Emma Barry (18 page)

He jerked her toward him forcefully and pulled the wool fabric off of her lean frame, tearing her shirt low enough to reveal the ample curve above her bound breasts. The men gasped, feigning surprise.

“No!” she screamed, her voice vibrating off the ceiling, bringing every eye in her direction. “Do it, blast you,” she ordered Husam through clenched teeth, casting the guard a pitiful expression she knew would win his sympathies.

Husam gripped her face and planted a rough kiss upon her lips.

“Here. Here. None of that,” the guard exclaimed.

“Forgive me,” Husam whispered. Without skipping a beat, he shoved Adele roughly until she stumbled toward the bars of the cage. “This puny lad even tastes like a girl! Who knew about this?” he asked his crew. “Who hid her from me?”

He rushed forward and wrapped his larger than life hands around her throat. The men grew demanding, egging Husam on. Ready for a fight to ease their boredom, they pleaded with him to share. The fact she was a woman registered in the guard’s eyes once her leather vest was removed, her tiny waist revealed, and her ample breasts pressed even tighter against the fabric binding them. Adele cast the guard a pleading glance. She squealed for his help and whimpered in pain. The man’s trigger finger relaxed and then tightened as he struggled to understand how a woman had gotten on board ship.

The guard’s intake of breath was swift. “I’ll be damned.”

“Help me. Don’t let ‘em hurt me. Please … ” she whimpered.

The guard wasn’t nearly as young and inexperienced as the one who’d taken the shift before him. She’d seen a look in this man’s eye that implied he could be easily influenced with proper motivation. A rare urgency spawned inside her. Husam jerked her backward and pretended to grope her body, the large chains surrounding his wrists clanging against the bars. Theatrically, she attempted to fight him off, and conjured tears that spilled down her cheeks.

The guard’s eyes darted around the cage from man to man. Indecision and desire were evident on his face as he battled his conscience and licked his lips. When his throat constricted, Adele hid a victorious smile.

“Stand back, the lot o’ you,” the guard yelled. Clumsily, he fumbled with the key strapped to his belt. The steel bolt clicked free and the door inched outward. Adele held her breath.
Patience …

Training his pistol upon her men, the guard eased her toward the opening and commanded her to exit the cage. She shimmied through. “Thank you, sir. Thank you!” she exclaimed, playing her part to the hilt, clasping her arms around the guard’s neck.

Husam chuckled deeply. She frowned back at him, afraid his mirth would give them away. She couldn’t blame him for wanting to gloat. But there would be plenty of time for that once the Dragon was in their hands.

“What’s your name, sir?” she asked, keeping close to the guard, milking him for everything he was worth in order to get him to drop his defenses.

“Bid — dle,” he stuttered, releasing her.

“No, Mister Biddle. Your given name.” She stepped seductively closer.

“Harrison,” he said, dropping his gaze to her bosom.

“Harrison,” she purred, easing ever closer like a spider ready to encapsulate its unknowing victim. “These bounders attacked my ship. I had no choice but to hide among ‘em.”

“How is that possible?” She could feel his body wince.

“Possible?” she asked. “Well, when my ship was attacked, I had nowhere to go. The only way I knew I could survive was to pretend to be one of ‘em.” She turned toward the cage and spat. “As you can see they be nothing but animals. It’s been incredibly hard not to cringe in fear and give myself away.”

“Why didn’t you confide in the captain when you boarded the Dragon? He could have helped you.”

Adele leaned toward him. “Why? I nearly lost my mind when these pirates attacked your ship. What if they’d taken control? My secret would have been out.”

“No woman should be forced to pretend she is a man,” he insisted, easing his hand up her arm.

“No,” she said, batting her eyes.
Never forced.

Harrison Biddle stared at her bosom with growing interest. He cleared his throat loudly. “I
should
take you to the captain.”

“I’m frightened,” she whined.

“There is nothing to be afraid of now.”

“These pirates have said terrible things about ‘im.”

“What things?” he asked, glancing over her shoulder at the men in the cage.

“Well, he’s maimed. How can a man incapable of protecting himself, protect me?” She leaned close, placing her bosom a mere inches away from his face. “What I need is a man who can protect me from the likes of these,” she said, pointing to the cage.

