Harlequin Historical September 2014 - Bundle 2 of 2: Lord Havelock's List\Saved by the Viking Warrior\The Pirate Hunter (64 page)

Chapter Twenty-Four

T
he voyage had only taken three days, but they were the worst three days of Mia's life. Her emotions had swung from elation at Will asking her to marry him to despair about her current predicament, then to shock over everything that had happened over the past few days.

When the ship docked in Barbados Mia was hugely relieved. Any more days of uncertainty and she might have gone mad. At least now Will could plead with the Governor and hopefully negotiate her release so they could get on with their lives.

It took a couple of agonisingly long hours between the ship docking and Mia hearing any activity outside her cabin door. Eventually the key turned in the lock and she waited to be escorted off. She wondered if she was to be released immediately. Probably not, she decided. It would undoubtedly be a few hours before Will could argue her case.

‘Hold out your hands,' a middle-aged officer said, entering her cabin.

Mia looked aghast at the iron shackles he held in one hand, ready to restrain her.

Mutely Mia realised there was no point in arguing. She held out her wrists and felt the coolness of the metal against her skin. The officer fastened them together, testing once he'd finished to make sure she couldn't wriggle out of them.

The chains were heavy around her wrists and once more Mia felt a bubble of fear. She quashed it immediately. Will would save her. He would reason with the Governor and she would be released.

‘Come with me.'

Mia followed the officer out of the cabin and was horrified to see two other Navy men waiting out in the corridor. They both held rifles and were standing to attention. As Mia and the officer passed them they fell into step behind her. They were treating her as if she was a dangerous criminal.

Silently the sombre procession made its way through the ship and out on to the deck. It was the first time in three days Mia had been outside and she found her eyes took a while to adjust to the brightness. As the ache behind her eyelids subsided she revelled in the warmth of the sun on her skin. If she and Will went to live in England when this was all over she would miss the Caribbean sun.

The officer led her to the gangplank and their strange party began its descent. Mia was surprised to see quite so many people assembled at the docks. There was a crowd of at least a few hundred people, jostling and shouting. She supposed they had gathered to see the men who had terrorised the Caribbean finally brought to justice.

‘Pirate whore!' someone shouted.

Mia looked around and realised the comment was meant for her.

‘Scum!' a woman near the front of the crowd yelled, spitting a large yellow gob of saliva which landed near Mia's feet.

‘Murdering lowlife!'

‘Evil witch!'

‘Scourge of the seas!'

Mia took a deep breath and held her head up high. She was none of those things. She was Mia Del Torres and she would
not
let these people break her spirit.

All the same, deep down she wanted to cry. It was overwhelming to have such collective hate focussed on her. To have hundreds of people jeering and hollering, wanting her to suffer for something she hadn't done.

‘Keep walking,' the officer said, picking up his pace a little.

Mia saw the uneasiness in his face and realised they were in real danger. The mob only had to swell and push forward and they would probably all be trampled.

She hurried forward and was glad to make it into the safety of the prison yard. Even though she recognised this would be her prison for at least a little while, the solid stone walls would serve to protect her from the hatred of the crowd outside.

The officer led her across the open courtyard and through a door she remembered from her last stay in the cells just over a week ago. Mia had changed so much in that time, and so many things had happened she would never have imagined, but she felt the same trepidation as she was led from the sunlight into the gloomy cells.

Mia looked from side to side as she walked. During her previous stay the cells had been mostly empty, with just one or two petty criminals sprawled out on the straw. Now they were full to bursting, with men packed into each little cell until they were so crowded they jostled for space. She glanced at the faces of the prisoners and realised most were the captured pirates from
The Flaming Dragon
, awaiting their sentencing and inevitable execution.

She could see the men recognised her from her interception in the stand-off between her brother and Will, but no one made a sound. Instead they looked at her in stony silence. She realised they were broken; they had lost their liberty and lost their will to live. They knew they would be executed in the next few days and there was nothing they could do about it. These were truly dead men walking.

