The Pirate's Jewel (40 page)

Wayland glanced down at her from his dangling position on
the rope ladder. He had two muskets slung over his back and wore a red coat
like the rest of them. Parker and his group used the same ploy to approach the
Integrity
.
Hopefully, watches on both ships would think they were their own men returning.

“Stay in the boat until I give you the signal to follow,” Wayland
whispered in a croak. None of the five crewmen, who included Jewel, raised a
voice to agree. She’d been surprised how many wanted to join her and Wayland on
the risky mission aboard the
Neptune
to rescue Nolan. After all, the
treasure remained on the
Integrity
.

“Well, let’s go then,” said Wayland, before he quickly made
his way up the ladder.

Jewel grabbed the rung and hurried up after him, gripping
a sword in her hand. At Wayland’s insistence, she had another sword hanging at
her hip, but she’d refused to carry a musket. She didn’t know how to shoot, and
this didn’t seem a good situation in which to learn. The hem of her petticoat
caught under her feet as she maneuvered on the ladder. She should have at least
taken the opportunity to shorten its length, even if she hadn’t had the time to
wrestle breeches from a soldier.

Once she cleared the
Neptune
’s railing, she
discovered her fears about the circumstance in which she might find Nolan were
not nearly as dire as the scene before her. Nolan and Bellamy had their backs
to each other, swords raised, engaging no fewer than seven men at once. Clanks
and shouts warned her that other battles raged around her, but only this one
captured her interest.

Luckily, if there truly was any in the situation, the group
of men didn’t seem happy with their overwhelming advantage. One or two would
advance, and a swift parry and riposte from Nolan or her father would send them
back to a safe distance. The fallen bodies she saw scattered about the deck
might have something to do with their reluctance. That, and the fact that none
of the men, who all wore sailor’s attire rather than soldier’s uniforms,
appeared to be very skilled in combat.

Jewel advanced, after a quick glance to Wayland for some
sort of last-minute instruction. She paused when she found him with his musket
raised, aimed above Nolan and Bellamy’s heads. She swung her glance to the sailor
standing on the roof of the companionway, a net poised to drop over them.

Wayland’s musket exploded, creating a sharp pain in her
right ear, but Jewel didn’t pause to give it much thought. The old pirate hit
his mark, causing the sailor to drop the net and slip from his perch. The
tangle of rope landed on three of the British engaging Bellamy, giving him a
momentary advantage. Jewel rushed to Nolan’s side and met the blade of the man
who turned to face her at the sound of the musket.

His feeble attempt to block her thrust showed her that he’d
not had much experience with the weapon. The idea of merely wounding him
crossed her mind before he made a wide target of his midsection and she drove
her sword home. She withdrew her weapon and found a new opponent before she had
time to regret his likely fatal wound. She’d done what she had to do.

After a few passable parries, Jewel’s next opponent swung
his sword at her head, forcing her to duck or be decapitated. When she
straightened, eager to return the favor, the man stared at her in stunned
horror. She followed his gaze to the end of the cutlass that stuck from his
belly. Nolan removed his sword from the man’s back and only gazed at her
briefly over him before turning to engage another opponent. Not that she could
tell absolutely, considering the circumstances, but he didn’t seem particularly
upset to see her. In fact, she thought she caught a hint of a smile in his eye.

Jewel turned to find another man to engage and noticed
some of the sailors had dropped their swords, their hands raised in surrender.
Wayland and Bellamy herded them together and forced them toward the ship’s stern.
Jewel scoured the deck, averting her gaze from the litter of fallen men and the
red stream of blood that had begun to make the deck slick.

With a will of its own, her gaze paused on a particularly
mangled individual. On closer inspection, she noticed the worst of his wounds
weren’t recent. His nose and a good portion of his lip were missing. The thick red
pool beneath him, along with his vacant, unblinking stare, left no doubt that
he was dead. Jewel recognized the pirate who’d boarded the
Integrity
,
intent on stealing the map. Nolan’s compassion in letting Handsome Jack go
might have come back to haunt him, but Jack Casper had got what fate intended
in the end.

