Caspian gave her a roguish grin, his glacial blue eyes twinkling. "But I so thoroughly enjoyed helping you out of them last night, darling," he proclaimed innocently.
Eden's face flooded with heat yet again at his reference to their wedding-night. The skin on her back tingled pleasantly as his large hands fumbled with the laces of her stays. His warm breath feathered on her neck and sent a shiver of delight running all the way down her body.
He stopped to press a kiss to the top of her head and then continued his attempt at untangling her laces. He swore lightly under his breath and leaned toward Eden. "How about you don't wear your stays today? I do not understand how you women can stand being confined in those blasted things anyway. You, my dear, look just as perfect without them as you do with them."
"But, Caspian, a proper lady never goes without her stays. My mother taught me that long ago," Eden objected, although she already knew she would do anything Caspian asked of her when he gave her that charming grin of his.
"My dear lady, no one will notice your missing undergarment, I assure you. For heaven's sake, you are on a pirate ship. What do a bunch of uneducated, grimy men know about women’s fashion? Besides, I know you don't care about what is perfect and proper anymore. If you did, you would never have married me. And need I remind you that when I first saw you, you were dressed in men’s trousers? Surely that was most improper, as well," he chuckled.
Eden smiled, and quickly tossed her dress on over her nightgown. She did enjoy the feel of wearing no stays. Almost as much as she had enjoyed wearing Adam’s trousers.
****
Caspian felt dread clench around his heart after he had peered at the other ship through his telescope and saw her name. Neptune’s Poison. Moore. And the man must have been prepared for battle this time, or he would not be approaching them.
Caspian had tried to tease his wife, to not let her notice his fear, but that did not stop the dread from numbing every nerve in his body right now.
In his anxiousness, he did not even feel Eden’s warm hands on his arm.
Caspian ignored his son’s cheerful greeting as the boy skipped up to them. All he felt was horror at the situation he had just brought his new wife and his son to face.
“Caspian, darling, what is wrong? Who is it?” Eden wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. His mind clouded pleasantly like it always did when around his wife.
That was not good at all. No. He could not have the beautiful woman distracting him at a time like this.
“Eden, I need you and Reed to go to our cabin and lock the door behind you right now. Push my desk up against the door, and do not come out until I personally tell you to. Do not leave that cabin for anyone other than me, you understand, sweetheart?” He did not need her distracting him or getting harmed. Or worse.
He spun around, wrapping her in his arms in a whirl and drawing his son close at the same time.
“Why, Caspian? Why are you not telling me who that ship is, darling? Why must we go below?” Eden asked, pulling away from Caspian and drawing Reed’s little body next to hers. The boy was studying him with those wide, blue-violet-tinged eyes that made Caspian conjure up an image of the child’s biological mother. Caspian would not fail his family yet again. He would keep them safe and sound in his cabin this time, even if he had to drag them both kicking and screaming. Before he let anything happen to them, he would lock and barricade the door.
“Just obey me, Eden, please, for once. I will not have either of you hurt. You go into our cabin, and do as I asked. Please, sweetheart.” He ran a hand from her shoulder down her arm and held her hand in his.
Caspian’s words may have been harsh, but he tried to make them kinder by his expression and the begging in his voice. He did not have time to explain they had run into Moore, and he did not want her unnecessarily worried about him. “Eden, go below. I will come for you when it is safe. Please, I will not have you dying in some battle like Isabelle a mere day after we have been married. Go to our cabin immediately.”
She sighed, and tears sprouted in her pretty brown doe-eyes. “But, Caspian, don’t you realize that I feel the same about you? What if I lose you?” Her voice cracked with a sob.
“Please, darling. It is Moore, the man who killed Isabelle. I will be all right. Gage is sailing next to us with his new crew. Most of his men agreed to become privateers rather than being kept in the hold. He will join us. Don’t worry about me, sweetheart, and go below and take care of our son.”
The sobs he knew she was trying to control caused him to swallow back some tears of his own. He could not stand seeing his little wife like this. Finally, after what seemed like ages, she nodded and grabbed Reed’s hand. “I will go below, Caspian.”
Before she turned, he grabbed her by the waist and gave her one last quick kiss and squeezed his son in his arms.
“I love you, Caspian. Remember that. I need you to come back to me. I don’t know what I would do without you,” she whispered.
“I love you, too, Eden. Reed as well. You two stay safe for me, all right?” His voice broke with emotion.
Eden nodded at him and led his son — their son — down the companionway. As Moore’s ship approached close to their firing range, he prayed with everything in him he had not just kissed her good-bye.
Chapter Twenty-Three
After Eden had locked the door to the cabin and shoved her husband’s sturdy oak desk against the entrance with the help of her son, she sat on the bed with her legs drawn up below her and motioned for Reed to join her. The poor child’s eyes were filled with tears. He jumped up onto the bed and rested his little head on her lap, curling his legs up behind him. Eden forced the wetness from her eyes. Reed was frightened, and she knew her crying would only make things worse.
“Mama, what is happening? Why was Papa so worried about us?”
