Talbot laughed. “Let èm try.”
“He’ll do more than try, mate,” Hancock warned.
Talbot’s feral gaze monitored her approach as she listened to the exchange.
Clutching the handles of the pot in her hands she strode the length of the table and paused at Talbot’s side.
“The captain will have no need to defend my honor, because I will not allow you to jeopardize it.”
-61-
Shelley Bradley
She turned the pot of oatmeal over—above Talbot’s head. Giant lumps of the slop slurped downward, tangling in his hair, dribbling into his eyes.
With an outraged howl, Talbot bolted from his seat, swiped oatmeal from his eyes and reached for her. Christina danced away from him to the accompaniment of the others’ wails of laughter.
Christina pressed her lips together to hold back her own chuckle. She should be terrified of the lout now that she’d embarrassed him. But she only felt triumph and a sense of relief.
Talbot shook his head to rid himself of more offending chunks of oatmeal.
The masses splattered across the table, the floor. The others clutched their bellies, hopelessly doubled over with laughter. Hancock winked at her again.
Talbot muttered an oath. “Get over here, ye uppity bitch.”
“That gives new meanin’ to taking yer meals!” pointed out one sailor between convulsions of laughter.
“Shut yer bleedin’ mouth,” Talbot shouted. Then he shot Christina a glare brimming with fire and hate. She took a reflexive step away from that menacing glint in his eyes. Suddenly, Hancock stood at her side, a light hand on her elbow.
With pursed lips, Talbot backed away from the table. He lunged for her.
Christina gasped, her heart racing. Seeing her fear, the bully stopped in mid-stride with a laugh.
“That’s right, girl. Ye should be afraid. I’ll find ye alone soon. After I’m done with ye, we’ll see who’s laughin’.”
A silent moment later, Talbot stormed from the galley.
Hancock turned to her. “He’s just talkin’ mad. Don’t worry. The cap’n won’t let anything happen to ye.”
Christina sent him a shaky nod, though she felt less than reassured. She didn’t protest when he urged her to sit down.
As she sank down onto the bench, the sailor beside her shot her a wide grin. He was missing his front two teeth. “That’s a brave lass! Talbot had it comin’ to èm, he did.”
Hadn’t this man called her dangerous five minutes ago?
-62-
The Lady and the Dragon
Before she could reply, another called out, “Davie’s right. Seein’ a wee thing like you set Talbot straight puts me in a right good mood.”
Listening to the last man’s laugh, she turned to Hancock behind her with a questioning stare.
“He’s made everyone’s life hell. They’ve wanted to see him get his comeuppance for a long while.”
Christina suspected she’d made an enemy who wasn’t likely to forgive and forget, but she couldn’t worry about that now. Not when then others appeared to be accepting her. She turned back and smiled tentatively at all the sailors.
Watching them dig into the cold oatmeal on their plates, she hoped today’s incident worked to her advantage. Without help, she didn’t want to put Talbot’s threats to the test.
* * *
Drex ran to the galley, knowing he had missed most of the evening meal.
And in his absence, any man who hadn’t shown his stowaway the deference he’d demanded would know true punishment.
Down stairs and round corners he sprinted, hoping Lilli could handle the others as well as she had him. He took comfort in the fact Hancock had promised to help her, if needed.
Still, a burning inside him urged him to learn if any of his mannerless bunch had harmed her. They were fine sailors, maybe even the best. But he didn’t trust them around a beautiful woman like Lilli for an instant.
Hell, around her, he could barely trust himself.
As his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the galley, Drex looked over the small crowd. He’d been prepared for almost anything, screaming, even blood.
Never the shimmering brilliance of Lilli’s smile.
She sat on one side of the table, just beneath the small window. The men had gathered all around her, like insects to their queen. The setting sun shone through the gun ports, illuminating Lilli’s golden hair, her sunny smile. The men spoke over one another in a rush of conversation.
-63-
Shelley Bradley
“I wrestled me an alligator once,” one of them boasted.
“That’s nothing,” assured another. “I fought off two of the fancy English soldiers all by meself.”
“Aye, ye did. And they be children next to the giants I fought on an island,”
a third bragged. “Scary buggers with one eye, they was. I killed èm all.”
Lilli threw her head back and laughed, the sound soft like trickling water from a spring. “Well, I do have some adventures ahead of me, then. How much more exciting than London!”
Drex stepped into the room, his footfall purposely heavy. As he expected, all conversation ceased.
The men jumped from their seats to attention. Lillianne stilled, her smile dying.
Why was it that every time he came within five feet of her, she welcomed him as warmly as a hangman? Though it was for the best, the fact she regarded him as the enemy irritated him.
“If you’re finished eating, men, resume your posts,” Drex commanded.
Nine men shuffled out immediately. Lilli tried to follow.
Drex grabbed her arm. “You stay here.”
He turned to a departing Hancock. “Where’s Talbot?”
His first mate burst into laughter. “Our little Lilli put ìm right in his place, and with no more than a bowl of oatmeal.”
Our little Lilli? He cast her a questioning glance.
She swallowed, then offered up a stilted smile. “The man made some rather rude suggestions. I poured oatmeal over his head.”
Drex bit back laughter. Talbot should be punished for whatever crude words he’d spewed to Lilli, but he doubted the man could be further humiliated. His beautiful stowaway becoming a bigger handful all the time, but he couldn’t suppress a flash of admiration.
“Don’t be angry,” she cajoled, batting her eyelashes like a practiced coquette. “He was behaving like a brute.”
-64-
The Lady and the Dragon
She was hopelessly mischievous, he decided, shaking his head. That probably accounted for the reason he couldn’t decide whether he should seduce Lilli or spank her.
“Oh, you are angry,” she observed, her red mouth turned down into a pout.
“I’m sorry, but—”
“Not here.” He released her and gestured to the galley’s door. “My cabin.
Now.”
Lilli grimaced, waved good bye to Hancock, then exited. He followed her down the companionway, focusing on her shoulder blades. But damn it if his gaze didn’t keep drifting lower, fastening on the graceful curve of her hips and her derriere. He really had to take his mind off of her body and all the things he’d like to do to it if he was going to confront her.
Once they reached his cabin, he pulled out his desk chair and pointed to it.
She hesitated, then sat. Unfortunately, standing above her provided him a disturbingly clear view down the front of her dress and the lush swell of her breasts.
He turned away. She was beautiful and spirited. As much as she created havoc on his ship, he couldn’t deny he wanted her. Badly. More today than yesterday. Tenfold more than the day he’d first laid eyes on her. And not for just her beauty. Her resolve was equally captivating, calling to him like the challenge of taming a wild sea, despite the fact that, like Ryan, her antics inevitably caused trouble.
God, was this sickness something he shared with the insane?
“Don’t be angry,” Lilli said suddenly, bringing him back to the present. “I had to do something!”