Fire and Ice

by Hart, Catherine

  She stared at his hand, ignoring the pain, then raised narrowed cat eyes at his. Her voice was even, but filled with loathing. “Take your filthy hands off me.”

  “When I’m ready.”

  “Now.”

  “No.”

  “I despise you, you barbaric brute!”

  “I realize that, and it doesn’t really matter.”

  “It does to me, you fiend, you moronic lunatic! Your heart is as black as the devil’s—if you have one! You’re a monster, a snake, a cad, a cur, a swine, and a viper!”

  “You are the one who has the tongue of a viper, and it is high time we cured that,” he said as he started pulling her across the room. His jaw was set at a determinedly angry angle.

  “Let go of me, you damned beast! You lousy Yankee, you paltry pirate, you ...” her voice trailed off as she saw him reach for a bar of soap on the washstand. Then she shrieked, “You wouldn’t dare!”

  “Hah!”

  She fought to pull loose, but his grip was like iron.

  Finally he maneuvered both arms behind her back, and pulled her back across one brawny arm. “You've been asking for this for a long time now. Hasn’t anyone ever told you ladies do not say such words, especially to their husbands? I’m getting tired of that nasty, dirty little mouth of yours. It’s time we cleaned up your vocabulary!”

  He dunked the soap into the bowl of water and brought it to her mouth. Kathleen clamped her lips shut and tried to turn her head away. She squirmed and kicked, but he caught her chin and held it firmly as he wedged the soap between her teeth and rubbed vigorously.

  Kathleen’s eyes smarted and her tongue burned. It felt as if he had shoved the entire bar all the way to her tonsils, and she struggled not to swallow. Finally he took the soap away, and grabbing a towel, wiped her mouth and chin. Then, before she could recover, he carried her to the bed. There he sat down, tossed her across his lap, and flung up her skirts.

  Guessing what was coming, she squirmed, desperate to escape his hold. He yanked down the lacy underdrawers. Kathleen drew in her breath and waited for the first blow. When it didn’t come, she let out her breath, and then the blow came down hard.

  “Yeouch!” she yelped involuntarily. He didn’t let her catch her breath, but kept spanking, smack after resounding smack.

  “Stop it, Reed! Stop!” she panted between swats.

  “Are you ready to apologize and behave properly?”

  “No!”

  Another smart slap, followed by a twin. “Let me know when you are ready and I’ll stop, but not until then,” he advised.

  A few more hurtful swats and her backside felt on fire. It hurt dreadfully. Finally, in tears of defeat, she cried, “All right, enough!”

  He stopped swinging momentarily. “Did you say something?”

  “I apologize,” she said in a tiny voice.

  “I beg your pardon, but I didn’t quite catch that,” he taunted.

  “I said I’m sorry,” she repeated more loudly.

  “That’s half of it,” he prodded.

  “You’ve got to have it all, don’t you?” she cried out resentfully.

  He delivered three more swift, painful smacks in succession.

  “I’ll behave!” she yelped with a sob.

  “Oh, but you’ve taken so long to say so that I can scarcely believe you, my love. You’ll have to be more convincing.”

  “What more can I say? What more do you want?” she sobbed.

  “Let’s see,” he mused. “Say, ‘I shall obey my husband.’ That should do it.”

  “Reed, really!”

  “I’m waiting.”

  “I shall obey my husband,” she muttered through clenched teeth.

  “You don’t sound very meek, Kat. Try it once more.”

  She groaned aloud. Then with a small sigh she repeated quietly, but audibly, “I shall obey my husband.”

  He let her go then and she tumbled to the floor at his feet. She caught the edge of her skirt and scrubbed vigorously at her soap-filled mouth, eyeing him balefully. How maddening to see him sitting there, arms crossed over his chest, smiling like the cat that ate the cream!

  “I despise you!”

  “That is your privilege.”

  “I didn’t know I had any left!” she retorted spitefully.

  “A few,” came the calm reply. “Now I hope you have a clear picture of the way things stand and what I expect of you. I regret having to resort to these measures, Kathleen, but you seem to have no respect for me, and I can’t have that, you know. A man has the right to be master in his own home.”

