Lynna's Rogue (2 page)

             
“It may be none of my concern, but I am curious,” Joshua queried. “Why did your wife not journey to the docks to bid her daughter farewell?”

             
“My wife was abducted before our daughter's third birthday. I paid the ransom within days after receiving it, to no avail. We scoured the countryside, leaving no stone unturned, but her body was never recovered.”

             
Joshua witnessed the pain and grief that momentarily flickered across Nathan's face. The man had lost his wife to kidnappers, and now his only child was facing the same fate and being forced to sail
into the horizon
. Joshua was now able to fully understand the father's irrational fear for his
daughter's safety. As he
watched Nathan Rhodes melanc
holy departure from his cabin Joshua
was reminded of what his own mother had so often told him as a child.
Money makes life easier, Joshua, to be sure. But you cannot purchase happiness with it.

             
Joshua went on deck to inform his crew of the bonus each of them would receive after the safe delivery of their precious cargo. His mo
ther’s words were true indeed, b
ut he had not a doubt in his mind that the thought of the extra coins at the end of this voyage would be
the next best thing to happiness for his crew
.

             
Lynna Rhodes was hard pressed not to skip
up the gangplank in her eagerness to experience her first sea voy
age, ye
t she remained the embodimen
t of a grieving daughter
leaving both her father and her homeland behind. She glanced sideways at her father as he clutched her arm the same way a drowning man would the nearest floating object. She dropped her gaze as sudden guilt almost overwhelmed her. How could she be so elated when he was obviously miserable and looking so for
lorn? He reminded her of
a man in mourning or one on the way to the gallows, while her own excitement was almost impossible to subdue.

             
Due to her father’s almost irrational fear for her safety she had never been onboard a ship or even allowed to venture to the docks
,
for that matter. She had often watched the ships entering the harbor from her daydreaming perch on her upstairs window seat and longed to sail into the horizon to one of the intriguing far distant countries that until now had only been visited in books. Now that dream was about to become a reality.

             
She was destined for an exciting new land, a new home, and a new way of life. Best of all
,
she was setting sail without the hovering bodyguards that had ever been a perpetual thorn in her side.
Just this morning h
er father had informed her she would be traveling without them or even her maid
,
Gertrude, since they would only draw unwelcome attention to her. Instead of the ever present bodyguards
,
she was to rely on Captain Joshua Jordan for her every need. She eagerly anticipated hearing his captivating tales of thrilling adventures around the world. There should be plenty of time for storytelling, since the Captain was to assume total responsibility for her safety and they would be spending a surplus of time together.

             
But sea captains were, according to the numerous books she had read, an old and dowdy lot. And this one would, no doubt, pay little attention to her whereabouts. Probably busy with steering the ship or whatever
c
aptains did
,
leaving her to explore the sailing vessel and its passengers at her leisure.

             
She heard her father’s heartfelt sigh and once again glanced into his miserable countenance. Lynna had never felt more torn in all her life as excitement and sadness
waged a heated battle within
. She consoled herself with the fact that his sorrow would
be short-lived. She was convinced
that
he would soon see the villains captured and hanged and would then send for her to return home. With that thought she forced herself to ignore her father’s sad visage and instead count
ed
the billowing sails above her.

             
Oh, but she was so excited to be meeting new people! Yet, that
presented a quandary.
She would be
meeting strangers for the very
first time in her life. Would she know how to conduct herself properly? What to say? When to say it? She was all too aware that if put to the test she would be found sorely lacking in t
he fine art of conversation. However
all the blame could not be placed solely on her slim shoulders, since she had never been allowed to hone those fine skills. Her daily routine met with very few unfamiliar faces.

             
Lynna’s father escorted her to her cabin
,
and with tear
-
filled eyes
,
hugged her close. “My beloved daughter, you will never know the agony this decision has stirred inside me. You must realize why I am sending you away and the heartache
I feel in doing so. Please, assure
me
that
you understand!”

             
“But o
f course I do, Father.” Lynna’s
happiness at her newfound freedom rapidly dissolved as she gazed into her father'
s red-rimmed eyes. “And we will
be together again soon, you shall see. Your men wi
ll have those awful criminals
caught in no time and I will be awaiting word that I may return home.”

             
“Godspeed, my darling child. Rest assured
that
I shall send for you as soon as the danger has passed. Now I must depart before I am recognized. Look to the Captain for your every need unt
il you reach Georgia, where
Aunt Judith will be waiting with open arms.”

             
“I shall be waiting for your missive, Father,” she cried around the tight knot that had suddenly formed in her throat. “
Au revoir
, Father.
Je t’aime
!”

             
Brushing a betraying tear from his cheek
,
her father opened the door
,
and
over his shoulder
Lynna noticed a man leaning
casually
against the doorjamb, patiently waiting. As he
r father
closed the door and she heard the lock click behind him
,
she felt a moment of panic, wondering
if she had traded one prison for another.

