“E is for... for...” Harry bit his bottom lip as he struggled to think of a word. “E is for... egg?”
“Good!” Miles exclaimed. “You're doing a wonderful job.”
“F is for Francis!” Harry shouted, then he looked to Doon for approval.
“Yes, yes, F is for Francis.” Doon was rolling his eyes. “And no one is allowed to call me that, do you understand? Not even you, Harry!”
Kitt caught herself smiling. And it wasn't even a tiny smile—her lips spanned the entire length of her face. By the time Harry got to G, she was lost in her own thoughts. Listening to Doon interact with a child was challenging everything she thought she knew about him. What if he wasn't such an uncaring tyrant after all?
“R is for rabbit.” When Kitt's thoughts returned to their conversation, Harry was halfway through the alphabet. “S is for... sweets!”
“Aye. Sweets!” Doon exclaimed. He squatted beside the boy and patted his back. “And speaking of sweets, why don't you have Miles go get you some? I think you deserve a reward for showing us your marvelous skills.”
“Ooo, can I?” Harry immediately dropped his mop and turned to his tutor. “Miles, can I? Can I have some?”
“I think there's still some cake in the kitchen.” Miles gave Doon a nod, patted the boy's head, and politely led him away. “Let's go see what we can find, shall we?”
Kitt sighed as she watched Miles leave with the boy. Swabbing the deck was such mind-numbing work, she was tempted to go with them. Doon had apparently had enough as well. He abandoned his mop and returned to his coat, from which he extracted a cigarette. “Doon...” Kitt quietly uttered his name as she watched him light the cigarette.
“Hmm?” Doon didn't bother to glance in her direction. He just stared straight ahead, squinting against the sun. As he quietly smoked his cigarette, he dragged a hand across his neck, smearing the sweat that covered it.
“It's strange, watching you interact with that little boy,” she said. “I feel like I'm seeing a whole different side of you. It's like you're actually... nice.”
“Oh, I'm not nice!” Doon was chuckling as he took another drag from his cigarette. “Far from it, actually.”
“No. I'm serious,” Kitt insisted. “You act tough and you're a little arrogant sometimes, but you're really not that bad.”
“I don't want to be known for being nice.” When he finally looked at Kitt, one side of his mouth was pulled into a grin. “That would ruin my reputation.”
“Alright. Fine. You're an ass.”
“Thanks.” He brought his cigarette to his lips again. After that, Doon didn't say anything for some time; he simply smoked in silence and listened to a few passing birds warbling above them. And then he suddenly said, “It's been a pleasure to have you on board, Princess.”
Kitt felt her heart shudder at his words. Doon made it sound like her voyage was coming to an end—like everything was coming to an end. If he dropped her off in Lundun, she probably wouldn't see him again, and it was a crushing realization.
“Doon... I...”
She wanted to beg him not to take her back. She wanted to ask him if he'd let her stay forever. But she couldn't.
“Well then.” Doon popped his cigarette into his mouth as he donned his coat. “I think I've had enough of this deck swabbing rubbish. You're welcome to quit anytime you want, Kitten.”
“Ah, thanks.” Thanking him didn't seem like an appropriate response, but she couldn't think of anything better to say. “I think I'll stay and help Zeke a little while longer, though.”
“Well then.... you enjoy yourself.” Doon winked as he brushed past her. As usual, he looked like he didn't have a care in the world.
Kitt, on the other hand, felt a dull ache in her chest as she watched him walk away.
30
Kitt's day ended with an unexpected invitation. Just as the evening hours were approaching, someone slipped a piece of paper under her door.
Would you join me for dinner tonight? If so, meet me on the deck at 19:00. I look forward to your company. - Doon
“A dinner date, huh?” Kitt whispered to herself as she reread the words. “What in the world are you up to, Doon?”
Kitt donned her nicest gown for the occasion. As much as she had always preferred men's breeches over ladies' gowns, her time as a princess had dulled her hatred for dresses. After delivering dinner to Roderick, she ventured out on the deck to meet Doon, at which time she immediately regretted having worn her finest clothes. He looked as shabby as ever in his frayed brown coat and ratty cap.
