A Pirate's Ransom by Gerri Brousseau Read Free Book Online Page A

foolhardy again.”
    Shame flooded me, but he held my face between his hands and I could not turn away from him. I looked down at the deck as tears streamed down my cheeks.
    “No need to cry,” he whispered, and drew me closer into his embrace.
    Still unable to find my voice, my tears soaked into his shirt. He stood there patiently allowing me the time to gather my composure.
    When I was able to find my voice, I stepped slightly away from him and said, “Thank you, Captain, for rescuing me.” I still could not meet his gaze.
    “Catherine, you gave me quite a fright.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “No need for apologies, Milady, but there is a need for you to change your clothes. I shall not be able to rescue you from my crew should they catch sight of your shapely derrière in those britches. I must admit, Madam, I find my own resolve to be sorely tested.”

Chapter 10
    The days slipped by and although the Captain kept his distance, I was never out of his sight. However, every time I chanced a glance at him, it seemed his scowl deepened, and the crew openly complained of his bad temper. One morning while walking on deck with Mary, I overheard two of the pirates talking.
    “It be ’er wot got the Captain in such a temper.”
    “The Countess?”
    “Aye. The sooner we gets ‘er off this ship, the better. Women aboard ship be bad luck.”
    “For a piece o’ bad luck, she sure be a right pretty one.”
    “Aye, that she be.”
    “Maybe that be what vexes the Captain. Maybe he’s taken a fancy to her.”
    “Nay, he wouldn’t have.”
    “Aye, watch ‘ow he looks at her.”
    Suddenly the two sailors became aware of the fact that their conversation was no longer private and looked nervously at each other as I approached.
    “Good day, Gentlemen,” I said with a smile, hoping to not indicate I had overheard their conversation.
    “Me Lady,” they replied in unison.
    Strolling along past them, I lowered my voice to a whisper and asked, “Mary, do you think there is any merit to what the pirates said just then?”
    “Oh, Miss, I couldn’t say.”
    “You know, I have never met a man like Captain Drake.”
    “Ye ain’t never ‘ad the chance to meet many men on the island. But bein’ a Lady, ye ain’t really acquainted over much with the ways o’ men. As well ye shouldn’t be.”
    “No, but still the Captain is nothing like my father.”
    “No Miss, I don’t suppose he is. Yer father is a gent, he is, an’ well, the Captain, he be a pirate.”
    The sound of her words faded as the memory of my father’s cowardice the day we were taken brought a fresh sting of pain to my heart. He never even spoke a word to try and save me. Was I such a burden to him that he would so easily allow me to be taken? Despite the pain the memory of that day brought me, I couldn’t help but wonder what had become of him and the crew of The Tempest .
    I sighed. Forcing the memory of my father’s drawn face from my mind I walked along with Mary in silence. We strolled together past the pirates engaged in their duties. They hardly spared us a glance, yet the smell of their dirty clothes and filthy bodies nearly choked me. Then the seed of a thought sprouted in my mind.
    “Mary, today we shall make some well-needed changes aboard this ship.”
    “Oh, now, Miss, don’t ye be causin’ no more of a fuss. What ye be plannin’ to do this time?”
    “Well, to start with, these men are all in dire need of a bath.”
    “Oh, Miss.” She giggled. “They won’t likely be takin’ kindly to that I wager.”
    “I care little for how they will be taking to it, but it is necessary. I have had animals that have smelled far better than most of these men.”
    “Aye, Miss. That be true.”
    “It will be necessary to enlist the aid of your Mister Smith. Do you think you have enough influence over him to coax him to help us?”
    “I’ll give it me best try.”
    Later that afternoon, Mister Smith and a few crew members dragged the big brass tub