Page 22 of Only By Grace
“What do you think he will do to her? Lock her up in the brig?”
“Like a pirate? Aye, he might do something like that.”
“Poor Grace. We have to start moving.”
“I was not serious. He might lock her in a cabin, though.”
“I realize that, but she must be very uncomfortable being unwanted on someone else’s ship. The crew is all men.”
“Not all men are dreadful.” Freddy took offence.
“To be fair, I have never met another male like you. The sailors I met earlier were a bit rough.”
“Carew will protect her even if he is displeased. Like a little sister,” he reasoned.
“What is the worst that could happen to Grace?” Joy asked.
“He could refuse to marry her and ruin her.”
“What a stupid, stupid thing ruination is. I truly hate that word,” she huffed.
Freddy shrugged. “I do not make the rules.”
“He would do that? Ruin her, I mean?”
“Westwood will not allow it,” her best friend said with absurd certainty. Carew did not strike her as the type of person who would let anyone else dictate what he did or did not do. Rotham was a bit like that, too, except with a better reputation.
“Best keep it a secret that she’s gone,” Freddy remarked.
“That will never happen.” Perhaps Joy spent too much time with the servants, but they knew everything that happened. “Unless Westwood bribes everyone, but with Rotham’s servants and the Montfords’, it’s not possible.”
Joy paced back and forth across the deck. “It should never have come to this,” she muttered, her voice thick with guilt. “I am the one who left her on that ship. I didn’t wake her, didn’t make sure she disembarked with us. What kind of sister does that?”
Freddy looked up sharply. “Joy, you’re being unfair to yourself,” he said firmly. “It wasn’t just you. There were several people who knew Grace had gone to rest. In the hustle and bustle of the wedding, no one remembered.”
“That does not excuse it,” Joy shot back, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “I was the last person with her. I gave her Theodore to comfort her and left her there. She trusted me.”
“You cannot take this all on yourself. It wasn’t a deliberate neglect, Joy. It was an oversight—a mistake, yes—but not malicious. And it wasn’t solely yours. Everyone was caught up in the wedding and the chaos of the day. And do you honestly think Grace blames you for this? If anything, she is probably blaming herself for not waking up.”
Joy’s shoulders slumped, the weight of her emotions pressing heavily on her. “I cannot bear the thought of her being hurt because of something I failed to do.”
Freddy did not disagree with her. “That is why we are giving chase.”
Hopefully, it would be enough.
A kitten poked its head from the pouch, and Freddy held up his finger for it to sniff before it scrambled out onto his hand. This one was an orange tabby like its mama, and Joy had named it Evelina. The little kitten climbed up his arm and onto his shoulder.
One thing Joy liked about Freddy Cunningham most was his smile and the pleasure he seemed to take in the little things. He was not overly complicated, but he was sunny and happy, and he loved animals as much as she. But most of all, he was comfortable and did not judge her as wanting because Joy knew she was not what was expected of a lady.
He laughed when Evelina settled down in the nook of his neck as though that was where she belonged.
“At least we have the kitten for entertainment,” she said on a sigh as she reached for Evelina and scratched her chin.
“We are not very dashing rescuers, are we?” Freddy asked, though it warranted no answer.
Joy tended to be impulsive when impatient, and she very much liked the thought of being a dashing rescuer. What would one of her heroines do in a situation like this? “You are certain we cannot move without wind?” Joy asked Freddy.
“The boat is too large to row. The oars wouldn’t reach the water,” he explained very logically.
