Taken by You

by Connie Mason

  “She’s fine,” Morgan grinned, “just exhausted. I think she should rest today. You and Renalda go on ahead and wait for us aboard the Avenger.”

  “Are you sure, Morgan?” Crawford asked anxiously. “’Tis dangerous to linger in a hostile country.”

  “According to Luca, she is free to leave the convent whenever she chooses. We are still husband and wife, and no one can stop me from taking what is mine.”

  “Very well, Renalda and I will leave immediately. It you don’t join us within twenty-four hours, I’ll come looking for you.”

  Morgan grinned, realizing how fortunate he was to have a faithful friend like Stan Crawford. “Luca and I will leave first thing in the morning. I promise we will be with you well within the allotted time.”

  They made their farewells. Before returning upstairs to his sleeping wife, Morgan ordered breakfast to be served in their room.

  Luca was grateful for Morgan’s concern. She was indeed exhausted. Seeing Morgan again, learning that he loved her and spending long hours last night making love with him had been too much excitement for a pregnant lady. She seemed to tire so easily these days. It took little urging on Morgan’s part to persuade Luca to spend the day in bed, and she welcomed the opportunity to be alone with Morgan for an entire day without interference.

  “Tell me about Renalda,” Morgan asked as they shared dinner that night in their room. “She said her parents disowned her. Was she lying?”

  “’Tis the truth,” Luca vowed. “Renalda fell in love with a young vaquero, and her father forbade her to see him. She was soon to marry a man she’d been betrothed to since childhood. Renalda and her vaquero ran away, intending to marry, but her lover was killed before the deed was done. After learning that Renalda and Antonio had spent one night together, her fiancé refused to honor their betrothal. Her family became very angry. She had dishonored them and was banished forthwith to the convent.”

  “Why didn’t she leave if she was unhappy?”

  “You don’t understand our customs. Where would she go? What would she do? She had no money, no family to take her in, and no way to support herself. She is not a puta and could never become one. A young girl has little choice regarding her future. She is but a pawn in the scheme of life. I suppose when you and Stan came along, Renalda saw a way out of her dilemma and took it.”

  “I hope Stan doesn’t take advantage of Renalda,” Morgan mused. “He seems quite taken with her and can be very aggressive when he wants to be.”

  “Why not let nature take its course,” Luca advised. “I haven’t spoken with Renalda yet, but I do know she is a woman who knows her own mind and isn’t afraid to take chances. If Stan oversteps the bounds of decency, Renalda will set him straight Unless,” she added cryptically, “she is of the same mind as Stan.”

  “Then I won’t worry about her,” Morgan said. “Are you finished eating? We should retire early, for tomorrow will be a long day. I promised Stan we would join him on the Avenger within twenty-four hours, and I don’t want him to worry if we are late.”

  “Morgan, would it be possible to bid my father good-bye before we leave Cadiz? Tis unlikely I’ll see him again. He’s always done what he thought was best for me, even if I didn’t agree. I regret that a ship of his line sank the one carrying your family, but that was a long time ago. I’d like Father to know that I’m going to have his grandchild.”

  Morgan didn’t think it was a good idea, but Luca looked so hopeful that he hadn’t the heart to refuse her. “If it means so much to you, love, we’ll stop.”

  “Gracias, Morgan, now I’m ready for bed.” Her eyes glowed darkly, hinting of mischief and pleasure … mostly pleasure.

  “You need your rest, Luca,” Morgan warned in an effort to restrain the erection straining against his codpiece.

  “There will be plenty of time for rest once we are aboard the Avenger.” She reached for him, and Morgan was lost.

  They made love gently, tenderly, each aware that there were many more days of loving one another left to them in this lifetime. And perhaps more in the next.

  The sound of steps pounding in the hallway outside their door awakened Morgan. He reached for his sword, cursing violently when he noted that it lay across the room atop the pile of clothing that he had shed hastily and left carelessly on the worn carpet. He jerked upright, grateful that he’d had the foresight to lock the door. But before he could rise from bed, the door was battered open and men spilled into the room.

  Frightened from a sound sleep, Luca shrieked and pulled the sheet up to her chin. Her eyes were wild, her heart pumping furiously.