Doon rose from his chair when he saw her approach. He was sitting at a small table, where plates and candles had already been set.
“Really, Doon? Dinner under the stars? And a candlelit dinner, no less.” Kitt's eyebrow was hoisted when she sat at the table across from him. “If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to romance me.”
“Let's hope you know better, then,” Doon responded with a smirk. He leaned across the table, pouring her a glass of wine.
“Oh no.” Kitt winced as she brought the wine glass to her lips. “The last time we were drinking together, I think I passed out.”
“Well, don't hit the bottle so hard this time,” he advised her. “You're such a surprising little lush.”
Kitt briefly turned her eyes to the sky. She couldn't remember if she had ever been on the deck at night before, but she didn't think she had. Surely she would've remembered such a view? There were sparkling constellations all around them, and it was truly a sight to behold.
A gray-haired pirate with a ponytail delivered their meal. As she watched him scoop pasta onto her plate, she was fascinated. The man's scarred face made him look like he could possibly be the unfriendliest man in the world, and yet he was smiling as he served them.
When their server was gone, Kitt said, “You know, I never thought I'd say this, but maybe not all pirates are terrible.”
“Oh, we're all terrible. The whole lot of us,” Doon disagreed. “But many of us are good at hiding our base nature under a guise of charm.”
“Is that what you're doing?” Kitt asked as she took another sip of her wine. “You're charming me?”
“My dear, you were charmed by me ages ago,” Doon claimed.
“Oh, is that so?”
“You know it is.”
“Mm hmm.” Kitt was rolling her eyes when she started on her pasta. She didn't look convinced.
“So...” Doon's expression suddenly took a turn for the serious. His fingers drummed against the table as he sat up in his chair. “I must ask you... what do you actually want? Are you really going to go back home and return to your incredibly ordinary life?”
“Um... yes. I suppose.” Kitt's shoulders popped into a shrug. “I don't really have any other option, do I?”
“So, you definitely want me to take you back home?”
“Well...” Kitt closed her eyes a moment. For the last two days, she had been thinking hard about what she really wanted. She had been trying to figure out what would truly make her happy, and most of the time, she hadn't a clue. “Yeah. I-I guess so.”
“You don't sound so certain.” Doon was studying her face as he refilled her wine glass.
“I'm not certain,” Kitt admitted. “To be honest, there's a part of me that wishes I could stay on the airship forever. But then I realize how completely and utterly nonsensical that is. The reason I was here in the first place is because you took me against my will, so it's odd that I took a liking to living here, but... I did.” Kitt pulled her wine glass closer and stared into the cup. She rotated the glass, making the wine swirl. “But... going home is really the only thing that makes sense. I definitely don't want to go back to the castle!”
“If you think you can go home after all this, I applaud you.” Doon idly prodded his pasta as they talked. “I couldn't go back to a normal life.”
“Well... I guess... when it really comes down to it, a normal life is what I want.”
Kitt ended her statement with a firm nod, but even she wasn't entirely convinced. Being close to Captain Doon had given her a thirst for adventure. But it couldn't continue, and she knew that. “So... yeah. I want you to take me home.”
“Very well.”
“So... you're taking me back to Lundun?”
“I suppose.”
Kitt thought he sounded disappointed, but she didn't know what to say. So she took another bite of her pasta, another sip of her wine, and she kept quiet for some time.
“You wanted to know what made me a horrible man,” Doon suddenly said. “It's not something I talk about often, but I'll give you the abbreviated version.”
“I'm not sure I ever called you a horrible man... but go on.”
Doon pulled a locket from his pocket and opened it. He carefully laid it on the table and slid it toward her. Kitt leaned forward, trying to get a good look at the people in the locket. The candlelight was dim, but she could see them well enough. Inside the locket, there were two miniatures: On the left, there was a dark-haired, fair-skinned man who looked quite a bit like Doon. On the right, there was a smiling woman with light-brown skin and pitch black hair.
