthusiasm as well. She and Jack were going to be fine. In just a few days, they would arrive at the place that would be their home.
They surely didn’t need the luxury of living in a castle, but anywhere they wouldn’t have to worry about Jack being sent away to a place he didn’t belong was fine with her.
She couldn’t help the many times she glanced at her husband where he stood at the helm of the ship, making small adjustments with the wheel that would keep them from drifting out to sea or plunging into the rocks of the shore.
She trusted him with their safety on this voyage, but she also trusted him with their lives.
So strange after having known him only a short time. He could still turn out to be a brute, but she didn’t think so. The way he’d wanted to protect her, and didn’t plan to force his husbandly rights was reassuring, if perhaps also a little bit disappointing.
It was a silly thought, but Caroline had told her every detail of what happens in bed with a man and woman, and the grand pleasure to be taken.
Maisy was a woman, and felt all the desires a woman was to feel.
And now this handsome man was her legal husband.
Why wouldn’t she wonder what it could be like?
Was his beard soft or would it scrape her chin when she kissed him?
He looked down from the perch where he stood and caught her staring at him. She quickly looked away and then thought that was the worst thing she could do, for it would seem she’d been looking at him.
She forced her gaze back to him and found him smiling. Blast. She shouldn’t have looked back at him. Turning her face toward the breeze and sea spray she promised herself not to look in his direction the rest of the trip.
But a few minutes later she gave in again and looked up at him. He was looking off in the distance, not looking at her. Of course, he wasn’t looking at her. He had a job to do. He wasn’t just standing behind that big wooden wheel for the fun of it.
She shook her head at her silliness, hoping to toss away all thoughts of kissing.
She’d never been kissed. And while she had never minded before, now she wondered.
Could it truly be as pleasant as Caroline had made it seem.
Iain had likely kissed a lot of women. He’d surely done more than kissing at his age.
But he’d all but rejected her. Mayhap if she hadn’t stiffened in panic when he’d called it their room like an untried maiden he might have been interested in her favors, as he’d called them.
Perhaps he didn’t care for her appearance. She was no grand beauty nor was she a troll. Nothing fancy, but not too dull either.
She’d read tales of sea voyages and heard of the exotic women in other lands. Was that what he was drawn to? Maybe a common English rose did little to rouse him.
And why should she care? She was content to have him go on his way and leave her and Jack to their lives. A small flutter in her stomach betrayed her.
She chose to ignore it.
Instead she focused on watching the last of the day’s sun reach over the land and dip below the horizon. Leaving her chilled in the cool sea air.
“Dinner is being served in the Capt’n’s quarters, mistress,” Hodge said with a formal bow toward her.
“Thank you, Hodge.” She signed to her brother that it was time to eat.
He’d already laid waste to the basket of provisions they’d brought from Iain’s home for his noon meal.
She knew it wouldn’t be difficult to pull him away from the deck of the ship with the promise of food. Her brother was always hungry. Always.
Candles lit up the room from sconces on the walls and a lamp that appeared to be clamped to the middle of the table. It made sense. The ship was constantly moving, everything needed to be held in place by some means.
There was a low lip around the edge of the table and Maisy assumed it was to help keep things from sliding off.
It was clear which seat belonged to the captain.
The chair at the end of the table facing the door was more elaborate than the others.
It made her think of a throne for a king.
In a way she guessed he was the ruler of this small kingdom while the ship was out to sea.
He came in while she was hovering at the table. As if he did it every day, he pulled out the chair opposite his throne and waited for her to sit before he slid her in closer to the table.
Jack took the seat to her right and eyed the food in front of him. She placed a staying hand on his arm, worried he might dive in like a starved beggar.
Iain chuckled. “I remember being his age. I could have cleared the table myself.”
She smiled. “It only seems to get worse.”
“It evened out for me when I was about twenty. He still has some to grow.”
Jack made a sign to her asking what he said. It wasn’t the first time he’d done so after Iain had spoken and she wondered why. Then, looking at her new husband as he spoke, she realized the problem. His beard.
The hair obscured his mouth, making it difficult for Jack to read his lips.
She quickly signed what Iain had said and he signed back.
“Jack says he will not be able to wait much longer. He fears he will lose his manners if we do not say grace soon and dig in.”
“Yes. Grace. Uh…”
“Go ahead then.” She said to her brother who closed his eyes and signed a prayer for their food and a safe journey. He closed with asking protection over father and even Nelson. Maisy translated it all for Iain who frowned at the last part, but joined in for the final “amen.”
Jack set upon the food like a famished beast, and she and Iain shared a smile. One of the crew served the room and moved to pour her a glass of wine. She swallowed and reached out to stop him.
“No, thank you.” She couldn’t even think about wine without having her stomach roll unhappily.
Iain chuckled from his end of the table.
“Please bring the lady a dram instead of the wine,” Iain requested. The man looked a bit surprised, but did as he was asked.
Maisy had tasted whisky before. While she wasn’t pleased by the burn, the smoky flavor left on her tongue had been pleasant. She took a sip, waiting for the bite to hit the back of her throat, but instead experienced smooth warmth.
“Oh. That is quite good.”
Iain frowned at his plate. Did he not want her to like it? Then another thought hit her.
“I assure you, I’m not a drunkard,” she said before really considering her words. It was just very important that he understand what happened at the ball was not her normal nature.
