Swept to Sea (2 page)

The room was utterly silent for a few moments until Ivy grabbed her friend gently by the shoulders and peered into her eyes. "Has Lord Rutger harmed you, Eden? Tell me. Tell me everything. What has he done to you?"

Eden shook her head. She couldn't. "Not… exactly. But h-he tried to kiss me last night. When I refused, he got so, so angry with me. I was scared he was going to strike me or worse. He claimed that as his fiancée, I had to kiss him. I
owed
him a kiss. It was completely horrible. That night — I wish I could forget about that night. And just to think that soon I will actually have to give the monster a kiss… and once he's my husband…" At least that much was true. Eden shook her head again. She did not wish to tell her friends about how the vile man had hit her, frightened that it would happen again if she told them. He had threatened her a handful of times if she told anyone what had happened he would make her regret it deeply. Luckily, her clothing covered the blackening bruise that had spread onto her shoulder and collarbone. The large hand marks on her ribs would not be seen either. Besides, she did not want their pity. She didn’t want anyone’s pity. All she needed was their support. "Why does he even want to marry me? It is not like I have a large dowry or anything. I have the opposite, if anything…"

Ivy studied Eden silently for a moment.

Aimee shook her head.

“I-I don’t know, Eden. I don’t know.” Ivy clasped Eden’s hand in her own, and Aimee patted her on the back.

****

Captain Caspian Archer sped through the streets of London, dodging city dwellers, merchants, and carriages along the way. A muddy man bumped into him and swore before continuing on his way. Caspian clenched his jaw. If they were on board his ship, he would have the man punished for such impertinence. He shook his head and continued on, avoiding a puddle along the way.

Eager to return to his ship, the
Dawn's Mist,
he quickened his pace. Finally, he had received a Letter of Marque issued in the name of King William to rid the Caribbean of pirates and any of England’s enemies. He had a mission now. No longer would he be a despicable pirate himself. Instead, he would stop the same men who had thus far succeeded in ruining his life. Caspian gritted his teeth. Captain Moore would dearly pay for what he had done.

The invigorating, salty scent of the sea washed over him as he rounded a corner, erasing the grimy odor of the streets he had grown to despise. He brightened at the welcome refreshment.

Caspian looked ahead and scanned the docks, which were bustling with sailors of all sizes, shapes, and nationalities. He spotted the
Dawn's Mist
in the distance; the main mast of his frigate standing tall above the sloops and dinghies docked next to her.

"Nice to see you, Cap’n." Gage Thompson, his first mate, beamed at him from the starboard rail, his straight teeth white against the tan of his skin.

"And the same to you, Gage," Caspian replied, climbing up the ropes to the foredeck of his ship.

"Are we prepared to set sail tomorrow, or are we in need of another day to stock up on the provisions?" Caspian squinted against the orange rays of the setting sun.

"Nay, we have all of the needed provisions, and I would say she's been completely repaired from our last encounter. We are ready to set sail at first light, Cap’n." He answered, running a hand through his dark, wavy hair.

"Very well." Caspian nodded at his friend before trudging to his cabin to prepare the charts for their next voyage. He could only hope this one would be successful unlike the many before it.

Chapter Two

……"I gave him permission to take your hand in marriage. You are to be married within three months."

Eden found her throat closing. She could not swallow. Her lungs seemed to fail her. Was this what it felt like to drown? Adam had spun tales for her of ships wrecking in terrible storms and sailors drowning when she was a small child and he wanted to spook her.

This could not be real. It could not be happening.

At last, she gasped in a small bit of air.

"I told you to sit down, Eden. Now sit before you faint. Look at how pale your face is. You are a foolish, stubborn woman, just like your mother."

Eden obeyed her father, sinking down onto the plush armchair across from him. She chose to ignore his cutting remark. As of late, she had become accustomed to them.

