Free Captive Embraces by Fern Michaels Page A

life.”
    â€œBrave words,” the Frau noted petulantly, taken aback. Caleb’s smile was so like Regan’s. “I suppose you’re going to tell me that you are now a master in the art of self-defense and can handle a weapon as well as the Mevrouw and the Mynheer.”
    â€œBut of course,” Caleb teased, assuming an air of self-importance to irritate her. “I have earned several medals at the academy for fencing. I am considered an expert!” he exclaimed confidently.
    Frau Holtz could feel the iron-gray hairs at the back of her neck stand out with her agitation. These van der Rhys men were all alike, loving the sport of needling her to distraction! Although she knew he had purposely exasperated her, she believed his statement about the medals implicitly. Could Sirena’s pupil and Regan’s son be anything less than an expert with the rapier?
    â€œMay we talk later, Frau Holtz? I could never climb the rigging in these foppish garments.” He smiled as he looked upward to the crow’s nest and the old housekeeper was again struck by his handsomeness. The virile ruggedness of Regan’s features was clearly evident, but Caleb had also inherited dark eyes and hair from his Javanese mother. Along with her exotic coloring, he had received a certain gentleness in the soft tilt near the corners of his eyes and a sensuousness in the pout of his lower lip. Regan’s handsomeness and Tita’s loveliness had spawned in Caleb a refined elegance which, while totally masculine, was still no less than beautiful. Tall and broad-shouldered with the flat stomach and lean haunches of youth; a noble head held proudly by the strong column of his neck and dark hair with warm, golden glints that was thick with a tendency to unruliness. A high, intelligent brow accentuating sensitive eyes. Frau Holtz suffered a twinge of sympathy for the women who would throw themselves at Caleb’s feet. And if he followed in Regan’s footsteps, which Frau Holtz was certain would be the case, it would take the most remarkable of girls to snare that wild heart. As remarkable and magnificent as the Mevrouw, the Frau smiled to herself, and then beware young Caleb. for your fate will be sealed by a pair of honeyed lips and smooth limbs.
    â€œFrau Holtz,” Caleb’s voice broke her thoughts, “I’m so glad you agreed to accompany Sirena.” His tone was soft and intimate. On a sudden impulse, he leaned down to kiss her warmly on the cheek before going below to change clothes.
    â€œYoung whelp,” the Frau muttered to herself, gently touching the spot where Caleb’s lips had touched her. He has no right to return looking like he does, she grumbled inwardly in the way of the aged when the young are grown, leaving them without a child to nurture and guide. The world wasn’t ready for two van der Rhys men.
    At loose ends, Frau Holtz sought out toothless Jacobus and complained bitterly of her inactivity and fears that something was wrong with the Mevrouw.
    â€œAye. I, too, saw the odd expression in the Capitana’s eyes. Agh! It does no good to worry and speculate. All in good time. She’s not so proud that she won’t ask for help if she needs it. She knows we’re here and she has only to ask. Amazing how the boy has grown, eh? He’s a fine figure of a man Resembles his father.”
    â€œIn more ways than you know,” Frau Holtz commented. “I wish I knew why we were going to Spain. I’ve been accustomed to an orderly life, not this seafaring way I’m being forced to cope with. I feel like a water gypsy without a home. I’m too old for this.”
    â€œWe’re all growing old. I never thought I’d live to see the day when I wanted solid ground beneath my feet, but my bones are beginning to ache and my eyesight’s not what it used to be. I’ve been giving serious thought to becoming a landlubber. If you’ve a mind to,