Passion's Tide (18 page)

“The windows.”

He stopped what he was doing and stared at her for a moment, then began laughing
.
“I should
have known you’d do something crazy like jump out the window.”

She picked up one of the knives and examined it with mild interest
.
“What are you planning on doing if you find his ship?”

“
When
I fin
d his ship,” he corrected her, “and I should think the answer to your question would be fairly obvious.” Looking at the artillery before her, she would have to agree
.
They heard a light tapping at the door, and Logan jumped up to open it
.
There was a quick conversation that she ignored, choosing instead to inspect one of the pistols
.
Curling her fingers around the butt of the gun, she lifted it so that it was level with her gaze and ran her hand over it lightly, tracing a finger through the elegant carving in the polished ivory
.
She switched it so it was in her right hand, cocked it
as
she had seen him do, and extended it, getting a feel for it and trying to imagine if she could actually fire it successfully
.

“Careful,” Logan’s voice broke her concentration
.
“She’s got a light trigger, and I wouldn’t want you to blow a hole in my head by accident
.
Now here, help me with this,” he said, gesturing towards the belt
.
He instructed her how to wrap it around him so that it crossed against his abdomen, creating a large “X” on his chest,
then
enlisted her help in loading it
.
The larger gun, which he explained was called a blunderbuss, was tucked in a loop so that it lay flush against his back, easily accessible for him to reach behind him and pull it out
.

As if this weren’t enough, he tied his r
egular baldric around his waist after checking the pistols and cleaning the cutlass
.
Amber turned her head as he drew the long blade from the sheath, the sight of blood splattered on the shining silver too much for her to stomach
.
It took him only a minute to wipe it clean with a wet towel from the dresser, and then the belt was on
.
At last, he tucked the last remaining dagger into his tall boot and pulled on a dark blue jacket that effectively hid the ridiculous
number
of weapons he wore strapped to his body
.
The four axes were wrapped back into the blanket
.

There was another knock, and Logan opened the door to let in two men carrying a large tub
.
They set it in the corner just as Annie entered, a large bucket of steaming water in her hands
.
She emptied it into the tub, then returned into the hall for another bucket, the men following behind her
.

Logan tied his hair back and tugged his hat back onto his head
.
Amber was humiliated that she couldn’t shake the nagging sense of worry that overtook her
.
“Will you be back?”

If he noticed the slight tremor in her voice, he didn’t say anything
.
He smiled
.
“Don’t think you can get rid of me that easily.” A man appeared in the doorway, and Logan’s smile slid from his face
.
He turned to her again with a serious expression
.
“And Amber, in case you were thinking about another escape attempt, know that I don’t make the same mistake twice
.
David here is going to sit outside your door until I get back, and Creed is stationed underneath your window.” Annie looked up with curiosity as she emptied the last bucket of water into the tub, but stayed silent
.

Amber’s anger again flared
.
She stood and thrust the bundle into his arms without a word and turned her attention towards the bath
.
Logan watched for a minute, then turned and left, closing the door behind him
.

Amber sat at the edge of the tub, lost in thought until Annie spoke, making her jump
.
“He’s a handsome one, he is
.
Are you really married to him?”

“Yes,” Amber replied without thinking
.

The lanky girl’s face fell
.
“Damn, I was hoping that he was lying earlier when he said you was his wife
.
No offense
.
I just wouldn’t mind liftin’ up my skirts for the likes of him,” she said, offering Amber a towel
.

Taking it from her, Amber waited unti
l she had turned around to strip off her chemise and petticoats, and lower herself into the warm water
.
“How old are you, Annie?” she asked, as she reached for the soap and began scrubbing her scalp with vigor
.

“I’ll be eighteen next July,” the girl replied with a hint of pride in her voice
.

“You’re only seventeen, and already you’re…”

Annie shrugged as she walked across the room where she had left a pile of folded clothes
.
“Nothing wrong with a roll in the hay, from time to time.” She set the clothes on the stool next to the tub, where Amber had begun rinsing her hair
.
“Want me to do that, miss?”

“No thank you,” Amber replied awkwardly, and Annie plopped down on the bed.

“Suit yourself
.
If you’re just about done, I’ll go ahead and leave these clothes here
.
I woulda given you one of my dresses, but on account of you’ve got more curves than me, I didn’t think they’d fit
.
So I found you some breeches that a man left here last week after his wife barged in on him in bed with some wench
.
She darn near dragged him out of here half-naked, hollerin’ all the way
.
I don’t know what all the fuss was about; from what I saw of him he weren’t nothing too impressive, if you know what I mean.”

Amber blushed, and nodded
.
“Yes, I know what you mean
.
I’m finished here now.”

Annie jumped to her feet
.
“I’ll go get you that food now, Miss.”

