The Pirate Lord (29 page)

“I must have your word as a gentleman on it, do you hear? I won’t have you dropping broad hints to your friends in the Navy about where they can find a certain pirate’s den.”

“You’re a deuced stubborn woman, you know that?”

“I learned it from you.”

He sighed, raking his hands through his auburn hair. “That’s probably true. Well, then, I swear by my honor that I won’t reveal the whereabouts of this island.
Now
can we leave?”

“What about the other women? The ones who don’t wish to stay?”

“I thought everyone was happy in your paradise,” he said sarcastically.

She dropped her gaze. “Some of the women…are not suited to this place. Can’t we take them with us?”

“Not unless you want to alert the pirates to our presence. We were lucky to find you alone. All it takes is one woman to give the alarm. Then I’d be taken prisoner and my men would attack.” He lowered his voice. “Of course, if you’d allow me to land my men, we could easily rescue the women—”

Her head snapped up. “Absolutely not.”

“Then let’s go. Let’s leave this cursed place.”

“In a moment.” She turned to Ann. “Tell the women I’ll be back for them. When I return, anyone who wishes to leave may do so.” Removing her locket, she held it a moment, then kissed it and handed it to Ann. “And give this to Gideon. Say I’ll be back for it. Make sure you tell him that, do you understand?”

“Sara,” Jordan broke in, “that belonged to your mother.”

“Exactly.” A lump formed in her throat, but she ignored it. She would get her locket back one day soon. She would! “Gideon knows what it means to me, and he knows I’d never leave it behind. I can think of no other way to reassure him that I’ll return.”

How inadequate that would be in the wake of his mother’s betrayal. Her leaving here so secretively would destroy him. He might never forgive her, and the possibility of that made her want to weep.

She faced Petey, intending to have him tell Gideon that she’d left under protest. Then she paused. No, if Gideon knew she’d been forced from here, nothing would stop him from following her to England. She couldn’t have that. He must believe she’d left of her own free will.

“Tell Gideon that I’ll return, no matter what, but don’t say a word to him of my bargain with Jordan, do you hear? He’ll follow me to England and get himself hanged, and anyone who goes with him. Swear you won’t tell him the truth of why I left. Both of you, swear it.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Petey nodded. Then Ann followed suit.

Sara’s heart ached at the sight. By making them swear this, she was ensuring that Gideon would suffer great pain. But she’d rather he suffered some pain than be taken prisoner the minute he entered English waters. In England, his fate would be short, cruel, and final. She couldn’t even bear to think of it.

“Come on, Sara,” Jordan said impatiently. “My men have orders to attack if I don’t return to the
Defiant
by noon.”

“All right.” She hugged Ann, then Petey. “I
will
be back,” she told both of them tearfully. “It may take months, but I’ll return to Atlantis as soon as I can.”

As she walked off with Jordan, he cast her an angry glance. “You act as if you’re going off to your execution
instead of returning to the arms of your family and your rightful home.”

“The arms of my family? I used to think of you as family, Jordan.” She stared stonily ahead, scarcely noticing where they walked. “But now? Now I regard you as my jailer. And I’m afraid I will regard you that way until the day you bring me back here.”

For once, her brother had the wisdom not to retort.

B
y the time the men who’d gone hunting reached the beach in the early evening, they were in high spirits. They were weighted down with several pig car-casses and had even bagged a few partridges. Amid much boasting and joking, they swaggered toward the communal bonfire and called for ale.

Gideon, however, had no interest in ale. He wanted Sara. He could hardly wait to tell her of the waterfall they’d stumbled upon at the edge of a grove of orange trees. Already he was making plans to return with her in the morning. They could bathe in the falls, then feed each other oranges, a fitting prelude to an afternoon of lovemaking in the solitude of the forest.

Shifting his small canvas bag from one hand to the other, he thought of the gifts he’d brought her—an odd piece of sparkling rock, several oranges, a piece of scrimshaw. He was especially proud of the scrimshaw. It was a perfect miniature of the beach at Atlantis, a bit of carved ivory no bigger than his thumb. He’d traded his best hunting knife to one of his men for that scrim-
shaw. If she didn’t think it was the sweetest thing she’d ever seen, he’d be surprised.

