A Heart's Masquerade Read Free Page A

about sailing." Cat rushed on. "And I really want to go to sea."
    The eyebrow cocked even higher as the captain regarded her in surprise. "Have you ever crewed a ship before?" he asked.
    "No, sir, but I..."
    "Then how did you come by all that wisdom?"
    "My... grandfather, sir. He was a sailor. Taught me everything he knew," Cat said, studying the toes of her boots. She cleared her throat, trying desperately to look and sound less like herself and more like Jim, who would be dumbfounded to learn that anyone was holding him up as a model of behavior.
    "I see," the captain said. "And you live with this legendary seaman, I assume?"
    "Well, not anymore, sir," Cat said as she looked earnestly up at him, warming to her tale. "You see, he lost his work and sent me out to earn my own way."
    "How old are you?"
    "Thirteen," she lied. "But I can work hard, truly I can. Oh, please, take me on, sir. You won’t be sorry, I promise you." Cat held her breath while the object of her entreaties turned back to the horizon, considering her request.
    When he spoke, he did not turn to face her. "I suspect you are being pursued by the authorities - or worse - over some bad business, and that explains your sudden desire to go to sea," he said, holding up a hand to stop Cat’s protests. "But my gut tells me to give you a chance." He sighed. "Just cease your constant chatter, boy, and don’t be a bother to me or I’ll throw you to the sharks."
    Afraid to open her mouth, Cat simply nodded, though she was fairly bursting with relief at her escape from Edward and anticipation of the adventures that lay ahead. She hurried to follow alongside the captain’s long strides as they headed toward the Reckless.
    Cat gazed in awe at the giant vessel that loomed above them, its masts stretching into the pale sky. Even at this early hour, Cat could see the dark figures of men moving purposefully aboard, and her heart soared nearly as high as the crow’s nest at the sight.
    Cat’s reverie was broken by the sound of Captain Duprey’s deep voice, raised in casual dismissal. "Bert, this child fancies himself to be my cabin boy. Take care of him, will you?" he told a short, stocky fellow, leaving Cat to study her shipmate.
    Bert, the first mate, was older than the captain. He had flecks of white in his wild black hair and a scar that began at the edge of one bushy eyebrow and ran all the way down his cheek, making him look ferocious. He nodded at the captain’s words without even glancing in Cat’s direction as he oversaw the transfer of a sailor, seeming unconscious, from the quay to the ship.
    Cat watched in fascination as they rigged the prone man into the block and tackle, a system of pulleys used to haul cargo and people aboard. And she smiled when she recognized the type of knot, a bowline, that was used to secure the rope around him.
    "The damn fool drank too much," Bert said, pointing at the still prostrate man being hoisted into the air. "Let it be a warning to you, lad."
    "Yes, sir!" Cat grinned, much too excited to be intimidated. Wellshire, Edward and his crimes, and even dear Budd were forgotten as her childhood ambition became a reality. She spared no worries for the captain or the wild-looking man before her, but focused on the future.
    "Are you waiting for God himself to invite you aboard?" Bert’s voice broke into her thoughts, and with a deep breath, Cat scrambled up the plank. As her feet touched the wood of the ship’s deck, she nearly hugged herself with happiness at the promise of a sea voyage, at last.

Chapter Two
    Cat’s first week at sea passed in a blur as she fetched and carried, scrambled up the ratlines, and watched the anchor and the sails being hoisted. Initially, all was confusion as she familiarized herself with the ship. She discovered that it was one thing to know the parts of a model, another to find where the bow lay when in the dimness below the decks.
    Still, she learned quickly, and although turns around Wellshire’s