Page 51 of Across the Star-Kissed Sea (Proper Romance Regency #1)

As we approached, he loosened his grip on the Frenchman and stepped back.

“Hallyburton, clap him in irons. He’ll be delivering us the sword if we can’t find the others.

” The boatswain took the enemy sailor and hauled him toward the hatchway.

The captain pivoted to meet us. “Doswell! What the devil are you doing here?”

“Captain,” I said.

His gaze fell on me. He blinked, studying me for a long time before realization dawned.

He slowly closed his eyes, jaw working. He held his forehead for a moment, then dragged a hand down his face.

“Miss Byam, what a pleasant surprise.” Only he did not sound the least bit pleased.

“I suppose this should not come as a shock to me. What has my wife dragged you into?”

I shook my head. No time for an explanation. “There are Frenchmen on the Marianne . étienne is holding them off.”

“Roddam, get them all below,” Captain Peyton barked, sprinting for the rail. Elias and I ran to catch up. “Townsend! Bring your men back to Marianne .”

“They came through the aft gun ports,” I called.

The captain swept onto the rail and sprang across the gap, not even bothering with ropes to balance himself as he hopped deftly to the deck.

Any Society miss would have swooned over a display such as that.

Except for Mrs. Peyton, which I supposed was why he’d married her.

A midshipman and group of sailors raced over the side, cutlasses at the ready.

“The fighting is mostly finished,” Elias observed, helping me back up onto the rail. “Look.”

I glanced back. The deck was eerily still.

English seamen dragged tied French sailors below.

Our officers and midshipmen shouted orders.

A few straggling pockets of Frenchmen were detained.

Why hadn’t they struck their colors? They couldn’t be carrying anything so precious as to warrant fighting to the death.

Somehow, the two French intruders must have had something to do with our enemy not surrendering. “Hurry,” I said. “Let’s get back.”

Elias

May and I practically slid through the hatchway in our hurry to find étienne. Captain Peyton stood not far from the ladder, hands behind his back, flanked by the party of seamen. The much shorter French surgeon stood beside him. Praise the heavens. étienne looked unharmed.

“Well done, étienne,” the captain said. He glanced over his shoulder at May, who hugged herself as though remembering for the first time in several hours that she was wearing men’s clothing. “I think you and Miss Byam helped us solve two predicaments tonight.”

A lantern had been hung on a hook near the hatchway, casting a wavering light on the gathering.

Toward the stern, two Frenchmen sat with wrists and ankles tied.

The taller of the two, his brown hair tied back in a loose queue, glared at us.

The shorter one, who had darker skin and curly hair cropped short, stared at the ground.

“Two?” étienne asked.

“You stopped a counterattack that might have destroyed the Marianne ,” Captain Peyton said, crouching in front of the prisoners. He gave them a wry smile. “And you’ve found our missing captain.”

Captain? What was a captain doing sneaking onto the enemy ship through the gun ports on a nefarious mission? He should have sent one of his officers.

Something flashed across the taller mariner’s face. He couldn’t have been much older than I, but shadows of conflict, of memory, flitted behind his eyes. Daring us all to cross him. “ Je suis le second, pas le capitaine, ” he muttered.

I glanced at our captain. Did he understand French well enough to know the man claimed to be the first mate?

“You are Bernard?” Peyton asked.

The taller man gave no answer, and his companion continued his silence. étienne cleared his throat. “He is, sir.” The first mate glared at our surgeon. He must know English to some extent. Perhaps as well as I knew his language.

“I regret to inform you that your Captain Demaret is dead,” Captain Peyton said, a solemnity tinting his voice.

Saint-Germain ’s captain had fallen? Then, the first mate sitting before us had become the captain without realizing it.

“You will return with me, Captain, and strike your colors. Order your men to stand down and surrender their weapons.”

The Frenchman shrugged helplessly. “ Je ne parle pas anglais. ”

I don’t speak English? He certainly seemed to understand. étienne’s face twisted. He didn’t believe Bernard’s lie either, but he quickly repeated what Peyton said in French. The other French mariner finally moved, turning his head to catch his new captain’s gaze.

“Tell him his men have already been rounded up and taken below,” Peyton said. “The boatswain put up an honorable fight, but we were too much for them. He told us you were now in command.”

Bernard’s scowl darkened the longer Captain Peyton spoke.

Yes, he certainly understood. After étienne relayed the message, Bernard barked a string of French curses on Peyton and all our crew.

I removed my spectacles and wiped the lenses on the cuff of my shirtsleeve.

I didn’t want it to look obvious to the French captain that I was understanding almost every word.

The captain might need my translation services later to eavesdrop on conversations.

“He says he will do it,” étienne finally interpreted. I glanced at our captain. That was certainly not what I’d heard.

Captain Peyton called for seamen to drag Bernard and his companion above, then turned to étienne. “Thank you again for your service.”

“I couldn’t have done anything without the help of Miss Byam here.” The surgeon nodded toward May, whose face reddened. “And you remember Mr. Taylor.”

Mrs. Peyton stepped out from between the guns, arms folded. I hadn’t seen her there before. She fixed her husband with an emotionless gaze. No embarrassment. No sheepishness. They stared each other down as though daring the other to break the silence.

A hand slipped into mine. May watched them with brows knit. I squeezed her fingers. If I knew anything about the Peytons, there was nothing to fear. Captain Peyton had become more serious under the weight of his responsibilities, but I knew for certain he adored and respected this woman.

The captain rubbed his forehead with an exasperated laugh. “What would I do without you, George?”

“You’d have a gushing hole in your hull.”

Captain Peyton straightened. “She’s hit below the water line?”

“Mrs. Hallyburton and I plugged it well enough,” she said with a shrug, “but we should find Mr. Jackson as soon as we can and get men on the pumps.”

“Yes, sir.” Peyton saluted her, earning him a perplexed look from his wife.

He crossed the distance and took her in his arms, and I glanced down at May.

Sweat had curled the strands of hair around her face.

The rest of it was starting to fall out of the ribbon-bound queue that hung down her back.

A thin red line ran across her cheek where a shard of wood must have grazed it.

Her lips turned upward in a small smile as she watched the captain kiss his wife. How I wanted to do the same to her.

étienne appeared at my elbow, clearing his throat. “Will you direct the movement of wounded seamen down to the orlop, Mr. Doswell? Miss Byam, if you’d assist me below. I have a feeling we will be swarmed momentarily.”

“Yes, of course,” I said quickly.

“We’ll speak after,” May murmured to me.

I nodded. The next few hours as we cared for the wounded and righted the ship would be an eternity, knowing that May stood at the end of it, open and eager to have me once more.