A Thoroughly Compromised Lady (23 page)

‘There are a lot of ways to die, Jack,' Dulci whispered in the dark.

‘Well, Lady Wainsbridge, I think we need a happier custom. Ah, I know just the thing.' With that he kissed her deeply and fully, competently conveying regrets that his strength would not allow him to do more.

‘Dulci, there's one more thing I have to tell you.' Jack pushed back her loose hair so that his hands framed her face, his long fingers tracing the contours of her jaw and the smooth lines of brow.

‘If anything happens to me, you must escape at all costs. You must go to the king and clear my name. Tell him everything you know about Ortiz. I am trusting you with this mission, Dulci. Promise me, Dulci?'

‘Of course, I'll go to the king,' Dulci murmured
half-heartedly. This was morbid talk, but she'd appease him.

‘No, Dulci, I need your pledge.' Jack was adamant, unfooled by her consent. ‘I will take care of you, even from the grave if needed. William will listen to you. I want my name cleared. It might save you from scandal even if I'm not there. And Dulci…' He paused before going on. ‘If there are any children, you must go to the king and petition for my estates. Tell William I meant for my heirs to be recognised.'

‘What are you talking about?' They'd been careful. Jack had shown her how to count the days of her cycle and how to stay away from the most fertile days. On several occasions, he'd consciously with drawn. They'd taken every precaution.

Jack covered her breast with a gentle hand. ‘I would plan for all eventualities, Dulci. A man can never be too careful with what he loves.' Jack kissed her again, this time on the forehead. ‘Come and sleep a little. There's a few hours yet until we make our dash.'

‘D
ulci, it's time.' Jack was shaking her. She made a moan of com plaint and then sat bolt upright, everything flooding back to her. She wasn't in Jack's arms on the boat. They were in the Arawak village.

‘Moan a bit, Jack. Pretend you're desperately ill.'

‘That shouldn't be hard.'

‘It's not funny, Jack.'

Jack moaned, putting on a loud performance that would have done Drury Lane proud. Once he'd moaned long enough to show real distress, Dulci went to the opening of the hut. ‘Help me.' She gestured to Jack, thrashing on the pallet, doing her best to look frightened and nearly hysterical. ‘Needs drink.'

One of the guards hurried off to find water. Dulci pulled at the other one. ‘Come, look at him.' She frantically dragged him inside, knowing time was of the essence. Her frantic behaviour wasn't all that feigned. She knew it wouldn't be long before the water bearer was back.

‘He die?' Dulci asked, urging the man to bend over Jack.

The moment he was close enough, Jack seized the man in a strangle hold. They wrestled, but Jack quickly subdued the shorter man and he slumped on to the pallet.

Jack was panting from his exertions and Dulci was worried as he rose to his feet a bit unsteady. ‘Hurry,' was all she said.

Outside, they slipped unnoticed into the perimeter of the village behind the hut and then into the forest. Now it was all up to Jack.

The darkness was thick and the forest canopy blocked out the sky in places, making it impossible to navigate consistently. The only benefit was that if they couldn't see, the Arawak wouldn't be able to see them either unless they brought torches or delayed the search until sunrise. They didn't have much of a head start to count on. The water bearer would notice immediately that they had gone.

‘This way,' Jack whispered, gripping her hand fiercely. ‘The
cacique
's
bohio
faced the south entrance of the village, so it would put the southerly direction to our left.'

The going was pain fully slow as the forest gradually began to lighten with daybreak. With daybreak, it became less frightening too, the nocturnal sounds of animals becoming less noisome and Dulci breathed a sigh of relief once the sun was up.

They'd done well so far with their simple plan. But Jack was tiring. His tanned face was pale, his step unsteady. Dulci braced him on one side and he used a
long stick for support on the other. ‘Do you think Robert is looking for us?' she asked.

Jack nodded. ‘I hope so. With luck, he's found my equipment. He won't have any idea which way we went, but since the village isn't too far inland, he'll quickly eliminate the alternatives.'

‘And the Arawak, are they looking for us?'

‘Yes, I fear so. They will have had time to assemble search parties. While they are not warriors, they are fierce hunters and trackers. There's no telling what kind of trail we've left behind in the dark.'

Dulci drew a deep breath. ‘Then we'll have to hurry. How are we doing on direction?'

‘That's our one piece of good news. We've headed south. We are close to the river. Can you see the change in the foliage? This is river growth. We'll see more of it as we get closer.' Jack paused. ‘Dulci, listen to me. If the Arawak close in, I want you to run. I want you to leave me. Get away. You're healthy and I will slow you down. I just ask that you leave me your gun.'

