Once a Mistress

by Debra Mullins

  Slowly she retied the sash. “Alex,” she said quietly, “you must believe me when I tell you that my father is innocent. And you are the only man who can help him.”

  “Lovely Diana.” He lifted her chin with his finger so that she met his gaze. “I wish that I could. But if he has fallen in with Marcus and Chilton, then he must pay for his crimes.”

  “You don’t believe me. You think my father is guilty, and that I am trying to protect him.” Her eyes stung with the onset of tears that she fought to hide. “If it is the last thing I do, Alex, I will convince you.”

  “You are welcome to try.”

  He turned away from her and went to the door. Pausing with his hand on the latch, he glanced back at her. “Go to sleep, my girl. Mayhap you will think more clearly after you have rested.”

  She frowned as he left the cabin. Think clearly, was it? She was thinking perfectly clearly! ‘Twas he who needed to see things as they were. But one thing he said had made sense. She needed to sleep. It had been a harrowing night and even more nerve-wracking morning. She needed all her wits about her to win this dangerous game.

  As she climbed into the big bed and pulled the coverlet over her, she made a vow. She would make him believe her. No matter what it took.

  Alex stood just outside the door to his cabin and listened to the sounds of Diana climbing into his bed. Part of him wanted to climb in there with her…the wrong part. But well did he remember the consequences of following the promptings of his loins and not those of his head. He had sworn that no one would distract him from his goal. That included the tempting Diana.

  He lifted a hand and laid it flat against the portal.

  “Ah, sweet lady,” he murmured. “Had we only met in another time and place, I would have accepted your offer most willingly. But as it is, that very offer has only made this easier.”

  He removed his hand from the door and rubbed it over his face. He knew the only reason she had offered herself was to save her father’s life, not because she truly wanted him. And he would be damned before he would ever again have duty bring a woman to his bed. Bianca had taught him all too well the consequences of that.

  He glanced once more at the door, noting the silence that had fallen within the cabin. How easily Diana had accepted his suggestion that she rest, no doubt relieved that she had been spared from sacrificing herself to duty.

  “If you ever come to me again, my lovely, ‘twill be because you want me. Not because duty bestirs you.”

  Putting his disturbing captive from his mind, as she had so clearly put him from hers, he headed abovedecks to tend to his ship.

  Frederick paced the floor of his study. Covington Hall had been in an uproar since daybreak. Maude stood nearby, her eyes reddened from tears, the skirt of her dark brown, serviceable dress wrinkled from her wringing her hands.

  “Ma bairn,” she whimpered over and over again. “Ma poor wee lassie!”

  Frederick clenched his teeth and tried to ignore the litany. Concentrating over the anguished woman’s rantings proved most difficult. “Maude, do try to calm yourself.”

  “Calm myself?” Maude shrieked. “How can ye expect me tae calm myself when ma poor innocent Diana is nowhere tae be found? Stolen from her bed? In the hands o’ some monster?”

  “Please try,” Frederick insisted. “I am trying to think.”

  “This is what comes o’ makin’ a pirate the deputy governor o’ the island,” Maude railed, shaking a finger at him. “All pirates are o’ the same cloth and mean nae good tae decent folk.”

  “Woman, this is not the time for politics.”

  She laughed harshly. “Indeed it is. Dinna be goin’ tae Henry Morgan wi’ tales o’ your daughter’s disappearance,” she warned. “The Brethren o’ the sea stick together like honey on bread. The Assembly was right tae send the governor tae England tae get Morgan removed. Do ye ken, Frederick? They were right!”

  “Enough!” Frederick bellowed. “Cease your ranting! Can you not see that I am trying to concentrate?”

  Maude looked stricken for a moment. She pressed her trembling lips together. Then she buried her face in her hands and began keening and wailing, her accent so thick that Frederick couldn’t understand a blessed word she said. He gave a disgusted sigh.

  “Leave me, Maude. I shall inform you when I have word.” Maude babbled a response and stumbled towards the door. Just as she reached it, the portal opened to reveal Walter, one of the house servants. Maude streaked past him, nearly knocking down Frederick’s visitor in her haste.

