Chapter 1
Santander, northern Spain, 12 years later
“Oh,Capitana!” The woman shuddered with delight. Her dark eyes gleamed in the half light of the cabin. “Oh, what you do to me!”
Alexander Fletcher grinned lazily at the raven-haired beauty lying beneath him on his small bed. He knew that her first name was Rosa, but he did not know much else about her at all. Rosa did not speak very much English, but Alexander had never let that stand in his way where women were concerned.
He was just about to get to know Rosa a whole lot better, when there was a sudden rap at the cabin door.
“Captain!” The voice of his first mate, Ed, reached him through the thin wood. “We have trouble!”
Alexander cursed loudly. “For the love of God, man! I am busy! What is it?”
“It’s Needham, Captain,” came the disembodied voice. “He’s caused an incident. Again. We need help.”
Alexander closed his eyes in frustration. But there was nothing he could do about it. He was the captain of theMary Elizabeth,a trading ship, and he had to deal with all emergencies. They were just about to set sail back to England, loading the last of their cargo, after all. It had probably been wishful thinking to assume he might have one last carnal encounter with the delectable Rosa before they set sail.
“Sorry,” he whispered, giving her a quick peck on the check, before jumping off the bed and hurrying into his clothes. “It has beendivertido, Rosa. I might see you again when I am next in port.”
The woman grinned, her white teeth shining in the darkness, before gathering her own strewn clothing off the floor. “Muy buena, Capitana,” she purred. “You are generous. In all ways.”
Alexander grinned back, before rushing out the door. He knew Rosa would be gone before he returned. She was a local girl and knew the score. She was used to the trading ships coming in and out of the port of Santander, after all.
She was not a whore—Alexander prided himself on only sleeping with women who wanted him as well—but she knew that when he sailed away, he might never return. Which was just the way he liked it. They had lots of fun together over the past week but when it was over, it was over.
The life of a sailor, he thought ruefully.A girl in every port.
But when he hit the deck, rushing down the plank onto the docks where the barrels and boxes were being loaded onto his ship, all thoughts of the delectable Rosa flew from his mind. Ed had been right to interrupt him. There was a fracas.
A small, wiry man with bright red hair and shifty eyes was in the centre of it. Alexander groaned aloud. Needham. The man had been causing trouble since they had set sail from England, starting fights with the other men, whining, and complaining. He was also lazy and indolent. Alexander had already decided that he was not going to keep him on and regretted that he had given him a chance at all.
Now, Needham was surrounded by a group of local men all advancing towards him menacingly. What had the fool done this time?
He rushed forward, stepping in between the small man and his nearest assailant, who was head and shoulders taller than Needham and built like a rock.
Alexander put a hand on the burly man’s chest. “What is it? What has he done?”
The burly man spat at his feet. “He touch my woman! He disrespect her! I will kill him!” He glowered at Needham, who was cowering behind Alexander, his eyes full of fear.
Alexander swivelled around to the small man. “Is this true? Did you touch her?”
Needham looked defiant. “She is a whore! They are all whores!”
Alexander swore underneath his breath. “You fool! Not all local women are whores for the taking! If you had any brains in that small head of yours at all, you would understand that.” He turned back to the burly man. “I am sorry for him. He did not understand. He meant no harm. A small reward if we forget it and keep loading the ship?”
“Big reward,” growled the burly man. “Double the price.”
Alexander’s mouth tightened. “No. A bonus. One barrel of the rum for you and your men. Deal?”
The burly man wavered. Alexander held his breath. If the man insisted, he would make little profit from this trip, and he simply was not prepared for all his hard work to amount to nothing because of that spineless, leering, red-haired ferret cowering behind him. Needham was a coward as well as a bore. He should just let him get his just desserts, but he needed the man to keep loading the cargo. They were short on men as it was.
“Two barrels,” said the burly man, his dark eyes gleaming.
Alexander swore again. “Done. This is over.” He raised his voice, addressing the crowd, “Keep loading the ship. We sail on schedule.”
There was a mutter from the crowd, but to Alexander’s intense relief, they all started to disperse, going about their business again. Alexander turned to Needham, grabbing him by the ear, dragging him towards the ship.
When they were on board, he stopped, letting the man go. Needham shook himself like a dog. Now that the incident was over, his usual arrogance was reasserting itself, and he stared at his captain defiantly.