The Pirate's Jewel (35 page)

Jewel ran toward them. “Stop this!” Nolan was surely going
to kill her father this time.

Wayland rushed forward to help her, but Parker hung back.
“Let them go. They need to settle this.”

Jewel bent down, tugging at Nolan’s arm. Parker’s words
echoed in her head with a finality she could no longer deny. Despite all
efforts, the only way the feud between Bellamy and Nolan would ever be settled
was with one of their deaths. The proof of her father’s words was chilling. Her
meddling had only furthered the bad blood between them.

Wayland stood above the men, randomly grabbing an arm or a
hunk of hair, only to be shaken off. “It’s like putting your hand in a hornets’
nest,” he said, answering the plea in her gaze.

Nolan had gotten his hands around Bellamy’s throat and
wouldn’t let go. Bellamy’s face rapidly changed from red to purple. But instead
of trying to pry off Nolan’s grip, Bellamy squirmed underneath him, his hands nowhere
in sight. It looked as if he wasn’t even trying to defend himself.

Jewel tugged at Nolan’s arms. “Help me,” she called to
Wayland.

She darted a quick glance around Nolan’s shoulder to see
if Bellamy was still conscious. He was, and his arm reared back to plunge a
knife into Nolan’s neck. There was no time for her to even scream.

She grabbed Bellamy’s wrist, desperate to stop the force
of the blow. “No!” She succeeded in misdirecting Bellamy’s aim. The knife
glanced off her shoulder. A rush of fear and instinct forced her to gasp and jerk
away.

Nolan must have realized what had happened, because he
wrestled the knife from Bellamy and threw it into the water.

Jewel got to her feet and was surprised when she swayed.
Anger and shock competed for dominance. Either way, she was ready to give up on
both her father and her husband. When she touched her fingers to her wound,
they came away red. It didn’t hurt so much as feel very cold. She stared at her
hand, not believing what she saw. With the realization that she’d been truly
hurt, Jewel started to shiver. Her knees buckled, but Nolan was already at her
side, guiding her to the ground. “How bad?”

“I don’t know.” She didn’t feel much of anything. Maybe
she was going to die. Nolan pulled aside the sliced cloth of her gown. Jewel
turned her face away, just in case it was particularly awful. If she were
mortally wounded, she didn’t think she wanted to know. She waited for the pain.
It came when Nolan started probing the wound. She sucked air through her teeth,
but willed herself not to cry.

Bellamy leaned over Nolan’s shoulder. “It’s just a flesh wound.”

Nolan turned around and slugged him in the mouth.

Wayland squatted in front of Jewel, blocking her view.
With great effort, she pushed herself up on her elbows to peer around him to
see if the brawl had started again. The cursing and yelling told her it had.

“You could have killed her. You bastard!”

Bellamy tried to best Nolan in volume. “If you would have
let go instead of trying to strangle me, I wouldn’t have had to pull my knife
in the first place.”

“You stabbed her. You stabbed your own daughter. That’s a
new low for you, Bellamy.” Nolan’s voice shook with menace. Though not as
boisterous as his adversary, he sounded angrier, more dangerous.

Jewel strained to see over Wayland’s shoulder. Only the
tops of Nolan and Bellamy’s heads as they circled each other reached her line
of vision. Neither man had a weapon, but Jewel feared they were mad enough to kill
each other with their bare hands.

Bellamy turned his head and spat. Jewel could easily
imagine the blood-tinged spittle that stained the sand and provoked another
foul curse from her father. “Letting you live to lie with my daughter one more
night would be a new low. That’s why it’s not going to happen.” Bellamy’s lunge
for Nolan was a blur in the corner of her eye, but Nolan’s grunt assured her he’d
hit his mark.

Jewel’s neck ached and she let her head fall back onto the
rolled cloth someone had thoughtfully placed beneath her. Wayland blocked her
view completely. Even with her eyes closed, she knew her father and husband were
rolling on the ground like two schoolboys. Two schoolboys bent on killing each
other.

Wayland touched her chin, forcing her to look at him.
“It’s a shallow wound. Your pretty dress got the worst of it. Don’t even need
stitches.”

Jewel blinked, clearing the tears from her vision. “Make
them stop.”

Wayland nodded and stood. The compassion in his tired gaze
shook her with a new wave of sorrow. He knew better than she how hopeless was
her request. Jewel propped herself on her elbows and watched Wayland stride
toward the two men locked in mortal combat and kick them apart. “Can’t you two
stop long enough to see that Jewel’s wound is tended to?”

