October 1815
Again,” Kieran called. “Faster this time.”
“My arms are jelly.” Jamie sagged, chest heaving, the tip of her rapier dipping. “You’ve managed tae liquefy them.”
“Jamie,” he growled, aggravation rolling in his chest. “Ye have to be able tae defend yourself from attack. When you’re tired, most particularly. Now,en garde.”
This beautiful, brave lassneededto know how to protect herself. Kieran would accept no other outcome.
Jamie rolled her eyes, but she lifted her blade and parried his attack. He beat her back against the deck railing, but instead of standing her ground, she darted to the side and danced away from him, laughing.
“Jamie,” he warned, spinning to follow her. “This isnae a game.”
“It isnae?” she chuckled, her accent rough, matching that of the other Scottish sailors aboard. “My wee arms are never going tae be strong enough for this.”
“They will be. Ye just need tae practice more.”
The ship bobbed at anchor in the vast harbor of Rio de Janeiro. The town clustered around the water’s edge, but mountains rose behind, impossibly green and exotic. The air hung with the perfume of tropical flowers and the call of wild parrots and toucans.
Kieran had always considered Rio to be one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Most of the crew had already gone ashore, including Captain Cuthie and the rest of the senior mates. Kieran was left in charge with only a few able-bodied men as guards against thievery.
And Jamie, of course.
She had wanted nothing to do with “the tomfoolery that sailors get into while ashore.”
Or rather, she recognized that maintaining the fiction of her gender would be fraught were she to find herself in a bathhouse.
The crew would only return to the ship in order to sleep.
The rest of the Brotherhood, as they were passengers and not crewmen, had rented rooms in a hotel along the harbor.
“I intend to be waited upon hand and foot for the next few days,” Rafe had chuckled.
“Aye, and eat a meal with fresh fruits and vegetables,” Andrew had agreed.
This meant Kieran and Jamie practically had the ship to themselves during the daylight hours.
To while away the time, they fenced and practiced hand-to-hand fighting skills. Jamie had learned much from Rafe, but Rafe’s approach to fencing assumed his opponents would be civilized and orderly.
However, a true fight was rarely ‘civilized and orderly.’ It was, at best, terrifying chaos.
Jamie didn’t just need to know how to fight. She needed to learn how to fight dirty.
But the time Kieran spent alone with her was fraught, as it magnified the tug of attraction between them.
Yes, she was friends with all of the Brotherhood.
But Kieran was the only one she singled out.
Three weeks.
They had been at this dance for three weeks.
Flirtatious banter when no one else could overhear. Long talks under the cover of darkness. Hours of laughter with the others in Andrew’s cabin.
There had been no further mention of her returning to Scotland.
