Lynna sat in the center of the bed contemplating a dismal future. It only took one time to create a child? A disgrace. Scandalous? Why, she had never even been within spitting distance of a scandal.
She didn’t move when the cabin boy brought her lunch tray and she hadn’t budged hours later when Joshua returned. She sat, lost in thought, cursing the fates as she stared out the window admiring the seagulls their carefree existence.
“Are you coming out of the cabin this afternoon?” Joshua’s deep voice startled her. She hadn’t even heard the door open. “The clouds have moved in to cover the sun and it’s quite pleasant on deck. That meddlesome Miss Johnson inquired about you.”
For the first time Lynna looked up, showing eyes that were red rimmed from her afternoon of crying. Suddenly, she leapt from the bed like a woman possessed and began to pummel his broad chest with all the force she could muster. “How could you?” she sobbed as scalding tears of abject misery coursed down her cheeks.
Joshua grabbed her small hands in his and held them gently to his chest to still their fluttering. “How could I what, Lynna?”
“You know very well what.” Fat tears rolled down her cheeks. “Do not pretend ignorance with me, Captain Jordan.”
“So it’s Captain Jordan again, is it?” He picked up the brandy decanter and poured himself a drink. “No, Lynna, I can assure you that I don’t. Pray tell, enlighten me.”
“You used the oldest ruse in the book on me,” she snapped.
“The oldest ruse?” He chuckled, sitting down behind his desk and lighting a cheroot. “And what would that be?”
“You intentionally got me drunk and had your way with me,” she cried.
“I did… what?” Joshua was totally flabbergasted by the unwarranted accusation. “Lynna, what on earth are you babbling about? If you recall, you were drunk, of your own accord, when I returned to my cabin last night.”
“You offered me the port,” she was quick to add. “I never asked for it.”
“A glass of port, with your meal. I had no idea that you were not accustomed to spirits, or that you would drain the entire bottle in my absence.”
“I will be a disgrace.” She wept, heartbroken. “My dear father will be humiliated. He will turn me away, unable to witness my shame.”
“Are you serious?” Joshua shrieked, incredulously. “You honestly believe that your father, who worships the ground you walk on, will turn you away in shame because you had too much to drink?”
“Of course not, don’t be obtuse. I am talking about the enfant!” she shrieked, covering her burning face with her hands. “I am speaking of your child, that I now carry in my womb.”
“My… child?” Draining the contents of the glass, Joshua poured himself a double. “In your… womb?
“Oui, your child. I am enceinte,” she whispered, switching from madwoman to a tortured child in a matter of seconds. “Oh, Captain Jordan, how could you do this to me? It will be ever so disgraceful and you do not give a fig about me in the first place. And my dear father will be so hurt and humiliated.”
“Not to mention the hurt that Nathan Rhodes would bring upon my head,” Joshua muttered absently.
Did something happen during the night that he was unaware of?
Impossible.
If he had made love to the delectable ingénue, he would definitely remember it.
“You? You! Is that all you can think about at a time like this? You? And what my father might do to you, which I can assure you will not be pleasant,” Lynna took great pleasure in adding. “What about me?”
“There is no cause for undue alarm, Lynna. I will see that both you and the child are well taken care of.” What was he saying? There was no child. “Please, if you don’t mind, clarify one minor point for me. When did we make love?”
“You took indecent liberties with me,” she was quick to correct him.
“Very well then, since you have become the authority on fornication, perhaps you will be so kind as to answer my question.”
She turned away to hide her furiously reddening cheeks. “I remember what happened… last night.”
He had pleasured her and left with a severe case of blue balls. “And?” Surely the sheltered recluse didn’t think that you could become with child simply by having an earthshattering climax.
“Oh, Captain Jordan, how could you singlehandedly bring about the ruination of my entire life?”
“How could I ruin your life?” he repeated, astonished by her words. “Lynna, if you will recall, I did nothing against your will.”
“It was the wine,” she murmured sadly. “I had never been allowed to drink wine before. You knew I was not responsible for my actions and, yet, you took advantage…”
She stopped and blushed a most becoming shade of pink. “My tante will turn me away when I arrive on her doorstep ponderous with child, and without the benefit of a husband. I will have no place to go. Our enfant and I will be roofless vagabonds, forced to resort to a life in back alleys. Our only recourse will be to sail back to France where my baby will be stripped from my arms and placed in an orphans’ asylum.”
“Roofless? In back alleys?” Ignoring her outraged stance, Joshua said, “Please, proceed, my pet. Continue telling me about this child that you now miraculously carry in your womb. Did you draw this conclusion on your own?”
“Oui, I came to this conclusion on my own.” That wasn’t exactly true. “Well… with some input from Miss Johnson.”
“Natalie Johnson. I should have known. What other mischief has the gossipmonger planted in your head?” When she didn’t answer, Joshua sat down on the bed, crossing his booted feet at the ankles and waiting for her to calm down. “Lynna, I did not force myself on you last night. I was a perfect gentleman, therefore, it would be impossible for you to be carrying my child. And,” he added with a wink, “should your father ask, you fell asleep with a smile on your face.”
Lynna closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, remembering the pulsing contractions of sweet ecstasy that had convulsed her lower region when his hand.... her nipples hardened at the thought. She would never forget that moment as long as she lived.
Of course, they had made love.
Why was he lying?
Her father.
He was lying about what happened because he was afraid of what Nathan Rhodes would do when he found out that the captain had molested his daughter.
Lynna walked up to Joshua with a look of pure innocence, then she drew back her hand and slapped him across his divinely handsome face.
Although, she would be the first to admit that the slap was woefully late in coming.
“You, sir, are a liar,” she quipped.
Chapter 8