Damnation!
The realization of what
India
was doing crashed on him like a tidal wave. She’d followed her own plan. He glanced aft, confirming
Triton’s Jewel
now followed.
That explained the unrelenting pull of the wind on the staysail. He should have made the connection when the force didn’t ease off as it would have, had they come about as planned.
“Hands, stand by to arms!” Alex’s voice broke above the flapping of the sails.
Cain looked beneath him, relief flooding through him at the sight of both Alex and Drake on the deck. At least someone could guide the crew while he was aloft with the birds.
He tightened a leg around the topmast to secure his position and cranked on the rope. It pulled through, inch by inch, stretching out the attached sail. Leaning his shoulder into the effort, Cain wrapped it three times, then wound the end back on itself and tied it off in a secure knot. Testing the line, he jerked on the now-taut rope. To his immense relief, it held.
Now, to deal with
India
and correct the course before the mutineers aboard
Triton’s Jewel
acquired the notion to fire on his cabin.
He jimmied down the rigging, grabbed the mainsail yard, and dropped to the deck, opposite Alex. “It’s about time you made an appearance for the rescue of your ship.”
“Leave off, Cain,” she mumbled, her usual snappy response lost to the furrowing of her brow. “What is the plan? Or have ye fashioned one?”
Before he could answer, the planks beneath his feet vibrated as gun ports opened and the massive culverins rolled out. He glanced up to see the bow slowly shift to starboard. Cringing inwardly, he frowned at Alex. “How much damage can she take?”
Alex blinked, his meaning lost on her.
Cain stabbed a finger at her ship and asked again, “How much damage can she take? Because she’s about to
be
fired upon!”
“What do ye mean?” Alex cried. “Ye can’t
fire
on my ship! I want her back intact, not blown to bits!”
“Better have a talk with Reggie then.” As he would have a chat with
India
. Right now. Damn it all.
He shouldered past Alex, jogged across the deck, and bounded up the stairs to the quarterdeck and poop. “I would swear I told you to hold her steady.”
“Relax, Cain, I have the situation under control.”
India
gave him a confident smile.
Fury mounted. He clenched his hands into fists and ground his teeth together so hard his jaw pained him. Silently counting to ten, he willed his temper into line. When that failed, he counted to twenty and finally felt like if he opened his mouth he wouldn’t explode. “If you’ve brought out the culverins, you most assuredly don’t have this under control.”
Standing atop her crate,
India
leaned around him and inspected the position of the bowsprit. Absently she answered, “I have no idea what Reggie is doing down there. I asked for the biggest load of whatever you possessed that would shred sails.”
Shred sails. He paused.
Shred sails with culverins not sakers.
Slowly, he asked, “And Reggie said?”
India
shrugged. “Something about langrage. I don’t know what that means, but evidently you have several pails of it.”
“Scraps of metal,” Cain murmured. By God, the pair of them were brilliant! He’d shot langrage before, even grape, but never out of culverins which were made to fire the heavier eighteen-pound balls that bore holes in hulls. The damage to sail and crew would be immense. Demoralized, the mutineers would cave in seconds.
He tapped the thick post that held the great wheel and raced down to the deck to intercept Alex’s stormy charge to the main hatch. “Langrage. Reggie’s firing langrage. How much spare canvas do you have? And where the bloody hell has Drake run off to now?”
“There.” She answered his inquiry about Drake by pointing to the forecastle, where he stood with a handful of other sailors, pistols at the ready, cutlass secured around his waist. A smile crossed her face, bright, beautiful, and full of all the fire that lived in her soul. She palmed her pistol and pulled a small powder horn suspended on a string from beneath the nape of her shirt. “By Jove, Reggie is brilliant!”
It wasn’t Reggie. She knew the solution, the technical means of execution, but the plan alone had been
India
’s. Cain’s gaze strayed to where
India
stood, proud and confident behind the helm. She flashed her angelic smile at a man on the deck beneath her, issuing an order Cain couldn’t hear. “It was
India
’s idea,” he murmured.
