Page 14 of Across the Star-Kissed Sea (Proper Romance Regency #1)

May

T he weight of the day’s anniversary made my movements slow that morning. It should have been just another day. After two weeks at sea, I knew my duties and routine. But even so, dressing had proven harder than I’d expected.

I slid a hairpin into place, then pulled my cap on over the messy knot. Mrs. Peyton wouldn’t care if I looked a sight. I tied the ribbon, not worrying if the bow felt straight. Thank the skies I didn’t have a light to check my reflection in the mirror. I didn’t want to know. Not today.

My arms felt weak as I pulled myself up the ladder to the gun deck and trudged to the galley. The steward handed me the Peytons’ breakfast tray. The steam rolling off the food turned my empty stomach. No doubt Mr. Howard had cooked it well, but I was in no state to appreciate the smell.

I took the food to the captain’s cabin while the steward waited for water to boil in the galley for their tea. Why did the tray feel so much heavier this time? It wobbled as I balanced it on one arm to free my other hand.

I knocked, the hard wood thudding dully against my knuckles, then opened the door. Nothing moved in the cabin except the Peytons’ cot, which swayed faintly with the roll of the Marianne . No papers or maps sat on the table or desks as they usually did by the time I arrived each morning.

“Dom, she’s here,” came a nearly imperceptible whisper. It was followed by a masculine sigh. Two forms nestled in the cot rather than just the slight form of Mrs. Peyton.

My cheeks heated. The captain hadn’t started his day yet.

“Breakfast,” I announced loudly.

Good heavens, he was usually ready by now.

I set the tray in the middle of the table, the plates and utensils clinking.

For a moment, I didn’t let go. Should I run?

Stay and wait? A servant shouldn’t mind whatever state she found her employer, but I clearly hadn’t been a servant long enough.

“I’ll return in a moment.” Where I would go in the meantime, I didn’t know.

I hadn’t anticipated the perils of serving a newly married couple.

A shout sounded from the hatchway as I hurried out of the great cabin and pulled the door shut behind me. A boy bolted up the ladder toward the upper deck.

“You can’t hide from me.” Mrs. Hallyburton appeared a moment later, a stick clutched in her fist. She shot up the ladder in pursuit of the lad.

My heart jumped to my throat at her wild expression, and without thinking, I dashed for the hatchway after them.

Elias

The screech of a banshee shattered the early morning stillness I’d sought on the quarterdeck.

I flinched, glancing at First Lieutenant Roddam, who had taken position not far away as officer of the watch.

He closed his eyes and drew in a breath.

A couple of weeks at sea hadn’t given anyone time to familiarize themselves with Mrs. Hallyburton’s outbursts.

A small form flew through the hatchway with the boatswain’s wife on his heels, swinging a foot-long handspike from one of the capstans.

“You little rat!” She paused at the top of the ladder, breathing heavily. The boy had vanished, but soft sobbing filtered across the deck in the silence that had overtaken all seamen and officers.

That same leaping in my gut I’d experienced when Miss Byam had boarded overcame me. Whatever the lad had done, surely it didn’t warrant this rage. I scanned the deck. Someone needed to step in.

Roddam tugged at his black neckcloth. As the highest-ranking officer above deck, it fell on him to intervene.

“It makes one wish to follow the Admiralty’s ban of women with exactness,” Roddam muttered.

Mrs. Hallyburton cried out as she advanced toward one of the boats. “You’ll do as you’re told, or you’ll never see land again.” Her handspike hit the boat, letting off a deep thud. The boy she chased let out a yelp and scrambled out from under it on the opposite side.

What was she thinking? She could badly injure him. I hurried toward the quarterdeck steps. I had little say in what happened on this ship, but I wouldn’t sit back and watch her beat that boy senseless. Grown seamen could take her walloping and cursing. The young ones shouldn’t.

Lieutenant Roddam brushed past me, slowing me with a hand on my arm. I let him take the lead, following closely behind. The boy scrambled toward us, face red and eyes wide. The boatswain’s wife spied him and charged.

I sucked in a breath. Before I could run to them, someone flew through the hatchway and planted herself in front of Mrs. Hallyburton.

A skewed cap covered Miss Byam’s head, and the ends of her hair awkwardly splayed out from under the white linen.

The older woman plowed into Miss Byam with a grunt, nearly bowling her over.

Mrs. Hallyburton snarled. “How dare you—”

“Let him alone.” Miss Byam held out her arms to block the boatswain’s wife.

The boy stumbled to a halt before Lieutenant Roddam. The officer took him by the shoulder, firmly but without roughness. He walked the ship’s boy back toward the women.