But where was she? He’d thought for sure she’d be here waiting. He glanced up at the cottage and saw a light burning in the window. She must already have retired to their house. If that were the case, then the sooner he could get to her, the better. Catching sight of Louisa standing silently by the fire, he motioned to the men who were carrying the pigs on poles to come forward. With wide grins, they set the dead animals before her like lords bestowing jewels on a queen.

“We eat well tonight, Louisa.” Gideon threw the other, larger canvas bag he’d been carrying at her feet. “Roast the partridges first. We’ll eat them while we’re waiting on the pork. And don’t let that husband of yours spoil it by cooking it badly, do you hear? You’ve got a good hand with pork. Let’s see what you can do with it.”

“Aye,” Silas said good-naturedly at Gideon’s side. The man had drunk more than he should have, and was now well enough into his cups that he apparently didn’t much care if his cooking was maligned. “The lass surely has a talent for cookin’ pork, don’t she?” He cast her a lascivious look. “And that ain’t the only thing she’s got a talent for, either. Take my word for it, lads.”

The men nudged each other, exchanging winks and chuckles, then casting Louisa sidelong glances to witness her reaction. Usually a comment of that kind would have elicited a deep blush from her, followed by a sharp retort. Since her acid tongue was a source of amusement for the men, they always delighted in seeing how she’d take their ribaldry.

“That’s enough of that, Silas,” she said quietly.

The men looked at her, waiting for more of a reaction. When they got none, Silas said, “Is that all you’ve got to say then, lass?” He hung on Gideon’s shoulder for support. “What d’ye think, lads? Have I tamed the little woman at last?”

“Silas, please hold your tongue,” Louisa begged.

Something in the urgency of her voice, in the uncharacteristic lack of sharpness, caught Gideon’s attention. When Silas started to mumble something else, Gideon ordered him to be silent. Then he faced Louisa. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

Her anxious gaze flitted to the men behind him. “Perhaps we should speak more privately—”

“There’s no need for that.” A sudden chill shook him as a thousand fears sprang into his mind. And foremost was the one he could scarcely bear to voice. “Is it Sara? Has something happened to her?”

Louisa stared down at the sand. “Nothing’s happened to her. That is…well…”

“Where is she?” He glanced back at the cottage, his heart leaping into his throat. If something had happened to her…he started off toward the cottage, but a familiar voice behind him stopped him.

“She’s gone, Cap’n.”

Slowly he turned to find Peter Hargraves standing in the jagged circle of light cast by the fire.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Gideon growled as Peter’s words sank in. “And what do you mean, ‘She’s gone’? Gone where?”

Ann Morris moved up beside Petey, tucking her hand in the crook of his elbow as he twisted his hat round and round in his hands. “Well, Cap’n, you see…that is, I…”

“She’s gone off to England with her brother,” Queenie said as she flounced into view. “And Petey’s the one that brought the bloke here to fetch her.” A look of smug satisfaction crossed her dissipated face. “It’s like I told you before, guv’nor. You wasted yer time settin’ yer sights on that tight-arsed bluestocking.”

“Queenie, hold your tongue,” Louisa snapped as Gideon went pale.

Fixing Petey with a furious gaze, Gideon growled, “What is she talking about?”

Louisa stepped in, her face sympathetic. “Apparently, Petey was workin’ for Miss Willis’s brother, the Earl of Blackmore. It was Petey who brought the earl and his men back here this morning aboard his ship, the
Defiant
. After they got Miss Willis, they set sail for England.”

Gideon’s blood froze in his veins. Sara was gone? The earl had taken her? It must have been by force, for Sara would never have left him otherwise. Not after the things they’d said to each other, the way they’d made love and planned for the future and—

He groaned, remembering the conversation they’d had about her brother and how much she missed him. She’d said she wouldn’t leave Atlantis. But she’d also said she wanted to return to England for a visit.

