Mutiny of the Heart

by McDonough, Vickie;

  A shout rang up, and the fighting slowed. Once again someone yelled to cease fighting, and slowly the pirates backed away from Lucas’s men. His gaze finally located his brother, and his heart dropped to his feet.

  “No! Do not harm the boy,” he cried, crossing the deck in wide strides. Mr. White lay unmoving on the deck, his forehead bloody. The sight of Marcus with his knife at Jamie’s throat chilled Lucas to the bone.

  “Move! Get out of my way!” With a lantern in one hand, Heather squeezed between two sailors and gawked at the scene. Her eyes widened when they landed on Jamie. “Nay!”

  Lucas motioned to Mr. Burton to keep Heather out of the way. The first mate took the lantern from her and handed it to another sailor then grabbed Heather around the waist with one thick arm. She pounded his forearm and kicked her feet in her effort to get free.

  “Aunt Heather,” Jamie wailed.

  “Well, if this ain’t a perfect picnic.” Marcus sneered at Lucas. “You thought you could sneak in and take the boy back without me noticing?”

  “Out of my way.” Lucas pushed through the crowd as another lantern flamed to life. “Your quarrel is with me, brother. Don’t hide behind the boy.”

  Marcus lifted his chin and glared back. “You’d like me to turn loose of him, wouldn’t you?”

  “Of course. I’ll not lie. Set him free and fight me.”

  Marcus lifted the knife closer to Jamie’s throat, and the boy whimpered. “Take another step closer, and I’ll kill your son, brother.”

  nineteen

  “Nay!” Heather screamed and fought the man who held her tight in his beefy grasp. Her heart pounded so hard she thought it would burst from her chest. She looked at Lucas, but his gaze was directed at his brother.

  Two more lanterns were lit, illuminating the ragtag group in a spooky glow. It seemed as if all on deck held their breath. Heather didn’t want to believe that Lucas’s brother could harm Jamie. Please, Lord. Spare him.

  “There’s something you should know, Marcus.” Lucas cast a glance at Heather, and her heart jolted at the intensity of his gaze. He turned back to his brother. “Jamie is your son, not mine.”

  Heather blinked, trying to comprehend what he’d said. How could that be possible? Deborah would never associate with a pirate.

  Was Lucas simply lying to his brother to save Jamie? Or had he been deceiving her all this time?

  Marcus’s expression went white; then it hardened. “Ah, so you’d try to trick me, would you?”

  “No.” Lucas closed the distance until he was just a half dozen feet from Marcus. “Jamie is your son. Deborah is his mother.”

  The knife lowered, and Marcus turned Jamie around and stared into the boy’s face.

  “Think about it,” Lucas reasoned. “Jamie is five. You last saw Deborah six years ago. If you look into your heart, you know I’m telling the truth.”

  Marcus ran his hand through Jamie’s hair, a look of acceptance on his face. Suddenly, he pushed the boy to the side, drew his sword, and pointed it at Lucas. “You stole everything from me, even Deborah. I loved her as I’ve never loved another woman, but she never cared for me. It was you she cried for at night. And now you mean to have my son?

  “Nay! I won’t allow it.” Marcus lunged forward.

  Lucas swerved sideways, dodging his brother’s thrust.

  “Captain!”

  Lucas turned, and one of his men tossed him a sword. He lifted the blade and prepared for the next assault. “I don’t want to hurt you, Marcus. Things don’t have to be like this. I never wanted them to be.”

  Marcus regained his balance and held out his sword, waving it in the air. “Aye, it does. You’ve ruined my life, and I mean to see an end to yours.”

  In two quick steps, Marcus attacked. Swords clanged, metal against metal.

  “Please, let me go.” Heather kicked her captor hard and pinched the forearm locked so tight around her waist that she could hardly breathe.