"Y-you gave… Lord Rutger… my hand in marriage?" She managed to lower her voice, using every bit of her resolve not to scream at him like a panic-stricken child. How could he have done this to her? "Father, you know how I feel about that man. I cannot marry him, Papa. I cannot."

"You can and you will, Eden. You know full well that we are in need of his money. Lord Rutger will be a respectable husband for you.”
Respectable, ha!
“We cannot go on living like we do now if you do not bring in money for me soon, you know that. His title will do wonders for our family name."

Eden could tell just by the way Lord Rutger leered at her that the man was anything but respectable. Besides, he was not even born into his title. The man was a peasant by birth. He had not become a nobleman until later in his life when a foolish earl had taken pity on him and adopted him as his son.

"Father, please, do not make me do this. Do not force me into a marriage with a man who I feel nothing for. I will be stuck in it for the rest of my life, for heaven’s sake! Please, Father."
Do not force me into a loveless marriage like you and Mother had…

As if reading her thought about her parents’ marriage, Eden’s father continued, "I let your mother read you far too many of those foolish fairy-tales when you were young, didn't I, Eden? There is no such thing as true love, and you should know that by now. You will marry this man and live a privileged life just like the life I have provided you with since you were but a babe. You will obey me and not say another word about it.” He slammed his fist down on the table, sending a teacup crashing. “I had enough of your pig-headed objections when you were a little girl. Your spoiled complaints will not be tolerated by any means in my old age. That is the last I am saying on this subject, young lady."

The last sentence caused Eden to shrink back. Her father, never one to yell or scream, raised his voice with each word and his tone grew harsh. His face was red.

Eden shook her head, staring intently at a loose thread on her frayed slippers. She knew that some couples had truly found love in real life, however rare it seemed to be among English aristocracy. Arranged marriages were much more prevalent, but Aimee Dawson's parents were in love with each other, and they had found each other against all odds. Aimee’s mother was a Frenchwoman and her father a British lord, and they had married despite the war which had divided their two countries.

However, Eden kept her rebellious thoughts inside, because she did not want her father to be cross with her again. He was her only family after her mother’s death and her brother’s disappearance.

Eden sighed as she leaned against her windowsill, forcing the jarring memory aside. Her conversation with her father had caused so much trouble, but she would avoid it all now. She would not have to marry Lord Rutger nor deal with her father's anger.

But escaping these terrors would cause her to lose her friends. A shiver ran through her, and she tried to push the thought aside. If she ran away she would never see Aimee and Ivy again. She chewed on her bottom lip, stood up, and moved away from the window. The brisk night air seemed to follow her to the other side of the room nonetheless. Since they were at least five years old, they had known each other. Their mothers had been close friends before them. Aimee’s mother had practically taken over the role of Eden’s mother when she had died. Oh, how Eden would miss them all…

Yet, I must leave.

Leave her family, leave her friends, and leave everything she had ever known. She did not care about what she would do once she got to the Caribbean. And yet would she be able to find work for herself there? Eden shivered at the thought. Even though she had heard many glorified stories about the Caribbean from her brother, she knew plenty of women had gone to the Caribbean hoping for a new life, but events forced them to become harlots in order to earn enough money to survive. She decided she would die before she did something so demeaning. Perhaps she would have greater luck remaining in England. Then again, maybe she could find Adam over in the colonies. He had adored his younger sister and would no doubt take her in until she could settle on her own feet…

Yes, she would leave, and hurry, too, for anything was better than marrying Lord Rutger and enduring his beatings her entire life. Eden had suffered enough of them by just becoming the man’s fiancée. She snatched the sapphire necklace Rutger had given her off of her vanity, realizing it could provide money when she began her new life.

Eden grabbed her valise which contained only an extra set of clothes, a stale crust of bread one of the servants had been about to throw to the dogs, and the few shillings she had been able to gather. Eden positioned her valise on one arm and swung her legs over the edge of her bedroom window sill. She had absconded with a pair of trousers and an oversized shirt from her brother's old bedroom, both of which she was now wearing. The waist of the trousers was cinched in with a rope she had found in the stables to keep them from sliding off, but otherwise her outfit fit just fine. Her hair was stuffed snugly into a bicorn hat.

