Page 13 of The Lord's Compass
“How very pessimistic of you, Lord Ferrington,” she couldn’t help but point out. It seemed the man who thought in rainbows and sunshine had a dark side after all.
“My father was an officer in the army,” he said. “I know war all too well.”
“Would you ever fight, yourself?”
“Not if I can help it,” he said.
“How very honest of you.”
He shrugged. “That is how it is, Faith. Like it or not. Killing other men is not in my nature.”
“Well,” she said, smoothing her hands over her skirts, “now that you know I am here and am available to help you once we reach Spain, I shall return to my cabin. I requested to have dinner awaiting me and I have grown quite hungry.”
“Faith, I still think you should stay in England. I am posing as a Spaniard. As an Englishwoman, how are you going to?—”
“Que pases una buena noche, amigo mío. Hasta mañana,”she said, bidding him goodnight and a promise to see him tomorrow as she made for the door. She desperately wanted to turn around to see his reaction, but she couldn’t – for to do so would only allow him to see the smile on her face.
* * *
Eric had smiledto himself when he had heard Faith’s cabin door shut soundly a few seconds after her exit. So she was right next door to him. Good. He would, at least, be able to keep an eye on her – not that he would ever tell her that, for he knew exactly what she would say to his belief that he needed to take care of her.
She could take care of herself. He could practically hear her saying it.
He could even hear her saying it in Spanish.
He snorted. He knew she had been proud of herself for surprising him like that. It made sense, though. She was an intelligent woman from a well-to-do family who would have had the best of governesses. She likely knew a great many languages.
Now he just had to figure out how the two of them would explain themselves once they arrived in San Sebastian.
A few hours later, he was lying in his hard, narrow bed, trying to fall asleep, although it was proving rather futile.
And it wasn’t the fault of the bed. Or the ship. It was her, and the fact she was sleeping on just the other side of the thin ship wall.
He heard a thump and he wondered if she was also having trouble sleeping. Although she was so stoic, it was hard to believe that anything ever bothered her.
A slow creak suddenly resounded. Was that her door swinging open? But where could she possibly be going? He hoped she didn’t think that she could take a midnight stroll alone on a ship. There was being a strong woman who could take care of herself and then there was simply being foolish.
He heard the tread of a boot on the floor – and then another. Slow, careful footsteps. But wait – that didn’t make sense. If she had let herself out of the room, then the footsteps should be in the common area beyond the room and not coming from beyond the thin wall.
He pushed himself upright. Was she walking around herself – or was someone else in her room?
Should he go check, or was he being presumptuous?
Then it all happened so quickly – a shout, a grunt, a thud – that Eric was out of bed and in the corridor before he had even determined just what he was going to do.
He pushed through the unlocked door into the cabin that was even smaller than his, with hardly any room to even walk around the wardrobe and small bed. Two figures were on the bed itself, attached in a violent embrace. Faith was doing an admirable job of defending herself, limbs flailing as she held nothing back, kicking, scratching, punching – but her attacker was much larger than she was, and a mix of panic and fury rose within Eric like a gushing geyser.
“Get your hands off of her!” he shouted, uncaring that others may hear him – in fact, he hoped they did.
His shout was enough to surprise the man, who obviously hadn’t heard him coming, as he reared up, providing Faith with the opportunity to escape. But Faith being Faith, instead of jumping off the bed and running out of his clasp, she reared back her hand and brought her fist forward, connecting with her attacker’s nose. There was a satisfying crunch as his head snapped back. From his cry, Eric wondered if she had broken his nose.
He reached out, wrenching the man off of her, throwing him onto the floor beside them. Eric was strong, but he surprised even himself at the surge of power that had emerged when seeing Faith so threatened.
She jumped off the bed, stumbling slightly when she hit the floor before falling forward into Eric’s arms. He’d like to think that she was seeking refuge with him but he was well aware that the more likely truth was that there was simply nowhere else for her to land in the small space.
Eric was torn between chasing the man himself and keeping hold of Faith. He placed his hands on her shoulders, preparing to set her back so that he could go after the bastard who had dared to come for her when she suddenly reached out and clutched his upper right arm with her left hand.
“Eric?”
