Caspian froze. Of course a lady like her would wonder why he had a son but no wife. He had not talked about Isabelle to anyone but Reed or Gage for years. “My wife is… gone.” He gave her a piercing look.
Lady Trenton took in a sharp breath and shifted her gaze down.
Caspian ignored her and glanced over at his son, who was staring at Lady Trenton, wide-eyed. "Come along, Reed. It is bedtime. We are sleeping on the floor tonight, remember?"
"Nay, Captain. The boy will sleep on the bed with me. I will not be the cause of depriving a child as young as Reed of comfort. You won't mind sleeping up here with me, will you, Reed?" She sank down on the bed.
Reed nodded drowsily, grinning up at her through eyelids dragged down under the weight of sleep. "I like you, Lady Trenton. We shall be the best of friends. I am certain of it."
She smiled back at Reed. The lady did have a gorgeous smile.
Caspian felt a twinge of jealousy traipse into his heart without any form of invitation. Surely he did not feel it because… because the woman got along with his son so well while he — the child’s own father — could not. Nay, who could blame Reed? A lady was a rare treasure to uncover on the seas, and this one in particular was being especially kind to the boy. Caspian knew he felt no jealousy because of how sweetly the woman smiled at Reed while she glared so hatefully at Caspian. There was no reason for him to care if she liked his company or not.
Caspian watched silently as his child curled up beside the woman on the bed. She turned to face the bulkhead, robbing from him the sight of her comely face. All he could see now was her back, shielded by the thin coverlet.
How could his son automatically adore this woman whom he had never met, this stowaway? Reed baffled him. Besides, how could Lady Trenton be so kind to a shy little boy?
Caspian tried to shake the woman from his thoughts. He failed. Her soft breathing washed over the cabin, tickling his ears.
'Twould be a long night.
****
No. No. Not again, Lord, please. Please do not force me to go through this torture again, I beg of you.
Eden felt Lord Rutger's arms grip around her waist harshly. His lips crushed over hers, but she swatted him away.
"Come, come, my little flower. We are to be married in a month; I should think you would be more than willing to give me something as simple as a little kiss." He huffed, fingering a lock of her hair.
Eden yanked her hair out from his unwanted grasp. The man may be well manicured, but to her, his hands felt filthy. Every touch from the monster made her want to scrub her skin raw.
Why had her father left her alone in the house with this man? Why, even the servants were off work today.
"Please, sir, I have no desire to kiss you." Eden glanced at the door anxiously, longing to escape from him.
"But you have no choice, my flower. You must do as I tell you, as my fiancée.” His green eyes seemed to read every single thought that passed through her head. “I will not be denied by a simple wench. As your husband, I have a right to a kiss and far more from you, Eden!" he exploded, handsome face growing red with anger, a color almost the exact shade of the auburn hair that fell in disarray around his narrow shoulders. She wished he did not have the right to even call her by her Christian name. "For heaven’s sake, I have every right to take you up to my bedchamber! I may just have a mind to yet!"
"You are not my husband yet, now are you, sir? Why, you have no right to anything at all from me," Eden cried. Tears stung her eyes. No, she would not give him the satisfaction her tears would bring.
How could she escape this man?
Lord Rutger backhanded her. The sharp sting burned her face, and she almost lost her balance as her vision blurred with tears. She refused to cry in front of the monster.
He dug his hands on her waist and planted his lips on hers in an aggressive kiss. Eden threw her face to the side. She gasped for air, desperate to escape his hounding lips, and twisted in his arms to break away from his audacious grip. Raising her hand, she smacked his insolent face although he deserved much more than a simple slap. Turning, she fled to her room and latched the door shut before she could face the consequences her actions would bring.
Heavy footsteps clomped behind her. The doorframe shivered under Lord Rutger’s pounding fists. A louder banging commenced. He was kicking in the door.
She knelt behind her bed and squeezed her eyes shut.
