Privateer (The Five Kingdoms #1) Page 4

  She nodded to me. I stepped away from her and leaned against the wall, waiting, studying her.

  Even like this, she was beautiful. Her hair was matted to her head, and I could see the tighter portions of her dress were dank with her own sweat. She stank, just a little, and her eyes were wild.

  But she was beautiful.

  I wanted to tame her. She was complacent now, but I didn't think that would last.

  It took time, but soon she was opening and closing her mouth. She still wasn't making any noise, but I knew that wouldn't be long. I returned to stand in front of her. "I imagine you are still largely numb; I will remove the breathing tube now, while you are still numb, and it won't be as uncomfortable as if I wait. All right?"

  She nodded.

  I didn't waste any time, I clasped the tube, spoke the release word, and it withdrew into my hand. I dropped it into the pail. She grimaced and shook her head, then managed to wrinkle her nose.

  It was very cute.

  It was a near thing, but I managed to keep my hands to myself in spite of a nearly-overwhelming desire to touch her delicate little nose.

  I watched her, making sure her breathing wasn't labored. She returned my gaze, then looked away. She worked her mouth some more, and a few minutes later she was able to croak out a few words.

  "Water?"

  "You can choke," I said. "It is better to wait, if you can. Only a little while."

  She nodded.

  "You abuse me?"

  I couldn't tell if it was a statement or a question. "Are you accusing me?" She shook her head. "Asking if I intend to?" she nodded. "It is not my intention. Your tongue may yet get you into trouble."

  "I know," she said, and it came out more clearly. "It always has."

  "I am the captain of this ship. I can not allow disrespect or verbal abuse directed at either myself or my officers."

  "You will return me here?" she asked.

  "I don't know," I said. "It won't be my first choice."

  "You will beat me?"

  "That will also not be my first choice," I replied. I thought about it. "I will probably gag you again, but if you don't otherwise abuse your parole, you will still have run of the ship. I imagine it would be embarrassing, as I wouldn't allow you to hide in my cabin."

  She sighed. "Now what?"

  "Ready for some water now?" I asked.

  "Yes. Thank you."

  I retrieved a cup from the supply cabinet and poured some water into it, returning to her. I held it to her lips. "Only a little at first," I warned. I tipped, gave her a little, then pulled the cup away.

  "Thank you," she said again after a moment. "I am sorry for what I said last night."

  "Are you sorry for saying it, or sorry there were repercussions for saying it?"

  "Both."

  "Well, for what it's worth, some of it was accurate."

  Her eyes widened. She hadn't expected that confession.

  "If we become friends, perhaps I will explain why I never fight for Flarina. I have my reasons." I studied her face. "Are you ready to offer your parole?"

  She nodded. "What do I do?"

  "I have two pieces of paper," I explained. "One has the standard terms everyone accepts. The second has terms specific to your situation. It is as we discussed last night." I hadn't added other, more egregious terms as punishment for her behavior. She'd been punished enough. "You will read them out loud, and when you are done, you will say the words, 'I do so vow'. You should read slowly and clearly, and if you make a mistake, begin over at the beginning of the current sentence."

  She nodded. "I am ready."

  I had both papers rolled into a tube and stuck into my belt. I pulled out the tube, withdrew the papers, identified the first one, and held it in front of her. She glanced through it once, then from the beginning read slowly and carefully without a mistake. I set it aside and held the second up. She waited until it was steady, read it through clearly, and then said, 'I do so vow'.

  I nodded. "I accept your parole." I then relayed her rules and restrictions, the ones that weren't identified in her vow. "Do you understand the rules as they apply to you?"

  "Yes," she said, nodding.

  "There is no magic binding you," I told her. "This is the honor system. If you violate the rules, then we are also freed from our own restrictions on how we treat you. Do you understand?"

  "Yes. I keep my vows." She paused. "I wouldn't have been able to make promises about my mouth. It runs away from me."

