Page 55 of Hush Darling
The moment the heavy metal fell to the floor, she pulled her hands protectively to her chest, rubbing the chafed skin.
“I’ll turn my back while you slip into the tub, Miss.” He set the towel on her lap and looked away.
She rose on stiff legs. “Thank you.”
How strange to thank those who held her captive, yet she was inexplicably overwhelmed at the moment with gratitude for the bath and his regard for her modesty.
She moved to the tub before removing her coat and nightgown. The man kept his back turned, as promised, giving her the necessary time to test the temperature of the water and strip out of her clothes. She draped the coat over the back of a chair and paused before setting it beside the captain’s. Her brow furrowed as she noticed the same intricate stitching in the lapels, confirming that this was indeed Black Jack.
“Where did the captain buy his coat?”
The man cleared his throat but didn’t turn. “The crew makes them, miss.”
“Where did they learn the design?” The intricate work had to come from a skilled seamstress on the islands.
“The designs are the captain’s.”
Leaning forward, she sniffed the collar, finding the same soothing scent clinging to the soft leather. What did it say about her that she liked how her captor smelled? She wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
Her nightgown was in tatters, so there was no point hanging it up. Letting it fall to the floor, she stepped over the lip of the tub and submerged her body in the warm water, clumsily sloshing the water over the sides.
The man kept his gaze averted but settled into the empty chair. “The water is warm enough for you, miss?”
Why was he being so nice to her? “Yes, thank you.”
He didn’t break the silence for a long time, and her sense of peace slowly transformed into unease. What if he was one of the last people she ever spoke to?
“Will you tell me your name?”
“Name’s Gideon Star.”
She didn’t know what to say next. She wouldn’t lie and say it was nice to meet him, so she asked, “Do you like the captain?”
“Never gave it much thought. A crew obeys their captain. Whether one likes him or not is irrelevant.”
Curling her shoulders inward, she pushed the water over her skin. “But do you like him?”
He was quiet for a long moment. “Well enough, I suppose.”
She looked about the lavish quarters, wondering if part of the captain craved a different life. She glanced over her shoulder, but the man wasn’t watching her. She sensed humanity in him. If she ignored his purpose here and the worn appearance of his clothes, she could imagine him as one of her father’s peers.
“You weren’t always a pirate, were you?”
He stood and cleared the table, never letting his gaze stray toward the tub. “No, I once owned property and inherited a small fortune, but that was a very long time ago, and fortunes come and go.”
Although he moved about the chambers, he never dared to look at her. She watched him as he spread a cloth across the table, smoothing the creases with care.
“You lost your fortune.”
“The one I had at that time, yes. It only takes a few poor choices to change a man’s entire world.”
“Or a few wise ones.”
“Touché.” He set out a new bottle of wine and clean glasses. “That’s something Hook might say.”
“Hook?”
“The captain,” he explained. “Captain James Hook. He’s an exacting man, but not a cruel one. Not unless he has to be.”
