Fortune's Flames

by Janelle Taylor

  Later, Dan reported that he had made contact with a pirate who had promised to deliver fifty crates of wine on the following afternoon and fifty every two weeks thereafter. Maren knew the wine was stolen from ships taken at sea. But if she did not purchase it, someone else would, and she needed wine to stay in business.

  Maren circulated in the gaming rooms, chatting with her patrons before agreeing to join three men for baccarat, a game which depended upon the luck of the draw as much as a player’s skill. One of the three was the banker, who dealt each player two cards face-down. If a third card was desired to achieve a total of nine or nineteen, and to win, the third card was dealt face-up, creating suspense. Tens and face cards did not count, and all bets had to be equal to or less than the banker’s.

  The game proceeded genially, Maren sipping a glass of wine, the men inbibing stronger drinks; but Cameron James’s daughter did not allow the conversation to dull her wits. She had set a limit on what she could afford to lose and had vowed not to exceed it. She hoped to earn more money tonight, to help replace the amount stolen by Eric.

  As Jared Morgan entered the gambling house, he nodded a greeting to the guards, then paused in the large entry hall to scan his surroundings. He wanted to take his mind off his frustrating search for James and Maren Slade, who seemed unknown here. After docking at dawn, he had managed to locate James Shipping, but according to the lad in the office, Eric James and the Martha J had been gone for weeks. To make matters worse, Jared had been told of Cameron James’s death and of Eric’s takeover of the firm. He wondered who was in control of Lady Luck and whether he would face problems here. Fortunately he had put in at Savannah to check on his family, so he was now prepared to handle his other business.

  When familiar laughter reached Jared’s alert ears, his head jerked toward the room to his right and his tawny gaze focused on a brunette who had her back to him. His tall body stiffened and his heart pounded. He almost dreaded checking the looking glass beyond her, but he had to view the woman’s face. His eyes narrowed. How was it possible that no one he’d questioned had known of the beautiful woman who was calmly playing cards with three men!

  Quickly Jared’s gaze searched both rooms for Maren’s husband, James Slade. Surprised and pleased to find the man was not about, he made his way through the large room to stand behind her.

  Maren sensed a male presence, but she was caught off guard when she received a kiss on the cheek. Simultaneously his manly fragrance assailed her nostrils, then her head turned and their gazes fused. She inhaled sharply and her eyes widened. His smile beat upon her like the blazing sun.

  “Maren. It’s been a long time.”

  “Jared,” she murmured, suddenly short of breath and very warm. Her hands trembled so that she nearly dropped her cards.

  “You’re very hard to locate, I must say. I’ve spent all day looking for you. I see you’re a woman of many surprises,” he teased.

  With great difficulty, Maren pulled her eyes from his handsome face and glanced at the men at her table. Their curious gazes were locked on her. “Let me finish this game, Jared, then we’ll talk,” she told him, but she dared not look at him again.

  “I’ll wait right here. I can’t allow you to slip through my fingers,” he replied in a strange, but mellow, tone.

  Maren tried to concentrate on the game, but Jared’s close proximity prevented it. Aware of his hands on her chair, she vainly tried to suppress the quiver this slight contact inspired. And when his strong fingers slipped beneath her hair and began to caress the back of her neck, she shifted in her seat. She could not ask him to halt his bold behavior without calling more attention to it, but she gradually became annoyed with him for displaying such familiarity in a public place, her place. After Jared’s unexpected arrival, Maren lost every hand except one, and she rapidly reached her loss limit for the night. Having done so, she smiled, thanked the players, and excused herself. Jared then pulled out her chair and extended his hand to help her rise. After Maren led him to the foot of the stairs, she turned to face him. “Don’t ever embarrass me in public like that again,” she scolded. “I have enough trouble keeping a clean reputation without you strolling in and discoloring it.”

