The Blue Diamond (The Razor's Edge Book 1) (8 page)

“I was about to ask you the
same, Maddox Carbonale,” she whispered, as her eyes strayed to the shiny blade
lying next to the bed on the rug; the very blade that was her namesake. Ivory
lay pasted on top of him, rising and falling with his every breath. His hands
slid up and over her back and held her there against him, until his breathing
returned to normal. Suddenly, his head rose from the bed, and when he reached
for his pistol on the side table, he realized he didn’t have it with him,
causing Ivory to stir.

“What is it?”

“I thought I heard something
on the balcony.”

“We’re alone here, aren’t
we?”

“It may have just been Zara
picking up.
 
But, just in case…” he slid
from beneath her, crept from the bed, and stepped to the open balcony doors.
The curtains swayed in the ocean breeze as he lifted the dagger he’d used to cut
her from her dress from the floor and listened quietly. Ivory leaned up on one
elbow and began to rise when he waved at her to stay put. “It was just Master
Green making a sweep of the house. He’s probably gone to find Sandy to take the
night watch.”

“How do you know it was
Green?”

“His silhouette is
unmistakable. I saw him headed towards the beach. Forget about it. Now, where
were we?” he asked, tossing the dagger on the side table by the doors before
walking back to the bed.

Ivory pressed her hand against
his chest as he leaned over her. “I want you to know that I have no
expectations. The attraction between a man and woman is natural, regardless of
how unnatural the situation may be.”

“Unnatural? My, such a word
to use as we are in our most natural state at the moment,” Maddox chuckled.

“Although I’d find it
difficult to understand if, in fact, you still intend to throw me to the wolves
tomorrow, tonight something happened between us that probably shouldn’t have.
Let’s not pretend it’s anything more than it is.”

Maddox stopped and fell down
next to her on the bed and stared blankly at the ceiling. “Far be it from me to
pretend anything…Madame.”

Chapter
Eight

“How hard can it be to find
a woman with snow-white hair in Jamaica?” Miranda asked while Cass picked at
the meal of chicken and rice that she had turned down only an hour before. They
chose the Shark Skin to begin their search since most, if not all, of
Carbonale’s crew patronized the pub. Asking questions was frowned upon by
pirates under any circumstances, but they had to take the risk. In the pirate
realm, the act of being “frowned upon” translated to risking your life.

“Wigs, Miranda?”

“Aye, wigs. Forgot about
those, but that may narrow it down at least, right?”

“I can’t just sit here and
eat this slop while Ivory is out there suffering God knows what kind of torture
or pain. Who knows what agony she may be facing at this very moment, while we
sit here discussing hair color and inhaling cheap pipe smoke and filthy pirate
stench.”

“I’ll get back to work on
ol’ Sandy over there, and you and Willy can figure out how you’re going to find
your own answers.” Miranda winked and slid from her seat to join Sandy as he
waved playfully at her from the bar. “Wish me luck, you two.”

Sandy grabbed the drunken
man from the stool, spun him onto the floor, and dragged him off to the side of
the room as Miranda watched with raised eyebrows, and a bit of pride. “Yer
seat, Madame,” Sandy said, waving her to the stool.

“Always the gentleman, John.
You don’t mind if I call you John, do you?” Miranda asked with a sweet smile
and her usual chin tickle.

“Call me bloody dog shit, as
long as ye sit here and tickle me chin.”

“Well, I doubt I’d call you
that, but how about we have a drink, aye?” Miranda looked across the room at
Cassandra and Willy, still appearing to mull things over, when she decided that
drastic measures were in order. She couldn’t bear the thought of Ivory
suffering at the hands of anyone after everything they’d been through,
including the many times she’d sorted out vile and violent men hell-bent on
rape and murder.

Miranda turned back to Sandy
and lifted her glass from the bar, “How about a toast?”

“Aye, a toast to yer beauty
and charms,” he grinned, winking at her cleavage.

“Well, I was thinking a toast
to new friends and to…getting to know one another better,” Miranda smiled a
crooked smile and swallowed hard.

“I’ll drink ta’ that!”

