Page 11 of The Lord's Compass
“I never said that. I?—”
“I should go find the captain. I need to inquire about the other passengers,” he said, turning on his heel, and, before she could say another word, he left, slamming the door behind him.
CHAPTER4
Not much ever caught Eric off guard, but Faith had knocked him off any equilibrium he had found on this ship. He was pleased to see her, yes, more so than he should have been, but if he didn’t know better, he would wonder if this woman was, in fact, the Faith he knew. That practical woman seemed to have disappeared, leaving in her place a reckless woman who took risks that could have consequences which would forever change both of their lives. If there was any woman he must be compromised with, he was glad it was Faith – but he would have preferred any promise they made to one another was her choice and not like this.
He would have thought that he would like this side of her – it was, after all, how he typically lived his life. Impulsively. Recklessly. In such opposition to her orderly straightforwardness. Which was why he was surprised at how disconcerted he was by her appearance on this ship.
And then there was the fact that the only reason she was here was because she had no faith in him. He kicked a pile of rope as he walked by it, but it was so heavy that he did nothing but bruise his toe and earn himself a glare from one of the crew members.
He was also annoyed that she was putting herself at such risk. It was one thing for him to travel to Spain and disguise himself as a local. How was she going to do so? Clothing was one thing, but he doubted she even spoke a word of Spanish.
He sighed, lighting a cheroot as he stopped to look around, finding only a few crew members about as the sun began to set, casting a beautiful orange glow over the horizon, warming his face and settling him somewhat.
“Thought you were going for a bite,” the captain said, startling him, but of course he was present, steering them along the English coast.
“I am,” Eric replied. “I returned for the sunset.”
“Seen many in my time,” the captain said slowly, wistfulness in his voice. “Never gets old.”
“I do not suppose it does,” Eric agreed. “Say, how many cabins did you say were aboard this ship?”
“Six for passengers,” the captain replied.
“Right,” Eric said with a nod.
“Yours not good enough?” The captain asked, obviously prepared to defend his ship.
“All is well,” Eric said hastily, not wanting to start a row with the man he was currently trusting to safely transport him to Spain with a secret. “Perfectly well. Fine. Perfectly fine, that is.”
“I can send a crew member in to?—”
“No, no,” Eric said, waving a hand at him. “No, no, no.”
The captain lifted a brow, and Eric hoped that he would believe his erratic behaviour was simply that of an eccentric aristocrat who was not used to such sparse surroundings.
“Who are the other passengers aboard?” he asked.
“Well, there is a woman…” the captain began with a knowing look at Eric, but he quickly quelled his suspicion by raising a hand in the air.
“Yes,” Eric said. “She is travelling with me.”
“Is she now,” the captain said, obviously interested, but Eric didn’t explain further.
“Yes,” he said, clearing his throat, feeling guilty about lying to the captain. “Are there any other passengers who might be a… threat to her?”
“Shouldn’t be,” the captain said with a shrug. “One family, a pair of women, and the rest are men but seem to be good sorts.”
“And the crew?”
The captain bristled. “I chose them myself. They’re a fine lot of men.”
“Apologies. I mean no insult. Goodnight, Captain,” Eric finally said, unable to think of anything else to say that might improve the situation or provide him with more information.
“Goodnight, my lord.”
Eric stopped in front of his cabin door, took a deep breath of sustenance, and then pushed through the door, back to either heaven or hell. He wasn’t yet certain which to call it.