And then she woke. Eden took a deep, calming breath.
Just a dream. She opened her eyes. And discovered a tall man looming above her.
****
Eden shot out of bed. She searched for a weapon, anything she could use to protect herself from the man. Finding nothing, she fisted her hands and swung about to face her attacker.
Captain Archer smirked down at her. From the moonlight that filtered in through the porthole, she could identify amusement sparkling in the man’s eyes. Eden spotted a pistol on his desk. She seized the weapon and pointed it at the captain. Finding the foul handgun too heavy, she held it with both her hands although she was still shaking. How in the world did one work these wretched things?
****
Caspian chuckled. He must admit, he had never had a woman point a pistol at him. Even most of the men he knew were too frightened to threaten him. They knew the consequences of confronting Captain Caspian Archer.
This girl was quite plucky indeed.
He took a slow, calculated step toward her as if she were a young doe he was terrified of frightening off.
"Milady, you have naught to fear from me." Caspian held his hands up in an innocent gesture and glanced over at his son, who was sleeping peacefully on the bed. The child could sleep through just about anything. Yet another way the lad took after his mother.
Eden fumbled with Caspian’s pistol, and he chuckled yet again.
"You don't even know how to shoot a gun, do you, Eden?" He realized he had called the lady by her Christian name, but he could not stop himself. She was so frightened of him, and he wanted to reach through the haze of terror that clouded her eyes. By thunder, he had only been waking her from her nightmare, but now he realized the exact same nightmare may have made her even more frightened of him.
He edged nearer to the woman, intent on snatching his pistol away from her before she injured either herself or him. Or both.
"Don't you touch me or take another step toward me or I promise I will shoot you!" Her small hands trembled.
Her fingers fumbled, and she cocked the gun. Tears streamed down her face. Something dreadful must have happened to this poor woman. Such horrible nightmares had to have been triggered by some terrible event.
"It is all right, Eden. I promise I am not going to hurt you. You are perfectly safe with me, I assure you." He gave her what he hoped looked like a comforting smile and reached a tentative hand out toward her.
The lady jerked away, back out of his reach. She let out a startled cry as the gun fired with an earsplitting crack.
A stabbing pain ripped through Caspian’s left shoulder.
The acrid smell of gunpowder filled the air.
Reed jumped straight up from his position on the bed.
Caspian glanced down to find blood gliding from his shoulder down his left arm.
He shifted his gaze to the lady in shock. "You shot me, woman."
****
Eden dropped the smoking gun and flew to the captain's side. Had she truly just shot a man? Would he kill her now? Surely he would at least strike her. Not many men took kindly to a woman harming them. At least she knew Rutger would never take kindly. But the captain's blue eyes flickered in amusement and something else she couldn't quite place. Perhaps it was just anger and she misread his expression.
“Papa! Papa, what has happened? Wha-what was that noise, Papa?” Reed was sitting up, looking as if he had just jumped out from a dead sleep.
Caspian twisted to face his son, shock still painted on his face. His right hand clutched his wounded
shoulder. “Nothing, Reed. Go out on the deck for a moment; I need a moment alone with Lady Trenton. I will call you back when we’re done, all right, boy?”
Reed moved toward the door, his wide, sleep-filled eyes shifting from his father to Eden. Finally, he left.
The second the door shut behind him, Eden spun to the captain, fighting to hold back the tears in her eyes. Was the man dismissing his son so the child’s young eyes did not witness what he had in store for Eden?
Her shoulders shuddered when she realized her fears were probably true.
"I-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean… will… you… are you going to… s-strike me now?" Eden felt certain her voice rose in pitch with each word she spoke. The blood flowing from the captain’s shoulder distracted her. Careful to keep her body well away from the man, she pulled out her handkerchief and gently pressed it to his wound with an outstretched arm. She refused to look him in the eye and instead studied the hole she had put in his arm with the gun. She noted, with a spark of relief, that the bullet had barely grazed the flesh of his arm.