Mia was led through another locked wooden door into a different part of the cell block. Here the tiny barred cells were less overcrowded and she wondered if she might at least get one to herself.

The officer paused outside one cell and indicated for the man on guard duty to open it. He obliged and held open the door.

Mia walked inside and turned to see the door to the cell closing behind her. The key turned in the lock and she felt her freedom slipping away from her.

‘So you're the one they've all been talking about.'

Mia nearly expired on the spot; she'd assumed she was the only one in the dimly lit cell. She peered into the gloom and saw a bundle of rags in the corner. The bundle shifted slightly and Mia pressed her back against the bars.

‘I heard the commotion from in here.'

‘There's been a mistake,' Mia said.

‘There always has, dear.'

The bundle shifted again and a woman stood up. Mia could make out soft features in a grimy face. The woman could be anywhere between forty and sixty. She had wrinkles around her eyes and mouth, but that could just be from years of hard living.

‘Essie,' she said. ‘Your cell mate. At least until they hang you.'

‘They won't hang me,' Mia said, trying to sound brave.

Essie barked a laugh which turned into a long, drawn-out coughing fit. Mia really didn't want to get too close; it sounded like something nasty.

‘You're the pirate's sister, aren't you?' the older woman asked when she'd caught her breath.

Mia nodded.

‘Then they'll hang you.'

‘I haven't done anything wrong,' Mia protested. She knew it was probably pointless, arguing with this crone, but she refused to stand by and let her say things like that unchallenged.

‘That doesn't really matter.'

‘Of course it matters.'

At least she hoped it did. Doubt tried to push its way into Mia's mind. Guilt should matter, but it hadn't for all those months she'd been hunted by the authorities. And it hadn't mattered when they'd thrown her into a cell just over a week ago. No one had seemed to care then that she hadn't actually broken any law or done anything wrong.

Essie moved closer and looked her up and down. ‘The crowd will go wild to see such a pretty young thing swing.'

‘Shut up.'

Mia unconsciously raised a hand to her throat and massaged her neck where a noose would sit. Will wouldn't let them execute her. He would save her.

‘They'll hang you in your brother's place and there's not anything anyone can do to stop them.'

Mia felt defiance flare in her eyes. She pushed past Essie and flopped on to the mouldy hay. She felt something scuttling beneath her but refused to show weakness by jumping up or whimpering.

‘You think someone's going to save you, don't you?' Essie pressed. ‘I can see it in your eyes.'

Mia refused to look at her cell mate and instead hugged her arms around herself and inspected the far wall.

‘Is it some man who's promised to keep you safe?'

Mia involuntarily glanced at Will's signet ring on her finger.

Essie let out a long cackle and crouched down next to Mia.

‘And you believe him?'

Of course she believed him. He was Will Greenacre—the man she loved. The only man capable of tracking down the most notorious pirate in the Caribbean. He would rescue her and take her away from this horrible place.

‘Did he tell you he loved you?' Essie asked, gloating a little. ‘They all say that. My husband let me take the blame for his crime, said I would be punished less harshly being a woman. Has he bothered to try and contact me whilst I've been festering in this dump?'

By the tone of her voice Mia guessed not.

‘Yours will be the same. He might say he loves you. He might promise to protect you. But in the end he'll let you swing.'

‘Shut up,' Mia said quietly. She wanted space to think.

‘Maybe he'll even shed a tear or two, or at least raise a toast to your memory in the tavern, but in a few weeks' time he'll have his hands up another woman's skirts and you'll be a distant memory.'

The idea of Will with another woman was enough to make Mia feel sick. He was hers—all hers. She never wanted him to think of another woman again, let alone touch one.

‘Shut up,' she said more forcefully. ‘Will is a good man and he will save me. Now, if you say another word I will smash every tooth from your head.'

Essie looked as if she was going to say something.

‘You think I didn't learn a trick or two from my brother?' Mia asked.

That shut the woman up.

Relieved, Mia sat back and closed her eyes. She was pleased Essie had taken the threat seriously. She wouldn't have the first idea how to smash the teeth from someone's head, and somehow she didn't think she'd come out of the fight the victor.