Clenching his fists, he thought back over everything she’d said, her concern for what might happen if her brother came. She’d been expecting Hargraves then, hadn’t she? If Hargraves had been in the earl’s employ, then Sara must have known all along that her brother would be coming to get her. While she’d been making love to him, she’d been counting the days until her rescuers arrived.

No, he couldn’t believe it. Not his Sara.

“Did she know from the first that you were working for her brother?” he asked Hargraves, clinging to the tiny sliver of hope that she might not have been aware of why Hargraves was aboard the
Chastity
.

Hargraves looked bewildered by the question. “Aye, captain.”

Betrayal sliced through him, cutting deeper even than his mother’s betrayal. He’d been right from the beginning. English noblewomen didn’t willingly consort with the likes of him. But they certainly did whatever they could to survive until they could be rescued, even if it meant letting a randy pirate captain make love to them.

The events of the last month and a half hit him with startling clarity. “That’s why she agreed to marry you, isn’t it?” He glanced out to sea, struggling to keep his
composure in front of his men, although he felt as if a cat o’ nine tails was shredding his heart into tiny pieces. “The two of you planned on keeping her safe from me until she was rescued. But when I gave you your chance to leave, you seized it. And she stayed behind to soften me up, to lull me into complacency while she plotted her escape.”

He threw the bag of gifts into the surf with an oath. “To think I believed that she really liked it here, that she really wanted to make something of Atlantis. What a fool I was! What a stupid, besotted fool!”

“Now, Gideon,” Silas said, worry in his tone, “you know quite well that girl weren’t lyin’ about wantin’ to make somethin’ of Atlantis. Anybody could see she loves the place almost as much as you.”

He whirled on Silas. “Then why did she sail off with her brother the first chance she got?”

“You can’t blame that on her!” Hargraves protested. “She didn’t want to leave. He
made
her.”

Gideon stared at Hargraves. “What do you mean, he
made
her? By God, if he took her from here by force, I’ll follow him and make sure he never takes anything of mine again!”

Ann stepped between Gideon and Hargraves, her face pale. “Petey didn’t mean that exactly, Captain Horn. Miss Willis left of her own free will, she did.” When Gideon scowled darkly at her, she hastened to add, “But she weren’t leavin’ for good. She said to tell you she’d be back as soon as possible. Oh, and she asked me to give you this.” Ann fumbled in her apron pocket before producing a small silver object. She held it out to him. “She said it was her assurance to you that she’d return.”

He took the object, recognizing Sara’s silver locket. For a moment, hope swelled in him. She’d always worn that locket. He knew how much it meant to her. Surely she wouldn’t have left it behind if she hadn’t intended to return.

Then again, his mother had left a valuable brooch be
hind when she’d abandoned him and his father.

Closing his fingers around the locket, he looked at Hargraves. “If that blasted earl didn’t force her to leave, then why did she go at all? There was no reason to leave with him. We were to be married. She said she wanted to stay with me.”

Hargraves and Ann exchanged glances. “I dunno, Cap’n,” Hargraves answered nervously. “Um…maybe she had matters to take care of in England before she could settle here?”

But the hesitant look on Hargraves’s face made it clear that even he didn’t believe that. Suddenly, another interpretation of her leaving the locket behind occurred to him, an interpretation so painful he could hardly stand to think of it. “Or maybe,” he said coldly, “she never intends to return at all. Maybe this locket is just a ruse to keep me from going after her and taking her brother’s ship.”

Alarm flickered in Ann’s face. “Nay, you mustn’t believe that, captain. Her brother brought plenty of men and arms with him. If he’d wanted to destroy you and your men, he could have. But he didn’t. She wouldn’t let him. She begged him not to fight with you, and he agreed.”

