Lost Honor Read Free Page B

brig?”
    Andrew shrugged his broad shoulders. “Apparently no one saw her while they loaded the ship. With her clothing and that cap, she could be mistaken for a boy.”
    “If you look at her face, you can tell immediately.” And her body. Her modest breasts might hide beneath the oversized shirt but those trousers hugged a rear unlike any boy’s he had seen.
    Where was she from? What ship was she supposed to be on? Why was she stowing away? She had managed to evade his questions, so he still knew nothing about her. He didn’t even know her name.
    The length of his steps increased, as did the blood rushing through his veins. He wasn’t used to anyone telling him what to do. He was the captain of this ship and the head of his family. Men and women obeyed his orders, not the other way around. Yet, this girl demanded every time she opened her mouth.
    He would keep her locked in his cabin for a while. She’d learn he made the rules, and she needed to bow to his commands. His rage slowly faded. He’d get all the answers he needed from her soon.
    He shielded his eyes with his hand and focused on the maintop platform now occupied by one of his crew. The seaman remained silent, staring toward the horizon. Morgan prayed the lookout would soon call he spied a ship in the distance.
    Andrew clapped him on the shoulder. “Shark will appear.” He walked away to attend to his duties.
    Morgan would not rest until he brought Harry back into the circle of his family. He would hunt Shark to the ends of the earth if he had to.

Chapter Two
    “Do you need help?”
    The wrinkled, weathered face of the old seaman peered up at Arianna. “I’ve been doing this for twenty years, laddie.”
    His words didn’t answer her question. As Arianna swabbed the deck, he had sat against a chest, repairing a sail, pain occasionally flashing across his face. His fingers with their enlarged knuckles had fumbled with the needle.
    She leaned the handle of the mop on the gleaming wood railing and heaved the dirty water from the pail into the calm ocean. “I’m finished here.” She dropped to her knees in front of him. “I don’t have any chores at the moment, and I like to keep busy. I’ve always wanted to try my hand at mending sails. Do you mind if I take over?”
    He turned to her, contemplated the matter, and then handed her the needle as a relieved sigh wheezed from him. “My eyes and hands aren’t what they used to be.”
    She eased to her rear on the side of him away from the view of the quarterdeck and pulled the canvas onto her lap. She had learned to sew sails on the many trips she had taken with her papa before she turned twelve. At that magic age, he proclaimed she was now a lady and sailing on a ship full of men and working among them was no longer proper. He demanded she pack away her beloved pants and shirts and only wear dresses. No matter how much she pleaded, he would not relent. Once or twice his armor cracked, and she thought he would rescind his ridiculous order, but then her mother would stroll into the room and the leeway she had made vanished.
    Her mother was behind his decision. She was sure of it. She desired a proper daughter to dress up, display, and find a husband for. Maybe if she had a sister, it would be different. Then her sister could be her mother’s doll. But all she had were five older brothers.
    And so, she often stood on the dock, her heart resentful and breaking, as her brothers sailed off to different parts of the world, their life, occupation, and worth within the palms of their hands. She would always have to rely on her parents or a husband for a home, clothes, food, and esteem. Her existence worth nothing in the eyes of the world, except to bear children. Any accomplishments ripped from her hands.
    “Yer good at this, laddie. You’ve never done it before?”
    “No,” she lied.
    “Are you new on board? I haven’t seen you before.” The lines at the corners of his eyes deepened as he squinted