The Maiden's Voyage

CHAPTER EIGHT

Within a day after the storm, the Gallant reached the port of Cape Town and docked at one of the quays of the shipyard. William told Miranda to pack her trunks. He was going to put her in the King George Hotel in town while the ship was being repaired.

"I want you to have some time off this rat hole," he told her in the carriage to the hotel. "You deserve better than that, and I don't know how long these repairs could take." He looked away, out the window. "But ships come and go all the time. There'll be another ship that can get you to Ceylon in time."

Miranda felt her old misery come over her again. Here she was leaving the ship, staying apart from William. And then, there was the possibility of leaving and finishing the voyage without him! Nothing could be worse! Her eyes flew open and she clutched his arm. "What about you, William?" she said. "Where will you stay?"

William put his hand over hers and looked at her. His dark eyes were both sultry and sad. "Where I stay depends on you," he said quietly.

Miranda felt her heart surge powerfully in her chest, and she looked quickly out the window. Outside, the sky was a pale blue in the dry cool air, and swirls of dust billowed from the dirt streets under the carriage wheels. But Miranda saw almost none of this as William's words rang in her ears. His meaning was clear. The time had come for her to decide her future. Miranda thought of Sir Edward, searching deep inside herself for any possible desire she could have that resembled her desire for the man in front of her. Sir Edward was not an unattractive man. He was distinguished looking and impeccably dressed. His appearance and mannerisms were that of the perfect English gentleman. But try as she would, she could not summon any stirring or longing for her husband-to-be, especially when she remembered the acquisitive gleam in his blue-gray eyes, the greed in his heart, and the way she felt like an object under his gaze. She also had hated the mere touch of his hand the few times he called on her before leaving London for Ceylon. She had sat as far away from him on the sofa as possible without appearing rude. Miranda's heart darkened with hopelessness at the thought of sharing her body with that man. Especially now that she had experienced love with William. She couldn't bear the thought of life without him.

Miranda turned and looked at him. "Stay with me, William," she said. "I don't want to leave on another ship. Stay with me. Please."

William moved from his place across from her and sat beside her. "Of course I will," he whispered. He put his arm around her and kissed her, not letting go until the carriage had pulled to a stop in front of the hotel.

At the front desk, William signed them in as Captain and Mrs. William Harris and ordered a hot bath to be drawn in their room. Miranda felt a delicious stirring within her skirts at the thought of having a bath with William alone in their room, and she waited impatiently for her trunks to be brought up and the tub to be filled with steaming water. Once these things had been done and they were alone, Miranda immediately stripped off her dress and petticoats, tossing them onto the elegant four-poster bed. Left in only her drawers and stockings, she went to William and put her arms around him. She pressed her body to his, feeling that delicious male part of him stir against her, in immediate response to her nakedness. "Let's have a bath," she whispered, tilting her head back to be kissed.

"I need to go back, Mira," William said. "Just for a few hours. We have tonight."

"Please?" Miranda said. "Just for a little while."

William put his arms around her and kissed her deeply. His hands slid down her back and squeezed her buttocks over the filmy cotton of her drawers. "You have become quite the temptress," he whispered as he reached up to take off his coat.

There was just enough room in the tub for both of them if they kneeled, facing each other. Miranda could not stop staring at William, for until now, she'd never seen him with all his clothes off. To her, he was the image of male beauty, like the ancient statues of the Greek athletes who used to pose for the sculptors in Athens.

They took turns washing each other with the warm soapy cloth. Miranda squeezed the water out of the cloth, watching the suds run over the muscles of William's shoulders and back, saturating the abundant coating of silky dark hair on his chest.

William leaned over and kissed her hungrily, a deep wet kiss. He took the cloth from her and smoothed it over her neck and down her back, then around to the front. Miranda closed her eyes and moaned when William ran the cloth gently over her nipples and breasts and rubbed it back and forth between her legs. She reached down and closed her hand around his shaft, sliding up and down easily in the soapy water. When she did that, William groaned from the pleasure of her touch and grasped her shoulders. "Let's go to bed," he breathed, pulling her up to her feet in the tub.

