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A Cruise to Forget

It was their fourth day on the boat, and Nick had not seen Katarina since they'd left New Archangel. He had agreed to what Prince Sergey wanted, even as it left a bad taste in his mouth. The wedding had been the next day, a formal affair in the Orthodox Cathedral, with a large number of guests and the Bishop in attendance.

Nick had been relived that he had not had to meet with the Bishop, but dismayed that he didn't get to talk to Katarina before the ceremony either. The prince's ADC had drilled him on the responses, but Nick had not understood one word of the long ceremony that involved crowns being held above their heads. He had made a mental note to ask Katarina about it, but never had the chance.

He had wanted to talk to her before the wedding, to see what her thoughts were on her uncle's plans. Prince Sergey though, being either careful or devious, Nick wasn't sure which, saw to it that the conversation never took place. He didn't even see the girl until she was by his side, in front of the altar at the cathedral.

Nick noticed that she had a beautiful, intricate white lace dress, and long flowing veil, held in place by a glittering tiara. When the time came for the ring, he was surprised to see Pavel, who was acting as best man, produce a diamond band that the Bishop blessed before Nick put it on her finger, repeating the words the clergyman was saying, not knowing what they were. He had never given his wedding a lot of thought, but had never imagined anything like this.

After the ceremony there had been a lunch at the Governor's palace, and then he didn't see her again until they were aboard the ship. Her uncle came to say goodbye to her, and to thank Nick, handing the land grant to him as he did so. He couldn't stand to look at the paper, thinking about what he'd done to secure it. It was tucked away in a leather folio with his travel documents and important papers; he never wanted to see it again.

They had separate staterooms on the ship, which was fine by Nick, wanting to keep the relationship as business like as possible. Now, he was on deck looking out at the heavy sea, as the boat rocked back and forth. He had telegraphed Jarrod to let him know he had the land grant, but had not told him anything else. Nick was planning on getting the girl to the English consulate as soon as they docked, hoping his family would never have to know about the affair.

"Mr. Barkley, excuse me?" A female voice with a heavy accent was talking to him, and he turned to see a middle-aged woman dressed in black, with a lace collar. He nodded his head, and the woman continued on "Mr. Barkley I am very concerned about Her Highness, your wife. She has been very sick since the ship sailed, and has not eaten anything at all."

It took Nick a minute to realize that the woman was Nina, and that she was lady's maid to Katarina. He was taken aback by the woman's reference to his wife, then realized that as far as the maid was concerned, Katarina was his wife. Nick saw that the woman looked very worried, and he sighed, not wanting the girl sick when they docked in San Francisco.

He followed the woman down to Katarina's stateroom, listening as she explained what was going on. The gist is that the girl had been seasick since they left New Archangel, and it was only getting worse. Nick also picked up from Nina that Katarina had gone through the same thing on the boat ride from India. At the back of his mind he felt rather bad for the pretty girl, having to spend so much time on a ship if you were prone to seasickness.

Nick walked into the stateroom, and turned the corner to get to the bedroom area. He saw Katarina lying on the bed in a white nightgown, her dark blonde hair loose on the pillow. Before he caught himself he was admiring how lovely she was, even with being pale and sick. Katarina looked over and saw him, and proceeded to let loose an extremely nasty sounding string of Russian words. Nick stood there, his head slightly tilted, with a smile on his face. That seemed to make her even madder.

"I just told you to go fuck yourself in Russian, and now I will tell you in English!" Katarina declared, and let loose with a string of descriptive curse words that would have impressed his ranch hands. Nick admired her spirit, for being able to speak up in spite of being sick.

"Katarina, I already told you that I was impressed with your fluency in languages. I also admire a woman who can not only say 'fuck' but use it in such a colorful way in a declaratory sentence." Nick offered in an amused tone, wondering what she was going to do next. He was hoping to get her mad enough to get out of bed, that being one of the worst places to be when you were seasick.

Suddenly the boat hit a big wave, which caused it to roll heavily. "I am going to die!" Katarina wailed, as she clutched the bed cover in terror. Nick crossed the room and sat down on the bed next to her, holding her arms. He felt her shaking, and saw that her pupils were so dilated that her blue eyes almost looked black. He continued to hold her arms, until her breathing calmed down some.

"Now, you need to get out of bed and get some fresh air, Katarina. I will wait outside; while Nina helps you get some clothes on, and a coat." Nick had the same tone in his voice that he would have used with a scared horse; firm but kind. He saw that she wanted to protest, but he shook his head and stood up, releasing her arms as he did so. He smiled at Nina, who understood, and went to stand outside in the passageway to wait.

Nick waited until he was out of the room to chuckle quietly, as he thought about the pretty princess cursing like she did. He had told the truth when he said that he admired a woman who could use the word fuck, knowing what it meant. Nick decided that Katarina was not the prim person he had thought, and was looking forward to getting to know her better.