  Mr. Burton grunted and carried her forward, as if to better see the fight. Heather franticly searched for Jamie, all the while praying for Lucas. Swords clanged, and cheers filled the air, but she couldn’t see the two she loved most in this world. Marcus had held the lad a moment ago, but where was he now? The arm around her waist loosened, and Heather took full advantage and went limp. She slipped right through the man’s arm and rolled away. She quickly untangled her skirts and stood. Mr. Burton, so engaged in his captain’s battle, never noticed she’d gained her freedom.

  Heather rushed behind the sailors, searching for Jamie. She pushed past a smelly man and looked everywhere.

  “Aunt Heather!” Jamie squeezed out from between a barrel and the hull of the ship and stood.

  She rushed forward and hoisted him in her arms, while sailors and pirates alike cheered on their captains. “Are you hurt?”

  He shook his head and clutched her forearms tightly, tears swimming in his eyes. Heather carried him to the quarterdeck steps and helped him up. From her higher vantage point, she could see the two brothers—identical in features but so different in all other ways—battling for their lives. She cuddled Jamie and watched the melee as sword banged against sword. Brother fought brother.

  What would happen to her and Jamie if Lucas didn’t survive?

  “Please, Father, give Lucas the victory.”

  Marcus stumbled backward and fell against the main mast. He stood as if dazed. Lucas waited, not attacking. She wanted to urge him on, to have him seize the opportunity, but she couldn’t ask him to kill his own brother, even though she doubted Marcus would have any misgivings about doing so to Lucas.

  Marcus stood and charged his twin with a loud roar. Lucas leapt backward, tripped on a pirate’s outstretched foot, and fell to the deck.

  The pirates cheered.

  Heather gasped.

  She wanted to turn her head, but the scene below held her captive. She held Jamie’s face against her side, not wanting him to witness the heinous duel. “Save Lucas, Lord.”

  Sneering, Marcus sauntered forward, keeping his sword on his brother. “Methinks I’ll enjoy living in that fine house of yours and raising my son in it. Tell me. Where is Deborah?”

  Lucas wiped his sleeve across his bloody mouth. He tried to rise, but a pirate’s boot to his shoulder held him down. “Dead,” he yelled. “She died far away from everyone she loved because she was too ashamed to return home after you were done with her. God forgive you for what you did.”

  A vile laugh filled the air, sending chills up Heather’s spine. “Somebody help him,” she screamed.

  Marcus glanced up at her, grinning. “That wench of yours will do fine to replace Deborah in my bed and to raise the boy.”

  Lucas struggled again to rise. “She’ll never be yours.”

  Marcus pointed his blade at Lucas’s heart. “Aye, brother, she shall.”

  A movement below caught Heather’s eye. Mr. White lurched to his feet, swiped the blood from his brow, then lifted his arm over his shoulder and swiftly drew it forward. A knife glimmered in the light as it flew toward the pirate. Marcus bellowed and clutched his chest. A unified gasp rang out from the crowd as he stumbled backward and fell to the deck. Lucas jumped up and hurried to his brother’s side. He knelt beside Marcus and reached for the knife penetrating his brother’s chest, then pulled his hands back without touching it.

  Heather held her breath, afraid to believe they might yet be saved and at the same time sorry that Lucas had to witness his brother’s suffering. All was quiet, as if each man held his breath.

  “I forgive you for all you’ve done. Call out to God, Marcus. It’s not too late for you to be saved.”

  The pirate chuckled then coughed. “I’ve no need for God in life or death. You win, brother.”

  “No … please, ask God to forgive your sins. Life doesn’t end here. There’s an eternity with God that remains if you’ll only call on Him.” Lucas grasped his brother’s shoulders.

  “Nay. I will not.” M
arcus’s limp hand fell from his chest onto the deck.

  Heather grieved for Lucas and the pain she knew he was enduring, but she couldn’t help being relieved that his pirate brother was no longer a threat.

  Lucas knelt with his hand against his forehead. She longed to go to him, to comfort him, but feared another fight might break out. She had to keep Jamie safe.