How much easier it was to climb down from her bedchamber in nothing but trousers and a shirt rather than cumbersome layers of taffeta. She held back a giggle, remembering a year long ago. Adam had convinced Eden to sneak out of the house with him through her window so they could go outside and play while she was supposed to be taught by her poor, confused governess. Oh, how she missed dear, fun-loving Adam.

Eden leaped the final few feet to the ground and glanced around. She paused only to smudge a handful of dirt across her face to disguise her feminine features then sped down the streets to the harbor. Luckily, she knew the way from her stolen days with her brother. He had always dragged her to the docks in the full light of day to look at the ships he was so fascinated with. By the dark of night, the streets looked entirely different and not nearly as friendly and cheerful. The moon illuminated Eden’s path, and the still-bustling docks were infested with grimy sailors who ambled about. Salty, moist air, laden with the smell of fish, hit Eden’s face. Ships — too many to count — bobbed up and down in the harbor like children’s toys in a small pond.

Which one to choose out of so many? Which one to start her life anew and carry her to the Caribbean?

A loud guffaw caused her to turn, her heart racing. Men, a rowdy group of pirates by the looks of them, sauntered toward her. A bullet of dread shot through Eden. Could they somehow see past her disguise? Was some of her stubborn hair falling down from its confines in the bicorn hat she wore? Panicking, Eden dove behind a stack of barrels, in case the vile creatures realized she was not a boy. She did not need any unnecessary troubles before she even left London.

A look behind her told her it was too late. They were heading toward her makeshift hiding place, laughing drunkenly.

A frigate, her only hope of salvation, loomed tall behind Eden's back. On the hull of the ship, the name
Dawn's Mist
was painted in black, unfriendly spikes.

She glanced around the barrels again. The group of filthy sailors was still strolling closer, but they no longer appeared to be looking at her. Maybe they had not noticed she was a woman. Maybe they had not seen her at all. Oh well, this ship behind her had to be as good as any because she had no idea where any of the vessels were sailing anyway. It wasn't like she necessarily had a choice of which ship she was stowing away on.

Please, God,
she prayed,
please let this ship be heading toward the Caribbean. If not, some place that will at least be beneficial to me.

Eden scurried up the gangplank and landed on the wooden deck with a soft thud. She glanced around, taking in her surroundings. Stairs on either side of her led up to a higher level of the ship, called the forecastle and quarter deck, if she recalled from her brother correctly. On both sides of the main deck rested stacks of barrels, crates, and coils of thick rope. An old gray-haired sailor lounged on a barrel, chin rested on his chest, and a bottle of rum in his right hand. Besides him, no one else was in sight. She was thankful she had thought to wear boots, for she knew her flimsy silk slippers would no doubt catch on the deck’s many splinters.

Eden tiptoed across the rough wooden deck. The full, white moon illuminated her path as the vessel wobbled over a wavelet. Stifling a startled cry, Eden stumbled and threw her hand to her mouth. As she recovered her balance, she spotted a set of stairs, or a companionway, leading down below the decks. Down was the only way to head if she did not want to be discovered by the entire crew. If not for the noise it would make, Eden would have laughed ruefully. The shrouds certainly were not the place for her to go.
Please, Lord, do not let them find me down here.
She silently pleaded with God, hoping He would see past the times when she had not called upon His name first.

Taking a deep breath, she climbed down the steep set of stairs. These led her to another hallway which led to even more stairs. She passed a door. A crack of light escaped from underneath, and the foul stench of urine and rotten food emanated from within. Some deep snores met her ears, but she also heard raucous laughter and shouts. How could some of the men be sleeping through noises like that?

A terrifying thought occurred to her. Had she boarded a pirate ship? No, surely it was common for sailors to get into a simple brawl now and then. She had probably just arrived during one.