Seacrets (7 page)

But she certainly
heard it slam, with a mighty thud, nearly rocking her off of her feet.

She knew she’d been caught.

ξ

Chapter six

Maura startled with the slamming of the heavy wooden door. Her breath was caught in her throat and her mouth was left agape. She instinctively covered her breasts with the flannel on the washstand. "Captain, please! I can explain!"

The look
on Daniel's face was one of astonishment that turned to relief, and eventually turned to rage. “Please do
cabin boy
.” He said through clenched teeth.

His eyebrows knitted into one black line across his forehead and his normally warm deep blue eyes were li
ke ice cold steel, cutting through her. So outraged was he that she had tricked him, he could not speak.

Long minutes
passed as he tried to put together all the little hints and signs of a female he should have picked up on. Daniel turned from her and began to pace, trying to calm his desire to thrash her.

Maura stood
perfectly still, afraid to move for fear of attracting his attention. She had no idea what he was thinking… What he would do to her. She was terrified, frozen in place.

Then,
with infinite slowness he turned in her direction and spoke in an unnervingly calm and quiet tone of voice. "’Tis an unpardonable offense ta stow aboard a ship. Did ya know that?” He passed by to one side of her, then settled directly behind her and stood just inches away while he continued to take her apart mentally. “As bad as thievery, I could have the very skin taken off o’ ya back with the lash for this offense." His voice remained deep and even toned, as he gently ran his fingers between her shoulder blades.

Maura straightened her back and sucked in her breath in response to his unexpected touch.  Why, if he had not been dressing her down, she thought he might have been trying to seduce her with his deep husky tones.
Daniel walked to the front of her.

             
Maura kept her eyes affixed to Daniel’s boots, afraid to look up at him.

"Look at me girl." Again, even toned and deep.

Maura brought her eyes up to meet his.

"Does Godsey know
ya are a lass or have ya been up to ya trickery with him, as well? Don't lie ta me, now." His tone was a bit colder, as his agitation began to mount.

With a pleading look in her eyes, Maura finally spoke. "Please, Captain, I'll be beggin’ ya not ta give poor Godsey the lash. He was just fullfillin' my dyin’ father's last wishes ta get me ta America for a chance at a better life, is all."
She beseeched him.

“Does anyone else aboard know about ya?" He snapped
.

Maura thought for a moment before she spoke.
She didn't want him to know about Kilern. She didn't want another lashing or death on her conscience, even though he surely would be deserving of it, if anyone was. No, she'd be quiet about that one, for now.

"No Captain, no one."
She whispered with her eyes cast downward.

Daniel turned from her and walked over to the table, where just the night before, they had both been engaged in a challenging game of chess. She played as rousing a game as any male he'd played against.
He thought. This told him she was no ordinary thinking female. In fact she was quite thoughtful and calculating in her decision making.

The board was still set up, waiting for them to finish where they had left off. He pulled the chair out away from the table and sat, quietly staring at the board. After a few thoughtful moments he picked up the bejeweled pewter queen and rolled it between his thumb and middle finger. And then, unaware of his actions, Daniel slowly brought the piece to his mouth and ran it across his lower lip, in a most sensuous way.
Within seconds he was aware of his actions and placed the piece back in its place on the board. Daniel raised his eyes to meet hers.

They stared into each other’s eyes for one long seductive moment that was both exciting and frightening to Maura. Her heart was pounding so hard, she feared he could hear it from across the room.

He arose from his chair and walked toward her, stopping just inches from her half unclad body. Her eyes were level to his chest and she could see it was rising and falling at as rapid a pace as her own. He reached out and took off her cap. His breath was caught in his throat as he observed her long black silky tresses cascade down in a wave of curls that fell just beyond her shoulders. He reached out to touch the bindings resting in a raveled heap, just above her hips. He moved his hand up slightly to the right and ran his fingers through a few silken tresses. Abruptly, he turned from her and stood on the opposite side of the cabin, breaking the silence and the spell that was evidently taking hold of both of them. He turned his back to her and snapped his order, to his own disconcert, “Dress ya upper half.” When he saw she’d finished, he turned again to face her. "What is your name, girl?" he asked in a stern tone.

"Maura, Captain. Maura McCoveny." she replied, with a shaking to her voice, still unable to make eye contact with Daniel.

He moved to the cabin door and with a loud bellow, he shouted up through the passageway for a mate to summon Mr. Godsey to his cabin immediately.

This sudden flurry of activity caught the attention of Kilern, standing at the head of the steps,topside. He lagged behind Godsey, so as not to be seen, and slipped into the adjoining cabin to overhear the scuttlebutt taking place in the Captain's quarters.

When Godsey entered the cabin he immediately noticed Maura's hair was free from her cap. He swallowed hard, knowing this could not be a good thing. Continuing to feign ignorance, he took off his cap, bobbed his head to Daniel and then nervously said "Y-ya summoned me, Cap'n?"

"You bet ya sorry seafarin’ arse I summoned ya, man." Daniel said sarcastically.

He paced before the two of them. "Have I not always been a fair man Mr. Godsey?”

Godsey shrunk back from his Captain as he passed by him.

“I am sorely disappointed in ya mate. This makes it very hard on me. How can I ignore this blatant breech of rules? Ya know the punishment for lyin' aboard my ship, man, do ya naught?" Daniel restlessly ran his hand down through his black mane, as he continued to pace.

"Aye, Cap'n, I do. I have no excuse for my actions. I'll take my punishment as ya see fit ta dole it out ta me." H
is hat gripped between two shaking hands.

