An Introduction To The Eternal Collection Jubilee Edition by Cartland Barbara Page A

related to the daily running of the ship, and yet she was thankful for this small mercy.
    She was aware that he was in a continual state of fear lest her identity should be discovered and therefore she made no effort to mix with the officers or even to be seen more than was absolutely necessary. She walked on the quarter-deck and even sat there in the sunshine when she felt she would not be in the way. Her obvious desire to be alone made the other officers avoid her, although when she did unavoidably come into contact with them they were friendly and, as far as she could ascertain, completely unsuspicious.
    At first she allowed herself to appear cowed and suitably repentant beneath the silence of Rodney’s anger, but when later he began to talk and she was allowed to answer him, she found it hard to keep in check her sense of fun or to control the mischievous twinkle in her eye. It was a pity, she thought more than once, that he was so incensed with her, because they might have enjoyed being together. They could have talked quite happily, as they had talked that first morning at Camfield when she watched him stride towards her across the park, preoccupied with his own thoughts.
    Once she forgot herself so far as to flirt with him in the soft light of the cabin’s lantern, after they had dined.
    “Would you rather tame a ship to your will, or a woman?” she asked daringly.
    He smiled at the question and his eyes rested on her with the expression in them that had half-frightened and half-delighted her at Camfield. It was the same as that which had been there that morning by the lake when she had known he had contemplated kissing her.
    “Both are exciting,” Rodney answered, “but of course, the joy one experiences depends both on the ship – and on the woman!”
    “Yet you are confident of your ability to conquer both?” She was teasing him.
    “Yes, very confident – do you doubt me?”
    “And if I do?”
    “Perhaps I could prove myself to you – one day.”
    For a moment their eyes met and were held by something they both saw within the other. Then with an effort and a muttered curse, Rodney broke free and rang the bell violently for more wine.
    As the voyage progressed, she began to realise the strain under which he was living and she knew it was good for him for a short while to forget his responsibilities, for always it seemed as if he must act a part, the part of an omnipotent commander, dauntless and assured, sailing his ship ever onwards to success.
    It was part of his act, Lizbeth realised, for him to come on the quarter-deck now, slowly and without any sign of excitement while everyone else was staring straight ahead for the first sight of land and the rigging swarmed with Petty Officers and ratings.
    “There it is, there, sir!” Gadstone cried in a voice that rose shrill as a boy’s in his excitement.
    This was his first voyage and every moment of it seemed to be one of sheer delight.
    “What you see is Dominica, Master Gadstone,” Rodney said coldly; “but even so, I imagine there is quite a lot to be done before we reach there. I will trouble you to make arrangements for the filling of the water casks. Get her into the wind, Master Baxter, if you have finished straining your eyes at the sight of that quite ordinary island.”
    Rodney’s sarcasm was enough to make everyone bustle into activity. But Lizbeth looked at him out of the corner of her eye. A little pulse was throbbing in his neck and there was a glint in his eyes which was at variance with the deliberate calmness of his voice. He, too, was excited, she knew that. Ahead was the gateway to adventure which must make or break him.
    She had a sudden impulse to slide her hand through his arm to tell him she understood and let him knew she sympathised with the effort he made to appear calm and natural. Instead she moved away a little so that he should not see her and remember how much her presence irked him. Besides, at this moment he was