"I am here." Nick heard Katarina's lilting voice, and turned to look at her. The dark blonde hair had been smoothly braided back, and she had on a gorgeous sable coat that covered her body completely. His mother had a Russian sable coat, but it was nothing like this one, all lush and glossy. The dark brown offset her hair and eyes perfectly, and he found himself wanting to put his arms around her. Deciding that those thoughts would only get him into trouble, he pushed them aside.

"Excellent! Now, we are going to the front of the boat, where it won't be so choppy. By the way, the front of the boat is known as the bow." Nick informed her, as he motioned for her to walk in front of him.

"Nicholas, I know all about boats! I hate boats!" Katarina announced in an angry tone, and Nick wondered if he could get her to curse again. He didn't understand why he was having the feelings that he was, especially when she was sick. They made their way to the front of the ship, and he instructed her to look at the horizon. Nick ended up standing next to her, with his hand on her shoulder. He could hardly feel anything, because of the thickness of the fur, but his body was aware of how close she was standing to him.

"I am sorry for cursing at you, Nicholas. It was impolite and unladylike of me." Katarina turned slightly to look at him, after she started to feel better. In fact she was shocked at how she had spoken to the man. She was relieved to hear him laughing, and she saw his eyes laughed also. He really was handsome, she thought to herself.

"Katarina, I was telling the truth when I said I admire a woman who can say fuck. Where did you learn to curse?" Nick was genuinely interested, knowing that young ladies normally did not have that talent. Even his sister, for all of her behavior, couldn't curse like that.

"I spent a lot of time in the stables, and then my cousin Michael taught Sophie and me a lot of words too. Sophie is my cousin, uncle Sergey's daughter." Katarina explained happily, and then Nick saw a sad on her face. When he asked about it, he found out that Michael was the prince's son who had been a soldier killed in Afghanistan, while her cousin was married to a German diplomat.

Nick, wanting to see her cheerful, asked about the stables and they ended up having a good conversation about horses. He was impressed with her knowledge, and for one minute wished he could show her his stables at the ranch. He liked the thoughtful questions she asked, and how she also inquired about the management of the barn. They chatted for a while longer, before Nick convinced her to try to eat some soup in the dining room.

For the rest of the cruise Nick made it a point to make sure that she went outside for fresh air, and they ate lunch and dinner together. During that time he learned a lot about her, but also talked about his family and ranch too. She was good company, and he discovered that she had a dry wit and an irreverent sense of humor. It wasn't until they were close to California that he finally had the chance to talk to her about their 'marriage'.

They were sitting out on deck, as the stars were coming up, when he decided to bring up the subject and see what her thoughts were. It had been hard for him to hear her talk kindly about uncle Sergey, remembering how the man had backed Nick into a corner, to get what he wanted.

"Katarina, do you mind me asking what you thought when your uncle told you about the marriage?" Nick had not been sure how to start the conversation, but decided to get straight to the point. She looked at him, and he once again noticed how deeply blue her eyes were, and the few freckles on her nose.

"My uncle was very mad at me for not staying in India, because it caused a lot of problems for him." She told Nick, and looked off at the horizon. He saw her mouth tighten as she mentioned India, and he wondered what had happened there. Nick asked about it, being sure now it was the reason they were both in this situation.

"While I was in India my cousin Catherine, the daughter of my mother's older brother, was there also. That is why I'm called Katarina, even though my full name Ekaterina, translates to Catherine in English. Anyway, her engagement was about to be announced, but the man decided he wanted me instead. My grandmother has never forgiven my dead mother for marrying a Russian, and really didn't care for me that much. She paid my passage on the ship, and pretty much ordered me to leave. My grandfather has never stood up to her, so he went along." Katarina told the dismal tale, feeling bad that she was leaving out several key details, like who her grandparents were. She rationalized it with the thought she didn't want to boast about her family.

"I am guessing that you are much prettier than your cousin, correct?" Nick smiled at her, being sure of the answer. She nodded her head, giving him a small smile of understanding, and letting him see her dimple. He felt bad that her grandmother had thrown her to the wolves without a second thought.

"My uncle was very upset with me for coming to see him, but that was the only ship that was sailing at the time. It caused a lot of problems, because now the Tsar could order me to marry a man my uncle didn't approve of. When uncle Sergey told me about you, and what you had agreed to, he also told me that I had no other options. Nick, he just wanted to protect me. I hope you understand." Katarina replied in a sad tone of voice.

Nick thought about what she had just said, about what her uncle had told her. He asked what he was wondering and found out that she had not known until the night before the wedding. He decided that uncle Sergey had used her, like he had used him, but saw that from the man's point of view, it was for a good cause.

