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Authors: Alexandra Benedict
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chorus of protests and stunned exclamations erupted promptly.
Moving away from the wall, his grimy palm no longer appealing, Edmund cried, “You’re not serious, James?”
“This is all a mistake,” Quincy asserted.
“Really, James,” from William, “what brought on this accusation?”
The captain’s fist came down, making the dirty dishes on the table dance. “Quiet! All of you. I want to hear from Belle.”
All eyes went to Mirabelle.
Stunned, she countered, “It’s not true!”
James gripped the edge of the dining table and leaned forward. “Then tell me why the two of you were perched on the mainsail yard a while ago?”
Blast it! So James had seen her with Damian. She was definitely going to have to clout that lout of a navigator over the head with her mallet. Look at all the trouble he had caused!
In a perfectly smooth voice, she fibbed, “Damian was helping me with repairs.”
James cast her a dubious look. “And this morning?”
“What about this morning?”
“You were seen with Damian—in his embrace.”
Another round of boisterous objections.
“The man is dead,” vowed Edmund, fist slamming into his palm.
Mirabelle rolled her eyes. It was the plight of all women, she supposed, to have overprotective, and often hypocritical, guardians of her virtue always buzzing about. Really, what a farce. True, she was their sister, but so what? The women her brothers dallied with were all someone else’s sister in the end, and if one was never allowed to touch another man’s sister, then what would her brothers do with all their spare time? But she couldn’t mention that discrepancy to any of them or the four would be scratching their heads in confusion.
“Damian is not chasing after Belle,” Quincy affirmed once more with a confidence Mirabelle found puzzling. She wasn’t sure why her youngest kin kept dismissing the notion so entirely. It certainly wasn’t im possible that Damian found her attractive.
Bloody hell. She was doing it again. Being too curious. She should be rallying behind her youngest brother, not thinking up ways to dispute his claim.
“Well?” James pressed her when she still didn’t answer.
“There was no embrace,” she refuted at last. “Damian simply”—she grappled with her brain for a reasonable excuse, and finally blurted out—“caught me.”
A frown wrinkled the captain’s brow. “Caught you?”
“I lost my balance.” She shrugged. “A wave hit and Damian took me by the wrist to stop my fall. I would hardly call it an embrace.”
He didn’t believe her. She could tell by that poignant look in his eyes. Trouble was she wasn’t clumsy, and James knew it. She never lost her balance—unless, of course, accosted by a big oaf some fifty feet in the air. But that was a moot point. What mattered was her reputation for a sturdy grip and foothold. The notion that she should lose her poise on deck during clear sailing was more than a little suspect.
But what else could she say? Certainly not the exasperating truth, that the new navigator also happened to believe she didn’t belong here. Why, that fact might even endear Damian to her kin, and then the whole lot of them could band together and squash all her hopes and dreams. Mirabelle wasn’t about to let that happen.
“Belle,” said James, voice low, glare steadfast, “Are you sure Damian isn’t bothering you?”
“ Yes .” If she admitted the opposite, James might assume she was enticing the navigator in some way, hence why he was pestering her. And that would give her brother ideal grounds to banish her from the ship forever.
With a smug air, Quincy smiled. “I told you he wasn’t after Belle.”
Edmund stalked up to him, demanding, “And how did you know that?”
Quincy shrugged. “Because Damian told me so.”
It was Mirabelle’s turn to explode. “ What? ”
William came forward next. “You spoke with Damian about this already?”
“So he is infatuated with Belle?” From
Moving away from the wall, his grimy palm no longer appealing, Edmund cried, “You’re not serious, James?”
“This is all a mistake,” Quincy asserted.
“Really, James,” from William, “what brought on this accusation?”
The captain’s fist came down, making the dirty dishes on the table dance. “Quiet! All of you. I want to hear from Belle.”
All eyes went to Mirabelle.
Stunned, she countered, “It’s not true!”
James gripped the edge of the dining table and leaned forward. “Then tell me why the two of you were perched on the mainsail yard a while ago?”
Blast it! So James had seen her with Damian. She was definitely going to have to clout that lout of a navigator over the head with her mallet. Look at all the trouble he had caused!
In a perfectly smooth voice, she fibbed, “Damian was helping me with repairs.”
James cast her a dubious look. “And this morning?”
“What about this morning?”
“You were seen with Damian—in his embrace.”
Another round of boisterous objections.
“The man is dead,” vowed Edmund, fist slamming into his palm.
Mirabelle rolled her eyes. It was the plight of all women, she supposed, to have overprotective, and often hypocritical, guardians of her virtue always buzzing about. Really, what a farce. True, she was their sister, but so what? The women her brothers dallied with were all someone else’s sister in the end, and if one was never allowed to touch another man’s sister, then what would her brothers do with all their spare time? But she couldn’t mention that discrepancy to any of them or the four would be scratching their heads in confusion.
“Damian is not chasing after Belle,” Quincy affirmed once more with a confidence Mirabelle found puzzling. She wasn’t sure why her youngest kin kept dismissing the notion so entirely. It certainly wasn’t im possible that Damian found her attractive.
Bloody hell. She was doing it again. Being too curious. She should be rallying behind her youngest brother, not thinking up ways to dispute his claim.
“Well?” James pressed her when she still didn’t answer.
“There was no embrace,” she refuted at last. “Damian simply”—she grappled with her brain for a reasonable excuse, and finally blurted out—“caught me.”
A frown wrinkled the captain’s brow. “Caught you?”
“I lost my balance.” She shrugged. “A wave hit and Damian took me by the wrist to stop my fall. I would hardly call it an embrace.”
He didn’t believe her. She could tell by that poignant look in his eyes. Trouble was she wasn’t clumsy, and James knew it. She never lost her balance—unless, of course, accosted by a big oaf some fifty feet in the air. But that was a moot point. What mattered was her reputation for a sturdy grip and foothold. The notion that she should lose her poise on deck during clear sailing was more than a little suspect.
But what else could she say? Certainly not the exasperating truth, that the new navigator also happened to believe she didn’t belong here. Why, that fact might even endear Damian to her kin, and then the whole lot of them could band together and squash all her hopes and dreams. Mirabelle wasn’t about to let that happen.
“Belle,” said James, voice low, glare steadfast, “Are you sure Damian isn’t bothering you?”
“ Yes .” If she admitted the opposite, James might assume she was enticing the navigator in some way, hence why he was pestering her. And that would give her brother ideal grounds to banish her from the ship forever.
With a smug air, Quincy smiled. “I told you he wasn’t after Belle.”
Edmund stalked up to him, demanding, “And how did you know that?”
Quincy shrugged. “Because Damian told me so.”
It was Mirabelle’s turn to explode. “ What? ”
William came forward next. “You spoke with Damian about this already?”
“So he is infatuated with Belle?” From
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