  “My mistake was in not killing you in Havana,” one of the men sneered, as he surveyed the rumpled bed and disheveled couple occupying it with disdain.

  Luca stared at the two men standing on the threshold, blanching when recognition dawned. “Father! Don Diego! What are you doing here?”

  “Bloody Hell,” Morgan muttered beneath his breath. If it wasn’t for bad luck he wouldn’t have any luck at all. How in the Hell had they found him? Who’d told them he was in Spain? And why wasn’t del Fugo in Havana?

  Chapter 22

  Morgan did not like the odds stacked against him. Standing behind Don Diego and Don Eduardo were two armed henchmen. Morgan glanced at Luca and swore beneath his breath. She was pale and shaking like a leaf.

  “I’m sorry we did not arrive in time to prevent the pirate from hurting you again, daughter,” Don Eduardo said, thinking that he had truly saved Luca from the Devil. “Father Pedro returned from Rome a week ago. The Holy Father has granted an annulment of your marriage. I was preparing to journey here to tell you the good news when Diego arrived.”

  “Morgan did not hurt me, Father,” Luca protested. “Please leave us.”

  Morgan kept his eyes trained on del Fugo, whose right hand was poised over the hilt of his sword. The Spaniard’s glowering expression did not bode well for Morgan. Morgan glanced wistfully at his own sword with no hope of recovering it. Without it and his clothing, he was as vulnerable as a newborn babe. He was at a most definite disadvantage.

  “Diego came all the way from Havana to make you his bride. He is willing to overlook your past indiscretion with the Englishman. Before you leave Spain I will see you properly wed to Diego.”

  Luca’s eyes burned with indignation. “Why is everyone trying to destroy my marriage? I don’t want an annulment. Diego is a man without scruples. He doesn’t want me, ‘tis my dowry he craves. He’d do anything to keep it for himself.”

  “You wrong me, Luca,” Diego said contritely. “I was overset when I realized you were not the virgin bride I expected, but I would have done the right thing by you once my anger had cooled. I’ve apologized profusely to your father, that’s why I came all the way to Spain. We will speak our vows before sailing to Havana.”

  Morgan’s rage escalated as Diego spouted his lies. No piece of paper could simply dissove what he and Luca shared. The deceitful bastard would never get his hands on his wife or their child. Heedless of his nudity, Morgan surged from bed and took a menacing step toward Diego.

  “Get out of here, all of you! Luca is my wife and will remain my wife.”

  Diego smiled nastily and stepped aside, allowing his henchmen into the room. Morgan’s jaw tightened as he made a wild dash for his sword. Alas, it was not to be. Diego’s men were on him in seconds. Though he fought bravely, he was overpowered when Diego joined the fray, bringing the hilt of his sword down with crushing force on Morgan’s head. Luca screamed as Morgan crumbled to the ground.

  “Shall we kill him, patrón?” one of the henchmen asked, pressing the tip of his sword against Morgan’s exposed throat.

  “Noooo!” Luca screamed. “Father, if you love me, don’t let them kill Morgan.”

  Don Eduardo looked at his frantic daughter and relented. “Luca is right, Don Diego. It is not up to us to kill the pirate. Take him to Cadiz and turn him over to the authorities. There is a generous reward for his ca
pture. I will follow with Luca when she has calmed down. Come to the house tomorrow, and we will make plans for the wedding.”

  Luca was sobbing softly, wanting to go to Morgan but unable to because of her nudity. “Don’t hurt him, please. He was wounded recently and hasn’t fully recovered from his injuries.”

  “We will find a nice comfortable calabozo for him,” Don Diego laughed. “Bind him with drapery cords,” he ordered. By the time the henchmen finished, Morgan was beginning to stir. “Take him away.”

  “Wait, give him his clothing,” Luca pleaded. “Allow him some dignity.”

  Diego paid her no need, but Don Eduardo gathered together Morgan’s clothing and handed them to one of the henchmen. “Take him out into the hallway and help him dress.”

  “Bah, you are too soft,” Don Diego spat. “The authorities will put him before the firing squad within twenty-four hours.”

