The young captain approached the small group that had just stepped onto the deck. His walk was confident without a hint of a swagger, and his expression was one of concern as he stopped in front of the people he had helped rescue. His gaze swept them all, pausing on Charles—who was leaning heavily on Tom’s arm—as though measuring the extent of his injuries.
The penetrating look then moved on to Merriana and he allowed the hint of a smile to touch his lips. “I’m pleased to see you well, ma’am,” he said in a pleasant, well-modulated voice. But before Merriana could reply, his gaze had moved on, stopping then on Justin. “Well done, my friend,” the captain said, his broad grin reflected in the sparkle of his eyes.
Justin grinned back, accepting the proffered hand and shaking it firmly. “Thank you. I’ll admit that I had doubts about your strategy, but it worked just as you predicted. We owe you a debt of gratitude that we can never repay.”
“It was the least I could do,” the captain answered grimly as his eyes at last came to rest on the prisoner standing in haughty silence beside Justin. “Hello, Luc,” he said, his voice infused with a coldness that astonished Merriana for the contrast it represented with the warmth of his previous greetings.
A thin smile touched the lips of the man who had intended to murder Merriana and Charles, but his eyes burned with a hatred more intense than any Merriana had ever seen. He nodded his head in recognition of the greeting. “Hello, Damien. You couldn’t keep your oar out of my business, could you?”
“And condone murder?” the captain asked, meeting the hatred in the other man’s eyes with cold disgust in his own. “You ask more than I can give, Luc. All of you do.”
“We’d best be gettin’ back to the Queen, cap’n.” A massive, bald man with an evil-looking scar that ran from his right ear through his eyebrow and onto his high forehead had approached the group. “Them vermin are gettin’ restless, standing like they are in the sun.” He nodded with contempt toward the group of captive sailors.
“You’re right, Moses,” the captain answered. “Prepare to return to the Queen.”
“Moses?” Merriana queried softly as she stared at the retreating back of one of the most dangerous-looking men she had ever had the dubious pleasure of seeing.
The incongruity of the man’s name and appearance seemed not to occur to the young captain. “My first mate,” he answered briefly before beginning to escort the small group toward the starboard side of the ship where they would descend to boats for the trip to the Diamond Queen.
Merriana looked askance at the rope ladder she was expected to descend to the small skiff that bobbed in the ocean below, but Justin was immediately at her side, assuring her that he would assist her every step of the way. He was true to his word, but even so, she was vastly relieved when they had successfully negotiated the journey between the two ships and she stood on the well-scrubbed decks of the Diamond Queen.
“Take him below and lock him up,” the captain instructed one of his crewman as he nodded toward Merriana’s now-silent relative.
The captain next turned to Charles. “My cabin is at your disposal, as well as the ship’s doctor. I suggest you allow him to examine you and, if possible, make you more comfortable.”
Charles, whose condition had not been improved by the arduous task of moving from one ship to the other, agreed with a weak nod and did not complain as Tom half carried him to the captain’s cabin.
“Moses,” the young man then called to his first mate, “take the wheel and get us headed back to London.”
The first mate barked a series of orders and the disreputable-looking sailors were soon scampering to obey them. Merriana watched with fascination the series of maneuvers that were required to turn the massive sailing ship and catch the wind that would take them back toward their destination.
“Have you never been on a sailing ship before?” The captain had moved quietly to stand at Merriana’s side and was observing her interest in the ship’s maneuvers.
“Not anything like this,” she said. “I’ve crossed the channel on small fishing boats, but one can hardly compare them to the Diamond Queen. She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”
Merriana obviously could have said nothing that would have pleased the sea captain more. “Aye,” he agreed, “she is that. The Queen is my true love, just as you are the true love of the Earl of Cardleigh.”
Had Merriana not suspected what she did about this man, she would have found his statement odd and the question in his eyes insulting. As it was, she merely glanced around to be sure Justin was not within hearing distance. Having noted that he was standing a few feet away holding a quiet conference with his friend Michael Hudson, she turned back to the man beside her.
“My relationship with the earl is of some interest to you?” she asked.
“He appears to love you very much,” the young man answered. “He was near frantic when he understood the degree of your danger. Do you return his regard?”
Merriana lifted her chin. “Surely before I answer such a personal question, sir, I have the right to know why it is asked.”
“Perhaps I would not care to see such a fine man hurt,” the sea captain replied calmly, although his gaze had slipped away from Merriana and he was staring out over the waters that surrounded them.
“You have done a great deal to help people with whom you were not previously acquainted, Captain,” Merriana commented.
The young man shrugged. “I don’t like to see injustice done against anyone. And I had some prior knowledge of your enemy’s ways. They are not methods I can condone.”
“And that was your only reason for helping us?” Merriana asked.
“What else should there be?” the captain replied with a question of his own as he turned toward her with raised eyebrows.
“Only that you have helped me twice now,” Merriana said, watching his reaction closely. “I recognize your voice, you see. You were in Portsmouth when my uncle Ernest tried to abduct me from that private parlor in the inn. I never saw you, but I heard you order him to let me be. I believe I must thank you for saving my life on two occasions—which is surely more than a coincidence.”
