Of Noble Birth (11 page)

Nathaniel appeared puzzled
until the line of his vision followed Trenton’s to the sheets. Then
his eyes went wide as he realized what his friend
believed.

“Wait.” He lifted a hand
in protest. Crossing to Alexandra, he indicated her wrists. “‘Tis
this you see, nothing more.”

Trenton raised his brows
as Nathaniel threw his cloak over Alexandra’s shoulders,
inadvertently making the tear in her bodice more obvious as
well.

“I tell you, I was more
abused last night than she. I vow she bears my father’s ill-humor,”
Nathaniel told him.

Pausing as though weighing
the proof in the room against his trust, Trenton said, “She tore
her own gown, I suppose?”

“It’s a long story.”
Nathaniel waved him off. “But I’m sure you didn’t come here to
rescue the virtuous maid. So what is it?”

“We’ve got
problems.”

“What?”

Alexandra trained her eyes
on Trenton’s face, wondering if their problems were also her
problems. Could things get any worse?

“There’s someone visiting
the taverns along the wharf asking for you. I’m not sure who he is,
but he claims to carry a message from your father.”

Nathaniel stroked the
black stubble that had begun to grow on his chin. “Why is that a
problem? That’s just what we’ve been hoping for.”

Trenton frowned, causing
his brows to pucker. “I’m not so sure. If you’d seen this fellow,
you might agree. He calls himself Rat, and he doesn’t look like
anyone your father would normally deal with. I told him you’d meet
him at noon today, just in case, but I’m not sure you should
go.”

“Of course I’ll go. The
duke wouldn’t be stupid enough to kill me before he secures the
safety of his daughter. As long as you’re here to watch Anne, I’ll
retrieve Fury from the stables and see what this messenger has to
say.”

Trenton grunted, obviously
unconvinced that Nathaniel’s decision was a wise one.

Though her reasons
differed, Alexandra had to agree. If the Duke of Greystone was
anything like the man her captors thought he was, he would have no
compunction about killing Nathaniel, knowing Anne to be safe with
her mother. Should that happen, Nathaniel’s mates could very well
try to avenge his death with her own.

* * *

Nathaniel Kent strode
through the crowded streets of Liverpool with Fury, his giant black
stallion, prancing at his heels. His mood was darker than reason
would suggest. They had managed to kidnap Anne without any
significant problems. By rights he should be feeling differently.
But holding his half sister against her will didn’t sit right on
his conscience, despite Richard. He had thought it would be easy to
hate her. Now he knew he was wrong. He wasn’t sure what he
felt—grudging respect, perhaps, a small amount of admiration—but
certainly not hate.

As he walked toward the
docks, ridge-capped waves rose and fell as a restless sea bucked
against the ships at harbor like a horse resisting its rider.
Nathaniel reflected upon the fickle nature of that sea. How
deceptively gentle she could be. How enraged and unforgiving.
Still, she was his first love and had been a part of his life for
almost fourteen years.

Rubbing his temples to
relieve the sudden pounding of a headache, he scanned the docks for
the man he was to meet. The salty air smelled of fish, and the
throaty coo of pigeons resounded as the gray and white birds made a
nuisance of themselves, flapping and hopping among the crates being
loaded into the bellies of various ships.

Finally Nathaniel spotted
a small, slender figure who appeared uncertain amid the sailors,
merchants, clerks, and bawdy women. He glanced at the sun. Good,
the man was on time.

From a distance, the
stranger appeared no older than twenty, but closer inspection
revealed the shadow of two or three days’ beard growth and lines
that creased a leather-like face. Nathaniel guessed he was at least
forty.

“Are you Rat?” he asked,
checking to make sure no one seemed to be taking particular notice
of either of them.

“That’s what they call
me.” Shabbily dressed in drab breeches and gaiters, a ragged,
oversized coat, and a top hat smashed accordion-style, Rat looked
as though he hadn’t bathed in weeks. And he smelled no
better.

“What do you want?”
Nathaniel came quickly to the point. Meeting a stranger, especially
one associated with his father, made him nervous, even on such a
busy quay.

