find a way to sort things out. That’s what
he did best.
“Who are you working with?” he
asked, hoping to force the man into an
admission.
Burton laughed wickedly. “Can’t
you oblige me a moment to bask in the
success I deserve for organizing this
little assembly?”
He ignored the madman. “Where is
Constance? What did you promise
Guffald in order to get him to help you?”
“Come now. You and I both know
Guffald is not a child. He needed no
coaxing from me to kidnap your wife.”
Burton’s brows drew together. “Do you
honestly believe that Guffald has been
ill-used? Ah!” he said, eyes rounding, “I
see that you do. Tell me,” he said,
sucking in a satisfied breath, his stomach
bulging, threatening to pop the buttons on
his vest. “Hasn’t it ever occurred to you
that Guffald was never working alone?”
Percy’s eyes narrowed. “What are
you talking about? Guffald has never
worked alone.”
“Surely you must have figured it out
by now.” Burton sat back with a wide
grin. “Mayhap not.” The man laughed
wickedly. “Perhaps you would prefer to
see with your own eyes,” he said.
“I’d prefer to see my wife.”
Burton
coughed
to
hide
his
amusement, and then clapped his hands
together gleefully. A door, hidden
behind an enclosed bookcase, creaked
open revealing a mop-headed sailor,
followed by his rumpled friend —
Guffald.
Percy lunged forward.
“Hold,” Burton exclaimed. “Do not
come any closer.”
“I’d like to see you stop me,” Percy
threatened.
Guffald’s movements were slow as
he shuffled into the room. His eyes
flashed a warning. Constance followed
him. She shifted into the light slowly and
a dark figure came into view behind her,
riding close to her skirts. A flash of
silver gleamed in the candlelight.
Percy’s eyes focused on his wife’s neck
where a knife wedged perilously close
to her jugular vein, so close droplets of
blood began to cascade in rivulets down
her neck and onto her bosom. He took a
step forward, but stopped as the face of
her assailant came into view.
“Frink!” he gasped.
“So good of you to remember me,”
the pirate captain teased. “It appears we
are back to where we started, Sexton.”
He leaned his mouth to Constance’s ear.
“Or is it, Your Grace?”
Constance winced as Frink blew
his breath into her face.
“Come. Come now, Frink,” Burton
insisted. “You may have your vengeance
later. For now, resist the urge to do what
comes naturally. I want Constance to
witness her husband’s death, not precede
it. It will serve her well to know who
her true master will be.”
“You son of a — ” Percy could
hear Constance whimper from across the
room as Frink applied more pressure
and another slender stream of blood
dripped down her neck.
“I’m only getting started,” Frink
promised, eyes gleaming.
Guffald stepped forward, slipping
between Frink and Burton with an ease
Percy would have never thought
possible. “You promised me she would
be safe, Burton,” he railed. “This was
not part of our deal.”
“
He
promised you?” Frink laughed
wickedly. “What did Burton promise
you? Your own ship? A safe getaway
with the woman you love?”
Burton
rose
from
his
seat,
grimacing at the chaos unfolding before
him. He pointed a crooked finger at
Frink and then aimed an overlong cutlass
he produced from behind his chair.
“Hold where you are!” he ordered
Guffald.
Percy’s fists clenched and his teeth
ground until he thought they would crack.
A deep-seated hatred surged within him
as he stared into Frink’s unrelenting
eyes. Burton was all bluster, but in
Frink, he would find no weakness. The
man had a reputation for gutting close
friends. And the captain had an axe to
grind where he was concerned. He’d
stolen his ship. Frink would do anything
to get back at him for that slight, not to
mention tricking him for nearly a year.
His ego had been bruised. And right
now, Constance would satisfy the man’s
need for vengeance.
“Release the girl,” Burton ordered.
Frink glared menacingly. “Be wary
of orderin’ me about, Burton.”
“Lord Burton to you, Captain!” Ah!
Burton’s weakness appeared to be
vanity.
“I thought you never took orders,
Frink,” Percy taunted, confident that if he
disrupted the confidence between the
two men, he stood a better chance of
getting Constance out alive.
“No one need ever know,” he said.
“If it weren’t for Whistler, I’d have
gained all I wanted and more, and you
would never have gotten the upper hand
on me aboard the
Octavia
.”
“Whistler.” Percy’s voice came out
in a rush. Josiah Cane? Burton’s eyes
settled accusingly upon Guffald. His
gaze followed, disbelieving. His gut
tightened
as
Guffald’s
treachery
suddenly cleared away all doubt from
his mind. He turned toward his friend.
“You?”
Guffald blinked nervously. “It was
the only way I could have her. Her father
would never have accepted me.”
“Simon has given you everything,
Henry.”
“You can’t possibly understand.
You’ve never been deprived of anything.
You, heir to a dukedom and now a duke,
have always been fancied by fathers as a
choice pick. I’ve never been given the
luxury of choosing a bride.”
Burton scoffed, unamused, and
carved his apple as if he had the
explosive situation back under control.
“Tsk. Tsk. Such a debacle. Makes my
stomach turn.”
Guffald continued making excuses.
“You have no idea what hurdles I’ve had
to jump in order to maintain our
friendship and rise through the ranks.”
