What the Duke Doesn't Know by Jane Ashford

he’d formed the notion that girls were delicate creatures, more likely to moan and complain about the delay or the boredom of crawling across the countryside than to offer solutions. Of course, his mother wasn’t one to sit helplessly and wait for rescue, but she was…unique, in his opinion. He sometimes thought she could read minds.
    James looked over at Kawena. She clearly couldn’t, or she wouldn’t be looking so serene. She was intelligent and levelheaded, though, on top of gorgeous and delectable. James again felt the comradeship that had surfaced between them during their time at Alan’s house. “That was a clever thought,” he acknowledged.
    She smiled at him.
    James blinked. Comrades were not dazzling, in his experience.
    â€œIt was a simple idea,” Kawena replied, though she was warmed by his praise.
    â€œBut you thought of it,” he said. “I didn’t. And I’m the sailor.”
    Kawena smiled again, enjoying the effect it seemed to have on him. The desire to tease him was nearly irresistible. His reactions were…exciting. But she still worried that he’d end the journey if she gave in to her impulses. She groped for a safe topic of conversation. “You must have seen all the ports we called at on my journey to England,” she said. “They seemed such amazing places. I wanted to explore every lane and market, but I had to stay on shipboard most of the time, so as not to be exposed as a female.”
    â€œAh, I wondered how you managed that,” James replied. Ships’ quarters were cramped and offered very little privacy.
    â€œThe captain of the ship was an old friend of my father’s. I’ve known him since I was a child. When he arrived at the island soon after the theft was discovered, I asked for his help.”
    â€œI’m a bit surprised he gave it.” James wouldn’t have taken such a passenger on his own ship. The situation was primed for complications, or worse. Of course, his had been a navy vessel, not a private trader.
    â€œI had to persuade him, and my mother, and others. It wasn’t easy.”
    James tried to picture the mother of any girl he’d ever met letting her sail off dressed as a grubby lad. He couldn’t.
    â€œFinally, they saw that I was going to fight for my future, whatever it took. The idea that I had lost everything worked on them.”
    She held her chin high and looked utterly determined. James was impressed. “So this captain kept your secret?”
    â€œHe was very kind. He gave me a cabin of my own, with a lock, and enlisted some of his officers in my cause. I suppose the crew must have figured out my secret, eventually, but they didn’t speak of it. The captain was securely in control of his ship.”
    â€œAs he must be.”
    â€œIt was difficult, sometimes,” Kawena added.
    James suspected this was a considerable understatement.
    â€œBut it worked. One of the hardest things, though, was not being able to look around the ports. The bits I could see from the ship were so interesting. I had imagined that the journey would let me visit many foreign lands, as I always wished to do.”
    James nodded. He understood her urge to travel. It had been one of the things that drew him to the navy in the first place.
    â€œWere you often at Madras?”
    â€œQuite often,” he answered. “It’s an important naval base in that part of the world, as well as the British administrative center for southern India.”
    â€œI know many traders go there. Is it a beautiful place?”
    James thought about it. “The area around Fort St. George looks rather like home. Farther out, there are native temples, which are quite a sight. They’re shaped like a pyramid, but covered with rows and rows of figures…” He remembered the nature of some of those figures and stopped.
    â€œI visited one of those in another place,” Kawena