Dark Prelude by Andrea Parnell Read Free Book Online

had fallen a few feet away. “Allow us to escort you
to your destination. A ‘lady’ isn’t safe alone.”
    Silvia whirled and jauntily placed her hands
on her hips. She knew she did not appear the least bit ladylike.
Her hair still streamed over her dirt stained face. Her skirts and
cloak, she could see, were covered in filth from the docks and
reeked of something foul she dared not think about. Still, the man
before her in all his finery, was insufferable and persisted in
adding one insult to another.
    With a temperate smile hiding her anger, she
replied coolly, “Sir, you have most kindly rescued me but I will
trouble you no further. I have only a little way to go and I am
certain those two will not return.” A kick to her rescuers shin
would have satisfied her better, but she deliberately held her tone
soft, as she added, “In truth sir, I fear I would be no safer in
your company.”
    “A pity, Miss.” He tilted his head to one
side and his blazing eyes seemed to strip her garments away. “I
thought perhaps we might share a few pleasant hours.” The low
chuckle of his laughter stung her ears as she hoisted her bag and
spun away.
    Was this side of the ocean filled with boors
and villains? She could not remember a single man since he father
who had shown her lasting kindness and consideration. All others
had wanted something they were not entitled to in return. Her frown
did her face no favors but she did not care for her appearance or
how it was received. She had but a few feet and a few hours to put
an ocean between her and those who had roughly used her in this
land, her uncle, those ruffians, and the two men with their costly
clothes and pretentious manner.
    “Good riddance,’ she whispered to them all.
She could at least content herself she would see none of them
again.
     

Chapter 3
     
     
    As if he read her mind, Captain Langham
greeted Silvia with a warmth that should have quickly set her at
ease. He was a stalwart fellow, with bowed legs and large meaty
hands. His walk had the smooth rolling gait of a man who had spent
his life at sea. With welcome civility, Langham refrained from
mentioning her unsightly appearance and spoke as if her comfort
were his primary concern.
    A black tricorn partially obscured his
weathered, though affable face. Silvia strained to her tiptoes to
see better. Something about him disturbed her. Yet at a glance his
expression was full of reassurance as he insisted Mr. Schlange had
given orders for her to occupy a small cabin usually reserved for
paying passengers. Only a dull light in his steely eyes indicated
all was not as it seemed with the master of the vessel.
    Issuing a harsh shout that rang his
authority, Langham hailed a deck hand to carry her bag below.
Silvia quivered at the loudness of his voice. Turning, she saw no
one, but heard the approach of the man from a distant part of the
ship. Fitfully her eyes searched the fog, grown heavy again with a
shift of the wind, but she could not determine the direction of the
sound.
    The attack on the dock had left her skittish
and frightened and her heart beat wildly in her chest. She edged
closer to the captain but just as she took the first step a thick
hand reached out of the mist to close tightly over her wrist. A
scream froze in her throat. The grizzled stump of two missing
fingers bit into her flesh, but the other two fingers and a gnarled
thumb tugged strongly, halting her movement.
    The man’s face was shielded from her view,
but from the place where it should have been she heard a scabrous
grunt.
    “You musn’t mind Eli,” Langham’s craggy
voice rumbled from behind her. “Poor bloke’s dumb. Got his tongue
cut out in the West Indies. An able seaman though. Worth two men
any day and never a complaint from the dolt.” He laughed hoarsely.
“He’ll take your bag, Miss Bradstreet.”
    Silvia breathed heavily. Unknowingly her
fingers clenched so tightly about the wooden handles that the
knuckles were whitened and