Lynna's Rogue (7 page)

             
“Bridget,” she answered cheerily, already becoming accustomed to the fictitious name.

             
Natalie Johnson glanced around as if to assure
that
no one was eavesdropping an
d whispered, “Tell me, Bridget. D
id you hear that God awful piercing scream the other day?”

             
“
Oui
, I am afraid that was me. Unfortunately
,
I was…assaulted by one of the passengers.” Lynna still trembled remembering the appalling incident and had no desire
whatsoever
to rehash
it now.

             
“How truly
dreadful for you!” Natalie shrieked
. “But how on earth did he get inside your
cabin? Surely your door was latc
hed?”

             
“I accompanied him to his cabin,” Lynna offered unwittingly.

             
“You did?” Natalie gasped, seeming to take umbrage at her words.

             
“
Oui
, he volunteered to loan me some of his books, but he suddenly turned violent and proceeded to attack me.”

             
“Well,
I
honestly
never…” Natalie spluttered indignantly
, turning her back on Lynna to converse with the sea gulls
.
“
The girl could not be that naive! No unmarried young lady of decent breeding wou
ld even consider
entering a gentleman's cabi
n without a chaperone. Why it i
s simply beyond the realm of decency! The little hussy probably got exactly
what she was asking for. What i
s to become of this younger generation? No morals! No morals at all!”

             
“Excuse me?”

             
“What…oh nothing. I was but clearing my throat.”

             
Lynna had never before heard anyone use practically the entire alphabet while clearing their throat, but h
oping to put an end to
this unsettling discourse she
volunteered, “Fortunately
,
Joshua heard my screams and came to my rescue.”

             
“Joshua?” Natalie's eyebrows shot up.

             
“
Oui
, Captain Jordan. He requested
that
I call him Joshua.”

             
“Oh, did he now?” Natalie smirked. “And how long have you been acquainted with our Captain?”

             
“Only a few days. He is escorting me to visit relatives in America.”

             
“How nice of him,
I’m
sure. As for myself, I am returning to America. Virginia
,
actually, after a rather upsetting first visit to France.”

             
“I am sorry you did not enjoy your stay in my country,” Lynna replied, feeling personally responsible for the woman's distress.

             
“Oh, it was not the country. It was my ill-bred niece.”

             
“I see,” Lynna said, although she
honestly
did not.
Ill-bred
?

             
“Perhaps I shouldn’t repeat this,” Natalie continued with her scuttlebutt. “Although
I am
sure you would never repeat it to a living soul.”

             
“Not if you do not wish me to.”

             
“Definitely not. It would be positively scandalous.”

             
“Scandalous?”

             
“Yes, the whole sordid affair is rather onerous for me to even discuss. But you see, one of my unmarried nieces got herself in….well…in the family way back in the states. Horribly ashamed, as they should be, her parents asked me to accompany her on a voyage to France to live with her grandparents until the child is delivered and can be place
d in an orphans’ asylum. Unfortunately,
my niece did not wish to leave her lover, one of the lower dregs of society
,
I can assure you, and cried incessantly the entire trip until I was concerned for my sanity.”

             
The woman paused for a breath and continued, “Quite frankly, I was glad to be rid of her. And if my friends back home ever found out that I, Natalie Johnson, had a niece who would behave so immorally, why the shame would be outside the constraints of toleration. I can only pray they never learn the disgusting, shameful truth. Anyway
,
as you well know, that is precisely what happens when a young lady allows a man to take indecent liberties with her.”

             
“Indecent liberties?”

             
“Yes,” Natalie
bristled
before continuing with her diatribe
. “Indecent liberties, Bridget. Lewd and lascivious behavior! When an unmarried woman allows a man into her bed and they have marital relations.
It is
to be expected. And even the most uneducated imbecile realizes that it only requires one such episode to create a baby in a woman’s womb.”

She sighed dramatically
and laid a limp hand across her forehead
. “It has been so humiliating for the entire family. And her poor
f
ather! He was always so proud of her, and now this? A disgrace! That is what it is, a disgrace! Any man who would seduce an innocent young girl does not give a fig about her to begin with!”

             
“By relations, you mean having sex?”

             
Natalie Johnson’s cheeks grew a bright vivid red and she looked quite faint
as she again turned her back on Lynna to consult with the sea gulls. “Do you hear how she carelessly tosses about a word that I have
only uttered once,
and that in the privacy of my own boudoir? Shameless, positively shameless!’

             
S
he
faced Lynna again and
whispered haughtily after appearing to have successfully calmed her abused senses
, “Yes, that!”

             
Feeling terribly lightheaded and wishing the sea would open up and swallow her, Lynna excused herself and hurried to her cabin. She was unable to endure another word of the woman's vitriolic tirade against her poor niece and other young ladies of… questionable virtue… such as herself.

             
Joshua watched Lynna’s every movement as she raced across the deck until her slim figure could no longer be viewed.
Why was she in such a hurry? She had been chatting
with th
e
tongue
-
wagging Natalie Johnson. Who
would not
flee at the first opportunity? But even the sight of her fully clothed had caused his blood to race in his veins. How he wanted her, yearned to feel her velvety softness beneath him, caress every
silken inch of her lovely body
all over again. Therein lay the problem.

