Once Upon a Midnight Sea (4 page)

"India's Midnight." In a level tone, he began the story that still caused his blood to boil with rage. "Princess Antoinette of Monaco was miserable in her marriage. Whenever the royal family traveled, she strayed. Tasting the local flavors, so to speak. She had a penchant for handsome young men, and fell easily into their scheme. My father didn't know who she was when they began their ruse, but your father did. He was greedy."

Adriana turned and braced her hands on her vanity. He glanced over her body, admiring the smooth curves where the soft layers of her dress draped elegantly over her bottom. Another eruption of arousal sent heat rippling over him like the blast from a furnace.

"They were discovered by the royal guards. Your father ran with the necklace. He abandoned my father to his fate."

Delivering the end of his story didn't bring the satisfaction Christian hoped it would, but instead, left him feeling cold inside.

Adriana turned back and squared her shoulders. Despite her gallant efforts to keep her courage at the surface, the first tears shimmered in eyes that had deepened to the color of a stormy sea. Confusion haunted them as she stared back at him.

Christian's voice quaked as he continued. "I was six years old when my father was sent to
Île du Diable
. Your father fled to America with the necklace and built an empire on the takings. He led a life rich with the spoils of his crime while my family suffered. And that, heiress, is why I won't rest until I've taken every bit as much, and more, in return."

Chapter Three

Adriana stepped topside as the last rays of a magnificent dusky-rose sunset painted the cloudy sky behind them. She'd done her best to wipe away her sorrow, but she could tell the minute Henri looked at her, the tears she'd shed were evident in her burning eyes.

Mrs. Bailey sat on the rear bench with a kerchief pressed to her mouth. Sailing to South America would either kill her, or make her a hearty sea woman, once and for all.

Adriana didn't know which was worse. The outcome the Nighthawk planned for them surely wouldn't be pleasant.

Henri stood at the wheel in silence. He stared with reverence at the sea he loved. Something in him had changed. His eyes held regret. Adriana didn't know how his role in this came to be. Was it fueled by greed? Henri simply wasn't like that. But after all she'd seen and heard, she could no longer believe he was the same man she'd loved and trusted all these years.

Chauncy hopped onto the main cabin roof and beckoned her with a whine and a timidly wagging tail. Adriana picked him up and sat at the padded seat in front of the wheel. The silence stretched as the cold ocean breeze helped wash away her ache.

In the distance, rolling gray clouds seemed to symbolize the unpleasantness her heart had just sailed through. "Nor-eastern squall behind us," she said softly.

"She'll fill our sails, and we'll outrun her if we keep up all night."

"You will be able to stay awake?"

Henri forced a smile. "I wouldn't be able to close my eyes tonight even if you clobbered me over the head with a hammer." After a moment's hesitation he added, "and I wouldn't blame you if you did."

"I should like to crown you one," Mrs. Bailey moaned bitterly.

At land's end under the glowing horizon, Adriana saw the wink of a lighthouse.

"Currituck Beach Light," Henri said. "Carolina's lights will keep me company tonight."

"Watch for the new light at Bodie Island. Two second flash, two second pause, one second flash, one second pause."

He chuckled. "It was me who told you about it, remember?"

He had only yesterday, but it seemed a lifetime ago. Adriana glanced at the bow. Her mysterious captor stood on the pulpit with his back to them, gazing into the darkness in their path. The wind tossed his slightly too-long hair, but otherwise he remained motionless, a cold, unfeeling statue.

"Is it true?" she asked without taking her eyes off him. "Was my father really a thief and a scoundrel?" When she glanced back at Henri, the answer shone in his eyes.

"He is a good man, your father," he answered softly. "Don't ever believe otherwise."

"Then why are you doing this to us?"

Henri's gaze slipped away. "I can't explain my reasons now, Miss Adriana. But believe me that I admire and respect your father as much as one man can another."

Adriana was too numb to make sense of any of it. But one thing she did know, her father was not the kind of person to steal from others. And he certainly wasn't the kind of man who would turn his back on a friend in such a way.

"I cannot believe this outrageous story, whether it comes from his lips, or yours." She glanced back at her captor. "But he does. He truly believes my father is responsible for his misfortune."

Henri's reserved silence chiseled away at her confidence. For the first time in her life, Adriana was sick at sea. She couldn't think about it anymore. It made her head ache.

They sat in silence until twilight gave way to night and the stars lit their way. Finally Mrs. Bailey got up and hobbled down the main cabin ladder. Adriana got up to follow.

"About what you said earlier," Henri said, stopping her as she reached the hatch. "You loved me like part of your family and I loved you back the same." He smiled, and for a moment Adriana saw the old friend she knew and trusted. "That will never change."

* * *

The old man didn't look at him as Christian approached the wheel. Henri was disappointed in him; it was obvious in his pinched brow. Christian didn't have time to worry about it. His plan was finally in play, and his entire body thrummed with the final release of the storming emotions that had been building inside him all these years. Henri had always known someday this would come. He would get past it.

The old man fixed the wheel with a leather strap and shuffled about the deck to light the lanterns.

"You didn't have to be so hard on her," he finally said. His pale eyes scanned the dark horizon, still refusing to meet Christian's gaze.

The girl had indeed been a surprise. For so long he had imagined her as one of the silly debutantes he so firmly detested that he'd been shocked to discover a courageous, fierce little creature. Her beauty had been the second blow.

As soon as he'd arrived in Baltimore he'd resumed his plotting against the Montagues and sought Preston Weiss, hoping to size up the man Edmund had arranged for Adriana to marry. He'd been somewhat surprised to find the young heir was a chubby opportunist with an oily demeanor.