Despite her protestations Mia despaired. She knew Will would fight with every weapon in his arsenal to get her released, but what if it wasn't enough? She had just found happiness. It would be so cruel to have it all taken away from her now.

Chapter Twenty-Five

W
ill burst into the dining room unannounced. It had taken him much longer than he would have liked to get back to Barbados. When the ship carrying Mia had departed he had begged Captain Little to follow in hot pursuit. The Captain had agreed, but only after they had paid their respects to their fallen comrades and buried them at sea.

Will could hardly protest. Those men had fought valiantly beside him and given their lives to rid the Caribbean of some of the most vicious pirates in living memory. So they'd had the memorial.

Then he'd been informed Lieutenant Glass was no longer in the brig. Frantically the whole ship was scoured until a young sailor admitted he had seen the Lieutenant being taken away by two Naval Officers. The search had added at least another hour, and Will's temper had not improved with the thought of Glass being spirited away into the protective arms of the Navy.

By the time they'd set off after Commodore Wilkins and his ship they had already been four hours behind, and despite Captain Little's considerable skill there had been no way they could make up the distance between them when the Navy had the bigger, faster vessel.

When they had eventually landed in Bridgetown Will had sprinted off the ship and run straight to the Governor's residence.

‘What is the meaning...?' the Governor blustered as his lunch was interrupted. ‘Mr Greenacre.' He clearly recognised Will. ‘Please sit down.'

Will declined the seat and stood over the Governor.

‘I must offer my heartfelt thanks,' Governor Hall said, peering at Will as if trying to work out exactly why he was acting so strangely.

‘Greenacre!' Edward Thatcher boomed as he hustled into the room. ‘Knew you'd bring in the result.'

‘I need you to release Mia Del Torres from your custody,' Will said, getting straight to the point.

The Governor cleared his throat and looked uncomfortably at Thatcher.

‘Sit down, Greenacre, have something to drink. Celebrate your success.'

The last thing Will wanted to do right now was celebrate his success.

‘Mia Del Torres,' he pushed again.

‘The pirate's sister?'

‘The pirate's
estranged
sister,' Will corrected him.

Thatcher pulled out a chair and gently pushed Will towards it. ‘Sit down, old chap,' he said.

‘I've no idea what crime you think she's committed,' Will persevered, ‘but she hasn't broken the law in a single way.'

‘I'm sure that's not right,' Governor Hall said, looking quite distressed.

‘Release her.'

‘It's a little more complicated than that, Greenacre,' Thatcher said, pouring two glasses of wine.

‘How is it more complicated? The woman's innocent and you're holding her in the cells you use for criminals.'

‘She's not really innocent, though, is she?' Hall asked.

Thatcher shot him a warning look and the Governor clamped his lips together firmly.

‘If anyone has harmed a hair on that woman's head, I will kill them,' Will warned. ‘She is to be my wife, the future Lady Sedlescombe.'

Both men stared at him, mouths agape.

‘You jest, Greenacre,' Thatcher said eventually.

‘There's no joke. I have asked Mia Del Torres to marry me.'

‘Are you mad?' the Governor asked indelicately. ‘She's a criminal, a commoner.'

‘Please watch your tongue. You're speaking of my fiancée.'

Will felt as though they were going round in circles. He just wanted them to release her—how hard could it be?

‘Greenacre,' Thatcher said, his voice friendly but with strain underneath, ‘surely you can see you've made a mistake?'

Will pushed his chair away from the table with such force it went clattering across the floor behind him. He leaned over Thatcher and grabbed the man by his lapels. He pulled gently—not enough to lift Thatcher from his seat but firmly enough to let him know he could if he wanted to.

‘There's no mistake,' Will said quietly. ‘Mia is a wonderful, kind, caring woman and the only reason she has been persecuted is because her mother gave birth to a boy a few years before she gave birth to her.'

