In truth, Phillip knew they served as a reminder of those lost, but didn’t voice it. Instead, he introduced her to the remainder of their crew. They lingered among his men for a while before Thomas eventually urged her to follow him inside and closed the door for privacy.
“Is everything all right?” she murmured.
“Yes.” He offered her a seat in front of a fireless hearth and poured her a cup of rum. “I was hoping we might talk while we waited for trouble.”
She arched her brows. “Talk about what?”
“What happened to us after I left to fight.” He sat beside her with his own rum, needing to at last get some things off his chest. To see if perhaps they might bridge the gap between them. “Why I did not come back...why I eventually turned to piracy.”
“I would like that.” Emotion flickered in her eyes. “Very much so.”
Good. That was a start.
“Though I suspect I already know the answer, tell me something,” he said softly. “Were you in love with your husband? Or was he a pre-arranged marriage made by your uncle?”
“In love with John?” Rose’s eyes widened in surprise. “Dear Lord, no. He came from money, so my uncle arranged the marriage.” Her gaze softened. “Thankfully, he was a kindly sort, so I do not imagine it would have been an awful life with him. Just not...”
“Not what?” he prompted, relieved his suspicions had been right.
When she hesitated, clearly unsure how much she wanted to reveal, he urged her to share. “Please, Rose. Tell me.”
“He was not you, Thomas,” she murmured. Her gaze remained on her drink rather than him. “But then, you did not want me anymore, and John, as I said, was kindly so...”
This time when she trailed off, he did not prompt her to continue but revealed his own truths.
“I never stopped wanting you, Rose.” He shook his head. “Nor did I ever stop loving you. Not for a moment.”
Her misty eyes turned to him. “Then, why?” She swallowed. “Why did you abandon me?”
Chapter Eight
ROSE WAITED WITH BATED breath for Thomas’s response, doing her best not to cry. He never stopped loving her? All this time? She dared not believe it. Yet even as her heart leapt, frustration simmered beneath the surface. She needed to understand why he never came home. Why he turned from her in the end.
“If I am to be honest, it was a culmination of things,” he finally said. “The man I hired to keep an eye on you, who told me about your engagement, only saw happiness between you and John. He heard nothing of an arranged marriage, only that you were a good match. That you were pleased with John and likely in love.” He sighed. “Mind you when I heard the news I was already in a bad place. The war was nearly over, and the things I saw in all that God awful battling, the things I experienced...had changed me.”
Her heart broke at the look on his face. The grief as he took a heavy swig of rum.
“There was nothing chivalrous about any of it,” he went on gruffly. “The conditions were horrid, the fighting brutal. If we were not dealing with the bloody French, the natives were coming at us.” He shook his head. “My countrymen were dying all around me, either from disease or wounds...losing limbs...so much blood and death day after day.”
He took another long swig, the topic obviously difficult to speak about.
“I am so sorry,” she said softly, truly meaning it. Yet she remained curious. “How did you end up a privateer, though? I was under the impression such was hired outside of the navy.”
“Luke and I were rare cases,” he conceded. “A bargain for them.” He took another swig. “As I’m sure you know, it cost England less to hire privateers than to adequately fund their navy.” He frowned. “Which, as to be expected, only led to the conditions we faced aboard ships in the military.”
He waved it away before she could respond.
“Luke and I had proven ourselves excellent sailors and soldiers, therefore a cheaper option for our country to hire out as privateers.” He shrugged. “They provided us ships, and gave us our orders.”
“So you were thrust into the life with no choice,” she murmured.
“Not unless I wanted to face the wrath of Queen and country,” he said. “Truth told, Rose, at that juncture, I was well past saving anyway and privateering gave me an outlet for my rage...for the bloody heartache of all I had witnessed.” He fingered the sleeve of her shirt, his gaze somewhere in the past. “For those I had lost.”
She glanced from the shirt to him, suddenly understanding. “Did this belong to someone killed then?”
“No, it belonged to Philip,” he murmured. “The son of a good friend who died in front of me.” His haunted gaze met her eyes. “Having been orphaned, I kept Phillip on with me, raising him into the life rather than the fate he would have faced otherwise.” He sighed. “In retrospect, it is hard to know if I did him any favors.”
“He seems a fine young man to me.” She tried to lighten Thomas’s heavy heart with teasing words. “If not a bit roguish.”
“Aye,” he murmured, his mind still in the past.
A past she was so glad he was sharing.
One that changed her perspective altogether.
“Suffice it to say,” he continued. “Though I knew your John had died and that I should go back, I could only see your betrayal through the eyes of the man I had become.” His gaze met hers. “I was bitter and resentful, angry at everything and everyone.” He shook his head. “I was not the man you once knew, Rose, but a hateful soul far better suited to piracy.”
“And what of you now?” she said softly, sensing something in him. An exhaustion she had missed before.
“Now I am tired,” he murmured. His gaze never left her, the sadness in his eyes tearing at her heartstrings. “And lonely.”
“Me too,” she whispered. “I misunderstood so much.”
