Once Upon a Midnight Sea (31 page)

"Forgive me, but I do not trust you."

Hot anger replaced the fear in his face. "And I should trust you?"

"We both have something the other wants. To achieve our goals, we must negotiate. I would like you to dispose of that whistle, as well."

"I want another of those gems, first."

"There now, a suitable agreement. Around that bend."

She led the way as the man dragged Christian along.

"You know I could wind up an inmate here for this, instead of a guard," he muttered.

"I am confident you shall come up with a marvelous story to explain his escape. If you require it, I will be quite happy to crown you with a rock so that you bear convincing injuries."

Gray scowled. "I'm sure you would. Keep yer anger in check, colleen. It weren't me did this to him."

The rain had stopped but the sound of dripping water still filled the jungle as the trees shed their droplets. In the growing dawn, milky mist shrouded the island that grew thicker as they moved into a deep, meadow-like section of marsh grass.

Adriana stepped off the trail and retrieved the second sapphire from its hiding place beneath a cluster of lichen-covered rocks. When the guard reached for it, she jerked her hand back.

"The whistle, if you please."

"You drive a bargain as hard as any man." He laughed, his eyes bright with happiness at the sight of the second gem.

At least now he knows I am not lying
, Adriana thought. Still, would the man double-cross her?

When he jerked the cord holding the whistle from around his neck and tossed it into the grass, she allowed herself a tiny sigh of relief.

She smiled in return and handed over the gem.

Christian's head lolled and he moaned. She resisted the urge to reach out and touch his bruised face, careful not to show any emotion to the guard who was still his captor. She must not suggest any weakness he might use to swindle her.

"Let us hurry on. Dawn nears." She led the way onto the well-worn path and turned east.

"I'm curious," the guard said, now short of breath. "Who is it you come to get? You landed here to steal someone out, ain't you?"

She veered to the left as the path forked. "This way."

"Wait now, I'm tired," the guard complained.

"You are to be paid well for your efforts. Do not stop." Adriana realized there was nothing to make the man continue obeying her but his own greed. Thankfully, it proved a strong motivator.

"I'm coming, I'm coming. It ain't exactly a bouquet of flowers I'm carrying here."

The path led through a grove of mango trees. "Stop here. Mr. Gray, is it?"

"Not sure I like you knowing that," he said with uneasiness gleaming in his eyes.

Adriana retrieved the third stone from the crook in one of the trees. "Do you have a family, Mr. Gray?"

He grimaced, pausing. "A wife and three boys," he finally admitted.

She smiled and handed over the sapphire. "Imagine all the wonderful things you can buy for them."

"I'm imagining me head in a noose."

They trudged on through waist-deep mist. She recognized a brambly bush with delicate red flowers where the narrow path had turned inland. Her boat sat tied to the south. She peered over the edge. In the mist, she couldn't see if it was still there. Her next move was a gamble that could cost both their lives, but Adriana didn't know what else to do.

She pointed into the jungle. "Do you see that tree?"

"I see a lot of trees."

"You shall find the fourth stone hanging from one of its branches. It shan't be hard to locate. The fifth is hidden below, buried in the tree litter. That one might cause you a bit of trouble, but I do need time to get away now, don't I?"

"Hey now, what's this?" he narrowed his eyes. "You promised me six stones."

"And you shall have them, but first, you must help me lower him to the water."

"I can't carry him down there! I'll fall and break me neck."

"You have six good reasons not to do that."

The man grudgingly agreed. Adriana followed as he carefully picked his way down. For one frightening moment, the guard lost his footing on a jutting rock and slipped. Christian came awake with a start and cried out as he and the guard crashed against the jagged face. A tumble of rocks broke free and rained onto the plateau below. A few loud splashes told her the tide was rising.
Is the boat still close enough to climb into
?

Finally the guard arrived on the crusty outcropping at the water's edge. The ocean was growing angrier, buffeting the narrow shelf of rocks ferociously. Frothy waves tossed the jolly boat then pulled at it, trying to drag it out to sea.

"Set him in and push us off."

"Oh, I'm surely going to regret doing this." He dropped Christian into the open section of the stern and Adriana climbed in and sat while keeping her eye on him. She handed over the last stone. He took it, eyed her, and finally grinned as he gave the jolly a strong shove.

"Goodbye, Mr. Gray. Good luck with your excuse!"

Adriana could hardly believe they had escaped.
We haven't, yet
, she told herself as she fought hard against the thrashing waves tossing the boat in all directions.

The mist cloaking the island proved to be a stroke of luck, preventing anyone from seeing them. If Mr. Gray still possessed a weapon, he could only fire it blindly over the water.

Christian lay motionless in the bottom of the jolly for the second time on his ill-plagued voyage. Her heart ached for him. She fought every instinct to drop the oars and take him in her arms. Above the love she felt and now freely admitted to herself, fear reigned supreme. Surely those guards would know by now what had happened and were launching their own boats.

Once out on the water the mist thinned enough for her to see clearly. Devil's Island sat shrouded in a milky haze, drawing further away with each cut of the oar.

"Adriana." Christian's lids fluttered.

"I'm here," she said.

"I love you,
mon beauté
."

She gasped. "I love you, too, my darling."

Christian's eyes drifted shut almost immediately and she wondered if he'd heard.

Adriana smiled to herself. It didn't matter. She would tell him again after he'd been nursed, and make certain he understood. She would say it a hundred times if she had to.

