“Cain—”
“Do you deny it now?” His voice rose into a harsh bellow. “Do you sit there in my bed and deny the truth still? Damnation, woman, I trusted you!” He spun away and stalked toward the door.
“Cain, stop!”
India
scrambled out of the bed. “Let me explain.” Hurrying across the room, she caught him by the elbow. “Please. Let me explain.”
Refusing to look at her, he reached for the door. “There’s nothing to say. Nothing I care to hear.” With a fierce shake of his arm, he dislodged her hand. He stormed through the door, slamming it behind him.
In the deafening quiet, a sturdy
click
issued from the lock.
Horrified,
India
stared at the door. Sweet Mary, what had she done? How could she have been so thoughtless? Cain valued truth more than anything—it was what brought them here in the first place. And by her own slip of the tongue, she admitted she betrayed him. Just as Richard had.
She tried to swallow around the rising lump in her throat. But the effort proved worthless, and she choked out a sob. He’d locked her in, returning her once more to the unmistakable place of
captive.
God’s teeth, she had to make him understand she’d kept silent to protect him, not with any intent to mislead.
She rushed to the bed and the key she’d stuffed under the mattress. Yet as her fingers closed around the cold metal, she hesitated. If she revealed she possessed a key, it would only make things worse. Not only would she be a betrayer, but Drake as well. No, as much as she wanted to chase after Cain, she didn’t dare go now. The truth would have to wait until he returned.
If
he returned.
India
withdrew her hand and swiped at her tears. A chill descended on her. She donned her shirt to stop her shivers. She’d wounded Cain. Confessed her love, gave him her body, and cut him to the quick. In twenty years of being an only child, she’d never felt more alone. The silence in the room was deafening. The creak and groan of the ship as grating as the sound of breaking glass.
If he didn’t return soon, she’d go mad. Even if she couldn’t restore his faith in her, she couldn’t let him believe she’d kept Richard’s location to herself out of malice. Or worse, out of loyalty to her feckless intended.
India
walked the room, sifting through her thoughts, carefully constructing the words that would make Cain understand. Yet no matter how she tried, nothing sounded good enough. Strong enough. Frustrated beyond all measure, she dropped her face into her hands and groaned. She could be no more foolish if she’d stood before a cannon and ordered the gunner to fire.
With a heavy sigh, she dragged her hands down her face and let her shoulders sag. Fretting would accomplish nothing. She had no choice but to wait until he came back to the cabin. When he did—and he would—she’d speak from her heart. Let everything pour out until she could find no more words. Until that time, she refused to think about it. She’d sit with a book. Pretend tonight hadn’t happened and read until his footsteps graced the hall outside.
She went to the low burning lamp on his desk to turn it up and better see the titles on his collection. As she looked to the neat rows of books, however, the glint of gold captured her attention. Drawn by the small box’s beauty,
India
crossed to the tall shelf and picked up the bejeweled trinket. Spanish treasure. Or was it French? It came from
France
, yet was bound for the Spanish king. She supposed it didn’t matter. The box originated with royalty, and the families were related.
But what could it hold? Jewels perhaps—although it was a bit large to hold mere jewelry. She gave the box a gentle shake. It didn’t rattle like it held anything of weight. Yet clearly someone designed it to protect something important—the lock and key could possess no other meaning.
If she hadn’t already branded herself as a betrayer, she’d dig for the key and find out for herself. By all rights, she could excuse doing so with claims it belonged to her family. A stretch, given the generations that spanned between her and King Philip, but certainly true. Still, breaking into the box would only compound matters with Cain.
With great reluctance, she set the glittering container back on the shelf. Sighing, she went to Cain’s desk and ran her finger down her pet’s spiked spine. When she fixed this mess, she’d ask again to peek inside the box.
****
C
ain walked the forecastle aimlessly. The motion of his feet helped to soothe the clawing at his heart, but it did nothing to stop the chaos in his head. Betrayed. By
India
.
