Free Time for Love by Emma Kaye

everything I’ve been asked no matter how awful, and I haven’t complained once. How do they know what I would do? They’ve made a point of keeping their distance. So I don’t give a shi—I don’t care what they think.” She was shouting by the end and glared at a sailor stumbling past the other end of the corridor because he was paying more attention to her than where he was going.
    “Please lower your voice to a civilized level.”
    She bit her tongue to hold back a sharp reply.
    “It is not a matter of whether you shoulder your share of the workload. The captain and I have been pleasantly surprised in that regard. We did not set our hopes too high.”
    “I’m overwhelmed by your praise,” she stated wryly, still smarting from the thought that the entire crew apparently thought she was a coward.
    “You should be. However, we were discussing the situation with the carpenter.”
    “We were?”
    “Yes.”
    “What about him? He’s my problem, why should it matter to anyone else how I handle it?” she asked in confusion.
    “You’re not dealing with him. You have let his taunts continue unchallenged. You have, in fact, been a coward.”
    “That’s crazy! Just because I don’t want to fight doesn’t make me a coward.”
    “It’s not a question of what you want. You have little choice. It is simply a matter of standing up for yourself rather than letting the situation worsen. To the crew, you appear to have no concern for your honor. The only answer is that you must be afraid.”
    “Humph.” She looked him in the eye. “And what do you think?”
    “I must agree with the captain on this one. I think you have reasons for ignoring Mr. Duff, and though I cannot imagine what they may be, I do not believe it is cowardice.”
    “The captain thinks the same?” A surge of warmth entered her chest. She didn’t want to admit how important it was that Nicholas think well of her.
    “Yes. He convinced me of it.” He looked searchingly at her. “Do you care to tell me what those reasons are?”
    Not sure how to respond, she thought for a moment before speaking. “Well, I wasn’t sure what the rules are about fighting. You and the captain helped me when I really needed it. I didn’t want to repay your generosity by causing trouble. Besides, I believe that fighting should be a last resort. Sticks and stones and all that,” she quipped, waving her hand airily in front of her face. How shocked would he be at the real answer? I’m afraid that if I fight the bully my disguise will somehow slip, and you’ll find out I’m really a girl. She would love to see his face though, she thought, stifling another giggle.
    “Consider yourself warned. Either you prove to the crew you are not a coward, or life is going to get much more difficult for you.” He crossed his arms and looked down his nose at her. Deep furrows etched his brow as he frowned.
    “I understand you don’t want the crew annoyed, or distracted or whatever…” She shrugged. “…but I don’t care what everyone thinks. Why do I need to prove anything?”
    “If you think Mr. Duff’s taunts are unpleasant to deal with, just wait until the entire crew is on his side.”
    ****
    Alex thought about her conversation with the first mate as she continued to have problems with Mr. Duff. He pushed or tripped her when the opportunity arose. If he couldn’t abuse her physically, he made cutting remarks at her expense to the rest of the crew.
    Now that she had a bit more insight into the crew’s thoughts, she could feel the time was coming when she would have to defend herself more definitively. The crew would demand it. They were becoming less friendly with every run-in she had with Mr. Duff. The crew’s respect continued to slip away, but she didn’t know what to do. She thought she was dealing very well with the taunts and torments, but it was obvious the crew didn’t.
    Men are strange creatures . They would prefer she fight and risk getting seriously