Page 13 of The Scandal of the Deceived Duchess
Chapter 7
New Acquaintances
En Route to the Chesapeake Bay, United States of America, December 1813
There was a knock on the door to Captain Mitchell’s cabin. He looked up irritably from his thick leather-bound logbook.
“COME!”
The wooden door creaked open. It was Jake, his second in command. “We should make landfall on the morrow, Captain.”
“Good, good.”
Jonathan Mitchell did not feel the same happiness that every seafaring man would at the prospect of returning home. Despite starting off as it usually would, his voyage had taken on an entirely different turn.
It had been successful, to say the least. After first running the coastal blockade put into place by the superior British fleet, theTritonhad sailed to the Caribbean Sea to harass British interests there. He and his men had managed to capture four merchantmen – his share of the prize money would be substantial.
But nothing like the prize he would get when the HMSCapricornsailed into a US port. She was the veritable catch of the voyage. Jonathan’s share that consisted of one-quarter of the value of the seized vessels and their contents would be his. But that was not what was on his mind.
The dark-haired angel that had serendipitously fallen into his lap clouded his mind. She was everywhere. When he slept, he dreamt of her. During the day when he was walking the deck and speaking encouraging words to his men, she was there also.
At night, Amelia was a figment of his imagination that was so apparently real during the day. She hardly ever spoke to him, and when she did, she hurled insults at him. Jonathan had never known that he was so many things all at once. She had called him a traitor, cad, scoundrel, scallywag, rogue, thief and an abductor of women. And that was just to name a few.
But no matter the abuse, he felt drawn to her in ways that he had never thought possible. She was beautiful, yes. Jonathan couldn’t get enough of her black hair that billowed in the breeze gently as if floating to heaven. Her face was a treasure map of delights. He would make an effort each day to get close enough to her so that he could uncover yet another enchanting aspect about her.
These approaches invariably ended with her hurling abuse at him. Yet, it was worth it all the way. Just that morning, Jonathan had seen that she had slight indents on her cheeks when she laughed. Naturally, her mirth had ended the moment she had sensed his presence. But he also loved the way she looked when she was furious. There was something animalistic about her when she vented her passion about something.
Jonathan only hoped that he could uncover more about her mind. In the past week, she had barely uttered a word during dinner. It was only thanks to Anna and Jake that there was some semblance of a conversation during supper. All Amelia did was scowl at him when he spoke.Why does she hate me so?This confused Jonathan immensely.
“Captain, cook says that we will be having beef this evening.”
Jonathan looked up with a withering gaze. “Isn’t that a little extravagant, Jake?”
Jake shrugged. “We are close to home, and he thought it would be a good idea to slaughter a bullock or two in celebration of our successful voyage…I don’t see what the matter is with that. It’ll make the men happy.”
“You don’t do you. Well, let me tell you something. The closer we get to the coast, the more dangerous it becomes for us. The Royal Navy is everywhere. All it would take is for one of their ships of the line accompanied by one of their faster razees to ensnare us. The bastards are gradually beating us at our own game.”
Jonathan referred to the way the British had adapted their naval tactics since encountering the superior American frigate that was both faster and more powerful than its British counterpart. The American frigate could outgun the British one and out sail an eighty-nine-gun ship of the line, leaving the British helpless.
However, they had developed a vessel called the razee that was formally a ship of the line, albeit cut down in terms of the number of decks (razeed). She was fast too. USSChesapeake, a similar ship to Jonathan’s, had been captured recently. Instinctively, he knew that more would soon follow. America was just not powerful enough at sea to face the British.
“I expected more from you, Jake. You have your head so far up that lady’s maid’s skirts that you don’t know starboard from portside anymore,” snapped Jonathan.
Jake looked ashamed. “I am sorry, Captain. It will not happen again.” He made to leave the cabin.
“Jake…” Jonathan fisted his hands.
He was in the wrong and he knew it. Just because his friend was more successful with Anna, it did not mean that he was shirking his duties. On the contrary, Jake showed more enthusiasm than ever, if that was even possible.
Jonathan could have pounded his desk with his fists. He was behaving like a stupid boy with his first crush. He had never been close to a woman before – he never wanted to. He didn’t know if he could because of the cruel way in which his mother had died. Jonathan had always considered love as a vulnerability. It opened a person’s heart thus weakening their resolve.
Men like that always suffered and in the worst cases lost their lives. He had sworn that he would never be the man his father was. His father’s love had been so strong for his mother that he had thrown himself into the flames in an attempt to save his wife – he had died trying. Jonathan shuddered at the thought. War had ruined his childhood and hardened his nature.
Jonathan pressed his lips together. He decided that he would stop fawning over Amelia. He would treat her cordially and with aloof respect. She was a very valuable bargaining chip after all. The woman would fetch him and his crew a pretty penny when she was ransomed to the British.
“I am sorry, Jake,” he said before the other man had the chance to leave the cabin. “I was speaking out of turn. Serve beef – the men deserve it.”
Jake wavered at the door for a moment or two. “Captain…”
