Despite her usual tenacity, Elise felt unprepared for the approaching battle and more than a bit fearful. The advice of the scullery maid’s son was not in the least bit applicable to her dilemma. The overwhelming strength of her opponent was an obstacle she could never surmount, no matter the time and place. She could only rely on her wits, and she feared those were badly frayed from worry.
A sharp rap sounded on the portal, and Elise paused a moment to gather her poise. Smoothing the rough woolen fabric of her gown, she took up a stance near the desk where the staff would be close at hand and, breathing slowly and deeply to prepare herself for the battle to come, faced the portal like an heroic felon awaiting the attack of a fierce and mighty foe. At her summons, Nicholas swung open the door, but halted in the doorway as a piqued frown vexed his brow. He deliberately perused her from head to toe, making it obvious that he was annoyed with her refusal to wear the gift of clothes. “So, Englisch! Yu have decided to portray the poor, beleaguered captive.”
“Forsooth, Captain! Am I not exactly that?” Lifting her chin with recalcitrant spirit, Elise dared to meet his ominous scowl.
Nicholas stepped into the cabin, quite dashingly garbed in fine clothes. Over a dark brown velvet doublet stitched with golden threads, he wore a rich, fur-lined chamarre of the same cloth. Tiny cordings of silk and gold finished the slashes of his short, padded breeches, and beneath them he wore close-fitting hose and low-topped shoes. His rich clothes presented a heavy contrast with her attire, and had she been the sort to regret her refusal of his gifts, Elise might have felt at odds with her own appearance, for she looked very much like a pauper in the presence of a prince.
“And do yu intend to leave me to dine alone?” he questioned gruffly.
Elise could see no reason to starve herself. “I shall be glad to join you for dinner, Captain.”
“Wunderbar!” Nicholas exclaimed and swept into a brief bow before her. He offered his arm to escort her to the table, and she allowed him to assist her to a chair. They entered the meal, and it seemed the captain’s attention was fully occupied for several long moments while he appeased his appetite. Elise picked at the delicious morsels that filled her plate, wondering when the storm of debate would begin. She had had occasion to witness the captain’s harsh verbal reprimand of a bumbling seaman and, though she had not understood a word of his harangue, she had felt no envy of the lad. It had seemed doubtful to her at the time that the youth would ever make the same mistake again.
Needless to say she expected the worst when Nicholas slid back his chair and regarded her for a long moment with something of a puzzled air. “Yu are not a prisoner here, Englisch,” he began in an almost lecturing tone, and Elise raised her nose a slight degree to silently convey a difference of opinion. “I yield to yu the comfort of my quarters and, vithin reason, the freedom of my vessel.” He reached out and fingered the sleeve of her gown. “And yet yu insist on portraying yurself as the vanquished one, poorly dressed and ever vary of my intent.”
The eyes of sapphire blue rested on him steadily as Elise rigidly maintained her position of stilted aloofness.
Softly he questioned, “Is it possible that yu do not like the clothes?”
“On the contrary, Captain,” she responded in coolly measured tones. “They are very beautiful, but as yet you have not stated what the cost will be.” She paused for effect. “No doubt such rich garments have a price I can little afford in my present circumstance or perhaps one I’m not willing to pay.”
Nicholas stared at her, a frown troubling his brow, before he made use of the finger bowl of rosewater to wash his hands. “If yu know I am of the Hansa, then yu must also be avare that our merchant captains take a vow of celibacy until they have attained a certain measure of vealth.”
“Vows mean little to some men,” she replied. “Though you may say you’re an honorable man, I’ve seen little evidence of that. I do not know you, but I know what you’ve done.”
He pursed his lips, considering her answer, and then presented a different argument. “Yu have misunderstood my intent, vrouwelin. The gifts do not come from me, but from yur benefactor. He has borne the cost of the clothes, and is it not right that he should repay yu for the gown yu lost after yu vere seized?”
Thoughtfully Elise ran the tip of a slender finger over the rim of her goblet as she pondered aloud. “I’ve been curious as to the reasons for my abduction and have wondered if my captivity has anything to do with my father. Could this be possible?”
Nicholas lifted his wide shoulders to convey his lack of knowledge. “Vere I to guess, Englisch, I vould venture to say ja, but I cannot know for sure vhat is in a man’s heart. Yu are a prize vorth taking, thus it vould not be uncommon for a man to be so smitten.”
“Smitten?” Elise’s brows gathered in deepening confusion. “Of what do you speak, sir?”
“Do yu find it so amazing that a man can be enamored vith yu, vrouwelin?”
“Aye!” she responded crisply. None of the suitors who had vied for her attention had seemed anxious enough to possess her by these methods.
“Believe me, Englisch. ‘Tis a simple enough matter.” Elise met his gaze and was puzzled by the strange, almost yearning look in the light blue eyes. If this was passion she saw, then it had a softer look than she had ever seen before. Averting her face, she answered stiffly. “After what I’ve suffered, I would think the man who ordered my abduction harbors a deep hatred for me.”
Nicholas chuckled softly. “Nein, that is not so, and I vould not take yu to him if I thought his intent vas to torment you.”