  "I understand. I believe the threat of the gag will confine your words as much as you are able."

  She nodded.

  "If you force me to use it, you will wear the gag for one full day. I will remove it only as necessary for you to eat and drink. The second offense is two days. The third offense is three days. And so on. Do you understand?"

  She nodded, her lips curled into a frown.

  "You understand that after three days, the numbness will probably spread into your arms and perhaps even your legs."

  "I know."

  I studied her face again. "You will address me as Captain. The first mate is Commander Halfheart." I began releasing the straps that held her in place. She sagged into my arms for a moment, but I held her easily. But this close, I could tell she needed to bathe.

  I released her and helped her stand, then she turned around and I released her arms. She crossed her arms in front of herself slowly, a hand reaching out to her berth, steadying herself against the motion of the ship.

  "Let's go," I ordered. I turned and led the way from the brig, sure she would follow.

  In the corridor, she said from behind me, "I need to use the head."

  "The one outside my cabin is less unpleasant. Can you wait that long?"

  "Yes."

  And so I led the way out of the bowels of the ship and onto the main deck, Ms. Karden following me docilely. It was full dark when we stepped onto deck, and she paused, looking around, one hand on the doorframe. I stopped and watched her, my body automatically rolling with the ship.

  "Are you going to be sick?" I asked her.

  "No." She looked around. "Where is everyone?"

  "I waited until they had retired," I said. "I debated between releasing you earlier but suffering the embarrassment in front of your friends and family. I thought this was better."

  "It wouldn't have mattered," she said finally. "They couldn't think any worse of me than they already do."

  "Some may have been pleased to see you like this. I would not have wanted my sister-in-law to see me this way, if I had one."

  She pointed. "We are going there?"

  I nodded, and she stepped away from the doorway. She was unsteady, but she made her way across the deck without clasping onto every solid object she could find. She reached the door and waited for me. "Do I have permission, Captain?"

  "Yes," I told her. "Tonight you will share my bed. If you are able to make other arrangements, that is your choice. I would prefer you do not threaten anyone to obtain another berth."

  She opened the door and together we stepped into the short passageway. "This is the head," I said, turning to a door on the right. "You may also take a brief shower." I opened the door and showed her everything she needed. "Water is dear. Do you understand?"

  "Yes, but perhaps you should be more specific," she replied. "I have never taken a lengthy sea journey."

  "You pull this chain," I said. "Cold water is released. You should wet quickly, then release the chain. Use the soap, then pull the chain to rinse. Use a bucket to rinse your hair." I frowned and reached out a hand for her hair. It was damp and matted but still wild. "Hair like this is a luxury aboard ship. If you were a crew member, I would order you to cut it."

  She eyed my own hair. It was tied in a braid down my back, but it was straight and fine and easily managed. She raised an eyebrow.

  "I can rinse my hair with a single bucket of water," I explained. "I wash my hair first and then use the water to wet myself."
>
  "Then I shall do the same," she declared. "I shall give you no cause to order me to cut my hair."

  I smiled. "It would be a crime to order your hair cut, Ms. Karden. Do what you need, but please do not be wasteful."

  "I shall wash my hair as you wash yours," she declared again. She looked around. "Am I to don my dress afterwards?"

  "I have clothes waiting for you in my cabin, but you may not care for them.

  "Boys' clothes?"

  I nodded. "I am sorry; it is all I have."

  "If they are clean and void of vermin, that is all I ask."

  "There are no vermin aboard my ship," I declared firmly. "The clothes are clean and dry, but they are not new."

  "That is also no matter," she said. "Am I allowed privacy?"

  "Towels there," I said, pointing. "I will have my cabin door open in invitation when you are done. Call out if you have questions. I will be listening."

  I backed away, closing the door behind me. I heard her latch it from the inside, and with a smile, I turned to my cabin.

  For now, she was cowed and manageable. I wondered if it would last. She had as much as admitted it wouldn't.

