Souls Aflame (7 page)

Julie didn’t want to think about that possibility, either. She just wished none of it had happened. And why did Shad Harky accuse her of leading him on? Because she had not turned away in horror and disgust when she first saw his scarred face? The man must be mad. But then, she never should have gone on deck. It had all seemed so harmless at first, so pleasant. The quiet of the night, the singing…

There was a soft rap on the door, and Floyd opened it and murmured, “Oh, Jenkins, it’s you.”

Julie opened one eye and saw a disheveled crewman standing just inside the cabin, looking quite uncomfortable as he explained to Officer Justice that Officer Garris had told him to come. “He says the captain insists on knowing if Miss Marshal is hurt.”

“I’m all right,” she murmured wearily, wishing they would all just go away and leave her alone. “I’ve got a few bruises, probably, and I’m a bit sore, but I’ll be all right if all of you would just let me rest.”

There was an awkward silence, and the crewman repeated apologetically that the captain wanted to be sure.

Julie had closed her eyes, but she sensed someone leaning over her, and she looked up to see Floyd’s slightly flushed face as he whispered tensely, “I’m afraid Jenkins will have to examine you, Miss Marshal. He used to be a doctor—”

“
Used
to be?” she echoed, stunned. “Mr. Justice, I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

“He was run out of the town where he was practicing, because of his drinking,” he hurriedly explained. “A patient died when he bungled the man’s treatment because he was drunk. The captain signed him on to have someone around when we need a doctor. It’s all right. He’s perfectly competent, since he’s sober. He wasn’t involved in the drinking tonight. Now he must examine you. I’m sorry. Your mother may remain with you, of course.”

Julie gritted her teeth and agreed to the examination. Anything, she thought, suppressing a scream of fury, anything to get it over with and have everyone just leave her alone.

The doctor’s examination was embarrassing and degrading, but at least, she thought with a sigh of relief when it was over, he was fast. The whole ordeal took but a few moments. Then he was saying that, indeed, she seemed fine. There was no bleeding, no danger of hemorrhage, and she had few bruises.

“I told you he didn’t actually
do
anything,” Julie ground out the words. “Now please, may I get some rest?”

“I’ll ask Mr. Justice to have some brandy sent in to help you relax,” he murmured as he hurried out.

Her mother helped her get into a gown, admonishing her all the while for disobeying orders. “I hope you’ve learned a lesson, dear. Let’s be thankful it wasn’t worse.”

Edsel Garris arrived with a bottle of brandy and insisted that Julie have a drink. “The captain is quite concerned, and I’m to report to him and assure him that you are all right.”

“Concerned!” Julie snorted with disdain. “So he sends you. He isn’t concerned enough to inquire personally. He sends his lackey.”

Her lids grew heavy as the brandy made her relaxed and sleepy. She closed her eyes, the sounds of her mother’s and Edsel’s conversation drifting farther and farther away…finally disappearing completely as she dropped off into blessed oblivion.

She awoke with a start.

The dim grayish-rose light peeking through the porthole told her that night was almost over and dawn was breaking in the east. She had slept soundly, but what had awakened her? Trying to focus her eyes in the haziness, she sat up, apprehension making her flesh tingle.

And then she saw the shadow of a man. He was leaning against the little desk in the corner. Gasping with fright, she clutched the blankets tightly to her chin and cried, “Who’s there?” as a scream bubbled deep in her throat.

A husky, mellow voice answered, “I thought I should prove my concern by inquiring personally. I understand you stated your doubts to my first officer to the point of dubbing him my lackey.” He sounded slightly mocking.

While Julie could not see his face, she could distinguish that he was a large man. The image of the captain she had conjured was of a withered, sour old creature who hated the world and everyone in it, including himself. The richly masculine voice that touched her ears did not sound like that of an old man, nor was he small and shriveled.

Propping herself up on the pillows, she took a deep breath and silently vowed not to let herself be intimidated. “I hardly call the middle of the night an appropriate time for a personal call, Captain.”