The minutes ticked by as
Miranda sipped on her rum and watched as Sandy poured his down. An hour in, she
excused herself for a moment to check in with Cass and Willy, only to learn
they’d made inquiries with a few intoxicated men who’d laughed in their faces
and said they didn’t ever see mermaids unless they’d eaten bad food or hit the
doldrums.

“Well, keep askin’ will you?”
Miranda begged.

“What about Sandy there? He
has to know something.”

“I’m waiting for him to get
drunk, but the son of a bitch has a hollow leg or something.”

“Look ladies, I’ll try some
other tactics. Just leave me to it a bit,” Willy said, glancing about the room
and laying eyes on an older, and a bit worn, lady of the evening. However,
Willy surmised that these women often saw and heard more than just the grunts
and groans of these fortune hunters, and for a few dollars more may be inclined
to share.

 
“Alright, I better get back. Ol’ Sandy is
giving me the eye,” Miranda said, gathering her skirt and flitting off back to
the bar.

“Good luck, Willy,” Cass
said as he made his way through the crowd to the whore with the jet black hair
and painted cheeks resting on a stool at the end of the bar.

“You’re still here, I see?”
said a very deep voice over Cass’s right shoulder. She spun in her seat and was
staring straight at the crotch of Blacksnake’s very large quartermaster. Cass’s
eyes walked up the man until they reached his face. She was mesmerized in the
dim lighting of the bar, as she watched the candle flicker in his light green
eyes. The man took Willy’s chair and spun it to where he sat facing her. He
wrapped his legs around the back of the chair and rested his thick forearms on
it as he sat.

“Master Green,” Cass said
and turned back to her drink.

“Madame Randall, you are
wasting your time in this place. You will not find your cousin here,” Green
stated as he waved to the bartender for a drink. They were briefly interrupted
when a freckled, plump young woman with bright red hair leaned over and
whispered in his ear, giggling while bringing him his usual full bottle.
 
However, he quickly brushed her away.

“How can you be so sure that
neither you nor Captain Carbonale has seen her?”

“I make it my business to
know everything that happens here.”

“Then I suppose you would be
lying to me.
 
As I stated earlier, it was
reported to us that she was, in fact, picked up in these waters by one of
Blacksnake’s ships.”

“Madame, you do not want to
tempt the wrath of such a man as Captain Carbonale. He may appear a refined and
diplomatic gentleman…”

“Well, that’s a matter of
opinion. May I?” Cass interrupted, pouring herself another glass of rum from
Green’s bottle.

“May I ask you a question?”

Cass turned and looked into
those sparkling green eyes peering out at her through his dark, glistening
skin, and struggled against being hypnotized at such a unique and unbalanced
sight. Without considering what the question may be, she simply said, “Yes.”

“I have been wondering… why
would four women of obvious intelligence and resources have stayed here to live
a lifestyle which is so unbefitting of ladies—other than those ladies you see
here?”

“That’s a difficult and
complex question to answer, Master Green, and one that I truly do not have time
to address right now. I intend to find Ivory, and when I succeed, I will do
whatever it takes to get her back. I’d even kill you, Master Green if
necessary…green eyes and all.”

Green laughed in a strangely
delightful baritone purr and pulled his glass to his lips. “I must give you
this; you have all been surviving until now, so I will take that statement
under advisement. However, please know, regardless or your beauty and grace,
underneath it all you are still just a pirate and a woman, of which I fear
neither.”

Cass reached over and took
Green’s huge paw in her hand and pulled it down beneath the table, sliding it
from her knee to her upper thigh. “Do you feel that, Alphonse?”

He smiled and nodded. “My
hand knows the way.”

“I’m not happy to see you
again. That’s a loaded pistol, and as you well know, I’m a dead shot. I’d hate
to see such a lovely man as yourself die without all your God-given parts. Oh,
and in case you’ve any ideas, its sister resides on my right hip, and I’m
equally skilled with either hand.”

“Let’s not continue to play
at this, Cassandra. We have known each other far too long for such childish
games. Besides, I have no plans to die today, and nor should you, which is why
you should save your cousin over there from Sandy and go home.
 
Or better yet,” he paused, “allow me to show
you how happy I truly am to see you, and remind you why you’d regret that dead
shot.” Green smiled and slid his hand further up her leg.

