Across a Moonlit Sea

by Marsha Canham

  The moment passed and the smile became an open-mouthed sigh. His lips were around her breast, grazing impudently on her nipple.

  “Are you not … the least bit sleepy, Captain?” she asked dreamily.

  “Truthfully?” He paused and warmed her skin with a slow roll of his tongue. “No. Are you?”

  Beau contemplated her answer while she watched his mouth take a meandering course from one pinkened nipple to the other. If anything, she felt remarkably exhilarated, even though seconds ago she could have sworn every muscle and bone in her body had melted away to nothing.

  His tongue made a final, wet revolution before his dark head came up and he gazed thoughtfully at the lushness of her mouth.

  “Because if you are”—his hands twined around the silky ribbons of her hair and the heat of his body pressed forward, stretching and swelling within her—“I am afraid you are going to have to tolerate my ill manners again. And possibly again after that.”

  Beau’s great golden eyes shimmered up at him. Her hands skimmed lightly around the strong column of his neck and threaded themselves with equal conviction into the glossy black mane. “Father would say good manners are required only at the Queen’s table.”

  “Your father is a wise man.”

  “Yes,” she whispered. “I know.”

  Chapter 15

  The grappling lines between the Egret and the San Pedro de Marcos were cast off two hours after sunrise. There was plenty more cargo in the holds of the Spanish galleon, valuable cargo that would have brought a small fortune with the London merchants. But there was simply no room left onboard the Egret. They had already made one hard decision to dump the weightier bars of silver overboard rather than leave it on the San Pedro to benefit the Spanish king. After the gold was loaded, what little storage space that remained was saved for the lighter, more exotic, and therefore more profitable bales of pepper and cloves.

  Jonas Spence had already been on deck when the sunrise spread orange and pink clouds across the horizon. Spit had come to fetch him when the last available cranny had been stuffed and sealed. Crews had been working all through the night on repairs; and with their holds bulging, their next priority was to put as much open sea between the two ships as possible.

  With the Marquis de Moncada dead, command of the San Pedro had fallen to the next senior officer, one of the two who had been in on the original discussions of surrender in the captain-general’s great cabin. His name was Recalde, and he had been standing less than a pace from Moncada when Dante’s shot had torn away most of the Spaniard’s face. He would not soon forget the name of either Jonas Spence—as Dante had given it—or the Egret.

  Spence had been carried on deck to supervise the ungrappling. Thomas Moone had still not fashioned a new limb, and as the irascible captain was already bleary eyed and thick tongued, there were few men brave enough to venture onto the foredeck where their bullish captain hobbled along the rail roaring orders until his face was as red as his beard.

  Used to her father’s temper, Beau appeared on deck ten or fifteen minutes after Jonas but preferred the company of Billy Cuthbert and her charts. It would be her job to plot the course least likely to be intercepted by any ships sent to hunt them down, not to mention the many predators from England, Portugal, or France who regularly stalked the sea lanes looking for easy prey. Dante’s guns would act as somewhat of a deterrent, as would the obvious signs of a battle hard fought and won. Even so, Beau would have preferred a little heavy weather and stronger winds to hasten them on their way.

  Before the confrontation with the Spaniard she had estimated they were three weeks out of Plymouth, but that was also before adding several tons of plunder to their ballast. Their speed would suffer, as would their maneuverability; there would be a detectably heavy difference in the way the Egret responded to orders from the helm. But she was fixed with a new arm for the tiller, stouter and stronger than the first, and a crew determined to reach the shores of England with their newfound wealth intact.

  The last transfer between the San Pedro and the Egret may not have been the most valuable in terms of monetary compensation, but to some on board the English galleon, Doña Maria Antonia Piacenza’s presence was as comforting as Dante’s demi-cannon. She crossed the ladeboard with only her duenna and Geoffrey Pitt as escorts. Her two other maids had, for lack of any comfortable quarters to house them, been left behind. She was permitted to bring only three of the twenty-three leather trunks that held her personal possessions and, for her protection, was assigned hastily cleaned and reconfigured quarters opposite the captain’s great cabin. Beau’s tiny sail locker and the weapons armory were consolidated into one cabin and refurbished with a bed, a washstand, and Persian carpets taken from the San Pedro.

