Wicked Proposition (33 page)

Tieghan watched Nicholas comfort Catherine and
turned to leave. He disappeared back out to the deck, that same
disapproving look boring into Nicholas before he left.

The sight of Catherine’s face haunted him,
etched in such horror she could not escape. Her unseen demons
pursued her. He didn’t think, he just snatched her to his chest and
did what he might to soothe a child who was in fear.

He was grim-faced when he thought of what she
had seen in her dreams. He thought of the man who had dumped her
body into the harbor. Helpless rage filled him suddenly for
whatever had been done to her. He no longer cared about the woman
she used to be. That Catherine was gone, and whatever sins she may
have committed were as well. He cared for who she was now.

She snuggled against his chest so perfectly he
felt heavy with a contentment he had never known. He kissed her
forehead and swore he would protect her with his life.

Mrs. Bingham smiled in the darkness as she
watched the Captain hold her charge and witnessed the chaste kiss
with a soundless sigh. Captain Van Ryker was an honorable man when
he wasn’t trying to be quite so wicked and mercurial. She knew he
would protect Catherine at all costs. She went back to sleep.

Nicholas returned Catherine to the bunk when she
was sound asleep. He returned to the deck and endured Tieghan’s
glare until he could bear it no more.

“What is it? You are looking daggers at me,”
Nicholas said harshly. “If you are thinking what I think you are,
than you are wrong! I seek only to help her now, nothing more.”

“Like you helped her in London? She is not the
same as she was then, Nicholas,” he growled in a voice filled with
contempt. “She is not ever going to be the same woman you
blackmailed into your bed.”

“Do you think I don’t know it?” Nicholas replied
sadly and looked out over the water. “She may never be right in her
mind again, Tieghan.” Nicholas reached out to grasp the rail and
leaned on it heavily.

“Martha says she may never remember what
happened to her.”

“When does the woman ever quit talking?”
Nicholas snapped.

“Have you considered what is to be done with her
when we leave?”

Nicholas couldn’t ignore Tieghan’s words any
longer. Catherine needed long term care, and their upcoming trip to
the Orient was unavoidable. All of the men’s fortunes counted upon
the cargo’s they would bring back. His own profits would ensure he
could leave his current occupation for a less dangerous life.

“Mrs. Bingham will agree to stay with her when
we reach St. Bart’s. I thought to purchase a house there.”

Tieghan seemed pleased now. His pale eyes sought
his. “I take it you do not plan to inform Gabriel of her
whereabouts now?”

“He chose to believe the worst of her at the
best time as I see it,” Nicholas said sourly and looked away. “She
remains with me. Had I forced the issue back in London as I should
have, she wouldn’t be as she is now.”

“She had a choice in this, Nicholas. She chose
to stay with Gabriel.”

“She is free to make another choice for herself
now, one that won’t get her killed.”

“You go backward, my friend. Even now, you seek
to steal her from him, when you know she cannot even remember him
much less anything else that happened to her,” Tieghan argued hotly
and gazed at him with a disappointed look in his eyes. “You cannot
win her this way!”

“Don’t you think I know that?” Nicholas snarled
and punched the railing, his eyes stormy. “Do you think I wanted to
fall in love with her, Tieghan? Even when she lay in my arms that
day she came to me, she believed she loved him! Do you think it
felt good to betray my friend as I did? You cannot know how it felt
to watch her leave that day. I have a chance to start over with her
now, Tieghan. Without having to compete with him for her heart! It
is worth it to me. She is all I want.”

Tieghan said nothing, frowning as he looked over
the water. He considered his words and eyed him with a sad
smile.

“Wherever do you find these impossible, troubled
women, my friend?”

Nicholas relaxed at his words, grateful Tieghan
would cease to plague him over his decision.

“A year changes much. She will improve in that
time. Mrs. Bingham seems hopeful.”

“For your sake, I hope you are right.”

Catherine now had the mind of a child and the
body and face of a temptress, a dangerous combination. It was no
wonder Mrs. Bingham looked at him and the other men aboard like
perverts. Nicholas had no choice but to wait for her to grow up
now.