  “Lord Chilton to see you, sir.”

  “Chilton! What in bloody blazes does he want?”

  Before Walter could respond, Chilton himself stepped forward, a buffoon-like figure in black and crimson. “Now, Frederick. Is that any way to speak of your business partner?”

  Frederick glared at Chilton and signaled Walter’s dismissal with a wave of his hand. The servant bobbed his head and left the room.

  Frederick eyed Chilton with ill-concealed revulsion. “Now that you have chastised my manners in front of my servant, what the devil do you want, Chilton?”

  “Frederick, Frederick.” Clucking his tongue, Chilton sauntered into the room and settled into a chair. “I was merely seeking to edify you in the ways of a gentleman. I should have known it was a fruitless exercise.”

  Frederick clenched and unclenched his hands. “I have a rather urgent matter to deal with. Walter will show you out.” He indicated the door in a gesture of dismissal.

  Chilton sat back in his chair and critically examined the toe of his shoe. He pulled a lacy handkerchief from his ruffled cuff and dabbed at a speck of mud.

  Frederick snorted in disgust and headed for the door. “Good day, Chilton.”

  “I suppose, Frederick,” Chilton drawled in languid tones, “that this ‘urgent matter’ refers to Diana’s disappearance?”

  Frederick shut the door with a soft click and slowly turned to face his uninvited guest. “What do you know of Diana?”

  “More than you do, apparently.” Chilton surveyed the heavy rings adorning his thin fingers. “You should not have crossed me, Frederick.”

  Frederick slowly retraced his steps until he stood just in front of the nobleman. Alarm crept down his spine as he noticed how pleased and confident the fop appeared. A man who was a breath away from being arrested for piracy should not look so calm.

  “What do you know of my daughter, Chilton?” he demanded.

  “Do not sound so ominous, Frederick. She is quite safe.” Chilton raised his eyebrows and gave Frederick an amused smile. “Actually, safe is not quite the word. I believe ‘twould be more accurate to say that she is alive. Yes, that is much closer to the truth.”

  “Just what is that supposed to mean, Chilton?” Frederick snapped. “What do you know about Diana’s disappearance?”

  “Everything, of course.” Chilton leaned back in his chair and withdrew an elaborate snuffbox from his coat pocket. Flicking open the lid with a practiced gesture, he drawled, “I arranged the whole thing. Your daughter, my dear sir, is being held by my associate until such a time that you turn over the pages of my ledger to me.”

  “Associate!” Frederick shook with fury as Chilton pinched a bit of snuff and inhaled it with fastidious care. “What associate? You can’t mean—”

  “But I do.” Chilton flipped the snuffbox closed before pulling forth a second handkerchief from his other cuff. He sneezed into it. “Marcus is holding Diana until he receives word from me that all is well. I have no fear that he will kill her, though she may return to you slightly damaged—”

  “You bastard!”

  Frederick’s roar echoed through the room. The snuffbox went flying as Frederick toppled the chair in which Chilton sat. He closed his hands with merciless accuracy around Chilton’s throat.

  Chilton gasped for breath, clawing at the hands cutting off his air supply. His eyes bulged. His face reddened.

  “You bastard! You bloody primping, p
rancing bastard!” Frederick slammed Chilton’s head over and over against the floor. “I’ll kill you! By all that’s holy, you shall die this day!”

  Chilton grabbed one of Frederick’s wrists with both hands and pulled. He sucked in a breath. “Can’t…kill…me,” he gasped. “You’ll…never…find her.”

  The logic of his words cut through the blinding haze of fury. With a blistering curse, Frederick yanked his hands from Chilton’s throat, dropping the man’s head to the floor with a muffled thud. While Chilton lay groaning and fingering his abused throat, Frederick rose from his perch on the man’s abdomen. He took great gasps of air, trying to calm his searing rage. Chilton slowly picked himself up off the floor.

  Rubbing his bruised neck, he glared at Frederick. “You will regret that, Frederick,” he rasped. “In the meantime, there is no need to discuss terms of release. You know what they are.” Sweeping his crumpled hat from the floor, he perched it atop his precariously tilting wig.

