Part 5 (1/2)

”Good morning,Petersham . I'm starving. What have you brought me to eat?”

Petershamset the meal before her, still in something of a daze. To his knowledge, the captain had never before had any qualms about bestowing a hearty buffet upon a female if he felt it was deserved. And if one had scarred him up the way Miss Cathy had, well, knowing Master Jon he would have expected him at the very least to give as good as he got. He was soft where this girl was concerned.Petersham puzzled over it, but rejected the only solution that occurred to him as ridiculous.

”Petersham.”Cathy called out, as he turned to leave her to eat her breakfast in privacy. ”I'd like my other trunks, please. I'm being allowed up for air at last.” She smiledsunnily as she spoke.

”Certainly, miss,”Petersham replied, his thoughts ina turmoil . ”I'll have them brought to you.Uh . . . with the Captain's permission, of course.”

”Of course,” Cathyagreed, her voice sugary. If all went well, the captain would soon be agreeing to anything she wished. How she'd love that! And how she'd make him grovel!

The same two sailors who had carried in her bath the night before brought her trunks. They were carefully respectful, but, as she thanked them, Cathy was taken aback by the knowing grins they turned on her. What was so funny, she wondered confusedly, looking down at herself to make sure that she was adequately covered. She was. Cathy shook her head, dismissing the matter. Men were strange creatures at best.

She spent the next hour sorting through her clothes. Her underwear wasneady folded and tucked away in the wardrobe. Some of Jon's s.h.i.+rts had to be removed to make room, but as Cathy stuffed them into a sea chest she shrugged.He wouldn't object, she was sure. He was not overly picky about his clothes. A few of her dresses that were not too badly wrinkled were also hung in the wardrobe. The rest were thrown across the foot of the bed until they could be pressed-if the ”Margarita” carried anything so civilized as an iron. . . . All Jonappar-ently asked of his garments was that theybe clean, and sometimes he was not even too concerned about that.

A white, muslin day dress sprigged with tiny, mint greenleaves was the least crushed of the lot, and Cathy decided that it would suit her purpose nicely. It was wrapped about the waist with a green silk sash that tied in the back in an enormous bow, and had little green slippers and a small flat hat to match. The hat added just the right touch, she thought, turning this way and that as she admired her reflection in the long mirror that hung inside the wardrobe door. Its light green color set off her golden hair and made her eyes look evenmore blue . The simple style of the dress called attention to her tiny waist and the rounded curves above and below it. Jon could not fail to be bowled over, she decided. And bowling him over was a necessary part of her plan.

He had taken her twice more during the night. And if she was honest, she would have to admit that he was right: it got better as one went along.Still, the knowledge that he could use her body whether she liked it or not rankled. Her pride demanded that he be brought to his knees, and making him fall in love with her was the best way she knew how to do it.

It was past noon when Cathy ventured out on deck, and the sun was floating almost directly overhead. Its brightness made her close her eyes momentarily, and then she lifted her face to the heat, enjoying its fierceness against her skin. She opened her eyes to a cerulean sky with small, white cloudsscutding across its surface like sheep. A sharp sea breeze cooled the air. The ”Margarita” rocked up and down gently like a baby's cradle, rigging snapping in the wind, timbers creaking. Cathy felt suddenly marvelous. It was good to be out in the hustle and bustle of fife again!

”Lady Catherine.”

Cathy turned to find the young man who had refused to help her when she was first brought on board behind her. Harry, she'd heard Jon call him. Her good mood cooled somewhat. His presence was a nagging reminder that she was, after all, still a prisoner on this s.h.i.+p, subject to the captain's orders and good will. At the thought she tossed her head, blue eyes flas.h.i.+ng. Not for long, she vowed.

”Ma'am, Captain's compliments and all that, and would you please join him on the quarterdeck.He says the air up there is healthier for a young lady.”

Cathy looked down her nose at him. He hadn't been nearly so concerned about her well-being the last time he had spoken to her. In fact, he had delivered her straight into the jaws of the proverbial lion! But she had since learned that the Hon, though fierce, was not greatly to be feared. And the lion's protection allowed her to ignore the baying of lesser beasts, such as the man before her.

