Page 27 of Hooked By a Hero
“Her?” Dick asked, his voice rising to a sharp pitch. “Is that what you call boys like him now?” He clumsily raised an arm to point at Ruby while almost sloshing rum from the bottle he held in his other hand as the deck pitched once more.
“Leave us alone,” Caspian said, pushing himself to sit straighter, frowning at Dick with unusual ferocity. “Do you not have enough to keep yourself occupied with your rum ration?”
“It’s more than just a ration,” Dick said, wiggling his eyebrows, then taking another swig from his bottle.
He had more trouble than he might have liked as the ship bobbed harder. They had yet to reach the curtain of rain ahead of them where the storm began, but the seas were already rough and quickly getting rougher.
“Leave us alone,” Ruby demanded, struggling to her feet and managing to hold her ground, despite the unsteadiness of the ship under her. “None of us has ever done anything against you. You are holding us prisoner against our will.”
Dick laughed sloppily, nearly falling over with the motion of the ship, and wiped a hand across the back of his wet mouth. “Aren’t you a spritely lad,” he drawled.
Elias frowned. It was as clear as day to him that Ruby was a woman. Her masculine clothing and shorn hair couldn’t hide her true appearance when she stood so boldly in front of Dick the way she did. But whether it was the rum or some other distraction, Dick did not seem to be able to see what was right in front of his face.
No sooner had that mystery gripped Elias than Caspian slumped to the side, sprawling over the damp deck boards just as the rain began.
“Caspian!” Elias gasped, lunging toward him.
Dick laughed and pointed, staggering as he tried to remain standing. Elias only spared him a brief glare before giving all of his attention to Caspian.
“I am well,” Caspian insisted, ridiculously. He pushed against the deck, trying to sit again, but couldn’t manage it without Elias’s help.
“I’ll fetch Dr. Hunt,” Ruby said, distress clear on her face. “Together, the two of you might know how to heal him.”
Elias would have told her he did not require Hunt’s assistance, but he recognized that Ruby likely merely wanted an excuse to get away from Dick. He nodded, sending her on her way.
“So you’ve let Hunt in on your sordid little games now, have you?” Dick asked, then snorted messily. “I should’ve known.” He took another swig from his bottle.
Elias’s patience snapped. “If you have nothing of any import to add here, kindly find yourself another part of the ship to enjoy your rum.”
Dick’s eyes went wide. “Be like that, will you?” he asked. “When I’m only trying to be nice?”
Elias scowled at him, then turned his attention back to Caspian. “You are not well,” he told his friend, frustrated beyond measure. He felt as though the two of them were spinning around and around in the storm, and as if everything might be resolved if Caspian would merely be truthful with him.
“I see how it is,” Dick said, then stumbled off with surprising speed.
“This storm is turning worrisome too quickly,” Caspian said, sitting with surprising ease.
Elias frowned. Had Caspian feigned being weaker than he was so that Dick would leave them be? Elias could practically see his strength returning. It was maddeningly puzzling.
“What is happening with you?” he demanded, his impatience getting the better of him. “I do not understand, Caspian. One moment you seem as though you are on death’s door and the next you are relatively fit. What kind of illness is this that seems to rise and fall like the tide?”
Caspian laughed humorlessly and nodded to the side of the ship. “That is not, perhaps, the best analogy for this very moment.”
Elias huffed and clasped his hands around Caspian’s face. “What secret are you keeping from me?” he asked directly. “And do not pretend that you have not been concealing something from me since the moment we met. Who are you, Caspian?”
For a moment, something emotional and longing filled Caspian’s eyes. He reached for Elias, sliding a hand around the back of his neck as if he would bring Elias closer for a kiss. Elias would have adored that kiss, but he wanted the truth more than momentary satisfaction.
He got neither. Just as Caspian opened his mouth and said, “I—”, the sound of footsteps approaching across the deck forced them apart.
“You see?” Dick demanded. “Carrying on like two catamites in broad daylight.”
Elias whipped around to find Tumbrill and Dick striding toward them with uneven steps as rain began to lash the deck harder.
“What is the meaning of this?” Tumbrill demanded. It was clear to Elias that Tumbrill was just as much in his cups as Dick. “I thought I warned you about sodomy on my ship.”
Elias wanted to argue, but it absolutely was not the time. “Caspian took a turn for the worse,” he explained, standing with some difficulty and bringing Caspian to his feet with him.
“Filthy sodomites,” Tumbrill growled, as if Elias’s words meant nothing. “I warned you.”
