Lost Honor Page 4

  Never. He was mean-spirited and always angry, although when he gazed into her eyes, she tingled with a new awareness.

  She had nothing to lose if she changed tactics. Arianna tore off the paper and shook out the light blue, muslin skirt and matching bodice. Entirely inappropriate for working on, or traversing, a ship. She purposely hadn’t taken one with her. It was her bad luck he had a sister and purchased this garment for her.

  She glanced at the door. What if he entered while she was changing? How much longer did she have before he returned? She scanned the cabin for something to brace against it.

  The table. No, it was bolted to the floor.

  The two chests sitting against the farthest wall. They wouldn’t keep him out, but they would hinder him until she donned her clothing. She hurried to the first one, grabbed the handle, and pulled. It weighed more than she thought. What did he keep in it? Pushing would probably be easier. With the force of her entire body behind her, she shoved the stubborn chest. It slowly scraped along the floor until it hugged the wooden barrier.

  The second one was lighter, and she soon had it beside the first. She smiled. One mission accomplished. Now on to the next. Arianna stripped off the beloved pants and shirt and threw on the hated skirt and bodice. The cloth embraced her breasts and glided down her form. The excess material rested on the floor. His sister must be taller than her but then, most people were. With the buttons in the back, she had trouble fastening the bodice, but with considerable twisting and turning, she was finally successful. She straightened the skirt and brushed out the wrinkles. The high neckline pleased her. Of course, Captain Danvers would buy a garment that covered his sister’s entire figure. Arianna hoped she presented a pleasing picture.

  A wisp of hair fluttered into her face. Another sudden insight bloomed. All men liked long, silky hair, and she considered hers her best feature. She might be vain but she loved her soft curls, and when it became unruly or hindered her, she wove it into a braid as she had today. Even though Arianna wished to fend for herself and not answer to men, she liked being a woman. She swiftly unwound the strands and raked her fingers through them. Remembering the comb on Captain Danvers’s washstand, she snatched it up and ran the teeth through her hair until the tresses flowed down and around her like a serpentine river.

  Satisfied with her appearance, she knelt beside his berth. He wouldn’t be amicable to her wishes if his room looked the same as when he left. Neatly folding his pants and shirts, she placed them in the drawers. Next, she grabbed her clothes, stuffed them in her bag, and then dropped it on the floor at the foot of his berth. She looked around her, and with a nod, she decided the cabin was fit for his majesty to enter.

  The door handle clicked, and she swung toward the sound.

  “Arianna, open this door at once.”

  The chests. This wouldn’t help in her quest to win him over.

  “Just a minute.” She clutched the handle of the lighter one. The chest screeched as it inched along the wooden floor. Huffing, she raced back for the next one, but before she reached it, the door crashed into the chest and moved it a short distance.

  “Arianna, what is going on in there?”

  The man had no patience. She grabbed the handle of the chest and pulled with a grunt. This one was much heavier and not cooperating. She planted her feet and leaned back, using her weight. At the same time, he pushed inward. The resistance melted, but not her backward tilt. She windmilled her arms as she fought to catch her balance, but her feet were positioned in front of her. She went down on her rear. Hard. Her hair flew up and then drifted down around her, covering her face.

  ****

  Morgan peeked around the corner of the door and glanced toward the floor. A chest. Was she trying to prevent him from entering? As if that would stop him.

  “Arianna, where are you?” No matter how hard he tried to contain it, frustration rang in his voice.

  He pushed open the door, stepped into the cabin, and stopped dead in his tracks. Arianna sat on the floor in disarray. His eyes feasted on the expanse of creamy white skin exposed from her ankles to her knees where the skirt had ridden up. He would love to smooth his hands along the shapely limb.

  Arianna flipped the skirt over her legs and material replaced the enticing vision, jerking him out of his daze and the damned lust that grabbed him whenever she was near. “What the bloody hell are you doing on the floor?”

  She flung her hair back and curled her legs protectively to her side. “If you hadn’t been so bloody impatient, I wouldn’t be here.”

  His face hardened at her words. “I don’t condone swearing from a woman.”

  “And I don’t condone being sworn at by a man.”

  He opened his mouth and then snapped it shut. She was right. What had he been thinking? He never swore in the presence of a lady, even if the lady didn’t act like one. His only explanation was she drove him crazy.

  Arianna struggled to rise, and he reached down to help her. She ignored his offer and gained her feet with her own resources. Morgan pursed his lips. He should have known she would reject his assistance. “May I ask why my cabin has been rearranged? Again.”

  He was afraid to leave. No, he was terrified to return. He never knew what he would find. And he hadn’t wanted or intended to this time, but he had taken pity on Mark and rescinded his order. He was the captain. He had been into battle and faced the enemy, and yet, he had contemplated sending a boy to do his duty.

  She began tugging on the remaining chest. “I wanted to be sure…” She grunted and panted as she pulled. “You didn’t…walk in…while I dressed.”

  He gently nudged her to the side and dragged the chest back to its original spot, using muscles she didn’t possess. And she thought she could perform the duties of a seaman?

