“What?” gasped Emmaline in shock, pushing back from Nairnie and hitting her head against the wall behind her. She had not expected to hear her say this, especially since it wasn’t true. “Nay! Her legs aren’t spread and she is not a strumpet moaning in pleasure, I assure you.” Emmaline almost spilled the rest of her ale since this upset her so much.
“How do ye ken?” Nairnie did that thing again with one squinted eye and cocked her head.
“Well, I don’t know. I – I mean, I just cannot believe any woman, strumpet or not, would pose like that for a painting. Mayhap you are mistaken.”
“Well, mayhap. I guess I’ll have to take another look to find out for sure.”
“Who – who is it? In the painting, I mean. The woman. Who is she?”
“I dinna ken.”
“Do the men know her?” She held her breath, waiting for the old woman’s answer.
“I’m no’ sure, but neither do they care. It is disgustin’ the way they sneak in there to look at the nude woman and then they grab themselves and –”
“Enough.” Emmaline’s hand shot up in the air and her head lowered. She suddenly felt as if she were going to retch. “I don’t need to hear anything more, thank you.” She felt sickened at the thought of every one of the pirates staring at her naked body day after day. Even worse, they were pleasuring themselves at her expense. This was even worse than she’d thought.
She felt so ashamed at what she had done. The only thing that was going to make this feeling go away was if she could get ahold of that painting and take it to the king to destroy it and fix her sullied reputation. Then, in time, the memory of the painting would hopefully fade from everyone’s minds and people would forget that it even existed at all. Yes, that was exactly what she needed to do. However, in order to do that, she had to get onto that ship.
“Nairnie, can I see you for a moment?” Mardon was back at the table and, this time, his brother, Aaron, was with him.
“There is no treasure here,” stated the blond man. “We’ve looked everywhere.”
“Aaron, hold your tongue.” Mardon’s eyes flashed over to Emmaline.
“Treasure?” asked Emmaline. “Is there a treasure in this tavern that you are hoping to find?”
“Never mind,” snapped Mardon. “It’s none of your concern, Sister.”
“What is a nun doing sitting with Grandmother?” asked Aaron in surprise. His mouth turned up into a mischievous grin.
“Let’s go,” grunted Mardon, sounding perturbed.
“I dinna understand it,” said Nairnie, pulling a piece of parchment out of her bodice. It made Emmaline wonder what else the woman had stored down there. Nairnie opened up the parchment and stared at it. “I was sure this part of the clue meant that the treasure was here in Great Yarmouth at the Fish Head Inn.”
“So you really are looking for a treasure, then.” Emmaline stretched her neck to see the torn parchment.
“Dammit, Nairnie, put that away,” growled Mardon.
“Dinna swear in front of . . . in front of a nun,” scolded Nairnie. “Now, I ken the king’s treasure must be here somewhere. We need to think.”
“Oh, Mardon,” said the serving girl, coming over to him with lust in her eyes.
“Not now,” he said, waving his hand to dismiss her.
The girl looked down at the parchment. “I see ye have one of those, too.”
“Are ye talkin’ about this parchment?” asked Nairnie.
“Aye,” said the girl.
“What do you know about it?” asked Mardon.
“Only that someone else was in here lookin’ for somethin’ as well, earlier today. They had a ripped parchment just like that.”
“Who?” asked Mardon in a low voice.
“Why don’t ye take me upstairs and I’ll whisper the name in yer ear while we’re . . . doin’ other things?” The girl batted her lashes at Mardon.
“Tell me, and tell me now. Who was in here earlier with a parchment like this?” asked Mardon.
“Oh, all right, I’ll tell ye,” said the girl. “It was that pirate, Nereus, and his men.”
“Nay!” said Aaron. “We’re too late. Nereus must have already found the treasure.”
“Treasure?” asked the girl. “He didn’t have any treasure. All he had was another piece of parchment he found in here with things written on it.”
“What things?” asked Mardon. “Did you see it?”
“Well . . . I might have taken a look over his shoulder when I was pourin’ his ale.”
“What did it say? Tell us!” spat Nairnie.
The girl looked the other way. “I can’t remember.”
