Swept Away (26 page)

With constant efforts to be polite, Raven and Eden managed to pass the remainder of the first two weeks of the voyage without another confrontation or bout of tears over the War, or any of their other differences. Neither took any pride in the placid nature of their relationship, however. It seemed to each like an uneasy truce that would inevitably end in a renewed round of hostilities. While neither wished that to happen, the fear that it soon would filled them both with an unshakable sense of dread.

Raven could not allay the uncomfortable premonition that the next words to pass his lips would insult Eden so badly she would never speak to him again. As a result, he had become even more close-mouthed than was his custom. It was only when they made love that he felt free to express himself, and even then he dared not put his feelings in words.

As for Eden, she had expected the pleasure their lovemaking brought to make them close. She had sought to dissolve whatever remained of Raven’s distrust with the passion he was always so quick to display, but she had no evidence that her efforts were having any success. From their initial meeting she and Alex had been comfortable in each other’s company, but with Raven not even the briefest conversation ran smoothly.

Now he seemed so reluctant to speak she made little effort to draw him out. While he was pleasant, if quiet, his smiles were too quick, as though forced. Whenever they were up on deck, he would keep her close, but his touch was possessive rather than affectionate. When darkness fell and they shared his bunk, Raven lulled her to sleep with loving so intense it left her too weak to crave more. But she would awake the next morning still feeling lost and alone and again be engulfed in a sense of hopelessness. She had begun to consider the possibility that Raven was simply incapable of sharing anything of himself with a woman, but she also thought that perhaps she was just not the right one. Because she was still in love with Alex, she knew she had no right to question Raven’s feelings, and kept her painful doubts to herself.

As for the crew, the chill in their glances had grown no less icy. In fact, there were several men whose expressions could be described as contemptuous whenever she came into view. Eden had never done anything to deserve such blatant disrespect, and grew increasingly unnerved by it. At the same time, she did not want to trouble Raven by complaining that his men lacked the proper warmth. Instead, she concentrated on the sea’s sparkle, or Raven’s infrequent comments, and did not let the crew guess that she had even noticed their disdain, much less been deeply hurt by it.

Randy MacDermott stood with his back braced against the port rail. Eden and Raven were at the opposite rail, but although he had a few minutes of free time that morning, he was not tempted to join them. As he saw it, Raven was unlikely to ever forgive him for speaking his mind about his bride, and Randy had seen nothing in Eden’s behavior that had inspired him to change his opinion of her. The lovely Lady Clairbourne seemed perfectly content to be Raven’s wife, but he could not forget Alex so easily. A year of mourning had not been an intolerable burden for any widow he had ever met. That Eden had been unable to survive more than a week without a man in her bed disgusted him each time he looked her way. She was undeniably a beauty, and carried herself with the grace of a lady, but as he saw it, she was without a shred of virtue.

Out of the corner of his eye, the pensive mate caught sight of Max and Samuel swabbing the deck. They were casting sly glances at Eden, and whispering between bursts of hushed laughter that left little doubt as to the object of their humor. That the men shared his low opinion of Raven’s wife did not surprise him, but Randy would not tolerate such an impudent display. He had just taken a step toward the mischievous pair when Raven suddenly turned toward him and waved. In response, Randy had to change his direction, and Raven moved across the deck to meet him half way.

The rowdy sailors were behind Raven now, but Randy still had a clear view of them. He saw Max kick over his bucket, deliberately sending several gallons of dirty water sloshing over the hem of Eden’s full-skirted gown and thoroughly soaking her shoes.

Gazing out at the sea, Eden was unaware of Max’s deed until she found the deck suddenly awash. She gasped in surprise and hurriedly clutched the rail, but only avoided falling by the narrowest of margins. When she turned, seeking the cause of the mishap, Max and Samuel appeared to be as horrified as she. They rushed forward with their mops, and made a great show of drying the deck where she stood.

