The Pirate Takes A Bride (24 page)

He turned his attention to Ashley, who seemed to find Rissa’s perfunctory dismissal rather amusing. “I know she’s not yours,” he said when she looked back at him. “But I’d ask you to watch over her until I return.”

“I can’t believe you’re doing this to me,” she said, her voice pitched low, but not low enough. Several pirates glanced their way. “I can’t believe you’re leaving me here.”

“I’ll be back.”

“Good, because when we return to England, I’m sending my brothers after you with sticks, rope, and a blindfold.”

Nick did not want to consider what strange invented punishment this was. Everyone knew the Brittany men were wild and unpredictable. “Then I had better do this now, while I still can.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. She kissed him back, but it was not the molten kiss she’d given him earlier. He released her when he became aware of his men’s whistles and calls. With a deep bow, he walked away, striding to the longboat that would take him on board.

Once onboard, he focused on overseeing the preparations for their sail. If he’d spent any time in his cabin, he might have missed Ashley, might have thought of her more. Perhaps that was why he avoided his cabin. Instead, he inspected the preparations for battle and slept in the foc’s’l with the men. In the morning, before dawn, the
Robin Hood
set sail for Gibraltar where they would replenish their stores of powder and food stuffs and where Nick thought he could obtain reliable information as to Yussef’s whereabouts.

The men were ready for a battle and so was he.

On the second day at sea, he was conferring with Mr. Chante on the quarterdeck when Mr. Carey, his carpenter, called his name. “Captain! Captain!”

Nick turned quickly, his heart thudding. Had one of the foretopmen spotted Yussef’s ship already?
The Snake
, as Yussef’s ship was called in English, could certainly be nearby. Nick would have preferred to restock his supplies, but he would not run from a fight if
The Snake
had been spotted.

“What is it, Mr. Carey?” Nick asked, striding to his carpenter.

“I found something you won’t like, Captain.”

Nick scowled. “Are the repairs to the hull not holding up?”

“No, Captain. That’s not it at all. We have a stowaway.”

He knew immediately it was Rissa. He should have guessed her plans when she did not seem distressed to see him go. He should have realized she would try, once again, to sneak on board his ship. This time he’d been distracted enough not to catch her. He entered his cabin and immediately spotted her sitting on top of a trunk. “Rissa!” he bellowed, his gaze going again to the trunk. It was strangely familiar. Rissa, ignoring his bellow, rushed into his arms. Nick closed his eyes and lifted her. Now what was he to do? How could he take a child into battle?

In the open doorway, he spotted Mr. Chante, who smiled at Rissa’s enthusiams. The quartermaster loved Rissa as much as the rest of the men, but if they returned to the island now, they’d lose time and precious momentum. The men were dreaming of the riches they’d take from Yussef, of how they’d spend the money when they took
The Snake
as a prize. They would not take kindly to being told they would have to return to the island.

“I found her, Cap’n,” his cabin boy said. “I were cleaning your room and heard her moving about. Thought she was a rat, but when I opened the lid, she jumped out. Almost hit her with my boot, I did.”

So she’d been hiding in his trunk, except that wasn’t a trunk he kept in his cabin. It was a trunk he had not seen in a long, long time. He set Rissa down. “Where did this trunk come from?”

“It’s yours, Papa,” Rissa said. “You showed it to me once in the cave.”

“Why is it on my ship?”

Chante moved into the room. “It were on one of da boats. One of the men said you asked for it to be brought to your room.”

“Who?”

The cabin boy stepped forward. “I’ll find out, Cap’n, but he were just taking his orders from Mrs. Cap’n.”

Nick’s throat seized and he had to cough to catch his breath. “Ashley?” He looked down at Rissa, who was suddenly quite interested in the fabric on her sleeve. He knelt. “Rissa, is Ashley on board? Did she stowaway too?”

The little girl shrugged. It was as good as a
yes
. Nick’s gaze met Chante’s. His quartermaster looked as though he might strangle someone—the sailor who’d fallen for Ashley’s lie was probably at the top of his list, though Ashley might have surpassed him.

“Find her,” he told Chante. “Now.”

A
shley was actually relieved to have been discovered. She had been hiding in the hold and was not certain how much time had passed. They’d found her on the lowest tier of the hold, near the large puncheons of water. She’d been brought, squinting and stumbling, into the bright sunlight and she’d all but fell into Nick. He stood with arms crossed, and she was glad she caught herself because he did not appear as though he meant to.

Behind him, Rissa peeked out, and Ashley sighed with relief at seeing the little girl was well.

“You are smiling, madam,” Nick said, his voice low with menace.

She glanced up at him. The sun was behind him, making him look even taller, his hair even blacker, than usual. In his black boots, tight breeches, and loose lawn shirt, he looked as handsome as she could remember. Of course, she looked a complete fright. She wondered how soon she could ask for a bath. Poor Mr. Fellowes would be stuck with her again. “You would be smiling too, if you’d been stuck in that smelly hold for…” She looked about, but there was no way to gauge the day. “How long have we been sailing?”

“A day and a night,” Nick said.

For a moment she worried it was not long enough, and Nick would turn the ship and bring them back. “A word, madam,” he said. “Alone.” He gestured and walked away. She watched his back and realized he expected her to follow. She wondered what he would do if she refused, but her rebellion would have to come later. Right now she was hungry and tired and wanted to lie down on something besides the hard wooden planks that had been her only option. At least she’d had the foresight to hide by the water. She was not thirsty.

Once in his cabin, he closed the door behind her. Before she could move inside, he put a hand on the door just above her head, effectively trapping her against it.

“Are you going to lecture me?” she asked.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do with you. Yet.” His tone was ominous.

“You could feed me,” she suggested. “I’m rather hungry.”

