scheduled.”
“Aye, sir.” Cox made his way back down the ladder and Ethan thought about tomorrow’s rendezvous.
He had agreed to a final mission for the British government. For years, there had been concern about the strength of Napoleon’s naval forces, but lately that concern had in creased. The military believed the Little Corporal was amassing an even larger armada and that once the ships were completed, the fleet would be used to invade English shores.
It was Ethan’s job to prowl the coast, to search for information until he could discover the truth of the matter, one way or another.
He glanced toward the coastline, saw tiny lights flickering in the windows of the distant town of Odds Landing, and thought of Grace Chastain. For the second night in a row, he would sleep in his first mate’s cabin. Heimagined the purchases he would make on the morrow and the concession he intended to receive in return for them, and vowed it would be the last night he spent in a bed other than his own.
“I want to go with you.” Grace faced the captain as he collected his things and prepared to leave the ship. “I can’t stand another day confined to this cabin.”
He glanced her way. “You would prefer a prison cell, perhaps?”
She blanched but pulled herself together and held her ground. “I need some sort of exercise. I am unused to this kind of confinement.”
“I thought most women preferred to stay in out of the sun.”
“Yes, well, I am not most women.”
One of his black eyebrows went up. “That is more than clear.”
Grace ignored the note of sarcasm. “If I promise not to try to escape, will you let me go with you?”
He scoffed. “How much is the promise of a traitor worth?”
Her heart started pounding. “A traitor? That is what you think? That I am a traitor?” Dear God, she had never considered her crime would result in such a charge! For God’s sake, they hung traitors! As Grace knew only too well.
The captain frowned. “Your face has gone pale. You did not realize that helping a traitor escape might lead you, yourself, to be viewed as a traitor?”
She swallowed, shook her head. “No, I… He was…” She couldn’t tell him that Harmon Jeffries was her father, the man who had sired her, but not the one who had raised her. The viscount, her biological father, had a wifeand children, and there was her mother and her husband to consider. The scandal would be unbearable for all of them. She had vowed to keep the secret to her grave and she intended to abide by her word.
“He was a friend,” she said. “I couldn’t stand by and let him hang.”
She couldn’t miss the hint of disdain. “He must have been a close friend, indeed, for you to take such a risk.”
For the first time it occurred to her that she had just admitted her crime. Dear God, what had she been thinking? Ethan Sharpe was hardly a man to trust.
She walked toward the row of windows above the bed, trying to calm her fears. The ship was anchored some distance offshore. She could see the tiny village on the hillside above the cove. “I should still like to come along. I am desperate for a little fresh air and a chance to stretch my legs.”
“I can’t take the risk. But I’ll tell you what I’ll do. From now on, at least once a day, I’ll take you up on deck. Will that make you happy?”
She hadn’t really expected him to let her go ashore, not after the trouble he had gone to in order to get her aboard in the first place. She should be happy for the concession. “I suppose that is better than nothing.”
He finished loading his gear and left the cabin, and Grace looked back out the window. A handful of crewmen settled aboard a pair of wooden dinghies and began to row for shore, undoubtedly to refill the ship’s larders. The captain sat in the stern of one of the boats and Grace wished again that she could have gone with them.
Still, the fact that the ship was stopping gave her hope. Sea Devil had
“Aye, sir.” Cox made his way back down the ladder and Ethan thought about tomorrow’s rendezvous.
He had agreed to a final mission for the British government. For years, there had been concern about the strength of Napoleon’s naval forces, but lately that concern had in creased. The military believed the Little Corporal was amassing an even larger armada and that once the ships were completed, the fleet would be used to invade English shores.
It was Ethan’s job to prowl the coast, to search for information until he could discover the truth of the matter, one way or another.
He glanced toward the coastline, saw tiny lights flickering in the windows of the distant town of Odds Landing, and thought of Grace Chastain. For the second night in a row, he would sleep in his first mate’s cabin. Heimagined the purchases he would make on the morrow and the concession he intended to receive in return for them, and vowed it would be the last night he spent in a bed other than his own.
“I want to go with you.” Grace faced the captain as he collected his things and prepared to leave the ship. “I can’t stand another day confined to this cabin.”
He glanced her way. “You would prefer a prison cell, perhaps?”
She blanched but pulled herself together and held her ground. “I need some sort of exercise. I am unused to this kind of confinement.”
“I thought most women preferred to stay in out of the sun.”
“Yes, well, I am not most women.”
One of his black eyebrows went up. “That is more than clear.”
Grace ignored the note of sarcasm. “If I promise not to try to escape, will you let me go with you?”
He scoffed. “How much is the promise of a traitor worth?”
Her heart started pounding. “A traitor? That is what you think? That I am a traitor?” Dear God, she had never considered her crime would result in such a charge! For God’s sake, they hung traitors! As Grace knew only too well.
The captain frowned. “Your face has gone pale. You did not realize that helping a traitor escape might lead you, yourself, to be viewed as a traitor?”
She swallowed, shook her head. “No, I… He was…” She couldn’t tell him that Harmon Jeffries was her father, the man who had sired her, but not the one who had raised her. The viscount, her biological father, had a wifeand children, and there was her mother and her husband to consider. The scandal would be unbearable for all of them. She had vowed to keep the secret to her grave and she intended to abide by her word.
“He was a friend,” she said. “I couldn’t stand by and let him hang.”
She couldn’t miss the hint of disdain. “He must have been a close friend, indeed, for you to take such a risk.”
For the first time it occurred to her that she had just admitted her crime. Dear God, what had she been thinking? Ethan Sharpe was hardly a man to trust.
She walked toward the row of windows above the bed, trying to calm her fears. The ship was anchored some distance offshore. She could see the tiny village on the hillside above the cove. “I should still like to come along. I am desperate for a little fresh air and a chance to stretch my legs.”
“I can’t take the risk. But I’ll tell you what I’ll do. From now on, at least once a day, I’ll take you up on deck. Will that make you happy?”
She hadn’t really expected him to let her go ashore, not after the trouble he had gone to in order to get her aboard in the first place. She should be happy for the concession. “I suppose that is better than nothing.”
He finished loading his gear and left the cabin, and Grace looked back out the window. A handful of crewmen settled aboard a pair of wooden dinghies and began to row for shore, undoubtedly to refill the ship’s larders. The captain sat in the stern of one of the boats and Grace wished again that she could have gone with them.
Still, the fact that the ship was stopping gave her hope. Sea Devil had
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