The Charlotte Series: Book 1: The Pirate's Treasure

Chapter 27

Masters watched Smith leave and smiled. Everyone on the ship knew their Captain was in love with the lady...everyone that is except the captain. He shook his head and tossed some coin down to pay for the drinks. He had a "cargo" to dispose of. And since the Captain would be bringing a bride aboard he figured the crew and the ship could stand a good scrub down.

Smith walked away lost in his thoughts. He wasn't troubled by the prospect of being married to Millicent. He realized that this afternoon. A she washed he realized she wore a threadbare dress that was too big for her. She had none of the fripperies most ladies demanded and few of the necessities—she didn't even have undergarments! Yet she never became morose or complained.

He might manage to give her the things she needed as Martin Smith. But to give her the thing she most deserved—honesty and love—he would have to stop running. He would have to tell her who he really was. He knew if she would have him he could be happy even if he must become Lord James Grayson again—if only he had Millicent by his side he could be happy anywhere.

He saw the wit and strength she held inside. Qualities she managed to cloak with a gentle temper and a kind way. How did she ever manage to hang on to who she was after what she had suffered...what she still suffered in the way of her abject poverty and the ill-provisioned ship? He remembered her face as she challenged him over the wash water and laughed.

She was just too damned stubborn to let a devil rogue like Blakeney take...he suddenly remembered the babe—a reminder of what Blakeney had taken— and he growled. An old woman stepped out of a doorway and huffed at him as she dumped a bucket of dirty water at his feet where it splashed up onto his boots. Annoyed he looked around to get his bearings.

It was not a very safe part town for a gentleman (such as he was dressed) to be wandering. He growled again. He'd been a fool to let his guard down. He didn't recognize where he was. Behind him the buildings overgrew their foundations and formed a tunnel over the street. The other end was a white arch against the black of the tunnel. He looked up expecting it to be late.

He was surprised to see the sky still lit although it was grayed out. A raindrop hit his face and he blinked. In a few moments his eyes adjusted once more to the dimness of the narrow street. Here at the ground level doorways and windows were marked by ink blots in the lengthening shadows. This street seemed abandoned and was lit only by the waning light from above.

There could be twenty men in that tunnel and he'd not see them. He'd not be returning that way. Turning his attention ahead, the road curved slightly out of view and was washed in a wide swath of light. The light marked the absence of a building and no doubt the entrance of another street. A sole figure ambled casually across that swath of light as the rain became a fine drizzle.

It was a cold rain, but very fine. Where it filtered through the spots of light it was a translucent curtain of gray that blurred the view beyond. The figure disappeared into the shadows. James heard only the symphony of the rain as it pattered against stone and iron and dripped its way at last to the stones beneath his feet where a tiny river formed in the center of the street.

The wet the stones became like mirrors reflecting the bits of light and glittering. The whole scene was rather surreal and he found it a bit disturbing. This was a busy port city. These people were no strangers to water. A light rain such as this should not make the streets so empty. He could hear...nothing save muffled sounds of life beyond the door the woman retreated behind.

He decided to make for the light. His steps rang out loudly in the street. And that marked further on his mind the absence of any others. He left his pistol tucked under his coat where the powder would stay dry. But he was glad for the feel of it pressed there against the small of his back. With walls towering on both sides and night pressing in, he suddenly felt small and vulnerable.