“No!” she said a bit too quickly. “Don’t hurt him—”
“Ah, so it’s like that,” he cut in. “I should have known that kiss you gave me yesterday was just for the captain’s benefit. I understand perfectly,chérie.”
“Understand what?”
Instead of answering, he speculated aloud, “You know, if I had been able to get Lady Malory alone just once, she wouldn’t be uppermost in my mind now. She’d merely be a fond memory. A single dalliance does work wonders. You should consider it as well.”
Her mouth actually dropped open, she was so incredulous. She knew exactly what he meant, but she still said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Of course you do, Gabby. You want that captain. It’s been obvious since your reaction to him on the wharf. And Ohr mentioned you slept on the deck last night. Couldn’t take it, could you, being alone with him in the same room? I certainly wouldn’t be able to, if the woman I wanted was in such close proximity.”
She ground her teeth together in frustration. “You’re making assumptions without thinking. I might find him attractive, but then any woman would. That doesn’t mean I can do anything about it. Unlike you men, we women need a ring on our finger first.”
He raised a brow, possibly because her tone had sounded so prim and proper. “Do you really? I never would have taken you for a stickler for—”
“What the deuce did I return to England for except to find a husband?” she cut in. “If I didn’t need one first, there were any number of times I could have fallen from grace, as it were.”
“So why didn’t you?”
“I swear, Richard, I’m not going to have any teeth left before this conversation is done. You know bloody well what you’re suggesting just isn’t—”
“It’s done all the time,chérie,” he interrupted this time. “You just led a sheltered life where the scandals from the wicked city never reached your ears. But consider, scandals only involved the women who got caught. You can’t imagine how many others fell from grace, as you put it, without anyone being the wiser, including the husbands they eventually settled down with.”
“You know that from experience, do you?”
He grinned and wiggled his brows in a suggestive manner. “But of course.”
He turned to stare out to sea again. He was only teasing, she reminded herself. If she took him seriously, she’d end up thinking about his outrageous suggestion, and she didn’t dare tread down that path.
“Take my advice, Richard,” she said in earnest. “Forget about that particular lady. Even if she wasn’t happy in her marriage, there’s more to consider, like how many pieces her husband would cut you into. Malory was serious, you know. Hewouldkill you. So do yourself a favor and stop thinking about his wife.”
She thought she heard him sigh forlornly. “Easier said than done. Try it yourself,” he added as he stood up to leave. “You’ll see.”
She got the point. Leaving the cabin last night hadn’t stopped her from thinking about the captain. It was a wonder she’d gotten any sleep at all. But then, while her situation was like Richard’s, there was a major difference. She might still want Drew just as Richard wanted the man’s sister, but she also despised him now. And how the deuce could she still want a man she despised? “Darned body urges that had nothing to do with common sense,” she grumbled as she turned the wheel a little too sharply.
Chapter 29
GABRIELLE’S NEW CABIN WAS MUCH SMALLERthan the captain’s, but that was to be expected. There was a decent-sized bed, a standing wardrobe for her clothes, a small table with two chairs for dining, and even a writing desk. No nice bank of windows like Drew had, but she didn’t expect to spend much time in the cabin, so it didn’t matter.
Ohr had seen to moving her carpetbags again without being asked, but he’d forgotten about Miss Carla, or maybe he’d left her behind deliberately because he really hated that bird. Most of Nathan’s crew felt the same way. But Gabrielle wasn’t going to use the excuse of fetching the parrot to see the captain again.
She poked her head out the door and got lucky, seeing Bixley passing. “Can you fetch Miss Carla for me, please?” At his wince, she added, “Oh, come on, she’s caged. Your fingers are safe.”
“I was thinking of my ears,” he replied with a chuckle, and hurried off to comply.
She made room on the writing desk for Bixley to set the cage when he returned. It only took a moment later for her to learn how the captain had amused himself during the day.
She’d been sure she knew all of Miss Carla’s repertoire by now. After three years, she’d taught her quite a few phrases herself. But no sooner was the bird set down on the desk than she squawked and said “Coward” quite precisely.
Bixley raised both brows at Gabrielle when he heard the bird, and he mumbled distinctly, “That’s a real bad word to be teaching it, Miss Gabby.”
She didn’t blush until then. She’d merely figured that Drew had picked that word because he thought the parrot was hers. He’d also probably picked it because he figured it would matter to her, she being a supposed pirate and all, that he was calling her a coward because she had avoided him all day. Throwing down the gauntlet, as it were. If she really were a pirate it might matter to her, but since she wasn’t, it didn’t.
“I know better,” she said. “She didn’t learn that word from me.”
“Ah,” he replied on his way out the door. “The American was ornery, then.”
Indeed, and a lot worse, she realized not ten minutes later when Miss Carla said, “Time to get naked, wench.”