Moments ago he had glimpsed heaven. In her arms, he experienced unspeakable bliss. An absolute perfection that he had never before known. Her confession of love spiraled him to dizzying heights, and he had never dreamed that hearing such a thing could make such a difference. Could matter so much.
Then everything shattered. When he should have been savoring the afterglow of the most incredibly intimate encounter he could imagine, he’d been ripped from the embrace of ecstasy by a stumble of her tongue.
Again he had trusted. Again he had erred.
If he’d pressed her that first night in the rain, he could have resolved this entire matter by now.
France
was, at most, a week off
England
’s coast. He’d wasted five weeks. Plenty of time for Richard to move on. To slip deeper into hiding or to return to
England
and embed himself so securely there could be no hope of drawing him out. Especially if he knew—which he inevitably did by now—that
India
was aboard
The Kraken
.
Even if she hadn’t meant to,
India
aided Richard’s flight.
“Ye be wearin’ a hole in the deck
.
” Alex’s voice drifted up the stairs.
In no mood to deal with more of her sharp tongue and heedless words, Cain cringed. He braced his hands on the rail and drew in a deep breath, hoping his silence would send her away.
Her footsteps padded across the planks. Her hand fell onto his shoulder. “I suppose I didn’t realize she’s special to ye.”
Cain winced. It was an apology, one long overdue, and now worthless. He ignored her offering. “Why aren’t you with Drake?”
Mirroring his position, Alex leaned on the rail. Exercising her favorite tactic of evasion, she answered, “I suppose, it might be possible too, that I be a mite bit jealous ye’ve lost yer heart. To a bloody landlubber no less.”
“Jealous?” Cain chuckled. “You? Territorial is more apt. You’ve no more desire to be tied down to me than I have to you.”
A slow grin crept across her face. “Aye, I’d be afeared I’d have to kill ye when ye did something foolish like turn tail and run from the Navy.”
Cain grunted. Drake had evidently felt it necessary to brief her on every detail of their voyage.
Alex’s smile dimmed. She looked down at the sea and bounced a restless toe against the deck. In a quieter voice she said, “Ye’ll kill her, Cain. Out here, with us, ye’ll lead her straight to her death. She’s not made for this.”
His heart twisted with the harsh reality. He closed his eyes against the lancing of pain, and murmured, “I know.”
In truth, that was what had forced him from his cabin. Not
India
’s revelation she knew where Richard was, although that stung, indeed. But before she’d mentioned the cottage, he’d been seconds away from telling her she could stay. Hell, asking her to never leave. He’d hoped to shame Richard, and tonight, he brought greater shame to
India
. He had spilled himself inside her. If she conceived his child, even her father would turn from such a disgrace. If he allowed her to stay, not only would he doom her to a horrific fate, there’d be no question she would bear his child.
Alex heaved a sigh that matched the heaviness in Cain’s heart. In a voice he had to strain to hear, she commented, “Some matches, no matter how magnetic, just aren’t meant to be.” Her grim demeanor, however, vanished with the swish of her hair as she pushed off the rail and straightened. “How long have ye been out here broodin’?”
He shrugged. “An hour or so.”
She gave his arm an affectionate pat. “Go rest. Hold onto her while ye can. Enjoy what the heavens be fittin’ to grant ye. But if ye do, indeed, care for her, prepare to let her go.”
Cain shook his head. “She betrayed me.”
Alex’s light laughter rang through the still air. “Oh, Cain, sometimes ye can be so infernally noble. We’ve
all
betrayed ye. Ye’ve betrayed us as well, here and there. There’s no use in lettin’ it fester. Unless she’s held a pistol to yer head—has she?”
“No,” he answered begrudgingly. “She’s known where Richard is and denied it.”
His answer seemed to stoke Alex’s amusement, for she laughed harder. When he quizzed her with a frown, she shook her head. “Tell me ye wouldn’t be doin’ the same if some stranger be tellin’ ye he intended to kill someone ye knew.”
Not at all impressed with her candid observation, his frown sharpened.
