Chapter 1
Viareggio, Italy 1818
This was not supposed to happen, Florence Weston muttered to herself as she was forced into a cabin on board a strange ship. That she, Florry, was here with a handsome captain who had sworn to protect her but who she was convinced was a pirate did not help the matter. Her situation was even more precarious as she was disguised as a boy and would be ruined and in extreme danger if she was discovered. Her handsome captain, pirate or not, could not protect her against a ship of rogues, who they clearly were, having been involved with a kidnapping.
Watching Captain William Kelly as he paced across the small room would have been a pleasant occupation were they not in such a serious position. He was tall and muscular, around twenty-nine, but looked older with his dark, weather-beaten skin, which did not detract from his attractive features, sparkling green eyes or lips which were plump and usually quick to laughter.
“I should have been prepared for the guttersnipe to do something devious,” he muttered to himself. “I am nothing but jingle-brained to have left you alone with him even for a moment.”
“You are too hard on yourself,” Florry said. “I pride myself on being up to snuff with situations, yet I did not see his actions coming.”
She was referring to when their captor had been in their custody instead of their current situation. They had been trying to leave the country to save their friend Serena from being targeted by the head of a criminal gang. The party had split into three groups, each with a ‘Serena’ in disguise to confound any followers and ensure that the real Serena would reach the ship with her beloved Hamish and sail to Scotland, safety and a marriage.
Having been in a different group, they had no idea if Serena had safely reached the ship. The captain and Florry had been travelling with Marco as their prisoner, for he was the one who had enraged the head of the criminal gang in the first place. They were going to hand him over to the authorities when there was no more danger for Serena. Marco thought Florry was a boy and, on gaining the upper hand when left alone for a moment, had used her to force William into boarding a different ship in another port. They were far from their friends, unable to send a message or get help, and it was clear the sailors on board this ship would not help in any way.
“And I stupidly believed him when he said he would leave us at the port,” William ground out.
“Yes, but to be fair, he must have guessed we would not let him get away with what he had done. This is an unfortunate turn of events, but perhaps it means we will reach England at some point and meet the others.” They had all been following different routes to Livorno. They had insisted Marco dress as Serena so as not to reveal Florry’s disguise; Marco’s response to the scheme had been the only light-hearted moment in a difficult situation. The men had agreed that if any group did not reach the port, the others would still sail for England, hopefully ensuring that Serena left the country.
“I hope to goodness they have not been delayed because of us.”
“I doubt Mr Avril will remain on Italian soil a moment longer than he must. He was very keen to put as much distance between her and Italy as he could,” Florry said of Hamish, who was madly in love with Serena. Her insides might be swirling with concern, but she remained calm on the outside. Past experience had proved that showing weakness or giving into panic did nothing but play into the hands of those intent on wrongdoing. Her upbringing had brought her to the notice of many undesirables.
“If I could get out of this blasted room, I might be able to get a message to my own ship,” William grunted.
“There might be an opportunity,” Florry said, sounding unconvinced.
“You no longer think I am a dashing pirate, do you?” He smiled at her for the first time since they had embarked on their fateful journey.
“Dashing? I seem to recall accusing you of being a pirate, dashing or otherwise was not mentioned,” Florry said. “I think your opinion of yourself is already too inflated for me to be foolish enough to add to it.”
Raising his eyebrows at her, he grimaced. “After this debacle? I would not be surprised if you were to consider me barely above a Johnny Raw.”
The door opened before Florry could reply, and Marco stood in the doorway, his short stature not filling the space as William’s had when entering the cabin.
“The captain says you will both be given jobs once we are at sea. He is not willing for you to be waited on when there is work to do.” The words caused William to growl in anger, making Marco smirk. “Now you know what it is like to be on the other side. You had no feeling of sympathy about my situation.”
“Of being a cheat and putting a young woman in serious danger just to gain money? Yes, I struggled to be sympathetic with your actions,” William said. “I would never have behaved in such a dishonourable way towards a young lady.”
