Stormy Persuasion
Page 24

“I had trouble changing.” It was a pet peeve that she couldn’t dress or undress herself without help. “One of these days high fashion will take into account a shortage of maids.”
“I wouldn’t count on it,” Catherine said with a slight smile before her expression turned tense again.
Andrássy didn’t seem relaxed either. Neither Benedek had experienced a storm at sea before. Judith hadn’t either. Her first voyage had been smooth all the way. Georgina looked anxious, too, but then James was still on deck and she wouldn’t relax until he joined them. Jack was her usual exuberant self as if she weren’t even aware of the storm. Boyd seemed calm, apparently only concerned about Katey, whose hand he was holding.
Judith wasn’t worried about the storm anymore, even though she’d almost been swept away in it. Her outlook didn’t change even when the ship started rolling and dipping. Witnessing Nathan’s attitude toward the storm had given her an odd sort of calm now that she was safe and dry in the cabin. But at one moment the table tipped so sharply that the cards slid halfway across it before the ship righted itself—and her mind flew to Nathan, hoping he was holding on during pitches like that. But she merely had to remind herself that he was having fun out there and, with so many years at sea, would know what precautions to take.
The card games, which were supposed to take people’s minds off the weather, succeeded for the most part. Boyd, an old hand at sailing, assured them that the more violent a storm was, the quicker it would blow past them. Judith didn’t find that particularly reassuring, but it held true. The storm was strong enough to pass over them in under an hour, leaving behind a gentle spring rain that didn’t last long either.
There was cause for celebration afterward. Nothing had got damaged and the strong winds preceding the storm had pushed them ahead of course, even though the sails had been down during the rough weather. But celebration meant extra wine at lunch and again at dinner. So Judith was feeling quite sleepy by the time she retired for the night. Wearing a dress once again and waiting for Nettie to arrive to help her out of it, she lay back on her bed and was almost asleep when she heard the knock at the door.
“You don’t need to knock,” she called out to Nettie.
“I think I do” came back in a low baritone.
With a gasp, Judith flew off the bed and to the door to yank it open. Nathan stood there, his clothes neat and dry and his hair combed back but still wet, though apparently from a bath. He looked a little abashed, though she couldn’t imagine why until she noticed one of his arms was behind his back, as if he was hiding something from her.
But her eyes went to his when he asked, “You weathered the storm all right?”
Had he really come to ask that so many hours after the storm had ended? “Yes, quite, but I think I have you to thank for that, too. After seeing how much you were enjoying yourself out in the midst of it, I didn’t find it nearly as frightening as I thought I would.”
“So you weren’t frightened for me?”
She wasn’t going to admit that she had briefly been or that she’d sought out Artie the moment the rain stopped to ask if all hands were accounted for. She raised a brow instead to say, “Are you fishing for a declaration of concern?”
“A bit too obvious, am I?” he said with a grin.
“A little. Now, what have you there that you appear to be hiding?”
“Come closer and you can see,” he suggested with a roguish lift of his brows.
“Or you can just show me,” she retorted.
“But that’s not as fun.”
The man was incorrigible. He wasn’t trying to conceal the humor in his eyes, either. She was no stranger to teasing, her family being quite prone to it, but this sort of teasing wasn’t at all the same and too closely resembled flirting of the more rakish sort. It flustered her. It made her blush. At times it made her feel positively giddy. Tonight she fought the urge to simply laugh, which warned her she might be getting too used to Nathan’s risqué form of teasing.
But then she felt his hand lift hers and the sudden warmth he placed in her palm. She glanced down and blinked at the white ball of fur she was now holding, then laughed a moment later when it uncurled and she realized what it was. Looking up at her was the most distinctive little face, with silver streaks fanning across its cheeks and up its brow, large, green eyes rimmed in black as if painted with kohl, and a black button of a nose. More silver streaks were on its bushy tail, but otherwise, it was all white.