“Mayhap this would help you remember.” Mardon reached over and placed a coin in the girl’s cleavage, getting a smile from her and a gasp from Emmaline. It was a very seductive move.
The girl’s eyes lit up and she answered Mardon. “It was the letter T. With a diamond under it and what looked like a . . . gravestone.”
“What?” asked Aaron. “That makes no sense.”
“Well, that’s all that I saw.”
Emmaline fingered the cross at the end of her rosary hanging around her neck. “Are you sure it was a letter T?” she asked the girl. “Or was it a cross . . . like this?” She held it up.
The girl leaned over in the candlelight to see it. “Well, now that ye mention it, I suppose it did look more like a cross.”
“Even so, what would it mean?” asked Aaron.
“I think I know,” said Emmaline excitedly.
“That’ll be all,” Mardon told the serving girl. “Thank you for your help.” He handed her another coin and the girl snatched it up and hurried away.
“Emmaline, what do ye think it means?” asked Nairnie.
“Call her Sister Emmaline,” Mardon corrected Nairnie.
“Oh, I don’t mind. Emmaline is fine.” Emmaline still fingered the cross, not able to look directly at Mardon.
Mardon bent over and laid his hands on the table, whispering into Nairnie’s ear. “I’m not sure talking about the treasure in front of a Goddamned nun is a good idea.” He said it softly, but still, Emmaline heard him.
“Dinna use blasphemy,” said Nairnie, slapping Mardon on the arm.
“I didn’t!” Mardon stood up.
“Aye, you did,” agreed Aaron. “You said Goddamned nun.”
Nairnie turned in her chair and slapped Aaron on the arm next.
“Ow. Grandmother, what are you doing?” asked Aaron.
“Ye are no better than yer brathair. Now both of ye watch yer tongues before I pull them out with my bare hands.”
Emmaline cleared her throat to get their attention. “I think I know what those symbols mean. I’ve seen them before.”
“I think we need to get going,” said Mardon.
“Nay, Mardon. Give her a chance to talk.”
“Fine,” he mumbled. “Go ahead . . . Sister.”
“I’ve seen the two symbols of a cross and diamond together before,” said Emmaline excitedly. “The symbol of a gravestone beneath them proves to me I’m right.”
“Where have you seen this?” asked Aaron.
“I saw them at Canterbury Cathedral.”
“What?” asked both Aaron and Mardon at the same time.
“Shhh, let the woman speak,” Nairnie told her grandsons. “Continue,” she said, nodding at Emmaline.
“My guess is that it symbolizes the grave of St. Thomas Becket.”
“Who the hell is that and what does he have to do with our treasure?” snapped Mardon, shifting his weight back and forth as if he were getting restless.
Aaron cleared his throat and leaned over and half-whispered, “You said hell in front of a nun, Brother.”
Emmaline continued. “The diamond could be the Regale Ruby that was given to the English by France years ago. It is displayed at the tomb of St. Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, right under a cross. Don’t you see? That’s what it has to be.”
“Well, since we have no other choice at this point, I guess that’s where we need to go,” said Mardon. “We can take the ruby as well while we’re there.”
“Aye, that must be where Father hid the treasure,” agreed Aaron.
“No grandson of mine is goin’ to raid a church and steal the Regale Ruby!” spat Nairnie.
“Oh, I believe the ruby is really locked away somewhere and it is a fake one on display,” Emmaline told them.
“It figures. Just our luck,” mumbled Mardon.
“Still, I willna have stealin’ from God stainin’ yer souls,” retorted Nairnie. “Why does it have to be in a church?”
“If that’s where the treasure is, then we are going there no matter what you think,” snapped Mardon.
“Ye canna.”
“We have to, Grandmother,” Aaron tried to convince her. “It’s the only way to get the treasure.”
Nairnie remained stubborn. “If ye’re goin’ to Canterbury Cathedral to steal a treasure, ye ken the place is goin’ to end up in a shambles, no’ to mention with a lot of dead holy men and women. I’m sorry, but I canna allow it.”
“You don’t have a choice, Nairnie. It’s the only way,” said Mardon.
