Under Her Brass Corset (19 page)

“No. We’re anchored off Ocracoke Island. Abigail and I are going ashore and we’ll be back shortly.”

“Then I suppose I can finish my nap.”

Jasper saw the brass corset lying on the trunk and he picked it up. “I’ll sail around to Bath Town afterward. You should be able to find a good ship there.” He took out an awl from his desk drawer and restitched the leather strap to fix the buckle.

“Bath Town sounds good to me,” Adam said in return.

Jasper put the corset down and opened the cabinet. He picked up the velvet bag holding the Compass. He didn’t think he had missed talking to Adam, but everything in his life had changed because of Abigail.

“What happen to your ship?” he asked, curious to know more.

“Storm, sloppy crew, hit rocks, end of story.”

“Sloppy crew, huh?”

“The worst. I should have looked into the whole steam engine and flying thing that you do. Now that I see how it works, might be a good idea to rely only on myself.” Adam sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bunk. His boots clunked hard on the wood. “About Isabel.”

“It’s done. I’m over it all.”

“Really?” Adam’s brow rose. “Are you sure you don’t want to hang on to your anger another hundred and fifty years, or are you worried Miss Thatch won’t stand for it?”

Jasper folded his arms together and leaned against the doorjamb. “I don’t rightly think it matters. There’s no future with her any more than there was one with Isabel. Mortals aren’t part of the immortal world. I know that the hard way.”

“Still, Abigail is here with you.”

“It’s just a one-time thing—a mission she’s on that I agreed to help see her through. Then back to England she goes.”

“You keep telling yourself that enough and just maybe you’ll convince yourself. As for me, I don’t believe for a second that Abigail is going to give up on you.”

Jasper trudged up the narrow stairwell to the middle deck. Adam was right. He’d find a way to live without her. But what about her feelings? How deep did her emotions go toward him? Was he setting her up for heartbreak?

Abigail stood waiting at the rail when he returned. Beads of perspiration dampened her face. She fanned her hand back and forth without much luck in stirring the air.

“You can stay here,” he suggested, thinking she might be hiding illness.

“Are you serious?” Her eyes went wide. “I’m not letting you steal my treasure. I pretended to let you think you were winning me over with your drivel about being immortal and how my great-grandfather buried magical water just so you’d bring me this far. Now that I’m here, I’m going to the island and claim what rightfully belongs to me, and you’re not going to get in my way.”

Abigail’s statement finally enlightened him about her somber spirit. “So, that’s what’s been eating at you. I thought we were past all this mistrust.”

“You dazzled me with your gadgets and lovemaking, but I’m not brainless enough to believe in anyone living forever. Although I must admit you had me for a minute. Preying on my loneliness and making me fall for you was an extremely effective ploy, Captain Blackthorn. Too bad you played it too far with the immortality.”

“I swear, Abigail, I’m not deceiving you about anything. I’ve told you more about my life than I’ve ever told anyone. I thought you understood that.”

“I’m going to get my treasure. You can wait here or you can come. Either way, I want my snow globe.” She held her hand out for it.

“How about I carry it until we get to the island?” he suggested, not eager to have it possibly slip from her fingers into the sea.

“No.” Her mouth held that rigid, stern line of thinned lips from pursing them too tight.

“Fine, just don’t drop it.” He swung a leg over the side first. “I’ll climb down the rope ladder. You step on the steam lift.”

“Don’t you have to operate it from that box up on the quarterdeck?” She stood looking down at him.

“That’s for raising the platform. Your weight should be enough for it to slowly lower.” He watched her put a leg over the rail. The long, full skirting of the dress made her move awkwardly.

“Then how does it go back up if you’re at the bottom and the control box is at the top?” She continuously switched the crystal compass from hand to hand as she arranged her stance on the platform and rode the steam lift down the side of the
Illusion
.

“I climb the ladder.”

“Doesn’t sound practical. What good is it if you can only use it to get down?”

The gentle waves rocked the ship. Abigail lost her balance and the compass fell from her hand.

Jasper reached out and caught it, then gave her a warning glare.

“Sorry.” She hopped into the boat. “It slipped.”

“I’ll hold on to it.” He tucked it in his pocket. “What did you think I was going to do if there was a treasure? Dig it up and walk away from my ship?”

“Maybe. How do I know all the elaborate details of a charlatan’s con?”

