Chapter Twenty-Seven
Nettie was leaving Judith’s cabin, having just finished helping Judith dress that morning. Catherine arrived before the door closed, Judith’s yellow ball gown draped over her arm and, by the looks of it, nicely hemmed now. Nettie had tried to put the finishing touches on Judith’s wardrobe, but Nettie MacDonald didn’t see well enough these days to do such intricate work, so Judith had stopped her and had decided to take Catherine up on her offer to do some sewing for her. Catherine had already finished three dresses. She spent a few hours every day in Judith’s cabin, working on Judith’s come-out wardrobe. And Andrássy hadn’t been exaggerating about her skill with a needle. Her work was so fine that Jack was even considering asking Catherine to re-hem her own ball gowns.
Catherine had joined the family at the last few dinners in James’s cabin and would probably continue to dine with them for the duration of the voyage. Her behavior had been polite and so pleasant that Judith wasn’t the only one who wondered if Andrássy hadn’t only exaggerated his stepsister’s shortcomings, but had deliberately given them the wrong impression of her. While they believed that she might have rebelled in her earlier years against being thrust into a family she didn’t want, which was understandable, her behavior indicated that she’d outgrown that resentment.
Judith turned to Catherine now and suggested, “Why don’t you join us on deck right now? We’re going to conduct some dancing lessons. It will be fun.”
“Surely you already know how to dance?”
Judith giggled. “Of course. Jack and I are going to teach the crew.”
Catherine smiled. “Thank you for the offer, but I confess I’m not very fond of dancing. Truly, I am happiest with a needle in hand, so you go ahead without me.”
Judith shrugged. “Make yourself comfortable then, either here or with Georgina. She did invite you to spend your days with her.”
“Yes, I sat with her yesterday . . . well, until your uncle came in. He makes me nervous, I’m not sure why.”
“He has that effect on a lot of people. You just have to get used to him. But Jack’s waiting on deck for me, so I must run now.”
She didn’t run, but she certainly had the urge to. Two days had passed since she’d seen Nathan. She’d done the avoiding this time, staying close to one member of her family or another so if she did see him, she wouldn’t be able to talk to him. But enough time had passed for her embarrassment over what had happened in the crow’s nest to have ebbed. He’d carried her down from the nest that night on his back. Insisted, mentioning that he didn’t want her abraded palms on his conscience. She hadn’t complained about the soreness, but figured he’d guessed that her palms stung because sailors were familiar with rope burn.
He’d only made one inappropriate comment on the way down, telling her in a cheeky tone, “I’ve dreamed of having your legs wrapped tightly around me, but I enjoyed it more when we were sitting in the crow’s nest.”
She might have slapped him if she hadn’t had her arms around his neck in a choke hold. The man wasn’t accustomed to being around gently bred ladies. But two days without seeing him had left her feeling a little bereft, so she’d had a note delivered to him last night, telling him what time to present himself on deck this morning. She didn’t mention why, not when he’d made it clear he didn’t want dancing lessons.
Jacqueline was already there teaching two sailors to hum a tune. She’d called in three others as well, and even Artie had come over to find out what she was doing. Judith’s intention wasn’t to single Nathan out, and Jack knew that. The size of the group would assure him of that—if he showed up.
Judith laughed as she joined them, asking Jack, “Is that going to work?”
“Course it will. Besides, there isn’t a single musical instrument aboard, so we’ve no other choice. You do recognize the song, yes?”
Judith answered by humming along while she carefully surveyed the decks without seeming to and even glanced up in the rigging. But there was no sign of Nathan. Jack was ready for a demonstration and grabbed Judith to waltz with her. Jack had even worn her pants so there would be no confusion over who was assuming the role of the man for the lesson.
“Pay attention to the position of the hands,” Jacqueline told her audience, “and the distance you must maintain from your partner.”
They danced a bit before Judith was forced to whisper, “You were supposed to lead, not make us a bungling pair with neither of us leading. Let’s try it this way instead.”
Judith let go of Jack and, with her arms still up in the appropriate positions, began twirling about by herself. She even closed her eyes for a moment, imagining that she was dancing with Nathan. But that just brought forth some annoyance because she had expected to dance with him, and he wasn’t cooperating by showing up.
Behind her, Jack said, “Artie, you’ve seen enough waltzing to know how it’s done. Come show your men.”
“Don’t even—” Artie started to balk.
But Jacqueline cut in, “Don’t force me to get my father for this demonstration.”
“He wouldn’t,” Artie snickered.
“He would for me. Of course, he’d still be annoyed about having to participate, and he’d take that out on everyone else afterwards.”
Artie grabbed Jack’s waist and began twirling her, if a little rambunctiously. But Jack started laughing. She was having fun. So was Artie after a few moments. And then Judith spotted Nathan watching from a distance, arms crossed as he leaned against the railing. She waved him over. He didn’t budge. If she had to go get him, that would single him out. But Jack noticed him, too, and bounded over to him and dragged him forward, starting a lesson with him.