Mrs. Bingham no longer nettled him about his
intentions in regard to her charge. She made it clear Catherine
needed care she could not receive aboard the ship with all men.

She proposed she remain on and Nicholas had no
choice but to agree. Mrs. Bingham could not go yet. Catherine
depended upon her far too much. She was in the midst of a tantrum
when Nicholas arrived to consult his maps. Mrs. Bingham was trying
to get the girl to wear the blue gown and she wanted the yellow
one.

He smiled as he watched the woman deal with her
as she would a sassy ten year old girl and shook his head. He
viewed his maps and decided they were far ahead of schedule. They
would make St. Bart’s on the morrow. He would sell his cache of
smuggled goods and buy more provisions.

With any luck he could find Catherine a yellow
gown that fit her. Mrs. Bingham’s gowns were three times too big
for the girl. His men needed liberty, especially Tieghan.

Perhaps if they found him a whore to consort
with, he would quit mooning about over Catherine, he hoped.
Nicholas despised the possessive jealousy he felt, often now,
thinking she was his. They had not discussed his plans for
Catherine since and he was careful to avoid the subject. Tieghan
would go along with it, but he clearly didn’t like it.

His men, on the other hand, had to be reminded
daily Catherine was not in her right mind. They all appeared to
digest this quite well accept for a few he would have to keep his
eye on.

Catherine was far too desirable, even as she
was. He had already decided he could not tell Gabriel what had
happened to her. She would never be the same woman she was.

Nicholas stood at the rail and stared down at
the azure water moodily. He reached into his vest and tossed the
letter he had written to Gabriel to ease his mind. He planned to
post it in St. Bart’s. He dropped it into the swirling waves below.
Deep inside his soul he knew what had happened to her had something
to do with Gabriel, though he did not blame his friend.

Gabriel had a wife he couldn’t seem to get rid
of and a child now as well. He would not want Catherine anymore as
she was. The thought of Catherine being sent to an asylum like the
one his mother had been sent to before she died made him ill. She
would be treated like little more than an animal there. He decided
to forego his plans to leave quite yet. He had always been
interested in acquiring property in the islands. He would seek an
agent to find accommodations.

Catherine could not remain aboard his ship. The
men eyed her too disturbingly lewd even after his stern lectures.
He was so lost in his thoughts he did not feel her sneak up on him.
Her hands clapped over his eyes and he grinned as she giggled.

It was a game she was quite fond of and he knew
she would expect him to guess who she was. Her smell, a mixture of
jasmine and elder rose, was ingrained in his memory and he wore a
look of concentration as he called out names of the crew, causing
her to giggle uproariously.

He turned and tickled her and she shrieked and
ran behind Mrs. Bingham, who smiled indulgently and eyed the
captain approvingly. He played with the girl like she was a child.
She realized her worries his lust would overcome his sense in
regard to Catherine had been for naught. The girl would be safe
with him.

“How do you feel about doing a bit of shopping,
Mrs. Bingham?” he inquired with a smile that would melt a glacier,
causing the woman to blush. “You must buy the chit some proper
clothes, as well as whatever teaching supplies you will need. I
must see a land agent while we are here. Tieghan and Gibbey will
accompany you to the shops. Try not to spoil her.”

Nicholas would recall those last words when the
mountain of parcels arrived aboard the ship later. The dozen men
who remained aboard looked longingly to the shore. The rest of the
men had been given liberty.

They eyed the girl in her new yellow gown with
matching ribbons in her hair and the doll she clutched to her ample
bosom sorrowfully, and ducked away from the older woman’s scolding
stare.

Tieghan smiled when she showed him her doll,
even though it pained him to see her delight in the toy. Catherine
scampered about the deck in search of Nicholas to show him her
doll, but he had yet to return from his meeting with the land
agent.

Tieghan dismissed the rest of the men to go
ashore and smiled as they whooped in delight. He decided to remain
aboard with the women and Tulley. Nicholas had told him he would
not be back until late and he could not bring himself to leave
Catherine unprotected aboard the ship with only the old cook.