He'd followed Preston into a pub and seated himself close enough to overhear the man bitterly nattering with two acquaintances about his future bride. One of them had laughingly said that despite all else, Adriana's money would be enough to lure him. Christian had come away from the incident assuming she was homely.

"I wasn't hard enough," he answered with gruffness forced into his voice. "She's been coddled her whole life. It's time somebody introduced her to the real world."

Henri's steely gaze pierced him. "And you've decided you're the one to do it."

It is my right
, Christian thought.
I am owed this after what her father did to mine
.

He turned and stood abreast Henri on the captain's platform. The old man's weathered hands held the spoke handles as if he'd been born for the sea. Christian envied him the freedom. "Where are we to pick up the crew?"

"Oak Island," Henri responded. "We'll be there before midnight."

Christian turned to him. "Is it true what she said? We cannot make it without them?"

"It's a risk no experienced sailor would take." Henri turned and met his eyes. Christian didn't like the worry he saw shining back at him. "It'll be hard going, and dangerous."

"These are reputable men you trust?"

After a moment's hesitation, Henri shrugged. "As much as any scalawags."

Christian gazed out at the black sea. A glittering sky lit their way, but still he had never seen dark like this. The sounds of water lapping at the hull were like invisible beasts from hell clawing to get aboard. This must be what the nights were like for his father in his sea-surrounded prison.

"Adriana knows who I am. I cannot take the chance she'll tell one of them. I'm too close now to risk failing my father." Christian started toward the hatch but stopped and turned back before descending below. "Don't stop at Oak Island."

* * *

Adriana found Mrs. Bailey sitting at her vanity holding a damp cloth to her head.

"I shall stay here with you while that rascal is on board," she said. "I won't have him laying his filthy hands on you. I won't tolerate his even speaking to you. I've told Mrs. Ling to serve our meals in here."

She pulled the cloth from her forehead, revealing a perfectly green pallor.

"Oh, you poor thing," Adriana moved up behind her and began opening the tiny buttons at the back of her dress. Mrs. Bailey had been a widow for nearly twenty-five years, but in all that time the matronly woman's attire had only progressed from black to olive green. "I am so sorry about this. I know you hate to sail."

"Don't you dare apologize for that n'er-do-well," Mrs. Bailey said angrily. "And do not believe a word of what he said. Do you hear me, child?"

Adriana's pulse quickened. She didn't know what to believe. Mrs. Bailey met her eyes in the mirror, and Adriana turned away to hide the confusion in hers.

She went to the wardrobe for a silk robe she knew would fit her. "Dress lightly tomorrow, Mrs. Bailey," she said, draping it over the large woman's shoulders. "There is no need for tight laces at sea."

"I will not stoop to any less than perfect ladylike behavior on that ragamuffin's behalf." She clutched the vanity. "Oh my, when shall this boat ever stop rocking?"

Adriana knelt beside her chaperone. "Tomorrow afternoon we pass Charleston. That is where you and I shall make our escape."

Mrs. Bailey gasped. "Escape? But how?"

"I will cause a distraction to occupy Henri and our captor, and you and I will then steal away in one of the shore boats. Windfall's jolly boat is hoisted in the portside davits. It is small enough for us to row easily."

"But they will catch us in the other shore boat."

"Not if you help me. Neither man can catch us alone, and Henri wouldn't dare leave the ship. If we can make it to the shoals, Lady Luck cannot follow us without running aground."

Renewed color filled Mrs. Bailey's cheeks.

"What do you say? Are you up for it?" Adriana asked.

"It seems a most unladylike undertaking."

"The choice is yours." Adriana stood. "Remain a prisoner, or achieve your own freedom."

Prisoner. Adriana faced her own reflection in the mirror. If she managed to escape tomorrow, would she be any less a prisoner? There was no escape from the horrid future that had been planned for her.

The click of a cabin door shutting carried down the narrow hall. Adriana gasped. "Why, that no good thief." She wrenched her door open and stormed into the hall.

"Adriana, dear, come back here," Mrs. Bailey called after her.

Adriana pounded on the door to her father's cabin, then twisted the knob. Locked! She pounded again. "Open up this instant."

Her captor pulled open the door and greeted her with a devilish smirk. He'd removed his shoreman's coat and his shirt was halfway unbuttoned, revealing a mat of dark hair. She swallowed and forced her eyes to remain level with his.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

"Retiring for the night. Does the lady wish to join me?"

She ignored his rudeness. "You will
not
occupy my father's cabin."

The arrogance disappeared and his face transformed into cold granite. "This cabin, along with this ship, belongs to me. I thought I made that perfectly clear."

"Perhaps you have not been in America long enough to learn what we do to pirates."

He laughed, revealing a row of straight white teeth. "Is that what you think I am, heiress?"

She crossed her arms and stood back when she saw him glimpse at her bosom. She realized it was the necklace he eyed. She could be standing before him naked, and all he would notice was Starry Night.

"You have kidnapped me and my chaperone and stolen my ship. Is there another word to better describe what you are?"

He leveled a frigid stare. "I am collecting on a debt. Nothing more."

Adriana's heart kicked against her ribs. "A debt? So that is what this is, a ransom?"

One corner of his mouth curled into a mocking smile. "It is the ship I want, and the necklace. You are merely an unpleasant happenstance. You will be put ashore as soon as I have finished my undertaking."

If it were possible for her anger to boil any hotter, that did it. "And just how do you intend to get away with this? You cannot merely strip Lady Luck of her name and sell her. She is listed in Lloyd's Registry and quite well known. You will not be able to disguise her."