Swept to Sea (7 page)

She stumbled away. “Please, just get it over with now, sir.” Eden stared fixedly at a splinter protruding from the wooden planks beneath her.

Her words finally seemed to sink into the man when he cried out with what sounded something like alarm in his deep voice, "Never!" Captain Archer wrenched the handkerchief from his wound and took a step closer to her. "I would never strike a woman. Never. What kind of man do you believe me to be?” He glared at her so hard, she felt it almost the same as a blow. “Besides, I am not gravely injured, milady. The bullet barely grazed my arm. It is nothing drastic by any means." He placed a finger underneath her chin, nudging her face up gently. A callus on his hand brushed against her skin, but his touch was anything but rough.

Eden felt a surge of heat flood over her at his touch. He tied the cloth that remained in his other hand around his wounded shoulder, studying Eden as if he had never before seen her. Why was his mouth curled up in a smile? For goodness’ sake, why wasn't he upset with her?

****

Why had the dear woman even considered the thought he would strike her? Egad, he could never do anything even remotely near striking her. Caspian now had confirmation where that garish, black bruise had come from. But who had done it to her? Who would have the gall to harm such a precious creature? He certainly should not ask her now. Now, she was too vulnerable, too fragile, and somehow, too fearless.

Even now, she cowered against the bulkhead, her lower lip trembling.

"Faith, woman, you are quite brave to shoot me like that." He felt one side of his mouth curl up in a smile.

Eden shook her head repeatedly. “You would never say such a thing if you had seen what I did in my nightmare. How terrified I was. How I ran away." She chewed on her quivering, plump bottom lip and gazed intently at the ground.

"Ha! I daresay I have never seen a woman with enough daring to simply point a gun at a man, nonetheless shoot him. A pirate captain, even so." He chuckled.

Eden trembled and leaned back against the bulkhead. She swayed.

Caspian leapt to her side and engulfed her in his arms. He winced, but the pain from his wound did not last long with an adorable woman in his embrace. A sweet scent of vanilla and coconut teased his nose. Had he truly just met this girl? By the urge deep in his gut to protect her, it almost seemed as though he had known her for years.

She was as stiff in his arms as a bowline caught in the wind until he set her down next to him on one of the leather armchairs. The poor girl melted against him and onto his lap, and then she began to sob.

"Milady, will you please tell me about your dream… your nightmare? Who is it who hurt you, sweetheart? What did they do to you? I want to know who struck you and gave you that bruise on your shoulder." He gently touched her delicate shoulder. The heat of her skin bore through the thin silk of the nightgown she wore.

She shook her head and covered her face with both of her hands. "It matters not, Captain. As long as we do not return to London, I shall be safe from him. I have vowed it will never happen again."

Tears pooled in her doe-like eyes and soon began to pour down her face in little rivulets. Caspian felt a sudden surge of protectiveness and anger sweep through his body. By all that is great and good, if he ever laid his eyes on the man who had done this to the poor woman, gave her these terrible nightmares, he would kill him. By all that was right, he must make certain the lady was safe from this monster and others like him. He would see for certain that once in Port Royal, she had a safe place to go with as much money as she needed to survive.

Perhaps she was thinking similarly.

"Can I get you anything, Lady Trenton? Is there anything I can help you with once we reach Port Royal?" Caspian inquired, longing to remove those dreadful tears from her pretty eyes.

She nestled her head against his chest and remained silent so long that for a moment, he wondered if she had fallen asleep. Finally, she answered, "No, thank you." She released a shaky breath.

Caspian stroked her umber curls, relishing the fact she didn't stop him, didn't recoil from his touch like he had expected from the lady and her skittish ways. He was enjoying how soft and silky her locks felt beneath his fingertips.

After a few moments, the lady’s breathing altered from ragged sobs to quiet, even snoring. Caspian could not hold back a grin at the sight of such a pretty little thing snoring. He scooped her up in his arms and laid her down on the bed before going up on deck to retrieve his curious son.