“She enjoyed the rewards when we were winning.” Marco shrugged. “And I warned her when I realised she was in danger. I could barely move because of the beating they gave me, but I came to her.”
“You waited two days in which we could have left Florence.”
“I was at death’s door!”
“You do have a tendency to be overly dramatic; it is a trait which does you no credit. Another fault to add to your long list of them.”
Marco looked furious, but he was not foolish enough to take on William in a fight. He was not so brave or stupid that he would challenge a man who was probably twice the size of him and made of pure muscle. He had only bested him because he had held a knife to Florry’s throat.
“We will see if you are still so confident when you are working and sleeping alongside the other men.”
“You cannot put the boy with the sailors,” William said quickly.
“And why not?”
“He was a cabin boy. He knows nothing of being with a roomful of sailors.”
Marco shrugged. “He was old enough to point a gun at me.”
William looked fit to burst, and Marco decided it was prudent to leave them to it. When the door closed and locked, William sat down on the wooden bench, which served as a seat and bunk. “You cannot live with the sailors; your true identity would be revealed.”
“It looks like I have little choice,” Florry said.
“I could kill him!”
“I am an expert at fading into the background,” Florry assured him. She had been brought up in the rougher streets of London, and only when rescued by her titled uncle did she come into polite society. “I am sure I will find a way to survive.”
“You should not need to!”
Florry reached over from where she sat at the other end of the bunk and placed her hand on his shoulder. “I will work something out. Stop worrying about me.”
“You bring out the protector in me,” he said ruefully.
“That is nice to know, but I survived nearly twenty years before I met you.” The words were said to hide the wave of pleasure his concern had caused. There was little point in letting her imagination get carried away in their current situation, but she had been attracted to him on their first meeting.
“I know, but…”
“There are no buts. I am capable of looking out for myself, though if you can add to that, I will not say no. Just do not treat me as if I am completely helpless.”
“You are right; I am sorry.”
“There is no need to apologise. I am glad to have you here. I know you will help when I need it, though that might turn out to be nothing more than standing guard while I use a bucket.”
William roared with laughter. “If that is to be my role in life, then so be it.”
Florry was making light of a situation that was scaring her just as much as being alone on the streets of London had done. Then, she had been forced to live on her wits, but at least she had places to hide. On this ship, she was the only woman as far as she knew, and if she was discovered, William would not be able to protect her no matter how hard he tried.
She had refused to give in when she was without friends and facing a life of ruin by a man who wanted her for his mistress after her mother died. It had been a bleak time in her life, alone because of the mésalliance her mother had made, and it resulted in her being disowned by her family. Florry had never known the feeling of security as she had grown.
She would try not to falter in this situation, but she had never faced such dire odds and could only dread what the coming weeks would bring. She refused to let the panic overwhelm her. She would face the situation like she had faced everything else, with caution, yes, but also with determination.
“I will never forgive myself for letting you down, Miss Weston.”
Trying to continue her light tone, she smiled at William. “I think we can abandon the formalities, don’t you?”
“Did De Luca know your given name?”
“No. He barely noticed me, even when we were dancing,” Florry said. “We often danced in silence as he was focused on watching Serena. If you recall, he did not even notice my absence when we were deciding on which way the groups should be split up.”
“What a complete fool! There is a boy’s name – Florian. Have you any objection to adopting it so that you can still use Florry? The closer we can stick to the truth, the better.”
“That is fine, and what do I call you? Are you willing to give up your title of captain?”
“As I would probably be flogged if I even suggested that my rank be maintained, William is fine.”
“It shows what type of people Marco associates with if they are happy to carry fellow sailors as little more than forced labour.”
“It is as bad as being pressganged into service, and this captain, whoever he is, will feel the full force of my ire even if it takes me years to sort him out.”
