If Kitty had not known him better, she could have sworn that Captain Prince was feeling guilty about the severity of the punishment he had meted out to her. He was uncharacteristically solicitous for the remainder of the week, bathing her bottom and massaging lotion into her cane welts each night until they blackened into bruises then faded altogether; allowing her to stay in bed as long as she liked; even permitting the wearing of her shirt in the cabin. It was as if her Spanish escapade had somehow endeared her to him, notwithstanding the necessity of ensuring that it would never happen again.
As a subconscious response to this softening of his heart, Kitty went a little further than vowing never to set herself up for such harsh treatment in the future. She began to imagine a life with him that did not end with her escape or his capture. She began to seriously assess his suitability as a partner.
Of course, there were many negatives. He was a dangerous criminal for a start; no matchmaker would be impressed with his career credentials. He was estranged from his family and all polite society...but then again, so was she. He was overbearing, arrogant, demanding and patronising.
But...so very, very sexy. It maddened her on occasion that she craved his touch so, but he intoxicated her like no other man ever could. He was a skilled lover, he was intelligent and well-educated, a good conversationalist with cultured tastes. And...he seemed to care for her, in his own strange way. And -- most annoying of all -- he was absolutely right about her need for a man who could handle her; she had a grudging respect for him that she had never had for anybody else of the male sex. It was this, she had to admit, that made him so irresistible to her. She had never been treated like this, would never have expected to be treated like this, and would certainly never have expected to even tolerate, let alone like it. Yet she did. They seemed to fit together.
One week after her ill-advised trip to the mainland, Kitty was finally able to sit on a chair again and they celebrated the event with a dinner. The trip to Spain was still recent enough that they had plenty of decent food aboard; they had a meal of salt cod with rice and peppers, washed down with a fine Sant Sadurni cava. Sadly, Tom was unable to serve them, as he still languished in the brig waiting for his lash wounds to heal, but Kitty did not dare ask after her erstwhile accomplice.
"I've been wondering," began Kitty delicately, laying down her fork for a minute. "All I ever do is lie abed or perform simple household duties. I need some diversion. My mind is falling into disrepair."
"You want to make yourself useful?" asked Prince, pausing mid-chew to consider Kitty's words.
"If I could. Of course, I can't take on the role of full crew member. But isn't there anything a lady could help with?"
Prince chuckled softly. "The crew would tell you that you're already doing a fine job, Kitty. Before you fell into my clutches, I was a considerably harsher commander. But now my...frustrations are adequately contained, I am almost civilised."
"Oh." Kitty felt unaccountably dismayed at this. "And is that all I can be? A vehicle for your relief?"
"You would like to be more?" He propped his chin on his hand, regarding her quizzically. "Even though you despise me heartily and will be in the front row, cheering on my execution, when the inevitable day arrives?"
"I won't. I don't," said Kitty, under her breath, resenting having to make this admission.
Prince was silent for a moment, weighing up the likelihood that she was speaking the truth. "Well, if that is so, Kitty," he began eventually, "I am very glad to hear it." He held her eyes with his long and hard, watching the frisson that shuddered through her at the intensity of the contact.
"Tell me, Kitty, what kind of education did you receive?"
Kitty paused to think. Young women of her class were seldom properly educated; rather they accumulated 'accomplishments' that were deemed appropriately feminine and genteel.
"I can read and write well. I can play the piano, sing, embroider and draw a little. I also learned French and dancing."
"French and dancing," repeated the Captain, fighting to keep a sarcastic edge out of his voice. "But you read well. What do you like to read?"
"I prefer novels; I very much like to read stories," said Kitty enthusiastically.
"Not much call for novel reading aboard ship," said Prince flatly. "But I've a book you could study." He took a weighty volume from his shelf and passed it to his curious mistress.
"It is about medicine?" she said. 'Anatomy of the Human Body' was the title, with a subtitle of, 'Diseases and Complaints Thereof, with their Causes and Curatives'.
"I keep meaning to read it properly, but I rarely have the time. None of the crew can read; if you could get yourself a basic understanding of medicine, they might not die so bloody much. Pardon my language."
"I should like to be a physician," smiled Kitty, pleased to have a concrete role at last.
"You wouldn't like tending to some of the complaints my men pick up," cautioned Prince. "Especially when they're fresh out of port. Still, I won't visit anything of that nature on you."
Kitty had no idea what he meant, so she simply shrugged and began riffling through the dusty pages of the book. A number of perplexing diagrams and lengthy Latin terms met her disquieted eyes.
"Oh, I don't know any Latin," she exclaimed.