‘Calm down, Greenacre,' Thatcher said as Will released him. ‘I just meant are you sure you're going to marry her?'

‘I'm going to marry her. Just as soon as you release her.'

The Governor cleared his throat and Will spun to face him.

‘There might be a problem there, old chap,' Governor Hall said. ‘She's been sentenced.'

Will felt his blood run cold. They'd sentenced her? That seemed to imply she'd been found guilty of some crime.

‘You've sentenced her?' he asked. ‘You've had a trial?'

Both men looked a little uncomfortable.

‘She's only been in Barbados for a few hours. How have you had a trial already?'

‘We had it this morning,' Thatcher admitted.

‘What did you charge her with?' he asked incredulously.

‘Piracy.'

Will laughed. It was preposterous. They wouldn't have had any evidence or any witnesses. They wouldn't have any because Mia had never been involved in piracy in her life.

‘And?' he asked.

‘She was found guilty.'

‘On what evidence?'

The Governor and Thatcher both shifted in their chairs. He was making them very uncomfortable. Will was glad. He wanted them to be more than uncomfortable. He wanted them to be in agony.

‘There was a witness statement,' Thatcher said.

Will couldn't believe it. He wondered where they had dragged this liar up from.

‘What did this witness claim?'

‘He stated he had seen Miss Del Torres aiding and abetting her brother on multiple occasions and presented letters of correspondence between the siblings outlining how she was instrumental in giving Del Torres information which allowed him to evade the authorities for so long.'

Will couldn't believe any of it was true. He knew Mia, and he knew she hadn't had anything to do with Del Torres for years.

‘Who was this person?' he asked.

‘A man of impeccable character and profession.'

Suddenly Will had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

‘Lieutenant Glass?' he growled.

‘You must agree he is a trustworthy chap,' the Governor said.

‘Trustworthy?' Will asked, his voice dangerously low. ‘The man who attacked Mia in her cabin and tried to force himself on her?'

‘You must be mistaken,' Governor Hall said.

‘I pulled him off her myself.'

‘Maybe...' Hall trailed off as he saw the dangerous look in Will's eyes.

‘If you dare to suggest she asked for it or in some way deserved it I will strangle you where you sit.'

‘The Governor didn't mean that,' Thatcher said, trying to placate him.

‘Lieutenant Glass was seen to attack Mia by Captain Little, First Mate Redding and many other members of the crew. That's if the word of a peer of the realm isn't good enough for you.'

Governor Hall was turning a deep beetroot colour.

‘You held her trial this morning before I could return—was that on Glass's suggestion, as well?'

He caught the glance between the two men and knew the truth of the matter.

Glass had well and truly got his revenge. Will ran a hand through his tousled hair in agitation. The Lieutenant must have persuaded the Navy he'd been held under false pretences and then worked on his accusations against Mia.

‘And will the Lieutenant be charged with attempted rape?' Will asked coldly.

‘That's a matter for the Navy,' Governor Hall said primly.

‘So you've condemned Mia in some sham of a trial? Were there any other witnesses? Did anyone speak on her behalf?'

He could just imagine Mia, standing on her own, listening to the cruel allegations against her and wondering why he wasn't there defending her.

‘No,' Thatcher said. ‘We held the trial this morning. No one else was present. Just the Governor, Lieutenant Glass and myself.'

‘And Mia?'

Thatcher and the Governor exchanged yet another sideways glance.

‘That's not even legal,' Will said softly. ‘She has to be allowed to stand to defend herself.'

‘I'm His Majesty's Governor of Barbados. I am the law on this island. If I say something is legal then it's legal.' Governor Hall was getting more and more flustered.

‘And what sentence did you give her in this sham trial?'

Neither man spoke.

‘What sentence?' Will repeated.

‘Death.'

Will collapsed back into a chair and held his head in his hands. He felt as if he couldn't breathe. All through his life he had been in control. He'd sorted things, been the one to organise people and make decisions. Now he just felt helpless.

‘Death?' he repeated, his voice sticking in his throat and the word coming out as a croaky whisper.

