Read Online Other Oceans: Book Two of the Hook & Jill Saga by Andrea Jones - Free Book Online Page B

opening onto an immaculate garden. But the mistress, unlike Liza’s mother, was lighthearted, as if unafraid to seek pleasure rather than perfection. Liza’s father would surely not approve of this lady— but he would find her interesting.
    Liza had moved on to polish the harpsichord, startled at first by its frank tones, then lingering over them, and then she had brushed the plush fabric of its stool. It seemed there was to be music as well, and the lady slid on a pair of black satin slippers stitched with silver, slippers that simply demanded to dance. Liza had helped her mistress into a black silk dress with puffed sleeves, a low, square neckline and a full flowing skirt. She loved the sighing sound of it as next, the mistress moved about the room, setting out candelabra into which Liza pushed smooth, waxy tapers. But Liza didn’t understand; the scene was set for a party, as if Liza’s frowning father were a colleague, rather than a captive like his daughter.
    While decanting the wine, Liza spilled a crimson splash on the sideboard. She expected a reprimand, but Jill handed her a cloth to wipe it up and, astonishingly, that smile appeared, and the woman dipped her finger into the pool of wine and touched a drop to Liza’s lips. Liza’s tongue got it before her hands thought to use the cloth. It tasted warm and mellow, like burning apple wood. And Liza remembered flaming sails over the water, and only then did she recall that she stood on a pirate ship, and that the finger that had touched her mouth was scarlet, and she grimaced and spit into the cloth. But it was too late. The taste of redness lingered, like blood.
    Yet Liza wondered as she looked and listened, touched, smelled, and tasted. In all her life, she had never enjoyed such casual luxury. A very young woman, one who had been carefully watched in gentility, she couldn’t help but envy her mistress the sense of freedom she exuded, and the pleasure of these surroundings. It was as if the stain on the lady’s hand granted her not shame, but satisfaction. Was that the color Liza tasted?
    There had to be a drawback. No doubt it took the form of the master. Liza was old enough to understand that one paid for one’s pleasure. Her mother had paid, although Liza was never quite sure to which of her parents the pleasure had belonged. But she had no doubt that this lady earned every priceless day— earned them by the nights she must spend with the pirate. Liza shuddered. They would be long nights! The captain must be demanding indeed to repay her with all this grandeur. The man who granted such extravagance to his mistress must be rich, rough, and imposing. A man to be avoided. As the dinner hour approached, Liza found herself listening apprehensively for clues beyond the door, the first warning sounds of the two men who would rule her new life. Her father, and his captor.
    The mistress, while seeming merely to supervise the girl’s work, watched her closely, reading the emotions that played across her features. In spite of the gratification Liza displayed as she handled Jill’s belongings, she had a dissatisfied face. Jill had marked her restlessness at the very first, in Liza’s entrance alongside Tom. The girl was unhappy before she ever met a pirate. Beyond the basic discontent, Jill now detected Liza’s apprehension, and drew her own conclusions.
    She was well aware of the workings of a young woman’s mind. While Jill tended her appearance before the mirror, she doled out information as it suited her purpose.
    “You’ve no cause to be nervous, Liza. You’ll not be serving us dinner. We will apprise your father of your presence then, and you will be reunited later. If he complies with the captain’s terms.”
    Liza looked doubtful. In her memory, her father had never complied with anyone’s terms but his own.
    “The doctor is an intelligent man. He will be persuaded to look after his own interests, and yours.” Jill adjusted her necklace. “You