“Why do you delay in telling me who he is?”
“His lordship vished his name withheld until he could explain to yu himself. He thought it best that yu did not form a hatred of him before he could defend his motives.”
“I assure you, Captain, he has failed,” she stated bluntly. “Whatever name he bears, the hatred will run as deep.”
By morning, the wind had slackened somewhat, but a frigid coldness had settled down upon them with more intensity, as if to punish them for their audacity in daring the North Sea with winter nigh upon them. Not willing that anyone should think her soft or frail, Elise returned to the quarterdeck the next morning. Her nose and cheeks quickly reddened, and though she sought a place to keep her hands warm, her fingers once again grew numb with the cold.
Nicholas approached her as he had the day before, and as he stared down at her, his lips slowly spread jnto a grin that softened his own wind-reddened face. “I commend yur mettle, Englisch. ‘Tis said for a seaman to sail the North Seas after Martinmas is to tempt God. I say for a lady to brave the decks in this veather is to find a voman vorthy of a sea captain.”
Elise gave him a coldly quizzical stare. “Are you proposing, Captain?”
Nicholas shook his head with a laugh. “Nein, Englisch. Though yu are a temptation, I am honor-bound.”
“ ‘Tis good then! ‘Twill spare you my rejection,” she returned caustically. Without further word or excuse she moved away, leaving Nicholas staring after her in some amusement. Despite her drab gown, she strolled the decks with the dignity of a great lady, giving no indication of her discomfort, which he knew had to be considerable.
“Good spunk, Englisch,” he murmured to himself. That evening when Elise prepared herself for the evening meal, she took into consideration the fate of her own clothes and donned the blue velvet gown. It seemed only fair that the man responsible for the loss of her own fine clothes should replace them. She had suffered enough abuse because of him. She might as well enjoy a few of the luxuries he could provide.
Paying a compliment to the clothes, she garbed herself with care and dressed her hair in an upswept coiffure, making use of a silvered tray as a looking glass. If she had any doubts as to her appearance, they were quickly dispelled when Nicholas entered the cabin. His smile widened, his eyes glowed, and as he stared at her he slowly nodded his approval.
“The gown suits yu, vrouwelin.??
?
“ ‘Tis a rich piece,” she commented, for want of something better to say. She did not know how to react when Nicholas looked at her with such warmth. “My benefactor, as you call him, must be very wealthy to afford such clothes.”
Nicholas chuckled softly. “He has yet to receive the bill.”
Elise raised a querying brow. “Were not the clothes his idea?”
“Certainly his, but he left the details to me since he vas pressed for time.” The captain shrugged. “I only asked a seamstress to fashion something very varm and beautiful for a lady using the skins I acquired trading vith the Easterlings from Novgorod. They have closed their ports to the Hansa, but now and then I manage to strike a bargain vith one of their ship captains. The clothes vere the dressmaker’s creation. I did not specify a limit on the cost.”
“Perhaps my benefactor will be angry with your extravagance.”
“One look at yu, vrouwelin, vould banish even the slightest irritation.”
Elise allowed a moment of silence to pass as she studied the Hansa captain. He was a man of considerable knowledge and did not seem to have the characteristics of one who lightly joined himself to a company of brigands, especially for the purpose of kidnapping a helpless woman. She was curious to know what had prompted him to do so. “As merchant captain of this vessel, you must reap a great profit from your voyages.”
“Perhaps a token or two,” Nicholas answered with a noncommittal shrug.
Elise responded with a short, incredulous chuckle. “You would probably be more truthful if you said a fortune or two.”
“The Hansa are dedicated merchants,” Nicholas responded, wondering what she was leading up to.
“So I’ve heard—and as you say, they are sworn to a single life until they acquire wealth.” Elise slowly raised a brow as she inquired, “Have you a wife, Captain Von Reijn?”
Nicholas shook his head as a smile touched his lips. “I have yet to obtain that status in life.”
“Just the same, I perceive you have a fatter purse than you admit, a condition which suggests you do not need to resort to common thievery or kidnapping for your substance. Therefore I would assume your price is high, and for your part in this abduction you will undoubtedly be paid very well.”
Nicholas brushed aside her statement with a careless wave of his hand. “ ‘Twas but a favor for an old friend, Englisch, naught else.”
“If you can be bought for a price,” she persisted, ignoring his denial, “how weighty a purse would it take for you to change your allegiance and return me to England?”
A burst of laughter erupted from the Hansa captain, and though Elise’s expression grew coldly brittle, the sound of his amusement ran its course until it finally dwindled. Nicholas grinned at her and, with a shrug, spread his hands apologetically as he responded. “I gave my vord to a friend, vrouwelin. There is naught else I can do but keep my troth.”
“What does the keeping of one’s troth mean to a brigand?” she asked in annoyance. She moved away from him while his eyes, shining with humor, followed her. “You talk honorably of your pledge, Captain, but is that pledge honorable? Is there such great esteem among villains that you can boast of your own repute even while cutting the purse from your victim’s sash? Or spiriting away a captive to other climes?”
Nicholas opened his mouth to interrupt, but Elise pivoted on a heel and held up a hand, halting him abruptly.