  Jared did not apologize. Why should he worry about sparing a reputation she was so loose with at times! The Martha J’s cabin had been private, but the beach in Jamaica was certainly a public place where they could have been discovered in an almost intimate situation. He knew he had been unnerving her; he had done it intentionally. He leaned against the sturdy stair post. “You’ve led me on quite a merry chase, woman. I didn’t find your note until you were long gone, and now I have wasted all day trying to track you down. Let’s go where we can talk.”

  Maren erroneously assumed that Jared had discovered her identity. “I can’t take you to my room,” she whispered. “People would gossip.” She observed him as he grinned mischievously. He was dressed in a fawn waistcoat. Its narrow shoulders and tightfitting sleeves revealed his masculine torso. His fawn-colored breeches halted below the knee, and silk stockings then covered his legs until they disappeared into soft leather shoes with rounded tongues and silver buckles. Underneath his vest, he wore a soft linen shirt. A neatly tied cravat completed his attire. His hair was combed back, and parted on the right side. His garments were clean and fresh, as was he. He smelled delightful, and he looked magnificent, refined.

  Jared was eying Maren as she looked him over. He liked the ivory gown she wore. The fitted waist revealed her slender midriff, and modestly accentuated her nice bosom. He wanted to stroke the satiny flesh her low neckline revealed. Indeed, his passionate nature was responding to her undeniable sensuality; his snug britches made him aware of this. Touching the gold necklace at her throat, he remarked, “I’m glad I didn’t take this that day; it’s at home around this lovely neck.”

  Maren actually blushed, something she did infrequently. “I, too, am glad,” she replied, unable to come up with a wittier response.

  “However, you don’t look as desperate or as helpless as you did that day on the ship. In fact, I don’t recall this gown,” he said.

  Maren looked surprised. “Do you remember everything you see?”

  “I try to. Sometimes even a tiny piece of information could save my life. In any case, you seem to have made out well since your return.”

  “I’ve had my share of good luck. What about you, Captain Hawk?”

  Jared quickly glanced around to make certain no one had overheard her. “If you don’t mind, would you keep that name to yourself?” he asked. Jared didn’t need to be secretive about it because he was a patriotic privateer who worked under the president’s aegis, but he thought it might charm this exquisite woman if she believed she shared a secret with him.

  “Then what shall I call you, Jared?”

  “Morgan,” he answered calmly.

  “Well, Morgan, what are you doing in New Orleans?”

  He chuckled. “Jared Morgan is my name. You do recall your promise to spend time with me if I didn’t rob you? And your note in Jamaica?”

  Maren smiled when Jared shared his real name with her. Now, she wouldn’t have to worry about making a slip before she confessed that they had met years ago. “Surely you didn’t spend so much time and money just to pay a social call on me,” she teased merrily.

  “To be honest, I’m here on business, and for pleasure. Can we take a walk so we can talk privately? It’s beautiful outside.”

  “That would be nice, Jared,” she replied, but as they approached the door, Maren smiled and told the two guards, “I’ll return later.”

  Ned Jones and Harry Peck nodded, and Ned said, “Don’t worry. We’ll keep an eye on things, Miss Maren. We won’t allow any trouble tonight.”

  Maren thanked them, then left with Jared, who had assumed the guard was referring to trouble with James Slade.

  As soon as they were a short distance from Lady Luck, Jared teased, “You really like to live dangerously, don’t y
ou, Maren?”

  She halted and looked at him. “What do you mean? I don’t usually lose very many hands, but you did distract me with your sudden arrival.”

  “How about playing a game with me?”

  “And let you win the shirt off my back because you addle my brain?”

  “That sounds most enticing, but I had a much different game in mind, my enchanting siren. Let’s go to my hotel room and play a game without any rules,” he suggested bluntly.

  Maren’s cheeks colored slightly. “I can’t do that, Jared. Someone might see us. Besides, I think you have the wrong impression of me. Actually we should go back inside, but perhaps we can have lunch tomorrow.”

  “You weren’t concerned about getting caught with me on the ship or on the beach,” he reminded her. “You were warm and willing then. Why so cold tonight? I’ve come a long way to collect on your promises.”

  Maren was dismayed by his words. “That just happened, Jared. I was foolish.”