‘She will hang with the rest of the pirates tomorrow morning.' The Governor sounded cold and detached.

Will turned to his old friend and looked at him beseechingly.

‘Thatcher, surely you can see this is wrong.'

Thatcher was man enough to hold his eye.

‘If we'd known the full circumstances...'

‘I'm telling you now,' Will said desperately. ‘She's innocent. She's never committed an act of piracy in her life. If you allow her to hang you will be guilty of murder.'

‘Nonsense,' the Governor said.

Will ignored him and continued to try and plead with Thatcher.

‘Lieutenant Glass has taken his revenge for Mia refusing him and me locking him up. Everything he's told you is a lie.'

Thatcher looked extremely uncomfortable and Will had a tiny spark of hope that he might be getting through to his old friend.

‘She hasn't done anything wrong.'

‘Even if the letters are forged, she's the sister of a pirate. She deserves to hang,' the Governor said firmly.

‘We are not responsible for the actions of our relatives.' Will turned back to Thatcher. ‘All I'm asking for is a retrial—a proper trial. Where Glass is exposed as a liar and a rapist and Mia has the chance of a defence.'

‘I wish we could, Greenacre,' Thatcher said, and the regret in his eyes made Will believe him. ‘I really wish we could.'

‘Then do it.'

‘Impossible,' Governor Hall said abruptly. ‘The executions have been announced.'

‘You're refusing to hold a retrial and stop an innocent woman from hanging because you don't want to lose face?' Will couldn't believe this man was allowed to be Governor.

‘There will be a riot,' Thatcher said. ‘The people have been terrorised by Del Torres for years. Many of them have lost loved ones when he's attacked ships or towns. They can't go and watch Del Torres hang because he's dead, but they can see his sister—and for them that's the next best thing.'

‘His innocent sister,' Will reminded them. ‘The sister who was instrumental in finding Del Torres and putting a stop to his terrorising ways once and for all.'

‘They won't ever believe that,' Governor Hall said. ‘We've announced the execution and that's final. I will say no more on the subject.'

Will leapt up and lunged towards Governor Hall. Before he could strike him Thatcher had grabbed his arms and was wrestling him away.

‘Don't make me have you arrested, Greenacre. I'm very grateful for what you've done but I will throw you in a cell if you threaten me again.'

‘Let's go and cool down,' Thatcher said, tugging him none too gently by the arm.

Will resisted for a second, then sagged. He wasn't going to get anywhere trying to reason with the incompetent fool, or by beating him to a pulp, no matter how good it might make him feel. He allowed Thatcher to drag him from the room and slam the door closed behind them.

‘What the hell, Thatcher?' he asked, rounding on the man he'd thought was his friend.

‘Keep your voice down.'

Thatcher led him through the spacious corridors and out into a small courtyard. After he'd finally closed the door behind him he sank onto a rough stone wall.

‘I'm so sorry, Greenacre,' he said. ‘I tried everything I could.'

Will looked at him, astonished. A few minutes earlier he'd been practically defending the Governor.

‘Sometimes there's just no reasoning with the man,' Thatcher said. ‘I begged him to wait for your return, to hear your side of the story, but he got caught up in the idea of publicly executing Del Torres's sister. He knew the crowds would go crazy for it.'

‘So he's doing it for popularity?' Will asked, unable to believe he might lose the woman he loved for the ridiculous goal of increasing the Governor's status with the people.

Thatcher nodded. ‘When he heard you had captured
The Flaming Dragon
he announced to the world that he would be the one to hang Del Torres.'

‘He didn't know I'd killed him?'

‘When Commodore Wilkins told him they had only a few dozen lowly pirates in their cells he was furious. He was sure he was going to look like a fool. So instead of Del Torres he announced he would hang his sister in his place.'

‘There must be something we can do.'

Thatcher shook his head. ‘The Governor was right when he said he is the law in Barbados. What he says goes.'

‘I can't lose her, Thatcher,' Will said, allowing the other man to see him weak and vulnerable. ‘I love her.'