“Perhaps there be hope for her yet.” Alex grinned before she ducked under the bowline and assumed position at Drake’s side.
Thunder erupted beneath Cain’s feet. Earsplitting and ominous. He braced against the thick mizzenmast and readied for the certain second round. When it came,
India
met his admiring gaze. She didn’t smile. She didn’t look away either. And in that moment, that passing time of silence between the firing of the guns, he understood the meaning behind her unblinking stare. This was for him. She’d led them into battle, something she very much opposed, to prove her loyalty. To illustrate she was worthy of keeping aboard his ship.
God save her, didn’t she realize he loved her as she was?
He breathed deep, accepting the realization. He loved her. They were not two different coins after all, but two sides of the same one. She good and pure. He everything that wasn’t. What bound them together was decency, his lost, hers intact.
Sorrow stabbed into him. With it came the immense weight of guilt. He had tarnished her in so many ways.
He
was the reason she steered them into battle. She was no longer innocent and pure, no longer ignorant to the cruel realities of life. He had stolen her reputation and her virtue for his own selfish means.
And he’d be damned if he let her turn into the same tarnished bird Alex had become.
As silence settled over the guns and smoke rose from the ports, Cain cupped his hands around his mouth. “Hands, firearms and cutlasses! Forward now! Grapnels at the ready, prepare to board!”
351
Bound By Decency
34
I
n the middle of the quarterdeck,
India
sat on a large wooden crate and watched as Drake and Cain partitioned off the crew, choosing who would stay aboard
The Kraken
, and who would replace the mutineers amongst Alex’s crew. Alex and Drake had exacted their own version of justice, an execution
India
couldn’t bring herself to watch. All told, ten hands had coerced the others with threats they illustrated through Alex’s quartermaster, Will.
India
didn’t know the extent of Will’s injuries, but in one of the hushed murmurs that wafted to her ears, she caught mention of hot irons pressed to his skin. Evidently, out of a desire to protect a man they cared about, the rest of the crew fell into line and caved to the mutineers’ demands. As a result, when the grapples hooked on, Alex’s crew had welcomed Cain’s aboard.
She leaned back on her hands and looked up at the blue sky, fogged by the wispy remnants of the culverins’ smoke. With the two ships hooked together, waves rocked
The Kraken
and sloshed between the pair of hulls. The cadence soothed the disquiet in
India
’s soul. Cain had yet to say anything to her. Though her plan had been executed with much success, whether she’d made an impact on him or not remained to be seen. The lack of knowing had her belly in knots.
A shadow descended on her. She opened her eyes and squinted at Alex’s tall, feminine outline. With the sun behind her, her long curls blowing in her face and her brace of pistols slung about her waist, she looked like the devil himself.
“I
’
spect I be owin’ ye a bit of an apology.” She kicked a bare toe into the planks and shifted her weight.
Stunned,
India
sat
straighter
.
“Cain says ye be the one who orchestrated this. Was it ye or Reggie?” Alex glanced over her shoulder as Cain stepped onto the quarterdeck.
India
offered Alex a slight smile. “I told Reggie what I wanted. He made it happen.”
Surprising her completely, Alex dropped to a squat in front of
India
and thrust out her hand. Tentatively,
India
accepted it.
“Ye want to learn the sea, ye be hollerin’ at me. I’ll teach ye how we women get along. Gladly.” Alex retracted her hand, dusted it on her trousers, and stood. Pivoting on one foot, she grinned at Cain. “Am I off?”
“Aye. Your sails are repaired enough you can limp back to
Nassau
. I gave you ten of my best men, and I am sending the whores home.” His gaze hardened as he squinted at her. “I want my men back. Alive. Limbs intact. I’ll return this way come October.”
Alex’s sly grin transformed into a genuine smile, and she looped her arms about his neck for a tight hug. For once, her physical closeness to Cain, didn’t grate on
India
’s nerves. She looked on, oddly content to be a part, no matter how remotely, of this unique family.
