The Pirate's Jewel (3 page)

“No. Please don’t cry. You’re better off without him in
your life.”

Jewel sniffed, but her eyes were painfully dry. And wide
open. The smell of stale beer and burnt bread that filled the room could not be
erased by Nolan’s warm scent. She glanced back at Latimer, who glared in her direction.
The British presence in the tavern today warned not only that Harvey’s fears
regarding the threat of war held merits, but also her mother’s fears about her continuing
to work in the tavern.

“Believe me, I won’t be better off.” When Jewel turned
back to Nolan, she noticed he’d followed her gaze to Latimer’s table.

Nolan’s scowl, along with his willingness to confront the
armed military men, reminded Jewel of what Latimer had called him when he
walked through the door. Bloodthirsty. She turned back to see Latimer cowed,
studying the contents of his tankard.

“Who’s he?” Nolan’s stare skewered poor Latimer.

“A customer.” Admitting he was her only prospective groom
was too embarrassing.

“Why was he staring at you like that? I don’t like how
your mother lets your customers treat you.” Nolan turned his accusing gaze on
her.

Though she’d been more than a little pleased he had come
to her rescue earlier, she now found his tone too assuming. Nor did he seem
eager to provide any real information about her father. She meant to set him straight.
“Nothing would have come of that exchange with the officer if you hadn’t
intervened. And Latimer thinks he wants to marry me.”

“That’s not the stare of a suitor. That man thinks he has
some right to you. You deserve better than that—from him or anyone else.”

“But I’ve rarely gotten it.” His kind words were merely
that—words. Nothing would change once he walked out of her life without
revealing her father’s whereabouts or how to find the treasure, except that she’d
have less hope for a better life than before. “I’ve heard nothing from my
father or you in all these years. If you were so concerned for me, you could
have sent word.”

“You don’t know how I’ve made your life my concern.”
Despite his clipped words, she knew she’d hit her mark when he glanced away. He
quickly recovered from his moment of discomfort and returned his gaze to hers, stiff
but composed. “I want the treasure for the revolution, not my own personal gain.
War is inevitable, and you’d be wise to take my offer.”

Nolan was right, of course. Still, she wasn’t sure she could
trust him. She desperately wanted to. “I promised my father I’d keep the map
for him. Please, tell me where he is. What’s become of him?”

Nolan tapped his thumb on the table. “I haven’t seen him
in some time.”

There was something he wasn’t telling her, and she was
afraid she knew what it was. If her father had forgotten about her, she’d
rather know. “Did he say he wasn’t coming?”

Nolan stilled his tapping thumb. “Not exactly. But, I assure
you he won’t come.”

Her suspicions increased that he was hiding something
about her father. “I well remember the argument you two had at our last
meeting. I won’t be a pawn, Nolan.”

His lips curled in a tight, closemouthed smile. “
You
remember?
I have the scar to remind me of it. Nor am I the one who made you
a pawn.”

Jewel clasped her hands in her lap and made her decision.
Though she was tempted to take Nolan’s offer, his mere presence proved she
hadn’t been as foolish as she thought in pinning her hopes on the map. “You won’t
get anything from me until I see my father.”

“Bellamy’s dead.”

Nolan’s unblinking stare, the way he held her gaze, the
way his jaw jumped after he spoke—all told Jewel it was the truth. The tips of
her fingers to the roots of her hair went numb with shock. She remained snared
in Nolan’s harsh gaze, unable to even blink.

It occurred to her briefly that he’d had something to do
with her father’s demise, but the anguish she saw in his eyes banished the
thought. Besides, how could he face her if he were responsible?

As the weight of his words settled around her heart, grief
was not what she felt. That would be for the sudden loss of someone you knew.
The anguish she felt was for the loss of a part of herself, the part that would
never know a father. Bellamy Leggett had died without giving her so much as an
hour of his time.

A hot tear rolled down her cheek, reminding her that she
hadn’t stopped existing like her dreams had. “How did he die?”

Nolan sat forward. “I’m sorry.” He spoke to her clasped
hands rather than to her face, and his gentle tone was more unnerving than his
anger had been. “I wanted to spare you. He died at sea.”

