Hart's Passion (Pirates & Petticoats Book 2) (18 page)

“Why is that, Mr. Remus?” Daniel asked.

Remus leaned his bulk against the rail and picked his teeth with his fingernail. “Any salt who’s been on the water will tell ye, havin’ a woman aboard brings the bad luck.” Nodding, he bade them good evening and swaggered away, whistling a nameless tune.

Keelan gripped the railing harder. What would they do to her if they found out
she
was a woman?
 

Remus was right. Dawn broke the next day, clear and fresh. The wind had picked up a little, and the ship pulled at its anchor like a filly testing the reins, eager to run. They all broke the fast with leftover bannocks and Indian meal porridge and then went about with their various duties, getting the ship ready to sail.

Marcel had dismissed Keelan to the upper deck. “Go fill your head with ze last sights of Charleston, boy” he said. “And while you are up zere, find out who our passengers are. I like to know who I cook for, eh?”

Keelan pulled her hat low to shield her face from the sun, as well as from inquiring eyes, ever conscious of hiding her feminine features. Spying a box tethered to the side of the foredeck, she perched herself on it as the men lashed down barrels and loaded the last of the ships’ supplies.
 

A milking cow lowed morosely as she was pushed and pulled up the ship’s ramp. Two spry nanny goats followed, bleating their bewilderment. Half a dozen pigs had been brought aboard earlier and grunted to each other from the small square pen near the main mast. Several chickens darted hither and yon among the feet of the crew. She hoped she’d find their permanent roost. Without one, it would be a bit difficult to collect the eggs, since she would have to hunt for their laying spot first.

The remainder of the purchases Marcel had made yesterday arrived. Remus and Johnny carried the heavy sacks of rice, dried beans and Indian corn meal below.
 

She couldn’t help but worry if she’d be recognized or found out. Would she be able to play the part of a galley boy without giving away her fairer gender? Daniel had done his best to tutor her on her new position as a cook’s boy and crew member.

“You’ll be expected to help with the labors of the ship in addition to your culinary duties,” he’d warned. “As slight as you are, I doubt too much will be put upon your shoulders. However, when told, you must attempt to finish the task as best you can. In the eyes of the captain and crew, you are a young male laborer, so you must act the part.”

Throwing one of those heavy sacks on her unhealed shoulders was going to hurt, but there was no getting out of her duties, which was why she was surprised when the men waved away her offer to help with this task.

“Ye’ll just be in the way, boy,” Remus said gruffly.

“These sacks weigh more than you do, lad,” Johnny teased.

“Go tell Marcel to unlock his pantry,” Remus suggested.

She nodded and went to the galley. Whether they meant what they said, or were sparing her still-healing back and shoulders from the chafing and the weight of the sacks, she wasn’t sure. Either way, she was grateful.

The sacks were stuffed into barrels and sealed in an attempt to keep out rats and other vermin. Additional barrels stowed hogsheads of rum, ale and whiskey. Brandy, wine and port were stored in a special pantry built off the galley. Marcel shut the tight-fitting door and then locked it with a key he kept on a chain around his neck.
 

“Zey are all descent men," he had said. “But there is no sense in tempting them, eh?”

Keelan returned to her perch on the box and enjoyed observing the activities on the waterfront. A few of the crew found spots along the rail as well.

According to Remus, after the ship had been released from dry dock and her leaking hold sealed, small additional repairs had followed. Then, the cargo had been loaded and lashed down. The last of the supplies and rations had been purchased and stored.
 

They now awaited their captain.

“Word has it he had unfinished business of some sort.” Remus confided.

A landau moved along the waterfront, its pace restrained but determined. It stopped at the pier where the ship was secured. The driver stepped down, opened the carriage door, and extended his hand. A slender glove grasped it and a woman gracefully alighted, like quicksilver from a glass bottle. Her dress was a deep gray and a feathered hat was secured at a jaunty angle on her head. From what Keelan could see, the woman’s hair was as dark as a raven’s.
 

A low groan sounded from Remus, “Well, look who’s joining us for another sail,” he muttered, spitting over the rail.