Quickly, they stepped out and dried each other off, moving gradually toward the bed. William gently pushed Miranda down onto her back on the mattress, putting the damp towel under her hips. He hovered over her on his hands and knees in the bed, kissing her lips, nibbling on her jaw and neck, moving downward to suckle and tease her nipples with his teeth and tongue.

Miranda breathed heavily and moaned. She could feel the cream oozing between her legs and parted them, raising her hips, pushing her mound against William's erection. William smiled mischievously at her and moved away, trailing his tongue between her breasts and down her stomach to her crotch, and down into the wetness. He penetrated her with his tongue, sliding it in and out while caressing her thighs and buttocks.

Miranda grasped helplessly at his arms, trying to urge him to slide into her. "Please, William," she begged. "Now, please!"

William looked up from between her thighs and smiled mischievously again, her cream glistening on his lips and chin. He lowered his head again and teasingly flickered his tongue over the lips of her sex and over the glistening rose of flesh in between. Miranda thrashed her hips and pulled at his arms, moaning. She was on the verge of climax when he stopped and climbed onto her, nestling his body between her legs. He looked down into her eyes and stroked her hair, brushing his lips on hers so she could taste and lick her own cream from them.

"Miranda, are you sure of this?" he asked as he rubbed her clitoris, gently sliding his fingers in and out.

"Yes, William," Miranda panted. "I love you."

William smiled again, a tender smile and kissed her. "I'll be gentle," he said.

Miranda closed her eyes and spread her legs wider. She cried out softly when William's cock tore through her virginity. He stopped and waited, kissing her tenderly until she urged him to go on. He moved slowly and carefully, rubbing and teasing her swollen desire with gentle fingertips at the same time.

Deleted sentence before this next one. The pleasure of William's fingers rubbing her made her shiver with climax and after a short while, he threw his head back, moaning and trembling in his own completion. He pulled out and spilled his seed onto her stomach while he kissed her.

Once all the shivers of his orgasm had passed, he collapsed beside her and they snuggled together, lolling sleepily against the pillows. "I love you, Mira," William murmured into her hair.

"I love you too," she whispered back as she breathed in the earthy scent of his perspiration.

For a while they rested, falling in an out of a drowsy state. But then William stirred, as if to rise and return to his work. He turned her over, languorously caressing her arms and breasts. He kissed her and stroked her hair, gazing on her with a look of reverence.

Miranda smiled up at him, reveling underneath his touch. She picked up his hand and pressed it to her lips.

"What we've found is precious," he said softly. His expression became grave. "I only pray it will be strong enough to survive the doubt."

Miranda felt her heart jump and raised herself on her elbow and looked at him. "What do you mean, William?" she asked.

William reached out and fingered a lock of her hair. "You're about to face your demons, Mira," he said. "You've just gone against everything that's expected of you by your family. The bond between parents and child is very strong. Sometimes it's stronger than love."

"I love you, Will," Miranda said, pressing her body closer to his. "I don't want anything to come between us."

William sighed and pressed his lips to her damp forehead. "I hope so, beautiful Mira," he whispered. "I hope so."

CHAPTER NINE

William allowed them a few more sweet moments of snuggling before he rose and soaked a washcloth to clean the maiden's blood from Miranda's thighs as a husband would. Then they dressed and had lunch in the courtyard, after which William had to return to the ship for a while and oversee the repairs.

Miranda spent the afternoon visiting William's injured men in the medical clinic and wandering a bit in the neighborhood around the hotel. Cape Town, with its dusty streets and wooden buildings was, to her, a crude little village compared to London. The hotel in which she and William were staying was an elegant oasis in the midst of the settlement town. However, she did manage to find some interesting shops. One shop, in particular, was run by an Indian woman with long black hair, dressed in a colorful sari. The woman smiled at Miranda as Miranda entered the shop and began to look at the colorful rugs and other interesting things inside. The store smelled of exotic spices and incense, and there were small statues of Indian gods and goddesses.

Miranda found a colorfully embroidered satchel, with swirls of pink and red and orange, like some exotic bird. If it were hers, she mused as she examined it, she would pack only a few dresses in it, the few in her trunk that weren't from Sir Edward, so that when she and William left for Edinburgh, she would take nothing but that with her. Miranda's heart pulsed faster at the thought, and she bought the satchel before making her way back to the hotel.

