“Damnation! Where are they keeping her?” Mike pounded his fist against the arm of his chair.
“It would be better for all of you if you didn’t know.”
“But Captain!” Tom protested. “We can’t leave her! We’ve got to do something!”
“Aye, sir,” agreed Harry. He was joined by a round of approval from the others, giving him courage. He missed the bright flare of anger burning in Cloud’s eyes. “She’s a heroine, Captain! She’s special to all of—”
“She is nothing! All of you! She is nothing!” The harshness of his voice cut through the room. Then he sent his brandy glass flying toward the brick fireplace. “None of you are to attempt to find out where they’ve taken her. You’d be court-martialed for helping her. No man under my command is going to face that charge. She has accepted what has happened. You do the same.” He never thought he would see the day when their anger would turn on him. Yet he refused to tell them he had one more chance to make Alexis do what she should have done in the beginning. He did not want all his men to cling to that slender thread of hope. “There is no need for any of you to remain here this evening. Go find yourself a bottle and a woman and forget you ever knew her.”
He left the room without looking back at their incredulous faces.
There was a brief silence. “He couldn’t have meant it…could he?” Mike’s voice was firm at first, then anxiously quiet.
“She is a heroine!”
“Aye, that she is!”
“I won’t accept it!”
“We’ll do something.”
“We’ll do nothing.”
It was Landis’s weary voice that caught their attention. He was shaking his head slowly, his face pale, and the motion seemed to drain him further.
“We’ll do nothing,” he repeated. “The captain has forbidden it. Whatever else you think you want to do, you cannot go against his orders.” He smiled at them. “After all, we’rehismen. Or had you forgotten?”
He said nothing more. The discussion was over. He got his coat and the others followed his example. They had caught a small gleam of hope in his gray eyes even while they saw nothing but hopelessness in the set of his mouth. They did not know what to make of either impression.
Upstairs, alone in his room, Cloud lay on his bed. He had discarded his jacket and torn open the collar of his shirt. He was as relaxed now as he had been when he’d left Davidson’s dining room. His head rested comfortably in the cradle of his hands, his fingers mingling with the strands of dark copper hair. His eyes were closed and the smooth line of his mouth was evidence of his lack of tension.
The only thought in his mind, the thought relaxing him so completely, was the knowledge that Alexis could be persuaded to do what she must to avoid prison. He merely had to be willing to employ the means by which she would do so.
Kurt Jordan glanced down at the tousled head at his side. The wind was taking the boy’s hair and blowing strands across his face, denying Jordan the pleasure of seeing his bright, eager eyes. Captain Jordan’s mouth curled in a satisfied grin as he looked in the direction of the boy’s attention.
“Just a few hours, Peach. We’ll have Captain Danty with us before long.”
Peach glanced up. “Do you think she’ll be there?” he asked earnestly. “What if they take her away? You don’t think they arrested her, do you? I mean, what if she’s in prison?”
“Slow down,” said Jordan. “First of all we have to make some inquiries after we dock. Maybe she already got away. If she didn’t, it won’t be hard to find out what happened to her. There’s got to be someone from theConcordwho can be forced to tell us something. We’ll find her, so stop worrying.”
“It’s not just that, Captain.”
“Well, what else?”
“She’s going to be awfully angry with us, isn’t she?”
“Furious.”
“It doesn’t seem to bother you.” Peach’s voice held a note of wonder. He could not imagine facing Captain Danty’s anger head on.
“It doesn’t matter to me at all. Her anger means nothing as long as she’s here to give it. I’ll welcome her fury just to see those blazing golden eyes again.”
Peach turned his face toward the sight of land. The early morning sun was behind him and he reveled in its warmth.
Cloud woke as the first ray of light crossed his face. He was still in his clothes but he felt more rested than he had in days. His eyes were anxiously bright as he thought of all he had to do. He permitted himself to lie in bed a moment longer to put off the pleasure doing it.
His movements as he bathed and dressed were unhurried. He went to Alexis’s room and slowly folded her clothes. He discarded the blankets and pillows occupying an old trunk and placed her belongings inside with the care usually reserved for handling fine crystal. The last thing he packed was the delicate blue gown.