  It was one of the few times Beau’s head came up from her charts. She stood by the after rail and watched as Geoffrey Pitt led the tiny duchess across the planks, one gingerly taken step after another. She was bundled head to toe in a hooded velvet cape, with only a suggestion of huge frightened eyes and a pale face peeping out from the circle of fur trim. Her gloved hand was clutched to Pitt’s arm as if it were a lifeline. Equally dainty satin-slippered feet stepped down onto the deck of the Egret with all the confidence of a bird fluttering to its doom.

  Dante had said Pitt was smitten by her beauty, so it was no surprise to see him acting so protectively and attentively. It was surprising, however, to see some of the weathered tars doff their caps and stare, with their mouths gawped open and their normally lewd and ribald catcalls choked back into their throats as the Duchess of Navarre passed.

  As chance would have it, she had to pass directly under where Beau was standing in order to make way to her cabin. The large eyes, darting every which way in trepidation, looked up and, for a moment, registered shock at seeing another woman on board. The hood slipped back and the creamy white, heart-shaped face was exposed. And if all the sweetness, innocence, and virginal naïveté were not cloying enough, a traitorous breeze pushed aside the edges of the duchess’s cape and revealed a gown of polished lavender silk beneath. The hem was decorated a foot or more with a banding of elaborate gold tracery; the overskirt was parted almost to the waist and pinned back to display the elegantly brocaded petticoat of dark, rich rose. Around her neck she wore a crucifix, the cross positioned directly over her heart; around the impossibly narrow span of her waist, she wore a long, jeweled belt, the ends falling in a cascade of rippling gold links.

  Beau looked down at her own dull hose, shirt, and doublet, none of which could be called perfectly clean or perfectly whole. Her hair was once again pulled back and fettered in a braid, leaving nothing to camouflage the large blue bruise on her forehead or the scabbed crease that ran into her scalp. Her hands, where they rested on the rail, were tanned and weather-roughened, the nails chipped and stained. The palms, at least, were minus a few layers of calluses, but the rope burns had left them as red as if she had dipped them in crushed berries. Her mouth was probably no better off, having been suckled and kissed for the better part of the night. Her chin and throat were tender as well, chafed by an irreverent jaw stubbled blue-black with coarse hairs.

  As for the rest of her body … dainty, delicate, and virginal were hardly the words she would use to describe how she felt. Despite the fact that Dante had spent an inordinate amount of time massaging each muscle, each square inch of skin, with his scented oil, she was aching and tender in places that brought a blaze of hot color to her cheeks just thinking about them.

  And where was he, anyway?

  He had not been in the cabin when she had groaned herself out of bed at dawn. He had not been on the fore-deck with Spence or on the main deck to greet Pitt and his delicate little duchess, although she imagined the pretense of his being the captain of the Egret had ended the moment the ladeboard planks had been withdrawn from the San Pedro.

  “Good morning.”

  Beau jumped an inch or so out of her skin and whirled around. He was standing behind her
, dressed in a clean white shirt and tight black hose, looking as fresh and roguish as if he had slept another three-day stretch. He had shaved and bound the waves of his hair back with a leather thong. The ends of each strand glistened with water, suggesting he had just emerged from the sea.

  “Good morning,” she said, and hastened back to her charts.

  “To everyone’s good fortune it looks like we will be under way several hours ahead of schedule.”

  It was more of an observation than a question and she barely gave it a glance by way of acknowledgment.

  “Pitt and his princess are on board, I see. Rather a lovely little thing, is she not? Like a rosebud with dew on the petals, so fresh, she fairly begs for a man’s protection. Poor Pitt. He’ll likely be stammering like a schoolboy before the week’s out.”