“Don’t worry, I’m a
friend.”

“I trust friends less than
anyone. At least my enemies never surprise me.”

Rat’s whisker-peppered
cheeks broke into a smile. “Ye’ll change yer mind when ye ‘ear what
I’ve got to say. What I know might save yer bacon.”

“I’m waiting.” A burly
sailor hefted the crate closest to them, and Rat hesitated, making
Nathaniel scowl. “Pray, make your point. My patience wears
thin!”

“Not so fast.” Rat picked
something green from his teeth with a long, dirty fingernail. “I’m
wonderin’ what it’s worth to ye.”

“So you’re after money.
Now we’re getting somewhere—”

“That’s not all. I want ye
to take me to sea with ye.” He rubbed his hands together before
continuing. “I got myself in a bit of trouble, an’ I got nowhere
else to go.”

Nathaniel studied the
other man’s muddy boots and the tears in his baggy clothes. There
was something about Rat he didn’t like, but the bloke had
definitely raised Nathaniel’s curiosity.

“What kind of
trouble?”

Rat scratched his greasy
head, smiling. “‘Is Grace is lookin’ for me. I worked in the
stables at Bridlewood for a time, until a pair of fancy candelabras
went missin’ from the ‘ouse. Unfortunately, the ‘ousekeeper claimed
I took ‘em.”

Nathaniel winced as
sunlight glared off the mirror-like sea, making his head feel as if
it would explode. “
Did
you take them?”

Rat revealed his diseased
gums with a grin. “Why would I do a thing like that? I could go to
gaol, ye know.”

Nathaniel shook his head,
irritation making his nerves raw. This man was a common thief and
didn’t even have the good sense to hide it. “I’m in no mood for
games,” he bit out. “I’ll pay you what your information is worth,
but our association ends there.”

A look of surprise claimed
Rat’s features. “Yer not cross about the candelabras, are ye? A
man’s got to eat. Kimbolten ‘as the money of a king, but ‘e’s
bloody mean. ‘E feeds ‘is servants nothin’ but ‘ardtack biscuits
an’ gruel. I was starvin’, that I was.”

Nathaniel let the contempt
he felt show in his face, and Rat’s voice trailed off. “You expect
me to believe that you lived in a household as rich as my father’s
and had to resort to stealing in order to get full? Any servant
worth his salt can manage enough to eat in a household such as
Greystone’s, from the family’s table scraps if nowhere
else.”

Rat sighed. “Yer awful
uppity for bein’ a glorified thief yerself,” he grumbled under his
breath, but his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when
Nathaniel gripped him by the lapels of his jacket and lifted him
several inches into the air.

“I am nothing like you or
any other thief,” he ground out, his face so close to Rat’s that he
could smell the stench of alcohol on the man’s breath. “I take only
what should be mine by rights.”

“Aye.” The smaller man
tried to shrink away. “I didn’t mean nothin’ by it. I know ye claim
to be the duke’s son an’ all, an’ of course that makes us
different. The truth of it is, I took the silver to sell for a bit
of grog. But there never was a bigger miser of food than
Greystone’s ‘ousekeeper. I wasn’t lyin’ about that.”

Nathaniel set the man back
on his feet, none too gently. “As I thought. What do you have to
tell me?”

“Ye ‘ave to take me with
ye.” Rat’s voice took on a pleading quality. “‘Is Grace will kill
me if ‘e finds out I’ve met with ye, whether I tell ye anythin’ or
not. Ye’ve got ‘im actin’ like a mad dog, ye do, what with
troublin’ ‘is ships an’ all.”

Nathaniel ran his fingers
through the hair that had worked itself free of the black ribbon
holding the rest back. His small band was a loyal, well-trusted
group, only a few of them true criminals. But what Rat said was
true. He had risked his life in coming to Nathaniel. “You don’t
look like a sailor. Do you know the sea?”

“A bit.”

“Do you have any idea what
you’re getting into? What: could happen if we’re
caught?”

Flat shrugged. “I’m
already a wanted man. I’d go to Newgate regardless. An’ a man’s got
to eat—”

“Save your breath.”
Nathaniel frowned. “What can you tell me about my father? Is he
going to trade Richard for Lady Anne?”

