Free Fortune Trilogy 1 - Fortune's Mistress by Judith E. French Page B

enough.” Without waiting to hear his reply, she went down into the cabin.
    James’s earlier mention of rations had reminded her that she was hungry, and after her temper cooled she began to gather something to eat. All the while, a rational voice in her head was telling her that she’d made a really stupid decision.
    You’re mad as a shipwrecked parson. Sailing across the Atlantic with a man who pirated your father’s boat and tried to drown your brothers.
    “Maybe I am,” she murmured under her breath. But she knew what had really made up her mind had been Jamie’s question, “What’s waiting for you in England?”
    Lacy drew in a deep breath. There was no acceptable answer to that weighted question. She had no future in England—not if she wanted to stay clear of the gallows ...
    But the honest truth was that part of the reason she’d agreed to sail with him was the unfamiliar feelings he’d aroused in her when she was near him. Sensations no other man had ever produced ...
    Harry strolled out from behind the canvas and gave a hoarse meow.
    Lacy picked him up and cuddled him against her chest. “Don’t you understand?” she whispered into the cat’s good ear. “It was sign on with Jamie or never set eyes on him again.”
    Her inner voice screamed a scornful reply. Put your trust in a such a blackguard? If you do get to the islands, he’ll trade you to the first pirate he meets for a fistful of doubloons!
    Harry squirmed to be put down. She set him on the bunk and crumbled a biscuit for his dinner. “There now, eat that, you ungrateful cat.”
    She sighed, unwilling to be bested by her own doubts. She’d made her decision, and she’d stick by it ... even if she knew she was taking a terrible chance.
    She’d always been a good judge of men. Hellfire and damnation! She’d been raised around enough rogues to know one when she saw one. James Black was a scoundrel of the first order who would use any means to get what he wanted. She’d never be able to believe more than half what he told her ... and she’d never be able to trust him. Considering those things, she’d still deliberately placed her life and fortune in his hands to set off on a wild venture that didn’t have a chance in hell of succeeding.
    All for the sake of a few giddy feelings in the pit of her stomach ...
    “Well, maybe a tiny chance of succeeding,” she whispered to Harry. The cat yawned and licked biscuit crumbs off his chin, as if to indicate that it was an insult to his intelligence that she should say such a thing.
    “He took a beating for my sake,” she argued. “At Newgate. When I slipped and fell, he caught me. He paid dear for it,” she said, remembering the bruises on his chest, “but it proves he has some redeeming qualities.”
    Harry closed his eyes, ending the conversation. “You’re a male,” she said. “How could you possibly understand?”
    There was something about James Black that made her go all fuzzy inside. Something she wasn’t ready to let go of ... not just yet.
    She added a pot of honey to the box tray that contained biscuit, cheese, and two apples. The wind had picked up, so she’d not wanted to start a fire and cook the bacon or salt pork. There was a full cask of fresh water as well as a few bottles of wine and a jug of cider. They’d not go thirsty if they didn’t make land for a few days.
    Already, she was counting up the supplies and trying to decide what they’d need to take on to make the first leg of the journey to the Canaries. She had salt and flour, although she’d need a lot more flour for biscuits. Alfred had always maintained that Dutch sailors stayed healthy on long voyages because they carried sauerkraut to vary their diet. She’d want sauerkraut, and turnips. Onions, dried or fresh, would help season a fish stew. There was a container of dried cod, but Ben’s supply of hooks and fishing gear would last longer than that.
    “Lacy!” James called.
    “Coming.” She gave