  Beau slapped down her charcoal stick and straightened. “Was there something specific you wanted, Captain? I have readings to take and a course to plot. If you are so taken by her freshness, why don’t you go below and enjoy a closer look?”

  If either her rebuke or her mood surprised him, he gave no sign. In fact, the only response he offered was through his eyes, and what Beau saw there made her catch her breath and hold it. He was subtly telling her what she knew already, that she looked thoroughly and utterly debauched, that she could lace her doublet twice as tight and he would still know what lay beneath, that she could scrub her skin raw with lye soap and he would still be able to detect the scent of camphor and musk. That she could pepper her every word with brimstone and cordite and he would still be able to hear the echo of her begging gasps.

  “No,” he said quietly. “There is nothing specific I want. Not at the moment, anyway.”

  “Then please”—she released her pent-up breath in a soft gust—“leave me to my work.”

  The smoky, silvery eyes narrowed. “It’s a small ship, Isabeau. You won’t be able to hide behind your work forever.”

  “I can try.”

  He held her gaze a moment longer, then gave a small bow. The roguish smile was still playing about his lips as he turned and descended the ladderway. Beau watched him, she could not help herself. He moved like a big, graceful cat, a sleek panther with the air of lazy indifference that came from being well fed and content. And why should he not look so satisfied? He had spent the night doing exactly as he pleased with her and, true to his warning, had not stopped again to ask her permission … for anything.

  No specific needs at the moment? Did that mean he expected something at a later time? Tonight, perhaps? Did he expect her to go to him again for a lusty repeat of what had happened last night?

  Beau’s skin shivered at the thought but she resolutely pushed the notion, even the possibility, as far to the back of her mind as she could. She had weakened once, but that was all. That was the end. She could blame her lapse on the excitement of their victory over the San Pedro, the amount of wine she had consumed, her exhaustion, her inability to fight her own curiosity any longer … or the itch, as her father had so artfully put it.

  All these things could explain a single lapse, but to do it again? To go willing and sober into his arms would put more than just the swagger of satisfaction in his gait. It would put her at his mercy, reduce her once more to a mere female in his eyes … and in the eyes of every other man on board the Egret.

  She looked slowly around the deck, but could see no one staring at her or pointing and murmuring behind raised hands. But they would. If they knew she had succumbed to the Comte de Tourville’s sexual prowess, she would lose all of the hard-won credibility she had gained over the years. One clumsy tumble from a capstan was all it took for years of finely balanced work in the rigging to be forgotten.

  She could not let that happen. She would not.

  It took nearly four hours before the San Pedro de Marcos was reduced to a speck on the horizon. During that time a goodly portion of the Egret’s crew were sent to their berths to catch up on some much-needed sleep, while those who seemed to thrive on nerve alone continued to work on repairs. Most of the spare canvas had gone into the yards, leaving the damaged, torn, and scorched sheets to be patched and reinforced. Men sat on overturned barrels much as at a quilting bee, stitching and cutting, swapping versions of their own involvement in the battle. Damaged ropes and cables were spliced, the guns were reamed and their carriages greased. Spit McCutcheon had thriftily retrieved most of their spent shot from the wreckage of the Spaniard’s deck, plus helping himself to powder and fuses from the galleon’s stores so they would not be lacking in firepower should they attract the eye of any cruising vultures.

  Cook was in his glory. He now had rations to spare and spent most of the day happily at work over his cauldrons. Two large pigs were slaughtered and the meat set to roast over a long metal trough filled with scraps of wood and broken timbers. At various times during the day men gathered to stare, their mouths watering, their palms sweating, their bellies rumbling in a chorus of expectation. At mealtime every man’s pannikin was filled to the brim. Chins and hands dripped with grease, and the jeers that had been challenging Cook’s slowness all day long were replaced by the sound of chewing, drinking, and belching in robust contentment.

  Spence called for a barrel of ale and ordered twice the normal measure for each tar. With his head still bandaged and the bottom of his hose knotted over empty air, he sat in the midst of his crew, drinking, eating, cheering, as heartily as the others each time a fresh platter of carved meat was passed from the trough.

