When a maid of honor to the Queen is rescued by a handsome and contentious pirate, she has to spend three days aboard his ship before returning to court. But is three days time long enough to truly get to know someone? And is English court as diffic...
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Harry had slipped out of Celia's chambers after they collapsed into the sheets, their bare chests heaving and eyes glazed with ecstasy. Celia drifted into sleep as the boat rocked gently across the waves, nearing the English shore as each minute slowly ticked by. She was woken hours later by the sound of cheers and hollers and the chanting of men. She peered out of the nearby window to find that the sky had faded from a clear blue into an indigo filled with silver specks.
Celia dressed herself in a gown and made her way to the weather deck. Lanterns were hung, lighting up the deck to reveal the shadowy faces of the crew. She walked down the staircase, her hand grazing the wooden railing ever so lightly, and scanned the scene before her. Men raised their glasses and clinked them, sloshing ale and rum as they did so, and slung it down their throats.
"You look nice," a low voice whispered in her ear.
Celia spun to her right, coming face to face with Harry. A smile crept onto her face. "I just woke up."
"Sorry about the noise," he replied.
"Oh, please," she shook her head. "You deserve a celebration."
"As do you."
He offered his arm and Celia took it, linking it with hers. They walked through the crowd of drunken men who sent suggestive glares Celia's way followed by the protective scowl of Harry as he swept her away from them.
"Do you prefer ale or wine?" Harry raised a brow emptied his cup.
"Rum," she said, leaning against a table and hugging her waist.
"A little daring, don't you think?"
"There are many things you do not know about me, Captain," she replied.
Harry pulled the cork out of the glass bottle with his teeth and poured the alcohol into the cup. He then walked over to Celia with the full cup in his hands. "I believe we're on a first name basis now, as I have seen you naked." His lips curled into a smirk and Celia's eyes widened.
She snatched the cup from his hands and sloshed back a swig of the strong rum, not even wincing as the liquor trailed down her throat in a burning stream. "As I said, there are many things you don't know about me..." She paused and trailed her tongue across her lips. "Harry," she finished.
Celia handed the cup back to Harry and walked away, her hips swaying as she feigned the sexual confidence that she lacked. Perhaps it was to take her mind off of her missing family, or perhaps her feelings for Harry were true. Either way, she enjoyed the game they were playing.
She spotted Luke standing awkwardly alone under an awning and walked over to him, a new move against Harry popping into her head. Though she would not admit it, she had hoped that her speaking with Luke would spark jealously somewhere within Harry.
His eyes brightened when he saw her come into view. "Celia," he smiled. "Would you like some ale, or wine?"
"I would love some wine, thank you," she said. Celia hummed to herself as her eyes wandered across the crowd of sweaty men, finally falling upon Harry. Standing alone, overseeing the crew with a stern face, Harry's eyes caught Celia's stare. She quickly turned her head, watching as Luke neared her.
"Wine, m'lady," he grinned.
She took the tin cup from him and smiled after taking a sip. "I'm not quite a lady."
"You are a maid of honor to the Queen. No doubt you should be treated as a lady."
"Have you ever been to court, Luke?"
He shook his head. "I'm to join the Captain when he goes, though."
"Be prepared for the most stressful day of your life."
"Don't you like it?"
"I do," she said, almost unsure of her words. "But it's been so nice not worrying about the prying eyes of courtiers. It is quite glorious, though—the palace and her Majesty."
"What does she look like? I've heard rumors that she's, in fact, a boy."
"Good Lord, I've never heard such a ridiculous tale in my life," Celia huffed. "You can be rest assured that she is, indeed, female. As for her looks, you will have to wait until tomorrow. My description will not do her justice." Celia raised the cup to her lips once more and finished off the alcohol, handing the tin back to Luke. "It is late. Will you tell the Captain that I am returning to my chambers?"
"The Captain? Why?"
"So that he doesn't make a ruckus when he comes into the cabin later. I'd like to be well rested for my return to court," she said. "Is that a crime?" She furrowed her brows and narrowed her eyes.
Luke shook his head, his brown hair flopping. "No, of course not. I—it's just...there are whispers."
"Perhaps you aren't so unprepared for court after all," she said. "People whisper and spread rumors like wildfire. You have to learn to turn your cheek, because only you know the truth."
"And what is your truth?"
"The Captain has shown me nothing but kindness," she answered, her eyes briefly darting past Luke and finding Harry. They hovered on him until he felt her gaze upon himself and sent a slight nod her way. She tore her eyes away and returned them to Luke. "And I shall repay him with the same. Goodnight, Luke," she smiled.
♛
Celia emerged from her room dressed in the gown that she arrived on the Golden Tide in; deep blue fabric decorated with white lace around the wrists and the neckline. She had attempted to tame her unruly mass of red curls by separating them into two sections and twisting them together, tying it off at the end of the twist with a strip of fabric.
Harry sat at his desk, dressed in a satin shirt with a plunging neckline that revealed his muscular chest. The same wooden cross hanging from a strip of leather settled between his tanned pectorals. Celia's eyes lingered on it before Harry realized she was present. A smile itched at his lips before he quickly cleared his throat, causing Celia to avert her eyes to his face rather than his chest.
"G'morning," he said.
"Good morning."
Harry folded the parchment he had been scribbling on in half, and held a burning candle sideways to allow the red wax to drip onto the folds of the paper. He then stamped the drying wax, an emblem of his own creation engraving into the hardened liquid. His eyes flickered up to Celia, who was sitting on the edge of the table as she filled her mouth with fruit and wine.
"Preparing yourself for your first day back at court?" Harry asked as he stood from his desk to join Celia at the table. He plucked a grape from a vine and plopped it into his mouth.
"Preparing myself to leave you," she corrected, raising her blue eyes to his. Truthfully, she could hardly believe that she had let that slip out of her mouth, but it had. She chewed the inside of her cheek as she awaited Harry's response. Had she really grown that close to him over the course of three days?
"Who said I was going anywhere?" he furrowed his brows as he spoke.
Celia sighed, relief flooding her body and her lips twitching into a faint smile. "You're a pirate. The sea is your home, and English court is mine."
"Right you are," he said, raising his glass of wine to his lips and letting the liquid coat his dry throat. "As always."