“My mother and father,” Doon explained. “They were as different as two people could possibly be. She was short and dark. He was tall and pale and strong. Before I was this airship's captain, it belonged to my father. Everything I learned about being a captain, I learned from him. My mother was a former slave, freed by my father during a raid. For the longest time, I truly believed he loved her... in his own way.” Doon took back the locket and returned it to his pocket. “And then one day, my father snapped.”
“Really?” Kitt's brow furrowed. As she listened to his story, she gripped her wine glass tightly. “What do you mean?”
“He was extremely cruel to us. Extremely, extremely cruel,” Doon said. “I'm not entirely sure what brought about his change of heart or what made him so twisted... but it happened. And it's the reason I am the man I am. Broken, as you might say.”
“I wouldn't say you're broken, really...” When Kitt affectionately touched his arm, Doon's reaction surprised her. His entire body shuddered at her touch, and he pulled away immediately.
“Do you remember this?” Doon tugged off his glove, showing off his missing fingers. “My father did this. Then I watched him feed my fingers to his dogs. And that's only the beginning of what he put us through. It's the least of his offenses.”
“How horrible.” Kitt winced. “I'm so sorry.”
“I'm not telling you this to make you feel sorry for me. I just thought I'd sate your curiosity... because I'm feeling generous.” The smile returned to Doon's lips. “And there's certainly more to the story, but I'll spare you the rest.”
“If this ship used to be his, and now it's yours, obviously something happened.” Kitt was dying to know more, but she didn't want to pry too hard.
“Oh, I took it. By force. The men applauded me when it happened,” Doon said with a shrug. “That's why they're so fiercely loyal to me. Most of them were tired of my father's bloodthirsty dictatorship.”
“So you're a hero to them?”
“Kitten, hero is the last word I'd use to describe myself.” Doon chuckled as he watched her pour yet another glass of wine. “And at the rate you're drinking, you probably won't remember a word of what I've told you. That's probably for the best.”
“Oh, I'll remember!” Kitt vowed, even though she was starting to slur her words.
“You know...” Doon leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms before continuing. “There are days when I worry I might be just as twisted as my father. In fact, I know there's a darkness inside me. Does that scare you?”
“I've never been scared of you.” Kitt smiled at him over her wine glass. “I honestly doubt I could ever be scared of you.”
“And that's terrifically naive of you.” Clearly, she had no idea what he was capable of or what he had done.
When their dinner concluded, and Kitt attempted to rise from her chair, she immediately stumbled forward. She had to grab the side of the table to stop herself from falling over.
“Oh, Lord.” Doon groaned. “You're in your cups again, I see.”
“I'm... alright,” Kitt insisted. When she started to walk forward, she had to be extremely focused on her feet and where they were planted.
“You don't look alright.”
“No. I'm alright. I swear.”
“And yet you're wobbling all over the place,” Doon critiqued her with a snort. Her graceless gait was amusing, yet pitiful. As he was partly responsible for her inebriation, he also felt responsible for getting her back to her room in one piece. So Doon leapt from his chair and swept her into his arms.
“Ahh!” Kitt wailed and thrashed. “What are you doing?”
“I'm carrying you back to your room, obviously,” Doon politely informed her as they headed below deck. Even though he was hauling her in his arms, he easily bounded down the stairs. “Stop wiggling so much. You're making it more difficult.”
“I... ugh!” Kitt settled into his arms with a groan. “I really could have made it on my own, you know.”
“Perhaps.” He grinned at her. “But it's better this way.”
As luck would have it, they passed Roderick's room on the way to hers—and his door was open. Kitt prayed he was either sleeping or not paying attention, because she didn't want to imagine what he would think if he saw her in Doon's arms.
When they arrived at their destination, Doon kicked open the door to Kitt's room and carried her inside. As he laid her in the bed, Kitt's hand intentionally brushed his cheek. This time, it didn't surprise her when he tilted his head away from her touch.