Tieghan was growing lustful in his thoughts. He
looked ashore and decided he must end his torment or he would go
mad wanting the dark-haired girl as he did. He swallowed hard as
she sucked on a piece of candy the nurse gave her and uttered a
curse. He swung about to erase the image in his mind that sight
conjured.

Tieghan was thankful when he spotted Nicholas
rowing out to the ship. Nicholas barely uttered a greeting before
he commandeered his boat. Gibbey grinned in toothless pleasure as
Tieghan accompanied him to shore.

Gibbey handed Tieghan a jug filled with rum and
gazed back at the vision in yellow on deck and shook his head.

“It ain’t fair! The bonniest wench oi’ ever seen
and she’s as daft as a door knob,” Gibbey said sorrowfully. “It
makes me feel dirty just lookin’ at her! It ain’t right.”

Tieghan glared at him but said nothing. Gibbey
and the others believed Catherine was mentally ill and feared her,
a superstitious lot they were. He didn’t bother to correct them. He
gazed back at Catherine and had to agree.

Nicholas gazed at the mound of parcels with a
raised eyebrow. Mrs. Bingham had the grace to look apologetic. He
smiled at the sight of Catherine sitting cross-legged on the deck
with her new doll.

He helped take her packages to the cabin. He
informed her of his decision to purchase a property on a
neighboring Island. They would sail there tomorrow. If it pleased
her he would buy it and she could stay there with Catherine. The
woman was at a loss for words for approximately thirty seconds.

“I do not know what to say, Captain Van Ryker,”
she began, her pleasure at the prospect obvious as she wiped tears
from her eyes, her spectacles going askew. “I would be honored to
stay with her and run your home.”

Nicholas had been counting on it and had already
purchased the home. He grinned when he returned to the deck to find
Catherine and found her missing. A worm of fear wriggled in his gut
as he shouted for her. He and Mrs. Bingham were frantically
searching the ship. Tulley joined them and it was only later they
found her asleep curled up inside a rain barrel, her thumb in her
mouth.

Nicholas lifted her out and she barely woke,
still clutching the doll. He was silently chastising her as he
kicked open the door and deposited her upon his bunk. Mrs. Bingham
came to stand beside him, worry etched in her eyes.

“She needs the stability of a home, Captain, you
were right to think of it,” she agreed readily.

“I cannot stay, Mrs. Bingham, and she cannot go
where I am sailing. It is too dangerous,” he said at last. “You
will have servants and a home, and you can work with her as much as
you need to. My men are anxious to be about and I have a cargo to
deliver. I will leave money in an account to see to her needs as
well as yours.”

“You have been most generous with her, Captain.
May I ask why?” Mrs. Bingham asked and her knowing grey eyes met
his kindly. “I am no fool. I see the way you look at her. I know
you knew each other before she was injured. For whatever reason you
do this, I am proud of you, Captain. It is a kind thing you do for
her.”

“I have done little to feel proud of in my life.
Doing this for her pleases me. That is all it is about. I can
assure you that I will see to her care as long as it is
necessary.”

Mrs. Bingham nodded and was satisfied with his
explanation, but she doubted his honesty. She knew he had more of
an interest in her charge than he cared to admit to her. The look
in his eyes suggested he loved the girl

She made short work of putting their purchases
away in the sea chests and allowed her charge to nap as she went
above decks to stand with Tulley at the railing. The old man eyed
her out the corner of his eye and grinned broadly. The two of them
had been meeting around corners and hiding their affections for
weeks.

“I would wager you that once the girl is more
herself again, he will send her back to England,” Tulley said and
winked down at her. “Will ye be waitin’ for me when we return,
Martha?”

“Hush, Robert,” she whispered and smiled a
secret smile and put her elbow into his ribs. “I shall take your
wager and make one of my own. I predict Captain Van Ryker will not
see a child when he returns, this I can promise you. He will
declare himself, if he hasn’t already.”

###

Mrs. Gates smiled down at her little angel and
tickled the baby. She cooed to her and she sighed. She had kept the
baby with her against her better judgment. She saw no risk as she
had no contact with the Countess since that fateful night. She
feared the woman would try to kill her too so she had left London
immediately.