“I’m no longer that
wide-eyed, naive girl from years ago, and I have no use for that tonight,
Alphonse. Our time has come and gone,” Cass smiled, giving him a firm squeeze
on the crotch. “You don’t scare me, sir, with either a gun or with this, and
you never have.”
 
He withdrew his hand
quickly.
 

“I have no intention of
scaring you, Madame. I only wanted to warn you to be very careful of Captain
Carbonale. He may not kill you with his own hands, but his reach is far and his
tentacles will find you and squeeze you to death,” Green said, reaching back
across under the table and gripping Cass’s thigh. “I would hate to see such a
fine woman die, simply because she was still too stubborn to accept good
advice.”

“You cannot blame me for
wanting to protect Ivory. I would kill, or die, for any of my cousins. You have
no idea what she’s been through. As I sit here now, I imagine all sorts of
horrible things that may be done to her if she’s been kidnapped and has no
weapons or means of defending herself.”

Green began to laugh again and
rose from the table, putting the chair back in its place.

“And now what’s so goddamned
funny?”

“Just let me say that your
worries are for nothing. You believe Ivory a brave and capable captain, and
woman, no?”

“Of course I do. You know
she is, as well. Stop this façade, Alphonse.”

“Well, then I have a feeling
that she isn’t doing anything she does not wish to do at this very moment. For
all we know, she’s doing exactly what she wants to do. Until we meet again,
Madame Cassandra. I do hope it will be under more amiable circumstances, and
believe me when I tell you,” he said, running his fingers and his eyes down her
bare arm, “I’m not carrying a pistol, only a torch.
 
So, when we next meet, I can assure you I
will be, as always, happy to see you.”

“Don’t flatter yourself so.
I believe we settled all of our business long ago,” Cass said, looking up at
him and then quickly turning away.

“And you should not fool
yourself so, either. Goodnight, Madame.” Master Green turned and smiled back at
her, then continued on his way to retrieve Sandy.

Chapter
Nine

Ivory awoke before dawn and
turned beneath the sheets to stretch, but she felt something impeding her hands
from lowering. She tugged, trying to figure out in her half-asleep stupor what
was keeping her from moving, when she finally realized she was bound by the
wrists to the bed.

“Maddox?” she shouted, when
she realized she was alone. “Maddox!” she screamed again, this time pulling and
shaking the bed, causing it to slam loudly against the wall.

“Ivory, please calm
yourself. I’m sorry, darling, but I could not allow you to wake and possibly
escape… or worse, kill me in my sleep,” Carbonale said, entering the room in
the pre-dawn glow from the balcony. He was already fully dressed, although not
in his usual style. He was dressed to sail.

“Untie me this instant!”

“Why?
 
So that you will be free to escape?”

“Escape? You can’t be
serious. Untie me now and stop this. Who do you think you are?” she ranted.

“That’s an excellent
question, but perhaps I may ask you the same. Obviously what happened here was
nothing out of your ordinary realm of behavior. You said so yourself…”

“What I said last night…”
Ivory interrupted, remembering the words she spoke and realizing she may have
gone too far.

“Yes…last night,” he sighed.
“Despite the unique and rather impassioned connection we shared, you do not
expect me to believe it was anything more than a ploy on your part to deter me
from my course, now do you? No expectations, remember?” he asked as he moved
next to the bed and straightened his belt in the mirror, not once looking upon
her.

“I suppose someone like you
would think that, but if you believed it no more than a ploy, you certainly
gave me no indication as such,” Ivory replied, relaxing against the bed.
 
She waited for a sign of his now concealed
mutual affection, but it never came. His arrogance revealed him wounded, and
the blood flowed from his words.

“Zara will be in soon to
release and ready you for the journey to Nassau. I’m needed aboard ship.
 
And don’t worry yourself—we most likely will
not be sharing any further, shall we say, unnaturally intimate moments. My
apologies, Madame, as I would be remiss if I did not congratulate you on a most
inspired effort.” Carbonale removed his tricorn hat and bowed, before he turned
to exit.