             
He feared his desire for her was too strong. The feeling was deep in his soul that he could be content to hold her for the remainder of his natural life. However
,
he was not ready for a lifetime commitment and could not envision himself settling down with a wife and a passel of children for many years to come. No, the little lady was dangerous. Of that he was certain. It would be best for all concerned if he kept her at a safe distance until they docked in Charleston. Not an easy task due to the simple fact
that
they shared a cabin.

             
“You? You! Is that all you can think about at a time like this? You? And what my father might do to you? Which
,
I can assure you
,
will not be pleasant!” she took great pleasure in adding. “What about me?”

             
“There is no cause for undue alarm, Lynna. I will see that both you and the child are well taken care of.
What was he saying?
What child?
Let me amend that, if indeed there i
s to be a child. But, please
clarify one minor point for me. How did you come upon this information so soon, when we only made love three nights ago?”

             
“Had sex,” she reminded him.

             
“Very well then, since you have become an authority on fornication, Lynna, perhaps you can clarify one point. H
ow can you be sure that you are carrying my child?” W
hy, the idea was preposterous,
pure conjecture.

             
Of a sudden, a sad thought struck Lynna and she chided herself for berating the obviously uninformed man before her. Why
,
it was entirely possible that he wasn’t even to blame for his thoughtless conduct. For had he not spent most of his adult life onboard ship? Perhaps he was as unversed in such matters as she herself had been. It had most likely been his inaugural venture into relations as well. And he, like her, evidently
did not
have the slightest notion that their drunken encounter… well… perhaps she was the only one who was intoxicated, would result in the delivery of an
enfant
. Oh, bless the poor
,
unsophisticated man.

             
“I am truly sorry, Joshua,” she spoke slowly, as she would to one dim-witted. “You were unaware of the consequences as well, weren’t you? Sit down and let me explain what the disastrous result can be when a man and a woman take indecent liberties.”

             
“Lynna,” he declared abruptly
,
and massaged his temples in an attempt to ease a sudden pounding, “trust me; I am well aware of how babies are made.”

             
“Then why in God's name did you not inform me?” she cried, not wishing to believe
that
he could be mindful of the outcome and still perform the act without heed to the results.

             
“I thought you knew,” he snapped irritably. “No one can be that dense.”

             
“Dense?” She took a step backward as though she had been struck, thoroughly affronted by his cruel words.
Words that caused her spine to stiffen.
No one had ever dared speak to her in such a manner. Let alone call her dense. The very idea!

             
Ignoring her outraged stance
,
Joshua continued
,
“Please, proceed. Continue telling me about this child
that
you carry in your womb. Did you draw this conclusion on your own?”

             
“
Oui
, I came to
this conclusion on my own. Well…
with some instruction from Miss Johnson.”

             
“Natalie Johnson. I should have known. What other mischief has th
e
gossipmonger planted in your head? Lynna, you are not
with child
.”

             
“
I am
not?” she shrieked and scurried to stand before him, arms akimbo, as relief washed over her in a flood. “How can you be certain? Are you absolutely positive?”

             
“Well, reasonably certain.” He hesitated, wishing there was some way around the truth. “Normally it takes more than one encounter to create a baby.”

             
“But it can occur the very first time?” Her elation dissolved as quickly as it had materialized.

             
“Well… yes.
I suppose it could.”

             
“Oh, Joshua, I knew it! How could you singlehandedly bring about the ruination of my entire life?”

             
“How could I ruin your life? Lynna, if you will recall, I did not do anything against your will.”

             
“It was the wine! I had never been allowed to drink wine before! You knew I was not responsible for my actions and yet you took advantage…” She stopped and blushed a most becoming shade of pink. “My
tante
will turn me away when I arrive on her doorstep ponderous with child, and without the benefit of a husband. I will have no place to go. Our
enfant
and I will be roofless vagabonds and be forced to resort to a life in back alleys. Our only recourse will be to sail back to France where my baby will be stripped from my arms and placed in an orphans’ asylum.”

             
“Roofless! In the back alleys! The grandchild of the wealthiest man in France growing up in an orphan’s asylum! What are you thinking? Did I not just assure you that I will see to the well being of both you a
nd the child? If there is one, since w
e have no way of knowing f
or certain
. So let’s just wait a few weeks for an answer to this quandary before we jump to all manner of conclusions
.
”

             
“How will we know the answer?” she asked
,
bewildered.

             
“We have to wait for your….uh….you know,” he stammered, seemingly ill at ease with the topic. “To see if you forsooth carry my seed.”

             
“
My what
?”

             
“Your…
you know
,
Lynna!”

             
“No, I do not know!” She was
anxious to be certain one way or the other. “Please, Joshua, do not conceal the truth from me, I simply cannot bear it!”

             
“You know, Lynna. Your….you know.”

