Gregory, Lisa

by Bonds of Love

  The captain’s main worry was time. The fishing vessel was slow, and he needed to put distance between him and his pursuers. The civilian workers should not arrive for another half-hour. Then there would be the time it took to speculate and then ask questions. Time to work through natural channels back up to Devereaux. He would notify the Navy of the disappearance of his ship and daughter, and then the Naval Department would take a while to determine its course of action, and then they would sail, hopefully southward. Surely an hour to two hours’ head start. And if he had thrown them off with his directional trick, longer than that. How long would it take them to realize that he must have changed course? With luck, he would find a faster ship before they found him. And then he would sail for England. He needed a real warship, swift, with both steam and sail, and, most of all, armed. When his ship was captured, he had been on his way to England to take command of a new battleship. Perhaps it was still waiting for him. If not, he would at least be able to contact his government and receive instructions on obtaining another ship.

  He looked around at his crew with deep satisfaction. For a crew unused to each other and a long time not at sea, they were performing very well. No ship in sight on the horizon. It appeared that he could leave them for a while to release Katherine from her bonds. Whistling softly, he strode toward his cabin.

  Katherine, meanwhile, had managed to recover her wits; she was not the sort to allow herself to remain dazed. Forcing herself to examine her situation calmly, she came to the conclusion that the prisoners had at last executed a long-prepared escape plan and that she had been taken hostage. It sounded like just the sort of thing that awful Hampton would do. No doubt he hoped that with the young, genteel daughter of a rich and influential man on board, the Navy would be reluctant to fire when they caught up with them. Perhaps he even planned to bargain with them, to release her if they allowed him to escape. Her mind shied away from the idea of what he could do to her in the meantime, having her completely in his power as he did.

  Sternly she commanded herself not to dwell on such nonsense, but to think and plan what she should do. She must be calm and clear-headed and do everything she could to impede Hampton and aid the Navy in capturing him. “Logical,” she told herself, “be logical and fair.” She must not let her dislike of him spoil her judgment. He was a very good sailor and quite adept at chases; undoubtedly he had used some evasive maneuvers that would delay the pursuers. And he would have the advantage of time; probably no one would even notice anything was wrong until the regular workers arrived. So Hampton probably had a good hour’s head start. But even so, he could not escape them long. This was not a raider, not even a swift-sailing clipper. It simply could not outrun the Navy’s sleek, fast vessels. Surely it was only a matter of hours until they were caught.

  And when the Navy reached them, there could be no battle; the Rebel ship had no cannon. Their only hope would be in using her as a bargaining factor. Well, there they would be in for a little surprise: her father was not the sort to use his influence to urge the military to treat the captain more easily because his daughter was the enemy’s hostage. No, he was a fighter; it was from him that much of her stubborn attitude came. He would more likely urge them to fight. But still the Navy would probably be reluctant to refuse to bargain for the life and honor of a young lady. It seemed to her, therefore, that she must do two things: attempt to delay and slow this ship and also try to escape or somehow negate her usefulness as a hostage. But how? Particularly bound and gagged as she was.

  He had said he would return and release her. If she were to fight him, to scream and struggle, it would keep him occupied, and without him on deck, surely, the crew would be more inefficient, wouldn’t react to any emergency as well as he. That could possibly slow them down, but not for very long. And she would quickly be retied and gagged and once again totally ineffectual when she might be really needed. No, the thing to do was to talk to him, argue, plead, anything to take up as much of his time as possible. Get him to let her move about, where she could try some sabotage if the possibility were presented, get herself in a position where she could be useful if the occasion arose.

  She heard heavy footsteps outside the door, and her heart began to race. He was coming! Everything in her tightened for battle with him. He walked in and paused to look at her, taking in at once the fact that there was no fear in her. She simply sat on the floor, looking up at him mutinously. Smiling, he shook his head in admiration; you had to give her credit for bravery. Although he didn’t know it, she had felt a sharp, quickly stifled stab of fear at the sight of his long, lean body in the doorway. With the sun behind him, he had seemed dark, featureless, evil. Then he had stepped inside and she could see his clear, handsome features, including his lazy, infuriating grin, and anger flared in her.

