"If you were told that I would be drawn to someone of your special . . . qualities, you were badly misinformed."
Dominique realized that she had approached him wrongly. "So what kind of woman do you prefer?"
Judah's eyes swept past her and out to sea. "A lady of my own choosing."
For some reason she was hurt by his harsh words. He had won this time, but she would regroup and approach him again. She had to—she had no choice.
"If you find my company so offensive, then I will take my leave of you, Captain," she said stiffly.
"Wait!" Judah stopped her. "I don't know what folly induced you to come aboard my ship, but you were told to keep to your cabin, and you will do so. Do not make me warn you again."
"And if I disobey, what are you going to do with me?" she challenged. "Have me whipped like the poor creature I heard screaming in pain last night?"
"It would be no more than you deserve," Judah said coldly. "If you were a man, there would be no question of it. I would have Cornelius lay the lash to you with no compunction. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do about you at the moment."
He took her arm firmly and escorted her to the steps leading down to her cabin. "Go below and lock yourself in. But be warned that we will be engaged in a battle by dawn tomorrow, and you may regret ever having stepped aboard my ship."
"A... a battle?"
"That's what we do, you know. If you are alarmed by that prospect, you should have considered the consequences before you sought sanctuary aboard the Tempest."
"I never thought—"
Judah held his hand up to silence her. "You have met my first mate, Cornelius. He will see to your needs. You can trust him, as well as Dr. Graham. But do not open your door to anyone else."
Dominique nodded mutely, then fled to her cabin, glad to have escaped with no more than a scolding. Once inside, she sat on the bed, her mind going over her untimely encounter with Judah Gallant.
A sea battle, he had said—they could be sunk or killed! Would this nightmarish ordeal never end? One thing was obvious: Captain Gallant did not like her. Perhaps if she had come to him as herself and begged for his help— No, that would not have mattered to him. And it was too late to feign innocence. She had already convinced him that she was a woman of questionable character.
She shivered, wondering what her fate would be if he ever discovered her plan to betray him. She must be very careful.
There was a knock on the door, and when Dominique unlocked it to admit Cornelius, he was carrying a tray of food.
"Ma'am, I thought you might be hungry. Cook made you a special dish," he said cordially.
She moved away from him, angry because the captain had implied that it was Cornelius who had beaten the poor crewmember.
"I do not want anything."
"The captain won't take kindly if you refuse to eat and make yourself ill. You'd better reconsider. I have some nice fruit for you here. At least eat that."
"Why didn't your captain have me whipped instead of the poor man who did no wrong? I was the guilty one. I made sure he did not see me come aboard."
"So you heard about that."
"Your captain treats his men no better than animals. He is a beast."
The first mate set the tray down on a chair and stood to his full height. "If you are looking for someone to blame for what happened, you might want to look to yourself. 'Twas you that stowed away and raised the captain's ire. We are in enemy waters here," he said a little more kindly when he saw her face pale. "If a man does not do his duty, it could mean death to us all."
"I do not understand why he should be punished so severely," Dominique said, only slightly mollified.
"Then you know nothing of the laws of the sea, Ma'am. Here on board the Tempest, the captain is master. His word is law, and if any break those laws, they pay the consequences."
"Why did he not have me whipped?"
"Suppose you ask the captain." Cornelius picked up the chair with the tray and moved it toward her. "Now, why don't you be a good lass and eat. It may be a long time before we get close enough to land to put you ashore. You could get a mite hungry before then."
Dominique nodded, more to placate him than from any need of sustenance at the moment.
He nodded his head in approval, then left. Dominique went to the door and turned the key, wondering if she would be safe even with the locked door between her and the nest of pirates.
Restlessly, she moved to the porthole and stared out at the serene white clouds that floated in a bright blue sky. Who would have guessed that she would ever be aboard a pirate ship, and at the mercy of a madman like Judah Gallant?
9
Judah stared at the distant ship that was no larger than a dot on the horizon. He tossed his eyeglass to Cornelius, who stood beside him on the quarterdeck. "Tell me what you make of her."
Cornelius squinted into the eyeglass, surveying the ship carefully. "It's hard to tell from here, Captain. But I'm betting she's French."
"Lower the sails and turn into the wind. We will allow her to gain on us."
"Aye, Captain," Cornelius replied, calling out an order below. Men sprang into action and excitement ran high as they sensed a battle in the offing.
Time passed, and by late afternoon, the frigate was within sight and it was easy to see the French flag waving atop her mast.
"Run up a French flag," Judah ordered his first mate, "and have half the men dress in French uniforms and the other half remain out of sight for the time being. Also, have fifteen casks of wine brought up from the hold so they can be transferred to the French ship. Make certain the wine is some that we commandeered from a French vessel."
Cornelius grinned, reading Judah's mind. "Aye, Captain."
Dominique stood on tiptoe and looked out the porthole, staring in stark surprise at what she saw: a French ship bearing down on them. This must be the battle Captain Gallant had predicted. She squeezed her eyes tightly, waiting for the sound of cannon shot, but it never came. Soon the ship had sailed out of her view, but she knew it had not gone away. Why had Captain Gallant let it pass unchallenged?
