Page 26 of Devil of the High Seas
She whirled to face him. “You stolemybrother’sship?”
“Oh? Is this your brother’s ship? How amusing. I imagine he will be quite furious once he finds out.” Gavin yawned dramatically, as if he was not the least bit worried about an angry pirate coming after them.
“Oh dear...” She began to pace the cabin, her silky blue skirts whispering over the polished wooden deck. Dominic and Roberta had been planning to sail to the West Indies in a few weeks to check on his landholdings there. He’d planned to command the ship himself until he found a suitable captain.
Gavin finally stood and caught her arm as she paced about. He pulled her into his embrace, their gazes locking.
“We have a decent head start. Your brother won’t be able to catch us.” Griffin rubbed his hands slowly up and down her arms, making her shiver with an excitement she should not be feeling.
“You don’t know him, Gavin. He’s a...” She halted before she betrayed her brother.
“He’s a what?” Gavin turned her face toward his when she tried to look away. “A pirate?” he supplied, his honey-brown eyes hot. “You need not keep that secret, not with me. I know your brother well.”
“Yes, as boys you knew him—”
“No, as pirates. He and I often crossed paths upon the sea and shared ale and voted on matters together with the Brethren of the Coast. I know how dangerous he is, my darling.”
Her eyes widened at Gavin’s confession and the way he’d called herdarling. He knew about Dominic? Then she realized how very silly she’d been. Of course they must’ve known each other. Pirates always seemed to know, or at least knowof, each other. Then her mind caught upon his words.
“What’s the Brethren of the Coast?”
“Think of it as a pirate parliament,” Gavin explained, but he was still staring at her mouth, and she was finding it rather distracting herself to look at his lips.
“A pirate parliament?” she echoed. She started to lean into him, her eyes drifting closed as she waited for a kiss.
“I should go check on my men,” he said reluctantly and stepped back. “Shall I bring you food when I return?”
She recovered herself quickly and smoothed her skirts in an attempt to regain her composure.
“What? Oh yes, please. I am rather famished.” She watched him leave, and once she was alone, she examined the clothing in the sea chest again. One could not run about a pirate ship in a wedding gown. She needed to change her clothes. She suddenly wished Vesper was here. Her lady’s maid was always prepared for such things. She would have had a light day gown and a clean chemise and stockings ready for her before she even woke.
“I shall have to make do without you, Vesper,” she murmured to herself and began to dig through the gowns.
Roberta was a few inches shorter than her, but the gowns would still fit in all of the places that mattered. What did she care if she exposed an ankle every now and then? However, she didn’t want to wear gowns, at least not right at the moment. If this was to be her adventure, she wanted more freedom to move about the ship.
She retrieved a pair of her brother’s trousers and a shirt and waistcoat, much like what Gavin wore, and laid them upon the bed. The wedding gown did not come off without a fight, however. Thankfully, Vesper always tied her laces at the bottom of her dresses and tucked the loose laces into the skirts at the base of Josephine’s spine. With some clever reaching from behind, she was able to free herself of the bodice and shimmy out of it before doing the same with her corset.
She probably ought to have kept the corset on, but once she was free of the undergarment, she didn’t want to put it on again anytime soon. Instead, she donned the shirt and trousers and then buttoned up the burgundy waistcoat. Glancing at herself in the mirror, Josephine thought that she looked like a female pirate ready to storm a ship and seize treasure. She nearly giggled at the reckless daydream.
She pulled on a pair of her brother’s boots next, only they were far too big for her, so she switched to Roberta’s pair of black boots. Satisfied with her new clothing, she marched to the door and turned the handle. It didn’t move. Gavin had locked her in. Why would he do such a foolish thing? It wasn’t as if she could escape him or the ship, even if she wanted to.
Blast him!She kicked the door with one booted foot and marched angrily over to the bed and flung herself back down. When Gavin returned, they were going to discuss this foolish behavior.
* * *
Gavin stoodon the quarterdeck and stared at the row of sailors in front of him. Most looked to be hearty men of a young age. There were a few seasoned men among them. Ronnie coughed politely, catching his attention, and the quartermaster nodded at the men, indicating that Gavin should address them.
“Right,” Gavin muttered to himself. He squared his shoulders and spoke to the crew. “My name is Gavin Castleton. The owner of this ship has hired me to sail you to the West Indies. This is Ronald Phelps, my, er... first mate. When I am otherwise engaged, you’ll take your orders from him.” On a pirate ship, a quartermaster was second in command beneath the master or captain, but he had to remind himself that on a merchant ship, Ronnie would be his first mate.
One of the older sailors in his early fifties politely stepped forward. “Cap’n?”
“Yes? Your name and position?” Gavin asked.
“Tom Greenwell, Cap’n. Boatswain,” the sailor replied.
“What is it, Mr. Greenwell?” Gavin asked.
“We.. . that is, me and the others... we saw that you brought a lassie on the ship.”
