Close to the Wind Page 8

  Georgiana’s voice was very small as she asked, ‘Was he very angry?’

  ‘Didn’t say much to begin with. Just stared down at you and muttered something about being a very fine actor indeed – but not in an admiring way, you ken.’

  Georgiana nodded dolefully. Yes, she kenned all right. She knew very well the captain’s views about having a woman aboard.

  A smile stole over Alec’s grim features. ‘Then he swore in Spanish – it was particularly colourful, you might say.’ His tone was appreciative.

  Georgiana winced. ‘Then what?’

  Alec shrugged. ‘Nothing. Told me to keep you in my cabin and he went away again to sort Sally out. She took a right hammering. Kept the crew busy for hours. He swung back at midnight but you were still out and he was the walking dead by that stage.’

  For a second Georgiana closed her eyes, wishing she was dead herself. ‘What’ll happen, Alec?’

  ‘I don’t know, lass, I really don’t. The men could go wild if they hear there is a woman aboard, not just because—’ here he coughed, reddened then went on. ‘Well, they’re a superstitious bunch, you know, and a woman aboard is terrible bad luck. You could get blamed for that man o’ war and storm.’

  ‘But I never—’ she protested.

  ‘I know, I know. I’m not saying that they would, but they might,’ Alec shook his head. ‘But if I were you, it would be explaining to the captain that I’d be worrying about. He’s terrible put out about it and no wonder.’ Then seeing her face, he seemed to relent. ‘Best eat this porridge up, girl. You’ll need something to strengthen you. The captain’ll be awake before long. I’ll go now and see how he’s faring this morning.’

  Harry was pulling himself out of his heavy sleep with an effort when he heard a tap on his door. He swung his legs over his bunk and sat there for a second, arms braced either side of his body, regrouping his strength.

  ‘Come in.’

  His voice was hoarse from hours of shouting over the storm. As Alec entered his cabin, Harry shook his head to chase away his fogging exhaustion before pushing himself onto his feet, where he swayed for a second. Then he saw Alec holding out a cup of coffee.

  ‘Now there’s a welcome sight,’ he said with a grateful smile. ‘I need something to get me going this morning, Alec. How are things up top?’

  ‘Right as rain, Captain. No sign of Her Majesty’s ships nor nothing.’ Alec handed him the cup. ‘She’s awake now.’

  ‘What?’ For a minute Harry was quite blank but then he remembered and closed his eyes. ‘Oh God! What am I to do with her?’

  ‘Talking to her would be a start.’

  Harry grimaced. ‘And that’s just one reason why I don’t have females on board. Starting the day with a talk! I don’t know if I’ve got the stomach for it at this hour of the day.’

  ‘Don’t know that she’s much relishing the prospect either,’ Alec said with a glimmer of one of his rare, grim smiles.

  Georgiana was alarmed when Alec returned to say the captain would be along in a few minutes. She struggled up into a sitting position and the world swam.

  ‘Easy girl,’ said Alec, catching her under the elbow. ‘Best lie back.’

  Fighting nausea, Georgiana shook her head. ‘I will face him standing.’

  Alec shook his own head at her stubbornness but helped her to her feet. He was awkward around her now and she wished he would go back to his gruff, bossy self.

  ‘I truly am sorry, Alec. I didn’t mean to cause trouble.’

  He cleared his throat. ‘But you have, all the same.’ He shot her a look under beetling eyebrows and added in his dour way, ‘George was all right, you know. Pity he turned out to be a pesky girl.’

  Just as she laughed wanly, Harry arrived at the cabin door. It was clear the captain’s temper was under close rein as he paused in the doorway. Alec glanced from the captain to Georgiana.

  ‘Well, I’ll be leaving the two of you to it, then.’

  Georgiana tried not to feel abandoned, but there was silence for a minute after his departure. She was shaky, but keelhauling wouldn’t have dragged an admission of such weakness from her. While she had been waiting for Alec’s return she had been thinking. Until she knew what had taken place between Harry and Lord Iver, she had to be very careful.

  ‘Ma’am,’ said Harry, indicating a stool, ‘would you please take a seat.’

