by Marie Caron
“No! Wait!” she yelled, hurrying to the door as quickly as she could, considering the floor kept tipping this way and that. Out in the passageway she came face to face with the old man. She remembered him now; he was Jack’s most trusted friend. And right now he looked as though he would fight her to the death to keep her from Jack.
“Ye best not bother ’im now, if ye know what’s good for ye,” he said with a disapproving look.
He held a tray with food on it, and another man stood behind him, the two of them blocking her path. With the ship rocking so much that it was hard for her to stand, let alone walk, and with the two men in her way, she had no choice but to return to the bed.
Katherine watched as the old man set the tray on the table next to the bed, the other man watching from the doorway. The smell of food made her stomach churn. Although it had been many hours since she’d eaten, she was too upset to even think about food.
“Take me to the captain, Jim. Please, I must speak to him,” she insisted, but he shook his silvered head and shuffled out of the room, leaving Katherine to sit on the bed, pondering her situation. Jack had loved her; she was certain of it. How then could he be so heartless; how could he turn her away?
Chapter 15
In the first mate’s cabin Jim came in, carrying a tray. “Cook’s made a nice stew for yer supper, lad,” he observed, as he set a steaming bowl and a mug next to Jack’s elbow. “Ye should eat somethin’, keep up yer strength.”
“Did you take the lady her supper?” Jack asked without looking up from the gun he’d been cleaning. It hadn’t needed cleaning. He had just needed something to take his mind off the lady in his cabin. God, would he ever be able to get her off his mind?
“Aye, I did, but ye know how she is; ’er nose is too high in the air to eat anything I put in front of ’er. Yu’ll be well rid of that one, ye will,” the grizzled old man opined with his usual vinegar.
Jack had to smile. Jim didn’t think much of Katherine; Jack had always known it. He also knew that the stubborn man’s opinion of Katherine had grown out of his loyalty to Jack. Knowing that was the case, Jack could hardly fault him. So he put the pistol down and began to eat, just to make the old man happy.
The storm had delayed him by only a day. Once he had the gold, he’d sail to the nearest British outpost and rid himself of his disturbing passenger. He’d have to take care so as not to get caught, but he figured one man in a dinghy, in the dead of night, could accomplish the task. He’d thought it over, and since he couldn’t ask any of his men to risk their lives solving his problem, he would have to do it himself. He’d see her safely in the hands of the local authorities, and then he’d vanish. How exactly he was going to manage this feat he didn’t know, but he was certain a solution would present itself when the time came.
The afternoon sky was cloudless, and Jack knew it was time. He could no longer avoid the past. He had spent many memorable days on the island, hiding from the Royal Navy, and many memorable nights there too, losing himself in the body of the only woman he had ever loved. He still loved her, but something inside him would not allow him to tell her, to be with her. It wasn’t that she’d gotten married. She had thought him dead; what else could she do? No, it was that now his circumstances were even more dire than before. Before, there had been a chance that he could clear himself of the charges against him. Now his fate was sealed. He had become a pirate in every sense of the word, and now nothing could save him, not even the word of a lady.
Jack insisted on climbing up to the caves alone, and no one tried to change his mind. His head down, Jack made his way ashore, toward the steep, rocky terrain to the cave where he’d left the chest of gold. His men, with the exception of Jim who had stayed on the ship with Katherine, would wait for him on the beach.
* * * *
From the railing Katherine watched as Jack disappeared into the dense foliage. A hand on her arm startled her. “Oh!” She turned her head and was shocked to find Anthony Spencer standing behind her, although he looked nothing like his usual dapper self. His arm came around her waist, pulling her body flush to his. The scent of sweat, dirt, and the sea mingled on him, and her nose wrinkled in disgust. “Anthony, I thought you were dead! Where’ve you been?”
“I’m sure you wish I were dead. Sorry to disappoint you, my dear. Where has your lover gone?” he asked, his hot breath on the back of her neck.