She turned studiedly away as if suddenly afflicted with acute deafness. Her eyes wandered with determined casualness around the deck. The men had all stopped their various tasks and were staring at her as a pack of dogs would stare at a particularly juicy bone. Cathy s.h.i.+vered under the regard of so many lascivious eyes. There was little doubt about what was in their minds! If Jon had not afforded her his protection, she guessed that they would have pa.s.sed her around like candy. Compared to what might have been,her fate suddenly seemed almost bearable.

”My lady,” Harry began with desperation, only to be cut off by an angry bellow from the quarterdeck.

”Harry! Quit yourlallygagging and get her up here. And the rest of you men get back to work! You'll have plenty of time to do yourwenching when we make port!”

”Aye,Cap'n , we will, but the question is will we be able to findapiece so lively! Beddingashe-tiger beats the h.e.l.l out of lying with a tame cat-ain'tthat right, boys?”

Hoots and guffaws followed this sally. Even Jon laughed, Cathy noted irritably as she turned her hot face up to where he stood braced on the quarterdeck. Vile, obscene animals, all of them! Their crudity was enough to make her sick! Obviously the crew had correctly guessed the cause of the marks on Jon's face, and had been making lewd jokes about it for some time. Well, they could think what they liked! She was not about to feel ashamed before aragtail bunch of pirates!

Jon frowned suddenly as he took in the full glory of her low-cut, thin-as-air dress, and Cathy scowled right back at him. How dare he let his men make her the object of their lewd jests! She stared at him haughtily as she ascended the wooden steps. He looked hard and fierce as he watched her approach, legs straddled to keep him upright against the intermittent roll of the s.h.i.+p, hands clenched over the rail. The breeze had blown his dark hair into raffish disorder. Sunlight glinted along the blue-black stubble which shadowed his cheeks. He wore a white s.h.i.+rt, torn in places, open to the waist to expose his sweat-dampened chest to the breeze. Pistols and a long knife were thrust into a sash which bound his trim waist, and his powerful legs were encased in snug black breeches. Cathy privately thanked G.o.d that he had not looked so fearsome when he had taken her from the ”Anna Greer.” She would have been frightened witless!

”You look like a pirate,” she accused as she joined him on die quarterdeck.

”I am,” he answered shortly.”A fact which you would do well to remember, sweet, lestI be forced to remind you.

Cathy was taken aback at the curt warning. After his gentleness with her that morning and his impa.s.sioned lovemaking of the night before, she had been confident that she would soon have him eating out of her hand. Suddenly she was not quite so sure. He had experienced many women; was her woefully ignorant body strong enough to give her the upper hand in their relations.h.i.+p? She didn't know. But it was the only trump card she held, and she had no choice but to play it.

Looking up at him coquettishly, she was piqued to find his attention fixed not on her, but on some far distant spot on the horizon.

”Looking for my rescuers?” she needled.

He glanced at her briefly, expressionlessly,then looked away.

”Your rescuers, as you call them, lost us in the storm. There's been no sign of them for some days. And as the ”Margarita” is now sailing a totally different course than she was when they last set eyes on us, I have no expectation of ridding myself of you in such a satisfactory way.”

”If you were so anxious to be rid of me, why didn't you put me adrift in one of those little boats that first night? I'm sure the Royal Navy would have been delighted to pick me up.”

”Ahh, but I had a use for you that first night.” The wicked glance he sent her way left Cathy in no doubt as to his meaning. Cheeks flus.h.i.+ng, she glanced quickly around to see if anyone besides herself was within hearing distance. Only Harry and an older, heavy-set sailor were near, and they were both stolidly concentrating on the tasks they had to hand. But something in their expression made Cathy certain that they listened to what she and Jon had to say with great interest.

”I notice that you express no concern over the fate of your fellow captives.”

Jon's words brought her eyes swinging back around to him.

”I-why, of course I'm concerned,” she said mendaciously. To tell the truth, she had been far too concernedover her own safety to worry unduly about three relative strangers. But Jon didn't have to know that.”Imerely a.s.sumed that, since you stand to make a great deal of money from their ransoms, your own self-interest would a.s.sure that they were kept safe. Was I wrong?”