He slammed his fist on the door, which rattled and made her head pound. “Of all the impulsive, reckless, ridiculous things you’ve done, this has to be the worst.”

“I think my mother would disagree with you there.”

“You, I can understand,” he said, ignoring her quips. She did not mind if he paid no heed to her jests, but she did rather wish he would feed her. “But how could you allow Rissa to come on board?”

“Should I have left her behind? For what? You are all she has left. If you don’t come back for her, what will happen to her? A young girl with no one in the world to care for her?”

She saw a muscle in his jaw clench.

“Besides she was the one who had the idea to stowaway in the trunk. I only refined the idea.”

“And included yourself.”

“Of course.” She pointed to the trunk, which she’d glimpsed when she entered, before Nick had trapped her against the door. “Why didn’t you tell me you were a navy hero? You have medals. Do not deny it.”

“I’m no hero any more.”

“I saw the paper,” she protested. “You were decorated for bravery. You’re not a pirate.”

He lowered his forehead until it touched hers. “I assure you, I am.”

Ashley pushed past him, afraid if she continued to stand so close to him, she might kiss him. Instead, she moved toward the trunk. “I saw the letter from Ralph’s mother as well.” She turned to face him. “That is why you want revenge on Yussef, isn’t it? To avenge Ralph’s death.”

“I do not wish to speak of this.”

“Neither do I, but I think it’s time I finally knew the truth. Are we all risking our lives because years ago Yussef killed your friend?”

“You saw the island. Yussef deserves to die.”

“Yes, but would he have attacked the island if you hadn’t pursued him all this time?” She shook her head when he didn’t answer. “I didn’t know Ralph, Nick, but I do not think he would have wanted this for you.”

“No,
you
didn’t know him.” His voice was hard and his expression dark.

Ashley refused to give in, to back down. “Then tell me. What was he like?”

Nick stared at her for a long moment, and then he raked a hand through his hair. “I’ll take both of you to Gibraltar. I have friends there. You’ll be safe until I return.”

So he thought to abandon her again. Same strategy, different setting. “Good,” she said, sweeping her hand out. “Take me to Gibraltar, but if you think I’ll be waiting there for you, like some patient little miss, think again. I’m going home, with or without you.”

He advanced on her so quickly she forgot her intention not to back down. She took a step, collided with the trunk, and sat down hard on the top. Nick leaned over her. He was furious. She was furious, but she still had the urge to reach up, take his shirt in her hands, and pull him down for a kiss.

“I’m trying to protect you,” he said, scowling down at her. “I’m trying to save you from…from dangers you cannot even understand.”

“You’re trying to escape me.”

“What sane man would not?”

She didn’t think. Her foot landed in his midsection, and she pushed. Hard. He fell back, landing on his arse, a shocked look on his face.

“Get out!” she ordered him, not caring that this was his cabin.

He stood, dusted his breeches off with more dignity than she thought she might muster if the circumstances had been reversed. “Gladly.” He stalked out and slammed the door behind him.

Hours later, she and Rissa had eaten and washed, thanks to the aid of the much put upon Mr. Fellowes and Nick’s cabin boy, Mr. Fletcher. Mr. Fellowes had taken Rissa and Ashley on a tour of the ship. Ashley did not care for another tour, but she wanted to see what Nick was doing. She spotted him on the bow with Chante. They passed a spyglass back and forth, studying the open water. As she watched them, Chante passed the glass to Nick, then turned to watch her. He gave her a farewell salute. Her answer was to turn away. She understood his message: when they reached Gibraltar he would be rid of her.

Ashley and Rissa ate dinner with the crew, and since the night was mild and the sea calm, some of the men mentioned sleeping on the deck. Rissa begged to join them, and Ashley deferred the decision to Nick. She was not sleeping on the deck. She had been looking forward to sleeping in a bed again, and she made her way to the great cabin while Rissa was still making her case.

It had been so hot that last day on the island, she hadn’t bothered with a shift under her skirt and blouse. Now she realized she’d left it probably still drying on a branch near the pond. She might have slept in her clothing, but she stripped them off and threw them on the floor. If Nick joined her, she had nothing to hide. He had seen her injury. She did not want to think too closely about his reaction to her burn. If she did, she would probably stop being quite so angry, and she needed to hold on to her anger right now. It gave her strength.

When she’d been in the hold for all of those hours and hours, she could not help remembering the way he’d kissed her burned leg, the way he’d delicately caressed it with his hands and his lips. And then she’d stupidly told him she loved him. At that moment, how could she not love him? She had never imagined any man would look at her disfigurement like that, would look at her like she was the most beautiful creature on earth, despite such a flaw.

Nick had made her fall in love with him in those moments. Even if she hadn’t already been falling in love with him, she did not know how she could resist him then.

But it was quite apparent he did not love her. He wanted to escape her. Of course, he said it under the guise of pursuing his Yussef, but Ashley had never been very good at being second best. She would be first with Nick or nothing at all. She slipped between the covers of the bed, enjoying the way the sheets drifted over her bare skin. The bed smelled like Nick, although the scent was faint. Judging by the shadows under his eyes, he had not slept in it much. She did not think he would join her tonight.

She came awake slowly, some time later, when she felt his warmth beside her. She blinked, uncertain where she was, and then made out his form on the edge of the berth. She did not know how long he had been sitting there, in the dark, in the silence, but she reached out a sleepy arm. “Come to bed.”

He made no move to take her hand. “Rissa is sleeping on deck. Chante is watching over her. She’s safe.”

“You should sleep,” Ashley said. “Mr. Chante knows you need to sleep.”

“What are you wearing under the sheets?” he asked.

“Come under here and find out.”

He chuckled. “I think we both know I will not sleep if I join you.”