Her Heart's Captain by Elizabeth Mansfield Read Free Book Online Page A

acknowledgment of my Presence other than to introduce me to the others. How he learned my Name I can’t Imagine, for Jenny did not introduce us on the Dock and specifically told me later that they hadn’t introduced Themselves. She had called me Robbie, of course, and he could have guessed I was a Middy, but since there is another Robert in my Berth, how did he know which one I was? Of course, the Captain is very Shrewd, and I can well Imagine that it was not very Difficult for him to identify me .
    That Night, however, while we ate Dinner, I assumed that I had been chosen at Random (believing that he might ask one Middy to dine each evening) but I soon learned that that was not the Case. During Dinner no one said a Word to me, and you can well Imagine how Small I felt. But after Dinner was over and we had all drunk our Port (which I will admit was the only part of the Evening that I enjoyed, for I felt quite full grown when the steward filled my glass just like the others and you. Mama, were not there to tell me I’m not Old enough to drink strong Spirits) and the Others took their Leave, the Captain indicated that I was to remain behind .
    You can well Imagine my Feelings. I had not the slightest Idea what he wanted with me. But he soon made his Intention clear — it was to give me a Thundering Scold! He said very coldly that the Officers aboard his Ship were all Gentlemen, and my Neglect of my Sister on the Dock was not the Act of a Gentleman, that it was Inexcusable even in the most Callow Youth, and that if I did not prove to him in Short Order that I could act like a Gentleman of Character and Sense, I would not long remain an Officer aboard his Ship. You can well Imagine my State when I at last was excused from his Presence .
    On my return to my Berth I found the other Fellows had already dubbed me Tris’s Toy (Tristram being the Captain’s given Name), implying that I was a Favorite. What Humbug! I’ve encountered the Captain three Times since the Fatal Dinner, and each Time he had a Fault to find. Once it was my improper Dress, once my Clumsiness and once my Inactivity. He never pays the least heed to any of the other Middies — Midshipmen are usually beneath the notice of Captains of Vessels as large as this one. If Jenny hadn’t been so forward as to take up with Captain Allenby, he would never have even been aware of my Existence or cast so much as a Look in my Direction. I only wish she’d never laid Eyes on him. As you can well Imagine, my Chances for Promotion are non-existent and my Hopes for the Future very Dim .
    Jenny put down the sheets with hands that shook. Her emotions were in a state of upheaval. She was aware, first, of feelings of elation in having learned the identity of her stranger. (He was a Navy captain! She should have guessed it; everything about him had suggested strength and the ability to command.) She was excited by the realization that he now knew her identity, too. But with her mother glaring at her from the other side of the table and with Robbie’s pathetic prospects spread on the papers before her, her excitement was overwhelmed by sensations of shame and guilt. “Oh, Mama,” she murmured, raising her eyes to her mother’s face, “you don’t think Robbie’s prospects are as bleak as he says, do you?”
    â€œOf course I do! My beloved boy, blighted in his prime! Jenny, how could you have done it?”
    â€œBut I didn’t do anything so very dreadful. I only tried to show my gratitude. How could I have guessed it was Robbie’s captain? The man was not in uniform but dressed as any proper gentleman would be.”
    â€œThat’s no excuse. No female who calls herself a lady engages in conversation with a stranger, no matter what his garb. And you know that as well as I.”
    â€œBut it seemed, at the time, quite natural. And even necessary. I did have to thank him, didn’t I? It would have been