She returned five minutes later with a tray of stale bread, a bowl of stew, and a piece of
s
hep
he
rd’s pie
.
Amber turned from the mirror where she had been trying to brush out her curls, her mouth watering at the aroma that wafted towards her
.
“I knew those pants would fit you,” Annie exclaimed triumphantly as she set down the tray
.
Amber looked down at the breeches that hugged her hips and thighs, accentuating every one of her curves
.
If it were up to her, she would have chosen a larger pair
.
But the simple white shirt she wore hung loosely on her torso like a potato sack, and it covered her so that she didn’t feel quite so exposed.

She sat down and reached for the gla
ss decanter, lifted it to her nose and inhaled
.
“Is this rum?” Annie nodded
.
“Do you have anything else?”

She shook her head
.
“All we’ve got is rum and whisky.”

“No water? Milk?”

“Why would you waste your time on milk or water? This here is the best rum on the whole island
.
Trust me.” Amber didn’t doubt for one minute that the girl had sampled all the liqueur on the island and was capable of making an educated decision regarding quality
.
So she thanked her, and dismissed her
.
Annie gave her another curtsy
.
“I think I’d make a damn near perfect lady’s maid, don’t you?” Amber nearly choked on her bread, but reassured her that her skills were unparalleled and would be hard to match
.
The other girl beamed and left her to finish the meal.

Amber was thirsty, but hesitant to drink the rum
.
Eyeing it with caution, she finally poured herself a glass
.
Her first tentative sip sent her into a fit of coughing as the dark liquid burned a path down the back of her throat
.
As she finished her first glass, however, she seemed to have acquired a taste for the drink, and for the way it made her thoughts fuzzy.

And so she finished the decanter
.

“New friend?” Logan’s voice came from the now open doorway, drawing Amber’s gaze up from the orange-striped tabby who lay stretched across the bed, purring languidly as she stroked him
.
The cat took little note of Logan, casting his brilliant yellow eyes in his direction before returning his attention to Amber
.

She continued petting the cat
as Logan dismissed David from his post and closed the d
oor
.
They were alone in the room now.

Amber cradled the cat against her breast and pulled herself off the bed
.
“He was wandering the streets and thought Creed’s leg would be a good place to sharpen his claws
.
Luckily Creed took pity on the poor creature, and, since misery loves company, passed him off to me.”

“Neither of you seem all that miserable at the moment.”

“True,” she remarked, nuzzling her nose against her furry companion’s head
.
“I had my dinner and a bath, and Tybalt had a saucer of milk.” The cat purred in response as Logan smirked.

“Tybalt?”

“It’s from Romeo and Juliet, he was the Prince of Cats.”

“I know what it’s from, sweetheart
.
I just find it…amusing.” He paused to throw his hat onto a chair, and then attempted to hold back a grimace as he began to pull off his jacket
.
But Amber noticed his discomfort at once and rushed to his side, Tybalt carelessly dropped to the floor
.
He sauntered over to the corner of the room where he curled up and fell asleep, tail twitching
.

Logan held up a hand to stop Amber before she could get too close
.
“I’m fine, really.” To prove it, he slid an arm through the sleeve, swearing under his breath as it got stuck
.

“Obviously you’re not,” she
told him, and she pushed him backwards unt
il he was sitting on the edge of the bed
.
“Why are you
always
getting injured?”

He grinned
.
“It’s not exactly a safe job.”

She freed his arm from the sleeve, and noticed the large splinter of wood sticking out from his shoulder
.
“What the hell happened to you tonight?” she demanded as she began working on his other sleeve
.

“We followed Miguel to a brothel, and after speaking to a woman who knew where they had anchored for the night, we rowed out to his ship.”
He winced as she removed the jacke
t and stared at the other shards of wood
e
mbedded in his skin
.
She shook her head and started stripping him of his weapons
.
“We took them by surprise when we boarded her, and easily won the battle
.
Then we lay a fuse to blow the stores of powder once we were a safe distance from the ship.”

“Like you did to the other ship.”

“Yes, except—ow!”

“Sorry
.
Please continue.”

“Except something went wrong this time
.
We laid the fuse, got in our boat, and we were rowing away when she exploded
.
One of Miguel’s men must have lit it
.
These,” he said, nodding his head at the splinters, “are a result of that.”

“Did your men get hit too?”

“Bits and pieces, here and there, but since I pushed them into the water before the fire reached the second reserve o
f powder, I took the brunt of it
.
What are you doing?”

“Cutting off your shirt
.
How else do you expect me to take care of you?” She slid the knife through the fabric with care, trying not to pull at the slivers
.
Finally his upper body was bare
.

Logan grew apprehensive
.
“You aren’t going to pour rum into my cuts again, are you?” He was surprised to hear her laugh, and even more surprised to find how much it warmed him.