As Alex wandered down to the main deck and the rail where Drake waited, Cain perched on the opposite side of the crate. His thigh pressed against
India
’s, reminding her of the intimate closeness they shared.
But the comfortable silence soon became oppressive. Someone needed to say
something.
All she could think of was the foolish,
Are you still upset with me?
A phrase she was no more inclined to utter, than she was to say,
I’m sorry.
She wasn’t sorry for keeping Richard’s location a secret, only that Cain misconstrued her intent. She’d done what she felt was best. Exactly as she’d done today. It was his turn now.
He brushed her hair away from her shoulder. His knuckles grazed the side of her neck, a
brief
caress that could almost be considered accidental, if it weren’t for the deliberate way he dragged the back of his hand over her shoulder. She willed herself not to look at him. If she did, her resolution would crack the moment she met his gaze, and all the questions would come tumbling out.
Instead she stared at Drake and Alex. They faced each other at
The Kraken’s
rail, their hands joined between them. Alex stared at her feet while Drake said something
India
couldn’t make out. Drake shook his hand free, set his fingers beneath Alex’s chin, and tipped her head up to look at him. His palm cupped the side of her face, his thumb caressing her cheek as if he might wipe away a tear. Slowly, he dipped his head, his intent as clear as a the sky above. He meant to kiss her. But Alex eased away. With a faint smile, she kissed her fingertips and pressed them over his heart. Then, she turned from him and walked down the thick board that linked the two ships. Drake bowed his head.
India
’s heart wrenched for Drake. To her humiliation, tears clouded her eyes. Though whether they were a product of the sympathy she felt for the rogue pirate, or that of the pain that resided in her own heart, she couldn’t be certain. She cleared her throat to veil her rise of emotion. “Drake’s not going with Alex?”
“No. And you’d be wise to give him a wide berth. He’s as angry as a bull and won’t say why.”
She did look at Cain then, surprised he didn’t already know the reason. In a quiet voice she explained, “He has a son.”
Disbelief widened Cain’s eyes to the size of saucers. “Drake? How in the devil do you know this?”
“I overheard their argument.” She studied the lines in Cain’s face, longing to reach out and smooth the deep crease in his brow. “He loved her, didn’t he?”
And me. Do you love me, Cain?
Cain chuckled. “In his own way I suppose he did. Though I doubt he’d know it even now.” With an inclination of his head toward the stairs, he murmured, “He comes now. I’ll put him to work. Take his mind off things.”
As he stood,
India
caught his wrist. The words came rushing out. “Cain, when I told you I didn’t know where Richard was, you were a stranger. You’d just informed me you meant to kill him, and I didn’t know what he’d done to you. To me.”
He caught her beneath the arms and dragged her to her feet, crushing her in his embrace. His fingers pulled through her hair, tender and soothing. “Shh. I know. And you didn’t need to prove your loyalty to me today.” With a gentle push, he eased her far enough away he could look into her eyes. “I know where your heart lies.”
She breathed deeply but her heart lodged against her ribs so
fiercely
that
her lungs had no room to expand. Lightheadedness swept over her. Were it not for Cain’s strong arms that held her up, her buckling knees would have sent her toppling to the deck. He understood. He’d forgiven her. Hugging his neck tight, she lifted to her toes and brushed his stubbly cheek with a kiss.
As he turned his head, his lips light against hers, the boards behind them creaked.
“Damnation. You
have
a cabin. Use it,” Drake snapped.
Cain eased out of her embrace. “Drake, take the helm. Chart a course for
England
, and be sharp about the Navy.”
“
England
?” Drake and
India
asked in unison.
“Aye, you heard me right.” He moved away from
India
, his spine as stiff as a board. More quietly, he repeated, “
England
.”
India
’s stomach turned. She swallowed, afraid to ask, knowing what the response would be. Perspiration dampened her palms, and she rubbed them against her trousers. With effort, she choked out, “Why England?”
Cain kept his stare fixed on the horizon. Broad shoulders expanded as he inhaled. So softly she had to strain to hear his whisper, he answered, “I’m
returning
you to your father.”