             
She
was fast beginning to lose sight of her patience with his nonsensicality. “Joshua, if you will, please dispense with your adolescent parlor games. I can assure you
that
I have no idea what you are alluding to. If there is a way to know for certain whether or not I am carrying your offspring
,
I would greatly appreciate it if you would be so kind as to share such knowledge with me!”

             
“I am talking about your monthly flow
!” he blurted out. “For heavens
sake, did Gertrude fail to teach you even the most rudimentary facts of life?”

             
Lynna had never been more mortified than to have a man refer to the unmentionable topic of her monthly flow in her presence. “My? My?
Oh, No!” She
raced to the bed and thre
w herself face down as
blood rush
ed
to blaze a trail across her burning face and neck. She would never be able to show her face in his presence again, not after today. She was contemplating throwing herself out the window when she felt the bed give as he sat down beside her.

             
“Lynna?”

             
“How could you dare speak such words in my presence? You are th
e most vile, uncouth
man I have ever had the misfortune to be plagued with. Such topics should never be spoken of!” Gertrude had pounded that into her head. However, she had been dreadfully negligent on ot
her equally important matters.

             
“
I am
sorry, Lynna, but you insisted that I tell you, did you not?”

             
Suddenly, Lynna sat up in bed, her curiosity overcoming her vast embarrassment. “Joshua, what does my….you know….have to do with whether or not I am with child?”

             
“Lynna, that is the only proof of whether or not a woman is with child. Your monthly flow stops until after the baby is born. If it arrives, then you have naught to worry about.”

             
“Astonishing!” was all sh
e could think to say before gathering her wits and launching
into a tirad
e
concerning Joshua’s astounding
lack of character.

             
Sam observed as Joshua shoveled heaping spoonfuls of beef stew into an already overstuffed mouth. “What bee is in ye bonnet this time, lad?”

             
“What makes you so sure one is?” Joshua snapped, annoyed
that
Sam had the uncanny ability to always know when something was bothering him. Did he have the power to read minds?

             
“Just a hun
ch.” Sam chuckled
. “Well, am I right?”

             
“Have you ever been wrong?”

             
Sam’s deep laughter rumbled through the galley. “And I thought the two of ye were becoming rather cozy in the Captain's cabin.”

             
“We were until that interfering Natalie Johnson started stirring up trouble.”

             
“Aye, that one is trouble
,
all right. Always sticking her pointed nose where it doesn’t belong. What harm has her forked tongue caused this time?”

             
“She has Lynna convinced that she carries my child.”

             
“Does she now? So soon?”

             
“How the hell should I know? It only happened once.”

             
“The planted seed has been known to take root and sprout after the first sowing, lad.”

             
“I am well aware of this, Sam. As I informed Lynna, I have some knowledge of how babies are made.
” He dropped his head in his hands before continuing, “
I came
to ask if I could use the spare bunk in your cabin. My mere presence seems to infuriate her beyond reason.”

             
“Of course ye can, lad. But ye had to understand that yer luck could not last forever. Sooner or later ye were bound to get caught. As disagreeable as ye are feeling right now, just
imagine how wretched the wee
lass must be feeling up there all alone in yer cabin without a champion in the world. As ye well know
,
an unmarried young lady with child does not have an easy row to hoe, even if her father is the most affluent man in all of France.”

             
“Stop trying, Sam. You
cannot
make me feel any worse than I already do.”

             
“Would ye care to place a small wag
er on that?” Sam
scooped another ladle of stew in the lad’s bowl. “Fancy her father's reaction to the joyous news.

             
Lynna kept her door latched in the weeks that followed, never once embarking on deck or partaking of a meal outside the confines of the cabin. She was inconsolable, only granting Sam permission to enter the cabin to inquire about her wellbeing once each day. She placed a quivering hand on her still flat stomach every few hours
,
searching for any evidence of growth. So far, it was still blessedly flat. 
M
erci
,
God!

             
Her ruminations often fled across the sea to the Chateau, and her father. Her loving father
,
who had once been so proud of her. She recalled his face radiating with pride as he stood with the staff during one of her many ballet or piano recitals. Always near with applauding hands and cheering words of praise at her smallest accomplishments.

             
Now, when she returned with a bastard child and no husband, he would be too ashamed to even claim her as his daughter. The scandal would sweep across Paris like the pox. His business patrons would refuse to do business with him. She would discredit his good name, but far worse
,
she would break his heart. How could she bear to live with the shame? She collapsed on the bed as hot tears of humiliation
shook
her slender frame.

             
After three weeks
,
the wait was becoming almost unbearable for Joshua. He knocked softly, then slowly pushed open his cabin door and stepped inside. He was startled by her appearance; she looked so thin and fragile and pale, and so a
lone. It was obvious by her
swollen eyes
that
she had been crying. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and gently kiss away her pain, prove to her
that
she was acting irrational. He knew the likelihood of her having conceived was slim indeed. He had bedded more women than he could c
ount and none of these couplings had ever produced a child
that he was
aware of. But
there would be no way of convincing her of that. She would have to witness the truth for herself.