“Who?” There was something in his voice that frightened her. Was it hatred, jealousy, or both?
“You know who. What is Captain Jack doing on the island?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him when he comes back?” she lied. Of course she knew why Jack was on the island, but for some reason it didn’t seem wise to tell Anthony about the money. Her skin crawled as his hand moved up to cover her breast. He laughed and Katherine shivered. He seemed different somehow, as though an evil force had taken over his body. He was no longer the polite, debonair aristocrat she had married. Now he was the enemy, and she was caught. She knew Jim was somewhere on the ship, but she didn’t know where. Jack had said she should ask Jim if she needed anything. She needed help, but in this instance she didn’t think Jim could help her. The old seadog was past his prime and no match for the much younger earl, so she decided to keep quiet about Jim’s presence.
*
“Ask him? Why, no, my dear, I’m going to do better than that,” Anthony sneered at her. He would find the man and demand an answer, and then he would kill him…and Katherine too. “Let’s go,” he ordered her, as he pulled a knife from his belt. Holding the blade under her chin, Anthony pushed and pulled Katherine to the rope ladder hanging over the side of the ship. A dinghy floated beneath it, tied to the bottom rung. Seeing it, he smirked. Jack had made it easy for him. Now the little Jezebel would be able to witness her lover’s demise and she wouldn’t even have to get wet. Although, the idea of her becoming shark bait had its appeal.
“Climb down!” he ordered, and Katherine began making her way down the ladder. Anthony followed, wondering what he’d find on the island. He didn’t trust that man. There had to be some reason Jack had dropped anchor here, and he was going to find out what that reason was or die trying. He could see some of the crewmen lazing about in the shade at the edge of the beach, where the forest began. Tall waving coconut palms, plumeria, and other flowering shrubs crowded together to create a cool, shady interior. While above the tree tops a high sandstone cliff face disappeared into a clear blue sky.
The others had gone ashore, leaving only the old man to watch over Katherine, which proved that she was in league with Jack. The old man had certainly not been left to guard her. Even a woman could escape from that old man; he’d been easy to subdue and was currently tied up and gagged in the bottom of the ship.
“Start rowing,” he said, as he handed Katherine the oars. He sat facing her, thinking about how she’d wronged him. Well, he wouldn’t be made a fool of any longer. She was still in love with the pirate; that had become painfully obvious. Jack was the reason she wouldn’t lay with him. Well, she was going to be sorry for her duplicitous behavior, and so was Jack. No one made a fool of Anthony Spencer and lived to tell about it! This time he would make certain Jack stayed dead, and Katherine would join him. When he reached civilization he’d tell everyone that Katherine had drowned when their ship went down in the storm. It would be a perfectly believable scenario, and then he’d be free to remarry, to find a suitable wife, one who loved him and only him.
*
The dinghy bobbed in the waves, just fifty yards from shore. Anthony was crouched in the bottom, hiding from the men on the beach. Katherine’s arms ached so greatly that she thought they might drop off. With a moan she let the oars drop into the boat.
“Keep rowing,” he ordered the instant she stopped.
“I cannot! My arms hurt,” she whimpered. Just then Anthony lifted his head, leaned to the left, and looked toward the shore, his blue eyes focused on something behind her.
&n
bsp; Katherine turned and looked back over her shoulder to discover what had caught his attention. What she saw made her heart stop, and her eyes opened wide in horror. Jack was wading toward them. He was waist-deep in the water, heading out to meet the dinghy, obviously unaware of the danger. She had to let him know.
“No, Jack, go back!” she shouted, but it was too late. Unable to help, she watched in horror as Anthony rose in the boat and dived into the water, heading straight for Jack. Then he was on him, the blade reflecting the sunlight as he brought the knife down toward Jack’s body, catching him in the forearm and opening a four-inch gash. The two men wrestled for the weapon, as blood ran down Jack’s arm and dripped into the sea. But even though he was wounded, Jack managed to take a swing at Anthony, striking a firm blow to the man’s jaw. The earl fell back into the water, but got up immediately and continued coming at Jack with the knife.
