The Pirate's Tempting Stowaway Read Online Free PDF Page B

certain.
    From the moment the postmaster had explained her situation—and the town’s indifference—Mrs. Halton had ceased being mere cargo. He would not leave her to die alone. He would not let her die at all. She would recover her health and her daughter.  
    He would see to it.

Chapter 5

    Pneumonia? Possible.  
    Consumption? Unlikely.
    Steele willed himself not to betray the intensity of his relief at the surgeon’s pronouncement. Blackheart was always right. Blackheart never doubted.  
    Even when gambling with human lives.
    He gave Mrs. Halton a self-satisfied grin. “Quarantined with me anyway, love. Captain’s orders.”
    The surgeon agreed that the most likely culprit for her condition was a combination of several factors. A common respiratory infection, compounded by breathing in dirty air and receiving very limited nutrition, was unlikely to disappear on its own. The surgeon cautioned that just because Mrs. Halton was out of a poisonous environment didn’t mean that she’d regain full lung capacity. There might not be any mold aboard the Dark Crystal , but nor were there plentiful supplies of fresh milk and good meat.
    Steele, being captain, had a private cook and therefore the best meals aboard the ship. However, the freshest items needed to be consumed quickest, and would not stretch for the entire journey. He only hoped they lasted long enough to put her on the path to recovery.
    After that, she wouldn’t be his concern, he reminded himself. His orders were to deliver the package to her parents’ home, where her daughter also resided, and then to collect his fee at the Bank of England.
    He wouldn’t be able to dally long—or even at all. Not only would his men be awaiting their cut of the bounty, there was also a certain Crimson Corsair to deal with. There was plenty of ocean for all the sea dogs, but Steele wasn’t ready to give up his position as number one. Not to someone who turned the peaceful waters into a bloodbath.  
    Steele’s fingers clenched. Even pirates had to have principles.
    Most of his power came from the fear of his name. Blackheart . Other pirate ships would even raise a flag of surrender once they realized the crew of the Dark Crystal were preparing to board.  
    If the Crimson Corsair was outpacing Blackheart’s notoriety… If other ship captains formed alliances with the Corsair that gave them an advantage… That alone would be hard enough to swallow. But that wasn’t all. If half the rumors about the Corsair were true, he was a lawless, conscienceless madman who deserved to be put down. While there was still someone left to do it.
    Blackheart’s enemies might fear him, but his crew thought of their captain as a leader and a brother. When he conquered other ships, he treated both crew and captain with respect. He might relieve them of their valuables, but there was no need to strip them of their dignity as well.
    So what did he intend to do about the Crimson Corsair?
    Steele tried to push the question out of his mind as he made his final rounds before bunking down for the night. Tomorrow he could think about the Corsair.  
    Tonight, he would share his cabin with Mrs. Halton.
    Unlike the bed at the inn, his bunk had neither posts nor curtains. Likely for this reason, she was already in her nightrail when he entered the cabin. But she was nowhere near the bed.
    “There’s no room on the floor for either of us to sleep.” Her lashes fluttered nervously.
    He made no comment. He’d already told her where they would be sleeping. He locked the door and stripped off his coat and his cravat.
    “The bed is…narrow,” she ventured next.
    “That it is,” he replied evenly as he unbuttoned his waistcoat.
    “I don’t suppose there’s a different cabin you might lend me.”
    “Negative.” He whipped his linen shirt up over his head, then sat on the edge of a chair to work on his boots. “The rest of the crew sleeps in hammocks in the chamber beneath the