Other Oceans: Book Two of the Hook & Jill Saga (10 page)

“So you have sold yourself to piracy? You, the captive, now have a captive of your own to give you some sense of power in your helplessness? And to think I sought to save you! I see now it is much too late for that. You are already tainted by—” he shot a look at Hook, “experience. And I am to be rewarded for my good intentions by seeing my daughter pressed into service along with me.”

Hook drew himself up to an imposing height. “Do not presume to chastise my mistress, Hanover. Any insult to Jill is insulting to me. The
lady
is in no position to satisfy your urges, whether you desire to perform good works or to follow your baser instincts. There was never any question of putting her ashore, with or without you, and well she knows it. I see we do not agree, personally or professionally, but I will allow you time to adjust to your situation. There is no choice in any case, as we’ll not be putting into port soon. And if your daughter is too good to wait upon my lady, then you are too good to attend to my men, and you can both enjoy the hospitality of my brig. Mr. Smee, kindly do the honors.”

The doctor sat back in his chair and watched while Smee strode to the door and opened it, and a parade of willing servers entered the cabin with silver salvers to wait upon the diners. A sumptuous feast was laid before him. His goblet was refilled time and again. The lady, making the best of her circumstances, was charming and gay, and the captain warmed to regale his company in recounting the more colorful of his many voyages. After dessert and liqueur offered in exquisite crystal, cigars were passed with the lady’s kind permission and the music began at the harpsichord and ended in song. And the lady consented to dance with all the gentlemen present, while the candles burned lower and the ship plowed on through unknown waters and the moon trailed her slippery silver strings in its wake, visible through the grand, velvet-lined windows of the very comfortable quarters of the quixotic, enigmatic, and apparently, even romantic, brass-plated Capt. Jas. Hook.

Doctor Hanover shook his head and doubted as he sat ensconced in a velvet chair, overwhelmed and fingering his watch, if he would ever manage to disentangle himself and his impressionable young daughter from this finely woven web of luxury, corruption, and delightful deceit. He watched the woman, this Jill, whose name was common enough, and wondered if she, herself, might be persuaded to be common, and if she already had been. And until he could lower himself to partake of her mysteries, did he really care enough for himself and for Liza to escape these barbarous pirates after all?

§ § §

After a pleasant struggle, the rubies had been locked away, and the brace with its iron claw hung from its hook by the bed, swinging with the motion of the sea. Jill reclined in the master’s arms, listening to the beams croon as the ship settled into the night, and considering the evening’s events.

Hook was solicitous of his mistress. “A successful evening, but tiring for you. I suggest you rest, my love.”

“And you, Hook.”

“You must be aware by now that I am incapable of rest until
you
sleep.”

“And you never knew what kept you awake, did you, until you found me?”

“My storyteller must be dreaming before I can close my eyes. And then she dreams more life into me.”

Jill smiled to think of the power she held. “I will be kind, always, and ensure that you sleep. When it suits me.” She stroked the neat whiskers of his beard. “But sometimes
I
like to be kept awake.”

He laughed. “As I well know!” He trapped her fingers and kissed them. “And how did you enjoy our little dinner party?”

“You are a magnificent host, Hook! I believe our surgeon has already begun to recognize the benefits of employment in your service.”

“And your service. You have the man at your feet. Rigid as he seems, you bent his will tonight, more than once.”

“The doctor’s attitude is certainly ambivalent. He seems both attracted and repulsed by me.”

“I might point out your similar reaction to the doctor.” As her eyes slid toward him, he half-smiled at her. “And I might not.”

She matched him. “You must do as you see fit, of course.” Unruffled, she went on. “He never once touched my right hand, even as we danced.”

“I cannot fault him for that. It is much more pleasant for a man to slip an arm around your waist.”

“It is much more pleasant for me as well.…Did you notice how he keeps his affection for his daughter at bay? I believe he regards her more as a possession than family.”

“Yes. I had assumed the girl’s situation would grant us a secure hold on him. But I have now more accurately identified his weakness.”

Jill pondered Hook’s meaning, wanting to be sure she understood him. She remembered how possessively the surgeon’s arms had held her, the strength of his grip belying his reserve. She recalled the intensity behind his gray eyes from the moment he first addressed her. Clearly, Jill had tapped a vein of passion under the man’s controlled façade.