  “Then be foolish again tonight,” he coaxed huskily. “You owe me, woman. You led me on twice, then ran out on me in Jamaica.”

  “I left you a note. I told you it was dangerous there and we had to leave. We had been told British ships would arrive that day.”

  “Why didn’t you warn me about them?” he asked.

  “I was aroused before dawn and rushed out, halfasleep. I barely had time to write you that note. I’m sorry. But you should be used to looking out for your own safety. Are they your enemies too?”

  “Of course. I’m an American. Thank goodness someone warned me to sail quickly. We barely cleared the island before they arrived.”

  “I said I was sorry. I couldn’t risk getting caught waking you. If you’ll recall, Captain Hawk, you had robbed us a few days earlier, and I only had twenty minutes to get ready. But I did say goodbye. You don’t have to be so hateful, Jared. I don’t owe you anything.”

  “Are you spurning me after luring me into coming so far to have you?”

  Maren was shocked. “I did no such thing! I’ve never behaved like that before. You just…charmed me into misbehaving.”

  “Oh, little Maren can’t help misbehaving,” he teased huskily.

  “You’re wrong about me, Jared. Let me explain what—”

  “Where is your beloved husband tonight?” he asked abruptly.

  “Husband?” she echoed, momentarily confused.

  “You do recall that you have one, don’t you, Mrs. James Slade?”

  Maren was astonished by his insinuation. “You knew?”

  “It seems you forgot to reveal that piece of information to me. If a man needs to watch out for an irate husband, he should be warned. Then he can decide whether the woman in question is worth the risk. You are.”

  Maren stared at him as his words sank in. “If you thought I was married, why did you carry on like that with me? Do you always accost married women when you attack ships?”

  “I didn’t know the truth about you that day. I found out later.”

  “But you pursued me again in Jamaica,” she accused.

  “I pursued you?” he taunted mirthfully. “You were more than eager both times. You didn’t mind betraying your husband before, so why act the innocent tonight? You know you want me as much as I want you.”

  “Damn you, you lecherous bastard! Getaway from me.”

  Maren started to head back to Lady Luck, but Jared seized her arm. Thoughts of her had tormented him for weeks. “Not so fast, my lovely tart. Nobody makes a fool of me or refuses to pay a debt.”

  “You made a fool of yourself, Captain Hawk. I’m not Maren Slade; I’m not married to anyone. In fact, James Slade doesn’t exist. That was a ruse to protect me from the sailors aboard Eric’s ship.”

  “Eric’s ship?” he repeated evocatively.

  “My first cousin, Eric James, owns James Shipping. I was trapped in London by the war. Eric ran the blockade and rescued me. I own Lady Luck and I live there. I don’t need any man to take care of me or to tell me what to do, especially not one who fools around with married women. Don’t you ever come near me again.”

  Jared’s mind was working swiftly and keenly. “That would make you Maren James, Cameron James’s daughter.”

  “That’s right, Captain Hawk. But my father’s dead.”

  “I heard that today,” he replied, his tone noticeably different. “I thought you said you had nothing but that necklace and those clothes.”

  Maren wasn’t about to explain her situation to this man. He had dallied with her while thinking her a married woman, and there was no telling what other bad traits he possessed. She concluded sadly that Jared Morgan was not the man she had thought him to be. “I did not lead you on, you foul beast, but you cannot say the same. Leave me alone before I call my guards.”

  “You say you own Lady Luck?” he probed. “But you’re a woman.”

  “I am, but I can run it better than any man.”

  “I imagine you can,” he murmured with a grin.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” she demanded.

  “I’ve witnessed your talents at work in many areas, Maren. I think you can do anything you wish. You tricked me easily enough.”

  “If you’re referring to how I misled you on the ship, surely you didn’t expect me to be honest with a pirate.”

  “I’m not a pirate; I’m a privateer.”

  “I doubt there’s little difference.”

  “That depends on whose side you are on. I’m an American so I’m helping to show the Brits that we can defend ourselves.”

  “I suppose that gives you an excuse to raid ships whenever you wish.”

