Page 70 of His Wicked Secret
A heavy voice came from the other side of the door. “Begging your pardon, ma’am, but the fancy gents you came with said they need to speak with you. They sent me to fetch you.”
She summoned her strength to pull herself up on her feet by using the wooden bed frame for support. When the floor beneath her didn’t seem to roll as much as it had before, she gave a sigh of relief. She smoothed her wrinkled skirts and squared her shoulders. Two men stood at the door when she opened it, dressed in the rough, untidy clothes of sailors. She read much in the looks on their faces, and a pit formed in her stomach all over again, but for very different reasons.
“See? Fancy bit o’ muslin she is,” the bigger man said.
“You…You said I was needed on deck?”
“No, you’re needed here.By me.” The larger man lunged for her, grabbing her throat. She was so startled she didn’t react at first, but as the other man closed the door and locked them inside, she came to her senses. She tried to scream, but her voice was silenced by the crushing grip on her throat.
“Twist his hand back at the wrist. Break it if you have to.”
Jonathan’s words came back to her, and she knew what to do. All of his strength was focused on her neck, but the hand that was sliding up her thigh was vulnerable. Audrey gripped his hand tight and jerked it back, forcing his wrist to an unnatural angle. The joint resisted, but she pushed harder, harder than she ever had before. There was a snapping sound followed by an earsplitting scream, and he quickly released her throat. The man stumbled back, clutching his broken wrist.
“You bloody little bitch!”
Audrey raised her fists, feet apart, standing firm. “I can do much worse than break your wrist, you miserable little blackguard,” she warned, baring her teeth.
“Go on, Horace, get her!” the man shouted.
Horace eyed Audrey carefully. “I don’t know, Roger. She looks half mad.” He took a hesitant step closer but didn’t seem all that confident.
“One more step and I’ll break something far more precious to you than your wrist.” Audrey stared at his groin a long second before she met his eyes, and then she moved forward a step, throwing out a fist menacingly just the way Jonathan had shown her.
“Nope. Not doing it, Roger. She looks like one of them boxers at Fives Court.”
Roger, still clutching his hand, glared Audrey. “She’s just a little chit!”
“That little chit broke your bloody arm!”
“If you do not leave at once, you will see what thislittle chitis capable of. And then I will see to it that the captain has you both hung.”
Horace still didn’t attack her, and Roger snarled in fury. Then the pair of them fled.
Audrey remained in her fighting stance, just in case they changed their minds and came back. When they didn’t, she rushed to the door and shut it. Her body dissolved into uncontrollable shaking. Her seasickness was gone, but in its place were a riot of emotions. She wiped at her cheeks, scrubbing away the tears.
“Miss Sheridan?” Daniel Sheffield opened the door to her cabin. His eyes quickly assessed her and her appearance. “I saw two men fleeing the room and feared for you—”
She smoothed her hair back from her face, checking the placement of the pins. “I handled it, Mr. Sheffield. Thank you for your concern.” A number of curls had come loose in the struggle. She hastily fixed them by using a small mirror nailed to the wall of the cabin by her bed.
“You…handled it?” Sheffield asked, stunned.
“Yes. You did not think I would agree to come if I had not been trained in self-defense, do you?” She made this announcement calmly, but her heart was still racing and her blood roared in her ears, almost deafening her.
Daniel closed the door for privacy. “Who trained you?”
“A professional boxer,” she lied. Thinking of Jonathan and how she’d left him behind only crushed her heart. “But he instructed me in more than just pugilism. I broke one of the men’s wrists.”
Daniel had a look she couldn’t quite place. Admiration? Concern? Both? “You should inform the captain. He will probably toss the two men in the sea,” he said at last. “This captain is very protective of ladies.”
“No, that’s quite all right. I don’t believe they will try it again.” Audrey lifted her chin and pushed her shoulders back. “Now, if you’ll please excuse me, I believe a bit of fresh air would do me good.”
Daniel made room for her to pass, and Audrey took the steps up onto the deck. Avery stood against the railing, one hand curled tight on the rope nearest him. His reddish-gold hair had been roughened by the wind. Worry lines had formed around his mouth and around his eyes.
“Are we close?” she asked.
“Oh!” He turned as if she had startled him. “Yes.” He pointed straight toward the shore. “That is Calais.”
She squinted at the distant land mass. “What do we do once we reach shore?”