“Abigail.” He sighed.

If he thought it would work, he’d lean over and kiss some sense back into the woman. But from the hard-edged expression, he figured she’d probably clobber him with an oar. The best he could hope for was to take her to the treasure and let her see for herself that there were no fistfuls of jewels or trunks packed with gold coins.

Abigail stood back and watched Jasper shake the snow globe. Just as she had seen before, tiny rays of light shot through the glass and arced. Instead of one arc of light, several streaked through the glass into different directions. It had to work on magnets stronger than she had ever seen.

“What if someone comes along?” she asked, surveying the lighthouse and the scattering of buildings not far from the beach.

“Then we pretend we’re on holiday.” Jasper said, walking, following the shortest beam. “Come on.”

It wasn’t colorful, but the rainbow-shaped arc glowed brightly. Unable to wait another second to find her pot of gold, she ran ahead. Seagulls strutting around in the sand flew away, squawking about the disturbance. Some moved down the beach and landed. Others spiraled upward and circled the tall white lighthouse. If she were on holiday, she’d love to take the time and watch them.

Abigail dropped to her hands and knees on the hot sand where the light pointed. She dug quickly, anxious to discover she’d been right about a great treasure. To come so far and not find anything was her worst fear.

“How deep is it?” she asked, glancing briefly over her shoulder at Jasper.

He watched with a blank stare. She wondered why he wasn’t excited, why he wasn’t helping her plow through the silky white sand.

“Don’t know. I didn’t bury it.”

She kept scooping handfuls of sand out of the hole that she started. “You’re a pirate, how deep do you typically bury treasure?”

“I’ve never buried anything in my life. I tend to spend my wealth or invest it.”

Abigail paused and looked up at him again. “Oh, aren’t you the practical one.” A growing concern that Jasper might stop her and try to claim the treasure as his own lingered in her thoughts.

“Find it yet?” he asked, casually sitting down on a large flat rock, looking handsome and sexy and dangerous.

“No, but I will.” She dug faster, ignoring the pungent odor rising from the ground.

Her fingers hit something and she pulled up the soft object.

“Ew, what is that!” She tossed it away.

“A clump of dead seaweed. I’d say you’re close.”

When she brought up another handful of sand, she stared at the small bottle in her palm. “This can’t be it.” She brushed off the sand and held up her find. She shook it slightly and saw no more than a few spoonfuls of clear liquid.

She looked over at Jasper, who was getting up.

“This is some sort of trick.” She threw the bottle at him and started digging again.

“Abigail.” He dropped down on his knees behind her. “I wasn’t lying to you.”

“You had to be. Who would bury a bottle of water? It’s just a marker, like the seaweed. The treasure is still under here.”

She scooped sand out of her way and fanatically raked a bigger hole.

“Abigail, stop.” Jasper put his arms around her and squeezed her tight.

“Let go.” She struggled, unwilling to give up.

“You don’t need a treasure, me beauty.” His kisses pressed warmly against her head.

“I do,” she cried. “I don’t want to lose my family’s house. I can pretend I don’t need it. I told myself I didn’t want it because it was a burden. But the truth is it hurts too much to think of never living there again. When you’re gone, it’s the only place I’ll feel comfortable being.”

Jasper’s hold loosened slightly. “When I’m gone?”

“Mr. Sutterby told me you left the woman carrying your baby. He said they thought you died, but you didn’t. You could have gone back.”

“I did go back. Unfortunately, I was kidnapped by pirates and forced to work on their ship.”

“Another flaw in your story.” She sniffed back tears. “If you were immortal, then they shouldn’t have been able to stop you.”

“Back then sailing across an ocean took months, not days. By the time I returned, she and the baby were gone—dead. I blamed Adam and I shouldn’t have. When I left, I went back to the pirates. I would never have abandoned her.”

She wiped at her tears, not knowing what to say.

“I’m not going anywhere, Abby. Trust me, everything will be all right.” He whispered the exact words she needed to hear.

His arms loosened enough to let her scoot around, and then his embrace tightened again. He rocked her in his hug. His kisses circled her face, gliding from her forehead, to her temple, to her cheek. He moved his hands from her back to her jaw.

“I won’t let you lose your house.” He brushed her cheeks. “Now stop crying.”

She looked through watery eyes at him, trying to trust his words, to have faith that he wasn’t tricking her.