Meanwhile, Katherine noticed movement under the water—large dark shapes circled the two combatants. Katherine stood in the dinghy, trying to get a better look. Then she began screaming and pointing.
Chapter 16
Jack had returned from the cave, the small casket perched on his left shoulder. Several of his men had gathered around him as he set the chest on the sand at their feet. The others, who had been napping in the shade, roused themselves and joined the group.
“This is all yours, men. You earned it,” he had told them. He knew that Ben would see to it that they each got their fair share. He could trust Ben to do as he was told, and he knew the men respected Ben as much as they respected him. There would be no arguing, no trouble. Meanwhile, he could get back to the ship.
Relieved, Jack had gazed out over the waves toward the ship. What he had seen had made his blood run cold. What on earth was Katherine doing rowing herself ashore? Where was Jim? His only thought had been to help the woman he loved.
Now he was in the fight of his life. A crazed man, and one he’d hoped never to see again, was trying his best to kill him, slashing at him with a knife. Jack was cut, and unless he was mistaken, his blood was drawing the attention of at least a dozen sharks. He’d be lucky to best the man, let alone the hungry denizens of the deep.
*
“Help him! Please, help!” she shouted, her throat on fire as she screamed for help. The men on shore finally noticed Katherine’s frantic waves and shouts and began running toward the surf, while Jack and Anthony rolled and tussled in the waves, both men partially submerged as they struggled for supremacy.
All at once, in a blue-green froth tinged with red, Jack and Anthony shot up out of the water next to the dinghy, which had been swept closer and closer to the beach by the incoming tide. Katherine could do nothing but watch in anguished silence as the two fought on, twisting, turning, and splashing. She couldn’t even tell who was winning. She just knew that both men were in serious danger. Nearby, a dark gray fin broke the surface. If Anthony didn’t kill Jack, the sharks surely would.
By this time several members of Jack’s crew were wading out toward the two combatants, pistols and clubs clutched in their hands. They were prepared to defend their captain from the man with the knife, but were they aware of the sharks?
“Sharks! Look out for the sharks!” Katherine yelled a warning to the men, praying they could hear her over the sound of the surf.
After that everything happened very quickly, both men disappearing beneath the surface of the waves. Fearing neither man would reappear, at least not alive or in one piece, Katherine slumped in her seat, her shaking hand over her mouth. Suddenly, a body sprang up out of the water and into the boat. In the same instant, shots rang out and the water turned red as a feeding frenzy ensued. But Katherine didn’t see what was happening in the water. Her attention was on the man who lay bleeding in the bottom of the dinghy, at her feet. It was Jack!
“Oh, thank God!”
Jack was injured but alive, and Katherine did her best to pull him into her arms. One of the men managed to climb into the dinghy and row them to the ship, while the other men escaped back onto the sandy shore where the other dinghies were waiting.
* * * *
Later, after Jack’s wounds had been stitched up, he sat on the bed in his cabin, pillows piled up behind his back, while Katherine fed him some broth.
“I am not an invalid,” he told her in a petulant voice.
Katherine pursed her lips and frowned at him. “You were almost killed again, Jack. The last time I wasn’t allowed the privilege of caring for you. Now shut up and let me do this,” she told him sternly, as though she spent every day ordering him about.
He chuckled, his dark eyes shining. “Whatever you say, my lady.”
Katherine could sense his eyes on her, studying her, and she began to feel warm and flushed. The feeling brought back many splendid memories, ones she had tried to forget, but hadn’t. She had never forgotten how it felt to be made love to by Jack, and she never would.
“We can get under way at first light. You could be home very soon,” he said slowly, a query in his voice. He seemed to be testing the waters, wishing for more. If so, she had something to tell him that she thought he would like.
