Karen Michelle Nutt (21 page)

Nicholas gave her a hawkeyed assessment. Was she playing him the fool? She fidgeted with nervous unease and her eyes darted to the door as if she thought she could make a run for it. She wasn’t going anywhere. Nicholas glanced down the passageway to make sure no one had followed him. Then he closed the door and faced her. "You wanted to see the slaughter?”

"God, no! I had to see for myself what kind of man my husband is. I had to see for myself that he is as cruel as you say."

"What is the matter with you?” He frowned at her, sensing something wasn’t right. “You know how he is. You were the one who told me of his cruelty."

"I told you he was cruel?” Her breath caught in her throat.

Nicholas was silent as he assessed the woman that he had cared about and who had at one time shared in his goal to rid the world of Keldon Buchanan. Now he wasn’t sure he could trust her. She had changed. "You did tell me of his cruelty, as sure as I am standing here. However, if you don’t believe he’s capable of treachery, ask him about Richard Hawkins and then tell me he isn’t beastly."

Arianna’s brow furrowed. "Richard Hawkins? Who—" Her words strangled in her throat as the ship lurched to the right. She barely kept to her feet. "What's going on?" she asked when she had regained her balance.

"Looks as if we are in for a bloody fight.” Nicholas pulled out his pistol from underneath his belt buckle. "Stay down below," he ordered as he headed back up top.

Arianna plopped down in the chair. Why had she lied to Nicholas? Keldon had been anything, but heartless. He was strong, loyal and genuinely cared about people. Even with her, when she had no right to expect kindness, he was never spiteful. A wave of apprehension swept through her as she realized what she must have done for all of them to end up here.

She put Keldon in danger by fabricating a story, lies to destroy his character and she had the audacity to drag Nicholas into the foray of deceit. As much as she wanted to make Nicholas out to be the bad person in all this, she knew he wasn’t. She had used him, played with his emotions. She didn’t love Nicholas and probably never did.

The ship lurched again, bringing her to her feet.

She couldn’t sit down here and wait. If there were a fight, she wouldn’t be the helpless victim. She hobbled over to the chest, which was at the end of the bunk and against the wall. She threw open the lid, hoping there was some sort of weapon hidden within its depths. The smell of pipe tobacco hit her nostrils as she rummaged beneath the woolen blankets. As she had hoped, she found a pistol. She lifted the heavy gun and looked it over. She had no idea how to use it, but to have it in her hand made her feel safer. She was about to close the lid when she noticed the slingshot and a pile of rocks. Now this was something she could handle.

She wrapped the rocks in one of the linen shirts and grabbed the slingshot. She hobbled over to the opened door and slowly made her way to the upper deck. She poked her head into the open.

The smell of exhilarated fear hung heavy in the air as both sides fought to win. Arianna found a hiding place among the boxes and tried to spot Keldon within the throng of fighting men. She caught sight of the boy Higgins first, fighting for his life and looked to be losing the battle. Arianna took the slingshot and one of the rocks. She aimed carefully and pulled back on the strap. The rock flew through the air and smacked the man, who was defeating Higgins, on the side of his left temple. Arianna feared the man was unaffected from the blow but he turned toward her, teetering on his feet. She watched as his eyes rolled back in his head and he went down hard.

Higgins scrambled to his feet, scratching his head in confusion. His eyes darted back and forth, obviously wondering where his would-be-rescuer hid.

Leighton came into Arianna's line of sight next. The man moved with ease, throwing his sword with little or no effort at all.

“Impressive, Leighton, but how about a little help?” She took another rock and aimed. The men were moving so fast that her aim wasn’t true, but it served its purpose. The man fighting Leighton grabbed between his legs, cursing as he crumpled to the floor. Leighton promptly hit the man over his head, putting him out of his misery.

Leighton chanced a look behind him and spotted Arianna with her slingshot. His eyes narrowed as if trying to recall who she was.

“Look behind you, Leighton,” Higgins called.

Leighton whipped around, his sword swinging down.

Vincent Aubrey’s gaze landed on Arianna, his eyes widening in disbelief. He made his way over to her. “You must go down below. You will only be in the way.”

“No way am I sitting this out. I can help.” She raised the slingshot, took aim and fired.

The rock hit another man between the eyes.

“Yes!” She said bringing her fisted hand down in a triumphant display.

“My, my Arianna aren’t you full of surprises. I stand corrected. The enemy is feeling your sting.” He bowed to her. “As you were, my lady.” He turned and jumped back into the foray.

Arianna finally spotted Keldon. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw him jump out of the way, as the cutlass brushed deathly close to his mid-section. She fumbled with the slingshot. Panic welled in the pit of her stomach as she tried to load the slingshot, afraid she would be too late to help Keldon. She took aim and fired, but the pirate moved safely out of the way as he lunged again at her husband. Keldon jumped out of the way, but lost his footing falling heavily to the ground, his sword sliding out of his reach. The man’s ugly face slid into a smile as he neared his victim. Arianna had to think fast or Keldon would be cut in two.

The gun!

She pulled it out of her waist pocket. She had no idea how to use it, though. She glanced up to see Keldon roll out of the way, as the cutlass lashed down inches from where his head had been. Keldon was close to her now and she chanced yelling to him, while the pirate was busy pulling his weapon free from the floorboard.

“Keldon, over here.”

He turned. She couldn't hear his words, but it didn’t take much imagination on her part to know he wasn’t pleased with her.

She tossed him the pistol, which he gratefully caught. As the pirate came barreling down upon him, he turned and fired the single shot. The man fell with a crash on top of Keldon. He quickly threw the dead weight aside and jumped to his feet.

"Get below, ye wee fool!" he shouted as he picked up his sword in time to fight his next adversary.