             
Alone in the cabin
,
she removed the whalebone hoops from beneath the thirteen yards of ruffled, cornflower blue silk material that made up the skirt of her gown, and perched on the edge of the bed
,
removing kid slippers. Feeling gloriously unencumbered (her father never forced her to wear those two foolish contraptions, hoops and corsets, at home)
,
she listened to the muffled voices coming from the opposite side of the portal. As she fidgeted nervously with the hem of her flounced petticoat, her enthusiasm was almost impossible to contain. Was this really happening? Was this ship about to set sail? With her in it
?
She would not believe it was truly happening until she heard the wind billowing in the sixteen canvas sails of the
Windjammer
.

             
Taking a moment to survey her new surroundings, she found it to be a room much like her father’s study, with the addition of an intricately carved four-poster and a massive sea trunk. Along the walls were shelves lined with delicately shaped trinkets of ivory, glass and metal. A large desk took up one corner of the room
,
cluttered with maps, a compass, a sextant and a hand carved model of the ship.
This must be
the Captain’s cabin. She smiled
,
wondering how much it had cost her beloved father to persuade the Captain to
give up the comfort of his bed
for her convenience.

             
Wiping
the perspiration
that dotted her brow and trickled into her cleavage, s
he considered taking leav
e of her traveling outfit
and choosing a more appropriate day dress. It was stifling hot even though the four large windows in the cabin were open.
H
opefully, the ship would soon be underway and she prayed she might benefit from a cool ocean breeze on this sweltering day. Retrieving a fan from her reticule and fanning herself vigorously
,
she plopped down in the middle of the bed and gazed out across the gently rolling swells.

             
After having assured Nathan for the umpteenth time that he would care for his daughter as tho
ugh she were his very own sibling
, and escorting him off the ship, Joshua strode toward his cabin to console the poor
,
sheltered recluse. He had put off his duty as long as he could
,
now he must see to his charge. No doubt she would cower in the corner when he entered and scream bloody murder if he so much as looked at her sideways. Were there any female passengers onboard who could be persuaded to befriend
the child and perhaps share
sleeping quarters with her? He would make a few inquiries on the morrow. No, that
wouldn’t
work. Nathan would have his head if he allowed the youngster out of his sight.

             
Surely the girl must be as overwrought by this situation as her father, being banished from the only home
she had ever known without so much as
a maidservant. After living such a secluded life
, albeit a spoiled and pampered one,
for so many years
,
she could hardly be expected to be a social butterfly, more likely a painfully
shy wallflower. A
lready dreading the long
,
sleepless nights ahead spent cal
ming the grief-stricken child, h
is consolation would be that he and his crew would certainly be well compensated for any disturbed sleep.
Joshua breathed a deep sigh and
tried to prepare himself for her caterwauling as he knocked softly and slowly opened the door.

             
For the love of God!

             
What charade was this!

             
Had he been duped?

             
The vision before him was certainly no homesick and grief
-
stricken child! He would bet his ship on that! What was the reason for this masquerade? His jaw dropped and he stood perfectly still, inhaling sharply as the exquisite creature before him
beamed a radiant smile. Surely
the ravishing beauty on his bed could not be Rhodes's reclusive daughter! She looked anything but upset at the thought of leaving her
father, or
her
country
,
behind
.

             
Joshua had viewed beautiful women in ports all over the world, but Lynna Rhodes far surpassed them all. She had been blessed with
smooth,
cre
amy skin and breathtaking
vivid blue eyes that sparkled up at
him, enticing
moist
,
pink li
ps, a dainty upturned nose, and
waist
-
length, feathery go
lden curls that hugged her enchanting
curves. And she was far from shedding the copious amounts of tears he had assumed would be flowing in earnest at the thought of putting an ocean between herself and her father.

             
“Oh hello, you must be Captain Jordan,
enchante’
.” Her soft lilting voice startled
him. “I am Lynna Rhodes. But I’
m sure you must already know who is occ
upying your cabin in your stead.” S
he giggled, tumbling from the bed and standing to offer her hand. “I can hardly wait for us to set sail. Will it be very much longer?”

             
Joshua closed his mouth and opened it again
in a determined effort
to reply, but no words
fell from his lips
. Instead
,
he accepted her smooth delicate
hand as h
er sparkling azure gaze held him captive
and he stood motionless
. Then, as if she had read his mind and sought to fulfill his wildest fantasy, she moved into his arms
,
pressing her soft
,
full
,
very
femi
nine curves against him and molding her
body to his. “Thank you, Captain, for giving up the comforts of your four-poster. I was dreading the very thought of trying to find ease on one of the hard bunk beds. I hope your new quarters are suitable.”