Mrs. Hallyburton raised the handspike as though to strike Miss Byam. My chest tightened, and I rushed past the staring crewmen. The young woman stood unflinching, her Saxon blue gown catching the morning breeze.

“It is my duty to keep these vermin in line.” Mrs. Hallyburton caught sight of the lieutenant advancing on them and lowered her weapon. Her gaze did not soften.

Miss Byam folded her arms. With her back to me, I could not see her face, but I could imagine the indignation in her eyes. “Does it say so in your contract?”

“What contract?”

The lieutenant pulled the boy up behind them, blocking me from getting closer to the women without tricky maneuvering through lines and seamen.

Not that Miss Byam would appreciate my intervention should Mrs. Hallyburton raise her handspike again.

Miss Byam fought her own battles, I was beginning to discover.

“The contract or orders that gave you the right to beat the ship’s boys,” Miss Byam said.

Mrs. Hallyburton snorted. “Of course I haven’t a contract. I don’t need orders. My husband has ’em. And you parade around calling yourself a boatswain’s niece as though you know the job.”

Miss Byam shifted her weight to one side and tilted her head. “I mention it only because to my understanding, you have no right to enact discipline, deserved or otherwise, on this ship.”

“I told you to watch yourself, lass.” The older woman’s mouth twisted. She straightened, turning her attention to Lieutenant Roddam as though to dismiss her.

Miss Byam hadn’t finished. “Everyone else on this ship acts under orders, but you seem to think you’ve been given a free hand to act as you wish, ordering and disciplining without authority.

” She advanced, and the boatswain’s wife took a step back.

“Everyone else is paid to perform their contracted duties. You, Mrs. Hallyburton, do not even earn a wage. You terrorize us all out of the goodness of your heart.”

I winced at her forthrightness but not because I didn’t agree. Most on board, even Captain Peyton, had wanted to say these very words. Though perhaps without such force.

Lieutenant Roddam cleared his throat. “Miss Byam.”

Miss Byam turned, meeting the officer’s gaze with calm determination. “Lieutenant.” She gave a short curtsy. She didn’t wear a coat over her short sleeves. Not even gloves to protect her bare arms from the morning chill.

“You’ll forgive my interruption,” Lieutenant Roddam said. “What is the meaning of this outburst?”

“He has his duties, sir.” Mrs. Hallyburton glared at Miss Byam. “From my husband. And he’s not fulfilling ’em.”

The boy’s chin trembled. Heavens, he looked young. Too young to be at sea. “I dinnae know how.” The little Scottish brogue tugged at my heart.

“You’ll speak when you’re spoken to,” the woman snapped, pointing her handspike at the lad.

“Pipe down, Hallyburton.” Miss Byam swatted the stick aside. “You’re no officer.”

Mrs. Hallyburton pursed her lips, hand tightening on the wooden handle. Miss Byam stood her ground, a sleek frigate staring down a battle-worn ship of the line. Outgunned and outmanned, Miss Byam wasn’t about to be outmaneuvered. Little ships had taken down great ones before.

Something burst to life in my core, filling my body with a warmth I hadn’t experienced in weeks as I watched this young woman, seemingly alone in a new world, not only rise to the challenges of her circumstances but also stand for those who couldn’t.

How I wished to remove myself from that list of her adversaries. Would she ever forgive me?

“Here now,” Lieutenant Roddam said, holding up a hand, “let’s be civil.”

“Coddling the boy will only turn him soft as this lubber.” The boatswain’s wife nodded at Miss Byam.

The young woman opened her mouth to retort, but I blurted out, “It hasn’t even been two weeks.” Their eyes all turned to me, and I swallowed. “Surely ... surely there is place for mercy for a lad with so little experience.”

Mrs. Hallyburton’s jaw worked, but she remained silent. She had too much respect for my office to say anything, though she clearly wished to.

Beside her, Miss Byam’s indignant features softened. She tended to look at me with such wariness, but this morning, with the pale light painting her cheeks, the tension usually reserved for me had vanished. Her gaze sent a strange little thrill down my arms.

“What is your name, lad?” I asked, quickly turning away from Miss Byam before the sensation overcame me.

“Harvey Carden, sir.” He sniffed. Carden. Two older boys with the same surname had come to my reading lessons, but he’d never shown. Had the Hallyburtons been keeping him too occupied? His tawny hair stood up at odd angles, and stains spattered his rumpled shirt.

Lieutenant Roddam sighed. “Leave him here, Mrs. Hallyburton. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.”

“Yes, sir.” She threw a scathing glare at Miss Byam before stalking toward the hatchway.