  She shouldn't be here. Radha shouldn't have taken her. There were rules, after all, and Ms. Karden represented a borderline rule. First and foremost, we were only allowed to take hostages who could reasonably expect to be ransomed. That rule was usually interpreted as meaning the spouse or offspring of someone of sufficient means to pay their ransom. Children under age ten were inviolate as were the elderly and infirm. The families of military officers under the rank of colonel were off limits unless the officer in question were also wealthy.

  We could have taken the governor if we had left his wife behind. But our plan had been to take the governor's wife and children, which is why he had been left locked in a storage room.

  Ms. Karden did not fall under any of those criteria, but when Radha had asked who was a legitimate hostage, she had stepped forward.

  The rules had originally been simple, but the Grey Wizards had made the rules increasingly convoluted over the years. Late at night, my officers and I had sat up, sharing our individual theories regarding the wizards, but in actuality, no one understood why the wizards made the rules they made. We only knew we all followed them. The alternative was not to be considered.

  There were rules for the hostages as well. They were not required to volunteer. However, they were required to honestly answer certain types of questions. They were required to offer their names when asked. They were required to state who their parents were and who their spouses were.

  Radha had addressed a room full of people, all standing quietly, cowed by Radha's squads of marines wielding naked steel. The few guards had been subdued easily in the few seconds of conflict, and no one had been hurt. There had undoubtedly been a few fine swordsmen in the room, but they were outnumbered and unarmed. Radha would have gathered the likely hostages in one room and sequestered everyone else separately. Then she would have asked a simple question: which of you is a legitimate hostage?

  No one was obligated to step forward. And yet they did for one simple reason: we were only obligated to offer parole to those who honestly answered that question. There were undoubtedly a few legitimate hostages in the room who remained quiet. If Radha had not been satisfied with the numbers, she would have begun questioning them individually. It would have taken time, but she would have identified every legitimate hostage, and we may have found a few that were worth more than the ones we had taken. But she was satisfied, and we had an even dozen, including the entire family of the governor.

  Ms. Karden had volunteered herself. She had no expectation of being ransomed by her parents. I didn't at all doubt her word when she said they had disowned her, even though I hadn't asked her why. She was unmarried and had indicated no lover who would pay her ransom. She was not on our list of wealthy members of Noridan society.

  We were allowed to take a hostage with a wealthy sibling when there was reasonable expectation the sibling would pay the ransom. That rule was interpreted very carefully. Based on the lack of love between Glora and Rani Karden, I thought it unlikely the governor would pay for his sister.

  She expected to be ransomed, which must mean she had made her own arrangements. This was not uncommon. The Grey Wizards themselves provide ransom insurance as do most banks. But regardless of such arrangements, she wasn't a legitimate hostage. Yet she had volunteered.

  I wondered if she would answer when I asked.

  I wondered how long she would remain meek and complacent. I was sure she hated me, but she wasn't giving any sign.

  I kept an ear open, along with the door, so I could hear if she called for assistance. It is easy to take for granted that everyone knows her way about a ship, but the reality is simple: most do not. I made it a habit to assign cabin boys to see to the needs of my guests, but to report to me if the guests attempted to treat them as servants. Many a guest had found herself staring into my brig before agreeing the ship's crew were not at her beck and call.

  Royalty were always a pain, and one overly-spoiled princess once spent three days in the brig before capitulating. The entire ship crew cheered when she had been delivered from our ship, me not least of all. The vain woman had undoubtedly thought we were cheering for her, not cheering for the sight of her backside.

  The door to the head opened, and Ms. Karden poked her head into the hallway. I saw a glimpse of towel wrapped around her tiny form. She looked both ways, and our eyes met.

  "Your clothes are waiting here for you," I told her.