  Morgan turned to face her, and for the first time, he noticed how the outfit outlined her magnificent shape. She had curves in all the right places. Her breasts were a perfect size to fill his hands. Her waist curved inward, and her hips were nicely rounded. He knew exactly what her rear looked like. The pants she had worn earlier left nothing to the imagination. He would have enjoyed walking in on her while she dressed. A glorious sight to behold.

  Her hands nervously smoothed wrinkles and creases. Then with a slight tremble, her fingers swept through the magnificent golden hair that tumbled around her like a waterfall. He had never seen it set free. He yearned to sink his face into its silky depths and breathe deeply of the faint smell of lavender that surrounded her and feel the curly strands caress his skin. From the way she had dressed when she first appeared on his ship, he didn’t think she cared about her appearance. The heart of a woman beat within her after all.

  His gaze floated up her lush figure to her face, and he spied the deep red blush his scrutiny caused her. He had forgotten himself again. Morgan was surprised she hadn’t taken him to task for it.

  He cleared his throat before he spoke. “That outfit suits you.”

  She nodded. “Your sister must be my exact size, although it is a bit long.”

  “Apparently so.” But his sister didn’t look anything like Arianna. And the garment would not mold to her as it did to Arianna or perfectly match her eyes. Arianna possessed something that drew him from the first moment he met her, but he couldn’t understand what it was. He preferred women who knew their place and followed his orders.

  Morgan hated the way his body yearned for her. He would fight against it and win.

  “Your cabin is in perfect order.” She indicated the entire room with a wide sweep of her arm.

  “I hope it stays that way.”

  She nodded. “It will. Would you like me to do anything else?”

  Did she realize what she asked? Join him in bed should be his answer. Instead, suspicion blossomed, and he narrowed his eyes. Why was she so accommodating? Had she finally learned her place?

  He didn’t trust her. Before she caused him to lose his senses again, he would state his reason for being her
e and then leave. “I am allowing you to work on this ship until we reach our destination.”

  This decision was probably the worst he had ever made in his life, and the bright satisfied smile she shot his way reinforced it.

  “You won’t regret it.”

  He knew he would.

  She headed toward the end of his bed and snatched a bag from the floor.

  “What is that?”

  “My clothes.” She pulled items from the sack. “I will change as soon as you leave.”

  “No.”

  Arianna swung to face him, her eyes wide and very blue. “I will not remove my clothes with you in the room.”

  “You will remain as you are.”

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “Oh, but I am.” No way was she traversing the ship with her lush rear swaying in full view for his crew to gawk at and possibly take advantage of. They were men with needs, and he knew how she affected him.

  “I’ll kill myself if I work in this skirt. It’s too long.”

  “Then, you will have to be very careful.” And either he or someone he trusted would keep a close watch on her. She might think she was capable, but she was only a female with female abilities and faults.

  “But—”

  He folded his arms across his chest. “It is either that or sit in this cabin for the remainder of the voyage. It’s your choice.”

  She glared at him, her delicate face set in determined lines. “You know my answer.” She stuffed the clothes back in her bag.

  “Yes.” Unfortunately, he did. He had hoped she would take the easy way out. But he was learning that dealing with her was anything but easy.

  “Where would you like me to work?”

  “First, I want your full name.”

  She stood straight and tall, her breasts pressing against the bodice. “Arianna Pemberton.”

  “Christopher Pemberton is your father?” His shipping line was one of the largest in England.

  She nodded.

  “When he discovers you missing, won’t he be worried?”

  “I left my parents a letter.” She bit her lip. “Only it said I was sailing with my brother, Thomas.” Her face brightened. “They won’t know I am not with him until he returns. By then, they will receive another note from me, informing them I am now a seaman and able to take care of myself as I have told them many times. They never believed me.” Her lips curled up in delicious satisfaction. “Now they have no choice.”

  Sympathy for Christopher Pemberton that he had to live with a daughter like Arianna surged through his veins. How many years had he done so?

  “How old are you?”

  Suspicion clouded her face. “Why?”

  She needed a reminder he ran this ship. “As captain of this brig, it is my responsibility to know every member of my crew.”

  Again, she straightened to her full height of a little over five feet. No matter how tall she fought to appear, she still resembled a little girl.

  “Twenty-one.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure?”

  “I should know how old I am, and I don’t lie.”

  He lifted an eyebrow.

  “Well, maybe I stretch the truth now and then, but I am really twenty-one. What are my orders?”

  The willingness to prove herself flowed across her face. It enthralled him but also cut a notch in his heart. At one time, he had been as determined to please as she was now. Many years had passed since then filled with hard work and searing heartache. If she knew what her future held if she continued on this course, she would refuse his offer and remain in his cabin until the opportunity arose to disembark. But she didn’t, so he would kindly help to dissuade her.

  “Since you managed to sneak on my ship—”

  “I didn’t sneak on your ship. My brother’s men were to load me on the Midnight Star.”

  “Nevertheless, you are here. If what you say is true, there is a mix-up with the cargo.” He opened the top drawer of his desk, pulled out a sheaf of papers, and handed them to her. “Your job is to take this cargo manifest down to the hold and match each crate, box, and barrel to the list and report back to me with your findings.”