She couldn’t take her eyes off it, even as she wondered aloud, “And what am I supposed to do with a newborn kitten?”
“Feed it, pet it—love it. You know, what you usually do with adorable things.”
That answer sounded a little too personal, as if he weren’t talking about the kitten at all. And she did find his green eyes back on her when she glanced up at him.
She had to clear her throat to say, “Of course I’ll keep it, if you’ll promise to bring me fresh milk each day from that dairy cow in the hold.”
He wasn’t expecting to hear that. “You want me to milk a cow?”
She grinned. “Did you think you wouldn’t have to do that if you took up farming? Farms usually do keep livestock on hand.”
He snorted, but he didn’t refuse the stipulation. Not that she would give him back the little gift if he did. It was too late for that. And she was sure he’d figure out soon enough that he could get the milk from the galley after someone else had milked the cow.
“And what have ye there, hinney?” Nettie asked as she finally arrived.
“A new addition to my cabin.”
That Nettie immediately looked Nathan up and down after that answer had them both laughing. But the old girl took the kitten from Judith and held it up for examination. “Och, what a bonny-looking wee one. I’ll fetch some grain from the galley fer a box that it’ll be needing.”
“Sand works, too,” Nathan mentioned. “And we’ve plenty of that barreled for ballast. I’ll bring you a few buckets full tomorrow.”
Nettie entered the cabin with the kitten cuddled in her arms. Judith took a moment to tell Nathan, “Thank you for the gift.”
He shook his head. “It’s not a gift, but a favor you’re doing me, taking it off my hands.”
“You don’t like cats?”
“Never gave them much thought, but I was starting to like that one a little too much, after caring for it for the last few days.”
“Ah, and it’s not a manly pet, is it?” she guessed.
“You really think that would matter to me? I’ve just got things to do once we land and can’t be taking a kitten along, so better to get rid of it now. And you’re the only one I could be sure would give it proper care.”
“Sure, are you? Why?”
“Because I’ve never met anyone as kind as you are, darlin’. So take good care of our kitten.”
She gasped after that sank in. “Our kitten? I’m not just babysitting it. It’s mine now!”
But whether he’d heard her or not was debatable, since he’d already walked away.
Chapter Thirty
Jacqueline was having another match with Andrássy on the main deck this morning. Judith was watching them from the quarterdeck. It was such a warm spring day her aunt and sister had come out to join her, standing on either side of her.
“How’s Nettie’s cold, any better yet?” Georgina asked Judith.
“Her sniffles are abating, but she had a fever last night, so at least she’s agreed to stay abed now. Catherine offered to finish my last gown in Nettie’s room to keep her company, and I’ll be sitting with her this afternoon.”
“Not too close,” Katey warned. “Can’t have you catching a cold, too, when you’ll probably be at your first ball before week’s end.”
Then Georgina remarked casually, “I haven’t seen your young man since he thrust you into the cabin the day of the storm.”
Neither had Judith, at least not enough to suit her. And she’d thought she had come up with the perfect plan to make sure she did see him every day for the remainder of the trip. The milk she’d asked him to deliver for the kitten. But twice now she’d returned to her cabin to find fresh milk already there, and Nettie wasn’t the one bringing it. Once Nettie answered the door and took the bowl from him, then promptly closed it again with a mere “Thank ye, laddie.” Just one time was Judith actually alone in the cabin when he showed up, yesterday, their twelfth day at sea.
She’d just changed into her ship’s togs, which she was resigned to wearing for a few days until Nettie recovered, when Nathan had knocked on the door. He’d handed the bowl of milk to Judith and brushed past her to enter the cabin without a by-your-leave. Without even making sure first she was alone! And he went straight to the kitten.
Picking it up and setting it in his palm, which it fit in with room to spare, his hand was so big, he’d asked, “What did you name it?”
“I didn’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I couldn’t tell what it is. Do you know?”