A cannon blast shattered her speculation, and instinct forced
Jewel to crouch. She glanced toward the deafening sound to see Bellamy pull his
bloody sword from the back of the man who’d lit the fuse.

“Damn it! The bastard signaled the marines on the beach.
Nolan, get Jewel out of here. I’m going to cut anchor before they make it
back,” yelled Bellamy.

Wayland and a few others who didn’t look as if they belonged
with the British crew rounded up the sailors who no longer had the will to
fight, who appeared to be all that was left. She searched the deck for Nolan
and found him striding in her direction. “Let’s go.” He wrapped an arm around
her and started dragging her to the side.

“There’s a ladder. Don’t jump,” she said, and dug her heels
into the deck, reliving a similar moment with no intention of repeating it.

He paused to kiss the top of her head but didn’t loosen his
grip. “I’m aware of that.”

They reached the railing, where Nolan’s men were already
finding their way down. She didn’t know if Wayland had told Nolan that the
commanding officer, as well as the majority of the marines, was tied up on the
beach, nor did she know how long that would remain true. The cannon no doubt
alerted the men at the waterfall to return to the beach, if they hadn’t already
done so. Besides, she wasn’t sure how Parker was faring, and she feared he
might need their help.

Nolan shoved Jewel to the ladder in front of the next man
waiting to go down. She spared a brief glance at her father.

He stood at the helm, brandishing his sword. “Join or
jump, lads. Name your poison,” he shouted.

Jewel didn’t have another moment to spare; she hurried
down the ladder with Nolan right behind her. Once they settled in the skiff and
untied the line, she realized they had forgotten Wayland. Oars were thrust into
the water and furiously worked, sending them farther from the
Neptune
with each passing moment. Apparently no one wanted to take the time to count
men.

Jewel struggled to keep silent, and to keep the surge of
emotion that warned her she might cry at bay. Even if she mentioned it, she
doubted anyone would be eager to turn around and retrieve Wayland. Bellamy
deserved to be left behind; in fact, she didn’t doubt he preferred it. And perhaps
Wayland did, too, though the closest thing she’d ever had to a father figure
had mismatched eyes and more gum than teeth.

A white bundle tossed over the
Neptune’
s side
forced her from her melancholy. The male scream that echoed over the water
immediately before the splash warned her that the jetsam was human. Lieutenant
Greeley floundered in the water, a nightshirt billowing around him.

“Hey, Nolan!” Wayland appeared at the railing, assuring
her he had encouraged Greeley to abandon ship. “You take care of her, or you’ll
be answering to me when I see you next.” He waved, and then disappeared.

Jewel glanced in Greeley’s direction once more to find him
swimming toward the beach with even strokes. The scattered lanterns on the
Integrity
’s
rigging grew closer, while the
Neptune’
s blaze faded farther into the
distance. A flare on the beach dragged her gaze in its direction. Soldiers were
filtering onto the sand.

Nolan must have seen it, too. “We have no idea who has
control of the
Integrity
?”

“I’m sure Parker is doing his best,” she said but realized
she didn’t sound hopeful. She’d been placed in the front of the longboat, and
another man blocked her view of Nolan.

“I imagine once they untie him, Devlin will be mad enough
to swim to our ship and wring someone’s neck,” he said with an odd note in his
tired voice.

Jewel braced herself on her elbows. Obviously, he’d been
told what happened, probably by Wayland between cutting down the seamen. The
old salt had been gushingly proud of her ingenuity. Though Nolan’s voice
sounded stern, she thought she heard a hint of amusement, maybe even pride as
well. She had been positive that if they got out of this alive, Nolan would
flail her for taking such a risk.

Either way, she didn’t have the strength to defend her actions.
“I guess we’d better get out of here, then.”

“I guess we’d better.” An undeniable hint of humor softened
his voice.

“How did you and Bellamy get out of your chains?” Jewel
asked. Crowded in a boat full of men and still in fear for her life, she had
just discovered a new form of intimacy with her husband.

“Jack Casper rescued us, which was considerate, since he
was the one who turned us in. I’m afraid his plans went considerably awry.”