Well, she had had no idea the wretched firearm would truly fire that time. When she had pulled the trigger mere seconds before, nothing had happened. She had concluded that the gun was not loaded. How was she to know she would actually hurt him? He took the handkerchief from her and pressed it against his shoulder on his own.
She stumbled away. “Please, just get it over with now, sir.” Eden stared fixedly at a splinter protruding from the wooden planks beneath her.
Her words finally seemed to sink into the man when he cried out with what sounded something like alarm in his deep voice, "Never!" Captain Archer wrenched the handkerchief from his wound and took a step closer to her. "I would never strike a woman. Never. What kind of man do you believe me to be?” He glared at her so hard, she felt it almost the same as a blow. “Besides, I am not gravely injured, milady. The bullet barely grazed my arm. It is nothing drastic by any means." He placed a finger underneath her chin, nudging her face up gently. A callus on his hand brushed against her skin, but his touch was anything but rough.
Eden felt a surge of heat flood over her at his touch. He tied the cloth that remained in his other hand around his wounded shoulder, studying Eden as if he had never before seen her. Why was his mouth curled up in a smile? For goodness’ sake, why wasn't he upset with her?
****
Why had the dear woman even considered the thought he would strike her? Egad, he could never do anything even remotely near striking her. Caspian now had confirmation where that garish, black bruise had come from. But who had done it to her? Who would have the gall to harm such a precious creature? He certainly should not ask her now. Now, she was too vulnerable, too fragile, and somehow, too fearless.
Even now, she cowered against the bulkhead, her lower lip trembling.
"Faith, woman, you are quite brave to shoot me like that." He felt one side of his mouth curl up in a smile.
Eden shook her head repeatedly. “You would never say such a thing if you had seen what I did in my nightmare. How terrified I was. How I ran away." She chewed on her quivering, plump bottom lip and gazed intently at the ground.
"Ha! I daresay I have never seen a woman with enough daring to simply point a gun at a man, nonetheless shoot him. A pirate captain, even so." He chuckled.
Eden trembled and leaned back against the bulkhead. She swayed.
Caspian leapt to her side and engulfed her in his arms. He winced, but the pain from his wound did not last long with an adorable woman in his embrace. A sweet scent of vanilla and coconut teased his nose. Had he truly just met this girl? By the urge deep in his gut to protect her, it almost seemed as though he had known her for years.
She was as stiff in his arms as a bowline caught in the wind until he set her down next to him on one of the leather armchairs. The poor girl melted against him and onto his lap, and then she began to sob.
"Milady, will you please tell me about your dream… your nightmare? Who is it who hurt you, sweetheart? What did they do to you? I want to know who struck you and gave you that bruise on your shoulder." He gently touched her delicate shoulder. The heat of her skin bore through the thin silk of the nightgown she wore.
She shook her head and covered her face with both of her hands. "It matters not, Captain. As long as we do not return to London, I shall be safe from him. I have vowed it will never happen again."
Tears pooled in her doe-like eyes and soon began to pour down her face in little rivulets. Caspian felt a sudden surge of protectiveness and anger sweep through his body. By all that is great and good, if he ever laid his eyes on the man who had done this to the poor woman, gave her these terrible nightmares, he would kill him. By all that was right, he must make certain the lady was safe from this monster and others like him. He would see for certain that once in Port Royal, she had a safe place to go with as much money as she needed to survive.
Perhaps she was thinking similarly.
"Can I get you anything, Lady Trenton? Is there anything I can help you with once we reach Port Royal?" Caspian inquired, longing to remove those dreadful tears from her pretty eyes.
She nestled her head against his chest and remained silent so long that for a moment, he wondered if she had fallen asleep. Finally, she answered, "No, thank you." She released a shaky breath.