She blinked, long and slow. A moment ago she’d been so certain. So convinced Cain believed she’d never meant to betray him.
So very wrong.
Heartbreak crashed through her, closing her throat. Helpless to stop the catastrophe emerging around her, she looked to Drake. His sad smile reflected the same sympathy his parting with Alex stirred in her.
Sympathy
for God’s sake. If he felt sympathy, there could be no doubt in Cain’s meaning. Take her home. Return her to her father.
Leave her.
Tears blurred her vision. She blinked them back, adamant she wouldn’t cry in front of either man. But to her horror, the hot drops fell down her cheeks. She spun for the stairs, grabbed at the rail, and fled.
****
C
ain could have kicked himself for the calloused way he delivered the news. Tact had never been his specialty, especially when it came to uncomfortable matters, but even he knew he’d cut
India
deeply. He’d planned a speech
,
perfect words to soothe the blow. Instead, he blundered everything.
“You cut your own throat,” Drake observed.
“Go to the devil.”
“Aye, and I’ll see you there as well. What nonsense clouds your brain?” Drake’s open palm came down on the rail, a demand for Cain’s attention. “Send a letter to her father. Take
her
to
Nassau
. For that matter
,
you’ve an entire island off the larboard. Give up this nonsense, Cain. You don’t
want
to be here
.
W
hat is your purpose? To bring misery upon you both?”
Cain shook his head. Of all the people he knew, he had expected Drake to understand. Perhaps he might have, had Alex not just cast him aside. “She’s not made for a life of shame.”
“Shame?” Drake thundered. “The only
shame
you bring upon her is by throwing her back to the wolves of
England
after she’s spent two months aboard your ship.”
Fury possessed Cain. At himself, at Drake for forcing him to confront the truth, and at
India
, yes
India
, for making him care so much he had no choice. He shook with the force of it. “And what will we do, where will we go, when Woodes Rogers has his way with
Nassau
? You were there. You heard the rumblings. He intends to clean us out. What would you have me do with
India
then? Find another island to hide away on? I will not subject her to that life!”
He took a step toward Drake and jammed his index finger into his friend’s chest. An act which, on any other occasion, would have landed him flat on his back. “My face is known throughout
T
he Colonies. In
England
,
France
, and everywhere else I have conducted business. I have no place to hide, a fact you well know.”
Drake slapped Cain’s hand away. “Mark my words, Cain, you cut your own throat. She’s a part of you now. You can’t carve her out. You might try, but you’ll fail.”
“And I suppose you know so much, you who cannot keep Alex at your side.”
Cain regretted the words the moment they fell from his lips. Pain flashed behind Drake’s eyes. As it dissipated, crimson flooded his cheeks. He curled a fist. Raised it. Then with effort lowered it to his thigh.
“I’m sorry,” Cain murmured. Hating what he had now done to the two people he cared the most for, he strode to the stairs. Bloody hell, he’d made a mess of things. A royal, monstrous mess.
He thumped his palm against the door to his hall, taking some satisfaction in the way it crashed into the wall. At his cabin, he turned the knob. Only to find it locked. Saint’s teeth, where had she found a key?
Even as he asked the question, the answer came. Drake was the only other person who possessed a key. Small wonder he fought for
India
when she’d wound him around her little finger.
Cain banged a fist on the door. “Let me in,
India
.”
A choked and broken voice answered, “Go away.”
He rested his forehead on the rough wood. Briefly, he considered her request. If he left her alone, he could avoid creating a bigger disaster. She’d feast on her anger, keep him at a distance, and parting would become easier.
No.
For too long now he’d been the coward. Afraid to tell her what lay in his heart, not out of fear for what it would do to her, but what it might do to him. Afraid he lacked the strength to do what he must and would cave to her desire to stay aboard
The Kraken
. Now, resolved in his decision, he no longer feared he couldn’t do what was necessary.
He fished his key out of his pocket and let himself into the cabin. “It does no good to lock the door when there are
two
keys.” He tossed his on the desk where it skidded to a stop before her lizard.