  “You’re a hard woman, Maren James,” he teased.

  “I don’t like being duped, Mr. Morgan.”

  “Nor do I, Miss James,” he retorted. “I thought you were married.”

  “I know you did,” she replied frostily, her accusation clear.

  The quick-witted Jared said, “But not until you left me. I was being honest with you those two times. You’ve bewitched me, woman.”

  Maren watched Jared closely. She doubted him.

  “Are you going to break your promises to me?” he asked softly.

  “I made those promises to someone else, not a wife stealer.”

  “I told you, I heard that false tale later.”

  “I don’t believe you. You were aware of it when you found me tonight, yet you continued your lewd pursuit. How long did you plan to keep your false impression a secret? Until I kept my… promise?”

  “Maybe,” he responded honestly. “I believed you had lied to me and led me on. You hooked me good, and I wanted you.”

  “As you can see, I owe you nothing.”

  “You’re mistaken,” he murmured mysteriously, then smiled.

  Something else was gnawing at Jared’s mind: Eric James and his voyage to London. Had the man actually gone there to rescue his cousin? Why risk trying to get her through a blockade when she was safe in England? And since her parents were dead, why had Maren hurried home during a war? He knew from stolen official papers that the British had their eyes on New Orleans which offered a base for an inland invasion via the Mississippi River. Was Eric James a traitor? A spy for the British? What about that stop in Jamaica and those concealed boxes? His hasty flight when the American agent, Captain Hawk, arrived? Was Maren Eric’s helper or his cover? Lady Luck was the perfect place for contacts. Maren owned it, and she had returned at a curious time. She had tricked him easily and expertly, just as Peter Thomas had heard Eric say. Kip had warned him that this girl could mean trouble, that she must be watched.

  Maren observed how pensive Jared was, and she wondered what was going through his mind. His next question stunned her.

  “What is Eric James up to, Maren? Why did he really go to London? And why did he make a stop in a British port?”

  Maren asked herself why Jared had asked about such things and why he was suspicious of her cousin. If Jared also worked for the Am
ericans, then he would know about Eric and the London mission. She recalled what Eric had said about being sought out and slain if his mission was exposed. Jared had been in a British port, Jamaica, and he had acted strangely during the attack on their ship. Perhaps he was a spy….

  Chapter Six

  “I could ask you those same questions, Captain Hawk, but I doubt you would answer them, at least honestly. Just stay away from me.” Maren tried to free herself, but Jared refused to release her. “I will scream for help,” she threatened.

  “And reveal our quarrel to your friends?”

  “You wouldn’t dare expose yourself,” she murmured.

  “Why not? Everyone knows I’m Captain Hawk,” he responded.

  “You’re a devil.” She corrected him tersely.

  “Some say I am, but others call me an angel, an avenging angel.”

  “Oh, yes, I remember, ‘an angel ashore,’ wasn’t it?”

  Jared chuckled. “You know me so well, Maren.”

  “I know you better than I want to, Mr. Morgan.”

  “I think not, Miss James, at least you didn’t act that way earlier.”

  “Only because I had you confused with someone else!”

  “Who might that be?” he inquired, lifting one brow.

  Maren bridled her loose tongue. “Someone I met a long time ago. But you’re nothing like him. Letgo of me, you bastard.”

  “Is there a problem here, Miss James?” a voice asked politely.

  Maren glanced at the other man and smiled. “Nothing I can’t handle, Dan. I’ll walk back with you. Good night, Mr. Morgan.”

  “We aren’t finished, Maren,” Jared said firmly.

  “Yes, we are. Don’t come near me again. Dan, make certain Ned and Harry are ordered to keep this man out of Lady Luck.”

  Jared chuckled at her last statement. “You can’t escape me this easily, Maren, but we’ll let it go for tonight. Think about what I said, and I’ll see you tomorrow. ’Nite, Dan.”

  Maren missed Dan’s reply for she was watching Jared Morgan stroll away, whistling a merry tune. “Of all the nerve,” she murmured angrily.