So I Married a Sorcerer (The Embraced #2)(58)

Brigitta winced. “All right. Thank you.”

“Good.” Sister Fallyn sat back down to finish her breakfast.

Brigitta sighed. She’d only agreed because she seriously doubted such a scenario would ever come to pass. And Sister Fallyn had seemed so adamant that Brigitta hadn’t wanted to diminish the nun’s act of bravery.

Even so, she had a strange feeling that Sister Fallyn might actually be disappointed if the proposed ravishment never occurred.

*

By that afternoon, Brigitta and Sister Fallyn were tired of feeling cooped up in their room. With nothing to do, the only chore they could come up with was washing the clothes they’d been wearing for three days. When they asked Jeffrey about it, he returned with good news. Captain Landers had given them permission to come on deck to do laundry.

They changed into their new shifts and gowns, then headed up the stairs with their clothes from the convent. Brigitta inhaled deeply, enjoying the fresh sea air after the stuffiness of their cabin.

Jeffrey was on the portside, filling a tub with fresh water and soap. “Here you go. After the rain, we have plenty of water.”

“Thank you.” Sister Fallyn dropped their clothes into the tub. “We can take over from here.”

While the nun swished their clothes in the soapy water with a paddle, Brigitta looked around the ship. Captain Landers, or Stefan, as he wanted them to call him, was on the quarterdeck with a helmsman. Rupert was up in the crow’s nest, facing forward. The sails were full, though she couldn’t tell if the wind was natural or caused by him.

“I wonder why he’s still wearing the scarf,” she murmured.

Sister Fallyn shrugged. “Who knows?” She ventured a glance toward the quarterdeck.

“It keeps the sun off my head,” Rupert’s voice tickled Brigitta’s ear.

She glanced up at the crow’s nest to find him now focused on her. His mention of the sun reminded her that she should be able to tell which direction they were headed. Since it was midafternoon, the sun would be slightly to the west. That meant they were currently headed north?

“Are you trying to figure out where we’re going?” Rupert’s voice filtered toward her on a breeze.

“North,” she whispered.

“At the moment, yes. But as long as you’re on deck, we’ll be going in circles.” With a movement of one hand, he shifted the wind.

On the quarterdeck, Stefan yelled out orders, and crewmen adjusted the sails. The ship veered slowly toward the east.

So they didn’t think she could be trusted. Why? Because Gunther was her brother? How could she have any loyalty to a family member who had ignored her existence until he needed to use her? Brigitta shot Rupert an annoyed look, then turned her back to him and took the paddle from Sister Fallyn. “Let me do it awhile.” She gave the clothes a stab.

The nun frowned at the large tub. “This is a lot of work for only a few clothes. Perhaps I should see if … someone else has some laundry they would like done?” She glanced again toward the quarterdeck.

“Ye mean Stefan?” Brigitta whispered. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to ask.”

Sister Fallyn took a tiny step toward the quarterdeck, then stopped. “Nay. It wouldn’t be proper to mix a man’s clothes with ours.”

“I don’t think he would mind.”

Sister Fallyn bit her lip. “He might think I’m terribly forward—”

“There’s no harm in simply talking to him.”

Sister Fallyn nodded. “Actually, I should thank him for rescuing us from the clutches of yer evil brother. That would only be well mannered of me.”

“Exactly.” Even though Brigitta considered Rupert the main rescuer. She smiled to herself as Sister Fallyn cautiously approached the quarterdeck.

Normally, she would never approve of a relationship between a man and a nun, but Sister Fallyn’s life was no longer normal. She and Brigitta could end up stranded on Rupert’s Island for years.

Once again, a jab of disappointment pricked at her. No matter how she thought about it, running away to hide seemed a bit cowardly. But what choice did she have when her brother was planning to use her so abominably? Or when he could use his army or navy to attack those she cared about.

She also felt guilty that Sister Fallyn would be forced to share her self-imposed exile. But if the sister was able to find some happiness in the midst of this turmoil, then Brigitta would be delighted for her. And relieved that she wasn’t destroying the nun’s life.

She glanced toward the quarterdeck. The captain and Sister Fallyn were talking to each other quietly. He looked just as nervous as she did. With a smile, Brigitta swirled the paddle around.

“Happy?” Rupert’s voice filtered down.

She tilted her head toward the quarterdeck.

“Perhaps we should do the same,” he said. “Would you like to come up here?”

She grimaced. “Good goddesses, no. I would be too afraid to climb that high.”

“No need to climb. I have a pulley system that will whisk you up here in a few seconds.”

“That sounds even more frightening.”

He smiled. “Not if we did it together. If it scares you, you can hang on to me.”

She scoffed. Next he would be telling her she could wrap her legs around him and squeeze him tight. When he didn’t, she felt almost … disappointed. Blast him. She turned her attention back to swirling the clothes.