Time for Love (8 page)

“What do you mean when his mother found out where he was?” she asked. “Did he run away from home or something?”

Looking like he was beginning to regret saying anything at all, he said, “The captain does not discuss this. You will have to ask him if you want to know details. Suffice it to say, his experience in the navy is why this ship is run as it is.”

“So what does this have to do with me?” she asked.

“As I have said, we know each other well. We do not know you.”

“Well, they haven’t exactly made an effort to get to know me. So there’s not much I can do about that,” she said. “Why are you telling me this?” She fought back a giggle at the way he sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, as if counting to ten. Perhaps she was a little too direct. The poor man always looked nonplussed when forced to talk to her.

“The crew wonders whether you would be any assistance in battle or if you would turn tail and hide.”

“Are we going into battle?” she asked, startled. Until his meaning became clear and the heat rushed to her face as anger spurted suddenly to life. It was too much. “I’ve done everything I’ve been asked no matter how awful, and I haven’t complained once. How do they know what I would do? They’ve made a point of keeping their distance. So I don’t give a shi—I don’t care what they think.” She was shouting by the end and glared at a sailor stumbling past the other end of the corridor because he was paying more attention to her than where he was going.

“Please lower your voice to a civilized level.”

She bit her tongue to hold back a sharp reply.

“It is not a matter of whether you shoulder your share of the workload. The captain and I have been pleasantly surprised in that regard. We did not set our hopes too high.”

“I’m overwhelmed by your praise,” she stated wryly, still smarting from the thought that the entire crew apparently thought she was a coward.

“You should be. However, we were discussing the situation with the carpenter.”

“We were?”

“Yes.”

“What about him? He’s my problem, why should it matter to anyone else how I handle it?” she asked in confusion.

“You’re not dealing with him. You have let his taunts continue unchallenged. You have, in fact, been a coward.”

“That’s crazy! Just because I don’t want to fight doesn’t make me a coward.”

“It’s not a question of what you want. You have little choice. It is simply a matter of standing up for yourself rather than letting the situation worsen. To the crew, you appear to have no concern for your honor. The only answer is that you must be afraid.”

“Humph.” She looked him in the eye. “And what do you think?”

“I must agree with the captain on this one. I think you have reasons for ignoring Mr. Duff, and though I cannot imagine what they may be, I do not believe it is cowardice.”

“The captain thinks the same?” A surge of warmth entered her chest. She didn’t want to admit how important it was that Nicholas think well of her.

“Yes. He convinced me of it.” He looked searchingly at her. “Do you care to tell me what those reasons are?”

Not sure how to respond, she thought for a moment before speaking. “Well, I wasn’t sure what the rules are about fighting. You and the captain helped me when I really needed it. I didn’t want to repay your generosity by causing trouble. Besides, I believe that fighting should be a last resort. Sticks and stones and all that,” she quipped, waving her hand airily in front of her face. How shocked would he be at the real answer?
I’m afraid that if I fight the bully my disguise will somehow slip, and you’ll find out I’m really a girl.
She would love to see his face though, she thought, stifling another giggle.

“Consider yourself warned. Either you prove to the crew you are not a coward, or life is going to get much more difficult for you.” He crossed his arms and looked down his nose at her. Deep furrows etched his brow as he frowned.

“I understand you don’t want the crew annoyed, or distracted or whatever…” She shrugged. “…but I don’t care what everyone thinks. Why do I need to prove anything?”

“If you think Mr. Duff’s taunts are unpleasant to deal with, just wait until the entire crew is on his side.”

****

Alex thought about her conversation with the first mate as she continued to have problems with Mr. Duff. He pushed or tripped her when the opportunity arose. If he couldn’t abuse her physically, he made cutting remarks at her expense to the rest of the crew.

Now that she had a bit more insight into the crew’s thoughts, she could feel the time was coming when she would have to defend herself more definitively. The crew would demand it. They were becoming less friendly with every run-in she had with Mr. Duff. The crew’s respect continued to slip away, but she didn’t know what to do. She thought she was dealing very well with the taunts and torments, but it was obvious the crew didn’t.

