“Hello, Fleur. Willard.” Victor snapped off a bow. “Unhand my niece.”
“I think you mean my daughter.” Fleur smiled coldly as Emma sat at her feet, thrashing at the silk strips that bound her. “She was supposed to come with me the first time I left this place, but the silly girl jumped away, trying to rescue her pathetic excuse for a father.”
“You’re not my real mother.” Emma spat on Fleur’s foot. “Real mothers don’t kill people. My real mother is dead.”
Fleur reached down and stroked Emma’s cheek. “Do be still, darling. Or I’ll toss your little friend over the side.” Alec was tied up by the rail, guarded by Willard’s rifle. He didn’t speak, just glared. “You can’t have been happy with that retched uncle of yours. He couldn’t even keep a governess.”
“That would be my fault,” Willard injected. “Didn’t like the idea of the little miss getting to close to any of them, so I helped her run them off.”
“Really, Willard? Any explanations for you turning traitor? I thought you received a fair wage at Black Heath.” Victor’s tone was laced with pain at his stablemaster’s betrayal, making Melody want to skewer the man here and now.
“Wage. Hah!” Willard spat. “No money most of the time and taking orders from your sot of a brother, then you barking ’em like you’re still a captain? You’re on my ship now, boy. You’ll do as I say here.”
“Technically it’s my ship, but Mr. Willard does captain it for me. Isn’t it lovely?” Fleur simpered at Victor. “Did you know your brother threatened to expose me? Me, when it was only my efforts keeping that hovel Black Heath afloat. He was going to have me arrested. I really didn’t have any other choice but to kill him.”
Emma began to sob. Unable to stand it, Melody dived toward Fleur’s knees, knocking her backward and catching Emma in her arms. Birch, right behind Melody, sat on the woman’s chest.
Shots fired around them and at the sound, one of the officers on the bridge fired the dragon’s engines. Was the lower deck full of gas yet? She’d loosened another line in the engine room, so it could blow at any time.
“Dive,” Victor called from where he grappled with Willard over his rifle. “Forty-five degrees east of the fire ship.”
Melody had no idea why, but she believed Victor had a plan. She gathered Emma close and dived off the side, calling for Birch to follow her. Shots followed them, one grazing her arm before she sliced into the water, Birch right behind. Another splash sounded, and Alec called, “It’s me.”
After making sure both children were loose and could swim, she looked up to see Victor dive off the side of the ship, right next to one of the enormous cannons.
And the cannon flashed. Not gunpowder, not a ball, but a flare of light so vivid she was momentarily blinded. That was what had brought down her ship—and probably what had fired the stables. The gun, shaped like a smaller dragon, shot some kind of light ray, magnified to monstrous proportions. Tears rolled down Melody’s cheeks. “Victor,” she whispered brokenly. There was no way a mere mortal could have survived that.
“Over here,” Barnaby called through the darkness. “Miss Melody? Lady Emma?” He drew up beside them in a small rowboat. “Best be getting away before they start shooting again.”
Emma helped both children aboard before climbing in herself. “Or worse. I rigged the whole thing to explode.” She sniffled, trying to stay strong until everyone was safe.
“Good lass. Right, Cap’n?”
“Right as usual, Mr. Hatch.” Strong arms hauled Melody into the boat. “Think we ought to keep her?” Victor’s voice was the sweetest sound she’d ever heard as he pulled her against his chest. She gripped him with all her strength, barely daring to believe he was real, that they’d all escaped.
“Aye,” Barnaby said. Melody’s blurry vision made out two of the footmen also in the boat, who began to row away from the dragon at a rapid clip.
“Yes, please,” Emma agreed. “Will you stay, Melody? Marry us for real?”
Melody clung to Victor with one arm but held the other out for both children. “I’d love nothing more,” she said.
An ominous retort sounded and Melody instinctively covered the children with her own body, even as Victor did the same to her. A few shards of wood or metal and a few burning embers fell on their boat, but for the most part, they were far enough away to be safe.