“Give me leave to speak my words through, Captain. Since you have obviously grown calloused about your deeds, my attempt to reason with you and point out the error of your ways will no doubt prove futile. Nevertheless, I ask to be heard. You have made a pact with the devil, and I am caught in this trap with you as the gatekeeper. Innocent though I be, I will be plunged into a dark pit of that unnamed villain’s making while you boast of your honor. Well, sir, your integrity has the foul stench of barbarism. You and your black-hearted accomplice have set yourselves to do mischief of the most wicked kind, and you are as guilty as he for carrying out his bidding.”
“I cannot plead my cause,” Nicholas admitted with an accommodating smile. He was intrigued with the way her eyes flashed when she was provoked. “I am guilty as charged.”
Though she had hoped to sway him by the logic of her words, Elise now realized she had failed. He was a man who had set himself to a task, with full knowledge the deed was wrong, and apparently felt no chagrin.
Nicholas considered her statements in thoughtful reflection, wondering if the future would prove his actions as vile as she had claimed, or if he would be fully redeemed in her sight. Though placed at his mercy for this passage of time, she seemed as yet undaunted. She continued to conduct herself with a proud grace that conveyed an inborn dignity, an unquenchable verve, and a resilience that few men could lay claim to.
He gently plucked at her sleeve, like a small, wayward child trying to make amends. “Yu may have me flogged if in a year you regret this voyage,” he murmured softly. “I trust it vill prove to be of benefit to yu as well as to my friend.”
Elise stared into the warmly shining eyes and finally, after a lengthy pause, moved away. Nicholas released his breath slowly, fighting an ever-growing desire to comfort her and pledge his protection as her champion and suitor. He was beginning to understand how a man could be so taken with a woman he could forget honor and a troth fairly spoken.
Chapter 6
THE SHIP ENTERED the mouth of the Elbe, and as lookouts watched for sandbanks and ice floes, Elise stood on deck, anxious to see what she could of this land wherein she would be held prisoner. Mostly she saw marshes and lowlands until the banks began to rise on the north. A frosting of white mantled the trees where the heavy mists of the prior evening had formed crystalline trappings of ice. Along the shores, a jagged upthrust of giant ice shards traced the water’s edge, and where the ground was protected by trees, a blanket of snow remained. An occasional flurry drifted down in the hushed silence of the still day, more as a reminder of the season than any real threat of a storm.
Finally the ship approached the quay at Hamburg, and seamen rushed aloft to reef the sails and secure the lines. The cold air penetrated Elise’s threadbare garments as she waited with Fitch and Spence for the ship’s landing and the signal to disembark. When word came, she crossed the gangplank first, with Spence and Fitch following close behind, each grasping an end of the chest her new clothing had come in. As she stepped to the dock, Elise felt the weight of the captain’s gaze and turned back to stare up at him as he watched from the rail. He inclined his head slightly, which was his only parting gesture, and Elise responded in kind, somewhat confused by his stoic manner. He had been most distant with her since the night she had asked him to take her back to England, and except for the brief occasions when he had been in need of a chart or some such item, he had kept himself away from the cabin. Not that she mourned his reticence or his aloofness, for he had never given her any choice in accepting or rejecting his company. It was just that he had seemed to enjoy the exchanges before that particular evening, and she was curious as to what had made him change his mind so abruptly.
Elise and her two escorts merged with the bustling activity of the docks. All around them vendors hawked their wares in a language she could not understand, while eager merchants haggled for the cargoes that had been brought in, yet the lightly falling snow muffled the variety of sounds and seemed to bring a softer note to the cloudy day.
Fitch had taken the lead through the milling throng and now faced her with an explanation. “I gots ta go an’ fetch a key for the manor ‘ouse ‘is lor’ship rented for ye. Now be good an’ give me yer word ye’ll wait ‘ere wit’ Spence ‘til I return.”
Elise raised a sharply questioning brow. “If Spence is to remain, is it not reasonable to assume that he will catch me if I try to escape? And who in this foreign place would I plead shelter from if I did manage to escape? I’ve no knowledge of this jargon these people speak”
Fitch thought upon her answer
, then finally accepted her logic. Leaving her to the other man’s care, he hurried off down a street.
A vendor of cooked meats had built a small fire beside her cart for the preparation of her wares, and its cheery flames promised the warmth Elise was seeking. Drawn to its heat, she stretched her icy fingers toward the fire, and almost immediately a jolly, rosy-cheeked woman greeted her. Speaking to her in a foreign tongue, the vendor pressed her to take a short wurst on a stick. Elise was reluctant to refuse the purchase, for fear she would be forced to leave the fire, and she looked pleadingly to Spence who had set her chest down nearby. He seemed happy to comply and laid a coin in the hawker’s eager hand. That one received it with a jovial “Danke, danke!” and handed Elise the juicy tidbit. She fetched another for Spence and it was promptly consumed. Encouraged by his appetite, the woman pressed him to buy another and chortled in glee when he consented. Elise leisurely nibbled her own sausage, more interested in savoring the heat of the crackling fire than the meat, though it was a new and succulent taste for her.