Cadha's Rogue (The Highland Renegades Book 5) (7 page)

Desperation crowded her words and she crawled over the groaning crewmen. Why? Why shouldn’t they throw him over? What could she possibly say to change the pirate’s mind?

“Don’t separate us. I only lied because I love her.” Valc’s words were so sudden and so loud, they forced Cadha to sink backwards in shock. But the men still wrestled him forward.

With tears blurring her eyes, she looked back at the Captain and repeated Valc’s words. “He only lied because he loves me.”

The captain held out his hand to stop his men, but before he could speak, Valc’s scream tore through the air and the men threw him over the rail, into the ocean. It was only as she saw him being torn away from her that she realized what the captain had said behind her, and it nearly stopped her heart to hear.

“And finally, the truth.”

Valc hit the water and lost his breath for a moment in the chill. The salty liquid stung his nose and ears at first, and he pushed toward the surface, gulping air.

The ship barely moved before him and his first thought was to calculate if he could cross the distance to her before she was gone. The pirate ship appeared to have been anchored, because they didn’t make any progress in the water, but Greta’s cog bobbed beside it, tied on like it was docked in port.

He began to swim for the boarding ladder, but before he could get close enough, a scream rang out across the waters. A flash of blue, and a splash of water near him, and Cadha’s head broke the surface. She gulped the same shocked breath he had.

Valc swam to her. “Don’t struggle. Just let the water lift you.”

But the water wasn’t going to lift her. It wasn’t long before her dress became water-logged, and her struggling began to pull her down.

“Stop flailing about,” he ordered.

A heart-stopping chill passed through him at the fear in her eyes. She choked on a mouthful of seawater, trying to say something to him.

Valc took a deep breath and went under. He couldn’t see much in the murky sea, and there was no time to apologize for the indecorous deed he was about to perpetrate upon her.

His hands settled on her waist and then felt lower. He found the ties for her long ribbon—the one that held up her dress like breeches. With cold fingers, he pulled at the ties and they gave way. He made quick work of pulling the ribbon away from as much of her legs as he could manage.

The blasted dress had a thousand buttons. After trying clumsily to undo several of them, his lungs started to burn and Valc abandoned it. Instead, he ripped at the fastenings. Finally, the dress came loose from her body. He stripped her down to the light shift underneath, and let the blue dress and the long ribbon sink to the depths.

When he broke the surface, he filled his lungs with air and searched out Cadha’s face. She was above water, and didn’t appear to be struggling. He willed his heart to slow to a normal pace.

She was safe. For now.

The loud smack surprised him, though he barely felt it. Valc put his hand to his cheek. “What the blazes was that for?” he asked.

Cadha’s eyes were red and her hand pulled back for another. He grabbed her wrist before she could swing again. “What’s wrong with you?

She fought his grip. “My purse. It was tied to my dress.”

He tried to gather her into his arms while his feet kept him above water, but she pounded his chest. “It was either you or your dress, my lady. I took a gamble and decided your life was worth more.”

Cadha swiped at him. “What will we do?”

“Why did they throw you over?”

“They didn’t.”

Valc couldn’t help shaking himself a little. “Then how did you get into the water?”

“I jumped.” She stuck out her chin as though she’d just given the most obvious answer to a question she’d ever heard. “They’ll save me, and I’ll save you. The captain would never let Brecht de Witt’s daughter freeze in the North Sea.”

Valc raised his eyes to the deck of his cog. The four pirates, the young translator, and the scarred captain all hung over the edge, watching them and passing foreign words back and forth.

“That may not have been wise.” Valc said.

“Follow me.” Cadha put one arm in the water, then another. She moved forward a bit, but swimming was obviously not her strong suit.

Valc swam for the cog, which still bobbed against the moving waters, tied to the anchored pirate ship. “Throw the rescue line,” he called against the lapping water.

The boy obviously relayed the message to his captain, but the reception of Valc’s request was not favorable. Everyone but Alwin turned from the rail and began to chatter. The blond young man just stared down at them with sad eyes.

