One side of his mouth had curled up in amusement. He tilted his head as his gaze slid down her. All hint of a smile disappeared. Her skin prickled as she recalled the emotions she’d felt from him last night. Yearning. Desire.
Good goddesses, she had nothing on but a sheer nightgown!
“Come.” She grabbed the nun and bustled her into their cabin. With the door shut, she quickly changed into her convent gown.
When they ventured into the passageway to go to the privy, she noted that Rupert was gone.
After returning to their room, she peered out the window. The rain had stopped, and a brilliant sun sparkled on blue water. The ship was moving, cutting smoothly through a calm ocean. None of the other ships were in sight. That seemed odd, since the fleet usually trailed behind the Golden Star.
Jeffrey knocked on the door with their breakfast.
“What happened to the other ships?” she asked as he set their tray on the table.
“Oh, they’re staying close to Danport,” Jeffrey explained. “In case some pirates come.”
Brigitta helped him unload the tray. “But they won’t have Rupert’s special powers to defeat the pirates.”
Jeffrey nodded. “They would have to fight the old-fashioned way. But that’s not a problem. Captain Ansel can handle it. He’ll be in charge while we’re away.”
Sister Fallyn frowned. “Then where are we going?”
Jeffrey scratched his head. “I’m not supposed to say. That’s another reason the other ships stayed behind. They have too many new crew members, and Rupert doesn’t trust them yet.” The boy gave them a sheepish look. “He doesn’t want you to know which way we’re headed, either, so you’re supposed to stay belowdecks.”
The nun’s eyes widened with shock. “What is he planning to do with us?”
“Don’t worry,” Brigitta assured her. “We’re just going to a secret place. Rupert told me about it last night.”
Sister Fallyn looked even more upset. “Ye talked to him alone?”
“I’ll explain after breakfast,” Brigitta said.
Sister Fallyn huffed as Jeffrey made a quick exit.
After a few bites of oatmeal, the nun set down her spoon. “I must know what’s happening.”
“Very well.” Brigitta fetched the paper from the next room. When she returned, the nun was nervously pacing about. “Here.”
Sister Fallyn quickly read the notice, then dropped it on the floor and backed away as if it were poisonous. Her hand fluttered to her chest, then her mouth. “I-I think I may be sick.”
“We’ll be all right.” Brigitta patted her shoulder. “Rupert has agreed to take us to a secret place where my brother will never find me.”
“But what about the gold he would make with yer ransom?”
“He’s willing to give it up, so we’ll be safe.”
“Oh, my.” Sister Fallyn collapsed in a chair. “These pirates are surprisingly … noble.”
“Aye,” Brigitta agreed. “I believe Rupert and the captain are honorable men.” She didn’t want to mention the revenge that Rupert might be planning. She’d tossed on the narrow bed half the night, trying to figure out why he would hate Gunther enough to kill him.
Was it somehow connected to the visions she’d seen? Rupert’s father had been murdered, then his mother had been driven off a cliff. Both of them had died, an eerie echo of the ill-fated deaths that had befallen the hero and heroine in the book Rupert had loaned her. Had the deaths of his parents inflicted a wound on him so severe that he was now drawn to tragic endings? Did a happy one seem impossible to him?
And why did Rupert want her brother dead? In her visions, Rupert had been a child when he’d lost his parents. So it seemed doubtful that Gunther had been responsible. He was only a few years older than Rupert.
Sister Fallyn suddenly rose to her feet. “I have made a momentous decision.”
Brigitta blinked. “Ye have?”
“Aye.” Sister Fallyn nodded. “Ye’re a princess, so ye must remain pure and untouched. And it is my sworn duty to protect you, no matter what.”
“I don’t think I’m in any danger—”
“And so—” Sister Fallyn clasped her hands together at her chest—“when the captain comes to ravish us, I will offer myself.”
Brigitta gasped. “Sister, I don’t think—”
“I will make the supreme sacrifice!” The nun’s eyes glimmered with tears. “It is my duty. Ye must allow me to do this for you.”
Brigitta winced. “All right. Thank you.”
“Good.” Sister Fallyn sat back down to finish her breakfast.
Brigitta sighed. She’d only agreed because she seriously doubted such a scenario would ever come to pass. And Sister Fallyn had seemed so adamant that Brigitta hadn’t wanted to diminish the nun’s act of bravery.
Even so, she had a strange feeling that Sister Fallyn might actually be disappointed if the proposed ravishment never occurred.
*
By that afternoon, Brigitta and Sister Fallyn were tired of feeling cooped up in their room. With nothing to do, the only chore they could come up with was washing the clothes they’d been wearing for three days. When they asked Jeffrey about it, he returned with good news. Captain Landers had given them permission to come on deck to do laundry.
They changed into their new shifts and gowns, then headed up the stairs with their clothes from the convent. Brigitta inhaled deeply, enjoying the fresh sea air after the stuffiness of their cabin.
Jeffrey was on the portside, filling a tub with fresh water and soap. “Here you go. After the rain, we have plenty of water.”
“Thank you.” Sister Fallyn dropped their clothes into the tub. “We can take over from here.”
While the nun swished their clothes in the soapy water with a paddle, Brigitta looked around the ship. Captain Landers, or Stefan, as he wanted them to call him, was on the quarterdeck with a helmsman. Rupert was up in the crow’s nest, facing forward. The sails were full, though she couldn’t tell if the wind was natural or caused by him.
“I wonder why he’s still wearing the scarf,” she murmured.
Sister Fallyn shrugged. “Who knows?” She ventured a glance toward the quarterdeck.
“It keeps the sun off my head,” Rupert’s voice tickled Brigitta’s ear.
She glanced up at the crow’s nest to find him now focused on her. His mention of the sun reminded her that she should be able to tell which direction they were headed. Since it was midafternoon, the sun would be slightly to the west. That meant they were currently headed north?
“Are you trying to figure out where we’re going?” Rupert’s voice filtered toward her on a breeze.
“North,” she whispered.
“At the moment, yes. But as long as you’re on deck, we’ll be going in circles.” With a movement of one hand, he shifted the wind.
On the quarterdeck, Stefan yelled out orders, and crewmen adjusted the sails. The ship veered slowly toward the east.
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