“I’m sure there is another way to get the treasure and no’ have the wrath of God upon yer heads.” Nairnie’s eyes flashed over to Emmaline. “Aye, I’m sure there is.”
“And what might that be?” Mardon didn’t look happy.
“Ye send someone in to claim it for ye. Someone who willna rouse suspicion, or start a battle over it. That way, no one has to die.”
“Like who? You, Grandmother?” asked Aaron with a chuckle.
“Of course no’,” she snapped. “I’d cause just as much suspicion searchin’ around the relics and tomb of a saint as ye would. Plus, I’m too short to reach anythin’ up high so I’d be of no help at all. I ken I’m a lot worthier of enterin’ a cathedral than ye two, but still no’ worthy enough of bein’ able to pull this off under watchin’ eyes.”
“Then who do you suggest we send in there?” asked Mardon. His eyes flashed over to Emmaline. “Maybe we should just have the nun do it.” He chuckled under his breath.
“Great idea, Mardon!” Nairnie got up and walked around to the other side of the table, putting her arm around Emmaline’s shoulders. “Sister Emmaline can do it for us.”
“Me? What? Nay,” protested Emmaline, trying to dismiss the absurd idea from her mind. She’d just managed to escape Canterbury Cathedral and the nunnery. The last place she wanted to go was back there. She didn’t want to be a nun! Nay, she wouldn’t be caught dead inside Canterbury Cathedral. “I’m sorry, I can’t do that. I won’t steal. I’m a nun.”
“Really?” asked Nairnie, seeming as if she was about to spill Emmaline’s secret. If so, Mardon was sure to recognize her and then she’d never be able to get aboard the ship. “After all, ye said ye were from there . . . Sister,” said Nairnie, putting emphasis on the word Sister. “I’m sure ye’ll be happy to get back where ye belong. No’ to mention, ye’d be doin’ the church a favor and savin’ so many lives. Ye’d be doin’ the work of God in a way. How can ye say no to that?”
“Nairnie, what are you doing?” said Emmaline, half-turning, speaking lowly into the old woman’s ear so the men wouldn’t hear her.
“If ye want me to keep yer secret, then ye’ll agree to this,” Nairnie whispered back behind her hand. “And I have a feelin’ ye have more of a secret than just bein’ a noblewoman tryin’ to escape the convent.”
“What’s going on?” asked Mardon. “What are you two whispering about?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all,” Emmaline told Mardon.
“Should we tell my grandsons and let them decide?” whispered Nairnie.
“This is blackmail,” spat Emmaline from the side of her mouth. “I won’t do it.”
“Then why dinna we just tell my grandsons exactly who ye are? I’ll do it for ye.” She removed her arm from around Emmaline and started to walk away. Emmaline wasn’t sure how much Nairnie knew about her, but she couldn’t take the chance that anything she said would remind the men of the painting or the raid on her husband’s ship. She was in a bind and had no choice but to agree.
“Nay, wait.” Emmaline grabbed Nairnie’s arm to stop her. Her eyes flashed back to Mardon again. “I’ll do it,” she agreed.
“You will?” Mardon looked at her oddly. “Why? Why would a nun agree to help steal from a church, let alone join up with pirates? Something isn’t right here.”
“Like Nairnie said, I’d be saving the lives of many,” said Emmaline.
“Aye. And I’m sure Sister Emmaline also wants ye boys to get what is comin’ to ye,” added Nairnie.
“Aye, of course,” said Emmaline, thinking how she wanted them to pay for raiding her husband’s ship and for stealing the naked painting of her in the first place. “Trust me, that is exactly what I want – for the pirates to get exactly what they deserve.”
Chapter 4
“I’m not sure I like this idea,” Aaron told Mardon later as the crew headed back to the ship with the supplies they’d procured. Nairnie walked with Sister Emmaline ahead of them down the dock, talking nonstop about some nonsense or another. “Bringing another woman on board is only courting trouble. Besides, why would a nun help pirates steal something hidden in a church? Is it really just to save lives?”