Biddle’s eyes widened and then narrowed with understanding as he focused on her breasts. His gaze scanned the crowded hold as if he deliberated his options.

Husam and his men railed against the bars to hasten his decision. “You tricked us, wench! If I could get to you, I’d — ”

One-eyed Douglas reached through the bars. Adele squealed and sank into Biddle’s arms, her chains rattling awkwardly.

“Stand away,” the guard ordered.

“But … but I’m afraid. What if they break loose?” She held her breath, feeling the burden of forty lives upon her shoulders.

“There’s no chance o’ that. Come,” he motioned hurriedly. “I’ll take you to the captain.”

Biddle’s eyes gleaned with barely concealed lust as he grabbed her by the upper arm and led her out of the hold. Biddle, she decided, would soon learn how he’d erred when she retrieved the key he’d placed in his trouser pocket.

“She’s the reason we failed,” Husam bellowed.

“A woman aboard brings bad luck. Don’t think the cap’n is immune,” warned another one of her men named Roddy.

Superstition. Nice touch.

Adele rubbed her body against Biddle to keep his mind preoccupied. When she braced herself against his torso, there was no question she’d achieved her aim.

“Thank you for rescuing me,” she purred. “How can I show my gratitude?”

Biddle’s eyes rounded and a sly grin transformed his pockmarked face. “You can give me a ride between your legs,” he replied, his voice a deep growl.

Straight and to the point. She admired that. “Harrison. I promise a ride you’ll never forget.”

She’d counted on Biddle being an ordinary man, with ordinary needs. As his eyes widened at her brazen display, she wasn’t to be disappointed.

“We’ll have to be quick,” he said.

She licked her lips. His passion-filled gaze settled on her tongue. “I shall do everything in my power to ensure it,” she promised.

Biddle took her by the hand and led her out the door. Husam chuckled as she turned back for an instant and winked. His satisfied grin said he had no doubt she’d return quickly — with the key, and without Biddle or her chains.

• • •

Pacing the Dragon’s deck, Captain Henry Guffald limped from one end of the upper deck to the other with his hands clasped behind his back. Nothing was going according to plan. He’d set out to do one simple thing — save a friend’s life. Instead, he’d found himself in Cornish waters, fending off a pirate attack, taking on responsibility for another ship, the Black Belle, forced to make order out of chaos, while attempting to outrun an approaching storm. Rotten luck when timetables were imperative and a man’s fate, as well as his own, depended upon punctuality. But that wasn’t all. Aye, he knew that well enough.

The entire situation on board the Dragon jeopardized his mission and Admiral Nelson’s trust, which was already in doubt. Double agents didn’t go rogue. Commanders didn’t show weakness. But he’d shown momentary weakness by loving Lady Constance Danbury, a woman out of his reach. That lapse in judgment nearly cost his naval career, not to mention his life.

One last chance. That was all he had left. One last chance to retain his captaincy and prove he was just as capable as he had been when he’d first joined Nelson’s Tea.

Henry stopped pacing and gazed down at his useless leg.
If only it was that easy.
Obtaining pardon had never been more complicated. Furious he might have already lost his last chance, he slammed his fist on the larboard railing.
Damned weather! Damned pirates!

Pain shot through his hand. He waited for it to subside and then focused on the sheets of rain obliterating the lights that had been sighted off of St. Michael’s Mount. Pirates! He hated pirates with every fiber of his being, thanks to his personal association with Barnabas Frink. To make matters worse, Lady Constance Danbury had suffered cruelly because of it.

Fast forward a year. The failed skirmish between his ship and the Black Belle only succeeded in magnifying that hate. Aligning himself with a pirate had once nearly cost him everything he held dear. Regrettably, the bloody limp he’d retained protecting Lady Constance was a daily reminder never to falter again.

The cockboat ground against its moorings, rousing him from his thoughts. Henry shifted positions, appraised the tightness of the ropes, and then limped to the forecastle as the rain began to ebb. He raised a spyglass toward the Belle, sailing not far behind. It was an extraordinary ship. A sloop, cutting the sea quick and sure, without doubt a specimen that would delight the King, and add another notch in Henry’s bow. The sixty-five thousand pound prize money would have been an extra boon to his crew too, if he’d been in the market. But a treasure hunt was not what he was about today.

