Whispers of the Sea (The Compulsion Bride Series) Book II (Unedited)

Chapter Ten

Samantha stretched her arms and leaned against the railing of the ship. She sighed watching the moon hid behind the clouds. The past days had been very blissful, she had kept occupied doing tasks with cook Fez, unable to stay in the confinement of the suffocating cabin. She had even forgotten about the gruesome captain, for her thoughts were concentrating on remembering old recipes and learning new ones. Once Fez had speak about the Captain when they were making garlic bread. Apparently, the captain was very fond of it. She pretended not hear and busied herself kneading the flour. It seems so judgmental that the captain would hate her so passionately. What had she ever done to the man? Or was he that way with every woman? No. She remembered glimpsing a smile on his face whenever he was conversing with Halley or that time holding The Countess's baby.

She troubled her bottom lip with her teeth, turning to stare at the empty deck. The wind swaying the rigging in the air and the sails flapping like birds, creating a noise only she was worthy to enjoy. It was peaceful. Her feet suddenly had a mind of their own as they pulled her in the middle of the deck. Samantha's hands gripped the skirt of her brown gown, raising the hem of it nearly to her knees. She stared at her slippers feet. A giggle escaped her when she moved her left foot to the side. Then the other. It wasn't long until she began to twirl around the deck. She hated balls but it doesn't mean that she was ignorant of dancing. She love the amusement and liveliness it brought to her body.

A smile played across her lips, she closed her eyes, remembering the fond memories of her mother when she used to twirl her around in her arms. One memory always made her heartache. They were walking the streets of England after returning from France. Her mother was never joyous after that and Samantha shared that melancholy. Her mother's lover had passed away and the family threw her out of his lavish house. She never got the chance of marrying. She always tried to hide it and seeing her daughter's sad face one day. She began humming and making tunes with her mouth. When that didn't make her giggled, Samantha was swept up in her arms and they began to twirl around the street.

Her mother had made it more interest by dogging the passersby, they began to laugh like maniacs and a few of them watched them weirdly.

Samantha spread her arms wide and spin in a circle.

"Oh, Samantha, you would be so lovely when you grow up"

"And I would be as big as you and we would dance together?"

Her mother had stopped twirling. She had looked at her feet then began walking without saying a word. "Mama?" her tiny fingers touched her cheek and she felt how warm it was. She didn't know that her mother was sick at the time. "You would dance with me at a real ball, wouldn't you?"

Samantha hissed with pain when she bumped into one of the masts. She took a step backward and the back of her feet stumbled upon a pile of ropes and she fell back on her bottom. "Shit!" blinking back tears, both from the fall and thinking about her mother. What would her mother think of her now? She was unmarried, a killer, and raised in a whorehouse. Lying flat on the wooden flooring she stared up at the stars that were winking down at her. She stayed like that for what felt like a lifetime before finally rising to her feet. Beating the gown with her hands, she decided to retire for the night. The now filthy gown was starting to make her uncomfortable as she was walking off the deck, the wheel of the ship caught her attention.

Should she let her curiosity control her and go touch it? No one was here anyway and what was she retiring to do? She wasn't going to sleep. With a shrugged of her shoulders, she started to climb the steps to the wheel deck. Her hands sliding up the railing for effect rather than support. Reaching her destination, her hands reached out to touch the magnificent shaped carved craftsmanship. She stood behind it and looked down below. She felt so powerful up here. "Swab at the floor, you filthy pirates!"