Alerted by Eden’s cry of alarm, Raven turned in time to see her grab the rail. Infuriated that Max and Samuel would be so clumsy around her as to have endangered her safety, he turned back and began to berate them severely. They begged his forgiveness with contrite expressions, but the other men on deck who had observed their actions turned away to hide their smiles.

Randy hesitated for a moment, but his loyalty to Raven would not allow him to remain silent. Although infuriated to find himself in such a difficult position, he walked to Raven’s side. “I must speak with you privately, Captain.”

“What?” Annoyed by that interruption, Raven scowled as he turned to face the mate. “What could possibly be more important than making certain the deck is safe to walk on?”

“It’ll take only a moment,” Randy assured him.

Randy was so angry his face was nearly as red as his hair, and after assuring himself that Eden was all right, Raven joined him a few steps away. “Yes, what is it?”

After making certain Eden could not overhear them, Randy explained what he had seen, concluding with, “It was no accident. Max will deny it, of course, but I saw him do it. He was deliberately being mean to your wife.”

Raven glanced over his shoulder at the sailors in question. They were still mopping the deck while Eden shook out her dripping skirts and tried to stay out of their way. When he turned back toward Randy, his disgust was plain. “You told me the entire crew shares your misguided view of Eden. How many others would dare to do her physical harm?”

“None I hope. I was just on my way to tell those two to be more respectful when you called to me. If I’d been just a few seconds faster, this would never have happened.” Raven clasped his hands behind his back and lowered his voice slightly. “I told you to warn the men that I’d flog any who even dared frown at my wife. Did you convey that message?”

“Yes, sir, that I did,” Randy answered, and he had the sinking suspicion Raven meant to carry out that threat now.

“I’m going to take Eden below to change her clothes. It’s almost time for the noon meal, so she’ll probably not want to come up on deck again. I’ll be back in a few minutes, though, and I want the men assembled and waiting for me. It’s only because Eden is such a graceful woman that she didn’t suffer a serious fall. That might have been far more costly than any of the men imagines. I’ll not have any others stooping to such malicious pranks. I’m going to order you to whip both Max and Samuel for being not only incredibly stupid, but unforgivably mean to a woman who deserves their respect. If you can’t carry out that order, say so now and I’ll whip them myself, but I don’t want any arguments between us in front of the men.”

Randy looked over at Eden, who appeared to have been completely fooled by the two sailors’ excuse of clumsiness. As always, her expression was delightfully sweet, but he was unmoved. “I can’t stop the talk about her. I should have been quick enough to stop Max, but there’s nothing I can do about the talk.”

“Not unless you try,” Raven pointed out. “Now are you going to flog them or will I have to do it myself?”

“It was a thoughtless trick, and she could have been badly hurt. None of us wants that. I’ll do it.”

“Good.” Raven turned away and, as promised, escorted Eden to his cabin, where he insisted she change out of her damp clothes.

Pleased by his concern, Eden brushed Raven’s cheek with a light kiss before he returned to the deck. She had seen the anger still smoldering in his eyes and was relieved it had not been directed at her. An overturned bucket was an insignificant matter to her, but she knew he expected the best from his crew and would not tolerate such sloppiness.

She had been amazed to learn Alex had given Raven command of the
Jamaican Wind
when he was no more than nineteen, but after seven years as captain, he had impressed her as knowing his business better than some men she had met twice his age. She had seen him settle disputes between sailors with the wisdom of Solomon, and his navigation was as precise as her father’s. That he took such great pride in his ship and the performance of the crew that served him was justifiable in her view.

Eden had just begun to remove her soggy stockings when she heard a peculiar shout from up on deck. When it came again, she realized it had been more of a cry of anguish than a shout and grew alarmed. What could have happened now? she wondered. She hoped no one had fallen from the rigging or suffered some serious accident. She sat still, straining to hear the sounds from up on deck and heard the cry a third time. Too curious to remain below and wait for Raven to explain what had happened when he returned, Eden stuck her bare feet in her damp shoes, and hurried up the companionway to the deck to see for herself.