Miraculously, they let go of each other and got to their feet.
Wayland braced his hands on the hipbones that jutted above the waistline of his
baggy breeches. “I’m sick of seeing you two chasing each other’s tails like
bleeding mongrels. Let’s finish this thing right.”

Both men nodded, their chests heaving. They both looked as
if they had just been awakened from a disturbing dream. All three approached
her. Jewel hadn’t realized Parker had taken her hand and cradled her head until
Nolan growled something at him. Parker quickly moved aside so Nolan could take
his place. He clasped her hand, but instead of comforting her, his slick skin
radiated heated anger. The pulse at the base of his thumb raced with erratic
agitation.

Wayland pulled a silver flask out from his trousers. He
knelt in front of her and lifted her skirt. He paused, a pink tinge creeping
across his tobacco-colored skin. For the second time in their acquaintance,
she’d made Wayland blush, a reaction she’d not thought possible from the
grizzled pirate.

He lowered his gaze. “I figured you wore those petticoat
things. They’re made of soft cotton, so it won’t scratch your skin so much. Make
a fine bandage.”

Jewel smiled. “I do. Go ahead.” Now that she’d found Wayland’s
soft spot, she couldn’t let the moment pass without getting him back for the
thousand times he’d caused her to blush—even if her shoulder had gone from icy
numb to burning hot. “I didn’t realize you were so familiar with a lady’s
unmentionables.”

Bellamy squatted, studying her wound. “Most of the women
Wayland knows would be insulted if you were to call them ladies. They don’t
wear anything but a light skirt that’s easy to toss over their heads.”

Jewel refused to acknowledge her father. Instead, she watched
Nolan, fearing her father’s nearness would cause them to come to blows again.
Nolan stared straight ahead, his gaze unfocused. Though he still gripped her hand
tighter than necessary, she understood his mind was not on her. She could see
the muscle working in his jaw and feel the fury rolling off him like white
heat.

Asking him not to fight with her father had been a mistake.
A mere day of pent-up anger had left him more volatile than she’d ever seen
him. A lifetime would eat him alive and pervert any love he felt for Jewel into
hate. Her father had been right, damn him.

Wayland poured the contents of his flask onto the bunched
cloth from her petticoat and pressed it to her wound. She drew a sharp breath
between her teeth. The fire in her shoulder exploded into a thousand tiny
sparks hot enough to sear her flesh. She exhaled on a sob.

Wayland wiped away the excess blood and examined the wound
once more. “It’s a puny thing. Bled more than it’s worth. Don’t even need a
bandage. The fresh air will heal it faster than anything.”

He pulled out a small knife and cut away the fabric that
surrounded the wound. “There.” He handed her the flask. “Clean it at night and in
the morning. In a couple of days, you’ll have forgotten it altogether.”

Jewel twisted to examine the wound herself. The sun had
disappeared completely. In the light blue twilight, the wound looked little
more than a thick scratch.

Wayland resheathed the knife, and then stood. He looked at
Bellamy and Nolan. “Now, let’s settle things between you two, so the rest of us
can have long and healthy lives.”

Nolan’s wet grip tugged from Jewel’s and he got to his
feet. Jewel let him go without a fight. She really had no choice. Though he
hadn’t strayed from her side, he might as well have been an ocean away. She
pushed herself to a sitting position, still feeling too unsteady to stand—whether
from the wound or the drift of the conversation, she couldn’t say.

He faced Bellamy, his stance that of a broad-shouldered
avenging shadow in the growing darkness. “Tonight, on the beach. We’ll light
torches and the crew can stand witness.”

Bellamy folded his arms over his barrel chest, looking way
too happy with the turn of events. “Don’t sound too fair to me. As I remember,
last time you also had a crew on your side.”

“I’ll relinquish command of the crew to Mr. Tyrell right
now.” Nolan glanced at Parker.

The lieutenant straightened from the palm trunk where he’d
been leaning. “Is that really necessary? How far are you two actually going
take this feud of yours?”

“Nope,” said Bellamy. “If I win, I get the crew and the
ship just like what you stole from me.”

Nolan squared his shoulders, narrowing his gaze. “My crew
wouldn’t serve under you even if you delivered them my head on a platter.”