Judith was satisfied to watch them, avidly actually, so she was startled when Andrássy was suddenly dancing her around the deck. His engaging grin kept her from being annoyed with his presumption that she wouldn’t mind.
“You should have let me know you needed a partner,” he said, showing her there wasn’t much difference between the English waltz and the European version.
“We’re not dancing just to dance, we’re teaching the crew. But since you’re here, we can demonstrate how refined and elegant this dance can be. My father and aunt have been keeping you company?”
“I have enjoyed learning the card games favored in your country. Your father is brutal at chess, though.”
“I know.” She grinned. “He taught me.”
“I could use some lessons on how to beat him, if you are willing.”
“Perhaps later today. But I’ve been meaning to ask you about Catherine. She’s been most helpful, even sweet, a far cry from what you led us to expect.”
“I apologize. Sibling squabbles perhaps made me sound harsher than I intended. She can indeed be charming when she tries, and I’m delighted she’s presenting her best qualities on this trip.”
Judith held her tongue, trying not to read too much into that about-face. She had to remind herself that she’d been on Andrássy’s side to begin with when Jack and James hadn’t been, so she didn’t want to start doubting him now. And it was easy enough to believe that Andrássy had only given them the wrong impression due to a recent squabble with his stepsister.
But then he added, “I confess I was more worried that she would become testy simply due to boredom than anything else, but you have come to our rescue in that regard, and for that we both thank you. She is never more content and calm than when she is sewing.”
Jack had released Nathan and grabbed another sailor. Nathan didn’t stay to watch, though, was walking away. Judith stopped dancing with Andrássy to go after him, telling her cousin, “Thank you for the dance, but I need to get back to our task before these men are called back to work.”
She thought she could stop Nathan by skirting around in front of him, but he started to put up his hands to move her aside. Without a word, too. And he looked annoyed, even impatient. Or was he jealous? Jealous? Over Andrássy?
She quickly took his hand instead and thrust it out to her right with hers, then draped her other wrist over his upper arm. “Show me what Jack just taught you.”
“No.”
She grit her teeth. “This was all for your benefit. Don’t disappoint me.”
He just stared down at her for a long moment. But she could see in his green eyes that he was relenting, before he said, “You looked silly when you were dancing by yourself.”
She tried not to grin. “I’m not out to impress, I’m here to teach. And now that we have your hands in the right places—”
“Not the right places for me. Just my opinion, darlin’, but I’d much rather be touching—”
“Lesson number one.” She leaned a speck closer and hissed, “Keep your risqué thoughts in your head, not on your lips.”
She started them off. He quickly took the lead, making her wonder if he had done this before, until he said, “If I step on your toes, are you going to cry?”
“It wouldn’t be the first time, but a gentleman doesn’t usually wear such heavy boots, so do try not to.”
But he got back to her previous remark, saying, “I thought you favored honesty.”
“I do, just not the sort that might only be shared by married couples.”
“So what you’re saying is I’d have to marry you before I could speak my mind?”
He was teasing, but she still missed a step. “I see you do understand.”
He shook his head. “Too extreme. I’ll suffer the blushes instead, and yours are too pretty not to see them often.”
“So you’re choosing to be incorrigible? Never mind, no need to answer what’s obvious. But one thing a waltz allows is polite conversation while dancing. Let’s see if you can keep track of your feet and talk at the same time, shall we?”
He chuckled. “Isn’t that what we were doing?”
“The operative word is polite.”
“Very well, what did you want to discuss politely?”
“What will you do with the manor after it’s repaired?”
He raised a brow. “You’re allowed to scratch nerves but I’m not?”
“This isn’t a touchy subject.”
“It is for me.”
She sighed, deciding now wasn’t the time to persist in her questioning of him, so she was surprised when he added, “I’m going to live in it with my nieces.”
“While you work as a carpenter again in Southampton?”
“No, the house comes with land. I was thinking I might try my hand at farming.”
She winced for her cousin Derek, knowing he wouldn’t like a farm in his backyard any more than a ruin. But she didn’t quite believe Nathan, either. A farmer? She just couldn’t picture it. Of course, a man in his position wouldn’t need to plow fields himself. Gentlemen farmers hired workers. But she was sure he’d meant tilling the land himself.
So she said, “You’re right, the house comes with a lot of land, the tract stretching to the east. Have you considered building houses on it that you could rent out? The income would support you very well.”
He appeared surprised by her suggestion. “That’s something I would never have thought to do.”
She grinned. “Broadening your horizons, am I? Then it’s a good thing you met me.”
He snorted. “When you’re nothing but trouble? And you’ve spent too much time teaching me something I already know.”
She blinked. “The waltz? But you said—”
He laughed as he let go of her. “I’m a quick learner, darlin’. It only took a few minutes for me to figure it out.”
“Selective learning,” she humphed as he sauntered away.