Jack laughed while tearing off a bit of bread, before shoving it in his mouth like an animal.
“You were drunk the first time I met you.”
“Yes. That was intentional. Not meeting you or what happened…” She waved her hand to brush over the topic not appropriate for dinner.
“You see, I needed to find a husband who would agree to my terms, and my friend, Caroline, knew of Mrs. Dove-Lyon and her matchmaking of women who have a strained reputation. I needed to alter my own as quickly as possible so she would assist me.”
He tilted his head. “It was a clever plan. As here we are.”
“I never apologized for what you were forced into on my behalf. It was clear that you’d not realized you were winning a wife instead of a prize.”
“I blame Hodge.” He snorted. “I’m certain the man knew the stakes and allowed me to go on without correcting my assumption.” He held his hands toward her. “I am not overly disappointed.”
“Oh?” she couldn’t help herself from asking.
“Instead of just winning the funds to save the castle, I was also able to assist with your difficulties. Why wouldn’t one help someone in need if it is no inconvenience at all?”
She looked down at her lap, feeling a bit stung. Nothing he’d said was a surprise, yet she’d been hoping for something more. Did she want him to say he was glad to be married to her? That would be ridiculous.
Unfortunately, it was also the slightest bit true. Damnation.
“Perhaps you shouldn’t have wagered in the first place.” She couldn’t help that it came out a bit snappish. It was silly, but the reminder that she was simply the means to an end hurt.
“Each of us had reasons for doing what was needed.” His gaze cut over to the boy at her side who had half the foul from the center of the table on his plate. She let out a sigh. Yes, she did what she’d needed to protect her brother. But at what cost to her soul?
It was clear to Iain he’d hurt Maisy in some way, but he wasn’t sure how. Unlike him, she’d known what this was going into it. She’d seemed like a level-headed woman. So why would she be insulted by the truth that they were merely together out of circumstance?
He guessed every young lass wished for a dashing hero to ask for her hand because he was smitten with love. But Iain was no hero. And he didn’t get smitten by anything except a clear, calm, morning on the ocean.
It was better Maisy realize there was no fairy tale here.
When dinner was cleared away, Jack went to his own room not far from theirs.
The maid came into his quarters to help Maisy get ready for bed and he stepped out.
Abigail left the room offering a quick bow and a knowing smile in his direction.
No doubt, the maid assumed he and her mistress would be seeing to their wedding night activities this evening.
That was what he wanted everyone to think. It would not only protect his standing with the crew, but it would also protect Maisy. If the crew knew she was his prized wife, they would be less likely to tempt his ire by touching her.
When he stepped in, his quarters had been transformed. It was still his room, but the lamps had been turned down low and the room smelled of jasmine.
He didn’t know of a scent that made his blood rush like that of jasmine. It was as if the flower had been fashioned simply to entice a man to a woman.
But the woman in the room was lying on the far side of his bed with the blankets pulled up to her chin looking straight up at the ceiling as if waiting to be pounced on by a wild beast.
He let out a breath, hoping his cock understood nothing was about to happen. Absolutely nothing, because sharing a room with his wife meant he’d not even be able to sate his own needs.
He shook his head and moved to hang the hammock between the posts on the opposite side of the room. He’d told her he wouldn’t bother her and he’d meant it.
After putting out all the lights, he got his large body settled and then shifted a bit to find the most comfortable spot.
“I’m sorry to have taken your bed.”
“It’s fine. Don’t worry over it,” he assured her.
Silence fell between them for a moment or two and then she spoke again.
“Will you tell me about the challenge?”
“I was to understand afterward, the women being wagered on were permitted to observe the men vying for their hand.”
“Well, yes. But when I heard the contest was so dangerous. Standing on the third story banister? Whyever would anyone risk such a thing?”
“Thirty-thousand pounds,” he said in response and regretted it instantly. This was what had hurt her. The fact that he’d only wanted the money, not her. But there was nothing for it, it was the truth. “And bragging rights.”
“One cannot brag or spend money when one is dead.” Her voice held that snappish tone he was coming to enjoy for whatever strange reason.
“Too right, wife. Before you think me a dullard or overly brave, I should inform you that there was no grave risk. We were fitted with rope harnesses to keep us from ruining Mrs. Dove-Lyon’s rugs.”
“Oh. I see.”
Was she disappointed no one had fallen to their deaths?
“Perhaps if I’d known that, I would have observed the contest after all.”
“You did indeed miss a grand performance. Not only did we have to balance on the banister, but we also had to hold a cup of tea without spilling it all.”
She laughed and his breath caught at the sound. It started as a low chuckle and then when it seemed she could contain her mirth no longer, it burst free into a clear, happy sound.
“Why do you find that amusing? It was not so easily done.”
“I can imagine. You holding a dainty cup of tea in your big hands while trying to balance.”
She chuckled again and he couldn’t help but join her.
“I’m sure it was quite a sight. I can see why you are sorry to have missed it.”
“Mayhap you can reenact it for me sometime.”
“Perhaps,” he said, but of course, he would not.
He shifted again into the quiet that fell comfortably between them.
It had been some years since he’d needed to sleep swaying between beams, but it would not be so long. Just tonight and two more, until they would arrive. Then they would part from each other’s company.