Valc heard the unmistakable snap of the main falling out and catching wind. Then, the larger roll of Acheson’s anchor being hoisted. They were leaving. They were leaving with his ship.

Valc kept swimming, trying for the boarding ladder, but as soon as the ship picked up wind, it made enough progress that the distance between his hand and his ship only continued to grow.

No.
They couldn’t take his cog. He had promised Greta he would keep the box safe. If he could just catch the bottom of that boarding ladder…

But before long, the ship was so far out of his reach, swimming wouldn’t do any good. And Cadha wasn’t a strong swimmer in the pounds of fabric that still shrouded her decency. He was in danger of losing her if he wasn’t careful.

Valc turned around and swam for Cadha, who was barely treading water. The concern etched into her face made Valc’s stomach sink. She had trusted him. Counted on him. And he’d failed her.

“Will they circle back for us?” she asked, her eyebrows rounding.

Valc shook his head. “They’re pirates, Cadha. They’re not going to circle around for captives they just tossed overboard.”

“I jumped.” Her tone was so indignant, he wanted to laugh.

“Yes, you did jump. You’re regretting that now, I would imagine.”

Her eyes followed the ship. “They could still throw us the rescue line. They’re not that far away.”

“Cadha.” He grabbed her shoulders and they both sank into the water for a moment. But it was worth the salty mouthful so he could shake some sense into her. “They’re not going to rescue us. They threw me overboard.”

“But he knows my father. Surely, he wouldn’t…”

Valc released her squirming body. “He would. He’s a pirate.”

He turned himself in a full circle. They had been close enough to the coast, trying to make that wide turn after nearly coming ashore at Scarborough, he wondered if they might not be close enough to land that they would be able to swim for it. But he couldn’t see anything.

He had a rough idea of where they were, but without the stars, and with the sun stationery almost precisely overhead, he couldn’t tell one direction from another.

“Now, what do we do?” she asked. “Swim after them?”

Valc didn’t want to answer. Swimming would tire them out, and if they went in the wrong direction, they could swim forever without reaching land. He wasn’t a swimmer. He was a sailor.

“We should stay where we are, for the time being,” he said. He wanted to wait for the sun to move in the sky so he would be able to tell the direction they should head.

If they were where he thought they had been when they were boarded—not far from where he set the rigging to hold the wheel—then a solid easterly course should set them ashore in England. Where in England, he couldn’t be certain. But somewhere, land. They just had to get to land. He would beg, borrow, lie, and steal to get his ship back, to get Greta’s box back. But first, he had to get to land.

Cadha bobbed in front of him. Valc couldn’t concentrate with her expectant gaze moving across his face. He slipped into a back-float and let the sun warm his body as much as it could.

“Get on your back, like this,” he said. “Keep your head above water and your arms down.” He reached for her, but she either knew how to float, or learned quickly.

“Why aren’t we going after them?” she asked.

“They caught the wind. We’ll never catch them, swimming.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to follow them?”

“They’ll be out of sight in minutes.” The sun beat down hot on Valc’s face and he swallowed, thinking suddenly of how thirsty he was. Nothing, compared with how thirsty he would be.

“I just don’t think we should float here, like this.” She made some splashing noises and Valc grabbed her arm, pulling her back into a float.

“Stay there. Didn’t your father teach you what to do if you were stranded in open water?” He bit his lip. He shouldn’t be so hard on her, but he needed time to think in peace.

“My father never expected me to be stranded in open water.” Her tone wavered. “They’ll circle back around for us.”

Valc’s laugh was sharp and cracked across the water. “They’re not going to circle around. If they’d intended to rescue us, they would have thrown a line before they weighed anchor.”

“But my father…”

“They intended to leave us. No matter who your father was. We’ll have to swim.” Valc shuttered his eyes. It would be rough, but if they paced themselves, they could make it. He needed that ship back, but he wasn’t going to lose her to do it.

Chapter Nine

Cadha’s lungs had never burned like this. It felt like someone had lit a fire inside them and continued to fan it with each stroke of her arms. She could still see Valc ahead of her, but each time a wave swelled, he would disappear.