‘There's only one shot in it, Jack. I can't see it would do you any good.' Realisation swamped her. One shot was all he'd need. ‘I won't leave you, Jack,' she said staunchly.

‘This is no time for heroics, Dulci. I wouldn't even be asking it if I thought I stood any sort of chance of out running them.'

He was panting now to keep up the pace even with her help. ‘Maybe it won't come to that,' Dulci encouraged.

‘Maybe it won't.' But Jack's tone implied otherwise and his eyes kept darting around the under growth
as if he expected to see the Arawak jump out at any moment.

Dulci was sweating profusely, perspiration staining her shirt liberally as they continued to trudge forwards. A few times they heard rustling in the tall grasses and they'd attempted to hide. Each time was a false alarm. Jack's breathing was laboured now, sweat rolling off his face. He needed water. He was rapidly becoming dehydrated and it was obvious his stomach pained him, but still he persisted. His strength was astonishing. She would not lose him. That became her mantra as they eked out the distance to the river. She would drag him if she had to.

A ribbon of silver glinted through the trees. Dulci thought she'd cry from the joy of it. The river! At last. They'd made it. ‘We're here, Jack. It will just be a bit further,' she said encouragingly.

She did drag him at that point, Jack stumbling and she stumbling with him, towards the river. ‘Be careful,' Jack muttered, his speech slurring with exhaustion. ‘Watsh for craw shodiles.'

‘I know, I know,' Dulci responded hastily. At the shore, she shielded her eyes against the brighter sun and looked for the boats. Luck was with them! The boats were just ahead, maybe a hundred yards. Jack's direction had been unerring. But she'd never dared to hope they'd come out so close to the boats. For all she'd guessed, they'd come out at the river and then have to follow it until they ran into Robert.

The terrain by the river was harder going, the swampy ooze making it difficult to go quickly. Jack seemed to find some extra strength now that they were nearly safe.
She could see figures on the boats and Dulci waved, hazarding a shout.

That was when the first dart whistled past, missing them by inches. Dulci dragged them both down. There was commotion on the boats. They were poling away! Dulci screamed again and dragged Jack forwards. They were so close! One of the crew saw them.

A cry went down the line. She could hear Robert's voice giving orders as she struggled forwards. A rope went over the edge of the boat. All she had to do was wade out into the water and grab it. The Arawak were more interested in the boats than anything that lurked below at the moment, having assumed she and Jack were already on board.

Braving the potential dangers of the river, Dulci gripped the rope and tied it around Jack so she wouldn't lose him in the current. Then she grabbed the second rope for herself and gave the signal. She closed her eyes, hardly daring to look for fear of seeing one of the darts headed her way.

At last she felt the hard wood of the deck beneath her and she collapsed flat, crawling to Jack's side, words coming out of her mouth in a babbling torrent.

After a few moments she realised everyone was standing, no one was worried about the darts any more. The attack had stopped. She looked quizzically at Robert.

He smiled. ‘We're no longer on their territory. Their territory ends at the river.'

Dulci breathed a sigh of relief. ‘We're safe. What about Jack? Can you help him? It's poison from a dart. His system has reacted poorly to it.'

Robert knelt beside his friend, checking his pulse and
noting the shallow breathing. ‘I have some herbs in my kit that will offset the poison. We'll mix him a tea.'

After Jack was made comfortable and roused enough to take the tea, Robert pulled Dulci aside.

‘He'll be all right, but he's in no shape to continue the trip. I want you and a few of the assistants to take one boat back to Georgetown so he can rest. That journey alone will be enough to tax him. But it's better to turn back versus an in determinate exploration ahead with no guar an tees. If he doesn't go back, he might ruin his health entirely.'

‘But the mapping,' Dulci pro tested, recalling Jack's plea the previous night. ‘He needs this map to clear his name.'

‘He'll have the map. I'll get those boundaries,' Robert promised.

 

That night, Jack showed marked signs of improvement, Robert's herbs having settled his stomach and his body having had an afternoon of rest. ‘You rescued me, Dulci.' He reached for her hand, squeezing it where it lay in her lap.

‘I owed you. You saved me in London,' Dulci said lightly, braiding her fingers through his. ‘Robert and I have been talking and he thinks it's best if you and I go back to Georgetown. He will continue with the mapping…' She paused and looked up. It was good to see Jack recovering, but it meant the adventure was over, for them at least. It also meant she had to face the un pleasant truth regarding her and Jack.