Mystified, she crept out of the cabin and climbed carefully up the steps to the deck. Dominique was shocked when she saw a number of the Tempest crew wearing French uniforms.
She raised her eyes to the quarterdeck and saw that Captain Gallant was also wearing a French naval uniform. To her surprise, he was shouting across to the other ship, speaking flawless French.
She listened in stunned silence.
"Captain du Plissis, of the good ship Bonheur, I have long heard of your daring exploits," Judah called out amiably. "It is a pleasure to meet you at last."
The captain of the Bonheur was obviously flattered. "I am sorry I have never heard of you, Captain. But I have been battling Nelson, the English dog. Alas, I have not seen home waters for these last two years."
"Then allow me to offer you some wine from my private stock," Judah told him. "Perhaps it will help make you less lonely since it comes from our own Auvergne Valley. I will include enough for all your crew."
"Why, thank you. I am most grateful to you for your kindness, and I accept your gift gladly."
Dominique hugged the shadows, listening to the conversation between the two captains. She had only to call out and warn the French that this was a pirate ship and that they were in danger. But she would say nothing that would jeopardize her own mission.
She rushed back to her cabin, feeling physically sick. With a groan, she lay her head back on the bunk. What had she come to?
Hours later, sleep still eluded Dominique. She could hear the drunken laughter coming from the French ship. Even though she did not like Napoleon, she felt pity for the French sailors all the same. They were unsuspecting—that a viper waited to strike.
It was just after midnight that the captain and crew of the Tempest went over the sides of their own ship and easily boarded the Bonheur and overcame her drunken crew.
No
shot was fired, and soon the drunken captain and his officers were locked in the brig, while a crew from the Tempest was placed at the helm to take their prize to a safe port and deliver it into American hands.
Judah removed the offensive French coat and tossed it aside. It did not sit well with him to trick a fellow officer, even if he was the enemy. He would much rather meet his foe in open combat.
There was a rap on his door and, thinking it was Cornelius, Judah invited him to enter, while he unbuckled his belt and stripped his shirt over his head.
"I know what you are going to say, Cornelius, and I agree with you. I do not like pretending to be a friend and then taking prisoners. But lives were saved tonight, those of my men as well as the French—"
He broke off when he saw Dominique standing just inside the door, her face flushed, her eyes cast downward. He pulled his shirt back in place, his face a mask.
It had taken all Dominique's courage to come to him, and even now she wanted to flee, but she stood her ground, unwilling to allow him to intimidate her.
"I thought I told you to remain in your cabin," Judah said sternly.
She raised the most dazzling turquoise eyes to him, and he was immediately struck, by her beauty. He had not really seen her as a woman until now.
"Captain," she said softly, "please do not chastise me. 1 had to come because I am troubled."
He noticed that she looked pale. "What is bothering you?"
"I need to know what has happened to the French ship and crew. Did you sink the ship and slay all the men?" Her eyes were round with horror as she waited for his answer.
"If you must know," Judah replied in irritation, "the Bonheur is headed for friendlier waters, her unharmed crew with her. They will suffer no more than the effects from drinking too much wine when they awake in the morning—and perhaps hurt pride at being so easily taken."
"Then they were not harmed?"
"Ah, I see. Cornelius told me that your father was French, so I suppose you feel a kinship with those men. Are you an admirer of Bonaparte, as well?"
Dominique gave him a haughty look. "Do not imagine that just because I am half French, I believe in Napoleon Bonaparte. I can assure you that I do not. My family has suffered greatly at his hands."
Judah smiled sardonically. "So, what does a woman like you believe in?"
Dominique had forgotten for a moment that she was playing a role, and almost blurted out that she believed in honorable men like her grandfather and her brother.
Catching herself, she forced a smile and pushed her tumbled hair out of her face, while allowing her blouse to slip off her shoulder in a deliberate move to be provocative.
"I believe in making men happy, Captain."
He stared at her reflectively. "Unfortunately, you can't do anything for me. I don't know what happiness is."
She felt drawn to him. There was something about Judah Gallant that reached inside of her and pulled at her heart. This was not supposed to happen, not with a pirate—a man with no honor.
"I could try to bring you happiness," she suggested, not knowing how she could accomplish such a feat.
Judah was trying to separate the seductress from the innocence he had seen in her earlier. "Cornelius told me your name, but I have forgotten it."
"I am Dominique Charbonneau," she answered, walking toward him purposely, even though each step was forced. "If you have not found happiness, then you have not been looking in the right places." Her voice was breathy, more from embarrassment than by design. "I could please you, for a day, a week ... or perhaps even longer."
Judah startled her when he eased his hand about the back of her neck and brought her face into the lantern light as he searched each feature.
Dominique trembled, wanting to pull away, to run, but she merely smiled.
"I believe, lovely one, that you could please most men, but I am destined for a life of hell. You cannot help me. No one can."
She stared into clear blue eyes that were filled with— what? sadness? What had happened to him to make him so melancholy? Suddenly she felt like taking his dark head and laying it against her shoulder to comfort him.
