Page 32 of Devil of the High Seas
Gavin drew in a steadying breath and prayed the frigate would leave them be, but luck was not with him today. Within the hour, the frigate caught up to them, and they were hailed to allow a group of men from the naval vessel to board for an inspection. Grim-faced, Gavin and Ronnie braced themselves for the meeting with the boarding crew. He’d kept watch on the lookout spot and still hadn’t seen Josephine wake up. The woman could sleep through the excitement on the deck below, and that both worried and amused him at the same time. He’d learned long ago never to sleep too deeply. A man could get his throat slit on his own ship if he wasn’t careful.
“Whatever you do, stick to the story,” Gavin advised his friend. “We were hired by Dominic Greyville to sail this ship to the West Indies.”
“Aye,” Ronnie replied as they went to meet the officers approaching the ship.
* * *
Griffin staredaround the cabin he had been given aboard Brianna Flynn’s ship, theSea Serpent. She and her husband had graciously agreed to escort him, Lord Camden, Adrian, and Dominic to the West Indies in pursuit of his brother.
Lady Camden, Roberta, and the lovely maid Vesper had come along as well, assisting Brianna and Nicholas by helping take care of their son, Asa, who was but three months old.
Griffin had been stunned to see the baby being carried about by Brianna in a special wrapping that kept the child secure against her back. He’d only seen a woman do that a few times before with women who worked in fields near the crofters’ cottages on his lands. Dominic had noticed Griffin’s startled expression and explained that Brianna was more of a sailor than a lady at heart, and she refused to sail without her son at this tender age.
Griffin had raised the question of the possible dangers for the child, as well as the women aboard, but Dominic had shrugged and replied that no one had ever been able to tell his wife or his mother what to do. The maid Vesper was so anxious about Josephine that he simply couldn’t refuse her when she’d begged to come along.
In just one day of sailing, Griffin had learned far more about his neighbors and their piratical connections than he had ever wished to know. Between his brother and his betrothed’s family, it turned out he wassurroundedby pirates.
“Have you settled in, Castleton?” Dominic asked from the doorway of Griffin’s cabin. Griffin hadn’t noticed him arrive.
“Yes. Are you certain Gavin is bound for the West Indies? I don’t want to chase false trails halfway around the world.”
Dominic stood with his arms crossed as he studied Griffin. “Quite certain. You said his own ship was taken, and I know what theSirenmeans to him. He’ll go after her and the pirates who stole her. Those men will return to waters they know, which means the West Indies. Moreover, he has my hired crew, who in all likelihood do not know he is a pirate. If he’s wise, he’ll keep the crew loyal to him by sailing along the route I had originally planned, which will take him to my home at King’s Landing.”
“Ah, yes, that would make sense,” Griffin replied. His brother was cunning and likely would keep the merchant crew on his side by playing the role of a hired captain. The question was, how would he explain Josephine’s presence to those men?
“Dinner will be ready soon. Come to the captain’s cabin in an hour.”
“Thank you.” Griffin nodded as Dominic left the room.
Griffin directed his energy toward putting away the last of his travel cases and setting up the desk in the corner of his cabin with a few books he’d brought. It was rather silly, he knew, to want to take a few books with him, but reading always settled him when he worried. And knowing his twin, this journey would cause a fair bit of worry. When he finally left his cabin and moved down the corridor, he heard a soft curse in the cabin beside his own. The door to the neighboring cabin was slightly ajar, and he saw Vesper fretfully examining the gowns she’d packed for when they rescued Josephine.
Vesper’s blonde hair tumbled around her shoulders in gleaming waves, and her bottom swayed as she bent over the chest full of dresses.
A sudden, unexpected surge of lust hit Griffin out of nowhere. He hadn’t felt like this since Charity had been alive. Vesper looked exquisite in a pale-green gown with cream underskirts and a gold bodice. It was far prettier than what a lady’s maid would usually wear, but given what he had learned of her background and what Dominic had told him about Josephine treating her more like a companion than a maid, it was less than surprising to see her dressed like the lady she was rather than a maid.
He cleared his throat, causing Vesper to jump and twirl around.
She gasped, her green eyes flashing with surprise. “My lord! I’m sorry to have disturbed you. I didn’t think anyone would hear me.”
“You didn’t, Vesper,” he assured her. “You... you don’t mind if I call you Vesper, do you?” He prayed she would agree to let him call her Vesper. He wanted so desperately to call her by her given name.
She hesitated, then shook her head. “No, my lord.”
“Good, good. Have you settled into your quarters?”
She nodded, her face a little pale. “I’m afraid I’ve never been on a ship before. It’s a little frightening to be surrounded by so much water. I’m trying to stay busy and not think about the fact that I don’t know how to swim. My father thought it wasn’t necessary for his daughter to learn such things, only his son.”
“Your father? He was Squire Trenton, wasn’t he?”
She blushed and stared down at her slippered feet. “Did you know him?”
“Not personally, no. But I heard about what happened.”
Griffin had made discreet inquiries about Vesper’s family shortly after first meeting her. He had learned that she was a country gentleman’s daughter, and from what he’d gathered, her father had suffered some financial disgrace that had put the family in a dire situation, which was why Vesper had gone into service as a lady’s maid.
None of this had deterred Griffin’s interest. He felt strangely more comfortable around Vesper than he had Josephine. It was in his nature to protect women, to care for them above his own needs, and something about Josephine warned him that he would never manage to give her what she needed to make her truly happy. He had a dreadful feeling that perhaps he would only ever make her content.
But Vesper... The way she looked at him when she thought he wasn’t watching, he saw that she wanted him. It wasn’t a simple desire of the flesh, although that was certainly there, but it was also something deeper, something that made him afraid and excited all at once. It had been too long since such feelings had flashed through his heart.