“I tell ye exactly what ye be doin
’
.” She patted his shoulder like an indulgent parent might pat a child’s head. “Ye’d deny knowin’ his whereabouts an’ gather all the information ye could to warn yer friend.” In the blink of an eye, Alex sobered, her expression stern, her voice flat. “
India
doesn’t possess the cunningness to plot like that. She’s too…decent.” She gave his shoulder a mighty shove. “Now get. Go live. We’ve got a ship to be findin’ in the morn, an’ I aim to have ye at yer best.”
His best was doubtful. No matter how tonight ended, it had turned him inside out and upside down. He wouldn’t be recovering from the conflicting emotions that warred inside him any time soon. Love her. Hate her. Trust her. Doubt her. Keep her. Return her—every option held appeal. Every option also left him wide open to abject misery.
If for no other reason than to relieve himself of Alex’s keen perceptions, Cain descended the stairs and headed for his room.
351
Bound By Decency
33
I
ndia
woke to the soprano trill of an albatross. She opened her eyes
to
the soft lavender light of dawn.
A familiar weight compressed the mattress behind her. At first confused, given the solitary way she’d fallen asleep, she rolled over. On seeing Cain, her heart swelled. Fully dressed in shirt and trousers, he lay atop the quilts, his distance evident despite his close proximity. Still, the fact he had returned at some point during the night encouraged her. Perhaps the storm between them wasn’t such a disaster after all.
She reached for his shoulder, wanting to wake him and
finish
the business of explaining. But the last thought she’d had before sleep claimed her rose as her fingers grazed the light cloth of his shirt.
Words will not suffice.
She stuffed her hand beneath her pillow. Indeed, words would not suffice. To restore Cain’s faith in her, she must prove herself through actions. An overture toward Alex would go far. She likened their friendship to something close to siblings—ties
India
couldn’t intimately understand but as a child had imagined the deep bond she
might
share with a sister or brother. Never divided. An eternal ally no matter the cause.
Yes, an overture of friendship toward Alex would be the first step in regaining Cain’s trust. And when she really considered the matter, in truth she no longer found the woman intolerable. Funny how jealousy could reverse itself so immediately. But then, last night, there had been no mistaking Cain’s sincerity, or where exactly
she
stood in regard to his heart. He’d shown that precious heart to her. Bared it open with his confessions of his dreams.
Careful not to disturb his slumber, she crawled over him. The wooden planks were cool beneath her bare feet. A chill clung to the room, another sign the sun had yet to grace the sky with its warmth. She rubbed her arms against the cold and hurriedly donned her trousers. Dressed, she crossed to the door to try the lock.
The knob turned freely beneath her palm.
Huddling into her arms, she entered the hall where the thick aroma of frying pork blanketed the air. Her stomach growled, reminding her she’d only picked at her dinner. Perhaps after she found Alex, she’d ask Cleaver, who seemed like a likeable enough fellow, if she could have a tray to bring back to the cabin.
The decks moved in slow motion, but despite the quiet nature of the crew, which she’d come to realize was nothing more than a product of respect for those who slept, an underlying energy hummed about the men.
India
recognized it instantly. The same buzz filled the mess the previous night. Anticipation of the pending fight
.
Only this morning, it took on more life. Ran a bit deeper. Instinctively she scanned the waters for some sign of the source of the rise of energy.
Off the starboard side, they approached a cove. Tall trees hid the inlet in a canopy of green, but the mouth yawned out before
The Kraken’s
bow. Jagged rocks rose from the calm turquoise waters, three giant boulders amidst a row of jutting peaks that marked a treacherous reef. Overhead, a flock of gulls—undoubtedly the same birds that woke her—swept toward the hidden beach in a mad flurry. She followed their flight, watching as they dove behind the treetops, then rose again to circle and soar on the breeze. The same way they swarmed the fishing boats at the wharf. As if the birds had happened on a feast, or a pod of fish within the shallow waters.
And then she spied what drew them. The same source of the crew’s underlying urgency.