“It’s dawn, Miss Marshal. My ship comes alive at dawn, but of course you wouldn’t know that since you sleep till mid-morning.”

“And how would you know my sleeping habits?” she snapped. “You never come out of wherever it is that you hide.”

He laughed. “I know everything that goes on around here. I know my men too, particularly Harky, and perhaps now you understand why I didn’t want you up on deck.”

It was becoming lighter in the cabin, the sky turning a glowing watermelon pink. Julie could tell that the captain’s arms were folded across his chest and his legs were slightly apart. His face remained hidden by the lingering shadows.

“All right. You’ve paid a personal visit. I thank you for your concern, but I’m quite all right, as you see.” Then she asked what he planned to do with Shad Harky.

Again his tone was mocking, infuriating her as he asked, “What would you have me to do with him? You were his victim.”

Flustered, she replied, “Well, my goodness, I don’t know. He
was
drunk, and even though I’m angry and upset over what he tried to do, I don’t want to see him dead. Mr. Justice said this time he would probably hang. Last time you scarred his face.”

“I’ve always been a firm believer that a person must learn from his mistakes. If he’s punished severely enough, he seldom repeats them. Shad Harky is a scummy rogue who’ll never learn anything, no matter how many times he’s beaten. He could just as easily have killed you last night. He’s killed before, but that was before he signed on board
my
ship. Many of my men are guilty of heinous crimes, but I don’t hold their past against them; I only consider their present actions.” Grimly he added, “Harky’s had too many second chances.”

“Then you’ll hang him.”

“I should. If I don’t, it will set a poor example for my men. They’ll think they can break the rules over and over and get away with it. So I really don’t have a choice, now, do I?”

Julie’s mind was spinning. True, she was angry with Shad. She never wanted to see him again. But to see him die because of her? And yes, she would have to share the blame for what happened. Too late, she realized how foolhardy it had been to go on deck and sing and mingle with the crew. Had she stayed below, none of it would have happened. “Can’t you just throw him off your ship when you reach port?” she asked hopefully.

He was silent for a long time, and she saw that he was packing a pipe. He lit it, drew in the smoke, and exhaled. She found the aroma of the tobacco pleasant. And it suited him, somehow.

“I understand you have a very soft heart.” He finally spoke. “That is commendable, but I’ve a ship to run. I can’t tolerate last night’s behavior. Every man who was drinking will receive three lashes. They all know I don’t allow drinking on board my ship.

“Harky has been punished once for trying to rape a female passenger, and the punishment was quite severe,” he acknowledged. “But I told him at the time that a repeated offense would mean his death. Obviously he didn’t take me seriously, and my men
must
believe me when I speak.”

“Oh, damn!” she cried in exasperation. “Why is it so important to you that the men fear you? Are you suffering from some feeling of inferiority that makes you want people to bow down to you as though you were God Himself? Does it give you a perverted delight to know they call you Ironheart behind your back, or perhaps you do indeed have a heart of iron, with no compassion for your fellow man!”

His tone did not change, and she knew she had failed in her attempt to goad him. “I’ve a ship to run. I can’t do so efficiently without the respect of my crew. And it’s their
respect
I demand. If fear must accompany that respect, then so be it.”

He hesitated, then continued. “Tell me, Miss Marshal. What if Harky had been successful in his assault, and you had been ravished? Would you still plead for his life, or would you be demanding his death?”

She shook her head, blinking back the hot tears of frustration. “I don’t know. I just wish none of this had happened. Please, just leave me alone.”

But he made no move to leave. She jerked the blankets all the way up over her head and lay very still. She could feel him staring at her. When he did speak, she was stunned.

“There’s no denying you have a lovely body.”

She threw back the blankets and stared incredulously at him. Then she realized it was dawn at last, and the cabin was light enough for her to see him and make out his features. She was startled to find him handsome. His hair was dark, the color of rich, warm coffee. Long, thick lashes fringed eyes as black as the murky swamp waters of the Savannah marshes.

