Free Once a Pirate by Susan Grant Page B

inside Andrew stirred. Time alone with his mother had been rare. Her life had not been her own, for the demands on a duke’s mistress were enormous. Subsequently, as a child, he’d endured long periods of loneliness.
    Cuddy settled beside him, a rolled navigation chart in his fist. “The lad’s turning into a regular little gentleman, ain’t he?”
    “Aye. After only a month, she’s taught him to read and write.”
    “Patient, she is. And sweet. Not at all what I’d expected.”
    “Nor I,” Andrew confessed. God’s truth, the last thing he’d expected was that he’d develop tender feelings for the chit. “Perhaps not all aristocrats are cut from the same cloth.”
    “’Tis what I’ve been trying to tell you,” Cuddy said, a hint of a grin tugging at his mouth.
    “Worthless waste of human flesh, the vast majority,” Andrew said sourly. “But the lady had a sheltered upbringing. She hasn’t had a chance to be ruined yet.” He took the chart from Cuddy, unrolled it. “Give her time.”
    Amanda cried out more words of praise and stood, hugging a blushing Theo to her chest.
    “Lessons are over,” both men chorused.
    Cuddy said on a sigh, “Perhaps I could beg a reading lesson or two myself.”
    “I do not believe Theo would be inclined to share.”
    “Then you must step in. As the captain, you have the crew’s morale to consider. I ask you, sir, is it fair that only the lad has her full attention every morning?”
    Propping the chart on the railing, Andrew yanked out the wrinkles to better see the figures Cuddy had written. “Your duties as first mate keep you too occupied for lessons you do not need. However, if you desire more tasks heaped upon you, I shall be happy to oblige.”
    Cuddy pointedly ignored him. “How ‘bout yourself?Whether you need lessons or not, rank has its privileges. The way she looks at you—“He fluttered his lashes and pursed his lips.” ’Tis an invitation.”
    Andrew lowered the chart. “God’s teeth, man, you’ve been in the sun too long.”
    But there was more truth in Cuddy’s words than Andrew cared to admit. By keeping his mind focused on the business of revenge, he hoped to bury his highly improper physical and emotional attraction to her. “She’s good with the lad,” he said casually. “Her children will be lucky indeed.”
    “Aye. As lucky as Richard will be, having her as a wife.”
    Andrew blinked away the unwelcome image Cuddy’s remark conjured. He pretended to study the marks denoting latitude and longitude, but all he saw was Amanda with Richard, in his arms . . . his bed. Was Richard capable of fidelity, of tenderness? Certainly, he was a stranger to compassion. Andrew scowled, feigning concentration, while reminding himself not to allow Amanda’s future welfare to concern him. After all, he wasn’t changing her fate, simply profiting by it.
    “I say spend some time alone with the lass,” Cuddy said. “She’s not Richard’s yet.”
    “You’re as mad as she is!”
    “Aye, she has a colorful imagination. Her stories alone will keep you entertained for hours. Has she told you of the buildings in her fanciful cities of the future? Hundreds of feet tall, thousands of people housed inside.”
    “My point precisely, Mr. Egan.” Andrew returned his attention to the chart. Though he dared not admit it, he found Amanda’s imagination fascinating. Particularlyher comments on the theories and possibility of human flight, the study of which had inexplicably fascinated him all his life. A woman willing to discuss scientific imponderables and natural philosophy? In all his life, he hadn’t thought such a creature existed.
    A repetitive rasping sound tore into his musings. “What is that infernal noise?” He directed his irritation with Cuddy’s meddlesome banter at Theo, who had settled beside a coil of rope. The boy wore an intense look of concentration on his face and had laid Amanda’s odd leather coat in his lap. “Theo! Cease that .