  “Who died and made you king?” she muttered half under her breath.

  He heard her and smiled broadly, his white teeth flashing. “My father did, sugar, when he left me Chimera.”

  An hour later he was packed and gone. Kathleen took the carriage to Kate’s.

  “Why didn’t ye ride Zeus?” Kate asked.

  “Don’t ask. You don’t want to know.” Kathleen followed Kate into the house and seated herself gingerly on a chair.

  “My stars, lass! What’s wrong? Did ye hurt yerself?”

  “Mostly my pride, Kate.”

  “From here it appears to be yer posterior.”

  “That, too.”

  “How are ye goin’ to get to yer ship, gal? Ye can’t sit a horse, can ye?”

  “I’ll have to I suppose, but it won’t be comfortable.”

  “I’ll tell ye what. Get yer things together and I’ll take ye in the carriage. No one will think anything of two ladies out fer a breath of fresh air. ”

  “But you’ll have to drive back alone.”

  “So? I may be old, but I’m not dead! I’ll be back in time for dinner and no one the wiser. Besides, ’twill give ye time to tell me why ye seat yerself with such care.”

  Kathleen spent the remainder of the month at sea, pirating Reed with a vengeance. She attacked him at every turn, soundly defeating him each time. She wielded her blade with a righteous fury that astounded even herself.

  The first three days at sea, every time she sat down she was reminded of her humiliation, and each time she faced him on deck she extracted her ounce of flesh in payment.

  Finally, the hold full to bursting, they headed back. Kathleen was tired and dirty, her hair sticky with spindrift. Her fury spent, she longed for a hot bath and a rest before Reed crossed the threshold of Chimera.

  They had just turned north toward Savannah when Kathleen awoke one morning feeling dreadfully nauseous. She barely made it to the chamber pot in time, and when young Timmy brought her breakfast tray, the smell of gravy and biscuits promptly sent her stomach into revolt again.

  Finally arriving on deck pale and shaken, she cornered Dan. “Tell the cook to have a care about the fish, Dan. It must have been tainted last night.”

  Dan eyed her critically. “Aye, Cap’n. Hope ye don’t take offense, but ye’re as green as a landlubber first time afloat.”

  “Kindly keep your droll observations to yourself and do as you’re ordered,” she grumped. “Better check and see if any of the others feel poorly.”

  The next morning was a repeat of the one previous, with Kathleen barely able to keep down a dry biscuit and a cup of coffee. She checked with Dan and he assured her he had found no one else who was suffering mal de mer, and the cook was sure all his supplies were still fresh.

  By early afternoon she felt fit, and when a loose canvas on one of the masts was discovered, she climbed up to repair it herself. The day was bright and clear, and the sea calm beneath a fair breeze. Kathleen had cut away the frayed section of line and replaced it with fresh. All she had left to do was secure it to the yard, when suddenly a wave of dizziness washed over her, nearly causing her to fall from her precarious perch. She gasped and clutched tightly to the spar. Beads of perspiration popped out on her face and arms, and she closed her eyes against the gray curtain that threatened to engulf her. It seemed her fingers had gone numb, and the voices of the men below seeme
d to ebb and flow, first loud, then far away. Her knees had turned to water and it took all her willpower to keep them from folding under her. Forcing her mind to cling to conscious thought, she realized almost belatedly that she was holding her breath. Purposefully she began to breathe deeply and evenly, all the while praying she could hold on until the faintness passed.

  “Oh, God!” her mind screamed. “I’ve got to hold on! If I pass out. I’ll fall to my death! I’m too far up to even hope to survive a fall to the deck!”

  An eternity seemed to pass before her stomach stopped quivering and her breath came more evenly. The fogginess behind her closed eyes slowly receded, and she sensed her equilibrium restoring itself. After a few more minutes Kathleen finally dared open her eyes cautiously. Her stomach lurched dreadfully and she snapped them closed again and waited. At long last she could open her eyes and not feel as if the ship were rolling in a gale. She stood quietly, not daring to move yet, and finally, when she felt her legs would hold her, she inched her way down the mast.