  “You will indeed discuss terms, Chilton.” Frederick’s voice dripped with menace. “You have three days to produce my daughter. If you do not, the pages of your ledger go to Morgan. And I will come for you.”

  Chilton paled at the blatant threat. “Three days is impossible,” he objected. “She is not on the island.”

  “A week then,” Frederick amended. “You will return my daughter within seven days time. And there had better not be a mark on her.”

  “You are not in a position to issue threats, Frederick,” Chilton said with bravado. “If you give the pages to Morgan, you may implicate yourself as well.”

  “And you are not in a position to test me, Chilton. If I must give my life for my daughter’s safe return, then so be it. Now get your skinny arse from my home, lest my boot show you the way!”

  Chilton curled his lip and departed with as much hauteur as he could muster. The slamming of the door behind him echoed like a canon blast in the room.

  Frederick’s shoulders sagged. He looked heavenward, and clenched his fists.

  “Though it may cost my own life, I will see you home safely, Diana. This I vow.”

  Chapter Nine

  Diana opened her eyes. At first she lay disoriented, confused by her unfamiliar surroundings. Then she remembered. She had been abducted by Marcus and stolen from him by Alex. And Alex was El Moreno. She was asleep in Alex’s bed, in his cabin, aboard his ship.

  But where was the man himself?

  She abruptly sat up as another thought occurred to her. If she was sleeping in his bed, where had he slept? She glanced anxiously around the room, but saw no evidence of any other bedding. The pillow beside her showed no impression that indicated his head had rested there.

  Footsteps echoed in the companionway. She jerked her gaze to the door as it slowly creaked open. With white-knuckled fingers, she pulled the coverlet to her chest.

  “Good mornin’ tae ye, lass.” Birk entered the room, balancing a tray. Her empty stomach growled as she caught sight of the food he had brought her. The Scotsman laughed. “I can see ye’re hungered. It’s a good sign.”

  “I feel as if I haven’t eaten in a week.” Pulling the sash of Alex’s robe tighter, she slipped from the bed and went to sit at the table as Birk set down the tray. The hot tea and day-old bread looked like a feast, and the bananas were a treat. She knew the only reason she had gotten fresh fruit at all was because they were only a day out of Port Royal.

  “Aye, the sea has a way o’ wakin’ the hunger in a body,” the physician answered. He watched her, amusement in his eyes, as she tore into the bread. “Did ye sleep well, lass?”

  She flushed and reached for the tea. “I slept soundly.”

  “I canna say the same for the captain.” Birk seated himself and grinned. “He kept me awake most o’ the night wi’ his rummlin’ and whummlin’.”

  Diana chewed a bit of bread and washed it down with a sip of tea. “He spent the night with you?”

  “Och, aye.” The twinkle in Birk’s eyes belied the innocence of his expression. “He came tae ma cabin last night and asked me tae spare him a bit o’ space. So I bade him take his rest on the floor.”

  Diana put down the bread and stared at him. “You made the captain of the ship sleep on the floor?”

  “That I did.” Birk folded his arms behind his head. “He might be the captain tae you, lass, but tae me he is just a man. It’s near ten year we’ve kent one another, and a better friend a man canna find.”

  “You know him well then.”

  “Nobody kens him better. No e’en his own mother.” Birk shook his head. “Ye shouldna have gone tae him like ye did. He’d be the last man to bed a woman agin her will or because o’ duty. It would have served ye better tae just seduce the man and be done wi’ it.”

  Heat surging in her cheeks, Diana grabbed a banana and began to slowly strip the skin from the fruit. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Birk laughed. “Dinna play the innocent, missy. Do ye no ken I’m tryin’ tae help ye?”

  She couldn’t deny the truth in the face of those knowing blue eyes. “As much as I appreciate your suggestion, Mister Fraser,” she said, “I doubt seducing him would have done much good. He seemed to resist my charms most easily.”

  “That’s because ye’re listenin’ tae what he tells ye and no tae what yer eyes are tellin’ ye. Alex wants ye right enough, that’s easily seen.”

  “Mister Fraser!” Flustered by his bluntness, she bit a piece of banana.