Men are strange creatures
. They would prefer she fight and risk getting seriously hurt instead of being sensible and ignoring the taunts. And she was under no illusion that anyone thought she could win. Mr. Duff was a big man. No one who looked at the two of them would pick Alex to be the winner in a fight. They took her inaction for cowardice, and this was apparently a horrible sin for a man.

The funny thing was she felt pretty confident she could beat Mr. Duff in a fair fight. He was a brute, but he didn’t have any particular fighting skills. She had a black belt in karate. He wouldn’t know what hit him. But despite her concern about being unmasked, she did believe that fighting should only be a last resort. That concept had been instilled in her for as long as she’d studied martial arts.

Then one day, Mr. Duff pushed her too far.

Chapter Six

April 18 (41 Days Remaining)

Alex watched the sun begin to set while listening to the pleasant sound of Nicholas’s voice as he and Mr. Grayson discussed the progress they’d made that day. They’d only spent a few minutes with her at the rail when a woman’s piercing scream ripped through the air.

Alex whipped around and ran for the cargo hold, ignoring Nicholas and Mr. Grayson’s startled exclamations. Fear froze the blood in her veins as she ran. Someone had found Evelyn. An ominous silence followed the initial scream, heightening Alex’s fear rather than soothing it.

The situation was worse than she’d feared when she reached the hold and looked down through the open door. Evelyn struggled on the ground with a man lying on top of her, his one hand covered her mouth while the other groped at her skirts as she kicked and thrashed about wildly.

As Alex rushed down the ladder, the man reached back and struck Evelyn hard in the face and the young girl went still.

Fury burst through every pore of Alex’s body as she kicked him in the ass, sending him flying over to the other side of the now still girl. The man looked up in surprise, his hand moving quickly to something at his waist. Alex recognized Mr. Duff with the glint of steel in his hand, and her brain registered the fact he was holding a knife, though she didn’t take her eyes off his.

He looked at her and sneered, “You! Bugger off, I’m busy. If you’re lucky I won’t tell the captain you’re the one been keeping this little bit o’ fluff down here.” His lip curled in a nasty version of a grin as he stood and tucked the knife back into his belt. “That’s right. I saw you sneaking around here earlier and came to find out what you were up to. Figured I’d have me a bit o’ fun ’fore I go to the captain.” He stretched his arms behind his back, hitting up against the bulkhead, apparently confident Alex wasn’t a threat.

When Alex spoke, it was in a voice so cold and calm she surprised even herself. “Step away from her, now.”

The smile on Mr. Duff’s face flickered briefly, and she caught a glimpse of uncertainty in their depths before he recovered. “I ain’t done yet.”

Before he could turn back toward Evelyn, Alex struck. She punched him hard in the gut. He doubled over, and she grabbed his arm, pulling him forward and using his own momentum to push him toward the ladder. He landed sprawled on his hands and knees, right at the feet of Nicholas and Mr. Grayson.

Nicholas took in the scene at a glance, and to her surprise he nodded, acknowledging the look in her eyes and her silent plea to deal with Mr. Duff herself.

“Both of you, topside. You can fight this out above deck. Mr. Grayson, take this girl to my cabin and see to her welfare. Join us when you are through.” Nicholas preceded them out of the hold.

Mr. Duff staggered up from his position on the floor and followed him. “Captain, he been hidin’ her in here the whole time. Stealin’ food and water from the crew. I was jus’ about to go an’ get you when he attacked me fer no good reason.”

Nicholas turned and even Alex quailed at the look in his eyes, glad it wasn’t directed at her. “I saw exactly what you were about to do, and it did not involve fetching me. You are lucky I do not just slit your throat right now. Instead, I shall allow the two of you to provide some entertainment for the crew before I settle on punishments for your crimes.” He ascended the ladder without another backward glance.

Seeing he couldn’t expect any help from that quarter, Mr. Duff silently followed. Alex close behind. As she emerged from below, her eyes not yet adjusted to the relatively bright light above deck, he aimed a vicious kick at her head.