Her heart felt the tiniest bit lighter when the dear boy called her his “Mama.” She had always longed for a child of her own, but until she and Caspian had a baby, Reed would do just fine. As long as she lived, she knew she would think of this precious youngster as her own son.
She stroked his tawny curls away from his forehead. This situation was far too stressful for a five-year-old. “Well, Reed, some very bad men want to attack our ship. Have you been in a battle at sea before?” Surely he had. Where else would he be when his father attacked enemy ships?
The child nodded. “Yep. They are loud, and Papa makes me come down here by myself so I don’t get hurt like he said my mother did.”
“That’s right, sweetheart. And he made us come down here so we are safe and sound. You see, those bad men on that other ship are the same ones who hurt your mother when you were just a baby. Your papa is just worried, and he doesn’t want anything to happen to us because he loves us both so much.” Eden rubbed his back in small circles.
Reed wrapped his arms around her neck and hid his face against her shoulder. “I hope they won’t hurt you like they hurt my other mama, Mama,” he declared sweetly.
“No, they won’t, darling. We will be safe in here, and your papa will be all right, too. Don’t worry, Reed.”
Boom! The ship shook violently. Eden had sailed on the ship long enough to recognize that disruption as a cannon being fired.
A similar sound echoed in the distance, ending with a splash.
The battle had begun.
Eden leaned down and hugged Reed close against her chest, humming a hymn to him she had always loved to sing in church. She hoped the words she recited along with it in her head gave her strength and stilled the stubborn fears that churned inside her belly. Suddenly, she remembered a passage from Isaiah, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
She did not need to be afraid. God was with her.
Even though she had been frightened into running away from every trouble she had faced in her life, she now realize
d God was really the One who controlled everything. He would stay with her always and protect her.
The shouting that sounded above was followed by another boom and a crash. The crunching of wood filled her ears. A crash sounded near where she and Reed were sitting. Their ship must have been hit. Eden had to force herself to keep her arms around Reed to keep from running up there to find her husband and check if he was safe. Deep screams of terror rent the air. She squeezed her eyes shut against images of Caspian’s strong body limp, bloody… lifeless.
Reed moaned, burying his little face in Eden’s chest, sobbing. She stroked his hair, keeping her tears at bay. If she allowed herself to cry, she would never stop. It would only succeed in worrying the dear boy.
“Reed, it’s all right. It’s all right, darling. Shush, sweetheart,” she murmured over and over into his hair, all the while pleading with God to keep her husband safe.
She cupped her hands over her son’s ears, attempting to block the vicious sounds of the on-going battle. Reed stared up at her, his pink cheeks stained wet from crying. He reached out and covered her ears with his little hands.
“Thank you,” she mouthed to him, pressing a kiss on his forehead.
She closed her eyes and they waited… and waited… and waited. The muffled sounds of the fight never ceased. That was good, though, right? If there was no battle, then that would mean someone had won… if no one had yet become a victor, then that meant Caspian was alive, right?
A pounding sounded from the companionway leading to the cabin. Caspian? Had he come to let her and Reed out of here? She gently removed Reed’s hands from her ears, hoisted him up onto her hip, and stood so she could hear more clearly. But none of the gruff voices she heard belonged to her husband. Two voices grew closer to her door, before stopping. The doorknob clicked like it was being moved. Luckily, she had locked it. But what would happen if they made it past the lock? What if her makeshift barricade failed to work? Why had everything grown more silent?
Shouting came from the other side of the door, and she heard a thump. “This is the captain’s cabin! Surely he has some of his prized possessions in here.”
His most prized possessions.
They could not know that she and Reed were in here. Nonetheless, Eden sped about the cabin, searching for something she could use to defend herself. She spotted one of Caspian’s cutlasses, but she knew it would be entirely too heavy for her to lift and might just have the opposite effect of what she wanted.
She glanced at little Reed, who had laid his head against her shoulder and was squeezing his eyes shut. The men outside pounded on the door. Eden spotted a pistol in the bottom of the trunk in which she had found most of the clothes she had worn throughout this voyage.
She knew how to shoot a gun. Eden laughed silently when she remembered how terrified of her own husband she had been when they had first met.
So terrified she had shot him in the arm. And little Reed had slept right through it. She pushed the memory aside when she heard the men beginning to bang into the door. Could they break through that thick oak? Were they that strong? She doubted even Caspian could make his way through the heavy wood. There was no way these men could be more muscular than her husband.
But she heard at least two voices out there. Surely multiple men would be able to break it down. She could take no chances. Not when she had to worry about both her life and her son’s.
Eden stooped down to grab the pistol and ran to hide between the leather armchairs and the bulkhead. She grabbed a quilt from the bed along the way.
As she squatted down behind the furniture, she set young Reed in her lap, draped the quilt over the both of them, and squeezed him close. The child slipped his arms around her neck and she inhaled his sweet, innocent scent. Boisterous cheering drifted over from the main deck. Eden cringed at the foul language that followed. She certainly hoped Reed would never grow up to speak like that. At least his papa — her husband — did not. But what did the cheering mean? She had no way of knowing.
The pounding on the door grew louder and more frequent.