  Never had she been more grateful to feel the solid deck beneath her feet. She stood for a few seconds clutching the mast as her breath came in great gulps that sounded oddly like sobs. When she gained sufficient control of herself, she walked wobbily to the wheel where Finley stood eyeing her worriedly. Luckily, no one else seemed to have noticed her strange behavior.

  “Blast it, Finley! I haven’t just grown three heads! You needn’t look at me that way,” she reprimanded shakily.

  “Aye, Cap’n,” he answered in a patient yet perplexed voice.

  “I’m going below. Have one of the men climb up there and finish tying off that line, and send Dan to my quarters for further orders.” She turned and started to walk away.

  “Right away, Cap’n.”

  “Have someone else spell you at the wheel later if you need,” she added, “and there’s no need to go blabbing everything you know, or don’t know.”

  “I didn’t see anything unusual and I know even less, Cap’n. I know when to keep my mouth shut,” he assured her.

  She nodded her approval and left him wondering to himself.

  “I must be coming down with something, Dan,” she said later. “Don’t say anything to the crew, but keep an eye peeled for anyone who seems sick. I’ll stay in my cabin so if I’m contagious maybe it won’t spread. Tell Timmy to leave my meals outside the door. Just say I’m not to be disturbed, and until we know what’s wrong I’ll give you all the orders to pass along. Don’t come in. I’ll talk to you through the door.”

  Two days passed and Dan reported all hands still healthy. Each morning Kathleen arose nauseated, but by late morning or early afternoon she was fine. She found if she ordered dry biscuits and tea for breakfast, she could get her stomach to settle itself sufficiently that she could avoid running for the chamber pot. It helped too, if she eased herself into her daily activities instead of her usual headlong rush. Still, the smell of fried bacon, fish, or strong cheese made her stomach immediately queasy.

  By the third day of her self-enforced quarantine, Kathleen had finally convinced herself that her illness was minor, and probably nothing more than nerves and fatigue, since she seemed to require more sleep than normal. It was Dan, who came for the day’s orders, who finally opened her eyes.

  “Beggin’ yer pardon, Cap’n K, but have ye considered, uh . . .” He stopped.

  “Considered what, Dan?”

  “Well, lass, it bein’ none o’ me business and all, I don’t know quite how to ask ye, but ...”

  “Will you just say what you have to say and get on with it.”

  “Maybe ye’re not sick at all, Cap’n.”

  “Are you saying it is all in my head, Dan?”

  “Nay, lass, but maybe ’tis a natural thing. Could be ye’re . . .” the poor man’s voice trailed off again on the other side of the door.

  “I’m what, Dan? Daft maybe?” Kathleen’s temper was rising.

  Dan straightened his shoulders, took a deep breath, and blurted, “What I mean to say is, when was yer last woman’s time? Ye could be with child agin.”

  The silence from Kathleen’s cabin was long and ominous, and Dan almost wished he’d kept his thoughts to himself.

  Kathleen felt the blood drain from her face. She clutched at the back of her chair and eased herself into it. Could it be? Mentally she calculated, and suddenly all her symptoms fit, even her tender breasts. She was about six weeks pregnant, if she figured right. Just about the time she and Reed had admitted they were married and started sharing their bed nightly.

  “Oh, damn that randy, rutting beast!” she swore silently, and then had to admit she had enjoyed it every bit as much as he.

  “A baby.” She breathed in wonder, and her hands went automatically to cover her stomach. Tenderness for her unborn child welled up in her, causing tears to blur her vision. “Oh, baby, how I will love you!” she thought dreamily. Then rational thought took over with a jolt.

  “Child, while I long for you, and I know it isn’t your fault, your timing isn’t quite right,” Kathleen sighed. She was so near to her goal. Before long, Reed would be forced to sell the Kat-Ann, but also before long her condition would start showing itself. In the time left to her, could she accomplish her task?

  Kathleen squared her shoulders and unconsciously threw up her chin. “I’ll have to,” she decided. “I’ll just have to hit him harder and make the time count. I’m so close! I can’t quit now.”

  She rose and started pacing as her mind worked furiously. “I suppose Dan must know, since he’s already guessed as much, and perhaps Finley in case something happens, but the rest of the crew must not find out. I’m sure they would refuse to serve under me if they knew.”