“You earned your rank on merit,”
Percy validated.
The captain did not care. His eyes
focused on Constance. “A fact that does
not grant me permission to marry the
woman I love.”
Burton coughed. “I hate to interrupt
your confession, Guffald, but we sail
within the hour.”
Spurred into action, Guffald backed
away from Frink and headed toward the
door. Percy stood his ground. Cunning
and assured, he refused to give the
captain access.
“Move aside,” Guffald ordered.
“You’re not leaving my wife.”
“Don’t force me to hurt you,” he
pleaded. Guffald’s eyes darted from
Percy to the two other men. He blinked
— twice.
Percy caught on quickly. “She’s
pregnant, Henry,” he whispered.
“Percy!” Constance screamed and
elbowed Frink in his side. Dislodging
herself, she started to rush toward Percy,
but Frink was faster. Fed by a desire to
pay her back for getting the best of him,
Frink caught her and spread his fingers
over her breast, casting Percy a
victorious smirk.
Percy and Guffald watched in
horror.
“That’s what I’ve been missin’. A
warm,
unwilling
woman,”
Frink
bragged.
“Now, now,” Burton insisted.
“Don’t manhandle our prize, Frink.”
“Who are you to be spouting
orders? You want her for yourself. Don’t
deny it. I know where I stand and she
does too. I’ll have my fun before you
spoil her like the others.”
Burton began to squirm and his
rounded
eyes
beamed
white.
“Nonsense!”
“Others?”
Guffald
questioned,
turning.
Frink’s buoyant laughter filled the
cabin and he squinted wickedly at
Guffald. “Our lovely beauty won’t be
pretty for long if left in Burton’s hands.”
“What is he talking about?” Guffald
shouted.
“Don’t listen to him, Captain,”
Burton spat. “He’s only trying to get the
upper hand.”
Percy’s gaze stayed focused on
Constance. By now, she appeared ready
to collapse. Her eyes were filled with
tears and she’d grown pale. His heart
hitched, knowing he might never get the
chance to tell her he loves her. He hated
Frink, hated Burton, and wanted to kill
anyone who got in his way. Flexing his
fists, he waited for his chance to make a
move.
“I remember a certain filly, young
and primed to please a man when the
occasion allowed,” Frink taunted. “I
recollect she had auburn hair, eyes like a
calm sea — ”
Percy’s heart hitched.
“She welcomed the driving thrusts
of a rutting man, and begged for more
like a starving harlot.” Frink cackled as
his hand stroked Constance’s breast.
Percy felt every muscle in his body grow
rigid. He wanted to know more and
hated himself for it.
“Burton,” Frink confessed, “is not a
pirate. He doesn’t live by a code. I’m
thinking you know what I’m talking
about, Sexton. But not Burton. He has
certain desires that cannot be quenched
until he’s destroyed whatever treasure
he’s found.”
“Enough!”
Burton
screeched.
“You’re ruining everything!”
“I hold the cards now — or should
I say treasure? I’ll decide when enough
is enough.” Frink turned his bloodthirsty
stare upon him. “You infiltrated my ship,
ate and slept with my crew, Sexton.
Killed and murdered with the best of us
and worked your way into my trust.
You’re a black-hearted wretch. This
girl,” he said, notching her neck with his
blade, “means something to you and I
want you to watch her suffer.”
“You talk too much, Frink. Bring
me the girl,” Burton railed.
“Give her to me, Frink.” Guffald
began to move slowly toward the
captain.
Frink’s eyes narrowed. His lips
tightened until they resembled slits.
“I’ve never seen a man scour the earth
for answers the way you did, Sexton.
Funny — the answers have always been
at your feet.”
“Frink!” Burton howled.
“Makes no difference now, does it,
Burton? Sexton’s a dead man. As a
matter of fact, we’re all dead,” he said,
looking at every man standing in the
room. “Burton will make sure of it.”
Frink centered his attention upon him.
“I wanted you to know that
Burton’s the man you’ve been searching
for. He took your sister because he
wanted her. The only problem was, you
stood in his way. When he couldn’t get
past your father, he made certain the man
was badly maimed for his trouble. Sly
one, he is.”
Percy’s heart thumped wildly. He
glared at Burton and waited — waited
for Frink to finish. His gut clenched,
every muscle primed to kill.
Burton’s eyes took on a demonic
fire. He confessed. “No matter how
much weight I tossed around or how
many times I begged your father to grant
me permission to court your sister, I was
met
with
disdain.
Your
father’s
dismissal was his final mistake.” He
wrung his hands gleefully. “Celeste was
foolish. She believed my amorous
advances and pledged her loyalty to me,
above that of her family, above you,
Blendingham. You cannot imagine how
much I’ve coveted that knowledge. But
you — oh! You were the perfect brother,
always attentive, never at a loss to
defend. I vowed to have her no matter
the cost. We snuck away to Gretna
Green. But midway, Celeste could talk
of nothing but you. She feared losing
your regard and begged me to take her
back home. But once I had her, I was not
going to be left empty-handed.”
Constance locked her gaze upon
him. Pity filled her eyes. But he did not
care. He listened and waited, primed to