Chapter Ten
Upon reaching the shore, they found Tom and the squire waiting. “Rounded them all up,” the squire said. “The doctor. Who’d have thought?”
“Thank you.” Victor held out his hand to each of them in turn. “Is the fire out?”
Tom nodded.
“Then if it’s all the same, I’m going to take these children and my fiancée up to the house. Feel free to follow along. We’ll have Mrs. Bates break out whatever’s in the larder for all our neighbors.”
The squire’s eyes twinkled. “Already sent back to the grange for a barrel of ale. Sort of a welcome-home gift, my lord. Figured I was lacking that.”
“Good man.” Victor clasped hands with the squire again. “Tomorrow we can start rebuilding the barn—and our village.” He told everyone about the villagers he’d seen on the ship. “I’m sorry for any losses, but...”
“But they made their own choices.” Walker nodded. “Look, I know I haven’t been the most welcoming neighbor...”
Victor shrugged. “I have no complaints.”
“It’s just—we all knew your brother was in trouble. We didn’t know all this, but we knew there was something. Rumors had gotten around that you were part of it—whatever he was into. After we questioned the doctor tonight, I know that was wrong. I’m sorry for thinking the worst.” His florid face scrunched up tight and he scuffed his boot on the ground.
Victor clapped his hand on Walker’s shoulder. “Already forgotten. In all honesty, I suspected you were involved—hell, I suspected the whole village.” He was also fairly sure the two female attendants behind Fleur had been her lady’s maid and Emma’s former governess. That was where the missing servants had gone.
One of the footmen came running up from the shore. “Captain, you’ve got to see this—a big piece of the ship just washed up. It’s full of people—slaves, I guess. They’re all alive, or most of them, anyway.”
“I’ll take the children up to the house.” Melody touched Victor’s arm. While she wanted to go see the washed-up folks, she knew that Victor, as the landowner, needed to be there more than she did. Furthermore, a big part of her didn’t want to let Emma out of her sight. “I’m sure Alec wants to see his mother, and they both need baths and hot milk.”
“Thank you.” After a quick, searing kiss, Victor ran off down the hill.
Melody clutched one grubby little hand in each of hers and dragged herself, with the squire’s escort, toward the house. “If there’s anything you need,” he said as he handed her through the kitchen door—from me or my wife, just let me know.”
“I’ll do that. You’re very kind.” Melody found herself being embraced by Nell, Dorothy and Mrs. Bates.
“We’ll take care of the children,” Nell said. “Go help Victor.”
Melody felt like a ball being bounced back and forth, but of course, she couldn’t resist. She made her way down to the shore where Victor, Tom and a handful of the men were sorting out what to do with the twenty or so men, women and children who’d been in the hold of the ship.
“Obviously, the hold was designed to withstand attack,” Tom said. “But they weren’t well cared for. Several of them are ill or malnourished.”
“We’ll do what we can,” Melody said. “Perhaps Papa and Kendall will send along some assistance—particularly a doctor.”
“We’ll see to it,” Tom said. “If the locals will take to a female physician, Genny probably has some friends looking for places to practice.”
“I’d support that.” Victor shoved his hands through his hair. “For now, let’s get everyone up to the house. We can haul
mattresses down to the great hall—I doubt they’ll want to be separated.”
One older man, his curly black hair grizzled with silver, pushed forward. “‘Dis where we work? You master?”
“No.” Victor said. “You are free men. Once everyone has been seen by a doctor, I’ll arrange for a ship to return you to your home.”
The older man nodded. “You sink slave boat?”
“She did.” Victor wrapped his arm around Melody.
The older man tipped his head toward her. “We owe you. Will do anything you ask.”
Melody sighed. “Right now, let’s just get everyone up to the house and fed.”
He grinned, his big smile missing one tooth. “Yes.” Speaking in what she assumed was his native language, he rounded up his people—all twenty-two of them, from him down to a toddler. Some were too ill to walk and were carried by Black Heath employees.