“I know. It does seem rather odd. I definitely don’t like the idea,” grunted Mardon, watching the sway of the nun’s hips as she started up the boarding plank, leading to his ship. For a holy woman, she certainly didn’t come across as being very chaste. He could spot an experienced woman in any crowd. This one didn’t act like any nun he’d ever encountered. He was having lustful thoughts about her again, and this bothered him. Mayhap he had just been too long without the pleasures of a woman and that was what brought on this silly infatuation with a woman of the cloth – if that’s what she really was. Part of him wanted to believe it, but he couldn’t shake this nagging feeling that he’d seen her . . . or possibly been with her before, even if he couldn’t place her face.
“So you think she’ll bring us bad luck, too?”
“I’m sure of it,” snorted Mardon.
“Then why did you let Nairnie talk you into bringing her aboard the ship? I’m the best thief we have and you know it. I can sneak into Canterbury Cathedral and back out again with the treasure without anyone seeing me. What do we need her for?”
“You’re right, and I do know it,” agreed Mardon.
“Then you’re afraid of Grandmother and that is why you agreed to this plan.”
“Nay, I’m not afraid of any woman, especially not Nairnie.”
“Really?” Aaron looked over and smiled.
“Well, she is a little intimidating at times, I must say. But that is not why I agreed to bringing the nun on board.”
“Then why?” asked Aaron. “You know the crew is going to hate having a nun around them.”
“I did it because I can’t shake the feeling that I know her somehow.”
“You? You think you know a nun?” Aaron burst out laughing. “And when is the last time you went to church, Brother?”
“Nay, it’s not like that.” His eyes fastened to Sister Emmaline as she boarded the ship. The wind lifted her wimple and he saw a lock of long, platinum hair peeking out before she quickly pushed it back underneath her headpiece and secured her veil. Where had he seen someone with such blond hair before? So blond that it almost looked white? He wracked his brain, but just couldn’t remember.
“Then what is it like? Do tell.”
“She . . . intrigues me,” said Mardon, watching as the wind blew her skirt and she bent over slightly to hold it down. “She excites me in an odd sort of way.”
“What? You’re saying you want to bed the nun?” Aaron laughed even more. “Mardon, I think you have be
en too long without a woman. Go back to the tavern and seek the pleasures of a whore before we set sail.”
“Nay. There’s no time. We’ve got to find the treasure before Nereus gets to it.”
“Then take a quick dunk in the sea to cool off,” said Aaron. “If not, you’re going to do something with that nun that you’ll regret for the rest of your life.”
“I will not! Don’t be ridiculous.” Mardon waved away the thought. “I would never touch a holy woman and you know it.”
“What about the rest of the crew? After all, she is comely, even though she’s a nun.”
“If any of them even look at Sister Emmaline with lust in their eyes, I swear I’ll have their heads.”
“Mmm hmm.” Aaron started up the boarding plank, but Mardon grabbed his arm and held him back.
“Wait. What the hell did that mean?”
“Nothing. Now let go of my arm. I need to instruct the crew to prepare to set sail.”
“Spill it, little brother. What is going through that thick head of yours?”
Aaron shook off Mardon’s arm. “I told you, I don’t like when you call me that, now stop it.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t do it again. And to answer you, I guess I just know you all too well. I’ve seen that look in your eyes before whenever you decide you want to bed a woman. Only this time, you have it bad for a nun and it shocks me that you’d even consider the idea. After all, nuns are celibate. So if you want to roger Sister Emmaline at the rail, it is going to be against her will.”
“I don’t rape women. I have never done that, and I never will.”
“Tell me that again when you’re so hot and randy that you sneak over to Sister Emmaline’s hammock during the night.”
“Hammock? Nay, she’s not staying in the cabin with us.”
“Good. I was hoping you were going to say that. After all, this is the first time I’ll actually have a hammock to sleep in since Tristan is gone. I agree. Let her sleep with Nairnie on the deck with the men.”
“Damn, I forgot about that.” Mardon ran a weary hand through his hair.
“About what? Mardon, you’re not giving away my comfortable new hammock to a nun. Please tell me you wouldn’t do that to me. I’m your brother!”
Mardon (Pirate Lords Series Book 2) Page 5