  His tone was polite but icy. Georgiana’s heart sank. She had never seen the captain look so forbidding. ‘I’m fine standing, Captain.’

  ‘Nevertheless, I insist.’

  ‘Nevertheless, I wouldn’t dream of sitting down in front of my captain.’

  ‘Oh for God’s sake, George,’ snapped Harry, descending rapidly from the lofty to the irate. ‘Sit! You’re swaying as it is and I won’t have you fainting on me.’

  She sat down and though her heart was hammering, she felt relief that his cold demeanour had shattered so quickly. For a minute he towered over her, then seemed to realise for he perched on the berth and spoke in a slightly less forbidding manner. ‘Let’s start with the basics. What is your name?’

  ‘Georgiana da Silva.’

  ‘So, the Spanish father is true?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘The circus?’

  ‘Yes – everything I told you was true.’

  He laughed, but there was no humour in it. ‘Apart, of course, from your sex.’

  Georgiana remained silent.

  ‘And why are you intent on going to New Zealand?’

  ‘I told you, my brother is sick.’

  ‘Why couldn’t you travel as you are – a concerned sister going to help her brother?’

  ‘My aunt would never have let me go so I ran away. I thought I would be safer travelling as a boy than a girl.’

  Harry’s eyes flashed. ‘What on earth made you think that you stupid child? Don’t you realise what an impossible situation your charade has landed you in?’

  Georgiana’s chin lifted. ‘Would you have taken me on as a girl?’

  ‘Of course I wouldn’t. Can’t you see how—?’

  ‘I needed passage as quickly as possible. I had no money. What else could I do?’

  Harry was silent. Georgiana pressed home her advantage. ‘All that I told you about the acting was true, too, so you see I knew I could convince people I was a boy. You believed it!’

  He gave a bitter laugh. ‘The more fool me.’

  ‘It wasn’t just you – the whole crew believed it. I’ve lived with you all for days now and nobody guessed, or would have guessed, if I hadn’t fallen.’

  But mentioning the crew was a mistake. Harry’s temper snapped. ‘Can’t you see how foolhardy the whole masquerade was? If they’d for one minute suspected—’

  ‘But they didn’t!’

  ‘One female among so many men! You paid no heed at all to the consequences, little caring that you were a liability to any captain fool enough to take you on.’

  ‘I never thought—’

  ‘That’s plainly obvious!’ Harry interrupted.

  For a second they glared at each other.

  ‘If you only knew,’ Harry said in measured tones, ‘how my fingers itch to wring your neck, George. You have put me in an abominable position. What am I to do with you?’

  ‘Nothing,’ she replied. ‘Why change anything? Only you and Alec know. The rest of the crew don’t need to be told. Why can’t things go on as they have?’

  Harry’s eyes rested on her face, but he was acutely aware of how long her legs were in their men’s breeches. Knew that under that loose shirt … He remembered her leaning over the table to mop the wine, the line of back curving down into thigh. Saw her lithe body flipping in a somersault. Expressive grey eyes, fringed in long lashes, now burned
both in defiance and entreaty under a curly mop of chestnut hair. Her slender hands were curled into fists, but he recalled how fine the fingers were, the palms soft and white, and he cursed himself. Had he been blind? What in the hell sort of an idiot had he been to be so easily fooled?

  ‘Knowing changes everything,’ he said with finality.

  She made a gesture of despair. ‘What can I do, then? How will I get to my brother?’

  ‘Did the naval ship yesterday have anything to do with you?’ he asked.

  She looked at him bewildered. ‘No! What on earth made you think that?’

  ‘I’ve been wondering why a ship of Her Majesty’s was so keen to stop us despite a storm brewing right behind us.’

  ‘It wasn’t me the constabulary were seeking that night in the tavern,’ Georgiana pointed out.

  ‘I’m well aware of that,’ he said shortly. Had been thinking of little else, in fact. Was this whole accursed mess because of the old man? ‘Still, I have to make sure your aunt does not have connections in high places.’