“What if I don’t want to go home?” There was nothing for her in Ceylon, or in England either. She wanted to stay with Jack, but was that what he wanted? “The ship I was on sank. People will think I drowned, you know. I can begin again, if I wish…go wherever I please…marry whomever I please.”
“And who might that be?” he asked, his eyes twinkling mischievously.
Katherine leaned over and gave him an affectionate peck on the lips, smacking her lips at the salty taste of him. He needed a bath. She would see to it that he got one.
“You should know by now, Jack. I’ve dreamed of being your wife since I was six,” she admitted, blushing.
“Tell me about your dreams. What were we doing in them?” Jack grabbed her around the waist with his good arm, pulling her close. Soup sloshed on his bare chest, but it was no longer hot and didn’t hurt him. Katherine wiped it up with the end of the sheet, laughing, her knuckles brushing the curly hair on his chest. Her hand shook in anticipation, as she set the bowl aside on the table.
“Behave yourself, Jack,” she told him, laughing and blushing even more. She still couldn’t believe they were together like this. Suddenly the last few months, Jack’s supposed death, her marriage, seemed like a bad dream.
“If I behave myself, how then am I to make all your dreams come true?” he asked, raising his left eyebrow as he gave her a wicked smile.
Jack pulled her toward him, his hands around her upper arms. She fell against his chest, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss. When he broke it off, his expression became serious.
“Marry me, my sweet. Make me the happiest man alive.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll marry you, Jack.”
Epilogue
He dismounted, tired from his long journey, and hot from the two-hour ride to his home on the north shore of the island. The stable boy led his horse away, and Jack knew it would be well-tended. With a light step that denied his exhaustion, he turned and headed for the house. Bright sunlight caught the palm fronds as they moved in the ocean breeze, creating dancing shadows on the wide lawn, as Jack’s long strides brought him closer to the people he loved. Missing his wife and children as a man would miss his right arm, he walked briskly, anxious to see them. After three months at sea he was finally home.
He had just returned to Hawaii from Singapore, and the trip had been long and boring, but profitable. Gradually Jack had been reestablishing himself as a reputable businessman, transporting goods to ports all around the world. The only places he couldn’t venture were the British colonies, where he was a wanted man. But he didn’t mind. He was still able to provide handsomely for his family, and one day his sons would inherit his shipping business.
Daniel, who had just turned four, was already interested in seeing other lands…he talked of nothing but monkeys, camels, and elephants, and woul
d ask millions of questions about the places Jack had been. And Geoffrey, at eight months, demonstrated an affinity for ships…well, at least for the ones in his bath. And Katherine didn’t seem to mind if their sons followed in his footsteps. She was truly a gem among women, a beautiful, loving person whose smile and laughter brought him more joy each day.
He could hardly believe that it had been almost five years since he’d brought her to live here on Oahu. As a young lad in Ceylon, he had lived to make a young girl smile and laugh, to encourage her adventurous spirit, and to keep her from harm when that spirit went too far. Though the boy had wished for it in the depths of his heart, he had never truly imagined that destiny would join the two of them together as loving adults. He was so thankful it had.
He could hear chortles and low murmurs coming from the shady interior of the lanai, and Jack stopped at the top of the steps, his gaze coming to rest on the figure seated on a rattan chaise lounge. A Madonna and child. Katherine was holding Geoffrey, trying to keep his hands from pulling her hair, as he nursed at her breast. Her head down, her loving gaze focused on their youngest son, she had not seen Jack yet, and for a minute he just stood there, soaking in the beautiful sight—a sight that always left him speechless.
“I wish I were an artist,” he finally said. Her head swung up, and she greeted him with an incandescent smile.
“If you were, I fear you would never complete a painting of me,” she returned, pursing her lips to keep from laughing out loud.
“And why is that?” he asked, even though he knew what she was thinking; when they were together it was impossible for him to keep his hands off her. They both grinned then, and Jack thought how much he’d missed hearing her voice, seeing her smile, feeling her body under his. He needed to feel her now. “Where is Daniel?”