India
’s pulse quickened.
Rising through a dip in the tall palm branches, a wooden spindle grazed the sky. Dangling off it, a streak of crimson undulated in the breeze.
A flag.
She looked to the very top of
The Kraken’s
main mast where Cain arrogantly displayed his Roger, confirming the same narrow length of wood rose there.
She rushed to the rail and rose to her toes to get a better look. Though she could see little more, the swag of crimson was unmistakable. Long tails danced against a field of ebony, marking the flag as something other than the brand of the Royal Navy. Of course, the Navy had no cause to harbor in such a remote hideaway. Never mind that few warships would come within these pirate-infested waters. Too great was the risk they’d be overrun by brigands more than happy to scuttle a vessel and claim her many cannons.
Could it be possible they’d found
Triton’s Jewel
? She should wake Cain.
India
hurried for the door to his private hall, but the sound of Drake’s angry voice halted her.
“What the devil is your meanin’, Alex? This is why you’ve barely touched me? Bloody Christ, you believe the wench?”
Cocking her head,
India
moved closer to the sound. Eavesdropping had never struck her fancy, but anger was such a foreign thing for Drake, she couldn’t curb her curiosity. She stopped at the base of the ladder that led to the quarterdeck and pressed her back to the wall, listening to argument overhead.
“Believe? There be nothin’ to doubt when I’ve seen the boy with my own eyes. Ye have a child, Drake! Deny it all ye wish, but if ye do, yer no better than yer father.”
India
’s eyes widened, and she choked down a surprised squeak. Drake? A father? She supposed it shouldn’t surprise her. Even Cain could have sired a bastard at some point.
She
was evidence to that possibility. But
Drake?
Good heavens!
“All the same, why are you punishin’ me for an act that occurred long before I met you? Alex, it drives me mad to part from you.” A touch of anguish crept into his hushed exclamation.
Alex’s heavy sigh descended on
India
with so much force it tightened her chest. Resignation. Despair. Sorrow.
“She doesn’t want him, Drake. If you don’t collect him within the year, she’ll
sell
the boy. An’ ye can’t be bringin’ a child aboard a ship.” Her voice softened. “
I
cannot tolerate a life on land. I’m not made to be a mother an’ have no desire to become one.”
“Alex, I’ve never before begged. Don’t make me do so now.”
India
inched down the wall, closer to the hallway’s door as the conversation took an intensely personal turn and heartbreak poured through Drake’s roughened voice. Only once had she glimpsed this foreign side of him that cared for Alex. Even then he’d hidden that vulnerability as soon as she remarked on it. He wouldn’t want her to witness this conversation, any more than she would want him to overhear her argument with Cain.
Knowing all that, however, didn’t stop the sympathetic hurt that twisted her heart on Drake’s behalf. He’d become her friend. Quite possibly her only
real
friend. He shouldn’t suffer so.
Her spirits heavy, she pushed open the cabin door to find Cain fawning over her pet. He looked up startled. A smile twitched one corner of his mouth, but in a blink it disappeared as quickly as it began. “
India
.” He acknowledged her with a nod before he presented her with his back and pushed another chunk of fruit at the lizard.
Her legs itched to run to him, her hands to touch his broad shoulders. She rubbed her palm against her thigh to quell its sudden trembling and swallowed through a drying throat. Still angry with her. Still as cold and distant. God’s teeth, this could not go on between them. But damn it all, they didn’t have the time she desired. Not with a ship on the horizon.
“There’s a ship—”
Cain bolted out the door.
India
tossed her hands in the air, let them slap against her thighs. Good grief. He was as hungry for a fight as the rest of them.
Grumbling, she pursued, breaking onto the decks seconds after Cain barged through the narrow door. He skidded to a halt as they sailed before the mouth of the cove. His gaze fastened on the three-masted vessel that resembled
The Kraken
in both monstrosity and flare.
“Is it her?”
India
asked as she moved to stand at Cain’s side.