William returned just before supper. When he came into the room, Miranda ran to him and threw her arms around him. He held her close and kissed her. But then he held her away from him. "I have something to tell you," he said. "Come sit." He brought her to sit on the edge of the bed and kneeled down before her, holding onto her hands. "Miranda," he said, "I found out today from the shipping office that there's a clipper, the Queen Guinevere, scheduled to arrive here from China in less than two weeks' time. We can be on it back to Edinburgh. You and me."

Miranda stared down into his handsome face. His sun-bronzed features glowed and he was smiling at her. There was excitement in his voice. "William," she began, her heart pounding, "Do you mean...?"

"Yes," he said quickly. "I want us to go back together. I've already spoken to Mr. Hobson today about taking the captaincy. He'd bring the Gallant to Colombo. Not me. What do you say?"

Miranda grasped William's shoulders. "Are you sure, William? You love that ship."

William put his hands on Miranda's knees. He shook his head. "Mira. I love you, not that ship. I didn't think it could happen to me like this. But it has. I don't want to live without you." He reached up and touched her cheek. "I realized it after today," he went on. "After we'd made love. I knew I couldn't stay on that ship a moment longer. That ship represents having to be apart from you for a lifetime, and I won't have it. This is our chance, Mira. This is what we want, isn't it?"

"Yes, William," Miranda whispered. She hadn't ever expected that the thing she wanted most could be a reality. And now that it was, she felt exhilarated, yet strangely nervous and frightened, as if she were stepping out into a strange world she had never seen before. Her parents' disappointed, hurt faces hovered suddenly in her imagination and she felt stabs of guilt. Fear gripped her as she began to understand what William had meant when he spoke of the bond between parent and child being stronger than love. She was terrified of that happening to her. She leaned down and put her arms around him, burying her face into his neck.

But William gently grasped her and held her so that she was forced to look at him. His dark eyes searched hers. "You seem frightened," he said. "Don't you love me?" Lines of worry etched the skin around his eyes and in his forehead. "I understand, Mira," he said softly. "I went through the same thing with Rosalie, as you know. You don't have to make the same mistake." He kissed her again. "Let love win," he said.

Miranda looked back into his eyes. In them she saw how much he loved her, how much she meant to him. She'd never had that in her life. She put her hands on his cheeks. "Yes, Will, she said. "I want to be with you more than anything." She leaned down and kissed him, gentle soft kisses to ease his worry away.

William returned her kiss and smoothed back her hair. Then he looked at her, the effects of her affection clearly showing in the languid mist of his chocolate brown eyes. Then he stood and lifted her onto the bed, laying her back against the pillows. He leaned over her and brushed her lips with his, stroking her cheek with his fingertips. He traced a line down her jaw, and neck, onto her breasts, circling each one over the bodice of her dress, causing her to stir and moan. "Do you want me, Mira?" he whispered in her ear just before flickering his tongue on her earlobe.

Miranda closed her eyes, as her breathing grew heavier. She felt his hand go under her skirts, his fingertips brushing up her inner thighs, teasing her slit through her thin drawers. "Yes, Will," she whispered as she arched her back in pleasure. "I want you."

William gave her his lips and she kissed him hungrily. He rubbed her clit over her drawers in quick, light motions until her musk began to saturate the linen cloth. "William, please," Miranda begged.

But William suddenly withdrew his hand, smiling at her mischievously. "Not yet," he said softly. "We have all the time we want now."

Miranda sat up and put her arms around him, begging for his lips, but he withdrew. "After supper I'll make love to you long and sweet," he promised. He rose to his feet and urged Miranda to rise as well. When she did, he embraced her. "I want to make it last," he whispered close to her ear.

*

William made good on his promise, and for the next two weeks, he and Miranda made love everyday while they waited for the Queen Guinevere to dock in Cape Town. With each day that passed, Miranda's haunting image of her scornful parents faded and she felt freer in her soul. She and William made their plans to marry in Edinburgh so that William's parents could be there to share in their happiness. He also promised to help her parents as best he could. They would be able to live a comfortable, modest life with his help, and would never have to worry about money. He also would issue them an invitation to the wedding and offer to bring them to Scotland for the ceremony. Miranda was very moved by William's kindness and generosity, and cried as she hugged him.