“What can you do?” She sniffled again, unable to believe there was any hope, unless… “Do you know where my treasure is?”

“There’s no treasure. I swear.” He tipped her face up. “However, a man can amass quite a fortune in four hundred years, me beauty.”

“There you go again with that four hundred year—” Abigail’s words disappeared into Jasper’s kiss.

She clung to him, hungry for the attention, appreciative of his concern, yet feeling foolish nevertheless. His make-believe stories weren’t nearly so bad when she put them up against her confidence that she’d find a treasure.

However, the bad thoughts had no place in her head. She lifted her arms and wrapped them around Jasper. He slid his fingers into her hair as he held her head steady for his demanding kiss. A wave of warmth flowed through her, carrying unspoken promises of happiness. He had kept her safe on her quest, and she trusted he’d take care of her in the future if she let him.

She pulled away and flicked the buttons through the tight holes on her dress.

“What are you doing?” Jasper’s gaze fixated on her fingers.

“I said you could have me when I got my treasure.” She reached up and pulled her hair free of the few hairpins keeping it up.

“We should go back to the
Illusion
.” He started to get up, but she grabbed his hand and put it in the opening of her unbuttoned dress.

“We wouldn’t be alone there.” She moved his hand beneath the cloth and let go once she felt his fingers fold around her breast.

Jasper pushed her back gently. He crawled forward over her, stretching out the length of her as she lay down. From there he needed no coaxing. His kisses showed as much greed as his hands that raked her dress from her shoulder and yanked it down her arm. Sand clung to her skin dampened by sweat and excitement. He rolled, pulling her over him. She lay on his chest, content to be in his arms.

“I can’t remember the last time I felt so alive, Abigail. Four hundred years and I—”

“Not again.” She groaned and pushed herself to sit up, and then she turned her head at the sound of gunfire.

Jasper jumped to his feet and jerked her up. From the distance, she barely saw the person in the longboat coming to shore.

“It’s Eric.” Anger was evident in the prolonged low growl.

She took Jasper’s word that he recognized her cousin. “What do we do?”

He scooped the bottle up from the ground and stuck it in her hand. “Stay behind that rock. I’m going to convince him to leave.”

“He has a gun.”

“Immortality has a shipload of benefits,” he answered as he marched away.

She watched him strut and swagger across the sand. Arrogance surrounded him like a shield. The attractiveness in the masculine show of bravery made her hot with desire.

She ducked behind the rock so Eric didn’t see her. On her hands and knees, she peered around the side of the boulder and watched the men.

“Give it up, Blackthorn.” Eric took a determined stance. “You aren’t leaving this island with my treasure.”

“You aren’t leaving here alive,” Jasper answered.

Abigail held her breath. Eric lifted his gun and shot Jasper. He flinched, but he kept going. Another shot made him stagger back. A third caused him to drop to his knees.

“I know I can’t kill you with a gun, but it’s a good tranquilizer, wouldn’t you say?” Eric tossed his pistol to the ground and pulled a cutlass from the sash around his waist.

Abigail sat back and looked at the glass bottle. If she believed Jasper, then she had to trust he’d never want Eric to get hold of the water of Avalon. But she had to do something to stop Eric. Even she knew that if Jasper lost his head, he’d die.

Jasper struggled with the riveting pain in his chest, the sharp sting in his shoulder and the excruciating hole in his abdomen. He pulled a leg up and got one foot under himself.

“I understand you can’t grow a limb back, but you won’t die. However, I suspect, if you lose your head, you’re a goner.” Eric took a swing and Jasper dived out of the way.

The blade caught him in the side and he grasped the open slice oozing blood. Eric came at him again.

“No!” Abigail’s yell stopped him.

Jasper wanted to wring her neck for exposing herself.

She held her arms up with the bottle in one hand and the cork in the other. Her blouse, still open, exposed the creaminess of her skin between her breasts.

“You kill him and you’ll never get this,” she claimed.

Eric heeded her warning and lowered his sword. “Be careful with that.”

Her brave front wavered the moment her gaze went to his blood-covered body.

“Pour it out, Abigail,” Jasper ordered, lowering his hands and rising, hoping his show of strength would bolster her courage.

Eric swung his cutlass back near Jasper’s neck. “You do that, dear cousin, and Blackthorn loses his head.”

“Do you promise not to kill him if I give this to you?” Abigail asked, her brow wrinkled with a frown.