“I noticed that.” Jewel struggled to see around the crewmen
blocking Nolan from her view. “Good thing my plan didn’t.” She caught only a
portion of Nolan’s face but the crinkles around his bright eyes warned her that
he couldn’t suppress a smile.

“Yes. Good thing.”

Nolan didn’t say anything else. They were swiftly
approaching the
Integrity
, and everyone knew to be silent without being
told. Jewel still clutched her sword in her fist, and had unconsciously cradled
it in her lap. They passed a body floating facedown in the water. It was too
dark to identify without flipping the man over, and Jewel was relieved when
Nolan guided them toward the rope ladder instead. The
Integrity
’s deck
loomed silent, giving no clue as to what lay in wait. Jewel mustered her
strength for a fight she knew she wasn’t ready for.

Nolan pulled himself up the first rung, and then, when Jewel
followed, didn’t say a word. She wished his acceptance of her as a part of his
crew hadn’t come when she wasn’t sure she could continue to lift her sword. He proved
much swifter than she and cleared the railing while she still hung near the
water. She had almost reached the top when he thrust his head over the railing,
panic in his gaze.

“Hurry,” he called. She pulled herself up the next few
rungs and when she was close enough, he lifted her over the ship’s side. For a moment,
she didn’t know what had caused the anxiety in Nolan’s voice. The crewmen who
had left the beach for the
Integrity
rushed across the deck in obvious preparation
for them to set sail. Then she spotted Parker braced against the main mast. He
clutched his bloodied sword in one hand, much paler then when she had seen him
last. He appeared as if he was about to faint, which didn’t surprise Jewel in
the least.

She strode in his direction, Nolan on her heels, but obviously
letting her have the lead. “You did it, Parker. You took back our ship.” He let
his sword clink to the deck. On closer approach, she noticed that the red coat
he still wore wasn’t buttoned, but blood, the same hue as his jacket, covered a
good portion of his chest. His heavy-lidded gaze warned her that it was his.

“I request to be relieved of command,” he said before he
crumpled onto the deck.

***

Dawn eased over the horizon in a pink fog that lit the tired
lines around Jewel’s mouth. She sat on a crate, her knees on her elbows, and
watched Nolan steer. The ocean’s calm rocked them with a sleepy rhythm and the warm
trade winds ushered them forward with a gentle but persistent nudge. Neither
land nor ship showed on their starboard, leeward, stern, or bow. Tranquil blue
waters, with only lazy waves to break the monotony, surrounded them as far as
the eye could see. Even as he heard the
Integrity
’s sails struggle to
breathe, Nolan thanked his good fortune.

“Why don’t you check on Parker again and then get some
sleep?” he said to Jewel, softening his voice so as not to startle her.

She stretched, still wearing the red coat over her chemise
and petticoat. Though he’d enjoy tossing the reminder of how much danger she’d
been in over the side, the British uniform would no doubt be of service to him in
the future—a military future that wouldn’t begin until he had his letter of
marque. His other future, the one that mattered most, was sitting before him.

“Last time I slipped into his cabin, he was sleeping and I
woke him. He’ll be fine. I think he fainted from exhaustion and shock as much
as blood loss. You should really teach him how to use a sword.”

“I think you’d be much better at that, Mrs. Kenton.” Nolan
kept his gaze on the horizon, but he could see the tilt of her head and her
curious smile in his peripheral vision. He still needed to explain himself, but
he hoped his casual claim would ease his way. At least she didn’t balk when he
claimed her as his wife.

“You’re right about Parker,” Nolan continued, as if he
didn’t notice her questioning stare. “Though let’s not tell him that. He
wouldn’t appreciate it.”

Parker’s wounds had looked far worse than they were. He’d
been nicked in more than half a dozen places. Only one, a slash on his hip, had
needed stitches. With Wayland gone, Jewel had performed the task with skill and
patience, while Nolan felt a little faint himself. He’d excused himself to see
to the navigation while she did the worst of it.

Now Jewel nodded, and then let her gaze drift to the searching
rays of soft yellow that reached out over the ever lightening sea. Her apparent
exhaustion, which was no surprise, gave him an excuse not to speak his mind, but
he chose not to take it. She needed to be reassured, or at least given the
opportunity to reject him.