* * *
It was nearly dawn when Victor finally found his way to his bed. The freed slaves were all bedded down, having been fed, bathed and seen by the local midwife, with Nell and Miss Dorothy in attendance. The most serious cases were being observed overnight by volunteer housemaids, while Nell and Bates were upstairs with the children, who’d been pronounced in perfect health. Victor’s small wound had been cleaned and bandaged. There were men watching the shore and the barn. Finally, he could sleep.
He entered his bedroom and began to peel off what remained of his clothes, leaving them where they lay on the floor for perhaps the first time in his life. By the time he reached his bed, he was naked, with just enough energy to crawl under the covers instead of falling face-down on top of them.
Sliding between the sheets, he discovered something—someone—warm and soft already there. “What—” He started to slide back out.
“Slow down.” Melody’s soft voice beckoned, her arms wrapped around him, holding him in place. “I was worried about you.”
“You shouldn’t be here.” Even as he said it, he gathered her into his arms, finding her pliant, willing and moreover, naked. Victor groaned. “You’re trying to kill me.”
She shuddered. “No, I think enough other people have done that tonight to last a lifetime. I just wanted—no, needed—to be with you. No interruptions, no inhibitions. Just us.”
“Melody, you know the risks—unless you really are willing to marry me...” He sighed as she nipped his shoulder, then tipped her face up for his kiss. He rolled until she was sprawled atop him, the sweet weight of her imprinting itself on his skin as her lips and tongue branded his.
“Ask me,” she said. “If you mean it, that is. Not for convenience or for Emma, but for yourself.”
“Of course I want you.” He shook his head, trying to string two clear thoughts together. “For all those reasons, but mostly because I’ve fallen head over heels for you, you maddening, managing, brilliant, beautiful, fierce female. I utterly dread the idea of you leaving—even if it means building an airship field here on the Heath. Will you marry me, Melody MacKay? Be a wife to me, an engineer for your mysterious Order and a mother to Emma?”
“Yes.” She kissed him sweetly. “I love you, Victor. I don’t want to go. I want to stay here, with you, and Emma and Barnaby, and even Mrs. Ritchie. Maybe a few more children down the road.”
“Thank God.” He kissed her again, this time letting loose of his control and rolling her into the mattress beneath him. Her skin was silky smooth, scented with lemon and ginger. He kissed his way down her neck to suck a little line across her collarbones. She tangled her hands in his hair, urging him on, and Victor’s desire surged to a new height, beyond everything he’d ever known before. He circled kisses around one breast, drawing ever closer to the areoles and the small nipples pearled up and waiting for him. Finally, he reached the center and sucked one rigid peak into his mouth. He was rewarded with a muffled scream.
He paused, not sure if the noise had been good or bad. She cupped her hand around the back of his head and pulled him closer. “Again,” she whispered. Her hips twitched restlessly beneath his own.
“As you wish.” He repeated the caress on her other breast, loving the warmth and flavor of her skin. His cock throbbed as it pressed between her legs. He continued worshipping her plump breasts, wishing with all his heart that he’d lit a lamp before coming to bed.
“Victor.” She moaned and thrashed beneath him. “I need...more. You.”
“Ah, dearest.” He shifted his weight off her and slid his hand down between her restless thighs. Her legs splayed, making room for his hand, and he stroked his fingers through her wet curls, sucking hard on her nipple as he circled her tiny nub with the tip of one finger. She was so responsive, so nearly ready that she took his breath away.
“More,” she said again over a broken cry when he slid one finger into her drenched, snug sheath.
“Just relax,” he said, setting up a regular rhythm with his finger in her core and his thumb on her clitoris. In between, he drew deeply on her nipple. She began to thrash, her breath coming in short, broken pants. After just a few minutes she broke, her inner walls clenching hard on his hand as she convulsed. Victor bent over her to catch her scream, still petting her as he kissed her until neither of them could breathe. When she finally sighed and relaxed, he positioned himself above her. “Still sure?”
“Hell yes,” she murmured, tugging on his shoulders.
“All right.” Her unladylike behavior didn’t bother him anymore. In bed, it was downright appealing. Slowly, savoring every inch, he slid his aching erection into her heat.