He stopped swimming and circled around, looking for her. She kept putting one arm after another into the water until she reached him.

“I need to rest,” she gasped, coughing at the water that kept trying to get into her lungs.

Valc glanced up at the sun, which was now almost to the horizon. Cadha slipped onto her back, as she had done each time they had to stop.

She tried to catch her breath, but the water was choppy and kept sliding over her face. She spluttered and righted herself and Valc had his arms around her in moments.

The only warmth she had felt over the last several hours was the building heat that would steal through her body whenever he touched her. She welcomed it.

“How much farther?” Cadha’s tired legs moved beneath her, keeping herself upright.
Keep swimming, just keep swimming.

“I’m not sure.” Valc looked at the sun again. “England should be in that direction, but we’re still too far to see the land. I’m afraid the sun is going to set before…”

He pulled them both onto their backs and took her hand. “We need to keep swimming as soon as you are able.”

The very thought of swimming again made her throat go dry. Her tongue had swollen a little and her lips and face hurt. Every limb ached. Her stomach rumbled.

Cadha turned her head just a bit to look at Valc. His lips drew together and he swallowed hard. He tried so valiantly to believe they were going to survive. She was beginning to love his resilience.

“Tell me something, Valcymer Vanhorn.”

“You need to relax your neck when you swim. Keep your head down except when you breathe. When you try to hold your head up all the time, it tires you out more quickly.”

Cadha’s laugh came from her toes and echoed over the rolling water. “No. I meant answer me a question.”

Valc huffed. “I meant it about keeping your head down. You need to save your energy.”

“Why did you take on a single female passenger to make a trek across the North Sea?”

“It’s not important right now, Cadha. We need to start swimming again.”

“I can’t swim another stroke at this exact moment.”

Valc squeezed her hand as they treaded through the water. “You’re going to have to swim again. I won’t let you die out here.”

The touch of his hand grounded her. In the interminable ocean, she had one anchored thought. Valc had said he loved her. He wouldn’t let her die. He was willing to die for her.

She swiped at her face, uncertain if tears were clouding her vision, or if it was the sea. “Answer my question.”

A long pause followed and Cadha squeezed his hand in return.

“I needed the money,” he finally said.

“I gathered that much. What do you need the money for?”

He was silent again. The burning in Cadha’s lungs wasn’t subsiding this time, and she tried to slow her breath. Each intake brought a searing pain.

“I owe a debt.” The words came so slowly, and were so quiet, she almost didn’t hear him. Valc cleared his throat. “I owe a debt.”

It was her turn not to answer. Cadha had been taught never to owe any man, and she had never known anyone who had carried a debt. Was Valc, after all this, a man who couldn’t be trusted?

Was she going to drown in the empty sea holding the hand of a rogue?

“And was my payment enough to discharge your debt?”

“It wasn’t that sort of debt.”

A quick glance at Valc and she saw why he was so slow to answer. There were tears gathering in his eyes, and they weren’t from the salt water. His face was drawn and tight, as though he held back a swelling tide.

“What sort was it?” she asked.

“Someone saved my life once. She asked me to do something for her before she died, and I gave my word.” He floated there for a long time, not speaking. He released her hand. “We really need to swim again.”

A strange calm washed over her when he said the words. She took a deep breath and let her feet sink into the water. “We’ll swim again, or die trying.”

Valc pulled her into his arms. “You’re not going to die.” He stroked her back even as he kicked at the water to keep them upright. “Remember why you are here, Cadha. Remember why you hired me.”

She tried to recall those faces she hadn’t seen in days. Maas. Pien. Papa. Mama. “I want to reunite my family.”

“Yes,” he said with earnest fervor. “Yes. Your brother.”

“Maas.” The word felt almost unfamiliar on her lips.

Valc held her cheek with one hand and treaded water with the other. “That’s what you need to remember, Cadha. You need to think of your purpose here, with each stroke you take. Remember why you paid all your money to cross the sea with me.”