  Kathleen giggled silently as the ludicrous thought crossed her mind. “Who has ever heard of a pregnant pirate!” The vision of herself in her brief pirating costume, rapier in hand and stomach protruding, made her wince even as she laughed.

  “And Reed must not find out, at least not now.” Therefore she must hide it from everyone except perhaps Kate.

  “How I wish Eleanore was still here!”

  Kathleen had completely forgotten poor Dan until he called out nervously, “Cap’n?”

  She strode to the door and jerked it open. “Come in, Dan, and close the door. We’ve a few things to discuss and plans to make.”

  As she had planned, Kathleen spent a few days with Kate. It helped her to have something different to occupy her mind and time as she attempted to learn the fundamentals of horse breeding. At times, though, she found her mind drawing ironic parallels to her own situation.

  Kate was appalled that Kathleen meant to continue her raid on Reed. “ ’Tis too dangerous, lass. Supposin’ ye’re caught, or killed, or wounded? Do ye want to lose this child, too?”

  “I want the child, Kate. I want it desperately. It broke my heart to lose the last one, but I’m so close to breaking him! I can’t stop now. All I can do is try to be careful. I wouldn’t hurt this baby for the world. You must know that. A month and a half, two at the most, and it will be over with. Then I can rest easy. Then I’ll hang up my sword and retire to Chimera and try to put up with all the boredom and Reed’s tantrums and everything that goes with it. I promise.”

  Having finally wormed a reluctant promise out of Kate not to reveal her latest secret, Kathleen went home to Chimera. She needed a little time to herself to sort out her thoughts and her feelings before Reed arrived. After their latest encounter, which she recalled with a grimace, she wasn’t sure what mood he would arrive in. He would be in a fit over his losses to his piratess she was sure, but could not determine how he would react to his wife.

  “He’ll probably expect me to be very contrite!” she fumed, recalling how he had soaped her mouth and then spanked her.

  She didn’t have much time to wonder. Reed returned the next morning at breakfast. Kathleen was sitting alone on the veranda munching her dry toast and reading the paper. She jumped as she sudd
enly felt his warm lips on the nape of her neck.

  “Good morning, Mrs. Taylor.” He laughed as she whirled about to face him.

  “Land sakes, Reed!” she gasped. “Do you have to sneak up on a person? You are as quiet as a blamed cat!”

  “And you are as jumpy as one,” he countered with a grin. He seated himself at the small table. “Pour me a cup of coffee, will you pet?”

  As she did so, she noticed the tiredness in his face. “Would you like me to order up some breakfast for you or have you already had yours?”

  “Coffee is fine. I ate earlier. You could have Milly fill a tub for me, though.”

  “How was your trip, or dare I ask?”

  “It was lousy, thanks, and I don’t care to discuss it.”

  “Fine.”

  “What have you been doing while I was away? Mother says you haven’t been to town at all.”

  “Oh, you stopped in at Barbara’s then?”

  “Just for a minute. I thought you might be there.”

  “No. I spent most of my time at Kate’s. She is determined to teach me horse breeding. In fact, I’ve left Zeus there. She wants to try putting him in with one of the mares and see what happens.” The thought made the color rise in Kathleen’s face.

  Reed grinned wryly. “You look very lovely when you blush like that, Kat.”

  “Do hush up, Reed,” she whispered as she colored even more.

  “Speaking of breeding,” he went on as he caught her eye, “why don’t you come up and scrub my back, and we’ll see how we can do?” He grinned rakishly, his blue eyes alight with deviltry.

  “Oh, dear!” she thought. “We do too well! If only you knew!”

  Both Kathleen and Reed seemed determined to ignore their last spat and go on as if nothing had happened. She did, however, make an extra effort to curb her temper. She had said nothing to Reed about the Sweetheart’s Ball to be held Valentine’s Day, and was surprised when he insisted they go.

  “I’d really rather not, Reed,” she told him over dinner. He cocked one black brow at her quizzically. “Why not? You’ve been hiding away out here long enough. Is the social butterfly suddenly content to be a country mouse? I can scarce believe it after all your protests to the contrary.”