“What’s going to happen to us, Mama? Where is Papa? He should be here with us.”
Although his voice was quiet, they could not afford the risk of speaking out loud. “Shh, Reed, darling, we must be quiet so the bad men don’t find us in here,” she whispered as silently as she could, “we are going to be all right, love. I am most certain your Papa would love to be here with us, but he is the captain of this ship and needs to be up on the main deck during the battle. He belongs there, commanding his crew. He is their leader. We both need to understand that, dear. We just need to calm down, my darling, and this will be over in no time. Those men will not be able to get in here. The door is too sturdy, and your papa’s desk is in front of it.”
Eden heard a great crack, but could not bring herself to look at the entrance to the cabin. She knew what that sound meant. It had to have been the cracking of the door. That meant the pirates would make their way in here sometime in the near future.
She could not bring herself to think of the horrors that would befall both her and her son if they were discovered.
She did not bother to quell the tears burning in her eyes any longer. They spilled out onto Reed’s golden hair. He peeked up at her, no doubt confused at the wetness on his head.
His eyes filled with fresh tears, and she hugged him closer. “Mama, we should pray. The Bible tells us to pray when we are in trouble, and He will deliver us, right?”
“Yes, darling, you are perfectly correct about that. But let’s pray in our heads so the men do not know we are in here, all right?”
Reed nodded, and she watched as he bowed his head and closed his eyes. She did the same and squeezed him even closer when she heard another thump and the crack of wood splitting. The men had made it past the door and now they were only slowed by the desk.
****
Caspian clenched his fists, letting out a deep breath. With his family below, barricaded in his cabin and Master — Captain Thompson sailing next to him, there was no possibility of harm assailing his son and wife.
He glanced across the bulwarks of his ship to see Gage commanding his crew, his shoulders thrown back in the stance of a true captain. Caspian did miss having the man as his first mate, but it would be unfair to restrain his talent from reaching its full potential.
Neptune’s Poison sailed closer every second, and rows of guns peeked out from her sides.
“Prepare the guns, men. Immediately! We will take her!” Caspian shouted.
He saw Gage’s newly acquired crew rushing to do much the same.
Moments later, Neptune’s Poison shot a cannon ball straight at the Dawn’s Mist’s hull. It was too short, however, and hit the water in front of the ship with a splash.
There was no doubt. The battle was about to begin.
Although Neptune’s Poison was undermanned, she was not under-gunned.
A bit of fear sliced down Caspian’s spine at the thought, but he forced it down. After all, as he had only realized recently, God was on his side.
A crack sounded as Gage shot at the enemy. His shot hit with a resounding bang.
The cry of pain that accompanied told Caspian it had been a flesh wound.
“Fire, men!” Caspian shouted.
After his guns were fired, he blinked his eyes against the smoke, straining to see what they had accomplished.
The main mast of Neptune’s Poison had been struck. Her main mast was cracked and leaning heavily to the side.
Another boom sounded.
“All hands down!” Caspian dropped to the deck with the rest of his crew.
The ship shook beneath him, and a feeling of dread sliced through Caspian. They had been hit and his first thought was for his wife and son.
Slowly, Caspian rose. “Are all men accounted for?”
“No, sir. Elliot was hit… he’s not responding, sir.” A man announced.
“Davis! See to Elliot. Everyo
ne else, prepare for battle. Fire the cannons again! We can’t let them get an advantage over us.”
Caspian glanced across at Gage, who was moving his ship in the opposite direction. Good. It had been their plan to surround Moore whenever they found him, even if this was not how they had planned to catch the monster.
Within minutes, after many more booming cannon shots, Gage was on the other side of Neptune’s Poison.
Caspian had expected Moore to raise his white flag of surrender.
But no. Instead, the man’s entire crew raised their weapons and roared.
What kind of fool was this man? Did he plan to split his crew and have them perform hand-to-hand combat against two different ships?
Caspian identified Moore on the main deck of Neptune’s Poison. He was wearing a purple waistcoat over his paunch of a stomach, a plumed hat on his head. His brown, straggling beard was streaked with gray.
A ruthless look was on his face just as it had been the day he had murdered Caspian’s first wife.
While he had been thinking about Moore, Neptune’s Poison approached the Dawn’s Mist until Caspian’s men were close enough to board her.
“Should we board her, Captain?” Smithy inquired with two pistols in his hands and a cutlass at his hip.
“Nay. Let’s wait to see what they will do. I want everyone to stay armed, though, and ready for battle,” Caspian replied.
Caspian’s entire crew bristled up, preparing for the imminent battle.
The moment they were close enough, the crew of Neptune’s Poison split into two groups, boarding Caspian’s and Gage’s ships at the same time.
Each group was rather small, but large enough to cause trouble.
Caspian grimaced. He hoped he would make it through this battle without losing any of his men’s lives.
A collective cry rang out as cutlass clashed against cutlass. Pistols fired.
Caspian noticed Moore wormed his way onto the Dawn’s Mist, brandishing a sword.
He could hear his blood rushing through his ears like the water that rushed against the hull of the ship.
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