“You can be a little scary, you know. I still wonder at your history, for you never did explain it to me,” Florry said. He had made a few comments that suggested an unhappy start to life, but he was so well-spoken that she doubted he had experienced the same upbringing as she had. At least her rough and ready accent would blend in with the sailors on board, though most of them were probably Italian, which would act as another advantage as she knew very little of the language.
“You do not wish to be bored rigid with my pitiful story,” William said, but there was discomfort behind the light-hearted comment.
“As I am surrounded by so many things to entertain me, you are perfectly correct. Why would I wish to hear anything about you?” Florry said with sarcasm.
William smirked at her. “You are far more interesting than I.”
“I see you are clinging to the persona of a man of mystery and intrigue. You do realise that one day your secrets will inevitably be revealed, and I will be very disappointed if they are not shocking.”
“Then I would prepare to be let down, for it is nothing more than a family argument causing a breach.”
“There are many of those,” Florry said. “My mother never quite got over being cast off by her family. I am sorry that she never met Uncle Hugh when they were adults because he really wanted to make amends for what their mother and father had done.”
“Unfortunately, time cannot always heal the past,” William responded.
Florry wanted to push further, but she held her tongue. They would be together in each other’s company for days if not weeks, and she could not afford to cause a rift between them because of her curiosity. She would need him to get her through this ordeal and had a feeling that he might need her just as much.
They sat in silence for a while, the movement of the ship an indication that they were afloat and on their way to who knew where. When the door opened, a sailor entered the cabin. This one had clearly been at sea for a long time, and although he had a slight stoop, he was a huge man.
“The capt’n wants to see you,” he said in rough Italian. “Follow me.”
They did so in silence; there was little else they could do but comply in their current situation. Taken to the captain’s quarters, Florry looked around in appreciation at the difference in size and quality of the accommodation compared to the cabin they had just left.
“Welcome aboard,” the captain said, lounging in his chair, one leg over the chair arm and smoking a cheroot. “Marco is very kind to trade you two for his passage from Italy.”
Florry saw William’s posture stiffen at the words. “We are not captives to be bartered with,” he said.
“Interesting that we disagree already. At this moment, your safety is in my hands, so I would watch your mouth.”
“De Luca said you were his friend.”
“Friendship can be taken advantage of, especially when associated with Marco de Luca. Work your passage, and you can be dropped off at the port where we end our trip.”
“Which is?”
“Northern Portugal.”
“That is a long way from England.”
The captain shrugged. “It is that, or I set you free in a rowing boat and see how you fare.”
“If it was just me, I would choose that option, but I will not put the boy at risk,” William said with a nod to Florry.
“Wise move.”
Florry was not sure she would agree with William’s decision but could only go by his judgement. She had only been on one other ship until this one, so she was far from an expert sailor.
“I will set you to work on the main deck,” the captain told William. “You are strong enough to be put to good use, and I can keep an eye on you there. He can be my cabin boy. My last one died of the fever.”
“The boy should stay with me,” William said. In one respect, it would be a relief that Florry would be away from the other sailors, but if they were separated, he would not be able to watch over her.
“You do not have a say in it.”
“He is my responsibility.”
“Not any more he isn’t,” the captain said, reached and rang a bell on his table. His door opened, and the sailor who had brought them to his cabin stood in the doorway.
“Yes, Capt’n?”
“Take our newcomer here to Gianpaulo; he can have the pleasure of him in his team. The boy stays with me.”
William looked as if to fight, but Florry shook her head at him. “Please don’t,” she whispered, trying to deepen her voice. “I will be fine.”
“At least the boy has sense. You could learn a lot from him,” the captain chuckled approvingly.
William looked at Florry, apology in his eyes, but said nothing more and followed the sailor out of the room.
“I expect total dedication, boy. If not, there will be beatings. Do you understand?” the captain demanded once the cabin door was closed.
“Yes, Capt’n,” Florry said, feeling the level of fear she had hoped never to feel again once rescued by her uncle.
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