Chapter Five

Caspian gazed out at the sea. Oh, how wonderful it felt to be at sea again, to smell the salty, moist air. When he was here, he was in full control. He had proven himself more than capable of overcoming even the greatest pirates of the Spanish Main, and he could destroy those who had destroyed him.

He rubbed his tender arm, still healing from the bullet wound, and smirked. Well, he was capable of destroying these men, but maybe not controlling the little woman in his cabin.

It was barely fathomable that it had only been a week since he had met Lady Trenton. She had grown on Reed by the second, and yet stayed far away from Caspian. He wondered if she would ever be anything but cold and distant to him.

Caspian squinted at a point on the horizon. Was that the bright white of a billowing sail? He trained his eyes to focus, but after a second, all he could see was the churning, gray waters.

Moments later, a cry rained down from the shrouds. “A sail!”

Caspian whipped out his telescope. There was a ship off their western horizon, sailing toward them. Just as he had suspected.

He recognized the colors. Gray and red. The colors of
Neptune’s Poison.
Moore. There was no way it was not Moore. Caspian had been told the man was in the Caribbean, miles away off the coast of Jamaica, but it seemed that information was incorrect. After running into the man a couple of times over the years and never actually getting close enough for another battle, the time had come for Caspian’s revenge.

Gage walked up beside Caspian. “Captain, who is she?”

“Moore.”

Gage sucked in a breath. “I suppose you plan to take her, Captain?”

“Aye, Master Thompson. Prepare the men.”

Caspian could accomplish his goal before even arriving in the Caribbean. Moore would get what he deserved once and for all, after the pain he had brought upon Caspian and Reed.

****

Gage watched as Captain Archer ran a hand through his curly, black hair. A feeling of foreboding washed over Gage, and he hesitated to do the captain’s bidding. Did they truly want to pick a fight with a ship that could easily best them? The ship appeared to be more heavily gunned than the
Dawn’s Mist
as Moore’s had been
,
true, but what were the chances this ship belonged to Moore? There were plenty of other ships flying those same colors.

Caspian spun around, his fists clenched. Gage lowered his gaze. He did not want to ignite his friend’s anger, but he wondered if it was a good idea to approach this ship.

“I told you to prepare the men, Master Thompson… what is keeping you?”

“Well… uh… Captain, do you truly think it is Moore? That is to say…” Gage stammered, wringing his hands as he stood in front of his captain. For some reason, he felt there was something terribly wrong with this situation. If this ship really was Moore, the last thing Gage wanted for his captain was to let his emotions control his actions and make a mistake. Besides, if something happened to Reed during the imminent battle, Caspian would never, ever, forgive himself.

Gage did not know if he could forgive himself, either. Children were a precious gift from God. Everyone would be much better off if they high-tailed away from this ship with the gray and red flag.

“Master Thompson, you were given an order by your captain… I don’t care if you are my friend; there will be a consequence if you disobey me.” He paused and spoke more calmly. “Yes, it has to be Moore. Those are his colors. Don’t think I do not remember every blasted detail of that day.”

Gage recognized the anger coiled in his captain’s eyes and the bite to his words, but Gage knew they were not directed at him. No, it had to have been reserved for Moore and what he had done.

But Gage also noticed something else in Captain Archer’s eyes… something like… fear.

“Captain, is this truly the time for a battle with your old enemy? We have the lady below, and really, should we risk harming her? Think of Reed. What if something were to happen to him?” Gage knew if they did not avoid this battle, many of their men would die, and Moore would no doubt best them again.

Revenge was a bitter thing to seek. Gage had learned that lesson long ago from his parents’ actions.

Something passed through the captain’s eyes, and for a moment, he did not speak. Gage glanced out at the horizon, where the ship was approaching them by the minute.

“Reed will be fine. Lady Trenton, well, she might be… no. We must do this. We cannot allow Moore to escape when he is just within our grasp.”

“Captain…” Gage warned.

Captain Archer rotated away from him, fury the dominant expression on his face. He addressed the crew, who had stopped in front of them, awaiting orders. “Prepare the guns, and keep your weapons at the ready! We will take her!” Caspian lodged his fists on his hips. “Tanner, make haste!” he ordered the man behind the wheel.

