A rapid thumping of light footsteps caught his attention. He pivoted to find Miss Hancock erupting onto the deck. When she hurried toward the gunwale, he became concerned she might fling herself into the sea. As he mounted to his feet, though, she stopped at the rail and promptly expelled the contents of her stomach over the side. Mrs. Byrd slipped up behind her to drape a comforting arm over her niece’s shoulders. Miss Hancock displayed her thanks by retching a second time.
“There, there, Jane. This will soon pass.”
By the time Adam reached the pair, Miss Hancock lay limply against the rail, moaning. He smirked at her discomfort. “Care to amend your earlier claim about your stomach’s resiliency?”
She turned her head without lifting from the rail and impaled him with the same withering glare that had nearly buckled him earlier. “You are hardly in a position to cast aspersions. You look as if death vomitedyouforth. Have you come, then, to lord my misery over me?”
“Yes, partly. I am also investigating the accuracy of the proverb that misery loves company.”
“Your company is misery enough.”
“Would you have me leave, then?”
She remained silent for a moment. “No. You may do as you wish. I am too miserable to care.”
“Take courage, my dear,” said her aunt. “I am sure he means well, despite his bumbling attempts at courtesy.”
Hester shot him a challenging glance over her niece’s head. He picked at his scarf and cleared his parched throat. “So… How hellish is life belowdecks?”
Her head rolled again, and she perused him. “Apparently, not as hellish as above decks. Your roasted appearance leads me to believe Cook might serve you to the crew.”
Despite his best efforts to take offense, he could not help but smile at her acerbic wit. In a sudden fit of illogic and shared misery, he spoke without thinking.
“See here, Miss Hancock. I realize our families remain devoted enemies. I understand that the voices of our ancestors cry out from the grave for us to carry forth this everlasting feud. However, we have known each other for twelve years now. You were seven, if I recall, and I was ten when first we met.”
“I remember well the shoe incident.” Her tone grew particularly grim. “A dark day indeed.”
He ignored the jab, primarily because he deserved it. “As we will be in each other’s company daily for the indefinite future, I must make a request of you.”
“And what is that, Mr. Ashford?”
“That you call me Adam and not Mr. Ashford.”
She rose from the railing, and her brow creased. Clearly, she had not expected that. “Why do you suggest such a thing?”
“Because every utterance of ‘Ashford’ from your lips sounds more like a curse to the heavens than the calling of my name. I wonder if the use of my Christian name might allow for a less caustic tone.”
As she stared at him, a range of mercurial emotions played across her intriguing features. Surprise. Suspicion. Realization. Resistance. Her expression finally settled on something resembling acquiescence.
“Very well, Mr. Ashford. I will call you by your Christian name. However, you must return the favor by calling me Jane. Every time you say ‘Miss Hancock’…” She spoke her name with dramatic dread and a comically deep frown. “I feel the weight of four generations of Ashfords condemning me to purgatory.”
Adam nodded. “Very well, Miss Hancock.”
“There it is once more. The condemnation. Please try again.”
He inhaled a mockingly exasperated breath and rolled his eyes. “Very well, Jane. Now, your turn.”
She gritted her jaw briefly. “As you wish, Adam.”
After speaking his name, she immediately collapsed onto the rail and retched again into the sea. Hester patted her niece’s back.
“There, now. Is not civil conversation much better than open conflict?”
Jane remained draped over the rail, groaning. “I believe I shall die soon.”
“Nonsense, dear. Your stomach can hold only so much. I warned you at supper last evening, did I not?” Jane’s aunt shifted her regard to Adam. “Mr. Ashford, as we are practicing a new civility, then you may call me Hester, or Aunt Hester, if you prefer.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Are you certain?”