“Jesus Christ.” He couldn’t even fathom the pleasure. She was so hot, so wet, so tight. She clung to him with her arms, digging her nails into the flesh of his back and her heels into his buttocks. Victor worked his cock in and then slowly slid out. With each thrust, he went a little deeper, stretching her delicate tissues to accept his girth. Finally, he was all the way in, the tip of his penis against her womb, his bollocks tight against her arse. He paused to suck in several ragged breaths, then began to move.
“Yes.” She dug her nails in deeper. “Oh, Victor.”
His name on her lips was like the crack of a whip, shocking him into a higher level of awareness as he took her, not nearly as gently as he’d planned. He slammed home, again and again, until she was clenching and sobbing around him.
“Come with me, Melody,” he whispered in her ear. His fingers found her nipples and he squeezed them both as he thrust hard and deep. She fractured again on a silent scream and Victor buried himself in her depths and let himself go. Over and over, he poured himself into her until he had nothing left. Surely they’d find only his dried remains in the morning, but it would have all been worth it. Anything to bring those little moans of bliss to Melody’s throat.
“I love you,” she murmured as they lay there, still entwined, both too spent to move. “Thank you, Victor. That was beautiful.”
“Love you.” It was all he could manage. Reluctantly pulling out of her, he rolled over and gathered her against his chest. He pulled the blankets up over them both, kissed her forehead and went to sleep.
* * *
The following afternoon, Melody sat on the arm of Victor’s chair as they all gathered in the library to sort out the events of the night before.
“Both Willard’s and Fleur’s bodies have been recovered,” Victor said. “We’ll give them decent burials, but anonymous in Fleur’s case. No point raking up old coals.”
“So apparently, the point of this trip was Fleur trying to empty out all the money she had stored beneath the barn, as well as to reclaim Emma. Fleur was injured when she faked her death and had to wait before returning.” Tom leaned on the mantel at the side of the room. “She may have been a monster, but she did love her daughter, in her own twisted way. The fire in the stable was a diversion to allow them to grab her and to empty all your servants out of the barn.”
Victor nodded. “I’ve heard. I’m glad there was some humanity in her. Some trace of the
woman I believed I loved when I met her at my grandfather’s shipyard. I can’t help feeling that all of this is my fault.”
“It’s all Fleur’s fault.” Melody couldn’t stand to hear Victor berate himself. “You were tricked. That’s not your fault, it’s simply being human.”
Tom gave them both a wry smile and Walker cleared his throat.
“Where was she going?” Nell asked. “Back to China?”
Barnaby shook his head. “To America. The Farnsworths with ’em.”
“You’ll want to dredge or dive that part of the coastline for whatever was in the hold. Farnsworth spilled his guts,” Walker said. “They were using your barn to store all their ill-gotten gains, and apparently the late Lady Blackwell had too much to fit in her dragon boat the first time she left here.”
Victor nodded. “I’ll see to it. Your people are taking the doctor and his sister to London for trial?”
“My father will be here this afternoon to supervise. By the way, some of the slaves have asked to stay.” Melody handed Mrs. Walker a cup of tea. “I think our village has room for a few more citizens, don’t you?” From what she’d seen, there was plenty of opportunity for enterprising people to earn a living in the area.
“Of course.” None of the villagers could say no to her or Victor after the night they’d had. It was all because of Victor and his heroism, of course, but Melody wasn’t above taking advantage of it if it would make the survivors’ lives here more comfortable.
“And the wedding will be as soon as possible.” Victor clasped Melody’s shoulder. “You’ll all be invited, of course.”
“Naturally,” Melody agreed. “To the reception we’ll have here at the Heath, or if any of you want to be in London in a month, you’ll be more than welcome at the ceremony itself.”
“A month?” Victor lifted a brow. “Why so long?”
Melody smiled. “I want all my family and friends there, of course. Plus, despite my profession, I am a lady. I want pretty bridal clothes as much as the next woman.”
Victor laughed as she’d intended. “I can’t deny you, my dear. A month it shall be. But not a minute longer.” The rest of the assembled company laughed too.
Dragons & Dirigibles Page 15