  He squatted beside her and untied her gag, taking the cloth out of her mouth. Her mouth was so dry that she couldn’t speak and so she glared at him impotently. He chuckled quietly.

  “I am sorry, my pet, but I simply did not have the time to reason with you, so I had to take more drastic measures. You may scream if you want, of course, but we are at open sea and there is no one to hear you but my crew—all enemies, I’m afraid. I will also untie you and let you have the freedom of the ship since, as you no doubt realize, there is no way you can escape.”

  “You are insane!” she managed to croak. He just smiled and set to work on the rope binding her wrists. “You cannot possibly hope to escape in this tub.”

  “But of course not.”

  “Then why are you doing this! They’re bound to capture you, and you know it will go much harder for you and your men this time.”

  “There is that risk,” he agreed thoughtfully, and she realized that he was teasing her.

  “You’re insufferable!” she snapped. “I try to speak to you reasonably and you refuse, as if I were a child.”

  “Don’t worry about my plans, my dear. Believe me, I have thought of the consequences, and I will take the course that seems best.”

  She curled her lip contemptuously. “Well, if you plan to use me as a hostage, I can guarantee you that it won’t work. My father is not such a pudding-heart as to urge the Navy to let you escape in order to save me. Nor is the Navy likely to. They will blow you out of the water even though I am on board.”

  “Is the U.S. Navy that unchivalrous? To try to kill a young maiden, abandon her to a cruel fate, just to capture a minor villain?” He shook his head in mock despair, his gray eyes dancing with mirth. “Grandmama Soames will feel quite vindicated; she always said that the only person more ungentlemanly than I was a Yankee.”

  “You and your Grandmama Soames!” Katherine said furiously. “Don’t you realize how much harsher you will be treated for trying to use me as a hostage?”

  “Don’t worry about that, dear,” he said, a wicked smile lighting his face. “I have no intention of making you a hostage.”

  “Then why on earth have you brought me along?”

  His smile widened and he softly traced the delicate lines of her face. “Why, to comfort me during the empty hours at sea.”

  Her eyes widened in shocked disbelief. “You can’t be serious. You brought me along to—to—”

  “Umm. To make love to you. To rape you. However you want to express it. You see? You are my cherished possession, not something to hide behind.” He leaned forward to kiss her, but she scrambled away.

  “I am not your possession, nor anyone’s!” she hissed furiously. “You vile, wretched, abominable—”

  “Please, you’ll turn my head with all your compliments.”

  “How really low you are—to take a woman from her home, her family, her fiancé, and force her to submit to your filthy—”

  “Come now, it’s not so bad; you might even find you like it.”

  “Like it! Your touch makes my skin crawl.”

  “There have been times when you have not seemed so averse to it.”

  “How dare you throw
that up to me! I despise you, and I despise myself for letting you touch me that day. I only did it because—because I was angry with William and wanted to get even with him. I hated every moment of it.”

  “Did you now?” His voice was soft, but with a hint of steel beneath it. Suddenly his hand whipped out and grasped the back of her neck like a vise, holding her face immobile. “I am sorry, for your sake, that you have such a revulsion for me. For I intend to have you, anyway. It’s been far too long since I have had a woman; you shan’t deny me my pleasure. I plan to keep you with me, and I plan to take you, wherever and whenever I desire you. Don’t waste your breath appealing to my better nature; I don’t have one.”

  He pulled her to him and kissed her roughly. She tried to pull away, but his iron grip held her head motionless. His kiss was long and thorough, as if he were putting his stamp, his seal upon her, demonstrating his possession of her.