  Grumbling arose from the crowd. A pirate shoved a sailor. Lucas shot to his feet. “There’ll be no more fighting this day. My brother’s men are free to return to the island.”

  “What of our ship?” a large man called out.

  “Your ship will be torched, but you may live—as long as you throw down your swords. There’s produce and wild game a’plenty on this island to feed you for a long while.”

  Heather watched Lucas’s men as they kept their swords trained on the pirates. In spite of their grumbling, one by one Marcus’s men dropped their weapons, clambered over the side of the ship, and disappeared. She blew out a deep breath as the last one jumped off the gunwale.

  With the danger over, she felt as if she might collapse. She ruffled Jamie’s hair. “We should get you to bed, lad.”

  “I want to see Papa—I’m hungry.”

  Smiling, she took his hand and led him toward the stairs. “Let’s see if we can find you a bite to eat.”

  Lucas took the steps to the quarterdeck, two at a time, his relief evident when he saw them both safe. He took her in his arms, crushing her to him. Heather longed to hug him back, but she couldn’t get over the fact that he’d lied to her. She pushed away from him. The light from the lantern below cast a flickering glow on the side of his face. Lucas gave her a quizzical stare.

  “Is what you said true? Is Jamie your brother’s son?”

  Lucas glanced down at Jamie then picked him up. “Can this not wait?”

  “Nay. Have you been lying to me all this time?”

  Lucas closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He strode to the stairway. “Mr. Henning, come up here.”

  The tall, lanky man hurried to do the captain’s bidding. “Aye, sir.”

  “Take Jamie to my cabin.”

  The boy locked his arms around Lucas’s neck. “Nay, I want to stay with you.”

  Lucas patted the lad’s back. “Did I not hear you say you were hungry?”

  “Aye.” Jamie nodded.

  “Then go with Mr. Henning. He will find you a bite to eat, and Heather and I will be down shortly.”

  Jamie glanced back and forth between them. “Promise?”

  “Most certainly.” Lucas nodded. “I will be down to tuck you into bed, just like I do when we’re at home.”

  “All right.” Jamie allowed Lucas to pass him to the sailor, and Heather watched them descend the stairs, not yet ready to see him go.

  Lucas remained silent until they heard the door below close. “It was Deborah’s wish that no one know. That’s what she wrote in her letter.”

  Anger blazed through Heather at her cousin’s betrayal. She had tended Deborah, cared for Jamie, and even risked her own life and Jamie’s to bring him to Charleston. No wonder Lucas hadn’t accepted the boy at first glance. He wasn’t Jamie’s father, after all. She pounded her fist against Lucas’s chest, releasing her fear, anger, and hurt. “Don’t you think I had a right to know the truth?”

  “If Deborah had wanted you to know, she would have told you. She was only trying to protect her son.” Lucas grabbed her wrists and held them.

  “And what was I doing? I’ve raised him as my own all these years. Scrimped and saved to bring him here to you, when you’re not even his true father.”

  “You think that matters to me? Did I not take him in as my own even though I faced ridicule and my family name was threatened by the gossip of an illegitimate son?”

  Heather jerked away, turned her back to him, and strode to the side of the ship. She couldn’t explain why she felt as if she’d been betrayed. Wouldn’t she have cared for Jamie even if she’d known the truth?

  She shivered, thinking what her cousin must have gone through in the hands of that pirate. Had he taken her by force? Or had she succumbed to his wiles and given herself freely?

  Either way, Jamie was the son of a vile pirate. No wonder Deborah wanted everyone to think that Lucas was the father. But had she considered what it would cost him?

  She heard his footsteps drawing closer and stiffened. He laid his hands on her shoulders. “You have a right to be angry. But I was only honoring Deborah’s wishes. At the time, I didn’t know that you’d be here long term or that I’d fall in love with you. Try to understand, Heather.”

  She hung her head, ashamed at her outburst. All he was doing was protecting Deborah and her son. Tonight’s tension and Lucas’s near death had paralyzed her, and then to learn the truth in such a horrible way …

  She’d lashed out at him because of her fear. “I’m sorry.”