The crew were gathered around the mainmast, and Eden had to come forward to peer over the shoulders of the men in back to discover what held their attention. When she saw Max and Samuel had been stripped to the waist and that their hands were tied to the mast her heart leapt to her throat. It had been Max’s cries of pain that she had heard, but the fact he had passed out before Randy had delivered ten lashes had not stopped the mate from completing the task with slow, deliberate strokes.

As Eden watched in horrified disbelief, Randy’s whip sliced through the air with a threatening hiss, then ripped the skin from Max’s back with a dull slapping sound that belied the sharpness of the cuts it inflicted. Eden felt each blow send a jarring wave through the crowd but the men remained silent. Only Samuel, who stood cringing helplessly as he awaited his turn, uttered a terrified whimper at what was to come.

Thoroughly sickened the sailors were being punished so brutally, Eden turned away without looking for her husband. She knew it would only infuriate him all the more if she questioned his orders in front of his crew, and not daring to embarrass him in such a fashion, she went below. Even in their cabin she had to hold her hands over her ears to shut out the sound of Samuel’s piercing shrieks. She could not believe that either man deserved to be whipped. When Raven came to join her at noon, she told him she did not feel like eating.

Although she had not seen him, Raven had noted Eden’s brief appearance on deck and he could read volumes in her averted glance. He was then faced with an extremely difficult decision. He could either refuse to explain his actions and allow her to think the worst of him, or he could tell her the truth. While he did not want to hurt her by revealing the crew’s insensitive opinion of her, they had agreed to be honest with one another, and recalling that vow, his choice was made for him.

Kneeling by her side, he placed his hand under her chin to force her gaze to meet his. “I didn’t want you to know I’d ordered Max and Sam whipped, but since you do, you ought to know why it happened. I’m not a cruel man, Eden, I swear I’m not, but when Randy told me that Max had drenched you on purpose, I—”

“What?” Eden studied Raven’s pained expression, and was instantly convinced he spoke the truth. “Your men have never been friendly, but do they hate me that much?”

Raven shook his head sadly. “I’m sure they don’t hate you. It’s just that, well, they have little experience with cultured ladies and—”

Fearing he would never get to the point, Eden finished his sentence for him. “They think I’ve been disloyal to Alex, is that it?”

“You mustn’t concern yourself with their ridiculous beliefs, Eden. You know Alex hoped we’d be together, and surely his opinion ought to be the only one that matters to us.”

Eden believed that too, and leaned forward to wrap her arms around Raven’s neck. “No one else is ever going to understand, though,” she whispered as she hugged him tightly.

Caught off balance, Raven had to grab for the edge of the table. Once steady, he rose and pulled Eden up with him. “My men may be as ignorant as goats when it comes to being polite to a lady, but Max and Samuel will not risk playing another trick on you and neither will any of the others. Getting your clothes wet could be seen as no more than a schoolboy’s prank, but if you’d fallen, and you know you almost did, you might have been so badly hurt you could have lost the baby.”

That he had been so concerned about her child when she had not even considered the consequences of a fall left Eden all the more shaken. She still felt wretched in the morning, and with each passing day she was more certain she was pregnant. To have Alex’s child was her fondest wish, but she had not until that very instant realized what a baby could mean to Raven. She took a step back to make it easier to converse.

“You know I’m unfamiliar with many British customs even though my mother is English.”

“Treating women well is not only a British custom.”

“No, of course not, but that’s not what I meant. Forgive me if this question seems silly, or stupid to ask, but I know you’re the earl because Alex had no sons. What if I

succeed in bearing one?”

Her question was so obvious Raven could not understand why they had not discussed it when she had first told him of such a possibility. “You’re my wife, Eden, and any child you have while we’re married will be considered mine. If your child is a son, he’ll be my heir, and become the earl upon my death. Our marriage will not have cheated him out of his rightful title. He’ll still be the Earl of Clairbourne one day. Although I hope it will not be anytime soon,” he added with a teasing grin.