  Don Eduardo had never considered himself a particularly tenderhearted man, but Luca was so distraught that he was suddenly stricken with guilt. Perhaps his daughter really did love the rogue pirate. He remembered what it was like to love someone. When Luca’s lovely mother had died, he had lost something precious. Still, El Diablo had been the bane of Spanish shipping for too long to be set free. If he hadn’t boldly abducted Luca in the first place, none of this would have happened.

  “What the authorities do with El Diablo is out of our hands,” Don Eduardo said. “His death will not be on my conscience. Go now, Diego. I will bring Luca home.”

  The moment Don Eduardo turned his back on them, Diego sent Luca a look that caused the hair to rise on the nape of her neck. His scathing glance conveyed the seething contempt he felt for her. Only a fool would fail to see that she was naked beneath the sheet, and only a simpleton would think she and Morgan had been merely sleeping. Don Diego was neither. The room reeked of sex, and the rumpled bedclothes gave mute testimony to the activity in which the couple had been engaged. It was beyond bearing and a mortal blow to Diego’s pride.

  “Until tomorrow, Luca,” Don Diego said in a voice that gave hint to his anger. Sí, he would marry the pirate’s puta in order to keep her enormous dowry, but he would give up none of his mistresses. Once Luca gave him an heir or two, he would banish her to a convent and promptly forget her.

  Luca was sobbing silently, unable to stop the huge tears coursing down her cheeks. It seemed that even God was against her and Morgan. Fortunately she had a secret that she hoped would change things in her favor. Once Diego learned she was pregnant with Morgan’s child he would not want her. Of course there was one hitch. She hadn’t figured out yet how revealing her pregnancy would help Morgan. Morgan was on his way to the calabozo, and Diego would see to it that he was punished to the fullest extent of the law.

  “Get dressed, daughter,” Don Eduardo said kindly. “I’ll wait out in the hallway while you dress and pack. Perhaps we can get a decent breakfast from the kitchen before returning to Cadiz. I do not like to see you so upset.”

  “How can I not be upset, Father, when the man I love faces death? Diego holds a grudge against Morgan. What guarantee do I have that Morgan will reach Cadiz alive?”

  “Diego is a gentleman. He would not harm an unarmed man. It is up to the authorities to demand punishment.”

  Luca gave a harsh sound of disgust. “You do not know Don Diego if you think that.”

  Don Eduardo merely shrugged and made a hasty exit. He wasn’t good at handling hysterical women. Once she was alone, Luca rose from bed and dressed quickly. She retrieved a cloak from her bundle of clothing and wrapped it around her, carefully concealing her protruding stomach within its generous folds. It wasn’t the right time to tell her father she was carrying Morgan’s child.

  Once Morgan was hustled into the hallway, groggy and disoriented from the vicious blow to his head, he was thrust into his trunk hose and dragged down the stairs. If the innkeeper felt the least bit of compassion, he carefully hid it beneath his bland expression while Diego arranged for a wagon to haul Morgan to Cadiz. Within minutes Morgan was forced into the wagon bed, trussed like a Christmas goose and bleeding from a head wound. One henchman climbed in beside him, while the second leaped into the driver’s box and took up the reins. At Diego’s signal the wagon jerked forward, sending Morgan crashing violently against the side. Excruciating pain exploded through his bad leg, up his spine, and into his head. Then he knew no more.

  Luca eyed the food on her plate with disinterest. How could she eat when she had no idea how badly Morgan was hurt? What if Don Diego took justice into his own hands and killed Morgan the moment they left the inn?

  “I know you think you love the pirate, Luca, but Diego will soon make you forget him, I swear it. He will be a good husband to you. Soon you can put all this nasty business behind you.”

  “How can I forget Morgan when I love him, Father? I will never marry Don Diego, no matter what happens.”

  Don Eduardo patted Luca’s shoulder awkwardly. “Trust me to know what’s best for you.”

  “Did you send for Diego? Why is he in Spain?”

  Don Eduardo’s glance fell away. “I wrote to Diego the day you returned from England. I explained that Father Pedro was on his way to Rome to petition the pope for an annulment of your marriage. I urged Diego to come to Spain immediately if he still wanted you. If not, I told him I expected full restitution of your dowry.”