She wiped her cheeks. “Did he ever say anything about me?”

Nolan hesitated. Her unwavering gaze forced him to look
up. She would never have a father, but if she knew he had thought of her, it
might allow her to feel the grief she should while whisking away her sire’s
betrayal.

“He mentioned you often. He wanted to come for you, but
his life was too dangerous. Let me buy the map from you. Bellamy wanted me to
find the treasure.”

The grief finally came, but it only worsened the shock. Jewel
felt as if her life would never be right. With all her childhood plans irrevocably
smashed, she felt like she was floating, unattached to anything.

Nolan reached across the table to touch her hand. “Let me
help you, Jewel.”

The weight of his warm hand resting on hers grounded her,
gave her reason to hope. She lifted her gaze to his. His deep blue eyes burned
with sincerity. No one had ever looked at her like that before. He truly wanted
to help. “I want to go with you to find the treasure.”

A crash startled them both. Nolan quickly withdrew his
hand in a swift, guilty motion. Latimer Payne stormed past and out the door
without a backward glance at the chair he had overturned. Jewel’s fate was
sealed. She had to ally herself with Nolan. Her only other option had just been
closed. And all Jewel felt was a tremendous flood of relief.

All traces of compassion melted behind Nolan’s scowl.
“That’s not possible. I’ll leave you with enough coin to ensure your security,
and more than triple that once I find the treasure. Take what I’m offering
now—there is a chance I might never find the actual treasure. The map isn’t
clear.”

Jewel leaned forward to touch his arm. “That settles it
then. I’ve studied the map every night since my father gave it to me. If you
take me in the right direction, I know I’ll be able to recognize where the
treasure is buried.”

Nolan pulled away without the slightest effort to be discreet.
“Absolutely not. Be sensible. Sell me the map.”

Jewel laughed. If she could be sensible, she would have
married a man who would give her a stable future. “My birth is questionable. I
have no family besides my mother. And I just ran off the only man who would consider
marrying me. You’re all I have, and I can’t let you leave without me.” She
looked down at the handkerchief she had been rubbing between her fingers. She had
always known she was illegitimate but had never dared say it out loud. Of
course, the pity and hostility she had experienced over the years had never let
her forget.

She glanced up at Nolan, afraid she would see condemnation
in his features as well. His scowl softened. She let out the breath she hadn’t
realized she held. If anyone could understand her, Nolan could. They shared secrets.
“I don’t want you to feel sorry for me. I just want your help. If I’ll never
have my father’s name, I’ll find his treasure.”

Nolan’s eyes narrowed. “
My
treasure. It was never Bellamy’s.”

She changed tack. “I’m not denying that, but I’ve guarded
the map all these years. I deserve to be a part of finding the treasure. Please
be reasonable.” Jewel kept her tone pleasant, even cajoling, but it didn’t seem
to do a thing to soften his stance. A muscle jumped in his jaw, belying the
coolness in his gaze.

“You’re a woman.”

Jewel ceased her efforts to win the battle bloodlessly and
lunged at his weak spot. “But I have the map.”

Nolan didn’t flinch. “I won’t take you with me.”

She had to fight not to wilt under his unyielding stare. Instead,
she raised her chin, matching his determination with her own. “Then you won’t
have the map.”

He leaned back, rubbed his chin and studied her. It was
obvious he hadn’t counted on such resistance. “You’re not a little girl
anymore.” He paused, as if taking in that fact. “But you’re still as foolish
and naive as the night we first met.”

She clasped her hands on the table, not letting him know
his comment stung. Maybe it was foolish to hang on to a dream, but the dream
was all she had. “You don’t know anything of me.”

He smiled. It strained his mouth and eyes rather than softened
either. “I can see that.” He tapped the table again. “I’m doing you a favor by
offering to pay you for the map before I’ve found the actual treasure.”

“You’re not giving me a choice.”

His eyes turned harsh, as if he saw something he didn’t
like. “You don’t know what I’ve given you.”

Jewel got angry. “Then explain it to me! Just because I’m
a tavern girl doesn’t mean you have the right to dictate my life. After all,
you
are a pirate.”