“Lady Anne?” Rat squinted
up at him.

“Aye. Is he going to let
Richard go?”

“Nay. Mary wanted me to
tell ye that ‘e’s on to ‘er. She ‘ad to tell him where ye were.
‘E’s on ‘is way ‘ere.”

Nathaniel’s heart began to
pound in his ears, keeping rhythm with his headache. “How did the
duke catch her?”

Rat shook his head. “That
I can’t say. But she told me to find ye and warn ye.”

“What about Lady
Anne?”

The small man looked
puzzled. “I don’t know about ‘er. But Mary told me to tell ye
somethin’ else. She ‘eard the duke’s controller tellin’ someone
that three ships are leavin’ Bristol a week from Wednesday,
the
Frederica,
the
Honest George,
and the
Eastern
Horizon.
The
Frederica
an’
Honest George
are ‘eadin’ to China
by the regular route, but the other is ‘eadin’ to
Russia.”

Nathaniel stiffened in
surprise. To send a ship into the Black Sea given the current
political climate in that area was unusual indeed. England was
nearly at war with Russia. What did it mean?

Rat grinned, a greedy
glint entering his eye. “Mary said that bit of news should be worth
a fair amount of coin.”

Nathaniel pulled a wad of
notes from his pocket, not even bothering to count the amount he
handed over. That the duke was coming after him meant his father
had no plans to trade Richard for Lady Anne. What would Nathaniel
do with his half sister now? And how would he rescue Richard when
he had to flee himself?

“Mary wanted me to tell ye
one other thing, but as far as I can figure, it’s of no account.
She said she wouldn’t ‘ave ‘elped ye if ye weren’t so bloody
‘and-some.” Rat spat at the ground, barely missing his own foot.
“Women.”

Nathaniel ignored the
remark. Whatever the reason Mary had risked herself to warn him, he
was grateful. “We have to leave today. I’ll meet you here tonight,
late. But be forewarned. Working for me is not easy. Gaol is the
least of your fears. A man could get himself killed.
Understand?”

“Ye provide three meals a
day an’ a bit of grog, don’t ye?”

Nathaniel
nodded.

“I’ll be ‘ere,
Cap’n.”

“Then get yourself a bath
as well,” Nathaniel added, tossing the man another coin.

* * *

Alexandra sat still while
Trenton bandaged her chafed wrists. Nathaniel had been gone for
over an hour, and in the strained silence of their waiting, Trenton
had applied ointment to Alexandra’s wounds. Though she wasn’t sure
what the unguent was, by its smell she suspected it was intended
for animals, not humans. Still, she wasn’t about to complain. At
least Trenton had cut her loose, and the pain in her hands and feet
had finally ebbed.

“What happens if Nathaniel
doesn’t come back?” she asked when the minutes began to drag like
days. Though both Trenton and Tiny seemed like decent men compared
to the dangerous Nathaniel, they were all pirates, plain and
simple. Alexandra had overheard enough about their business to know
that much. And the man called Garth was less kind. The others could
be even worse.

Nathaniel was obviously
their leader. Should something happen to him, she had no idea who
would gain control. Or what they might do with her. After all, they
thought her to be the daughter of their nemesis.

Trenton shrugged. “He’ll
come back,” he said, but Alexandra could feel his anxiety as he
turned about the room like a caged animal.

“If he doesn’t, will you
let me go?” Her voice sounded small and frightened, even to her own
ears. She cleared her throat and spoke more surely. “I mean, if
Greystone kidnaps Nathaniel,
or...
or something, what will happen to me?”

“Nathaniel will be back,”
Trenton nearly shouted, making Alexandra cringe. “You’re the duke’s
daughter, for heaven’s sake. Surely you mean enough to him that he
wouldn’t be so foolish.”

“But you can’t be sure
what Greystone will do,” she said, taking a line of reasoning he
would understand.

Trenton ran his fingers
through his hair and sighed. “I’m sorry. I know you’re scared. I
just don’t have any answers right now. We wait. That’s all. We just
wait.”