“How could you understand when I never bothered to come back and tell you?” He ran the back of his knuckles along her jaw tenderly. “But then I do not think you would have loved the man who came back even if only to explain himself. Nor do I imagine that man explaining himself well.” He shook his head. “So, you see, the time for us had passed.”
“I suppose it had.” She understood him so much better now. “Yet, you still love me.”
“Yet I still love you,” he said softly. “Only ever you.”
As he gazed into her eyes, she swore she saw a flicker of the man he once was. Beneath the pirate, privateer, and soldier to the heart of him.
“You are still in there, Thomas,” she whispered and touched his cheek. “I see you beneath the layers, all of which made you the man you are now.” She cocked her head. “I suppose you just need to decide who that is. What you truly want now.”
She realized as she said the words, they were as much for her as him. They had been brought back together under dire circumstances and might see something come of it. “What now then, Thomas? What happens once we are no longer in danger, and life goes on?”
“That, darling,” he said softly, his eyes with hers, “is entirely up to you.”
Her heart leapt into her throat at the look in his eyes. The unmistakable hope.
“What do you mean—”
“Cap’n!” Charles skipped knocking and flung open the door. “Trouble’s afoot!”
Chapter Nine
BUGGER FOR THE POOR timing but good that they were in position and ready to fight.
“There they are, Cap’n.” Philip pointed south. “One ship just as ye expected.”
“Is that it then?” Rose joined them. “Is that who we have been waiting for?”
He nodded. “You should stay inside until this is over, Rose.”
Her worried eyes met his. “I wish I could be of more help.”
“Staying out of sight is help.” He squeezed her hand. “I fight better when I am not worrying about another. Especially if that someone is you.”
He wondered if she understood what he had b
een alluding to inside. Did she understand what he wanted? More importantly, did she want the same?
“They got more men than we had hoped, Cap’n,” Charles muttered as the ship docked. “Probably best to go with yer second option.”
Truth told, it had always been the best option.
“What second option?” Rose asked.
“Inside, Rose.” He walked her in and gripped her shoulders gently. “It is important you stay here until the fighting is over.”
“What happens if you do not win?” Fear flashed in her eyes. “What part am I to play then?”
“I am leaving a few men with you, including Phillip,” he replied. “They will be right outside the door. If they see the battle not going in our favor, they will get you out of here. You have my word, Rose. They will keep you safe.”
“Just win.” Her eyes searched his, and her voice caught. “Please. For me.”
“Only for you,” he said softly and brushed his lips across hers once, twice, then pulled away before he lost himself. “I have to go.”
“I know.”
He lingered another moment before he strode from the room and closed the door.
“They’re on land, Cap’n,” Charles reported.
Thomas nodded and looked at his men. “I will ask but one more time. Are ye with me? Are ye truly ready to do this?”
“Aye, Cap’n,” each and every man said.
He was grateful for those here. For those who had put their trust in him when so much was uncertain.
Weapons in hand, they made their way through the woodland and shrub thickets, meeting the first man before their opponents reached the sandy bluffs. When one roared at him, blade drawn, Thomas ducked, swirled away, then lunged and drove his blade through the bloke’s midsection. When another rushed him, they circled and crossed swords before Thomas ran his blade across his neck.
Because they could conceivably be outnumbered, the key was to down just the right amount of Big Devil’s rats to make him take notice then do precisely what Thomas did.
“I invoke Blackbeard’s Parlay,” he roared, felling another man before he tossed his blade aside and raised his hands in temporary surrender. “His authority reigns here too, Big Devil!”
“To hell with that,” Big Devil rumbled, storming up the dock, his face beet red, his belly swaying. “I honor no such request.”
“Bloody good then!” Charles crossed blades with a chap, grinned with anticipation of fighting more, and spoke loud enough for Big Devil to hear. “But then I won’t be the one suffering for it!”
“No,” Thomas agreed. He ducked beneath a man’s sword and replied just as loudly to Charles. “That’d be the one who does not honor Blackbeard’s rules, aye?”
“Have ye heard what he did to the one lad for breakin’ his rules?” Charles called out. He tripped his opponent then ran his sword through his gut.
“I have,” Thomas called back. He knocked his opponent’s sword out of his hand and punched him. “Gutted him just enough then made him light fire to his own innards.” He scrunched his nose. “I hear it was a bloody bad smell.”
“What be this parlay ye’re offerin’?” one of Big Devil’s rats yelled, earning him a scathing look from his captain and a dagger in his forehead. It seemed, however, that was merely for the gall of speaking when it was not his place. Because their rival stopped, crossed his meaty arms over his chest, and said nearly the same thing. “What be this offer, then?”
Big Devil made a gesture, and his rats ceased fighting.
“Simple,” Thomas called back. “I will surrender all my holdings and worldly goods from here on south except for my ship. Plus,” he added, sweetening the pot considerably, “a certain brooch.” He held up a finger, gesturing that his nemesis wait and hear him out. “In exchange, that is, for the girl and ye calling off yer rats from this day forward.” He shook his head. “No matter where my men and I are, ye will not harm a hair on our heads nor anyone we call kin.”
Silence stretched. What would he do? Would he buy this?