A quick glance up at stars appearing sporadically through the clouds overhead motivated him to pull out his silver pocket watch to gauge the time. He opened the etched lid and peered inside. Now wasn’t the time to question his instincts. Burdened by the weight of the Black Belle’s crew, the Dragon rode low in the water making his ship lose precious time. Emitting a groan, Henry stared out at the boundless sea, allowing the cold spray to tenderize his exposed flesh. White caps crested upon the expanse before him, reminding him how distant Spain was to his present position.

Spain. Henry shifted onto his good leg and inhaled a stabilizing breath. Failure to arrive in the Bay of Biscay wasn’t an option. Garrick Seaton was a fellow member of Nelson’s Tea, sent to San Sebastian on a mission of utmost secrecy. It was Henry’s job to bring the man home alive. Therein laid the rub and the irony. Garrick was the eldest son of an earl who made his living off of piracy sanctioned by the King. And though Henry hated pirates with every fiber of his being, he couldn’t turn his back on a royal decree, or a friend. Garrick was one of Nelson’s most trusted operatives and
he
was Garrick’s one and only chance at freedom.

Sailing to the designated rendezvous point to handle Garrick’s cartel wasn’t all he’d been assigned to do. He first had to sail into the viper’s den to collect Garrick’s ransom. After his dealings with Captain Frink and what he knew about Earl Pendrim, would the Dragon be welcome in Abbydon Cove? Pendrim and Frink had been sworn enemies. Given his affiliation with Frink, would Pendrim trust him? Could anyone trust him again?

There were those among Nelson’s Tea, mercenaries under the guidance of Simon Danbury, who questioned his loyalties. With good reason. He’d been a fool to ever believe Lady Constance Danbury, now Her Grace, the Duchess of Blendingham, could have ever returned his love. She deserved better. But in his stupidity and selfishness, he’d nearly gotten her killed, a fact that didn’t help him sleep at night, especially when he’d discovered she’d been with child. That he was here now, alive, walking, was due to her forgiveness, generosity, and care. Risking life and limb for her also put him in Blendingham’s eternal debt. After Henry had been shot, Percival Avery, Duke of Blendingham, another member of Nelson’s Tea, had provided him the best physician money could buy. He and Simon had also put in a good word, ensuring Henry was commissioned to captain the Dragon.

Henry fisted his fingers around the pocket watch until his knuckles turned white, refusing to read the inscription again. He’d memorized Lady Blendingham’s message:
What was will never be forgotten
. She’d forgiven him. But could he ever forgive himself? That was the question. Determined to find the strength to do so, he moved slowly toward the stern and inhaled deeply, where his calculating gaze settled upon the foaming, heaving wake behind his ship. Duty was all he had left. While gentlemen at White’s gambled he wouldn’t succeed in this one service, he meant to prove them wrong.

Smugglers be damned!
The vermin of the Black Belle had waylaid him from a singular purpose, but they wouldn’t deter him from his ultimate goal — redemption.

Henry turned his gaze upon the Black Belle, now manned by a sparse crew of loyal men he’d transferred aboard after the skirmish between the two crews. While he studied the vessel, the sea churned between the two ships. His face beaded with salty brine as he limped toward the bow to better gauge the severity of the impending storm. Wind and sail whipped about him but his mind focused upon the tiny lights flickering through the watery veil in the distance.

Land provided the answer to his present dilemma. Once ashore, he could off-load the prisoners, ridding himself of the dangerous threat of mutiny. The Cornish cliffs sheered sharp and high, masked slightly by swirling clouds that hinted at twilight. He’d be lucky to make land by nightfall, provided his navigator could steer them clear of rocks jutting along the coast. But the job had to be done if he was going to regain speed, rendezvous with Pendrim, and focus on his mission.

Anxious, Henry lingered on deck until he was soaked through and through. Though he’d set the Dragon on a new course, something he couldn’t quite put a finger on nagged at his brain. A nagging suspicion that his success at repelling the Belle’s crew had been too easily won.

Impossible! Wasn’t it?

Releasing his tight grip on the silver watch casing, he returned the time piece to his waistcoat. He was tired of fighting a memory, tired of trying to prove he was a better man than those imprisoned below. There were times he wasn’t so sure. This was one of them.

“Captain! Captain!”