Page 13 of Hooked by a Hero (Tales from the Brotherhood #4)
Seven
E lias could not decide whether he wanted the storm that raged around them in the hours and days that followed to die out or whether he wanted it to go on forever.
It felt as though the Fortune and its remaining inhabitants were being tossed between capricious sea gods who used them for sport.
Whatever faith he had that the crew knew their duties and would carry them through to calmer waters was dampened by not knowing how many of the knowledgeable seamen remained.
That was the chief problem that concerned him as he and Caspian huddled together in Elias’s small cabin.
Dick and Tumbrill were in command of the ship now, and as far as any of the passengers knew, as soon as the rain and wind and high seas stopped, they would finish the murderous job that they and the sea had started.
“We have to do the best we can to keep the passengers safe,” Caspian told him as they stumbled through the middeck after hiding for what felt like an eternity, even though it could only have been one day. “We have to do all we can to keep the mutineers from harming any of the prisoners.”
“Agreed,” Elias said, following Caspian as they knocked on cabin doors to ascertain how the others were doing…and if they were still alive.
Caspian remained strangely calm throughout the ordeal.
If Elias did not know better, he would have thought that Caspian was already certain he would survive what was easily the most harrowing event of Elias’s life.
The man had absolutely no fear of the sea whatsoever, and only mild concern where the likes of Dick and Tumbrill were concerned.
The one stroke of luck they had during the remainder of the storm was that none of the mutineers were seen on the middeck at all as long as the storm continued.
Elias reasoned that they were too busy above, keeping the ship from sinking or sustaining irreparable damage.
If they had taken shelter, they had likely holed up in the captain and officers’ cabins at the ship’s stern.
Whatever the case, Elias’s primary concern was for survival.
“Have you ever known a storm like this?” he asked Caspian once the two of them were back in his cabin after making another round of checks on their fellow passengers.
“I’ve known plenty of storms,” Caspian said, settling on the narrow bed and opening his arms so that Elias could sit with him.
Elias did not care if it infantilized him to want to cuddle close to his would-be lover and have the man wrap him in his embrace as the ship bobbed and listed and rocked.
Caspian was so strong and self-assured. Being held by the man when he was certain his life could end at any moment felt wonderful.
“Yes,” Elias said, moving his legs to fit as best they could in the awkward space, “but have you known any like this one.”
Caspian laughed, which went miles toward making Elias feel better, and said, “Yes.”
A moment later, he grew more serious and tensed slightly.
“What is it?” Elias asked.
Caspian puffed out a breath, then admitted, “Storms generally do not last as long as this. I will have no proof of it until the skies clear and we can go above, but I feel in my bones as if whoever is navigating the ship has been steering it continually into the storm instead of trying to sail out of it.”
Elias’s already twisted stomach pinched even more. How long could they sustain sailing with a storm? Which direction did the storms blow in that part of the world? Would they even know where they were when it wore itself out and finally left them at peace?
The answer to that question came the next day. The seas finally began to calm, the wind died down to a stiff breeze, and the rain turned soft, then stopped entirely. Elias actually caught a glimpse of sunlight through the small porthole in his cabin.
Of course, the end of the storm meant the beginning of a whole other set of troubles.
“Out of your cabins!” a harsh voice shouted from the corridor outside Elias’s cabin, startling him out of a half-sleep. “All of you, get out of your cabins and up on deck. The captain wants to count you.”
Elias tensed in Caspian’s arms. He’d been lying there with the man for who knew how long, but he was loath to get up.
“It’s as we feared,” Caspian said, nudging him slightly so that they could do what they’d been asked. “At least we’ll have a better idea of who has lived and who hasn’t.”
“The women,” Elias gasped, switching from slow, groggy movements to fast, anxious ones so fast it made his head throb and spin. “They’re disguised, but those disguises won’t hold for long.”
A slight smile touched Caspian’s lips, but it was gone almost before Elias could note it. “We shall see what happens,” he said.
Elias was not certain he wished to see, but they had no choice.
The middeck came alive with noise, voices shouting, feet stomping, and doors opening and shutting as the convict crew roused the passengers and dragged them out of their cabins.