“
Get down below, ye wee fool
,” Arianna mimicked. “Make me, you stubborn Scotsman,” she mumbled under her breath. She grabbed another rock from her supply and searched for the next victim.

A noise behind her made her whirl around. She gasped as a dark bearded man plunged down with his blade. She rolled away and he splintered wood. He yanked the sharp edge out of the crate and whirled around, his snarl raising one corner of his lip. Her eyes darted back and forth, looking for an escape. The pirate threw his knife at her as she made a dive for safety. She heard the sharp metal whiz by her head and the
thunk
-sound, as the blade entered the box above her. She scrambled to the other side of the boxes, hoping to make it around, but the pirate anticipated her move and was there to greet her.

"Ye slip of an urchin. Where did ye think ye was goin'?” he grounded out. He moved closer and Arianna backed up a step.

"You… you yellow-livered…spawn of the devil!" Arianna shouted back. A niggling of a memory came to the forefront of her mind.
Pirate movies
. She shook her head and pushed the thought away. She had to stay focused.

The bearded man only laughed, showing his mouth full of decaying teeth.

“So much for sounding fierce.” She tried to make a run for it, but he grabbed her shirt, yanking her back. He held her close, his breath hot and putrid as he spoke. "Now little swab, let's see's how brave ye be.” He balled his fist and pulled back his arm. Arianna closed her eyes waiting for the deathblow, but there was none. The man suddenly went limp and released her. She stumbled back, watching him fall. She winced when she stepped hard on her injured foot. Her gaze whipped around. Keldon stood there with his sword in his hand. Before she could feel grateful for his rescue, she saw another man running up behind him, his knife poised to kill. “Keldon, watch out!” she screamed. He whirled around his sword jabbing through the pirate’s side. Keldon yanked his arm back and the man fell to the ground, a pool of blood already spreading underneath him.

Arianna grabbed her stomach as she felt the bile rise. She leaned to the side as the yellowish-green fluid spewed in every direction. Wiping the foul taste from her mouth with the back of her hand, she had the fleeting thought that she should have listened and stayed in the cabin.

“Are ye all right?”

Arianna nodded. “Go, go. I’m fine.”

Keldon gave her shoulder a quick squeeze before heading toward Nicholas who was pinned down by three men.

“Let’s even this up a bit, hey Sherborn.” She heard Keldon yell as he swung his sword. Keldon fought by Nicholas’ side. Metal clanked and sliced the air until they were the only two standing. Nicholas barely had time to voice his appreciation before Keldon moved on.

"They strike the colors!" Vincent Aubrey shouted. Arianna had no idea what that meant, but immediately the fighting ceased.

She breathed a sigh of relief, when she saw that Keldon remained unhurt and was issuing orders to round up the prisoners from the opposing ship. She noticed the enemy fared far worse than Keldon's men had. His crew had few wounded and fortunately no casualties. The other ship had lost seventeen men and the survivors looked worse for wear.

Arianna learned from Higgins that strike the colors meant the enemy had volunteered to surrender. She sat on top of one of the cargo boxes to see what was going to happen to the captured men. She made a quick survey and was pleased to notice there wasn’t a board extending over the edge of the ship. She hoped this meant Keldon wasn’t going to have the men walk the plank.

Keldon stood on crates and faced the prisoners who were waiting to hear their fate. "I am the Captain. Ye may have heard me referred to as the Scotsman or the Highland Pirate.” The murmuring gave proof they had. "Ye have a choice this day. Join my crew, or ye can take yer chances with the long boats. If ye sail straight, ye’ll find land soon enough. Ye'll be given plenty of provisions to see ye safe. It's yer choice. Think it through.”

Some stayed and others chose to leave, taking their chances that they would reach land safely. Arianna felt a sense of pride on the way Keldon handled the situation. He had a practiced eye making quick decisions and his natural charm and gift of persuasion aided in winning loyalty from the men on the other ship.

She also kept an eye on Nicholas Sherborn, the other man in her life. He too, held a sense of prestige. He helped organize the supplies, handing out the satchels as the men stepped into the long boats. She supposed she could see why, she might have been attracted to him. Nicholas mirrored Keldon in many ways, their style, and their compelling presence, which demanded respect.

But what did Nicholas see in her? He told her he wanted to marry her.

Keldon looked her way, his gaze meeting hers.

All thoughts of Nicholas vanished.

“Later,” he mouthed.

Anticipation thickened the air in her lungs as she imagined what he had planned for her. She wanted to go to him now, but she knew she couldn’t. Her identity needed to remain a secret.

Keldon sent some of the crew over to the other ship to set it into motion. In less than two hours, they were on the way again.

Arianna went down to Keldon's cabin to wait. The throb in her foot had her gritting her teeth. She scooted to the center of the bunk and placed a pillow under her foot. She began to relax as she allowed the sway of the ship to hug her. She melted into the corner of the bed and it wasn't long before she was lulled to sleep.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Keldon had two very good reasons why he sent Leighton over to the other ship. One, he was the best man to make sure everything went according to plan. Two, it prevented him from figuring out the new cabin boy was Arianna.

After Keldon cleaned the blood and sweat from his body, he left Vincent Aubrey in charge. He would take over again in the pre-dawn hours.

He entered his cabin expecting Arianna to be awake. Instead, he spotted her small frame snuggled comfortably on his bunk. "She's made herself at home, the wee imp," he said softly as he removed his shirt and then poured himself a drink.

Arianna stirred, eyelids fluttering open. She tried to sit up but winced.

"Yer ankle is troublin’ ye still?"

She nodded. This time she successfully sat up and leaned against the headrest of the bunk. I've wrapped it like I learned in first aide class."

Keldon sighed. "There ye go, again. First aide class?"