“Doon.” Her voice was strained as she uttered his name. “Francis.”
He shook his head. “I told you not to call me that.”
“Why? It's your name. I like it.”
“Well, I don't.”
Kitt pulled him onto the bed beside her, and he didn't struggle. He could have easily pulled away, but he allowed it to happen. “Captain Doon.” She was grinning giddily as she whispered his name.
“Yes, Princess?”
Kitt slowly leaned toward him, stopping an inch shy of his lips. He didn't close the distance between them, nor did he recoil. It seemed entirely possible that he would have let her kiss him, had she been bold enough to do it.
But she hesitated too long. After awhile, Doon leaned back and playfully tapped her on the nose. “You should get to bed.” He got up, grabbed the blankets, and tossed them over her body.
“Will you tuck me in?” Kitt was positive she wouldn't have asked such a thing if she was sober.
The captain rolled his eyes as he tucked the blankets snugly around her body. “There. Happy?”
“Mm hmm. I'm content.”
Doon was shaking his head as he walked to the door. As he reached for the doorknob, he glanced over his shoulder and said, “Goodnight. Get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow morning.”
He suddenly sounded painfully formal, and his serious tone obliterated Kitt's smile. “Doon, before you go, I have something else to say.”
He looked incredibly impatient while he hovered in the doorway. “Very well. Make it quick.”
If not for the wine flowing hotly through her veins, Kitt might have been deterred by his coarse reply. In fact, she probably wouldn't have confessed her feelings at all. Tonight's confession would certainly be tomorrow's regret.
“I wanted to kiss you,” Kitt quietly told him. “I wanted you to win that airship race. You, and no one else. I was so disappointed when you lost because I wanted to kiss you.”
“Goodnight Princess,” Doon solemnly repeated.
And without another word, he slipped into the hallway and closed the door behind him.
31
Kitt was forced from her sleep much sooner than she hoped, thanks to an incessant pounding on the door. “Oi! Girl! Get up!” A booming voice called to her. �
�It's time to go!”
The voice was so crude and boisterous, she was almost afraid to see who was at the door. She reluctantly slid from bed, hopped into her slippers, and peeked outside. She saw Bryce standing in the hallway, looking as huge and unpleasant as ever.
“Get yer belongings and come with me,” Bryce ordered her. “I'm ta take you out to the deck.”
“Why? What's going on?” Kitt, who was still groggy from lack of sleep, yawned and rubbed her eyes. “Where's Doon?”
“He ain't interestin' in talkin' to you right now. Now git yer stuff and let's go!”
Kitt wasn't sure what he meant by stuff, but there was one thing she most definitely didn't want to leave behind. She grabbed her money bag, shoved it into her pocket, and followed Bryce into the hallway.
“Where are we going in such a hurry?” Kitt asked, staring at the back of Bryce's big, bulky head as they traveled down the hall. When he didn't say anything, she hollered, “Bryce!”
“Yea, wot?”
“Where are we going?”
“You'll see soon enuf.” When they reached the stairs that led to the deck, Bryce grabbed Kitt's arm and pulled her forward, encouraging her to move faster. She wondered how Doon would feel if he knew his lackey wasn't being very gentle with her.
And then they reached the deck, at which time she realized how much Doon probably didn't care. When she saw the castle looming in front of her, there was no mistaking where they were. Doon had taken her back to the one place she absolutely didn't want to see again.
“Ohhh no...” Kitt tried to take a step backward, but Bryce's grip on her arm was too strong. “No no no! I am not going back there!”
“I'm afraid you don't got a choice, girl,” Bryce roughly informed her. “Keep walkin.”
“No!” Kitt wailed. “I'm not!”
“You are. And I'll carry you if I gotta,” the ruffian informed her. “Doon said I could do whatever I had to do to get you into the castle... anythin besides hurting you, I guess.”
The Barefoot Barmaid (Belles & Bullets Book 1) Page 18