Parker strode to stand between them. “No one is putting
anyone’s head on a platter.” He glanced at Jewel. “Do you think she wants to
hear this?” he asked Nolan.

Jewel closed her eyes and hugged her knees to her chest. The
image of Nolan’s words had already turned her stomach. It was too late for him
to take them back as Parker urged.

“I have to finish this once and for all. No matter the outcome.
The way things are right now isn’t healthy—especially for Jewel. I think that’s
obvious.” She heard Nolan’s voice, felt his gaze rest on her, but she refused to
acknowledge him. Did he actually expect her to agree?

Wayland joined them. “Save it for when you got your sword
in your hand.” He turned to Bellamy. “Nolan earned the respect of your crew
while you lost it. He doesn’t have to order his crew to follow you. This fight is
between you two and nothing more.”

“Fine.” Bellamy’s smile shone in the dark. “The sooner the
better.”

“I’m not going to be a part of this.” Parker’s voice rose
a few notches.

“Afraid of a little bloodshed, boy?” Bellamy laughed.
“Some fierce crew you got here, Nolan.”

Parker swung his gaze toward Jewel’s father. “You deserved
a lashing for trying to drown Nolan—or better yet, he should haul you in and let
them hang you in Charles Town. From what I’ve heard, you no doubt have a price
on your head.” He turned to Nolan. “Fighting the British for our freedom is one
thing, but, Nolan, why would you waste your skill and time proving something to
this common criminal? I say, lock him in irons and let the authorities deal
with him.”

“Parker, no. They’ll hang him.” Jewel struggled to her feet.
She didn’t like the idea of Nolan and her father having another swordfight, but
neither did she like Parker’s idea.

“I’d like to see Nolan try to throw me in chains. Who’s
going to help him—you, puppy?” Bellamy sneered at Parker.

Parker held the man’s gaze for a moment before he glanced
away, apparently choosing to ignore the taunt. Though, he didn’t definitively
back down either. He squared a shoulder that had gotten noticeably broader since
the start of the journey.

Nolan broke the tension between them. “Jewel’s right. I
won’t turn Bellamy in as a pirate. I’d have to turn myself in right along with
him. We’ll settle this by the rules of the Brethren. A fight to the death.”

Even Parker seemed too stunned to have an answer for that.
If no one would speak up to stop this lunacy, neither would Jewel. She felt
Nolan’s gaze on her again and forced herself to meet his eyes. The first
scattering of stars dotted the sky, pulsing in glee while the man she loved
stared at her without the slightest hint of a smile. His expression mirrored
the bleakness that sank through her limbs, numbing even the wound in her shoulder.

“I have to do this,” Nolan said to her, though loud enough
for all to hear.

She forced herself not to blink or glance away. “I know.”

He turned back to the other men. “The rules are—there are
no rules. Agreed?”

Bellamy pointed at Parker. “Tell pretty boy over here that
the crew is not to get involved. Even after I’ve stuck so many holes in you
you’ll be spewing blood like a fountain.”

Parker’s voice sounded lower than normal. He’d recovered
from his shock with a new surge of anger. “I won’t interfere. I won’t be around
to see it.” He strode past them and into the jungle.

“Lads today have no respect for their elders,” mumbled
Bellamy.

“Are we agreed?” asked Wayland.

“Agreed,” said her father and husband in unison.

Jewel closed her eyes to block out the sight of her father
and Nolan staring at each other with such undisguised hatred. She would lose
one of them. As desperately as she loved Nolan, she couldn’t wish her own father
to die. She also knew Nolan would rather die in a fair fight than live the rest
of his life forcing himself to be civil to a man he despised with his whole
being. Either way, Jewel would lose. “Agreed,” she whispered to no one in
particular.

Nolan paced the perimeter of light created by the torches,
while they waited for a crewman to bring the swords from the ship. Ordinary
cutlasses wouldn’t do for this occasion. Nolan had two beautiful, well-balanced
swords crafted from Damascus steel hoarded from his days with Bellamy. The gold
hilts each sported two rubies and a large emerald, but that wasn’t why Nolan
kept them when he had renounced every other ill-gotten item he had acquired in
his youth as a pirate. He had convinced himself the weapons represented a
perfection in craftsmanship that he valued above their monetary worth. But the truth
was, he had saved them for this moment. The swords were perfectly matched.
Neither he nor Bellamy would have any advantage in weaponry.