“You have a sharp mind, Merriana,” the young man commented. He seemed somewhat less than pleased by the observation.
“I suspect we both do,” Merriana told him calmly. “After all, we share, to some extent, the same blood, do we not, cousin?”
The young man sighed and looked away from her, but Merriana was persistent. “You are my uncle Ernest’s son,” she continued, “and the man named Lucifer is your brother-in-law.”
The captain did not deny Merriana’s conjectures, nor did he quickly admit to them. “I had not intended for you to know,” he replied at last.
His next question was infused with a bitterness that Merriana found sadly unnerving in one so young: “Do you think I’m pleased that I must consistently attempt to undo my family’s deeds? I love my father and sister in spite of their failings, which, I admit, are formidable. Yet, I can’t condone their ways or understand their hatred. I moved to America some years ago in an attempt to make a life for myself, away from their constant and bitter recriminations about what they perceived as the unfair way my uncle Sylvester had treated my father. But I realized a few months ago from the tone of my sister’s letters that they had moved beyond talk and were beginning to plan actions. That’s when I returned to England and learned the true extent of my father’s madness.”
He sighed once, deeply, then continued. “For he is mad, you know. He believes he was unfairly treated, and he has managed to convince my sister of the validity of his accusations against Sylvester. I tried to make her see the truth, which was simply that our father had been in the wrong from the beginning. Perhaps I would have succeeded had she not been married to Luc. The truth has no meaning to him, except as it might be of some benefit to him. He convinced my sister that our father had indeed been mistreated at the hands of his older brother and then talked her int
o that ridiculous charade of trying to pass herself off as you. I had to do what I could to stop it.
“Now, I believe I have given you a fair description of my role in the events that have affected your life over the past few years. Will you respond to my earlier question? Do you love the Earl of Cardleigh?”
Merriana sighed. “I’ll answer your question to the best of my ability, because I believe I understand now why you asked, although I fear the answer won’t provide you with the reassurance you’re seeking. You hope I love Justin because you would like to see me safely married and thus perhaps protected from the enmity of your family. Is that correct?”
At her cousin’s nod of agreement, she continued. “The answer is yes, I do love Justin very much, but you may have been mistaken in your assumption that he loves me. You see—”
“Excuse me.” Justin had approached the pair without their having noticed him, and both started at the sound of his voice. “I apologize, Captain, for the interruption, but it is rather imperative that I speak with Merriana as soon as possible. I fear I’ve given her the wrong impression about something, and I want to correct that misconception immediately.”
“Then I will excuse myself,” the young captain replied with a wide grin and a deep bow as he backed away. “I’m sure I’m needed elsewhere on the ship. I’ll speak with you later, Cousin Merriana.”
But Merriana didn’t reply. Her full attention was occupied by the look of combined tenderness and uncertainty that was reflected in Justin’s eyes.
“Merriana,” he began on a deep breath. “I don’t know how to ask your forgiveness. Words are so often inadequate when emotions run deep, but I want you to know that whatever I may have said to you in the past, I’ve always known, somewhere in the deepest part of my soul, that you were all that you ever claimed to be, and much more besides. You are brave and kind and loyal, and if I’ve destroyed your regard for me, it’s no more than I deserve.”
“You always trusted me?” Merriana murmured, her eyes wide with disbelief and hope.
“Yes, despite every dictate of my training, I trusted you—even when we first met in the kitchen of the Drake and Cock, but I foolishly followed the bidding of my mind rather than of my heart.”
“Then you no longer think I took part in Antonia’s kidnapping?”
“No. I tried to believe you guilty then because I feared to trust in the urgings of my own instincts. I realize now that it was myself I mistrusted—never you. I couldn’t really have doubted you, loving you as I did. As I still do. Merriana, can you forgive me? And can you possible love me? Or am I asking too much of you?”
Merriana sighed, a very deep sigh of contentment and delight. “Justin,” she said.
“Yes?”
“Will you hold me? I need you so much!”
Justin’s deep sigh of relief ruffled Merriana’s wind-blown curls as he smiled and wrapped his arms around her and kissed her so deeply and so tenderly that fully half of the pirate-like sailors on the Diamond Queen, who were watching with unabashed curiosity, found themselves longing for something they couldn’t name and feared they would never find.
Chapter 33
Merriana and Justin stood at the railing of the Diamond Queen, staring out at the ocean surrounding them. Her right arm encircled his waist, while his left arm was wrapped around her shoulders, holding her close to his side. They had not spoken since Justin finished his conversation with her cousin and then asked her to join him on deck for a few minutes. There seemed to be little need for further words as they held each other.
The salt-laden wind tugged at Merriana’s tousled curls while the sunlight, reflected off thousands of wave caps, brightened their golden color to a deep, pure brilliance. Justin, bending slightly, kissed the top of her head with great tenderness as passion swept him. He longed to pull her into his arms properly and tell her how very much he loved her. But there were sailors all around them and no chance of being alone for quite some time into the future, he feared.
“Merriana.” His voice was husky with passion, and Merriana gazed up into his face with a questioning look.