  “Shall I begin now?” he said. Then, glancing around the bare room, “I’m afraid we could not wait until my cabin was furnished. Of course the floor would serve our purpose well enough.” He smiled into her stormy eyes. “But I’m afraid you’ll have to wait, my pet. As close as your friends are, I am needed on deck almost constantly. Don’t despair, though; it won’t be too long.”

  Almost casually he rose and swept her an elegant bow, then walked out the door. She longed to storm after him and scream her hatred of him, but she controlled herself. More than ever, she needed to keep a cool head. It was imperative now that the Navy catch them as quickly as possible. If she could just fend him off until then, she would be safe. She needed to delay them so the Navy could rescue her, and that could be done by keeping him below decks. But by keeping him off the deck, she would be risking the very thing she wished to avoid. Perhaps she could lock herself in; she flew to the door, then slumped in disappointment—the locks had not been installed yet And there was no furniture with which to bar the door. She could hide, but there were very few places to hide on board ship, and she would be found quickly. But at least that would give her a little more time for the Navy to arrive; it was certainly a possibility as a last resort. The thing for her to do, she decided, was to go up on deck and scout. He would be unlikely to attack her in plain view of everyone. She could see how swiftly they were traveling, how well the men worked. There she could look for a place to hide and note whatever she could use to advantage later. Feeling full of purpose, she retrieved her muff. As she slipped her hands into it, she suddenly remembered the squat little pistol inside it; in her excitement, she had forgotten all about it.

  “Thank God for you, William,” she whispered, drawing the little gun out of its pocket. Suddenly she felt braver, more secure. Here was her real last resort. When he attacked her, she would face him with a weapon in her hand. No doubt he thought he was dealing with a silly, faint-hearted female. Well, he would discover differently. She could not kill him, of course; she could never kill anyone. But she could threaten him with it, and if he persisted, well—she smiled grimly—she thought she could manage to wound him. Right now, more than anything, she would like to choke him or hit him with her fists. In fact, the idea of doing him bodily harm filled her with morbid delight.

  How she hated that man! He had insulted her, threatened her, abused her—but this was the crowning blow! To abduct her and rape her! She would be ruined forever, unable to face society again. William, indeed no man, would marry her with her honor so tarnished. She slipped the gun back into its hiding place and determinedly left the room.

  Maintaining what she hoped was an air of calm, she strolled around the deck. There wasn’t a ship on the horizon in any direction. She looked around at the men; they appeared to be good sailors, each busy at his tasks and instantly obedient to commands. The captain was getting every ounce of speed out of the ship that she was capable of. Katherine sighed. She wasn’t dealing with amateurs; in fact, the only amateur on board was herself. How could she ever hope to outwit them, to singlehandedly delay them?

  “Miss Devereaux,” said a cultured voice behind her. “May I take a turn around the deck with you?”

  She turned to see Ensign Fortner. “Why, Mr. Fortner, that’s very nice of you. But aren’t you needed?”

  “An ensign, ma’am, is probably the least useful man aboard ship.” he smiled. “Most of the time I just relay orders. And I keep an eye on the men, which I can do just as easily with you on my arm.”

  “That doesn’t say much for my ability to distract one, does it?” she smiled.

  “Oh, ma’am, I didn’t mean that,” the young man spluttered, his face turning a deep red.

  “Never mind. I long ago faced the fact that I was not the sort to turn heads,” she said, amused at his embarrassment, and took his arm.

  “Well, you have certainly turned my captain’s head.”

  “That beast,” Katherine sniffed.

  “Oh no, ma’am, Captain Hampton’s really a very fine gentleman.”

  “He may be a very fine captain, but a gentleman he is not,” she said with asperity. “Unless, of course, it is the Southern idea of good breeding to kidnap a lady and rape her!”

  Fortner blinked, somewhat taken aback at her bluntness. “No, no, I’m sure that is not his intention,” he murmured vaguely.

  “He told me so himself.”

  “He’s not an unkind man; I know that he has a great deal of feeling for you. He often speaks of your beauty. It is just that he is so entranced by you, and couldn’t bear to leave you.”

