Page 35 of My Gentleman Spy
As the ship finally righted itself on the downside of the next wave, she rolled over and put her head over the side of the bed to check onWill.
He was rolled up in a ball in the corner, his hands were gripped tightly to his travel trunk. She muttered a word which would have had her mother turning red withembarrassment.
The floor was a dangerous place for Will to be at the best of times. With the ship now beginning a rolling pitch up and down the giant waves, the floor was quickly becoming adeathtrap.
“Will please, you need to come up onto the bed. If you stay on the floor you are going to be injured or worse,” shepleaded.
He was no fool. Will scrambled to his feet, grabbed his blankets and was half way to the bed when the ship was hit by yet another wave and he was tossed back onto the floor. Will's head and the hard-wooden floor made sickeningcontact.
“Merde!” hebellowed.
Hattie clambered to her knees and put a leg over the side of the bed, but Will stoppedher.
“No, stay where you are. The last thing we need is for the both of us to go bouncing off the walls and floor of the cabin. I shall come toyou.”
Getting to his feet a second time, he launched himself at the bed, landing inelegantly beside Hattie with a loud “Ooof”.
She checked his face and head for any signs of blood, relieved when it was clear Will had not cracked his headopen.
“When you have fallen from a horse as many times as I have you eventually realize that your head is a lot tougher than you think,” hesaid.
Hattie moved across the bed and sat up with her back against the wall. Her feet were hard up against the side wall of the bed. Will did thesame.
As the boat continued to pitch and roll, it felt like they were riding an out of control carriage. Hattie’s stomach prayed for a set of reins with which to pull up the non-existenthorses.
“If this is an indication of the night ahead, something tells me we are not going to be getting any sleep,” Will saidwearily.
She looked at his face and saw he had closed his eyes. Dark lashes kissed the skin above his cheeks, but his face was ashen. Pity replaced much of the fear she was currently feeling. With the storm likely to continue unabated for hours, Will was facing a tortuousnight.
“If it's too difficult to sit up, then I suggest you lie down,” shesaid.
“Yes,” he finally replied. The weakness of his voice giving a clear indication of the growing depth of hisdiscomfort.
With his large, masculine frame fully stretched out on the bed, Hattie was left with little option. She lay down on her side, her back facing toward hischest.
“Your bed is nice and soft. The padding is much better than mine,” Willobserved.
“Close your eyes and hopefully that will help to keep your head from spinning,” shereplied.
The full force of the storm hit the ship a short while later. With it came driving rain. The cabin door rattled as the fearsome wind challenged its hold on the door frame. Fortunately, it held fast. The bucket on the floor was not solucky.
For the longest time Hattie lay awake, watching the bucket slide back and forth across the floor from door to bed and back again. When the ship encountered a larger set of waves the bucket was pushed all the way back hard against the side of thebed.
She reached down and swiftly grabbed a hold of it. With the bucket now in her hand she had solved one problem. The next question was what to do with the bucket. Holding onto it for the rest of the night was not anoption.
There was a hook with a rope tie on the wall opposite, near the door. It must have been all of seven feet. She decided to riskit.
She slid one leg over the side of the bed and slowly sat up. Turning, she looked at Will. He was fast asleep, a soft snore rippled from hislips.
He really was a handsome specimen of a man. Her fingers ached to touch his hair. In his sleep it had become ruffled and a stray curl now sat on the edge of hisfringe.
Her gaze dropped to his lips. Lips which she knew to be soft and warm. Lips her heart desired to possessforever.
“Oh, if only you weren't who you are and I wasn't who I am,” shewhispered.
She turned back to the task at hand. It was only a few steps to where the hook which would hold the bucket secure was nailed to thewall.
After a short period of sitting and counting, she began to perceive the patterns of the waves. Twenty counts for the ship to lean to starboard, ten seconds of stillness, then a further count of twenty for the ship to lean back fullyportside.