“I’m not a pirate anymore,” he said through gritted teeth.
But his ferocity was unconvincing.

“Why? What happened? What happened between you and my
father after you left here?” Perhaps she’d been too hasty in absolving his
responsibility in her father’s death.

He picked up his gloves. “A curious young woman is a
dangerous thing.”

She blinked, not liking the chill in his voice. “For who?
You? I have a right to know.”

“You should think before you speak.” Nolan stood. “I hope
you’ll change your mind about selling me the map. Take my offer or you’ll be
left with nothing.”

Jewel stood, too, letting him know she had no intention of
backing down. Her father’s map was important. “But you forget, I have the map.
Sail without me and you will be the one left with nothing.”

Nolan put on his gloves and hat. “You don’t know what to
do with it.” He stared at her, waiting.

She stared back. Going with Nolan to find the treasure would
change her fate. She had to prove to herself, as well as Nolan, that she was a
woman of her own means, master of her own destiny.

His anger was palpable. “You have more than your father’s
eyes, Jewel. I hope it doesn’t bring you to a similar end.” Nolan walked out
the door without a goodbye.

Jewel wasn’t insulted. She’d see him again. Nolan’s parting
words were both compliment and inspiration. What would her father do if he were
in her predicament? He would force Nolan to see reason. Over the years, she had
prepared herself to be a useful member of her father’s crew. Growing up in a
tavern had hardened her in ways that would make other women her age swoon.
Nolan would not win their battle of wills. And if she discovered Nolan had done
anything to harm her father, Jewel would show him she had indeed inherited more
than her father’s eyes.

Nolan paused at Charles Town’s seediest tavern, identified
by a door painted the color of blood. Located in a small alley east of Bay
Street, the Maiden’s Head didn’t even have an address. A small version of a
ship’s figurehead sprang from a windowless brick building marking the entrance.
Two street lamps at the turnoff had been shattered, leaving the carved image of
a woman muted by shadow. Nolan stared at the woman’s bare breasts and the black
hair that fell to her waist.

He glanced away, disturbed that he’d been momentarily
intrigued by the sight of the poorly carved statue. Five years had passed since
he had set foot in a place like the Maiden’s Head. He straightened his jacket,
secure in the knowledge that he’d become a different man. This establishment
would not change that.

The moment he pushed open the heavy door, several patrons
paused in throwing back their tankards to stare. Nolan met the wall of
hostility with a fierce gaze, swept off his stiff tricorn hat and entered the
thieves’ den.

He searched the room for John Wayland. Exposed beams
crisscrossed one wall and lined the ceiling. Smoke from the fire at the far end
of the tavern strained the plaster between those beams. Brick made up the other
two walls, and there was a long bar at the back. After stepping in from the
crisp spring night, heat from the sweating sailors and the flames hit Nolan
like a fist.

He reached for his handkerchief, intent on wiping his brow,
but realized he had left it with Jewel. He wished he could discard her memory
as easily. She had not been at all what he expected. He remembered her as a wide-eyed
little girl who had made him long for home. Barely out of his teens, he’d
already become bored with the women he met in the drinking dens and alleys of
the Caribbean. Though she’d worked at the Quail and Queen even then, Jewel had
reminded him of the boy he might have been if he hadn’t run away from home at fourteen.
A strange combination of adolescent lust and a man’s protectiveness had
overcome him and urged him to challenge an opponent he couldn’t beat. His
reward had been a dagger in the shoulder.

Had he been expecting gratitude five years later? Perhaps
he had. Perhaps he’d thought she would come to realize her father was a liar
and had only used her. The man had even used her to ensure Nolan’s obedience. Bellamy
had promised to spread word of the map’s location if Nolan tried to leave his
crew again. By that time, it had become clear to both Bellamy and Nolan that Captain
Kent’s map couldn’t be read by just anyone, themselves included. Kent’s cryptic
directions held secrets to which his grandson wasn’t privy. Fear of what would
become of Jewel had kept Nolan in line for a short while. But it also had
necessitated the impetuous Bellamy’s own downfall.