Swept to Sea by Heather Manning Read Free Book Online Page A

her if you know what's good for you. If I am correct and she has been hurt by a man, we do not want you to give her any further fear."
    "Yes, Captain," he smiled, "I was just commenting. Besides, you know how I prefer red-heads to brunettes any day."
    Caspian chuckled and shot a glance in his friend’s direction.
    Reed skipped up to the two men from the other direction. "Papa, where will Lady Trenton sleep tonight?"
    Caspian’s breathing halted for a second. He had not thought of that. Since his wife had died, he had not been around many women, but he knew how improper it was for the lady to be in the same room, alone with him, at night. But as long as his son was there, he supposed it did not matter. However, because it was only polite the woman sleep on the bed it looked like their journey would be filled with rough nights until they reached Port Royal.
    "Lady Trenton shall sleep in our bed, Reed. We shall sleep on the floor tonight."
    "All right, but Papa, may we go to sleep now? The door is locked to the cabin so I can't go in," Reed informed him with a yawn.
    "Yes, of course, Reed. It is by far past your bedtime, anyway. We have had a long day. Good night, Gage.” Caspian nodded to his friend. “Bid the man good night, Reed," Caspian ordered his son.
    "Good night, sir."
    Gage flashed a smile and ruffled Reed’s hair, eliciting a giggle from the boy.
    Caspian shrugged his shoulders and led his son toward their cabin. He took a deep breath to steady himself before he knocked on the door.
    "Who is it?" He heard Lady Trenton’s voice trill sweetly.
    "The captain."
    After a moment, she opened the door, giving him a doubtful look. Reed rushed inside and sat in one of the leather armchairs. Caspian strode to his glass cabinet. The glistening bottles of port and rum clinked together as the Dawn’s Mist plunged over a particularly large swell. He jerked the door open and snatched a carafe from the shelf before he plucked a glass off of his desk and poured himself a draught of the sweet liquid. Caspian raised it to his lips.
    No.
    He slammed the glass down onto his desk with a thud.
    Isabelle would be quite angry if she found out her husband was guzzling down spirits like a common drunkard. She loathed his drinking habits, and Caspian knew that. Then why did he continuously feel the urge to return to a despicable lifestyle?
    "C-can I… help you, Captain?" A soft voice stammered.
    The lady.
    Caspian spun to look at her, and his breath stopped short in his throat as he looked at her for the first time since she had opened the door for him.
    The woman was backed up against the bulkhead and dressed in a lacy white nightgown that was absconded from a merchant ship in the years when he had taken to pirating. If he remembered correctly, the gown was made of silk from China and intricate lace from Paris. It was positively lovely on her.
    Caspian let the image soak into his mind, how her curves filled out the gown, how the lace frothed against her creamy skin. Even though she was anything but tall, the gown stopped at her ankles, scandalously revealing two tiny feet and ten perfect toes. He swallowed back a burst of longing to touch those little feet and do a whole lot more. Fire and thunder, what was wrong with him?
    He had to look away; he knew it.
    He could not bring himself to. She shivered, and her eyes shifted to the floor underneath his intense perusal. Yes, he knew it would be best to divert his gaze, although, at the moment, looking away from the beauty was the least of his desires. Say something, man, or you’ll frighten the poor lady to death.
    "Where did you get that nightgown, woman?" he snapped, sounding far more aggravated then he had meant to.
    "I-I… found it in that big trunk over there; I hope it is all right for me to wear it. I'm sorry… I should have asked you first, before I put it on. That was horribly presumptuous of me. Oh, I will find something else immediately. Why, I had no idea that you… that you