  Aboard ship, we were somewhat casual about our bodies, but I didn't think she would be. I wouldn't have thought twice about making the walk from the head to my cabin stark naked. The head disappeared for a moment, and when next it appeared, there was another towel wrapped around it. She stepped into the passageway, chastely clad in more towels than was necessary, and walked quickly into my cabin, closing the door behind herself.

  I pointed to my closet. "You may avail yourself of anything you find," I said. "Most of it is mine, and very little will fit you, but there are clothes that should fit you, more or less."

  She raised an eyebrow. Wrapped all in the towels, and so small besides, she looked like an especially precocious child. I smiled but didn't think telling her that would help her curb her tongue.

  "You have a question?" I asked.

  "Why do you keep clothes for someone my size?"

  My smile turned into a frown. "Are you trying to suggest something?"

  She began to open her mouth, her eyes narrowed at me, but then she quickly closed her mouth again. She turned away, breathed carefully several times, then turned back. When she turned around, she wore a wry smile. "The threat of a gag seems to be at least partially effective," she admitted.

  "I would like an answer to my question," I told her.

  She eyed the bed then said, "I am left wondering who I am displacing from your bed."

  "No one," I responded, puzzled.

  She turned away and walked to the closet. It took her a moment to discover the trick of the latch, and then she eyed the available clothes, fingering them slowly. She removed a plain breeches and tunic, not quite her size, but close enough.

  "There are underthings in the drawers," I stated. "I am sorry, but unless one of our other guests can provide, I have no shoes for you, and the underthings may be ill fitting."

  She turned to face me. "My dance shoes were ruined in the walk through the jungle. My dress is also ruined."

  "My apologies. We expected to take a wife and two children from their beds."

  "Your intelligence was good, but not good enough?"

  "Quite so," I admitted.

  "You could have left everyone else," she suggested.

  I smiled broadly. When presented with a windfall, we were more than happy to take it.

  She held up the clothes in front of her. "These aren't yours."

  "No. They are yours."
r />   "I will again ask: why do you keep clothes for someone my size?" Her eyes flashed to the bed again, and I suddenly understood what she was asking. I felt a flash of anger mixed with embarrassment. She thought I took children to my bed?

  "That's a disgusting thought," I spat at her.

  She simply waved the clothing at me.

  "Those belong to one of the cabin boys," I said. "He has outgrown them and offered what he had when I asked around for clothing for you. They weren't in my closet yesterday."

  We stared at each other for a moment before she said, "Do I owe you an apology?"

  "That was a disgusting accusation."

  "I made no accusation. I asked a question. I admit, I jumped to an unfair conclusion, but I did not voice it."

  "You have no basis for assuming the worst of me," I told her hotly.

  "Don't I?" she asked. "You don't seriously believe that, do you?" She closed her mouth tightly then finally said, "I do not believe I can have this conversation without earning the gag. I apologize for coming to the wrong conclusion regarding the clothes. But I will repeat: I made no accusations. Am I allowed privacy to get dressed?"

  "Do you understand what will happen if you do anything in my cabin I do not appreciate?"

  "Yes," she said immediately. "I have never had difficulty controlling my actions."

  "Only your tongue?"

  "Yes," she agreed. "Only my tongue."

  I stood, stretched for a moment, and stepped out, closing the door.

  While she dressed, I checked the head. Her clothes, now wet, were draped over the sink. It looked like she had tried to wash them, but she left the room far from ship shape. I sighed. Did she expect there would be servants to clean up after her? Perhaps she expected me to do it. I immediately spun around and returned to my cabin, slamming the door open.

  She screeched and hastily covered herself. Her eyes flashed hotly at me, but then she slammed her mouth closed.

  "There are no servants on this ship!" I yelled at her.

  "I didn't think there were," she said, her tone nearly as heated as mine. "But I don't know what to do with my clothing. From the exceedingly simple questions I asked earlier, I would have thought that should have been obvious. I was going to ask once I was dressed. Your directions did not specify what I was to do, so becoming angry at me is unfounded."