"Perhaps you do not want to be helped, Captain. Has some woman wounded you so deeply that you close your heart to all others?"
In that instant, the blue of his eyes deepened and his hand slid from her neck to cup her face.
"My Lady Siren I shall call you, because you came to me from out of the sea to tempt me." He stared at her. "I never saw eyes like yours. They are the color of the turquoise waters of the Caribbean." He smiled slightly and it took her breath away.
Dominique was more afraid of him in his gentleness than when he had been insulting and cruel.
"Perhaps you are a mermaid," Judah continued, "come to enchant man, or perhaps you truly are a siren who lures men to their doom." He shrugged. "If that be so, a man would die happy indeed in your embrace."
She did not see it coming—she should have. His lips descended, and he ground his mouth against hers punishingly.
In a panic, Dominique twisted and pushed against him, trying to get free from him, but he held her fast. She felt her head swimming and her heart beating rapidly. She had never been kissed with such passion. With a suddenness that caused her almost to lose her balance, he released her and stepped back.
He pulled her blouse back on her shoulder and smiled regretfully. "Run along, Dominique Charbonneau, before I oblige you and take what you offer."
She did indeed want to run away. The glimpse of his unleashed passion frightened her. Taking a big gulp of air, she faced him bravely. Her voice trembled with emotion. "Suppose I want to stay on the Tempest! Suppose I want to be with you?"
"Then you are a fool," he said scathingly. "There is nothing for you here. I am a man with no heart and no conscience. Run away while you still can, little girl, lest you live to rue this day."
Now Dominique did run. She fled as fast as her legs could carry her. She raced across the deck, and down the steps, then yanked open the door to her cabin and locked herself inside. It took a moment before she could stop the quaking of her body.
The disquiet in her mind was another matter altogether.
How would she ever entrap the captain? He did not seem to want her. He had only been toying with her.
Even her fear for her brother and grandfather was not strong enough to prevail over the fear she felt for Captain Judah Gallant at the moment.
Judah's thoughts were of Dominique. She would most probably be a pleasant diversion, but he had neither the time nor the inclination to learn more about her. All he wanted was to have her off his ship, but that would not be possible just yet. He had a mission to accomplish and that must come before anything else.
Still, he could not help thinking that she was a rare beauty.
10
Dominique tossed upon her narrow bed as restless sleep caught her in its grip. There was a strange fever in her blood and a longing in her breasts that she did not understand as the face of Judah Gallant haunted her dreams.
"No," she groaned. "Go away, I do not want you. Leave me alone."
The ship's bell woke her and she noticed it was still dark. Why was she so hot? She kicked off the covers and tried to rise, but fell back trembling. Groaning, she wished her head would stop hurting. And why was the ship pitching and rolling?
Dominique did not know how much time had passed, or how long she had been confined to her bunk. She heard voices, but what they said was a jumble to her.
"I found her this way, Captain," Cornelius said. "When she didn't answer the door, I knew something was wrong, so I used my key."
She felt cool hands on her forehead, and someone was forcing her mouth open.
"She is not infected with any contagious illness," the doctor told Judah. "I suspect hers is nothing but a mild ailment, no doubt brought on by her swim to the ship. I will start her on a treatment that should have her up and about in no time."
"Stay with her until
she is improved, Ethan," Judah said, concerned by how pale she looked. "As it is, I will have difficulty convincing the men that she hasn't brought some dread disease on board."
Judah left abruptly, and when he reached the upper deck, as he suspected, most of the crew had already gathered there and were mumbling among themselves.
"I have just left the woman," Judah told them. "She is only mildly ill and Dr. Graham has assured me she is not contagious."
"We don't want no woman on this ship," one of the men complained, drawing nods of agreement from the others.
"Cast her adrift," another chimed in. "Women bring nothing but bad luck on a ship—they're marked for trouble. We'll most likely all die from whatever it is she's brought aboard."
"Hear me," Judah said, raising his voice and speaking with authority. "Have I not always been honest with you? Would I not be the first to tell you if the woman posed a danger to either this ship or crew? Is there anyone here who doubts my word?"
The men looked at each other and talked among themselves, now satisfied that what the captain had told them was true.
Tom Beeton, however, still held a grudge against the woman and wanted to see her punished. He spoke up, his voice filled with hostility. "I done took me a beating 'cause of that woman. She's nothing but trouble, and I say she goes before she causes any further harm."
Judah's eyes moved over Tom with such intensity that, although he was not a coward, he cringed. "Who are you," Judah said at last, "that you think you can give commands aboard my ship?"
"None of us like the woman being here, Cap'n," someone spoke up in Tom's defense.
"Who among you blame this woman instead of Tom? Was it not his carelessness that allowed her on board in the first place? If any one of you had been so remiss on your watch, don't you think Tom would want to see you punished?"
There was a nod of heads. "Ye be right enough, Cap'n," one of the men agreed. "Still, that don't change the truth that women are poison on a ship."
"On that I will agree," Judah said. "But I will not put a helpless woman to sea on her own. If there is any among you who is willing to send her to certain death, step forward."
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