  Luca gave a mirthless laugh. “Surely you did not think he’d return my dowry, did you? No, I can see you didn’t”

  “Diego left Havana immediately upon receiving my missive. When he arrived in Cadiz he was overjoyed to learn you are a free woman. We left Cadiz together to impart the good news to you. We had no idea Morgan Scott was here.”

  “How did you find us at the inn? How did you learn Morgan was in Spain?”

  “Pure luck, daughter. We stopped at the inn to quench our raging thirst; we had ridden hard, you see, and the innkeeper, a loquacious man, told us about the foreigners staying at his inn. Diego seemed interested to learn that a fair-haired man and a Spanish woman were asleep above stairs, but he had no reason to suspect anything.

  “We made haste for the convent and learned that you and another woman had left without permission the night before. We put two and two together and returned to the inn.”

  Good luck for Diego and Father but bad luck for me and Morgan, Luca thought glumly. “May I see the annulment document Father?” Luca asked, holding out her hand.

  “It is perfectly legal, Luca.”

  “Please, Father.”

  With marked reluctance, Don Eduardo retrieved the document from his pocket and handed it to Luca. Luca’s hands shook as she unrolled it and read the contents. She had nearly reached the end when she let out an audible gasp. Excitement coursed through her.

  “Father! Have you read this?”

  Don Eduardo frowned. “Of course. Is there something you do not understand?”

  “It states that if I am carrying Morgan Scott’s child the annulment becomes invalid. It further states that a child of the union will be considered legitimate issue since the marriage was performed by a priest and is legal in the eyes of God. Is that true?”

  “I believe the document specifies the Holy Father’s wishes in this matter. As long as there are no children to complicate matters, the annulment is a simple matter.” He gave Luca a shrewd smile. “Thank God you have no worries on that score. If the scoundrel managed to impregnate you in the last two days there will be no way to tell if the child belongs to him or Don Diego, for your marriage to the governor-general of Cuba will take place immediately.”

  Luca returned his smile, only hers was more radiant than the sunrise. She rose clumsily to her feet and slowly unclasped the cloak she’d donned to disguise her condition. She let it slide to the floor and stood proudly before her father. There was no mistaking the protruding roundness of her abdomen.

  Don Eduardo inhaled sharply. “Madre di Dios! Who did this to you?”


  Luca gave him a blissful smile. “No one at the convent, Father. I suspected I was carrying Morgan’s child when I left England.”

  Don Eduardo cursed violently. “Why in God’s name did you leave the pirate if you were carrying his child?”

  “A misunderstanding. I thought Morgan did not want our child. The queen was pressing for an annulment and I did not wish to be a burden to him. When one loves, one cannot always see clearly or distinguish between right and wrong. I chose the wrong course, but thank God Morgan found me and set me straight We love one another. You and Diego have destroyed any chance we might have had to find happiness.”

  Don Eduardo could not take his eyes off Luca’s bulging stomach. Carefully he removed the annulment document from her hand and tore it into tiny pieces. No man in his right mind would want a woman far gone with another man’s child. Certainly not a proud man like Diego del Fugo, regardless of Luca’s sizable dowry.

  “Father, you must do something,” Luca pleaded. “Morgan has changed. He has abandoned his vendetta; never more will El Diablo plunder Spanish ships. If you love me, you will help Morgan.”

  Don Eduardo shrugged helplessly. “What can I do? Your pirate’s fate is up to God.”

  “No! There must be something you can do. Morgan loved me enough to risk his life for me. He came to Spain knowing the danger involved. Do you want to see the fattier of your grandchild die an ignoble death?” She hugged her stomach protectively. “This may be your only grandchild. My brothers might never return from their adventures. And if they do, they are unlikely to settle down long enough to raise a family. They’d rather sail the world searching for gold and riches.”

  Don Eduardo realized the truth of Luca’s words. With his mother’s solid Spanish stock and his father’s English courage, his grandchild would be strong and resilient and brave. But he truly saw no way to help Luca’s husband, even if he wanted to.

  “I’m sorry, daughter. Morgan Scott is Diego’s captive, and Diego is a vindictive man.”