The Pirate's Jewel (14 page)

She thumbed through the book, wishing she could find
something to help them. Now that Nolan was giving her a chance, she wanted to
succeed more than ever. The odd symbols and characters drew her attention, though
she couldn’t understand any of it. Obviously, the book was some sort of catalog
of languages and symbols. A page that looked vaguely familiar caused her to pause.
“What’s this?”

Nolan glanced over her shoulder. “Let’s see. Some kind of
ancient alphabet. Runes, the author calls them.”

Jewel swung her attention back to the map. “These letters
make up the picture,” she blurted out before he could decipher the faded print.

Nolan leaned over, his broad chest brushing her gown.
“Good God, you
have
discovered something.”

The joy in his voice warmed her almost as much as his
nearness. Proving herself worthy to be on this voyage pleased Jewel almost as
much as finding the map’s secret. At least some of her dream was coming true as
she’d imagined.

Nolan stared at the map and shook his head in disbelief.
“I have to get Wayland. We used to sail by some old Nordic charts. Only the old-timers
could read them. He might be able to figure out what the map says before I can
decipher the book.”

Nolan strode to the door, but he hesitated with his hand
on the brass handle. “Jewel. Good work.” To her delight, she discovered he had
dimples when he smiled. “I’ll be right back.” He disappeared.

He stuck his head back through the portal before she had
the chance to recover, and shrugged off his jacket. “Here, put this on.”

“I’m not cold.” Since he had entered the room, the night’s
chill had been staved off by excitement—and something else altogether.

He tossed her the jacket anyway. “Put it on. Please.”

A smile and a please? Jewel slipped the jacket on before
he closed the door. She could hear her own heartbeat in the vast emptiness left
by his sudden departure. But he would be back—and what really lay at the heart
of Nolan Kenton was the next mystery she was determined to uncover.

***

Nolan practically tripped over Wayland lurking in the
companionway outside Jewel’s cabin. Even though the man’s nearness proved
convenient, being spied upon annoyed Nolan. The fact that Wayland was the one
doing the snooping created an even bigger problem. Wayland couldn’t be trusted
any more than the sight in his ice blue eye.

Nolan dragged the ex-pirate from a shadowed corner beside
the steps leading to the main deck. “What the hell are you doing down here?”

Wayland straightened his hat and jacket as if unjustly disturbed.
“Can’t a man get a bit of shut-eye? The galley’s crowded, and I needed a place
to get out of the wind. These old bones—”

“Forget it. I need you to look at something.” Nolan turned
back to the cabin’s closed door. He’d not get an honest answer, so it wasn’t
worth pursuing.

Wayland paused before the cabin’s threshold. “Nolan, I’ve
done all I can for you. From here on out, you’re on your own.”

Nolan pushed open the portal and stepped aside for Wayland
to enter. “I said I’d only take you along if you followed orders. Now I’m
ordering you to give me your opinion on something.”

Wayland shrugged. “Whatever you want, boy. I don’t know
how Jewel’s going to take to it. Never figured you to be one of those odd
fellas who needed an audience.”

Jewel looked up when they entered. She had the jacket on
as he’d asked. He didn’t like the idea of another man seeing her as he had. Her
heavy cotton gown hid her curves well enough, but that only made it more
necessary to look. Especially since he suspected she had on nothing underneath.

She approached them, her eyes glowing. “You found him. I
can’t wait to hear what he says. Oh, Nolan, I’m so excited.”

Nolan smiled, really smiled for the first time in a long while.
They were on the verge of finding the location of the treasure. Obviously, he
had been mistaken when Jewel first showed him the tracing and he had believed for
a heart-stopping moment it was the same island where he had marooned Jewel’s
father. Fate couldn’t be that twisted. The only reason he’d imagined that island’s
shape traced on the page was too many sleepless nights thinking of little else.
Remembering Bellamy standing alone on the deserted beach, yelling for them to
come back as they sailed away—that still had the power to keep Nolan tossing
and turning.

Wayland stepped between him and Jewel. He looked her over,
and then turned back to Nolan. “Jesus, boy. You do need help. You got it half
right. You’re supposed to take your clothes off, but she’s not supposed to wear
them. What were you doing with that whore on Tortuga, anyway—throwing dice?”

