Page 27 of The Pirate Lord
A shiver passed through him. His little Ann would be taken by one. Nay, that couldn’t be! If Petey was a pirate now, he’d be allowed a wife as well, wouldn’t he? And he would fight any man for Ann.
After that, Petey only listened with half a mind to the conditions that the captain placed upon the courtship—that the elderly women would be exempt and the children would go with their mothers. All Petey could think of was Ann … how sweet it would be to have her to wife … how grateful she’d be to him for saving her from the pirates … how much he wanted to kiss her.
His pleasant musings were abruptly shattered when the first mate called out, “And what of the earl’s sister, captain? Must she choose a husband as well? Or are we to assume she’s already taken?”
Amidst the chuckles of the pirates, Miss Willis stared ahead in stony silence, her cheeks red as a dawn sky. Petey held his breath, waiting for the pirate captain’s answer.
Captain Gideon cast his first mate a quelling glance. “You may not assume anything, Mr. Kent. And yes, she’ll choose a husband like the rest.”
A shiver of horror snaked through Petey. The blighter! Force Miss Willis to marry a pirate? Unthinkable! Not a lady like her!
All his dreams of marrying Ann vanished. If Miss Willis was included in the women to be courted, Petey had only one choice: he must do his duty. He’d have to marry her—or at least pretend to marry her—to protect her from those other bounders until he could restore her to her brother safely.
Oh, but Ann?—
Peter sternly scolded himself. Ann was a pretty little thing, to be sure, but his duty must come first. He couldn’t let his family down by ignoring Miss Willis’s welfare.
Captain Gideon was scowling, as if the topic of Miss Willis’s future husband didn’t sit well with him either. But he continued speaking, his voice even and cold. “Now that you know the situation, I expect you to behave with discretion. We want to start a colony, not a bawdy house. You’ll treat the women with respect or you’ll answer to me for it.”
Miss Willis glanced at him, surprise on her face, but he ignored her. “Barring any bad weather, we should reach the island in two days. Until then, your duties will remain the same as usual, but you may visit with the women during your free time. See that you don’t neglect your duties to do your courting.”
His gaze fell on the mass of uniformed women that split the crowd of pirates in half, like a pretty ribbon tied to a black post. “The women will be allowed freedom of the ship as long as they don’t interfere with the running of it. But at night, they’ll be locked in the hold and a guard posted in case any of you think to have the wedding night before the wedding.”
Some of the men grumbled, but that quickly subsided when their captain frowned at them. Then he looked over the crowd,his gaze stopping on the man beside Petey. “Silas, I’m charging you with finding out what skills the women have. And make a list of what tools they’ll need for sewing and such. Although we’d best steer clear of Santiago for a while, once we’ve reached Atlantis, I may send a few men back to another Cape Verde island for additional supplies.”
“The women already have the necessary tools for sewing,” Miss Willis broke in. “They were given implements and some cloth aboard theChastity, and I believe most brought them aboard theSatyr.”
The captain turned to her as if he’d just noticed her standing there. There was no mistaking his dislike at having his speech interrupted. “Thank you for your informative report, Miss Willis,” he said dryly. “Is there anything else you’d like to add?”
Under the force of his gaze, she colored, but stood her ground. “Well, yes, there is. If you don’t object, Captain, I’d like to continue with the reading and writing lessons I’ve been giving the women.” When Captain Horn raised an eyebrow, she hurriedly added, “Any of the men who’d like to join us may do so.”
That brought a chorus of laughter from the pirates, and Petey thought he saw the captain himself smile. Then the Pirate Lord sobered. “You heard what Miss Willis said, boys. You may join the ladies for schooling if you like. But only when you’re not on watch.” He cast a long, hard glance over the crew, then added, “You’re dismissed. Behave yourselves.”
As the crew dispersed, Petey waited on his perch, since he couldn’t get back to sanding the deck until it was cleared. While he waited, he watched the captain, whose eyes were on Miss Willis. She seemed oblivious to the fact that the captain followed her every move. But others noticed.
“No matter what the cap’n says, he wants that girl for himself,” Silas said a few feet away from Petey.
Petey stole a glance at Barnaby, who looked skeptical.
“I’m not so sure,” Barnaby said. “She’s an English noblewoman, and you know how he feels about them.”
“I don’t care if she’s the damned Queen of England. Didn’t you see how the man looked at her? Like he hadn’t had a good meal in two weeks and she was a prime bit of beef.” Silas tapped the tip of his pipe against his teeth. “Aye, he wants her all right. The trick will be gettin’ her to choose him.”
“That should be no problem. Any woman Gideon wants, he gets. If indeed he wants her, he’ll have her begging him to marry her before the week is out, mark my words.”
Petey turned to gape at the two men in horror. It was one thing to try to protect Miss Willis from a pirate by marrying her. But go against the Pirate Lord? God help him, that would be like putting his mouth in the maw of a shark!
Suddenly Barnaby seemed to feel Petey’s eyes on him. “What are you looking at, mate? Go on with you! Get to your duties!”
“Aye, aye, sir,” Petey mumbled. He walked toward where he’d left the deck bucket and picked up what the sailors called a prayer book, a palm-sized soft stone used for sanding the hard-to-reach spots of the deck. But as he dropped to his knees and began scrubbing the teak boards with wet sand, he couldn’t stop thinking about Miss Willis. He had to find a way to speak to her. He had to warn her to tread softly around the captain.
Because if she weren’t very careful, Petey might find himself having to do something drastic to protect her from the Pirate Lord. And he didn’t relish having a set-to with that monster of an American sea captain. Not one little bit.
Chapter Eight
A sea-man is a cock o’ the game, young maidens find it true,
We never are so much to blame to let them want their due.