‘I love you too much, Jack, to risk you again. I think we should go back as well. Your health requires it.'

She waited for the protest to come. Jack's eyes were fixed on hers, his face solemn. He did not argue. ‘If we go back, I can see you safely aboard a ship to London. Where I should have sent you all along.'

Dulci shook her head. ‘I don't think I'll return to London. I like it here.' Then she added, ‘With or without you, Jack, although I'd much prefer the former.' There, she'd said it. The battle was engaged. Last night had not been the time to fight over his crisis-induced decision to push her out of his life. But now, the crisis had passed and they needed to resolve their personal future.

Jack looked to the sky, regret tingeing his features for what might have been. ‘Believe me, I want things to be different. These weeks with you here beside me, sharing this journey, have been beyond in credible. I didn't know love could be like this, how it could bring so much pleasure and hurt so much. When I saw Ortiz lay his hands on you yesterday and attempt to use you against me, all I could think was “This is my fault. She wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me.” Before we came out here, I only thought I under stood the risk of having you beside me. Now I know, and the cost is far more than I can bear. I know it's not what you want to hear—'

Dulci interrupted abruptly. ‘What about the cost of not having me beside you? Is that so negligible as to be discounted as nothing, not worth any risk?'

‘You would be alive and safe. There would be some peace in knowing you were out there in the world, somewhere.'

Dulci snorted and stood up, her anger rising with her. ‘You forgot alone. And you would be too, Jack. As for
me, I don't look forward to spending the rest of my days as an un-united half of a whole and I don't think you do either, whether you admit it or not. I wish I didn't love you. It would make things a lot easier.'

‘You've never been one for easy,' Jack said lightly. This time his attempts to cajole her back to his side wouldn't work.

‘You aren't either. Which is why this response of yours is somewhat mystifying,' Dulci said. ‘I never considered you a coward, Jack.'

 

She'd called him a coward and simply walked away! Granted, she'd only walked to the other side of the boat, but he couldn't go after her just now. The reality of his choice began to sink in—how would it be when she was weeks away from him? There'd be no going after her then either. In truth, Jack knew if he let her get off this boat, there'd be no going after her, period. That was the most dismal prospect of all.

His life would be filled up with several ‘nevers'. He'd never turn around during a surveying expedition and see her standing there, telescope in one hand looking out across the land. He'd never bathe beneath a waterfall again with her, reveling in the sheer joy of being alive together. He'd never lie down beside her at night, the stars overhead, and make perfect love that left him so completely fulfilled that his demons disappeared.

The stars came out. The boats settled for the night. Jack wished Dulci would come back to him and curl up beneath their blankets. But she didn't. She stubbornly remained as far from him as the boat allowed.

He idly rubbed at his wrist where Dulci had tied
their hands together last night, the words of their ceremony drifting through his mind ‘so long as we both shall live'. The phrase had not made much sense when she'd spoken it after declaring she'd rather have him as a husband for one night than never have him at all. What else had she said? ‘There are a lot of ways to die.'

At the time, he'd been too focused on the prospect of a literal physical death to entertain the notion of an internal death, a waking death that left one with a body but no spirit. It occurred to him with a clarity that physically hurt that such a death was precisely what his choice had doomed them to.
Them
. Not just himself.

Dulci deserved better than that. He meant every word he'd said last night—she had earned the right to be his partner. She was capable of sharing the rigours of his life. She'd proven she did under stand the life he led and she was not ashamed of it or him. She loved him unconditionally—well, that part wasn't entirely true. Dulci had her condition. She wanted a partnership of body and soul, no less. And he wanted to give that to her if…

Coward.

Dulci's challenge rang in his head. His ruminations had come full circle. When had he become so bloody cautious? In his work, he was known for bold and intrepid dealings. It was time to apply those tactics to his personal life before he lost the only thing really worth fighting for. Gladstone and her other suitors were cautious men and Dulci had rejected them for it. She wanted a man bold enough to claim her, brave enough to make her his partner and, by God, Jack was going to show her that he could be that man, that her faith in
him had not been wrong, just merely misplaced until he came to his senses.

Jack pushed up from the pallet, balancing himself against the exterior wall of the small supply cabin. Whoa, he was wobbly. He stood for long moments, breathing deeply, regaining his equilibrium. The world stopped tilting. He took a few tentative steps, the wobbles disappearing. He fixed his eyes on Dulci's form and started to walk.

‘Sometimes a man is stupid,' he said softly.

She startled a little at his voice and turned from the railing. ‘More often in some cases than others.'