The doctor was the first to ask about the Arcadia. Charlie thought about leading the story by telling him how Byron had stolen it within hours of them being shanghaied, but didn’t want him to worried. There was plenty of time to tell them everything.
“My brother-in-law captains her now. I’ve sent them to Asia for spices and silk. It’s been about a year and a half since they’ve been home, so I should think they’ll be home again in the next six months.”
Over the next hours, Charlie and Morty filled them in on their lives over the past three year. Then the reminiscing began.
“Do ye remember that last night ashore?” Hugh asked.
“Don’t remind me,” Morty said.
“Please, Hugh, some things are best not spoken of,” Charlie protested.
“Remember you’d brought that wench aboard and I helped you take her ashore.”
“Hugh, no!” All signs of humor were absent from her tone.
Jaxon saw the expressions on both Morty’s and Charlie’s faces. Red-faced, Morty cast his eyes down at the table. Charlie’s eyes darted nervously from McNamara to Jaxon.
“…And we could hear Morty from out in the hallway,” Hugh continued.
“My wife has asked you nicely not to tell that story. I’m not going to be so nice.”
Jaxon gave him a look that could wilt flowers and turned his face where lamp light hit his scar.
“Tis too good of a story not ta tell.”
“Indeed? By what I’ve gathered, this is when Morty found out Charlie was a woman. I can only imagine this will only serve to embarrass them and anger me. It has taken me a long time to make peace with their friendship and I don’t want to start all over again. I may not be as forgiving as she has been—especially of your part in it.”
Hugh held his hands up and waved them back and forth. “I had only a wee part in it.”
“You knew and rather than tell Morty, you allowed him to expose her in a way they both regret.”
“Ah, mon, it wasna like that. He wouldna have believed me and she wouldna have admitted it.”
Dr. Kirk’s mind was working to make sense of what he was hearing. “Was Morty responsible for your injury? I still feel sick when I think of your back.”
Jaxon would have like to have commiserated that feeling, but to do so he would have to admit to seeing Charlie’s bare back before it had healed. The circumstances of how he found out Charlie’s secret were shameful to him and an embarrassment to her. He would never say anything that would cause her discomfiture, and by George, he’d be damned if he’d sit by and listen while someone else did.
“No, it happened in a brawl like I told you. Only I didn’t tell you that there wasn’t just one of them.”
“Good heavens, Charlie. I hope you don’t do that anymore.”
Charlie had the good grace to blush. “Not normally –today was the exception. I spotted that man and just saw red.”
Jaxon covered her hand with his. “You scared ten years off my life today, baby.”
“Mine, too,” Morty said and bumped his shoulder into hers. It was a display of affection that Jax never seemed to object to.
40
Replete from love making, Jaxon pulled Charlie tightly into his embrace. Her back lay flush against his chest and he languidly ran his hands over her naked taut body. He kissed the nape of her neck as his hands stilled upon her abdomen.
“I think it’s time for some changes,” he said softly and ran his tongue along the edge of her ear.
Charlie moaned softly at the sensation. “What kind of changes?” she asked sleepily.
“I’m ready to put away my Letter of Marque. I want to have the ship refitted for another vocation. How do you feel about that?”
“Relieved.”
Jaxon, kissing her shoulder, stopped. Her answer surprised him. She had never given any indication she was not happy privateering. “If that’s how you feel, why didn’t you say something before?” Charlie had lived her life doing what she was told without complaint. He didn’t want that for her. Jax wanted her to feel free to express her opinions, but even after three years of marriage, he still sometimes had to draw them out of her.
“I knew who and what you were when we got married. It didn’t seem right to try to change you.” Charlie placed her hands on top of his.
“I was thinking we might even keep this the Dragon’s Lair, but commission another ship, one with enough room for the baby and maybe another half dozen more.” He smiled at her sharp intake of breath. “I’m tired of waiting for you to tell me. These quarters are too small to hide your little secrets. You’ve got to be at least three months along.”