An Officer but No Gentleman by M. Donice Byrd Page A

shroud.  He was disgusted with himself over it.  He hoped the crew of the Arcadia would treat the body reverently, but that was not the crux of his self-loathing.  He was no better than the English.  Jax tried to convince himself that because the Arcadia had left without Charlie if they had he sailed immediately; he would have never known Charlie’s ship had come back for him.  He knew he should tell Charlie, let him decide for himself, but he just didn’t want to risk it.
    As soon as his crew climbed back aboard The Dragon’s Lair , Jaxon gave the order to set sail.  He wondered if the Arcadia’s crew would believe the story they concocted.  Jaxon had seen the body and knew Jimmy was unrecognizable. 
    Before the evening meal, they would have a memorial service for Jimmy.  This was part of his job that he hated.  Hopefully, having Charlie aboard would prevent this from happening again , but did the ends justify the means?
    Jax watched in the spyglass as the sta tionary corsair disappeared beyond the horizon.
    “What do you want, Daniel?” Jaxon growled, not turning around.  He recognized the sound of Daniel’s footsteps.  “I take it you had no problems getting Charlie’s clothes from him?”
    “Actually, he put up quite a fight, which you would know if you turned around and looked at me,” Daniel said, his eye little more than a slit.
    Jaxon looked over his shoulder at his brother before turning around and chuckling.  “I should have warned you.  He said he could handle himself in a fight , but I thought he was just boasting.  He did that to you?”
    “Charlie kicked me in the face.”
    “Kicked you?”
    “Swear to you, kicked me.”
    “Were you on the ground?”
    “I was standing and I’m quite a bit taller than Mr . Sinclair.”
    “Hardly seems sporting,” Jaxon drawled looking disinterested.
    “Neither is three against one,” Daniel conceded as he moved closer to his brother, scanning the horizon for Charlie’s ship.
    “True,” he said, nodding.
    “But I’m not sure your plan is going to work.  There’s a bit of a snag.”
    “Are you talking about his burns?  He said they’re pretty extensive , but they’re hidden under his clothes.  You don’t think they would strip a corpse to check his identity?”
    “Burns?  Is that what Charlie told you?”  Daniel couldn’t keep a straight face.  “Charlie’s got a secret , but it’s not burns.”
    Jaxon could see Daniel’s inappropriate reaction and he didn’t like it.  This kind of infirmity was not funny.
    “Aye, I know.  He didn’t come right out and tell me, but he implied that he’s….” Jaxon didn’t want to break Sinclair’s confidence, but it was obvious that Daniel already knew.  He lowered his voice.  No reason the whole ship should know. “…That he’s a eunuch.”
    Daniel didn’t even attempt to hide his smile.  This was so much more fun than he had anticipated.  “Is that what Charlie told you?”
    “It’s not true?”
    “It’s not true.”
    “Sinclair is not a eunuch?”
    “No, not a eunuch,” Daniel said shaking his head, a crooked smile forcing only one dimple to the surface.
    “So he does, you know, have all his…parts.”  Jaxon was beginning to lose his temper.  “That son-of-a-bitch lied to me so I’d give him his own cabin.”
    “Well, yes and no,” Daniel hedged.  “Charlie didn’t lie to you if he told you he had no testicles.  That part is true.”
    “Do you not understand what a eunuch is?  It’s a man with no testicles?”
    “Right.  Charlie is not a eunuch because to be a eunuch you have to first be a man.  My dear, dense brother, Charlie is not a man.  She’s a woman.”
    Jaxon Bloodworthy had such a perplexed look on his face that Daniel laughed.  His whole body shook with guffaws that started in his belly and exploded out of his mouth like water from a whale’s spout.
    “Charlie, the junior officer from the Arcadia , is not a man?”
    “Do you