She had expected a dirty trick and managed to grab his foot and send him sprawling onto his backside, giving her the chance to reach the deck unharmed.

Evelyn’s scream had caught the crew’s attention, and the majority stood around watching. They gasped and muttered angrily at Mr. Duff’s underhanded tactics. His face flushed as he looked around at the large audience.

Alex yanked off her shoes and socks, and then circled Mr. Duff as he struggled to his feet. The shaking of her limbs stilled, and ice water ran through her veins. She flexed her fingers and cleared her mind. Focus was the key. She thought of all she had learned in karate class. She could win this fight but would have to be very careful. Mr. Duff was no match for her skills, but he was stronger and larger. If he landed one solid punch, she’d be finished.

No one made any sound as Mr. Duff mirrored Alex’s movements. They circled each other in silence until it became too much for Mr. Duff and his taunts began.

Alex struggled to keep the rage from her face and making any rash moves as his words penetrated the preternatural calm that had descended upon her.

“Worried your little whore wouldn’t want you anymore after she had a real man?” He laughed and seemed to regain his confidence with each word he uttered. “She sure was eager to try. You must notta been doin’ right by her. Shoulda slapped her round some. Bit of a hellcat that one. Wanted it rough, and I was willin’ to give it a go.”

The thought of what he would have done to that poor child if Alex hadn’t been there drove every other thought out of her head. She attacked.

She sensed rather than heard the indrawn breaths of the crew but gave them no thought as she reached her target. It should have been over quickly, but there’s no telling what will happen in situations like this.

****

Nicholas watched the two men circle each other. He wasn’t sure it was the wisest course of action, but he had read the look in young Turner’s eyes and recognized his need to deal with this himself.

He watched them closely. Duff had the advantage in height and weight—probably why he had selected the boy to bully in the first place. He appeared to pose no threat. But Nicholas had seen the way Turner handled himself in the hold. He was small but seemed to have some fighting skills. Nicholas hoped it would be enough to keep him from sustaining any real injury.

Grayson appeared above deck, the girl beside him. She looked pale and weak but had a determined look on her face.

“I believe I told you to bring her to my cabin, Mr. Grayson. This is no place for a woman.”

“I tried, but as soon as she came to, she insisted on coming straight to you. She claims Mr. Turner did not assist her on board and only recently found her.”

The girl lifted her chin and looked up at Nicholas. “I alone am to blame. Mr. Turner had nothing to do with…” Her words trailed off as she caught sight of the two men facing each other and realized what was happening.

Nicholas was surprised to see a look of panic enter her eyes.

“Stop this. You can’t let them fight!”

She obviously felt something for Turner and worried for his safety, so he used a gentle voice to reassure her. “He will be all right. The worst he shall receive is a few bruises, maybe a broken nose or rib. I will not allow it go too far.”

“But that man has a knife! He’ll kill her!” She clapped her hands over her mouth, stifling a gasp.

It took a moment for her words to sink in. Nicholas looked at the girl in amazement. “Her?”

“I—I meant him. He’ll kill him.” But it was too late.

With understanding came a rush of anxiety. Even as Nicholas turned to the two combatants, he realized he couldn’t stop the fight. A flash of steel at Duff’s waist drew his gaze and the words “willin’ to give it a go.” reached his ears a fraction of a second before Turner,
Miss
Turner, attacked.

The muscles all along his neck and back stiffened. His mouth fell open as he watched along with the rest of the crew as she launched herself at the man who topped her by at least a foot and landed a punishing blow before he’d even had a chance to bring his fists up. The look on Duff’s face was almost comical as he realized his would-be victim wasn’t such an easy target.

The sunset they’d been admiring moments before created shadows across the deck and the combatants, making the fight all the more dangerous. The crew brought out lanterns and held them high to light the scene.

It soon became clear Turner would be victorious, and the crew rowdily cheered her on. They did not view Duff with fondness.

Nicholas worried that any interference on his part would distract Turner and in that moment provide an opening for Duff’s knife. Though he had yet to draw the weapon, Nicholas was sure he would. A man like Duff would not think twice about killing to save his own skin.