“Maddox, please wait…”

He stopped in the doorway
and held his back to her as she spoke.

“You’re wrong, you know. I
truly believed there was a chance you were different, and that you were wrong
about your heart. If there’s any satisfaction to come of this for me, it would
be knowing never to let my guard down again—no matter how beautiful the man, or
how genuine the kiss may feel. You’ve schooled me, sir, and I thank you for
that.”

“I’ve had quite the
education as well. I suppose we’re never too old, or too wise, for a lesson,”
he said, as he placed his hat back upon his head and continued toward his
awaiting ship in the harbor.

* * * *

“Madame, you have my apology
for this,” Zara said, untying the ropes which held Ivory to the bed.

“Why? You didn’t do it.”

“Well, I apologize on behalf
of the Captain. He can be so…mistrusting, even when he’s obviously been as
close to someone as he was to you last night.” Zara released the second tie and
Ivory sat up, rubbing her wrists and arms.

“I blame myself. I have a
habit of pushing people away when they get too close. He appears to treat you
rather well though, Zara,” Ivory stated, taking the robe draped over Zara’s
arms and slipping it on.

“Roman is waiting to take us
to your room,” Zara said with her head down, holding open the bedroom door.
Ivory followed her and barely made eye contact with Roman when she nodded at
him in the dimly lit corridor, and then turned into her room.

“He loved my mother…once,”
Zara whispered in the dark as she closed the door and walked to light the lone
candle on the dresser.

“I’m sorry? What did you
say?” Ivory asked, turning around and looking back at Zara.

“Please, sit. I must fix
your hair. You’ve made a mess of it.”

“Zara, answer me, please.
What did you mean by that?” Ivory asked turning and taking the comb from Zara’s
hand as she sat.

With Carbonale safely away
aboard the ship, Zara’s thoughts flowed freely from her lips, of her childhood
when she and her mother arrived back in Kingston after being cast out from
Paris by her father’s wife. “My mother was very young when I was born—only a
year older than I am now. She was but twenty seven when we returned.
 
We had only my grandmother to depend on, but
she lived with a wealthy family here in Kingston as a maid and cook. We lived
in an abandoned shack near the mangroves, and my grandmother would sneak us
food.”

“Sadly, that is something I
understand completely.”

“The Captain was doing very
well as a privateer and was well acquainted with the family my grandmother
worked for. He had just built this house. He was looking for someone to take
care of things for him, and as my grandmother was trusted and respected in the
home, she recommended my mother, who joyfully accepted the position.”

“Maddox fell for his house
maid?”

“The Captain was not
always…the man he is today. If you knew of his past, you may possibly
understand him better.”

“Oh, Zara, for a fleeting
moment I allowed myself to wonder. But now, I have no desire to understand him,
and…”

“Wait, please. My mother
told him she had a child and he agreed for her to bring me here, if only to
assist her and live with her in her quarters. He took pity on me and allowed my
mother to teach me all of her French cooking, as well as everything else she
knew. However, even then he was not a trusting person. I cannot say that I
blame him.”

“None of us in this place
are trusting, Zara. This is simply the world we live in, and none of us have
the power to change that.”

“He trusted my mother.
Within less than a year, she slept in his bed every night, and they would spend
many hours together when he was ashore. They, of course, kept their secret, as
did I, but he showered us in gifts. He hated what my father’s wife had done to
us, as he had been treated much the same by his own family.”

“What do you mean by that?”
Ivory asked, turning in her chair to see Zara’s eyes.

“Madame, just know that he
is capable of great love, and he had it only briefly before it was taken
violently from him. His fear of love is not only fear of rejection, or being
made a fool. It is a very real fear of your blood on his hands.”

“You do realize you are
speaking of a man who’s taken hundreds of ships over the past ten years, not to
mention the number of lives he’s claimed in the process?”

“Yes, and I understand that
we are all complicated creatures, and the Captain is no exception. I only know
him in this home and with my mother…and now you.”

“I believe it was him who
took down my ship for the sole purpose of collecting me and turning me over to
the authorities for the bounty on my head.”

“You are correct. He
dispatched those sloops to sink your ship and capture you. He ordered every
life possible to be spared, especially yours. Obviously, he had no idea what
would happen once he brought you here and met you, and…became acquainted with
you.”