Now she smiled. “Hook. You mean me.”

“I mean you.”

“And your new plan is to use me to bind him?”

“I have already done so.”

Jill’s smile faded as she considered Hook, alarmed at first, and then her expression grew shrewd. As was her habit when discussing business, she addressed the captain formally. “Sir. Exactly how far do you wish me to take this game?”

“You must not engage in it at all— unless you play to win.”

“A challenge, then?”

His eyes gleamed. “A gamble, with fabulous stakes.”

“You know how such stakes tempt me.”

“I am well aware, Madam, of your weakness. And your strength. I’d like to have observed the doctor’s reunion with the very unusual contents of his medicine bag. My guess is it was much more tender than the reunion with his daughter.”

“Different men value different treasure. And we’ll have it from him.”

“We have it now, but patience, Jill, will yield us more. If he can be persuaded to join us, all to the good. If not, we can at least discover the source of his mysterious cache. You will find a way.”

“A way to win the game. But I don’t accept him or his medicine at face value. Proper as he appears, my instinct tells me he is not entirely a gentleman.”

“All the more reason to play.”

Jill hesitated. “And…if he isn’t a gentleman?”

“All the more reason to prevail.”

She studied him, her head at an angle. “You are a fascinating man.”

Hook raised an eyebrow. “Are you playing with
me
, now?”

“Mr. Smee thinks so. He doesn’t quite trust you to me. Perhaps I’m only wanting your treasure, after all.”

“But I trust you implicitly. I know for a fact you are after my treasure.” He laced his fingers through her own. “I know you. You are my soul. But you understand, do you not, why I feign to esteem you so lightly before strangers?”

“Yes, Hook. You are protecting me— protecting us. Our adversaries mustn’t discover that you and I are two sides of the same coin.”

“No. Never expose our vulnerabilities. But we cannot be torn apart. And so, whatever game you play, you will do what you must, and always come back to me.”

“And you will come back to me.”

“No matter where I go.”

“But there is
nowhere
I wouldn’t follow you.”

Immediately, Jill knew she had said the wrong thing. Hook glared at her, then sat up abruptly. He pulled her along with him, roughly, and seized her face between his hand and his broken wrist. Her eyelids fluttered in surprise. He controlled his emotion, but his voice conveyed his urgency.

“Listen to me.”

She stared, unaccustomed to this rude handling. His piercing eyes transfixed her.

“When I go into danger, you must not follow.” He shook his head. “As your lover I deplore it. As your captain, I forbid it!” His gaze raked her face, and fell to the scar at her throat. “You needn’t prove your courage again.” Savagely, he kissed the crimson line.

Jill tilted back her head. “Hook…” The ferocity of his embrace overwhelmed her. She plunged her fingers into his hair and drew him closer. “Captain.” Caught up in his fervor, she felt the grip of a sudden dread, and she had to know. “What, then, would you have me do?”

Hook pulled back and shook his hair from her grasp. He was her commander now, at his most imposing. “You must do as I would do. Your duty is to preserve yourself, and preserve our ship, at all costs. If any undertaking calls me from you, the
Roger
is in your charge. While I am alive, you will feel it, and know that I will find a way to return to you here.”

“But what of the men? Would they follow me?”

“You are my queen. As long as you conduct yourself as such, they will respect you. And you may always rely on Smee. He may not completely trust you, but he knows my orders. He will obey.”

Jill was stabbed with cold. The ship pitched in the darkness, and the hook tapped sharply against the wood of the wall. Yet Jill’s grip on his arms remained firm. “Hook. I don’t want to be a queen without a king.”

Unyielding, he said, “You will do what you must. With or without me.” And then, more gently, “As you always have done. That is my order.”

She closed her eyes, relieved to feel the burden of responsibility lifted by the captain’s command. She couldn’t guess how it might affect her, but the decision was made. “Aye, Sir.”

Softening, he gathered her into his arms again, and, slowly, the cold receded from her heart. She opened her palm and gazed at it; he covered it with his own. Neither of them had forgotten who she was. Red-Handed Jill.

Her voice was steady. “What must I do now?”

Hook smiled, although she didn’t see it. But she felt his body changing. Rest, apparently, would have to wait.