“What, my love?”
“Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
Merriana smiled with joy. “You know I will,” she replied. “Becoming your wife has become my dearest dream.” Her shining gaze dropped from his eyes to his lips, and Justin groaned as he realized what was going on in her imagination.
“There’s no damn privacy on a ship,” he complained, and Merriana’s laughter drifted out over the sea as she tightened her arm around his waist.
“How soon can we be married, do you suppose?” she asked.
“I wish I could marry you this very minute, and I would—letting your newly found cousin perform the ceremony in his role as ship’s captain—were it not for your uncle Sylvester. We at least owe him the courtesy of blessing our union and being present at the wedding.”
“You’re right, of course,” Merriana said, then sighed. “I’ll be so happy for his sake when this entire situation is resolved. He must have been miserable these last few weeks, not knowing for certain the true identity of his niece.”
“Perhaps,” Justin agreed. “But I think he knew all along that you were the real Merriana de Mérchan. He loved you too quickly and too deeply to have had any real doubts about your true identity. However, I’m sure that he has been quite concerned about finding the necessary proof.”
“Then he’ll be happy to learn that we now have absolute proof. But at the same time, he’ll have to be informed of the continued treachery of his brother and now of his brother’s daughter. Thank goodness we can tell him that he has at least one other nephew—and that the heir to his title—who is honest and brave.”
“My God,” Justin exclaimed. “I’d forgotten that Damien is next in line after his father to the dukedom. But it isn’t surprising that I should have forgotten, I suppose. Have you ever seen any less likely candidate to be a duke? It appears he would fill the role of a pirate with much more ease than he would that of a duke.”
“I think he could be both if he wished,” Merriana said. “Have you noticed his bearing? He’s very much at ease as the leader of those atrocious-looking giants who call themselves sailors, and they in turn seem to accept his leadership without question. I certainly believe Damien possesses the characteristics needed to be an effective duke, assuming, of course, that he wished to fill that position.”
“And do you think he would ever have such a wish?”
“I don’t know,” Merriana replied with a frown. “Right now he seems much too wild and independent to fit into such a mold. Still, one never knows. If he had strong motivation, I feel sure he could make a marvelous duke. On the other hand, I can’t imagine where such motivation would come from. But that’s a way into the future, in any case. Uncle Sylvester still lives, and after him the title passes to his brother, no matter how little he deserves it.”
“As you say,” Justin agreed as he pulled her close, “all of that is for the future. In the meantime, we’ll try to befriend your cousin, and perhaps we can some day repay him for all he has done for us.”
“I hope so,” Merriana agreed with a sigh. Then she smiled broadly, for Tom was approaching them, his gait made awkward by the rolling motions of the sailing ship.
“Hello there,” Tom called as he approached the couple. “Ain’t that a sight?” he exclaimed, waving one hand to encompass the mighty waters that surrounded them. “Luke’s going to be green with envy when he hears about all my adventures. I can’t wait to tell him. Who would have thought of me being on a ship like this, helping out in a sea battle, meeting men like the captain and his crew. Why, Luke’s probably back at the Drake and Cock right now, worrying hisself silly about the rest of us.”
The thought of his brother’s concerns seemed to give Tom such pleasure that Merriana had to turn her face away to hide her grin. She felt Justin’s silent laughter and realized that he, too, was enjoying Tom’s delight
in his new experiences.
“Well, Tom,” Justin replied solemnly, “I agree that Luke has missed a great deal. Do you suppose he’s had any adventures while tracking Merriana’s uncle Ernest?”
“Not like this,” Tom assured him immediately. “Why, if I didn’t know better, I’d think this was a real pirate ship. Look at that now! Danged if the captain hadn’t forgot to lower that skull and crossbones. I’d better go mention it to him. Wouldn’t do to get to port with that thing flyin’ above the ship.”
And with that pronouncement, Tom quickly and self-importantly hurried in search of the captain, giving Merriana and Justin a chance to release their merriment in soft laughter.
“I pity Luke,” Justin said. “The poor man will have to hear about Tom’s adventure aboard a real sailing ship for the rest of his life. Look, Tom must have found the captain. They’re bringing down the skull and crossbones.”
“Speaking of which,” Merriana interjected, “I’m not at all sure I understand why the captain felt it was necessary to pretend to be pirates. Why not just attack the ship and rescue us without such an elaborate ruse.”
“Because, my dear, had our kidnappers been attacked by a ship flying any legitimate flag, they would at once have assumed it was a rescue attempt, and guards would have been sent to our cabin to help prevent our release. However, being attacked by a pirate ship threw them off guard. They had no reason to suppose that pirates would be interested in anything other than whatever valuable cargo they could take from the ship. Thus, we were relatively safe from being too well guarded.”
“How clever,” Merriana said. “Was that Damien’s idea?”
“Yes, and it was quite a good one. Any other plans would have resulted in much greater danger for you and Charles.”
“Then I have even more reason to think well of my new-found cousin,” Merriana murmured. Then, “Oh bother, I hear footsteps again. I believe we’re about to have another visitor.”
The Mysterious Merriana Page 28
