Captain Of Her Heart Read Online Free PDF Page A

even as you make light of my regard?”  With high dudgeon, Alex marched to stand toe to toe with him.  “I can learn anything, when I set my mind to it.”
    He bit his tongue against laughter and shrugged.  “If you say so.”
    “I do say.”  Her eyes flared.  “Have no fear, as I shall meet your challenge, and you had better meet mine.”
     

CHAPTER TWO
     
    The hinges creaked, the door slammed shut, and Alex roused from a most pleasant but inappropriate dream, which featured her erstwhile fervent suitor in happier days.  Rubbing the back of her neck, she yawned.  “Jason, is that you?”
    “No, ma’am.”  The charwoman sneezed.  “It is I—Molly.”
    Bolting upright, Alex clutched the blanket to her chin.  Just as quick, she winced, as a sharp pain in her lower back reminded her of the uncomfortable night spent on the sofa.  “Good morning.”
    “Merciful heavens, what happened?”  The petite cook-maid shuffled her feet, as she retrieved a broom.  “Did Cap’n make you sleep in here?”
    “Oh, no.”  Alex snatched her house slippers from the floor and slid them onto her feet.  Then she scooted to the edge of the small sofa, dropped her legs over the side, stood, and stretched.  In an instant, she flinched, as her body ached in places she never knew she could ache.  “My darling brother was only too happy to surrender his bed, but I insisted he retain the use of his chamber, given his size and the fact that he must replenish his energy to oversee repairs to the Intrepid .”
    In that moment, Alex could have choked on her tongue, because nothing could have been further from the truth.  The previous night, after sharing a painfully quiet meal, Jason had stormed into his quarters and slammed the door behind him.  Seconds later, when he unlatched the bolt, she had allowed herself a scrap of hope, which he swamped beneath a pile of blankets and a pillow.
    So the estimable captain had resolved to make the situation difficult for her, while she had anticipated otherwise.  Much to her chagrin, his level of resistance, though somewhat admirable, was not normal.  The stronger sex rarely refused Alex Seymour anything.  With a playful bat of her lashes or a coy smile, she could bend the most stalwart man to her will.  Even her brother Damian was susceptible to her tears, which she had deployed on occasions too numerous to count, for a wide variety of infractions, in order to save her posterior.
    Yet Jason remained immune.
    “Are you hungry?”  Molly folded the blanket.  “Shall I cook some breakfast, ma’am?”
    “Please, do so.”  Alex nodded once, as she considered her predicament.  “As I am famished.”
    “How do you prefer your eggs?”  Molly stacked the bedding and pillow at one end of the sofa.  “Scrambled, boiled, fried, or over easy?”
    “Scrambled, please.”  She frowned, as she posited her next move.  “And you must call me Alex.”
    At one time, prior to his engagement in Cara’s plot to catch Lance, Jason had been Alex’s most ardent pursuer.  She had only to crook her little finger, and he came running.  Now he seemed impervious to her powers of persuasion, so how could she reverse course?
    “Would you like a slice of ham, Alex?”  Molly tarried at the range.
    “Yes, if it is not too much trouble.”  In silence, she revisited Jason’s provocation.
    “It will take only a minute to prepare.”  A hairsbreadth later, a tempting aroma filled the primary living space.
    Studying the efficient cook-maid, Alex dissected Jason’s words.  Had he sought a wife capable of providing such basic services as cooking and cleaning?  Or was his challenge a test of her mettle?  Whatever the case, she would not fail.  Regardless of his intent, she would prove herself worthy of his affection and a betrothal.  After all, how hard could it be to complete such menial drudgery?
    “Molly, I hate to be a burden, as you were hired to care for Jason, alone.”  Alex