  He chuckled. “Forgive ma boldness, lass, but I thought ye might be better off kennin’ the situation as it is.”

  “‘Tis you who does not see clearly, sir. Alex has made it most clear that he has no interest in me. I am just another woman to him.”

  “Gin that was the truth, lass, he would have passed the night wi’ you instead o’ keeping me awake wi’ his tossin’.” Birk grinned. “He didna take tae yer bargain, that’s all.”

  She couldn’t look at him. “He would not accept my gold. And I need his help.”

  “Aye, he telt me the way o’ it. As fer myself, I can see that yer father could well be innocent o’ any ill-doin’. But ye must ken that Alex is obsessed wi’ capturin’ Marcus. He can be a wee bit hard-headed in that respect.”

  She jerked her gaze to his. “You believe me?”

  “I’m just sayin’ that the possibility’s there. There’s equal chance that yer father’s as guilty as the rest o’ the brigands.”

  “He is innocent!”

  Birk held up his hands. “I’m no the one ye have to convince, lass.”

  Her shoulders sagged. “I know that. Alex will not even consider the possibility that my father is innocent. I asked him to help me, and he refused. Nothing I offered would change his mind.”

  Birk chuckled. “Aye, ye got yerself in a swither, didn’t ye? Truth be telt, lass, Alex is a reasonable man when it comes to anything but Marcus. But he’s a man that wouldna make a promise he couldna keep.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Birk paused, as if weighing his words. “Despite what it seems, Alex is a man o’ honor. He’ll no make a promise he’s no sure he can keep, nor will he take from ye anything he disna have a right tae.”

  “A pirate who is a man of honor? I have never heard of such a thing!”

  “Pirates have honor amongst themselves. Alex more than most.”

  “So you are saying that he did not accept my…offer,” she said, blushing, “because he wasn’t sure he could help my father?”

  “That’s part o’ it.” Birk glanced away, causing Diana to wonder what the other part was.

  “But I believe he is the only man who can help Papa,” she continued. “What should I do now?”

  “As for that, I believe I telt ye what tae do. Seduce the man.”

  “Oh, for certain,” she scoffed, indicating her appearance. “I am the very picture of seduction.”

  “Ye can be. Gin ye set yer mind tae it.” She rolled her eyes, and
he laughed. “I’ll help ye, lass.” He got up and went to the sea chest. After a few moments of rummaging, he produced a set of woman’s clothing: a saffron yellow skirt and matching bodice trimmed with black lace and an underskirt in a paler shade of yellow. “Wear this. It will look bonnie wi’ yer fine red hair.”

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “Nothing is over good for the captain’s mistress, if ye ken ma meanin’.”

  Where once the term mistress had made Diana cringe, now she discovered an advantage to the title Alex himself had bestowed upon her. She smiled slowly. “I believe I do.” She glanced back at the gown. “Whose is this?”

  “The captain meant it as a present fer somebody, but he says you needed it more.”

  She hesitated, wondering who he had intended the dress for. “I don’t know if it is right for me to wear something he meant as a gift,” she said finally.

  He let out an exasperated sigh. “Wheesht, woman! Do ye think tae entice the man while wearin’ Marcus’s breeks?”

  She wrinkled her nose at the reminder and reached for the clothing. “Very well. Give it to me.”

  He handed it to her, then reached again into the chest to produce a silver-backed brush and a handful of ribbons.

  “There are no petticoats?” she asked, examining the gown. “No corset or chemise?”

  Birk tossed a plain white chemise on the bed, then put his hands on his hips, still holding the brush and ribbons. “That’s all there is, though I dinna ken what ye would be needin’ that for when ye’ll only take it off again.”

  She blushed to the roots of her hair. “Mister Fraser!”

  “Lass, ye canna bring a man tae his knees wearin’ six petticoats and a whalebone chastity belt!” He handed her the brush and ribbons, then stomped to the door. “Cry me when ye’re finished. Then I’ll take ye tae the captain.”

  Diana blinked as he slammed the door, then looked at the yellow satin in her hands. She longed to get out of the borrowed clothing she had worn since early yesterday morning, but she knew that once she donned these garments, things would never be the same.