Charlie shut the door behind her and leaned back against it, crossing arms over her leather waistcoat. “You are full o’ surprises, Miss.”
“Please call me Emeline.” She gestured to the chair, but Charlie remained at the door.
“I came to thank you for stepping in today, though I can handle meself wit’ that froggish rake.” Her lips slanted.
“I have no doubt.” Emeline lowered to sit on the bed and hugged herself. “I couldn’t just stand there and let him…” She sighed. “I should be thanking you for coming tomyrescue. In truth, I had no idea how I was going to put him off.”
Charlie waved a hand through the air. “I don’t ‘xpect he would have hurt me, an’ he’s not one to force hisself on a woman. Just remember you must ne’er cower before him.” She gave a mischievous grin. “Next time, mention his Negro blood. He hates that.”
“Negro?”
“Aye, word is his father were some wealthy nobleman on Martinique who sired Maston with one of their slaves. When the man’s wife discovered it, she tossed young Maston to the wind.”
Oddly, Emeline suddenly felt sorry for him.
Charlie shook her head. “Don’t you go feeling bad for him,” she said as if reading Emeline’s mind. “He’s no innocent.”
“I heard what you said. How he left that poor woman with child.”
A gust of wind barged in through the porthole, stirring the lantern flame and sending shadows over the bulkhead.
Charlie’s jaw hardened. “She’s not the first either.” She pushed from the door and strode to the window. “Men think they run the world…think they can whisper sweet words to any woman, make promises to love them forever, an’ then leave them wit’ a swelled belly an’ not a coin in their purse.”
Wind tossed Charlie’s hair as she stood at the window, staring out upon the sea, her thoughts seemingly elsewhere.Instantly, her belly swelled like a bloated sail. It looked so real, Emeline sucked in a breath and was about to dash to her friend to help her with whatever malady had come upon her so suddenly.
But the vision—for surely that was all it was—vanished as quickly as it had come. Charlie had been with child. What else could it mean? Confusion racked Emeline’s already rattled mind, for she could not fathom why God showed her these things. “I’ve seen many women left destitute with young ones to care for.”
Facing her, Charlie slammed a hand to her waist. “And jist how would you have seen such things?”
“My family and I,”—sorrow burned behind her eyes at the mere mention of them—“we help the poor.”
“Hmm.” Charlie cocked her head. “Like I said, ne’er met any lady like you, Miss.”
The stomp of footsteps thundered above, accompanied by a fiddle and shouts that grew louder by the minute.
“I must go. You should stay in your cabin tonight.” Charlie headed for the door.
“Why are you not out celebrating with them?”
“The more men drink, the more they turn into dung-souled fools. Best to stay away.” She offered a gentle smile, quite in contrast to her manly demeanor.
“Thank you, Charlie. ’Tis good to have a friend on board.”
At this, one of the woman’s brows lifted. “I will aid you where I can, but I would ne’er defy the cap’n. He’s been good to me.”
Emeline’s stomach sank, but she nodded nonetheless. All hope of asking Charlie for help to escape soared out the window with the evening breeze.
b
Grabbing the bowsprit, Blake lowered to sit on the bow and swung his legs over the bulwarks. TheSummonsleapt over a swell, then sank into the trough, flinging foamy saltwater onto his bare feet. He shook it off and raised the bottle of rum to his lips, taking a large gulp. Well past midnight, his crew had slunk off to their cots to sleep off the night’s revelry. But he’d been unable to sleep, his spirit as restless as the sea in a summer squall.
Above him, clouds drifted across a velvet sparkling sky that seemed to go on forever. Eternity. Was there such a thing? He twisted the Ring and thought of King Solomon, the wisest and most powerful ruler who’d ever lived. The old Jew said the Ring received its power from God Almighty. Blake had never given much thought to God. If He existed, He certainly hadn’t given much thought to Blake either. Still, the Ring did possess power, but from whence did such power hail?
Wind blasted him, tossing his hair behind him. He closed his eyes. 'Twas not only the Ring that kept him astir, but the lady below deck. A genteel lady by all accounts and yet one who wielded a cutlass with the skill and courage of any pirate.
“I see I’m not the only one who couldn’t sleep.” The deep voice that could only be Sam’s drew Blake’s gaze to the aged surgeon as he shuffled close and gazed over the black sea.
“’Tis been a busy day.” Blake tipped the bottle to his lips once again.