Pale pink light like a blossoming rose grew in the sky as the dawn broke on the most wonderful day of her life. A knifing of orange appeared on the horizon and the sun revealed itself, warming her back with its heavenly rays.

Adriana twisted around. Tall masts reaching toward the sky, Lady Luck perched on the horizon, the most glorious vision she'd ever seen.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

"By the mercy of Saint Peter, it is really you, my son." Gilbert rushed to his Christian's side Henri and Ollie lifted him out of the boat.

"Father." He collapsed to his knees and Gilbert sank to the deck with him, clasping Christian's face in his hands. "You look exactly as I remember."

"Ah, my dear boy, the years have not been kind, but now I am blessed. This seems all a wonderful dream, too good to be true."

"Believe it, Father. You are free now, and I'll never let anyone take you back to that place." He winced in pain as Gilbert hugged him. Adriana couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw a secret tear glistening in Christian's eye.

The men pulled him to his feet and urged him to the bench amidships.

Gilbert turned to her and captured her hand. "Dear child, I do not know how you did this. You must be some sort of angel."

"She certainly is. But watch her, she has a streak of the devil as well." Christian dropped his gaze on her, his eyes shining with a deep appreciation that could never be put into words.

Adriana laughed and wrapped her arms around herself as she finally broke down, letting her terror rush out as hot tears. Christian tried to push upright. "I am fine, stop fussing," he complained.

"You no argue," Mrs. Ling scolded as she tended the cut above his eyebrow.

"Well I certainly shan't argue with the woman who has saved my life once already." He flashed that famous, devilish grin that always managed to turn Adriana's insides to jelly.

"I see she has fixed you up as well," Adriana said to Henri. She wiped her cheeks dry. "Let us raise the sails and get far away from here."

"Now that is the best suggestion I have heard all year," the old sea captain agreed.

Gilbert sat by Christian's side at the bench as Henri, Ollie and Adriana brought Lady Luck underway. They turned the ship around and let the trade winds whisk them on a north-easterly trek back toward home. The sun rose and dried away all traces of the ominous weather that had followed them to Devil's Island, as if the whole thing had indeed only been a fable. But Adriana had only to look at Christian with his father to be reminded how very real it was.

When Henri took the helm and Adriana found a moment to rest, Gilbert approached her.

"My dear, I still cannot believe it is true. I will never know how you achieved this."

"Nor shall I," Christian said from the bench. His earnest smile, delivered privately to her, warmed her insides from head to toe.

Mrs. Bailey stepped protectively between them. "She is an exceptional young lady. Commoners–common
thieves
–cannot understand the superiority of the upper classes."

"Mrs. Bailey!" Adriana softened her reprimand with a smile. "That is not nice."

"I am at the end of my patience. I have obliged this folly long enough. It is time to put an end to it, once and for all."

"We are going home," Henri grumbled. "That should make you happy, you old bat."

Adriana realized she had faced a stronghold of French guards with more courage than she found with her own chaperone. It was time to confess, and declare her independence. Why did that make her feel sick to her stomach?

She went to Christian and he swung his legs over the side of the bench. He placed a hand on her shoulder to steady himself as he stood, and Adriana took him around the waist.

"About what you said last night," she said softly. "I was wrong. I realize now I must choose my own path."

His eyes flashed with magic light. "And what path might that be?"

She smiled. Wrapping her arms around him was the best feeling she'd ever known. She never wanted it to end.

His gaze slipped past her and his smile vanished. "There is a ship coming."

Adriana whirled around. In the far-off distance, three masts blended into one as a ship arced toward them. She prayed its familiar lines were only imagined.

"Henri?"

He already stood at the rail, peering through the spyglass. Without a word he turned and looked at her.

She crossed the deck to take the looking glass. It couldn't be!

Windfall.

"Your father," Henri said, as if he already knew.

"No." A portly figure moved across the rail, peering back at her through his own looking glass. "It is Preston Weiss."

"What?" Henri and Mrs. Bailey said in unison.

She looked again, afraid to believe it was truly him. "How would they have known we were here?"

"Your father must have told them," Henri said.

Adriana faced him. "And how would my father have known?"

"
Oui
, Henri," Christian interjected. "How would Edmund have known?"

"I suppose now it is as good a time as any to tell you." His eyes clouded over with regret. "Edmund knew about the trip before we started. He knew about the letter. I told him."

Christian's shoulders tensed and he opened his mouth. Henri held up a hand. "I had to. Don't be angry with me, boy. There is much you don't know."

She went to his side and Christian's expression softened.

"Edmund agreed to finance the voyage and provide whatever you needed," Henri explained. "He instructed me to let you to steal Lady Luck because he knew you would never willingly accept his help."

"Why would he do that? He betrayed my father and took India's Midnight for himself. Did his guilt get the better of him?"

"No," Gilbert spoke up. "He did not betray me. I gave myself up for him because I thought it was best for everyone. I was a foolish young man, I did not know any better."

Christian turned from one to the other. "Edmund left you to die."

His father shook his head. "You don't know it all. Christian, you must believe what I tell you. Your mother claimed you were her lover's son. She wanted to leave me, and I thought what I was doing was the best for you. I didn't have time to think it through. I realize now, she lied."

"Leave my mother out of this."

"It is true," Henri said softly. "For twenty years Edmund provided a handsome allowance she kept to herself."