"This lass claims ya be fullfillin' an old mates last wishes? Is that the way of it?" In Daniel’s mind he was begging Godsey to save him from doing his duty to maintain order on his ship.

"Aye, Cap'n. That be the way of it. I knew full well if I was to be caught we'd both be taken ta the lash, or worse. Please, sir, this is but a girl. Don't punish her for my stupidity o’ thinkin’ we could fool ya. ‘Tis all my doin'. I'm ta blame and will take the brunt of the punishment." Godsey straightened his back, with head held high, as he looked to the right of his Captain's eyes.

Lunging forward and placing her palms flat onto the table, Maura lean
ed in towards Daniel, and cried out, "No, Captain! It was my idea. I convinced Mr. Godsey he should sneak me aboard. I lured him with promises of wealth from my dowry, when I reached America. I am the one who is the liar and the one who uses trickery. You even said so, when you discovered my secret. I will take what ever punishment you deem fit to hand down."

This display of bravery thoroughly
impressed Daniel.
She is
a fighter
,
he thought to himself. He turned from Godsey and looked directly into Maura’s eyes. If she wasn't so serious he would have burst out into a raucous laughter, at her strong, fierce attempt to protect her accomplice.

He turned from them both and hid a half smile
. When composed, he turned again to face them and said, "I'll have ta be givin’ the matter of both your punishments a lot o’ thought.  Not a word o’ this ta anyone, ya here me, Godsey?  I need ta think on this a while. In the mean time, you Miss McCoveny, will continue on with ya charade. If the mates knew ya ta be onboard I'd be havin' a mutiny on my hands. It would be too disruptin' ta have a known female aboard. Godsey, here will have ta keep a better eye on ya than he obviously did tryin' ta keep ya from bein' known ta me. Ya are dismissed, Mr. Godsey.”

§

From the adjoining cabin Kilern could hear everything being said. He leaned against the cabin door, breathed in a great sigh of relief for having known Maura did not tell the Captain he, too, knew of her identity. He broke out into a great smile and rubbed his grimy hands together, while thinking he still had a chance to claim his
pot of gold
, and to himself, made his plan.
When we reach the Shawmut Peninsula I'll make away with the wench. The lass has naught yet escaped me. I'll just bide my time, heh, heh, heh.

He cackled inside his lecherous mind. 
As soon as Kilern heard Godsey leave the Captain's quarters, he waited a few minutes then snuck back up to his assigned post on deck, never having been missed.

With Godsey gone from the cabin, Daniel turned his attention back to Maura standing frozen, over by the wood stove.  Speaking in a most sarcastic tone, Daniel said to her, "Well don't ya just be standin’ there,
cabin boy
, you've still a whole day’s work ahead o’ ya. I believe ya were just about ta assist me with my morning bath and shave."

Maura approached Daniel, now, much differently than she did before he had found her out.
She was awkward and shy about how to proceed. She was standing much too far away from him to assist him with an adequate shave. She handed him a steaming hot towel to assist his full day’s growth to stand. Then she bent towards him with a good foot between them.

I
n an attempt to further embarrass Maura, Daniel reached out placing both hands firmly on her hips and pulled her in closer to him, securing her between his hardened muscular thighs.

"There, that's about how close ya should be ta get the job done properly, don’t ya think?"

Maura knew he was playing with her, now. That he wanted to make this as uncomfortabl for her as possible. She was drenched in perspiration, under her clothes, her forehead, and atop her upper lip. She refused to look directly into Daniel’s eyes, but continued onward with the task at hand. She put the blade to his face as she had been doing for weeks, but now it was different. He knew of her gender.

This was most embarrassing to her gentle nature. She had never tended to any man, other than her father. She t
ried desperately to imagine this was her father she was attending, but her heart and her breathing told her otherwise. As embarrassed as she was to be standing between his thighs and attending his most personal needs, of shave and bath, Maura could not deny she felt feelings of exhilaration. Her stomach was a mass of knots. Her mouth suddenly went dry. In an attempt to moisten her lips she parted them, ever so slight, and used her tongue to moisten them.

Daniel's breath was suddenly caught in his throat when she ran her tongue over her beautiful mouth. He could feel his trousers becoming noticeably tight at the junction of his thighs.
Her blushing at her predicament only fanned the flames in his loins.
God, she is beautiful
, he thought. Then he remembered how she came to be aboard his ship and his thoughts turned to females and their trickery.

No
, he told himself,
I am not going to pleasure her.
She does naught deserve pleasure
.
She deserves a good thrashing
. He wanted her to be on edge, not knowing what the outcome of her fate would be when she reached New England.
Not knowing will surely keep her in line and under control…and safe.

With the shave finished, she cleared her throa
t and wiped the remainder of soap from his face. She cocked her head from side to side, in inspection of her work, then backed away from Daniel and began to collect the towels and grooming supplies to put them away.

Daniel, in an attempt to further torture her senses, cleared
his
throat and said, with an obvious swagger to his voice, "Uh, Uh. Not through yet, cabin boy. There be the matter of my back and chest that has yet ta be cleansed o’ the night's sweat."

Her back was to him, at this point, and she cringed at his enjoyment of her awkwardness in attending to him.

Then he remarked, "what be the matter, cabin boy, ya appear ta be havin’ some definite problem this morn attendin’ to your duties, servin’ ya Captain?”

His entir
e manner suggested to Maura he was enjoying her predicament.

              “All these many weeks you've had no problem assistin’ me with my daily toilet, yet today ya are a quiverin’ mass o’ nerves?"