Free The Jezebel's Daughter by Juliet MacLeod

She fancied him and I know he fancied her. I wondered if the match would be allowed by Madame. If Ben married a slave, would he own his wife? Could he free her? More importantly, would Madame free her?
    I mulled over these thoughts as I opened the windows and looked out over the harbor. The Jezebel was sitting at anchor and as I watched, one of her jolly-boats was being rowed towards shore. My fingers went numb and I must have made some sort of noise, because Ben was at my side moments later, wariness rolling off him in waves.
    “Oh,” he said, no doubt spotting the Jezebel . “You know he come back eventually.” He gripped my shoulder gently and drew me away from the window to sit at the table. “The captain will probably be spending tomorrow with his family—”
    “Family?” I asked, shocked by the notion. “He has children?” The thought that children were being raised by such a heartless, cruel monster terrified me.
    “No, but his wife do. From a previous marriage,” he explained when I gave him a puzzled look. “He'll be wanting... Well, to be here tonight.” His eyes softened and he gave me a gentle smile. “I'll get breakfast and ask Tansy to help you get ready later.” He went out into the hallway, closing the door behind him and leaving me alone with my awful thoughts.
    Ben was right; I did know Graves would come back eventually. I just hadn't prepared for it. Would he want... Well, of course he would. I lived in a brothel, after all. I mightn't be a common whore, but I was bought and paid for just the same.
    Breakfast was a silent affair, Ben and I both occupied by our own thoughts about the captain's return. I had a momentary panic as I worried that Ben would tell Graves about my letter after all. I finally decided that he would do no such thing. He'd given me his word and I trusted him. He'd never given me any reason not to and I couldn't bear the thought of not having a confidant in this terrible place. My secrets were safe with him. Not to mention the fact that if Graves found Ben lacking in his task of guarding me, Ben would no doubt end up swinging from a gibbet over the harbor.
    After breakfast, Tansy came to my room and we began the hours-long, arduous task of readying me for the captain's visit. First, I insisted that we clean the room—sweeping out the hearth and laying new wood in the andirons, replacing the candles and flowers, dusting, polishing, and turning the mattress. Then she helped me replace my bedding with clean sheets and a newer quilt.
    Once the room had been thoroughly cleaned, I took a bath in flower-scented water before Tansy rubbed the same sweet-smelling cream over my skin that she had used the last time I'd seen Graves. She plaited my hair and wrapped it around the crown of my head before tucking flowers and bits of lace and a few loose pearls into the braid. Then she helped me dress—shift and stockings, stays, hooped petticoat, a quilted silk petticoat, a silk damask gown the same delicate blue color as the skies above the harbor outside my window, a darker blue stomacher that had been embroidered with silver thread, and cream silk shoes. My jewelery was simple—pearl earbobs, my cameo owl ring, and a simple cream velvet ribbon tied around my throat. She dusted powder across my face and my decolletage and rouged my cheeks and lips. Finally, she pronounced me finished and left the room to go keep watch for the captain's arrival.
    I caught a sight of myself in the looking glass and immediately turned away. I was beautiful and it pained me to know that the man for whom all this work had been done would not appreciate it. All of Tansy's sweet-smelling creams and the flowers and delicate fabrics would be wasted on the barbarous captain. He would spare me half a glance before he demanded I take it all off. Hours of work and effort would be utterly disregarded in a five-second rush of lust and greed.
    I sat down at the table and tried to imagine that I was waiting for a