Jewel gazed at Nolan, her brow furrowed. “When were you on
Tortuga?”

Nolan glared at Wayland, and then turned to Jewel. “It was
a long time ago. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

He’d been a saint during the five years he was in Boston.
He wasn’t going to feel guilty about an event that happened in his youth. Not
even when Jewel turned those wet green eyes up at him. There could never be
anything between them. If he kept reminding himself, maybe the rest of his
anatomy would start to believe what his head already knew.

Wayland sighed with exaggerated exasperation. “I guess
it’s up to you, chit, like I said it would be. First off, get rid of that coat.
And that gown.” He grabbed a handful of white fabric. “This makes me think of
me nana, and that’s nothing to get a man’s co—”

“That’s enough,” interrupted Nolan.

Jewel grabbed the fabric of her gown and yanked it from
Wayland’s grasp. She shoved past him. “Nolan, what’s he talking about? I
thought you said he could help us.”

Wayland rubbed his chin. “This is worse than I thought.
Have either one of you ever spent any time on a farm?”

Nolan put himself between them. “If I intended to seduce
her, I wouldn’t require your help,” he snapped.

Wayland crossed his arms. “If you think you can do it, I’d
like to see it.”

Jewel mimicked Wayland. “Me, too. All you’ve ever done was
give me the sharp edge of your tongue. I’d like to see you woo a girl.”

Nolan stared at her as if Wayland weren’t in the room. “I
said seduce, not woo. There’s a difference, and I hope for your sake you know
it.” He didn’t take his eyes off her.

Obviously flustered, she stared at her feet. Her cheeks
colored. He doubted if she had ever been properly kissed—except by him, of
course. And that was nothing compared to the kiss he wanted to give her. He
blinked hard to clear his head. When he opened his eyes, he avoided glancing at
Jewel. He squeezed past her to stand beside the desk. “Wayland, look at this map.”

Wayland whistled once he caught sight of which map Nolan
spoke. “So, this is it. Never thought I’d get a look. Bellamy kept the bugger
stashed away once he snatched it from you.”

“I think these words make the shape of the island, and the
drawing hides something called runes.” Jewel turned the map sideways and traced
the letters with her finger.

Wayland scratched his head. “I’ll be damned. It’s runes,
all right. Haven’t seen nothing like this in a while. Give me something to
write with. This might take sometime to figure out. If it gives the latitude
and longitude, the numbers will have to be figured by the order of the alphabet.”

Jewel handed him the sheet of paper with the tracing.
“This is the outline of the island created by the words. Nolan thought he
recognized it, but he’s not sure.”

Wayland glanced at Nolan briefly, a hard glint in his good
eye. “Well, chit, you’re in luck, because the only one on this ship who knows
the waters where Captain Kent sailed better than Nolan is me.”

Nolan’s mouth went dry. The fact that Wayland, an uneducated
pirate who no doubt couldn’t read a newspaper, would know so much about ancient
alphabets didn’t surprise him. What had started the fierce pounding at his
temples was the certainty that Wayland had already figured out which island
they spoke of. He backed toward the door. Jewel glanced over her shoulder at him.
She was happier than he’d ever seen her. He smiled back, despite the necessity
of keeping his distance. He had never met a woman who could make him angry,
make him crazy, and make him smile all with a single glance. And what she did
to his body in her chaste nightgown was best left unexplored. When Wayland
confirmed Nolan’s fears, Jewel wouldn’t smile at him again.

“Hmm. If this is the island I’m thinking of, it’s in the
Caribbean. A stretch of sea that has nary a speck of land. That be the island
you’re thinking of, Nolan?” Wayland turned and stared, as always delivering up Nolan’s
darkest fears right on schedule.

Nolan rubbed his temple. “That’s what I’m thinking.”

“Damn, who would have thought—”

“Are you sure, Wayland? You need to be sure. I don’t want
your imagination swaying your judgment.”

Jewel glanced at Wayland, and then him. “I can’t stand it!
Tell me. Do you know where we can find the treasure?”

Wayland stood up. “Not sure, chit. I’m going to take these
scratchings I made and study them. Wouldn’t want to be wrong about a thing as
important as this. I could use your help, Captain,” he added to Nolan.