“Another?” Keelan inquired.

Henry strolled up behind Remus and rested his elbows on the railing. “Aye. She sailed this same leg two years ago. Except she was aboard the
Desire
. Surprised to see her on the
Seeker
tho’, eh Remus?”

Relief and apprehension battled inside her. The
Seeker’s
captain was already an acquaintance, but what if he recognized her and refused to let her stay aboard? He’d already seen her sparring with Daniel in her waif’s clothes, so her current disguise might not work with him at all. She made a fast decision to remain out of Conal O'Brien’s sight as best as she could until the journey was well underway. Then she’d find out if he knew of Landon’s plan to seek out Gampo.

Remus nodded at Henry’s earlier observation and frowned. “She’s the other captain’s…Hart’s…bit o’ fluff. She’s a bad omen, mark me words. Last time she sailed with him, a fierce storm hit an’ washed Stuckey overboard, remember? Heard she was a hell of a bitch in heat.”
 

The other captain.

Hart. Keelan’s stomach clenched into a knot.

“She chased him hard,” Henry agreed, willingly filling her in on the gossip. “Cap’n Hart was pleased enough to have her attentions now and then, but after a couple years she wanted him to give up his ship, marry her and run her daddy’s plantation.” Henry laughed. “Devil may doubt it, but the captain had no desire for that life to be sure. He’s a seaman, not a lubber, anyone who knows him knows
that
.”
 

Keelan swallowed. The notion that the woman and Landon had been lovers grated against her heart, even as she tried to steel herself against the sharp teeth of jealousy biting into her rational mind. She told herself it didn’t matter. Hart was already sailing for Harbor Town on the
Desire
.
 

Remus added, “Cap’n sent her pretty little arse back home, in spite of it all. Ain’t seen her again til today.”

No new news there. Landon Hart had been gleefully unattached and unmarried when Keelan had met him at Twin Pines. Her mind took her back to Aunt Sarah’s garden, the day he’d offered to free her tangled hair from a stubbornly rigid bush, in exchange for a kiss.

That kiss had been her undoing.
 

Or her awakening.
 

It led to a sensation of abandoned constraint and…well…longing. Landon Hart had kissed her, and from that moment forward she’d craved another kiss. Although she had done her best to resist the desire, when the opportunity had arrived she did not have the power or will to do so.

She was weak.

Henry nudged Remus in the ribs. “If Cap’n Hart rejects her, I wonder…what’ll be her intentions whilst she’s aboard?”
 

“Maybe she’s set her bonnet on Cap’n O’Brien this time,” Keelan replied with a half-hearted laugh.

Remus and Henry guffawed and slapped their knees at the suggestion. “Captain O’Brien likes him a skirt now and then, but he’d stay away from
that
skirt.”

Keelan glanced down as the subject of their conversation stepped daintily to the base of the ramp from the pier. She gave a slight gasp when the lady lifted her head to inspect the ship.
 

The black widow, Annette Camsby perused the faces at the rail.

Keelan’s heart jerked in her chest.
 

Of course.
 

Annette and Landon.

Now, she understood why they seemed to be so familiar with each other at Doreen’s ball. Landon and Annette had been lovers.

Lovers
.

Keelan scowled. That word…
lovers
… poked her throat like a stale biscuit. Were they still lovers? Would Landon have a difficult time resisting Annette’s charms? Would Annette still want him?

She rolled her eyes and shook her head at the stupid question. Of course Annette would want him. Why would she not? Landon probably rode straight to Annette’s town house after witnessing that ridiculous kiss of Everett’s on Uncle Jared’s porch. A part of her heart crumbled. A dark, thick sensation oozed in and its weight pulled at her.

So, this is how it felt to be jealous of another woman. This is what it felt like to have a broken heart.

So many questions and concerns flitted through her mind. How much of their journey did Landon’s former mistress plan to make with them? What if Annette recognized her, as Simon had? Could she and Daniel slip away unseen now, perhaps travel by land, if need be? It seemed possible. It would be infinitely better than sailing with the two of them. Together.