  She glanced at the papers with a frown. “Are you sure there isn’t something on deck you want me to do?”

  “You will be there soon enough. You have first watch. After that, since you are so good with a needle, you can mend my clothes. In the morning, you will help Hooper, the cook, feed the men and then—”

  The light drained from her face. “When will I sleep?”

  “When you finish what I assigned you.”

  “But seamen work four hours on and four hours off.”

  “Seamen do not question the captain’s orders.”

  She grabbed her bag. “I’ll get started as soon as I store my things in the fo’c’sle.”

  “And why would you do that?”

  “That is where I will sleep.”

  She thought to stay with his men. Oh no, she wasn’t. There was no telling what might happen. Actually, he could imagine exactly that, and she wasn’t sleeping anywhere near his crew. It was his responsibility to keep her safe. “You are to sleep in a hammock in a corner of this cabin.”

  Her eyes rounded. “I can’t remain here.”

  He’d never get any rest with her in his room, but he refused to remove any of his officers from their berths for a slip of a girl who didn’t know her place and believed she could be a seaman. “And why not?”

  “It isn’t proper.”

  “Sleeping with the crew is?”

  She stepped toward him. “I am one of them.”

  He leaned in her direction. Out of need or authority, he wasn’t sure. “You are a woman.”

  “I am a seaman now.”

  He slid his gaze over her as he swung his arms behind him and tightly clasped his hands together to keep from reaching for her. “With a woman’s form. Men don’t care who you say you are. They only know what they see before them. If you are to be a seaman, you must obey your captain’s orders.”

  She narrowed her eyes but didn’t argue further. “Aye, Captain Danvers. I’ll get started right away.” She dropped the bag in the middle of the floor and headed toward the door.

  Living with her in this cabin was going to be a trial in more ways than one. “Arianna.”

  She spun to face him.

  “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

  Her finely drawn eyebrows knit together. “I don’t think so.”

  He glanced down.

  “Sorry, Captain.” She scurried back, grabbed it, and deposited her possessions in a dark corner behind his desk. “I will hang the hammock here.”

  Again she issued orders. “I will decide where it will hang.”

  But she had picked the perfect spot. The farther away from him the better.

  Frustration colored her face. “Aye, Captain.”

  With the cargo manifest in her hands, she whirled again, her skirt flaring at the hem, and exited. When the door clicked shut, the tension gripping his muscles eased, and he breathed easier. Until he pictured himself lowering onto her naked body and her full lips uttering, “Aye, Captain” when he requested she spread her legs to accommodate him.

  “Bloody hell!” He yanked open the door, strode through, and slammed it closed.

  On deck, he checked the horizon, struggling to focus on a different matter. Noting in all directions only the ripples of the blue sea, his gaze followed the mast up to the maintop platform. The seaman stationed there remained watchful but silent.

  Spotting Andrew on the quarterdeck with the helmsman, he joined him. “I’ve decided to allow Arianna to become part of the crew.”

  Andrew raised his eyebrows. “Do you think it is wise?”

  “Wise, no. Necessary, yes.”

  The whoosh of the wind filling the billowing sails and the creak of timber calmed him. He had missed the rise and fall of a ship beneath his feet while running the shipping co
mpany, even though he tried to deny it.

  “Why?”

  He would never allow another man to question his orders, but Andrew’s history with him earned him certain liberties. Morgan trusted Andrew’s judgment, but when his mind was set and he believed he was right, no one could sway his opinion, not even his first mate. “I’m hoping when she discovers how hard the work is and that she doesn’t possess the strength or stamina, she will forgo her insane idea.”

  “The men won’t like her working on board. They think a woman on a ship brings bad luck.”

  “They have no say in the matter. I am waiting for Shark to appear. I can’t put into a port to allow her to disembark.” He scanned the deck, intending for the men standing near to hear and spread his next words. “Inform the crew if anyone touches her, they will be flogged to within an inch of their life.” His face turned hard, his voice dangerous. “Make it very clear.”

  “Aye, Captain.”

  Morgan lowered his voice. “I want you to keep an eye on her and enlist a few reliable men you know well to help. I don’t want her hurt.”

  “Where is she now?”

  “I sent her to the hold to check the cargo.”

  A quizzical expression marked Andrew’s face.

  “She believes we loaded barrels that should have landed on her brother’s ship. It will keep her busy for a while and out of harm’s way.” He stared up at the ballooning sails.

  “Did you discover who she really is?”

  Morgan turned to the helmsman and commanded him to continue on the present course before he steered Andrew to the railing. “Arianna Pemberton of Pemberton Shipping.”

  Andrew whistled. “Just our luck, she isn’t a common wharf rat. If her father owns a shipping company, why is she on one of your ships?”

  Morgan relayed all she had told him. Andrew absorbed the information and digested it for future use. Andrew liked to be fully informed and ready to give an opinion when asked and even sometimes when he wasn’t.

  Morgan’s gaze landed on Mark crossing the deck and called to him. He was just the person he needed to speak with next. He hated to do this to the boy, but he was the only one he could spare, and he trusted him.