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She couldn’t even relieve her tension byabout the ship There wasn’t much of a ship to move about in and most of it was populated by hammocks, crates and cannons below decks and sailors above decks ung between adust at her presence After a young ensign almost toppled overboard when she ventured above deck Captain Meachaed her to reaze conveyed soreed

Edge, wisely, said nothing, lare as she returned to her cabin with a look as blank and e cow But she knew that behind that Pharaonic façade was one big ‘I told you so’

She’d kicked her cot when she was back in her room, which didn’t help at all except to knock her narrow pillow to the floor, but at least that gave her the good idea of placing the inally , just rolling when the ship pitched

The only relief was duringdeep to resurrect the social skills she’d discovered that fateful year of her debut in Venice and realised she had not completely lost her ability to char officers were sharing their hopes for their naval careers with her

But the ly polite, but he concentrated all his conversation on the ship’s surgeon who shared his interest in Greco-Roman culture Every time she tried to join their conversation he becae to kick him under the table

She wondered what these e She wondered e With a kind of superstitious fear she clung to the hope that once they reached London they would somehow mendwithout Edge’s o him toss her overboard

It broke three days before they reached England, set off by thethe wavesexercise and Sa the façade of an attentive spouse Just as she reached her door the ship pitched and Saainst the wall For a hted itself they stood there in a parody of an e hi even as her mind warned her any moment noould put her away

He did precisely that Very carefully untangling hi past her to open the door In a fit of desperation Sarabbed his coat and pulled hi his head against the lintel and before he could recover she shut the door behind him and pressed her back to it

The tiny space shrank by several sizes, e of air She rushed into speech before he put her aside again and marched out

‘I’e I know you’re furious and I’m a horrid person, but pleasecan’t we stop this stalee’

‘You feel like you are under siege!’ Edge wiped a hand over histhe words His eyes were dark with anger and she pressed back against the door Perhaps forcing this particular panther into a cage with her was not the ent move at the moment