Caspian gestured for Elias to follow him down the length of the deck to where Miss Winters had her cabin instead of taking the quicker route above through the stern hatch.
“Are you well, Miss Winters?” Caspian asked the pale and shaking young woman once they reached her cabin.
“Not at all,” Miss Winters wept, then wiped her eyes with the back of the sleeve of the simple man’s shirt she wore. “I’m frightened.”
“Stay with us,” Elias told her. “We’ll do everything we can to protect you.”
Once they climbed up to the main deck, Elias saw that they were not the only ones who seemed determined to protect the women from whatever rapacious intentions the mutineers might have had for them.
Ruby, dressed as a boy, with her hair shorn, had Lady Adelaide, her maid, and Miss Winters, all of whom were dressed in men’s clothing, gathered in the corner of the deck where the forecastle met the main deck.
They weren’t just standing there, however.
Ruby seemed to be driving the ladies to handle rope, pick up debris, and behave as if they were part of the crew.
As soon as she spotted Elias, she gasped slightly and left the rope she’d been coiling to run to him. “You are still alive,” she greeted them breathlessly.
“As are you,” Elias said, pretending he was far braver than he actually felt. He glanced over her disguise and beyond her to where the other, tearful and wary women, glanced up at them amidst their pretend work. “You’ve done an admirable job of blending in, I see,” he said.
Ruby gulped as if she were fighting not to weep and said, “I’ve been working with the remaining crew to keep the ship afloat during the storm. I’ve learned what to do quickly.”
Mr. Hunt, who had left what he was doing as soon as he saw Elias and Caspian emerge from below, walked up to stand by Ruby’s side and to plant a hand on her shoulder. “Seaman Ferrars has conducted himself admirably for the last few days,” he said.
Elias nodded, taking the comment for what it was at once. Hunt was letting them know the nature of Ruby’s disguise and how to proceed with her. “Understood,” he said, then stepped forward to shake Hunt’s hand. “I’m glad you survived,” he said with genuine feeling.
Hunt smiled grimly. “I’m too stubborn to be defeated,” he said.
“You lot! Get away from there and line up!” one of the mutineers shouted at them.
Elias sent Hunt and Ruby a wary look, then turned to Caspian. “Well,” he said, unable to think of anything else to add.
Caspian answered with a reassuring look and reached for Elias’s hand.
Nothing felt better than that brief moment of contact and connection between them.
It tore something within Elias that they were forced to let go almost immediately so that they did not risk some sort of greater punishment from the mutineers.
There was much to be concerned about as they joined the other passengers and members of the ship’s crew who did not appear to have thrown their lot in with the mutineers as they lined up along the deck.
Worryingly, it looked as though at least half of the Fortune’s crew now gladly took their orders from the new captains, who appeared to be Dick and Tumbrill.
Elias tried not to hold it against the men as they raced up into the rigging or worked to secure damaged bits of the ship while the rest of them were counted. They might not have had a choice.
“Well, well,” Dick said as he walked smugly down the line of passengers, a vicious sneer contorting his face. “You lot survived mostly intact, I see.”
In fact, from what Elias could see as he glanced up and down the line, they had not all survived intact.
He’d watched old Mr. Ferrars being swept overboard with his own eyes, but he was not the only person missing.
Lord Dunstable was nowhere to be found either.
At least half a dozen other once-familiar faces were missing as well.
And on the surface of things, none of the ladies were present. They all stood between Elias and Hunt, who had taken up a position at the end of the line, heads bowed and caps pulled low in an attempt to disguise themselves.
“I see not all of you managed to keep yourselves alive during the storm,” Dick went on, marching past Elias with a look that was almost disappointed. “None of our fairer guests seem to be present.”
Elias sucked in a breath as Dick approached the shaking, terrified women.
He watched the man move closer to them, hands twitching at his sides in anticipation of needing to defend the women.
Dick was armed to the teeth with swords and knives on his person, but that would not stop Elias from doing what was right.
“What do we have here?” Dick asked, rubbing the bottom half of his face as he moved close enough to sniff Lady Adelaide.