“Never bothered to check. I was just calling it Puss.”
“And I’ve just been calling it Kitten.”
He flipped the kitten over to examine it, then laughed. “I can’t tell either. Something neutral then for a name?”
“Such as?”
“Furball? By the looks of it, it’s going to have longer hair than normal.”
She shook her head. “I’d take exception to that name if I were a female kitten.”
He glanced at her, but if he’d been about to say something, he didn’t. He seemed to be caught by her eyes instead. It was a long moment before he said, “You have incredible eyes,” then spoiled the compliment by adding, “It’s too bad your father has them, too.”
She grinned. “Are you going to tell me I remind you of my father?”
“No, he reminds me of you.”
“You’ve had more words with him?”
“Just nasty looks. But I’m not fueling that fire by being seen with you again.”
Having said that, he left before she could think of a reason to extend the visit. She went to the door to call after him, “What about Silver for a name?”
“That’ll do,” he replied without looking back.
So frustrating, and the trip was almost over. Three to five more days depending on the winds, she’d been told last night at dinner. She had the feeling once they docked, she’d never see Nathan again. Yet she still wasn’t completely certain that he wasn’t a criminal. Well, obviously she was leaning toward not, or she would never have formed this tentative bond of friendship with him.
She could trust him to protect her if she needed protecting. That said a lot. She could trust him not to endanger her family anymore—if he’d been doing that. Yes, they had become friends—of a sort. And he probably knew by now that she wouldn’t turn him in if he did admit he was a smuggler. But was he really going to go back to that career if he did get his ship back? When he had two young nieces depending on him? She should ask him that at least—if she was ever alone with him again.
Georgina, still waiting for a reply to her remark, added, “Would you like me to invite him to dinner?”
“Good God, no—and he’s not my young man.”
“Really? I got quite a different impression the day you spoke of him, that you were forming an attachment.”
“No, I—no.”
“Haven’t made up your mind?”
“My father doesn’t like him. Putting them in the same room isn’t a good idea.”
“Who are we talking about?” Katey wanted to know.
“Nathan Tremayne,” Georgina answered. “Have you met him yet?”
“Briefly. Boyd is quite looking forward to assisting him. In fact, he intends to desert me as soon as we land and hie off to New London with the chap. What about James?”
Georgina laughed. “Oh, I’ve no doubt he’d love to get involved in that. He’d much prefer to jump into a fight of any sort than attend parties—if the parties weren’t for Jack and Judy. Boyd shouldn’t miss them either.”
“I don’t think he expects to be gone long,” Katey said. “A few days at the most.”
Listening to them, Judith realized that what Nathan had told her about chasing down his ship had to be true. Why make up a tale like that and enlist others’ aid if it wasn’t? In fact, most everything he’d said about himself was probably true. But had he ever clearly stated that he wasn’t a smuggler? No, she didn’t recall his being clear about it one way or the other, just evasive.
Later that night, she checked on Nettie once more before she retired, but the old girl was fast asleep so she didn’t disturb her. Entering her own cabin a few minutes later, already pulling off the ribbon that held back her hair, she was halfway across the room before she noticed she wasn’t alone and came to an abrupt halt. Nathan was there, slouched down in the reading chair, his head slightly tilted, a lock of hair over one eye, his hands folded across his belly, fingers entwined. He was sleeping! And the kitten was smack in the middle of his chest, stretched in a classic upright pose, legs bent, head up, eyes closed. She could hear it purring from across the room.
Incredulous, she sat on the edge of her bed and just stared at them, so much feeling suddenly welling up in her that tears nearly came to her eyes. The two of them made such a heartwarming picture, sharing contentment, love, and trust. The kitten had obviously made its choice about which human it wanted. She was going to have to give it back to Nathan, perhaps when he was done with his business in America. She knew where in England she could find him to do so. So perhaps this trip wouldn’t be the last she ever saw of him. She found that thought more than comforting.