Each day, Miranda waited for William in the elegant courtyard of the hotel where they had tea together before going to their room. And each day, she asked him if the Queen Guinevere had come in. After nearly two weeks, Miranda began to fear that something had happened to the clipper ship and that perhaps her fortune and William's was going to change for the worse. Finally, however, the Guinevere made port to refill her holds and then set sail again for Edinburgh a few days after that.

The day before their departure, William came into the courtyard with some papers in his hand. When they saw each other, he waved them as he came toward her. He had almost reached the table when a woman's voice came shrilling across the elegant courtyard with its potted palms and elegantly dressed clientele.

"Miss Reddington! Yoo-hoo! Miss Reddington!" the woman called, temporarily drowning out the string quartet playing Mozart in the corner.

Miranda felt her body stiffen at hearing her name. She recognized the voice. It was Mrs. Elizabeth Ellsworth, Sir Edward's cousin! Of all people! What was she doing here, in Cape Town? She lived in London and her husband worked for Sir Edward in his London office.

Miranda thought desperately to get up and rush out of the courtyard, but in that moment, they saw each other and it was too late. Mrs. Ellsworth reached her table at the same time as William. Miranda saw William slip the papers in his pocket just as the portly lady approached, dragging with her a young woman around Miranda's age. The girl was pretty, with dark curls hanging elegantly about her cheeks and velvety eyes that looked on William with interest. Miranda recognized her as Mrs. Ellsworth's niece, Lucy.

"Miss Reddington! I knew it was you! What are you doing here in Cape Town? You should be on your way to Colombo!"

Miranda's heart felt as if it would crash through her chest. "I...I...the ship..." she stammered.

"The Gallant was badly damaged in a storm, Madam," William finished for her. We were forced to dock here for repairs."

Mrs. Ellsworth turned to William. "Ah! You are Captain Harris, I presume? Edward's spoken of you. He puts great stock in you."

William smiled and bowed gallantly. "At your service, Madam," he said. "I was just about to have tea with Miss Reddington. Would you care to join us?"

Mrs. Ellsworth's hand flew to her chest. "Why, yes. Lucy and I would love to join you. This is my niece, Lucy."

Lucy held out a gloved hand, which William kissed politely. Then William held out a chair for each woman in turn as Mrs. Ellsworth chattered on about her and her husband's decision to spend a year in Ceylon with Sir Edward. They would be able to see the new bride and groom and to escape from England for a while.

Miranda sat through tea with Mrs. Ellsworth and Lucy, listening to the older woman prattle on about the upcoming wedding and about her hopes of finding Lucy a husband among the Englishmen in Colombo. She felt a pain begin to throb in her temples, growing worse the longer they sat. Her heart pounded horribly in her chest and her hands sweated in her crocheted gloves. With each moment that passed, Miranda wanted very much to tell Mrs. Ellsworth the truth and be done with it. But she felt frozen, utterly incapable of speaking her heart. This only made her feel worse and she wondered miserably why she was suddenly so frightened? She needed to tell the truth. How could she do this to William when she loved him?

"We are sailing on the Mermaid, Miss Reddington," Mrs. Ellsworth told her. "We're due to set sail in three day's time. You must come with us if the captain's ship is not yet ready. We'd love your company."

Miranda knew that this was the perfect opportunity to tell Mrs. Ellsworth the truth. But try as she did to summon her courage, she failed. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Ellsworth," she said. "I'm not feeling so well. Could we speak later?"

"Oh, of course, dear girl. I do hope you feel better. Shall we see you to your room?"

"That won't be necessary, Madam," William told her. "I will make sure she gets there safely. Her welfare is my responsibility."

Mrs. Ellsworth looked at William. "Of course. We'll see you tomorrow, Miss Reddington."

Miranda smiled weakly and let William assist her from her chair and escort her from the courtyard. They walked in silence until they were in their room.

Miranda sat down on the bed, rubbing her temples in a vain attempt to appease the angry throbbing. She was afraid William would be angry with her for having been so afraid to tell Sir Edward's cousin the truth, and waited silently for him to speak.