Ivory gave Zara a look of
surprise when she realized the girl was more than privy to where, and how, she
and Carbonale had spent their evening the night before.
 
She quickly changed her tone to that of
indifference. “He has plenty of ladies to keep him occupied, Zara. I’m sure I’m
just another conquest for him to add to his ego,” Ivory said, turning back to
the mirror and picking the pins from her hair.

“You are wrong,” Zara said,
turning Ivory at the shoulders to face her. “There have been no other women
here, and certainly not in his bed.
 
None… since my mother. That is a façade created by him after my mother
was killed. He and ladies might dinner away, either at their homes or a
restaurant, but never, ever has he brought a woman here, and he certainly never
frequents the whorehouses.”

“What happened to him?”

“He comes from a very
wealthy family in England. When he was a young man, it came to light that he
was not the child of his father, but the child of a lover his mother had
taken—an officer in the Royal Army who was a life-long friend of her husband.
The officer stayed with them for several months when he was stationed nearby.”

“Gee…what a great friend he
was.”

“Maddox was dark haired and
thick and strong, while his two younger brothers were fair-haired and meek like
his father… or rather, whom he thought was his father. Fortunately, this man
worshipped his wife and forgave her, but he never forgave Maddox. Every time he
looked on him he saw only his wife’s lover, and as soon as Maddox was of the
proper age, his father accepted the King’s shilling and shipped him off to the
Royal Navy.”

“You certainly open up when
he isn’t around.”

“I do not wish to betray
him, but only to help him find happiness again. Despite what you see, the
Captain is a very sad and lonely man.”

“You’re right; I’d have
never guessed that in a thousand years,” Ivory remarked and rolled her eyes up
at Zara in the mirror.

“Please…Madame Ivory, do not
give up on him. He is like a father to me, and I wish him nothing but
happiness.
 
I believe together, you can
make a wonderful life.”

“You’re charming and lovely,
Zara.
 
Unfortunately, it seems, despite
your mother’s tragic and untimely death, you are still too naive to see things
as they truly are. It isn’t that I don’t appreciate the history lesson, because
I found it all incredibly fascinating. However, the Captain made it quite clear
when he tied me to the bed what his true intentions and feelings are. Now, we
need to get going. So, please, get me dressed and down to the beach before he
whips off more of my hair or worse…yours.”

“I did not intend to lie to
you that first day. But now, knowing there is something there between you and
Maddox, it would be a tragedy to throw it away.”

“I believe you should have
said that to him.”

“Perhaps I will, in my own
way. In time, you will see him for who he is, and not how he behaves when he is
wounded.”

* * * *

 
“Master Green, gather the crew so that I may
address them. I’ll have no one near Madame Shepard for the duration of the
voyage, upon pain of death at the end of my whip.”

“Yes, Captain. We are almost
ready to sail. Shall I send a tender for Madame Shepard?”

“Yes, immediately. Upon her
arrival she is to be confined to her cabin and not permitted above deck until
we reach Nassau.”

“Are you certain, Captain?”
Green leaned beneath Carbonale’s tricorn and whispered.

“I believe I’ve made myself
perfectly clear, Master Green,” he replied and turned to the steps of the
quarterdeck to await his crew’s assembly. He was only carrying twenty men for
this voyage, since he believed it would be the easiest mission of his ten year
career. Still in his early thirties, the thought of collecting this bounty and
being able to retire was a dream-come-true. Even after he paid off his crew,
he’d still retire a very rich man—and a living one.

“The tender has been
dispatched, and the ship is ready,” Green spoke with his hands folded together
at his back. He stood a step below Carbonale as the captain addressed his crew,
cracking his whip above his head at any chatter. The darker side of Maddox
lived on the sea. Once his boots rested on the deck of a vessel, Blacksnake
emerged and faced forward until whatever mission he set out to complete was
finished.

“I ordered first light,
Master Green, and there it is,” he said, leaning on the port rail, watching the
longboat containing the former Captain Ivory…The Razor…bound and gagged, rowed
steadily to the ship by the hands of two crewmen.