Page 48 of Devil of the High Seas
Above them, a dozen men were in the shrouds, lashed to the foreyard, where they were in some ways safer than anyone on the deck. This was one of the things he hated about sailing. Even the sturdiest frigates could roll in storms like these, and every man on board would be lost. It didn’t matter how skilled a captain and crew were or how well the ship was built. Gavin had always hated storms, but with Josephine here he felt a new intensity to his old fears.
Gavin looked at Ronnie, who still manned the helm. A rope had been wrapped around him, securing him to it so he wouldn’t lose his footing when the waves smashed over the deck.
“Storm’s clearing!” Ronnie called out, and Gavin turned to see behind them as the distant clouds were in fact clearing, but so much could happen between where they were now and the clear blue skies coming up behind them as the storm overtook them and surged on ahead.
A tremendous roar came from all around. Gavin turned to see a massive wave heading toward the ship.
“Everyone get below!” he bellowed.
The crew on deck scrambled for safety. One of the older men, a sailor called Bartholomew, slipped as the wave came toward them. With a curse, Gavin dove for the man, slamming him down against the shelter of the railing. Water pounded them with such force that it knocked the breath from his lungs. Water drained around them, pouring in a deluge off the sides of the besieged vessel, but he and Bartholomew were still alive.
“Thank you, Cap’n,” the old man sputtered and wiped seawater from his face.
“I want you inside,” he growled. They started for the entrance to the lower decks, but Gavin realized too late they wouldn’t make it. Everything slowed down as he and Bartholomew raced for the companionway steps. Suddenly Josephine appeared in the entrance leading belowdecks, her eyes widened as she saw what he had seen a few seconds before. A great wave arched up and over the ship.
“Run, damn you!” Gavin shouted at the older man in front of him as he pushed him into Josephine’s waiting arms. A second later, the wave knocked Gavin clean off his feet... and then off the deck of the ship entirely.
The world spun around him as he plunged into the dark black waters. He kicked out, swimming frantically, but he couldn’t tell which way the surface was. Not that it mattered. A man overboard in a storm was a manlost.
Still, it wasn’t in him to give up. He kicked toward what he prayed was the surface. His head broke the water, and he spotted thePixienot far off. He kicked hard, powering his arms and legs to reach the ship, but there was no hope. Wave after wave struck him hard. Finally, exhaustion and pain won out. He watched his slim chance of salvation sailing off without him. He had but one thought, one regret before he sank beneath the waves: he had never shown Josie what she meant to him.
* * *
The instantthe wave carried Gavin off the ship, Josephine screamed his name.
“He saved me,” Bartholomew muttered in shock as he huddled under the raised deck beside her. When Josephine took a step toward the deck outside, he caught her arm. “He’s gone, lass. You can’t save a man overboard. Not in a storm like this.”
“Watch me!” Josephine snapped.
She grabbed the longest coil of rope she could find and wrapped one end around her waist, tying a secure knot like Bartholomew had taught her. Then she secured the other onto the center mast of the deck. She prayed the rope was long enough.
Without a backward glance, she ran for the railing and dived off the side as the ship rolled downward toward the water. Her calculated jump meant she had only a dozen feet before she dropped beneath the waves rather than twenty. Once she hit the water, she searched for Gavin. She crested with a wave and spotted him not too far off, just as he went under. She plunged below the surface, her fingers closing around his arm. She pulled him, all the while fighting toward the faint light of the surface. Her lungs burned like fire. Every muscle in her body screamed, demanding air. ThePixiedrifted away from them, and the rope pulled taut against her waist, squeezing her stomach. She wanted to scream at the agony, but if she did, she would take in water.
She begged her body to not give up.Just hold on...A wave lifted them, and then sweet, glorious air filled her lungs. She shifted her grip on Gavin, but didn’t let go of him. His head bobbed above the water as she dragged him behind her while the ship pulled them in its wake. The clouds above began to thin and the tumultuous waves died down. She prayed someone would soon realize that she and Gavin were still there in the water. A face suddenly appeared over the stern railing, and a cry went up. Whatever the sailor shouted was lost on the wind, but he pointed at her and Gavin as more faces appeared over the side to stare at them.
She wanted to weep with relief, but she knew she had to stay strong just a little bit longer. The rope around her stomach tightened again, this time as she moved forward. They were reeling her and Gavin in. When they reached the hull, she gripped the wooden treads against the ship.
“Can you climb, lassie?” Bartholomew yelled down at her.
“Yes, but Gavin can’t. Send me another rope.” The sailors dropped a line down the ship, which allowed her to tie the rope around Gavin’s waist and upper body, forming a harness.
“Pull him up!” she called out to the sailors. A moment later, Gavin’s body was lifted from the water and began the ascent upward. Bone weary, she blew out a breath and started climbing the wooden treads on the side of the ship. Gavin was pulled up over the side long before she reached the top. When she did finally got back on board, she found the boatswain, Mr. Greenwell, bent over Gavin’s prone form as he pressed down on his chest. Gavin coughed, and water flowed out of his mouth.
“That’s it, Cap’n, breathe,” Greenwell encouraged as he rolled Gavin onto his side while he expelled the last of the seawater from his lungs.
Josephine sank to her knees and stared at Gavin. He was alive. By some miracle, she’d saved him.
“That was a bloody brave thing to do, lassie,” Bartholomew said as he crouched down by her. “You saved his life. We never would’ve been able to reach him in time. I hope your husband knows how much you love him.”
It was on the tip of her tongue to say that she didn’t love Gavin, but Bartholomew was right. She did. As mad as it was to love a man who might never love her back, she loved him with every fiber of her being.
“Three cheers for Mrs. Castleton!” Bartholomew shouted, and all of the men cheered.
Josephine tried to smile, but instead she slumped down onto the deck, her breathing ragged. The sailors around Gavin lifted him up and carried him down to Dr. Gladstone’s surgery.
Bartholomew grasped Josie around her shoulders and lifted her up. “Come on, lass. Let’s take you to your cabin.”
“But Gavin...”