“Really, Captain, are you certain we should…” Gage interrupted with one final plea.

“If you wish to defy me, Master Thompson, then go below. I will not have you up here. This man has bested me once; I will not allow him to slip by without a fight.”

“My apologies, Captain.” He glanced at the men milling about the deck, strapping weapons onto their bodies. Foul words spewed from their mouths.

Gage nodded at his captain, truly regretting being so defiant to the man who had been his friend since early childhood. But what was wrong with the man? Was his thirst for revenge outweighing even his sense for protecting Lady Trenton and his son?

****

Caspian let out a groan, frustrated that his first mate and best friend was being so contrary today. He retrieved his spyglass, glaring at the ship that had ruined his life five years earlier.

He squinted to make out the familiar gray and red. It appeared to be in the shape of an hourglass, not Moore’s trademark skull.

Caspian backed away from the rail, shaking his head in disbelief.

That was not Moore at all; in fact, he recognized the colors as Captain Harden’s, a fellow privateer.

It took him a moment to swallow his pride, but he did it in haste, before Captain Harden caught sight of them approaching. “There will be no battle today, men! She is a privateer. Turn her back to starboard, Tanner!”

Caspian looked at his first mate. He could not read Gage’s expression, but he thought he saw disappointment in his eyes. Not disappointment in Caspian’s decision to avoid a skirmish, but disappointment at Caspian’s lust for blood. Moore’s blood, to be exact. Well, the man did not understand what he had gone through at the hands of Moore, and he hoped he never would.

Caspian would rid the sea of all wretched pirates like Moore.

He frowned when he remembered how much his Isabelle had abhorred piracy. How could he have remained a pirate when he was with her, during their short-lived marriage? Well, he was not a pirate anymore, and he
would
get revenge for the dear woman.

Countless whistles and bawdy catcalls assaulted Caspian's ears. He whirled around to see Lady Trenton parading across the deck, huffing indignantly at the pirates, her face flushed a becoming pink. The forecastle deck gave him a good vantage point to study her from. She had changed into a fresh coral-colored gown and pinned her umber curls into a loose bun at the nape of her neck. He snapped his thoughts away from admiring how pretty she looked. What on earth was she doing out here, in full sight of the crew, without his permission? Foolish girl.

The full crew had not even realized she was on the ship with them yet. Caspian had planned to explain the situation to his men later, but this was a lot more trouble. Now they would all assume the worst. Why else would a beautiful lady be emerging from the captain’s cabin?

The moment Caspian saw Kelton eying her up like she was nothing but a common trollop he leapt from the forecastle deck and ran amidships. He never should have let the insolent man out of confinement in the hold the day before. He should have known the young man would cause trouble.

But Caspian’s intended rescue was no good for Kelton struck before he arrived. The man approached her as if he had not seen a woman in years. He grasped her by the waist, a greedy look in his eyes. She screamed and slapped him in the face. Kelton roared and shook her by the shoulders.

What a foolish young man. Did he not realize his captain was right there, in front of him? Nay, the man no doubt realized that fact. He was doing this purely to defy his captain before the whole crew.

"Help! Captain? Captain Archer!" Lady Trenton screeched, searching for him, a shaken and helpless look on her pretty face.

"I am right here, Lady Trenton. No need to worry.” Caspian glared at the whelp, clenching his jaw tightly. “Kelton, you will release her immediately if you know what's good for your useless carcass," he barked.

Growling, Kelton obeyed and shoved Lady Trenton away from him as he did so. Relief washed over Caspian, and he slowly unclenched his fists when the whelp released her. Caspian did not want to resort to violence in front of the woman. It appeared as if she had experienced too much viciousness in her lifetime already.

The lady stumbled, swaying for a moment before regaining her balance.

Kelton glared up at his captain. Caspian noted the small, bright red hand mark that stained the young man's face. He chuckled. The woman was brave. And quite strong.

"I do believe the young lady has adequately punished you physically. Thank her, for she has spared you a long lashing. Now be gone with you. The sight of you sickens me," he ordered.