"What did you think; when he told you that we had to be married?" Nick asked, still wanting to know what she had thought of the idea. He knew that most marriages were arranged, but he disliked the idea of someone being forced to do something they didn't want to do.

"Nicholas, no offense to you, but I was shocked and upset. I felt like I was lying to God, and I didn't like it. I pray every day, always go to church, and truly believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. I'm afraid I'll burn in hell when I die, because of what I did." Katarina sounded like she was going to cry, and he put his arm around her gently. He was not a devout person, and he had been bothered by the deception, so he could see how it would be a grave matter in her mind.

"Well, let's hope that God understands why, because I'm sure he would not want you married to someone who didn't love you." Nick wanted to make her feel better, and he also liked having his arm around her. The chairs were side by side, but he wondered what it would feel like if her body was against his. They sat like that for a while, before she decided to retire for the night. He was both sorry, and relieved to have her go.

"Thank you for being kind, and what you said Nicholas. I appreciate the thought, and I am also very glad that you were able to help me out." Katarina stood up, and smiled down at him as she said it. He smiled in response, and escorted her to her cabin. He kissed her hand, saying good night as he did so. He would see her in his dreams that night, and was not in a hurry for the ship to dock.

The ship arrived a day early, which Nick hoped increased the chances of Jarrod not coming to meet him. His plan was to take care of Katarina first, and then let his family know that he had arrived. He went down to Katarina's cabin, to escort her off the ship. Nick saw that her maid already had everything packed, and would wait for the address of where to go with the luggage. He went to give Nina some money, to tip the pursuer, but found out that Prince Sergey had already given her cash before they had left New Archangel.

"I am so excited to see San Francisco, Nicholas!" Katarina declared when they were up on deck. She went on to tell him that the ship she had taken from India had docked at Seattle. Nick looked at her, with her sparkling eyes and was glad to see some color in her cheeks. Her caramel colored hair was neatly arranged under a small hat decorated with grey feathers.

Her skirt and jacket were soft tweed of grey with blue flecks, while her white pin tuck blouse had a high collar that was decorated with a sapphire brooch. Earrings of the same stones were at her ears, and she wore a long cape of grey fox. Nick thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever met, and was very proud to be seen with her. He didn't realize it but they made a striking couple, with his dark looks, and well tailored clothing.

Nick was pointing out landmarks on the coast, having decided to wait until most of the passengers had left the ship, before they disembarked. He was too busy watching her flash her dimple, as he told her a funny story about one of the landmarks, to see who was coming up the gangplank.

"Nick, are you ever going to get off the ship? Oh, excuse me, Ma'm I didn't realize my brother was talking to you." Nick turned to see Jarrod, and their mother right behind him. He groaned inwardly, trying to figure out how to handle the situation. Jarrod was looking with great interest at Katarina, and Nick saw that her beauty was not lost on his brother.

Jarrod, along with Victoria had been waiting at the pier, until they decided to meet Nick on the ship. He'd had no problems seeing his tall brother, and hailed him right away. It was only when they were at the top of the gangplank that he saw that Nick wasn't alone. Jarrod noticed right away how well dressed the woman was, in addition to being tall and stately. When she turned, he saw how beautiful she was also.

"My name is Jarrod Barkley, and this is my mother, Victoria. May I have your name?" Jarrod had taken her hand and was kissing it, and Katarina took notice of them. Nick had told her about his family, and she could see the resemblance. She was surprised they were here too, and wondered how he was going to handle the situation.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, I'm Catherine." Before she could say her last name of Naryshkina, the ship's captain was coming up to them, bowing.

"Mr. & Mrs. Barkley, thank you for sailing on my ship for your honeymoon. I hope you have lots of pleasant memories to take with you." The man announced to Nick and Katarina, who blushed at what the man was implying. Jarrod saw that blush, and was sure he knew why she had turned pink. He was also taken aback to hear that his brother was married, but looking at Catherine, he couldn't fault his brother's taste. He privately hoped that it would not be Hester all over again.

Victoria was horrified at what she had just heard the captain say, and didn't like the meaning of the blush on the young girl's face. She took another look at Nick's bride, just to confirm the thought, that the girl was young. Her clothes were sophisticated, and well made, while the jewelry was valuable. The fur cape was extravagant, and Victoria wondered how much it had cost her son. She loved Nick, but knew that where women were concerned, his track record was not good.

Nick could not believe how this had all worked out, and did not like the knowing look on his brother's face. Even less he liked the look his mother had, especially as her eyes narrowed when she looked at Katarina. Without even thinking about it, Nick put his arm around her, feeling the need to protect her from his mother's reaction. At the back of his mind Nick was thinking of the comments the woman had made about Russians, and what she would say when she found out her son had 'married' one.