Big Devil’s brows finally swept up before he tossed back his head and laughed. “Do ye think me a fool, Thomas?” He snorted, not concerned about the second part of his request. “No wench is worth that.” His eyes narrowed. “So, what are ye playin’ at?”
“Just what I said,” he assured. “All my holdings plus the brooch.”
Big Devil chuckled again, but his laughter died off quicker this time when he realized Thomas was serious.
“Where is the brooch?” he grunted, a slight but welcome slur to his voice. After all, his rival having a fuzzy mind during this negotiation could only work in Thomas's favor. So the drunker, the better.
“I have the brooch on me.”
Big Devil peered at him in distrust for a moment before he waved several rats forward to escort Thomas to him. Though Charles went to stop them, Thomas stayed him with a sharp shake of his head and went to their foe.
“Here it is.” He handed over a brooch similar to the one Big Devil sought then pulled out a small scroll. “Ye will need this too, of course.”
Big Devil inspected the brooch, which was a touch more glamorous than the real one, then frowned in confusion at the scroll. So Thomas explained. “It is a royal seal of authenticity for the brooch.” He gave Big Devil a look that said he should already know this. “You understand that without this, the brooch is worthless.”
Big Devil looked from him to the scroll before he snatched it from Thomas. “Aye, I know that.”
He unrolled it and looked it over as though he understood what he was looking at. As though he could actually read. Then he handed it off to the beady-eyed man from the tavern who read it over and nodded with approval.
“What about your holdings and worldly goods?” Big Devil went on. “Where are they, and what proof do I have that ye gave them to me?” His eyes narrowed. “And what of yer brother? What will he say about all this?”
“I do not care what he has to say.” He kept his eyes purposefully deadpan as if perhaps he and Luke had a falling out. “All I care about is keeping the woman and my men safe.”
Big Devil teetered a bit, definitely drunk, which was a blessing. Everyone knew he got especially greedy after too much rum.
Thomas handed over another scroll, larger than the first. “This gives you rights not only to the few ships I have left in New Providence, but my various holdings and treasure stashed about.”
Big Devil’s brow inched up. “Treasure ye say?”
“Several years’ worth actually,” he revealed.
“Ye don’t say,” Big Devil murmured, again scanning over a document he could not read before handing it to the man who could. Again, his rat nodded with approval after reading it over. He winked at Big Devil and grinned, signaling that they had struck gold.
“Aye.” Thomas nodded. “I am leavin’ ye a very wealthy man, indeed.” He shrugged. “If that is, ye agree to the terms.”
Big Devil took several long gulps of rum, eyeing Thomas all the while before he lowered the bottle, and his gaze swept over his and Thomas’s men. “I could just as easily take all of it from ye.” He shrugged. “My men outnumber yours.” A deviant leer curled his mouth. He scanned the area for signs of Rose. “And that is a luscious wee poppet ye stole from me.”
“Do yer men outnumber mine, though?” Thomas cocked a brow then raised his arm to signal it was time. Dozens of men formed on the ridge above. “And I’ve plenty more where they came from.” He winked. “Don’t believe me? Next time ye see Blackbeard, ask him how many of his men’s loyalty I won over in a card game when last I was on this island.”
It was a truly risky thing to cross Blackbeard. So would Big Devil call Thomas's bluff? Or was the risk too great? Thomas could only hope for the latter. Because as it stood, those were hired men all.
Big Devil took another long swig, considered the men above for a stretch then shrugged. No doubt, thanks to the booze, he gave in easy and raised his bottle in the a
ir. “Salute then, Thomas. I accept your parlay. We have a deal!” He wiped rum from his mouth with the back of his hand, belched, and shrugged again. “Ye killed a few of my men and cost me a ship,” he slurred, a callous lout until the end, “but bloody hell, we’ve made a good deal, so come drink with me!”
“Sorry, Cap’n.” He shook his head. “Thanks for the invitation, but me and mine will be setting sail soon to get the wee lass home, aye?”
Big Devil barrel laughed and shook his head the whole way back down the dock, roaring, “Who cares where the bloody hell the wench ends up!”
Thomas clenched his fists, wishing he could have sliced a blade across Big Devil’s throat but knew this was the best way it could have gone. This ensured Rose’s safety down the line rather than just right now. Because their enemy had a long arm and rumor of this would reach pirate ears. Best that it stop here. Let Big Devil have the final say, so to speak.
So Thomas headed for the woodland again only for the last thing he expected to happen. Something that could remind Big Devil what he was giving up and change his mind.
Chapter Ten
THOUGH SHE HAD THOUGHT being captured by pirates was the most terrifying thing that had ever happened to her, watching Thomas fight then walk right up to Big Devil was even worse. So the moment he strolled away from the monster and headed her way, Rose raced over and threw her arms around him.
“What are you doing here,” he growled, scooping her up. He strode into the woodland. “Where the bloody hell are the men I had watching you?”
“It is not their fault.” She offered a devious little grin. “As it turns out, I really am very good at what I do.”
When he frowned in question, she shrugged. “I had to make sure you were all right, so I became a spy and snuck out the window.”
“And are you satisfied?” he grumbled, still upset. “Anything could have happened to you, woman.”
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