He was quite muscular, with brawny arms and shoulders. The shirt he wore was open to the waist, and his chest was covered with thick, curly hair that trailed down to his waist and seemed to ripple with each breath he drew.

Her eyes moved downward to tight pants stretched across strong, hard thighs. She sensed something quite fascinating about him, his lips slanted in a mocking smile, the long, straight nose with nostrils that flared ominously, the penetrating gaze as though he could see to the very depths of her soul. He looked dangerous and feral, and despite her determination not to be intimidated by this man, she fought the impulse to wither beneath his almost impudent stare. He exuded strength, as though he could easily crush the breath of life from a man with his bare hands.

Finally she found her voice once again, and choked out her indignant reaction. “How dare you say such a thing?”

He smiled lazily. “From where I stood last night, even I could appreciate such a fine figure of a woman. And I understand Harky tore your clothes, exposing you for everyone else to see…”

He moved quickly, like the sleek black panther she had once glimpsed in the swamps. He was beside her, and she shrank back into the mattress as he towered above her. “I knew you’d have green eyes,” he murmured, “as green as the cold, dark currents of the deepest waters. But I see a fire in them, a warmth, and when your passion is aroused, I’ll wager they blaze like the sea at sunrise.”

She could only stare at him, her lips parting and closing in surprise.

He chuckled. “You think me some kind of monster, don’t you? I have my men beaten, keelhauled, and I possess the power to take their lives. You find all this repugnant. That shows the stupidity of women. You’ve no knowledge of how brutal and dominant a captain must be to run his ship and keep his men under control.”

“I…I don’t find you anything,” she said nervously, not liking his nearness, the way his eyes kept moving over her as though she were naked. “You’re nothing to me. I wish you would just go away—”

“But what about Harky?”

There was that mocking smile once more. He drew on his pipe thoughtfully, then set it aside on the desk. He took a deep breath, and the hairs on his chest rippled once more. “I will tell you what I intend to do. I’ll have him kept in chains till
you
decide his fate. Since you’re the one who was attacked, and you seem to find my methods of punishment so harsh, then you will be judge and jury. Do you find that fair?”

“Fair?” She sputtered angrily, “I want no part of it. I only want to be left alone. I can assure you I won’t go on deck again till we reach Bermuda, when I’ll gladly take my leave of this ship. Until then, I want nothing to do with you or your men, and that includes your officers. I’ll take my meals in my cabin, and—”

But he was not listening to her outburst. He moved closer, his arms wrapping about her to pull her against him, his lips crushing down upon hers.

For an instant she was so stunned by his movements that she could do nothing but lie there, frozen. His lips were warm, teasing, and his tongue thrust inside her mouth and moved about deliciously. Suddenly she came alive and began to beat upon his back with her fists, but she was no match for his strength.

A powerful hand moved to caress her breasts. She felt herself yielding despite her fury over his boldness. Her brain screamed that it was insane, yet she acknowledged he was awakening in her a hunger she had not known existed so intensely, so fiercely. She could feel a warmth in her loins, and fought wildly within herself to keep from melting against him and reveling in the pleasure that she felt in every pore of her skin.

Abruptly he released her, staring down with those ebony eyes. “You liked that, didn’t you? You may not admit it to me, but you can’t hide the truth from yourself. And that’s certainly no way for a woman to behave when she’s betrothed to another man.”

“You—you savage!” She shoved at his chest with both hands but felt as though she were pushing against stone. “You had no right…”

“You needed that,” he said quietly, moving away. “You need a lot more. But you’re lucky. When it comes to ladies, as strong as my needs are, I try to control myself.”

“You
do
have a heart of iron,” she screamed in rage. “Get out of my cabin…now!” She reached out for the first object she could fasten her hands about—the brandy bottle—and sent it sailing through the air. He ducked as the glass shattered against the wall just above his head.