Caspian stroked her umber curls, relishing the fact she didn't stop him, didn't recoil from his touch like he had expected from the lady and her skittish ways. He was enjoying how soft and silky her locks felt beneath his fingertips.
After a few moments, the lady’s breathing altered from ragged sobs to quiet, even snoring. Caspian could not hold back a grin at the sight of such a pretty little thing snoring. He scooped her up in his arms and laid her down on the bed before going up on deck to retrieve his curious son.
Chapter Five
Caspian gazed out at the sea. Oh, how wonderful it felt to be at sea again, to smell the salty, moist air. When he was here, he was in full control. He had proven himself more than capable of overcoming even the greatest pirates of the Spanish Main, and he could destroy those who had destroyed him.
He rubbed his tender arm, still healing from the bullet wound, and smirked. Well, he was capable of destroying these men, but maybe not controlling the little woman in his cabin.
It was barely fathomable that it had only been a week since he had met Lady Trenton. She had grown on Reed by the second, and yet stayed far away from Caspian. He wondered if she would ever be anything but cold and distant to him.
Caspian squinted at a point on the horizon. Was that the bright white of a billowing sail? He trained his eyes to focus, but after a second, all he could see was the churning, gray waters.
Moments later, a cry rained down from the shrouds. “A sail!”
Caspian whipped out his telescope. There was a ship off their western horizon, sailing toward them. Just as he had suspected.
He recognized the colors. Gray and red. The colors of Neptune’s Poison. Moore. There was no way it was not Moore. Caspian had been told the man was in the Caribbean, miles away off the coast of Jamaica, but it seemed that information was incorrect. After running into the man a couple of times over the years and never actually getting close enough for another battle, the time had come for Caspian’s revenge.
Gage walked up beside Caspian. “Captain, who is she?”
“Moore.”
Gage sucked in a breath. “I suppose you plan to take her, Captain?”
“Aye, Master Thompson. Prepare the men.”
Caspian could accomplish his goal before even arriving in the Caribbean. Moore would get what he deserved once and for all, after the pain he had brought upon Caspian and Reed.
****
Gage watched as Captain Archer ran a hand through his curly, black hair. A feeling of foreboding washed over Gage, and he hesitated to do the captain’s bidding. Did they truly want to pick a fight with a ship that could easily best them? The ship appeared to be more
heavily gunned than the Dawn’s Mist as Moore’s had been, true, but what were the chances this ship belonged to Moore? There were plenty of other ships flying those same colors.
Caspian spun around, his fists clenched. Gage lowered his gaze. He did not want to ignite his friend’s anger, but he wondered if it was a good idea to approach this ship.
“I told you to prepare the men, Master Thompson… what is keeping you?”
“Well… uh… Captain, do you truly think it is Moore? That is to say…” Gage stammered, wringing his hands as he stood in front of his captain. For some reason, he felt there was something terribly wrong with this situation. If this ship really was Moore, the last thing Gage wanted for his captain was to let his emotions control his actions and make a mistake. Besides, if something happened to Reed during the imminent battle, Caspian would never, ever, forgive himself.
Gage did not know if he could forgive himself, either. Children were a precious gift from God. Everyone would be much better off if they high-tailed away from this ship with the gray and red flag.
“Master Thompson, you were given an order by your captain… I don’t care if you are my friend; there will be a consequence if you disobey me.” He paused and spoke more calmly. “Yes, it has to be Moore. Those are his colors. Don’t think I do not remember every blasted detail of that day.”
Gage recognized the anger coiled in his captain’s eyes and the bite to his words, but Gage knew they were not directed at him. No, it had to have been reserved for Moore and what he had done.
But Gage also noticed something else in Captain Archer’s eyes… something like… fear.
“Captain, is this truly the time for a battle with your old enemy? We have the lady below, and really, should we risk harming her? Think of Reed. What if something were to happen to him?” Gage knew if they did not avoid this battle, many of their men would die, and Moore would no doubt best them again.
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