“What are you doing?” Jasper took another step forward, gritting his teeth against the pain. Too many wounds took too long to heal, leaving him weak.

“Of course, Abigail dear,” Eric said cheerfully. “If I get what I want, Blackthorn can keep his head.”

“Then here, take it.” She held the vial out.

Eric hurried forward. When he got more than halfway to her, she corked the bottle and sat it in the sand. Then she ran a wide circling path toward Jasper.

“Ow.” He flinched from her touch.

“What can I do?” She lifted her skirt and tore a strip of fabric free.

“I’ll be all right.” He let her compress the cloth against his stomach. “I promise everything will heal.”

“Not if you bleed to death.” She left him holding the cloth against his stomach while she ripped another piece from her skirt.

Jasper watched Eric uncork the bottle and drink the contents. The puckered expression Eric made seemed odd, since the water of Avalon tasted just like ordinary water. Jasper expected Eric to question the taste, but it never happened. Instead, Eric let out an evil laugh of triumph.

“This isn’t possible,” Abigail whispered hoarsely. “You can’t really be…”

Jasper glanced at her hand perched by the vanishing wound in his shoulder.

“Move behind me.” He pushed her aside.

Eric sheathed his sword and pulled a small pistol from his waistband. “She’s coming with me.”

“You got what you want, Eric.”

“I need time to find out if this magic water is working.”

Jasper tried to think of a way to protect Abigail.

“I could stab you in the heart and show you right now,” Jasper offered.

“Yes, you would love that, but no. Besides, Cousin Abigail and I have some catching up to do. A nice family reunion is waiting for her. Now let’s go, Abigail.”

“She’s not going with you.” Jasper decided he’d have to charge Eric.

Then Eric shot him in the opposite shoulder, showing him the futility in trying anything. “Damn it, Eric.” Any move he made endangered Abigail.

“She goes with me or the next bullet just might land in her.” Eric advanced, circling, waving his gun at Abigail to go to his boat.

Jasper let her go. Eric had given a clue to where they were headed. He took her hand and kissed her sand-covered fingers. “I’ll come for you. I promise.”

“Let’s go!” Eric punctuated his statement with a shot in the sand at their feet.

“You’ll be all right.” He slowly released her outstretched fingers as she walked away. “Trust me, Abby. You’ll be all right.”

She nodded and forced a faint smile to form on her grim face.

“I’m warning you, Eric. If you hurt her, you’ll have to spend every moment of your miserable life looking over your shoulder.”

“I live for the day, Blackthorn.” Eric pushed Abigail into his boat.

Jasper watched them row out to Eric’s ship. He shook off the last effects of the healing and rushed to his longboat to follow. The shots he had heard Eric fire on his arrival had been into the bottom of his longboat, now filling with water.

“Damn.” He spun around and thrust his fingers into his hair, pulling at the strands in frustration.

The shimmer of something on the sand near the rock Abby had crouched behind caught his gaze. He walked to see the wet spot. Beyond he saw small pockets of water from a recent rain.

Had she dumped out the water of Avalon? He pulled the Crystal Compass from his pocket and touched it to the moist patch of sand. The glass simply glowed, proving Abigail had had the foresight to empty the vial and fill it with ordinary water. He worried what Eric would do once he learned she had deceived him.

Jasper looked toward his ship and saw a small boat coming toward him. He ran to the surf and waited, thankful to see Adam had found the rowboat in the hold of the
Illusion
.

“Need a ride?” Adam grinned.

Jasper didn’t wait for him to reach the beach. He waded into the surf and jumped in the boat. “Eric has taken Abigail,” he said.

“Is she all right?” Adam’s gaze raked over him.

“It’s my blood.” He drew his shredded and stained shirt up over his head and dipped it in the water. “Eric mentioned a family reunion. I have a feeling he’s going to take her to Blackbeard.”

“Blackbeard won’t let anything happen to her. She is his granddaughter after all.”

“That’s what I’m counting on. She’s going to need protecting, however, when Eric finds out the water he drank isn’t from Avalon and he’s not immortal. That boy has a mean, vengeful streak in him.”

“What water?”

“Blackbeard hid what he had left that I gave him. That’s why Abigail and I came here. She found a map, and this.” He pulled the Compass from his pocket. “The Crystal Compass of Avalon is a device for locating any source of water from a spring of Avalon.”