”Not wrong, my cat,” he murmured.”Just a little too sharp-tongued.A fault which a bout with another cat would soon remedy.”

Cathy was disconcerted by his inexplicable change of manner toward her. What ailed him? They hadn't quarreled. Was he angry with her for some unknown reason? Well, she would endure twenty cat-o'-nine-tails before she would beg for quarter from him! He could do his worst!

”Do what you deem necessary, Captain,” she said coldly.”Iwas always told that pirates should be feared as a cruel, bloodthirsty lot!”

”And were you never told that pridegoeth before a fall, my lady?” His voice was hard. ”A single stroke with the cat on your bare back would have you crawling on your knees to me for mercy.”

”But then you'd cheat yourself of your pleasure, wouldn't you, Captain?” Cathy smiled triumphantly, knowing that she had him there. He would not whip her for the simple reason that he would then no longer be able to bed her. The rogue's own selfishness and l.u.s.t were her protection.

”Would I?” He smiled slowly down into her eyes. ”Your being whipped would not hamper my lovemaking particularly. True, you might find it painful, but pirates are notoriously unconcerned with the comfort of their prisoners.”

”You . . .” Cathy began hotly, only to stop short as Harry came to join them at the rail. Jon glanced at him impatiently. Harry looked uncomfortable.

””.Begging your pardon,Cap'n , but it's time for the prisoners to be brought up for exercise. Shall I see to it?”

”Aye,” Jon answered brusquely, then swung away so that his broad back was facing Cathy.

She stood, biting her lip, as her companions in misfortune were brought up from the hold. She only glanced their way as they came stumbling up the stairs by the forecastle, her mind more concerned with Jon's strange behavior than their plight. Then she looked again. All three of them were blinking against the bright sunlight, their faces pale and thin,their clothes dirty and crumpled. They looked as if they hadn't had a square meal or a wash since being brought on board the ”Margarita” almost a week before. Cathy's mouth formed a little ”oh” of shocked amazement. If she had thought about her fellow captives at all, she had a.s.sumed that they were being fed and housed much the same as she was, the only difference being that they were not forced to share anyone's bed. She now saw her mistake. Except for one detail, her fate had plainly been far better than theirs! She felt a sharp stab of indignation at Jon that he should treat them so inhumanely.

Head high, back stiffened angrily, she gathered her skirts in her hand and began to regally descend from the quarterdeck. Jon called after her peremptorily, but she ignored him with a defiant toss of her head. After all, what could he do to her that he hadn't already done? His remark about a bout with the cat crossed her mind, but she shrugged it aside. He would find that she was not so easily cowed!

”YourGrace?” Cathy had crossed the planked deck quickly and was at the d.u.c.h.ess's side. The old woman turned her head at Cathy's words and then, as she saw who it was that had addressedher, a slight smile broke through the strain that etched her face.

”Lady Catherine! It's good to see you looking so wellI had begun to fear for your safety, when you did not join us.”

”She was obviously offered a warmer berth,” the merchant's wife, notso fat as she had once been, put in snidely, looking Cathy up and down as if the girl had just crawled out from under a rock. ”I see they gave you at least a change of clothes, my lady. But then, the d.u.c.h.ess and I didn't share our favors with them.”

”You will kindly be silent, Mistress Grady,” the d.u.c.h.ess said, speaking with the authority to which her high rank had accustomed her. ”If Lady Catherine has fared better thanourselves , then I am sure it is through no fault of hers. If not . . . well, I'm sure that was through no fault of hers either.”

Chastened, Miss Grady turned sullenly away. The d.u.c.h.ess looked keenly at Cathy.

”Have you been ill-treated?” she asked in a low voice.

Cathy could feel color rus.h.i.+ng to her cheeks, but she answered as calmly as she could. ”No,your Grace. Not- not really.”

As a general rule Cathy scorned lies and liars, but she knew, with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, that her whole future depended upon not allowing anyone to guess what she had actually suffered. The stigma of rape was all pervading. Once it had attached itself to her, her hopes for a brilliant marriage, or indeed any marriage at all, would be gone forever. In Victoria's England, an unchaste, unmarried female was automatically labeled a wh.o.r.e; the circ.u.mstances under which that female had become unchaste made not a particle of difference.