So I Married a Sorcerer (The Embraced #2)(50)

And she’d opened her eyes to see his face. His handsome face. Why had he been forced to vanish from Tourin? Was that why he’d become a pirate?

In the shower stall, a chill crept over her, prickling her skin. The ambush she’d seen, or perhaps the battle—that must have been when his father had been brutally murdered. She shuddered. Rupert had seen his father die. And then he’d lost his mother, too.

Don’t leave me. Dear goddesses, her heart ached for him. Even though he was holding her captive, how could she hate him when he’d suffered so much?

“Brigitta!” Sister Fallyn pounded on the door. “Are ye all right? What’s taking ye so long?”

“I’ll be right there.” She yanked the lever again so more water would rinse her off.

After toweling dry and getting dressed, she wrapped the wet clothes in the towel and met Sister Fallyn in the passageway.

“All that wet hair.” The nun shook her head. “We’ll be lucky if ye don’t get sick. I asked Jeffrey to bring some hot soup to our room.”

They hurried up the stairs to their cabin and arrived just as Captain Landers did with a tray loaded down with a big tureen of soup, two bowls, and a basket of fresh bread.

“Oh! Ye needn’t have troubled yerself, Captain.” Sister Fallyn tried to relieve him of the tray, but he brushed past her and set it on the table.

“I thought it would be too heavy for Jeffrey,” he told the nun, then turned toward Brigitta. “Are you all right, my lady?”

“Aye.” With a wince, she set the rolled-up towel on the table. “I apologize for taking yer clothes. I’ll return them after I wash—”

“Jeffrey can wash them,” the captain interrupted. “And no need to apologize. We’re the ones who kidnapped the two of you.”

Sister Fallyn snorted. “If ye’re truly sorry, ye’ll take us to Ebton Palace, where we belong.”

“I would like to discuss the matter with you.” He stepped closer to the nun. “Perhaps you would have dinner with me tonight?”

Sister Fallyn’s face turned pink. “Certainly not. I will not leave Brigitta unattended.”

His mouth thinned. “I assure you, no harm will come to her on my ship.”

Sister Fallyn scoffed. “That horrid Rupert nearly drowned her!” When Brigitta objected, the nun quickly added, “He made yer boat tip over. I saw it!”

Brigitta sighed. If she had simply sat still, she doubted she would have fallen overboard. “Captain, I have something I need to return to you.” She rummaged through the pile of sodden clothes. Her slippers fell out of the pockets of the breeches, along with the dinner knife. They tumbled onto the floor, nearly missing her bare feet.

She jumped back.

“Careful!” Sister Fallyn quickly swooped up the knife. After drying it, she stuffed it under the pillow on the bed.

Captain Landers scowled at her. “Mistress Fallyn, there is no need for you to stash weapons about the cabin. I have told you repeatedly that you are safe here.”

“We must be prepared in case someone tries to ravish us,” the nun insisted. “And I have told you repeatedly to call me Sister Fallyn.”

“And I have told you to call me Stefan.”

She glared at him as he glared back.

“Here it is.” Brigitta located his pouch of gold coins. “I shouldn’t have taken it, but—”

“Keep it.” He gave them both a weary look. “It is the least I can do.” With his shoulders slumped, he shuffled out the door.

“I think we hurt his feelings,” Brigitta whispered.

Sister Fallyn’s cheeks bloomed a brighter pink. “He’s a pirate. Why should we care how he feels? Now sit down and eat.” She ladled soup from the tureen into the two bowls.

As Brigitta sat, she noticed the nun’s hands were trembling. Was the captain affecting her? Hardly surprising, Brigitta thought. For Rupert was certainly affecting her.

A few minutes into their meal, a loud, grinding noise echoed throughout the ship.

Sister Fallyn gasped. “Whatever could that be?”

“I think they’re raising the anchor.” Brigitta rushed to the window to look out. “We’re starting to move.”

“Oh dear goddesses. What will become of us now?” Sister Fallyn ladled more soup into their bowls. “We must keep up our strength. Come back and eat some more.”

Brigitta was halfway through the bowl when Jeffrey knocked on the door. “I have a package for you.” He came in, holding a bulky bundle wrapped in cloth.

“Set it on the bed.” Brigitta started to stand, but Sister Fallyn jumped up first.

“Finish yer soup,” the nun ordered. “I’ll take care of this.” She rushed to the bed to open the package.

“Rupert and the captain bought this stuff for you in Danport,” Jeffrey explained.

“Where are we headed now?” Brigitta asked.

Jeffrey shrugged. “We won’t go far. We just left some gold in Danport, so we’ll stay close by for a few days.”

Brigitta nodded. Rupert wanted to make sure the village was protected.

“’Tis clothing,” Sister Fallyn said as she removed items from the package and laid them out on the bed.

“Really?” Brigitta wandered over to the bed for a closer look. There were four new shifts, two nightgowns, and two new outfits that consisted of a dark-green woolen skirt, a white linen blouse, and a dark-green velvet vest that laced up the front. “They bought us new clothes. How nice of them!”