Chapter Nine
Talon held his breath as he watched Kate climbThe Shining Star’sgangplank. Dressed as a boy in a large shirt and baggy pants, her glorious wealth of chestnut hair was well hidden beneath a battered old hat.
He gave an inward groan. Her face was too pale, her features too delicate. No man with eyes in his head would mistake her for a boy. This wasn’t going to work, and Talon cursed Sutcliffe for having made it so desperately necessary to try.
Kate hurried past a few burly sailors who were loading last-minute supplies. She kept her head down, her eyes on the uneven wood beneath her feet. A half smile curved Talon’s lips despite the danger. He couldn’t fault her for her performance.
When he’d discovered the dirty trick his father had pulled on them, he’d sent a hastily scrawled note to her room, giving her instructions on what to wear and how to act. She was following his suggestions to the letter.
What a trusting little soul she was. It amazed him that she’d paid any attention at all to his desperate plea for cooperation. There was no way he would have donned a dress and pretended to be a woman at the request of a lady he barely knew.
She looked so frail, so tiny and helpless, surrounded by the legion of brutish sailors. He wanted to rush to her side and escort her to her cabin. He would have, if not for the glowering presence of Sutcliffe’s personal footman, Lionel, at her back. The man had been instructed to see her safely boarded, and he seemed to be taking his responsibility seriously.
“Good God,” muttered Joshua Percy,The Shining Star’scaptain, from his place at Talon’s elbow. “Is that her?”
Talon gave a grim nod.
“I can’t believe Sutcliffe talked me into this. Hell, Montgomery, you know my men will mutiny if they find out there’s a woman on board. They’re a superstitious lot. And heaven help us if they discover she’s a beauty.”
“You’re doing this because my father paid you damned good money to do so.” Talon glared at the other man, making no effort to hide his loathing. “I don’t like this any more than you do, but Sutcliffe has us both over a barrel. We have to work together, distasteful as the idea may be.”
Percy took an involuntary step back, and Talon knew he was remembering the last time they’d met. They’d gone to blows in a Jamaican tavern, and Percy had taken the worst of it before they’d both been thrown out.
He had to hand it to Sutcliffe. When he’d set out to make this trip a living hell, he hadn’t missed any of the finer details. Talon didn’t trust Percy. He wouldn’t put it past the captain to decide the money wasn’t worth it and take this chance at revenge his boss had handed him on a silver platter. He’d be lucky if the bastard didn’t keel haul him and throw Kate to his men.
“Let’s get one thing straight,” Percy told him. “I’m in charge here. This isn’t your cursed pirate ship, and I’ll be damned if I’ll let you walk all over me. I made a deal with Sutcliffe, and I intend to honor it, but you’ve got to do your part. You’ve got to keep that woman in her cabin and your worthless brother under control, or all bets are off.”
“That woman is my wife. I’ll keep her hidden the best I can, but if something goes wrong, you better back me up. If anything happens to her, I’ll rip you limb from limb.”
The lie came far too easily to Talon’s lips. It was the only part of Sutcliffe’s plan he’d agreed to. It was imperative Percy think Kate was his wife, not Daniel’s, since she’d be spending most of the voyage alone in her cabin.
Percy had already seen Daniel, and Talon knew he wouldn’t consider him much of a deterrent if he wanted Kate badly enough. Hell, Daniel couldn’t even take care of himself, let alone his wife.
Daniel had spent the last two days in an alcohol-induced fog, resisting the forthcoming trip for all he was worth. Sutcliffe had grown tired of his son’s protests and ordered for him to be drugged and carried on board in the dead of the night.
Percy laughed. “Well, at least we understand each other.” He whirled away and began to bark furious orders at his men, sending them scrambling to set sail. Talon glared at his retreating back, knowing the argument was far from over.
Lionel emerged from the hatch that led below decks, and Talon hurried toward him. “Is everything in order?”
Lionel nodded. “No troubles, sir.”
Talon breathed a sigh of relief. At least one thing had gone right. “Thank you.”
“Good luck to you, lad.” Lionel gave him a sudden grin. “You’ll be needin’ a bloody lot of it.”
“Then I’m in a world of hurt,” Talon muttered, making Lionel laugh. “Because my luck ran out the day I was born.”
* * * * *
Kathryn paced the narrow confines of her cabin, anxiety eating a hole in her stomach. The clothes she wore felt strange and alien against her skin. Why on earth had Talon insisted she wear them?
She’d glimpsed him earlier when she’d boarded the ship. He’d stood at the bow, the feeble sunshine glinting off his jet-black hair. He’d been watching her, and she’d wanted to speak to him, but his instructions had been very specific. She was supposed to dress like a boy, keep her head down, speak to no one and wait for him in her cabin.
She sank to the edge of the bunk, clenching her fists at her sides. A knock sounded at the door and she froze, then grabbed the ugly hat she’d discarded earlier. She was trying, without much success, to stuff her waist-length hair beneath it when Talon slipped inside the room.
“Leave it off. It’s just me.”
She let the hat drop to the warped wooden floor and crossed her arms across her chest. The shapeless vest was very concealing and she’d instructed Betsy to bind her breasts, but she still felt naked beneath his heated gaze.