  Even Clarence the cat had no need to resort to skulduggery. He sat by Cook’s heels, his tail snaking back and forth across the planking, his face upturned and his eyes bright, waiting patiently to catch the thick, meaty scraps that fell his way.

  Beau deliberately chose to take a seat with the common seamen. Spence arched an eyebrow in her direction, indicating an empty place reserved beside him, but she only shrugged and smiled and raised her cup in a silent salute. Dante sat on the other side of Spence and Lucifer sat cross-legged on the deck beside him. It made for one of many uncomfortable moments during the meal when Beau looked over to find the Cimaroon’s eyes fixed upon her. She recalled, later, that he usually slept across Dante’s door at night, and if so, had likely heard more than snoring coming from inside the cabin last evening.

  Pitt had made a brief appearance carrying two fine porcelain dinner plates, but his tawny head disappeared quickly belowdecks again as soon as they were filled. The duchess was still in shock and too sick at heart to leave her cabin, thus Pitt had assigned himself her personal guard and messenger.

  Eventually, a long and mighty belch from Spence marked the end of the revelry. Fresh watches were sent up into the tops with orders to report so much as a farting bird on the horizon. The coals in the trough were doused in a billowing cloud of steam and the residuals spaded carefully overboard. By habit the men contributed their bones and scraps back into a soup pot, knowing full well that one day’s excess could mean another day’s lack.

  They finished out the first full day under sail without incident. The wind picked up in late afternoon and the seas roughened, but Beau was happy with the way the Egret responded. She took the galleon through a few tacking maneuvers to test her seams—one of which brought Geoffrey Pitt stumbling up onto the deck again, pale as ash and taut around the mouth—and was satisfied the ship could handle herself with courage and spirit if need be. When the blue of the sky began to leech into pinks and grays, Beau took a fix from the first star that appeared and gave orders to the new helmsman who arrived to take the watch. She rolled her charts under her arm but instead of venturing anywhere near the cabins in the stern, she found an empty hammock in the darkest corner of the crew’s quarters, curled herself into a blissful ball, and slept.

  Sometime during the night two large shadows made their way through and around the maze of hanging, swaying cocoons. Billy Cuthbert led the way, his hand cupped around the weak flame of a taper, and when he found the one that held Beau, he stood asid
e and let Simon Dante pass in front. The Frenchman lifted her carefully into his arms and the two men retraced their steps, parting company with a whispered thanks on the starlit deck.

  Dante made his way alone into the stern cabin and deposited his sleeping bundle on her own bed. His hand may have lingered a moment longer than was necessary on the chestnut lock of hair that had curled forward on her cheek, but whatever thoughts or cravings that may have passed through his mind were dismissed before they could take hold. He pulled a blanket up to her chin, doused the guttering candle, and closed the door quietly behind him as he left.

  Chapter 16

  The Egret made good time on her journey north. She managed to avoid notice most of the time; sails were spotted twice on the horizon, too far to do more than identify one suit as belonging to a Frenchman, the other English. Neither paid the Egret more attention than it took to read her silhouette and dismiss her as being of little importance.

  Spence was fully mobile again. Thomas Moone carved him a new limb, though not as elaborate as the last with its shaped calf and solid foot. A stout peg was the best he could do, he declared, until they reached England and found a good, solid piece of Norfolk pine.

  Carrying forty extra crewmen, the quarters on board were cramped and free space extremely limited. Privacy, normally only a word thrown out in jest at the best of times, was nonexistent. The men ate, slept, and tended to their bodily functions in groups, sometimes crowds, and if not for the weight of the gold and treasure in the Egret’s holds, tempers would likely have flared along with the squalls that blew with seasonal frequency. One in particular, striking on the tenth day of April, had strong enough teeth to rip the mainsail and send a yard slamming into the back of a sailor’s skull, splitting it open like a melon.