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Oh, if only she had some sort of weapon—a knife, a pistol…anything.
    To her alarm, he stepped over the inert sailor and clambered up the steps after her. “Please don’t worry yerself. I ain’t gonna hurt you.” He caught her by the ankle, and when she looked down to fix him with a frosty glance, he added in a lower voice, “Name’s Peter Hargraves, miss. I’m Thomas Hargraves’s brother. I’m in the earl’s employ.”
    Everything changed in that one moment. A rush of relief hit her, so intense she felt faint from it. If he was Thomas Hargraves’s brother and in the earl’s employ, that could only mean one thing: Jordan had hired him. Thank heavens for her meddling and overprotective stepbrother.
    She should have known Jordan would never give up so easily. When he hadn’t gotten what he’d wanted from her, he’d simply found another way to make sure she had protection. She ought to be furious with him. Instead, she was thanking her good fortune that he’d decided to ignore her wishes.
    “I understand.” She glanced around, hoping no one else had heard his words. “Perhaps we’d better discuss this in private. In my cabin.” Then she climbed up to the main deck and waited for him there before heading toward where her cabin was situated beneath the quarterdeck. “Come with me.”
    As soon as they’d entered her modest cabin, she turned to survey the sailor, who’d removed his broad-brimmed hat. Now she understood why he’d looked so familiar. He resembled Hargraves quite a bit. He had his brother’s ginger-colored hair and deep-set hazel eyes.
    She couldn’t, however, imagine Hargraves attempting to lay a man low with fancy Chinese maneuvers. She smiled at the man. Jordan had chosen well. “Would you like a jot of wine to warm you before you return above decks, Mr. Hargraves?”
    “Nay, miss, I’m on night watch. I ain’t got much time. But thank’ee kindly.”
    “If you don’t mind, I shall take a little myself.” The encounter with that wretched sailor had left her cold to the bone. Opening one of the oak compartments that contained her utensils and meager private stores, she removed a bottle of burgundy and a glass. “So my stepbrother hired you to look after me, did he?”
    “Aye. He said I was to make sure nobody harmed you.”
    She poured a generous amount of burgundy into the glass. “And I suppose I was not to be informed of this arrangement.”
    “Actually, yer stepbrother told me to wait until we were well out to sea, then let you know I was here to watch out fer you. I meant to tell you sooner, but y’ve been down in the prison all day.”
    “I see.” At least Jordan hadn’t intended for her to spend the entire voyage oblivious to the fact that help was available if she needed it.
    “As for you stayin’ down in the prison till all hours of the night,” he added, “you really shouldn’t be below decks after dark, you know. ’Tis dangerous.”
    After replacing the wine bottle in its compartment, she took a sip from her glass. “So I gather.” She couldn’t prevent the accusing note that entered her voice. “But somebody has to keep these men from molesting the convict women.”
    He turned his hat round and round in his hand, scrutinizing her with curious eyes. “You care about these women, don’t you, miss? Tom told me you were a soft touch, but I didn’t think you’d be riskin’ yerself for a lot of bloomin’ whor—I mean, ladies of easy virtue. You mustn’t take such chances no more. Next time, I mightn’t be around to see that you come to no harm.”
    Bother it all. She could see this protector of hers could be a nuisance. “I won’t let the sailors have their way with the women,” she warned. “There are childrendown there, and girls who are no more than fourteen. If the crew are allowed to come and go as they please—”
    “Don’t you worry none about that, miss. If you want the women looked after, I’ll make sure the men don’t go down