  “Poppycock,” she said sharply. “He is not in the slightest entranced by me. I just happened to be the only female around.”

  “Oh, no, that’s not true. The captain would never run such a risk to his crew unless his affections were very much engaged.”

  “That man thinks of no one but himself.”

  “You’re wrong there, ma’am. A good captain always thinks of his crew, and he is a good captain.”

  “So everyone tells me. But he must be insane to try this escape. The Navy couldn’t be more than an hour behind you, you must know that, and with sailing vessels far swifter than this crate.”

  “More than an hour, I should think. Look at the sun; what direction are we going?”

  “North.”

  “Which way would you presume we would go?”

  “South; maybe due east.”

  “Exactly. And south is the way we sailed until we were out of sight of the harbor. How long will it be before they realize that we couldn’t have gone that direction? And then won’t they go east, not north? Or maybe waste time searching inlets and coves to see if we’re hiding there? Rather more than an hour behind us, don’t you think?”

  “So it is several hours before they find us. But eventually they will; this tub can’t possibly outrun them,” she said scornfully, but inside her heart plummeted. That small difference in hours was all-important to her.

  “With luck, we won’t be on this ‘tub’ much longer.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, madame, we plan to practice our profession— piracy, I imagine you’d call it.”

  “You’re going to steal a ship?” she asked incredulously.

  “Stole this one, didn’t we?” he said and grinned boyishly.

  “You’re all insane,” Katherine decided, and he laughed.

  “Yes, ma’am, a little.”

  “Miss Devereaux.” Katherine whirled around at the sound of the captain’s voice. “Must you bewitch my crew, too?”

  “Sorry, sir,” Fortner replied. “I’ll take my leave now. Ma’am. Captain.”

  Katherine swept the captain with a haughty glance and maintained an icy silence. He pulled his mouth down in a lopsided grin.

  “Come now, Miss Devereaux, is this fair? Here you have captured my heart, but won’t comfort me with even one word or a smile.”

  “Play your games elsewhere, Captain. I’m not a silly child to be taken in by your flirtatious manner and phony compliments. You have already revea
led your true nature to me.”

  He heaved a mock sigh and leaned back against the railing, watching her. “I know. Abominable, am I not? So absolutely horrid as to find you desirable. So utterly lost to the finer things in life that I find your skin delightfully soft to touch and your lips very kissable. Indeed, so low that I can’t sleep at night for thinking of your honey-colored hair and how much I long to let it run through my fingers, to bury my face in it.”

  She colored and looked away, too embarrassed to speak.

  “What?” he said, his voice lightly mocking. “Have you nothing to say? Surely I cannot have rendered you speechless.”

  “Please,” she said, a trifle shakily.

  “Please what?” He reached out to smooth a wind-whipped curl back into place.

  “Please don’t say such things.”

  “Why not? They’re true.” He laughed softly. “You know, you are the oddest creature. When I storm at you, say vile things to you, you don’t even flinch, just stare me straight in the eye and storm right back at me. But when I compliment you and tell you how lovely you are, you blush and look away and ask me not to say such things.”

  Gently he pulled her to him and slid one hand beneath her cloak. He let his hand roam freely, stroking her back and stomach, caressing her breasts. Involuntarily, she responded to his touch.

  “Take your hands off me!” she snapped.

  He clucked his tongue in reproof. “Now, is that any way to talk? I’m only trying to gentle you to my touch.”

  “I am not a mare for you to tame, sir. I am a woman.”

  “I am well aware of that.”

  “A human being, Captain Hampton, with feelings and pride and—”

  “And weaknesses and desires, also, Miss Devereaux. Why deny them?”

  “What do you mean?”

  Softly his lips brushed her temple, her cheek, her ear. “I mean, relax; let me give you the same pleasure you’ll give me. Give your passions free rein. You’ll find that it’s far more enjoyable.”