  Georgiana shook her head. ‘My aunt believes me in Scotland with the circus – I told you. You have nothing to fear. No one will follow me because no one knows where I’m headed.’ She looked at him, head high. ‘We had a deal.’

  ‘I had a deal with George, not Georgiana.’

  ‘But I have to get to my brother.’

  It was a cry ripped from her heart and it stopped Harry short. She was still not telling the whole truth, he was sure of it, but he did believe her love for her brother lay behind all her mad, ill-considered, foolhardy, idiotic – but strangely quixotic – actions. She really was the most astonishing female Harry had ever encountered. Her brother was a lucky bastard to have a sister who loved so fiercely.

  In silence, Harry surveyed her. She was very pale, but there was a proud tilt to her head. Her shirt was grubby, and soot and blood stained the sleeve. Her top buttons were undone and Harry glimpsed a gold chain.

  ‘What’s that around your neck?’ he asked.

  She looked taken aback but drew it up so he could see. ‘A griffin. My grandmother gave it to me to protect me.’

  ‘A griffin? How fitting with its dual nature.’

  She flinched at the intended slight but was not going to be intimidated. ‘It’s also the symbol of wisdom and strength.’

  ‘Yet you display none of the former and your sex prevents the latter.’

  She must have been more shaken by her fall than she’d let on. Instead of one of her ready comebacks, it was as though her mettle suddenly deserted her and her shoulders slumped. ‘I know. Perhaps that’s why she gave it to me,’ was all she said as she slipped the trinket back down under her shirt.

  Dammit, now he felt like a bully. What the hell was he going to do? His entire world had been off kilter from the day he’d met her. She was just one more complication in his already far too complicated life. Yet here she was and short of throwing her overboard, here she had to remain.

  ‘Rest now,’ he said gruffly. ‘I’ll get Alec to bring you a clean shirt.’

  She began to protest, but he’d had enough and ran roughshod over her. ‘We’ll reach Madeira in a few days. First I will find out why the hell the Navy is interested in Sally. After that, I’ll decide what to do about you. For the moment you will remain in Alec’s cabin. The men will be told that you’re still in a bad way and you’ll do nothing that will draw attention to yourself. Is that understood, George?’

  ‘Absolutely,’ she said, but he saw hope light her eyes.

  ‘Don’t push it, Miss da Silva,’ he warned, his voice dangerous. ‘I expect you to follow orders to the letter.’

  ‘Of course.’

  Her face was instantly serious, but still he was wary. ‘I mean it,’ he said, fixing her with a look that could subdue the roughest crew member. But though she nodded meekly, still he couldn’t help doubting its efficacy on this wayward slip of a girl.

  As he quit the cabin, closing the door behind him, he paused. Despite his anger, his exhaustion and the impossible predicament she’d put him in, he couldn’t prevent a grudging smile. He was still furious with her, as well as furious with himself, but her mixture of valiance and vulnerability was hard to withstand. It appeared that Miss Georgiana da Silva was going to prove to be even more irrepressible and unpredictable than Master George Miller. Heaven help him – heaven help them all!

  Chapter Ten

  The following days were a trial for Georgiana. Although her head ached and her arm was painful, she couldn’t bear the enforced inactivity, so Alec put her to polishing brass fittings and cleaning out the lamentable galley. Still she felt claustrophobic and cramped and missed the camaraderie of the crew.

  In order to allay suspicions as to why the young ’un was being pandered to for a mere bump on the head and a shot arm, Alec had muttered dourly under his breath about infection and dirty young scamp, implying some sort of horrible complaint the men might catch. Consequently she was given a wide berth by all and ate and slept alone in Alec’s tiny cabin. She scarcely saw Harry either. Sometimes he dropped by to check on her, but their exchanges tended to be abrupt and awkwardly formal, leaving Georgiana to lament the loss of the casual, teasing relationship George had enjoyed with the captain.

  She had plenty of time to consider her situation. The facts spoke for themselves. Harry had been with Iver and was now wanted by the law. Not only that, immediately after the meeting he’d embarked on a secret mission to New Zealand. Though it plainly caused him grave misgiving, the only explanation he’d given was that it might pay well. Very well, indeed.