“Aye, he agreed because he knew he and his merchant seamen would be no match for me! The coward! To creep onto Atlantis and steal away my intended wife without even attempting to take up arms against me! If I’d been in his place, I wouldn’t have given in to Sara’s pleas so easily! I’d have willingly fought any man who dared to—”

He broke off, remembering suddenly what he’d said to Sara only two nights ago.
I wouldn’t let him take you from me, if that’s what you mean. I’ll fight any man who tries to take you away
. Obviously she’d remembered them as well. She’d taken them quite to heart and had made sure that Gideon never got the chance to hurt her brother.

Rage surged up in him, a rage as mighty as any tem
pest the sea could produce. That’s all she’d cared about—protecting her brother, who was probably some fop with a lame sword hand and a fear of pistols!

No matter how Ann or Hargraves tried to defend her, the truth was, when given the choice between him and her family, Sara had chosen her family. She might talk of reforming the world and making Atlantis into a colony they could be proud of, but it was just talk. Otherwise, she would never have left him for her brother.

Clutching her locket tightly, he scanned the faces of the people standing around the fire. What about them? What about the other inhabitants of Atlantis, the ones she’d claimed to care about? She’d fought for the women and offered to teach the men. They’d all trusted her. But when her chance for freedom had come, she’d seized it without looking back, without even staying long enough to say good-bye.

She’d talked of giving the women a choice, but she hadn’t taken any of them with her. Instead, she’d sneaked off the island with her coward of a brother, leaving the rest of them behind. A curse upon the woman! He’d been wrong about her from the very beginning!

These noblewomen were all of the same cloth—deceitful, weak, and determined to do whatever they must to return to the arms of their rich and powerful families. How could he have ever believed differently?

“Please, Captain Horn,” Ann’s gentle voice broke into his thoughts, “you must believe that she intends to return. You know Miss Willis would never promise such a thing if she didn’t mean it.”

He faced Ann with a grim expression. “You may believe that if it gives you comfort, but I know better. She left without a care for any of you, and certainly without a care for me. She won’t be back. And Atlantis is better off without her.”

“But it wasn’t like that—” Hargraves began to protest.

Gideon silenced him with a dark scowl. “As for you, Mr. Hargraves, I don’t want to hear another word out of you. I gave you more gold than you’d ever seen in your life to get you away from here, and you repaid me by bringing the wolves to my door.” An awful possibility occurred to him. Striding up to Hargraves, he took hold of him by the shirt. “And now they all know where this island lies, don’t they? I suppose the earl was just waiting until he got his sister safely off the island before he sent in His Majesty’s Navy to rout all of us. We are as good as dead now, thanks to you!”

Hargraves shook his head furiously. “His lordship kept the Navy out of it to save Miss Willis’s reputation. I swear it. He told his men naught about who lived on this island for fear they’d jump ship in Santiago at the sound of your name. And the little miss refused to leave unless he promised to continue keepin’ his silence about Atlantis.”

Gideon stared hard at the monkey of a man who’d nonetheless always managed to stand up to him. “And why should I believe you?”

“If I thought the island was to be taken by the Navy boys any minute, Cap’n, why would I have stayed? I could’ve left on the
Defiant
and taken my lady with me.”

The man had a point. Gideon was still rational enough to realize that.

His gaze flitted from Hargraves to Ann, whose face showed every bit of the fear that Hargraves tried so bravely to mask. “Please, sir,” she said, in a voice wrung tight as a spring. “Don’t hurt Petey. He stayed here for my sake. He believes in Atlantis as much as I do. I couldn’t bear it if…if somethin’ happened to him.”

“Don’t you worry, Miss Ann,” Silas put in. “The cap’n ain’t gonna hurt Mr. Hargraves none. Not as long as your man intends to behave himself on the island.”

“Stay out of this, Silas,” Gideon warned. He stared at Hargraves another long moment and fleetingly thought of what pleasure it would give him to see the man
flogged for having a hand in Sara’s leaving.

But he’d never approved of flogging, and he certainly couldn’t do it while sweet little Ann stood there, her heart in her hands, begging for mercy. Besides, Hargraves had only done what he saw as his duty. It was Sara who had betrayed them all, Sara who’d abandoned him.