“I’ll be along shortly. I have something to discuss with
Jewel.” Nolan’s heart had stopped beating. Wayland had already located the
island where they would find the treasure, and it was the same one that served
as Bellamy Leggett’s grave. Why else would the man call him Captain and be so
serious?

“Don’t go,” Jewel called to Wayland. “Decipher the map
here. I can’t wait to know the location.”

“I need to talk to you alone, Jewel,” Nolan said. He picked
up the book and handed it to Wayland. “This might help.”

The old seaman glanced at the book’s contents, and then tossed
it back to Nolan. “Don’t trust no book. Neither did the Brethren. I’ll be up
half the night figuring this one out.” He paused to wink at Jewel. “You did good,
girl. Your papa would have been proud.”

Actually, the irony of the situation would have killed
Bellamy if he weren’t already dead. Nolan’s nemesis probably learned the
truth—having been left to die on the island that held the very treasure he
sought—when he went to Hell. The man had likely sent Jewel as retribution.

Wayland shut the door behind him as he left. The cabin
suddenly seemed to close in. The air grew heavy and thick. Jewel stared at her
toes. Nolan did too. She was barefoot. He could only imagine what lay beneath the
hem brushing the top of her feet. He thought of finding Bellamy’s skeleton on
their quest for the treasure, and it sobered him considerably.

This was his opportunity to tell Jewel the truth. He should
do it, and permanently banish her yearning glances. “There’s something I need
to tell you. You’re not going to like it.”

Jewel sat on the bed, looking at Nolan with wide eyes.
“You’re not thinking of taking me to Boston again.”

Nolan shook his head. “You discovered the map’s secret.
You deserve to go with us to find it. I won’t try to deny you that any longer.”
Though he hadn’t been wrong about the perils in bringing her on this voyage,
and he was sure he’d regret it in the end.

Jewel brushed a strand of dark hair from her eyes and
tucked it behind her ear. “Thank you. I appreciate that more than you know.”

But he did know how much his words meant to her. The
emotion showed in her clear green eyes. He held her gaze, unable to break away.
What would it be like if fate had not put them at such odds? Bellamy was dead
and his daughter was better off without him. Why should Nolan be forced to
cause either of them any more pain because of a coldhearted bastard whose
memory was best forgotten?

He shifted, forcing himself to look away. “You and Parker
seem rather fond of each other.” He hadn’t decided to veer from his plan to finally
tell Jewel the truth about her father’s death until the words left his mouth. Once
they had, he relaxed unexpectedly. His easy justification was that his original
purpose tonight had been to cross the battle lines that had been drawn between them
with a white flag. Telling her about her father wouldn’t accomplish that.

Jewel shrugged, but a hint of guilt shadowed her averted
gaze. “He’s easy to get along with.”

Meaning Nolan wasn’t? He swallowed, not feeling as
relieved as he had a moment ago. A part of him had eagerly anticipated her
denial. She was so honest with her feelings, he’d half expected her to blurt
out that she’d only been using Parker to make him jealous. He didn’t want to
believe there was a romance brewing between the two.

He cleared his throat and tried to sound fatherly. His
stomach lurched at the idea. Definitely not fatherly; detached, then. “I’m only
asking because I am concerned. I know you’ve had experience with men while working
in the tavern—”

She held up her hand. “You can stop there. You’re not the
first man to assume me a whore,” she said, the hard edge in her voice
heartbreaking even to Nolan, who didn’t think he had much of one.

“I didn’t assume…” He let his words drift off when she
shook her head, partly because he feared anything would sound crass and partly
because he had suspected the worst of her.

“You did.” Her sad smile pierced his heart. “So maybe now
you see why I so desperately wanted to go with you to find the treasure. My
choices were limited in Charles Town. It was marry a man I didn’t love or be
constantly at the mercy of men who think little of me.”

Every instinct Nolan possessed surged at the idea of being
Jewel’s protector. He couldn’t let himself succumb to the urge because it went
hand in hand with a darker desire. He needed to leave the cabin immediately.
“Good. Then you’ll stay away from Parker.”

Her eyes narrowed and, for a moment, Jewel reminded him so
much of her father that he felt at a disadvantage. “That’s Parker’s choice,”
she said.