“Aye,” he murmured. He pointed to the embellished head where King Triton burst from the bow, long hair whipping like snakes around a starfish crown, mighty trident lifted defiantly toward the sky.
“Damnation! Where is Drake? We should be positioned for attack.”
India
glanced over her shoulder to the quarterdeck where she’d last seen Drake and Alex. It stood empty, the helm and poop above, unmanned.
Cain noticed the absent crewman at the same time “Where the devil is Stormy?” He lunged for the stairs. “Bloody hell, has everyone made a death wish?” Mounting the stairs two at a time, he grabbed the helm and turned it hard to starboard.
India
clambered up after him. “Drake and Alex probably dismissed him. They were arguing up here.”
With a shake of his head, Cain swore beneath his breath. He pounded his fist on the wheel. “Here, hold her steady. We’ll pass her up if we don’t come about.” Taking a rough hold on
India
’s elbow, he dragged her in front of the helm. “Steady. Hold her steady.”
She wrapped her hands about the spokes. “Where are you going?”
“Staysail’s come loose.
” He pointed at the tall
main mast
where a man clung to the rigging just beneath the place she’d observed before. One arm wound around the lines that ran behind him, the man grabbed for a loose rope with one hand.
Dangling f
rom it, a length of canvas flapped in the wind. On the foremast, two other men held the heavier body of sail. The steady breeze made it impossible for the three to stretch the lines and tie it tight.
“You have to go up there?”
India
asked, horrified by the prospect of climbing to such heights.
“Young Jim was my master with stays. If I intend to turn her about before we reach
Florida
, aye.”
Emphasizing his statement, the topmost man, the man reaching for the loose line, slipped. He caught himself on the rigging, having fallen less than a foot. But his lack of experience became obvious.
“Steady.” Cain reminded her once again before he disappeared down the stairs. At the bottom, he turned back to call, “And tell Reggie to ready the guns.”
A moment of panic stole over
India
. Cain on the mast, Drake and Alex nowhere to be found, Stormy missing—the prospect of reclaiming
Triton’s Jewel
looked dim. They were in no position for a fight. And how in the name of Mary was she supposed to issue an order to Reggie, when she couldn’t leave the helm?
She drew a deep breath, and the situation took on more clarity. Scanning the shore, she gauged their position. Confidence settled into her hands. She could do this. Only, she didn’t have any intention of following Cain’s directive. If he wanted victory, she’d give it to him. She had one opportunity to prove herself, and she didn’t intend to let it slip through her
fingers
.
Relaxing her hold on the wheel, she let the rudder straighten out. Then, she called out to the first man who passed beneath her on the main deck. “You, sir! Aye, you! Send Reggie here without delay. On Cain’s order.”
With a bob of his head, the man flew down the main hatch.
****
T
he wind snatched at the loose main topgallant staysail, determined to rip the rope from Cain’s hands. His arm burned with the strain of fighting to drag the scrap of canvas in and secure it to the mast. How he hated stays. The first two years at sea with his father, he’d done nothing but run the lines and string the stays. On a few occasions he’d tumbled down the rigging. One landing resulted in a broken arm. When he’d at last left the duty behind in favor of assuming the role of his father’s first mate, he’d thought he’d never have to wrestle with another impertinent bit of cloth.
He jerked on the rope, bringing it close enough to wrap the end around the narrow taper of the main topmast, just below the stump. With a pulley fashioned, he took a moment to regain his breath. God’s teeth, he would see to replacing Young Jim with a bosun’s mate of equal capability, immediately.
A flash of movement at the stern caught his attention. He hooked an arm around the topmast and squinted at the decks below, in time to see Reggie bound from the quarterdeck and duck into the main hatch. Good.
India
passed the command along. Any moment now they should be in position to open the ports and impress upon
Triton’s Jewel
the necessity of surrender.
He looked larboard, expecting to see the sister vessel in the cove. But to his consternation, all that spanned before him was a vast expanse of ocean. What the devil? They should have come about by now. He’d set the rudder. All
India
needed to do was…