Page 26 of The Princess Stakes
Rhystan exhaled, and time resumed. His eyes were pieces of flint. Empty of emotion, hollow of anything that had to do with her.
“I’ll see to it you have a guard.”
She shook her head to clear it. “That’s not necessary.”
“I’m the captain, Lady Lockhart, and this is my ship. Remember that. I’ve better things to do than worry about you, like dealing with the fact that we’re probably being followed by the British navy. Or worse.” He cursed softly as though he hadn’t meant to divulge that, but then sucked air through his teeth. “My cabin needs scrubbing. See to it.”
Without another word, Rhystan turned on his heel and walked away. But Sarani was too busy trying to calm her galloping heart as she peered out on the horizon to find the telltale speck in the distance. The minute she saw it, fear prickled over her skin.
It could be anything. A trading vessel. A navy ship. A passenger ship bound for England, just as they were. But she knew. She knew exactly who was on that ship.
And they were coming for her.
Eight
Sarani stood at the railing again, wishing she could steal the captain’s spyglass. It wasn’t to memorize the sun’s descent into the waiting cradle of the ocean or to appreciate the spectacularly gorgeous sunset that blazed across the sky and cast orange and pink swaths over the glasslike surface of the sea.
No, it was for the black speck on the horizon.
Was it her imagination, or was it getting bigger? She’d kept an eye on the ship for five days, and it was there every time she looked. The winds had died down, and the captain had resorted to steam for the rest of their journey to St. Helena. Though if that ship carried her enemy, it wouldn’t matter if theBelongingwas docked at the island.
St. Helena was a thriving port, but it wasn’t England. Sarani wouldn’t be able to hide there, not for long anyway. Rubbing clammy palms on her trousers, she almost jumped out of her skin when a large shadow loomed beside her. Her kukri blades were in her hands before she recognized the man.
The duke’s laconic quartermaster.
“Planning to gut me from navel to nose, Princess?” Gideon asked.
She tucked the weapons back into their sheaths. Gideon was huge. She doubted she could reach his chin even with the tip of her blade. He looked like many of the men from her homeland, with rich dark brown skin that gleamed in the sun, but his huge height and blue eyes made her wonder if he was mixed with some kind of Nordic Viking. His bald head was shiny and dotted with sweat.
“No, and don’t call me that.”
“Why?” the large man said. “You are a princess. Pretending you are not serves no purpose.”
It does when people want you dead.
“Regardless, it’s just Sara now. Did Asha return to the cabin?”
“No, she wanted to watch the sunset.”
Sarani turned her head to where Asha sat cross-legged on the deck, her lips rolled between her teeth, and stared out to sea. She’d just finished playing theshehnaiand was now focused on the glimmering ocean.
The maid looked up, her eyes caught on the sky, her jaw sagging with wonder. “It looks like Joor,” she said.
Sarani felt something tug on her heart, her eyes flicking to the sunset. It did look a little like Joor. An explosion of red, orange, and gold, like the sky was on fire. The slightest hint of a storm blackened the edges, adding an unusual depth to the striations of color. She drew a ragged breath, letting nature’s beauty sink in for a scant moment, though the anxious pressure in her breast didn’t abate.
By her count, they had a week left to get to the coaling port at St. Helena. She’d overheard Gideon saying that they’d caught some favorable winds, which had cut the journey short a few days, and the captain’s judicious use of his steam propellers had helped. However, if that shadow of a ship caught up to them, she knew she would be bringing trouble to Rhystan and his men. She had to know what that ship meant, and what better time than the present to ask the man who could give her answers.
“Is that vessel following us?” she asked Gideon, sidling over to him.
Unreadable eyes met hers. “Why?”
“Rhystan, er, the captain said something the other day, that it might be the navy.”
“Perhaps.”
Sarani waited, but nothing more was forthcoming. She resisted the urge to kick the unhelpful giant in the shins. “Are you expecting trouble?”
“It’s not for you to worry about.”