  There was only one, rational, unavoidable conclusion. But every part of her cried out in rejection. She replayed images of Harry rescuing her from Mack, Harry tousling her hair, Harry laughing with his crew. There was nothing sinister about this man, nothing duplicitous. His crew trusted him absolutely. Besides, he’d seemed as confused as everyone else as to why their ship should be attacked. Yet what did she really know about the captain? What did she know of men? After all, she’d already been deceived by Jasper, her cousin whom she’d thought she knew so very well.

  What, after all, did a murderer look like?

  Not Harry, her heart cried out. Not Harry.

  Reason insisted that she stay with Harry. If he were the assassin, she needed to keep an eye on him.

  Her heart, in this regard, was in agreement – which infuriated her rational brain even more.

  She felt relief, therefore, when she looked out one afternoon to see the outer islands of Madeira slipping past the porthole. Finally she might be freed from this captivity and her restless thoughts. Georgiana was admiring their beauty when the cabin door opened and she turned to see Harry’s tall frame in the doorway.

  ‘May I come in?’

  ‘Of course.’

  She didn’t show how much she hated his studiedly polite manners. He crossed to the porthole and leaned one shoulder against the cabin wall to look out with her.

  ‘They’re lovely, aren’t they?’ she said to ease the moment. Harry seemed to fill the tiny cabin.

  ‘Mm.’ But she could tell his mind was elsewhere. The sun fell onto his face, lighting the swooping planes of his cheeks, catching dark lights in the thickness of his hair. As always, it was impossible to guess what he was thinking. His eyes, the same glorious deep blue as the ocean, stared out and she wondered what it would feel like to trace his beautifully shaped lips – looking always halfway to a smile – with her finger.

  Harry glanced down at her. ‘George,’ he said, then paused.

  Her pulse quickened with relief. It was the first time he’d called her this in the past few days. She hated being addressed as Miss da Silva.

  ‘You and I will get off at Funchal for a few days. I have a friend there we can stay with. Sally will go into hiding in one
of the bays further around the island until I can discover what the hell is going on and decide what to do about you.’ His eyes lit with something of his old teasing and her heart did a tiny flip. ‘The men won’t be surprised that you’re going ashore too, given your ghastly infection.’

  To share the joke, she assumed an expression of outrage and was rewarded by one of his smiles, but then he became serious again. ‘Bring all your things with you.’

  Suspicion immediately set in. ‘Why? Have you decided against going to New Zealand?’

  There. If he didn’t go, he must be innocent.

  But then, if he didn’t go, what would she do?

  Harry shrugged. ‘Nothing is decided until I learn more, but it’s wise to prepare for all eventualities. I’ll be taking some things with me, too – just in case.’ He straightened and reached out as if to tousle her hair, but then his hand dropped. Still, his wry smile had more warmth as he added, ‘Don’t look so concerned, George. We’ll find a way through all of this. Be ready to go when you hear us drop anchor.’

  She watched him go, her heart in tumult. She hated to leave Sally. Despite Alec’s and Harry’s misgivings, she had felt surprisingly happy and safe, once Mack had been set down. She wanted to stay. She needed to stay. She didn’t want to lose the captain. Couldn’t afford to until she knew what game he was playing. At the same time, he’d said we, and he was calling her George again. She couldn’t suppress the welling happiness she’d felt to see his teasing look return. Perhaps the hated Georgiana could be forgotten, after all.

  They anchored off Funchal in the dead of night so no one would see their arrival. Georgiana was feeling faint, and her head was pounding as it had done every evening since her fall. Nothing would force her to admit it, though. Alec came into her cabin.

  ‘Time to go, lass.’

  ‘Will I come back, do you think?’

  He shrugged. ‘It’s hard to see how you can. This is no place for a girl, even one as unnatural as you. But you’ve not been a bad hand, when all’s said and done.’

  ‘Oh Alec, that’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me,’ said Georgiana, tears welling up. ‘I’m going to miss you.’ Dropping her small bag, she enveloped the cantankerous old man in a hug.