Page 13 of Hooked By a Hero
Caspian couldn’t help but laugh aloud. “I wish that I had called you up here to continue our conversation below,” he said, being as careful with his words as he was with his proximity to Elias. Not only were members of the crew up on deck, Captain Woodward had stepped out from his cabin at the stern, and even though there was a great deal of distance and miles of rope and rigging between them, it was clear the captain had spotted them and did not approve.
“I was just beginning to enjoy the topic,” Elias said, his face going red and his expression turning bashful. “It shames me to say it, but I am not certain I would have lasted much longer on that particular subject.”
Caspian laughed again, though it came out as more of a snort. That only made him laugh harder, which, in turn, had Elias giggling as if he was a lad of half his years.
Caspian’s heart felt so light. He was in love, there was no question about it. And yes, it was new and fresh and as likely to be mere infatuation as not, but he loved the feeling. Even though it would cause him more problems than he wanted to think about if he chose to pursue it. He hardly cared. He had as much of a right to feel free and happy as anyone.
He was forced to sober up a bit as Captain Woodward came down onto the main deck and casually walked toward the bow. If the captain was suspicious of the attachment between him and Elias, and if he intended to intimidate or bully them into keeping their distance or hiding what they felt, it meant Caspian only had so long to share what he’d heard earlier.
“I think the convicts are planning a mutiny,” he said in a quick, quiet voice.
Elias lost his charming, boyish smile at once. “A mutiny?”
Caspian nodded. “I heard them during my morning swim.”
It was a short sentence, but Caspian immediately regretted it. Elias’s face pinched with confusion. “Your morning swim?”
“Yes,” Caspian answered slowly, wincing.
“How could you possibly think to swim when the ship is traveling so fast? No one could keep up with a moving vessel like this,” Elias said.
“As I discovered when I dipped my toes in the water,” Caspian lied. He hated lying to the man he had such powerful feelings for, but to tell the truth would have only raised more questions, and there were other things that needed their attention.
“You discovered a plot to mutiny?” Elias asked, leaning closer to Caspian.
Caspian nodded and adjusted until they leaned so close to each other that they could have kissed again. The topic did not inspire thoughts of kissing, though. “That man, Dick. He has a plot. He was sharing it with the others.”
“But they’re prisoners,” Elias reasoned. “They’re kept on the lower deck in a cell. They couldn’t possibly mutiny.”
“They could if they escaped,” Caspian said.
“But they won’t,” Elias said, sounding uncertain. “I tried to lobby for them being brought above to enjoy some fresh air, but Captain Woodward refused.”
“I have no great love of Captain Woodward, but in this instance, he might be right,” Caspian said.
Elias shook his head. “I still do not see how twenty men who are shackled together and kept in a cell could cause a mutiny,” he said. “Mutinies are when the ship’s crew overthrows its captain, not when prisoners or passengers rise up.”
“They are plotting something,” Caspian said. “Do you think we should warn the captain?”
No sooner had the words left his lips than Captain Woodward’s booming voice snapped, “You have been informed that sodomy is a crime punishable by death, have you not?”
Caspian and Elias jerked apart and turned to the man.
“Sodomy, sir?” Elias snapped, feigning indignation. “I beg your pardon?”
“You heard me, Dr. Pettigrew,” Captain Woodward said, climbing the stairs to the forecastle and coming close enough to tower intimidatingly over Caspian and Elias. “And as there is no civil authority at sea to hold a trial and carry out a sentence, I would be forced to implement justice in my own way aboardmyship.”
Caspian was instantly furious. How dare the oaf threaten him for something as innocuous as falling in love with a lovely, charming man?
Elias, however, gulped and pulled away from him. “No, sir,” he said. “None of that will be necessarily. You have been entirely mistaken if you believe either myself or Caspian is guilty of anything at all.”
Captain Woodward studied them for a few more, tense seconds before humphing and moving on without a word. He did not leave them alone, however. He went to stand at the highest point of the forecastle, looking out into what was quickly becoming an overcast day.
“We should find our friends and join them for breakfast,” Elias said, moving toward the stairs down to the main deck.
“We should,” Caspian said, following him.
He glanced back over his shoulder at Captain Woodward as he descended. He would never understand the English obsession with condemning something as beautiful as love.