  He turned her around but just stood there, not touching her. “I never wanted to hurt you. I only told Marcus the truth to save Jamie. I was afraid he’d kill him just to get back at me.”

  “I feared the same. I do believe he meant to.” Heather shook her head. “How could two brothers be so different?”

  Lucas took hold of her hands. “I don’t blame Marcus. Our father’s favoritism drove a wedge of anger and bitterness in my brother and warped his mind. Nothing I did helped. I only made things worse by trying to be the peacemaker.”

  Heather squeezed his hand. “It’s not your fault. Marcus made his own decisions. There are many younger sons of wealthy men who’ve made something good of their lives. Marcus could have done the same, but he chose not to.” She wanted to tell him that she was sorry for his brother’s death, but she couldn’t voice the words, knowing they weren’t completely true. She was sorry though that Lucas was grieving and that she’d vented her anger toward him. Stepping forward, she wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest.

  His arms encircled her. “If only he had repented …”

  “Shh … you did all that you could.”

  Footsteps sounded behind them, but Lucas didn’t release her. A man cleared his throat. “We await your orders, Captain.”

  “Send three men over to my brother’s ship. Have them set free the men they tied up and let them swim ashore; then set the vessel afire.”

  “But what of the bounty aboard, sir? Mr. Henning mentioned a wealth of treasure was stowed below.”

  Lucas let go of her and turned to face his first mate. “I want nothing to do with stolen wares, Mr. Burton. Prepare to set sail at first light. And see to it that the men keep watch in case my brother’s men decide to try and retake the ship.”

  “Aye, aye, Captain.” Mr. Burton cast an odd glance at Lucas, and Heather wondered if he expected to get keelhauled for allowing her to escape. Then he spun on his heel and strode away.

  Lucas wrapped his arm around Heather’s shoulders, and they stood facing the island. The sliver of moon prepared to sink below the horizon. A warm breeze tugged at Heather’s hair and teased her skirts. After all that had happened tonight, she was almost afraid to feel. To hope for a future with Lucas.

  “I need to spend some time in prayer. I wanted to run my sword through my own brother when he talked about making you his.”

  She felt him shudder. “Cease your worries. He can harm us no more.”

  Lucas lifted a hand to her cheek then ran his thumb over her lip, sending delicious chills racing through her. “You’re skin is so soft. I love your brown eyes.” His hand brushed over her hair. “And your hair is so lovely. You’ve a kind, generous heart. There’s nothing about you I don’t love.”

  Tears stung her eyes to think she had been ready to walk away from their relationship a few minutes ago. When she’d first brought Jamie to Charleston, she’d never expected to fall in love. She lifted her hand to Lucas’s bristly jaw. “I feel the same way. I can hardly wait to awaken each morning, just to see your sky blue eyes, to listen to y
our voice. I’m sorry for getting upset.”

  Lucas chuckled. “I’ve no doubt that there will be many other times that I shall upset you, but with love and God’s help, we can just as quickly set aside our differences and make up.”

  “Aye,” she whispered.

  He lowered his face until she felt his breath mingle with hers. “I believe my heart mutinied the day I first laid eyes on you. I mean to make you my wife, Heather Hawthorne. Have you any qualms almost that?”

  She smiled and shook her head. “Nay. None at all.”

  His lips met hers, and Heather knew she’d discovered where she was meant to be. She never dreamed she’d find happiness in the land that had warred against her homeland and ultimately caused her father to give up on living.

  But God moved in mysterious ways, and He’d certainly worked a miracle for her.

  A note from the Author:

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  Vickie McDonough

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  VICKIE McDONOUGH believes God is the ultimate designer of romance. She is a wife of thirty-four years, mother to four sons, and a doting grandma. When not writing, she enjoys reading, watching movies, and traveling. Visit Vickie’s Web site at www.vickiemcdonough.com.