She studied the pier and nearby boardwalk. People hawked wares, some strolled casually, stopping occasionally to inspect an item or two, everyone seemed to be in motion, except…

A figure leaned against a piling near the mouth of the pier. Her heart lurched.
 

Orvis Pike had his gaze fixed on the carriage and the lady who had alighted from it. He was probably watching to see if it was her. If Daniel hadn’t discovered Gampo’s reward for her capture, she might have arrived in the same manner as Annette Camsby.

Keelan’s shoulders sagged. The boat was being too closely guarded by the pirates for her and Daniel to make a successful escape. Even in disguise.

“God’s blood, there’s
another
petticoat,” Remus said darkly.

A second woman, holding a small bag, emerged from the carriage. She was dressed much simpler, perhaps a servant. Her head was covered, her features masked.

Mr. Henry barked to the men loitering closest to the ramp.

“You there! Johnny! Remus! Haul up the rest of these ladies’ things. The biggest trunk is to go into the hold, but put it in a handy spot, in case they should require it.”

“Aye, Mr. Henry.” The men pushed away from the rail and shuffled down the ramp like men headed for the gallows.
 

She scanned the pier for Orvis.

He was gone.

A cold sensation gripped her neck.
 

Where did he go?
 

She studied the pier and the boardwalk again, but there was no sign of the man.
 

Keelan pulled the brim of her hat lower so she could inconspicuously watch Landon’s lover stroll along the deck. She gave a small internal sigh of longing as she admired the perfectly coiffed hair, the beautiful silk gown, and the petite gloved hands. She was exceedingly aware of her own state of dress, boots, baggy breeches, and Landon’s linen shirt. She reached up and rubbed the collar. Uninvited, the image of Annette Camsby dancing with Landon tugged at the raw strings of jealousy within her chest. They’d been beautiful together, two dark-haired figures waltzing around the room, talking, smiling…

Thinking of Landon also brought a lonely weight to her heart. At least if Orvis was still in Charleston, then so too, was Gampo which meant Landon was safely sailing south on the
Desire
.
 

If she’d listened to Slaney’s advice and stayed away from the man, she wouldn’t care if Annette Camsby was aboard. She pressed her lips together. The maid had been right about some things. Landon Hart was the kind of handsome rogue who could have a woman whenever and wherever he wished. He could easily make it a game to see how many maids he could woo, and leave swooning for his touch, longing for his kiss.

Unbidden, the hard warmth of his thighs against the back of her legs seeped in to her mind. His fingers on her wrist…

“…Hold the blade like so…”

Warm breath against her cheek.

“Then cock your wrist and let it fly.”

Hot moist kisses….his tongue probing her mouth with first tenderness then desire.

Azure eyes pierced her mind.
 

Mocking. Smiling.
 

Flashing in anger. Clouded with concern.
 

Hooded in hurt.

Keelan’s heart lurched. Now she ached with a kind of pain that pulled at her soul. For the past two and a half years she had spurned countless suitors while making any number of excuses: too old, too arrogant, too uneducated, too poor, nose too big,
belly
too big, too melancholy.
 

Others had been refused by her parents because they were unworthy. She stifled a humorless laugh. Had a man born out of wedlock asked for her hand, he would have been laughed to the gate.

 
She pondered Landon Hart, the man who had once asked her to sail the world with him. He didn’t seem like the type of man who cared much of what others thought.
 

Still…

Had he wanted me with him
, she mused,
he would have taken me.
Perhaps these circumstances are for the best. No matter how strong my affection, I will never stay with a man who does not love me, just as I would never want to be with a man I could not love.

Yet…she
did
love. She loved Landon Hart whether she willed it or not.

The slow dawning of truth emerged through the bramble tangled around her heart like a crocus in spring. Much to the anguish of her flayed pride and common sense, she loved Landon Hart.
 

When had she fallen in love with him?
 

Was it at Doreen’s ball when his kiss stole her breath and made her knees tremble? Was it when he asked her to sail the world with him?
 

When?
 

How?