“You must do your duty. To your captain.”

“Sir…”

“Madam. First answer the question I put to you before the doctor. What would you have me do with you?”

Her answer rushed out, passionate, “Take me home, of course!”

“I have already done so.”

She looked down. Impatient now, she asked, “And have you any further unnecessary questions this evening?”

“Only one. You have won my love. But to what lengths will you go to secure my treasure?”

“Hook—”

“Jill.” He pressed a finger to her lips. Once again, he made his orders clear. “Don’t answer. Simply demonstrate.”

She bit his finger first.

Chapter 5

A Company of Gentlemen

D
isregarding Jill’s order to delay, Liza rapped early on the captain’s door. She waited a moment, then Jill’s voice answered, clear as morning bells.

“Come, Liza.”

The girl entered, closing the door behind her without a sound. She kept her eyes lowered only until she dropped a curtsy, then raised an eager gaze to the bed.

The cabin was lit with morning sun where one bedside curtain hung open. The fabric stirred, as the sea with its invisible hand rocked the room. The aft and starboard draperies were drawn, and Liza in her brown dress stood like a shadow in semi-darkness.

Her gamble was rewarded. Jill didn’t appear angry to be awakened. Better yet, Liza filled her eyes with the sight of her captain, just leaning on his elbows to force himself up against the pillows. She liked what she could see of him. What she could see of him was naked.

His blue eyes rolled toward her for only a moment, then, uninterested, his gaze shifted toward the sea. Jill reached for her dressing gown. As she wrapped herself within it, Liza had time to stare at the man, unobserved. His face and neck were darkened with the night’s growth of beard. His hair cascaded over powerful shoulders, and his black-fringed chest swelled as he breathed in a draft of morning air. Liza was both relieved and disappointed that his right forearm remained under the bed linen. She had spent a good deal of the night wondering what his hook might hide during the day.

When Jill glanced again at the girl, she was staring, fascinated, at the wall beyond the bunk. Jill followed her gaze to the hook and its leather harness. “Liza, you needn’t—”

A firm knock struck the door. Jill smiled at Hook. “We can’t fault our crew for laziness, can we? Enter, Mr. Smee!”

Smee stepped in and halted when he saw Liza. He blinked over his spectacles. “Good morning, Madam, Sir. I see now why my knock at young miss’ door went unanswered! I didn’t open though, Miss Liza. Captain’s orders that the surgeon and his daughter should be keeping their privacy.”

Interested now, Hook looked keenly at his bo’sun. “Where is the surgeon?”

“In the galley, Sir, hunting up a mug of tea to settle his stomach.” Smee grinned. “A fine dinner it was, Ma’am, but it seems the wine was a bit too plentiful.”

Jill arched her eyebrows. “I found it to be perfect.”

“It served its purpose.” Hook leaned forward and rolled his shoulders. Liza watched as the bed linen fell to his waist. “What is our disposition?” With his only hand, he unhooked his harness from the wall.

Smee strode forward and took it from him. “On course and all clear at the moment, Sir. Mason sighted that ship again, early, but it seems to have sheered off to the north. Couldn’t get a good look at it.”

“Come Liza, help me dress.” Jill crossed to starboard, threw open a curtain for light, and moved to the wardrobe. “Slide the drape closed, please.”

Liza followed and, with reluctance, drew the velvet cloth that hung in front of the couch. It closeted her and her mistress in a tidy space that included the couch and the wardrobe. The girl’s ears could still hear the captain moving, but her eyes were denied. His voice hadn’t gifted her with a word yet this morning. Her ears were disappointed.

Jill pulled the brass handle of the wardrobe. As it opened, daylight from the portside window flashed within its mirror, until the door settled wide. “The brush, please, Liza. Thank you. Take down the gold taffeta for today.”

As Liza ran her fingers over the gowns, she eyed the captain’s coats. She glanced over her shoulder, and then she stroked them, each of them, black, red, tawny-brown, blue. The velvet felt soft and supple between her fingers. Warm. She seized the sleeve of the black coat and, stealing another glance at Jill first, buried her face in it. She breathed deeply, then dropped the sleeve and took down the golden gown. She had just laid it out on the couch when her mistress’ next words startled her.