by Meg Hennessy
Donato was able to pull his glare off her and refocus on Enio.
He took the boy from her arms. Enio was so small, like a miniature man, whose world had crashed in around him and he didn’t know or understand what had happened. Donato kissed the top of his head and held the small body close to his chest, to his beating heart. The child he and Colette had created out of love. A mist blurred his eyes, adding to his dark mood. He turned away from Rayna and walked back to the bed.
Enio saw his mother and tried to get down. “Maman maman!”
“Hush, child.” Donato leaned down and placed Enio on his feet. He held him in his arms and talked in his ear. “Tu madre is sleeping.”
“Sleeping?”
“Si, Enio, I will have you come back when she is awake.”
The small boy shook his head that he would not go. Donato pulled him onto his lap and hugged him to his chest. “Then you wait with me.”
Rayna had remained in the room, standing a distance and a half from the bed. “Donato, I know you have not forgiven me—”
“No, Rayna, I have not.”
“She saw the Lady Tempest.”
“I know that.”
“With all of your power, why did you not destroy that pirate ship and the crew?”
“I was being merciful.”
“No, you were trying to protect yourself. You didn’t want to raise suspicion, bring attention on to you, but you only succeeded in giving them freedom. You had the power to have that ship destroyed, and you should have.”
“It appears so. It is done. Leave us now.”
She stood for a moment, then turned and left the room. He said nothing more to her, for what was there to say?
Enio reached over and patted Colette’s hand with his. He slid off Donato’s lap and stood next to the bed holding his mother’s hand. Though Enio now understood who Donato was, his world was his mother.
Donato cradled his head in his hands, feeling the tension pounding at his temples, cursing his sister, his father, the damned king of Spain, but most of all, himself.
Another knock at the door broke into Donato’s thoughts.
His father stepped through the door, holding a missive in his hand. His face was pale, and the strain of what had happened to Colette shadowed every wrinkle in his aging skin. Donato never realized until this very moment how old his father had become. He no longer looked bigger than life but like an aging royal, hurting like a mere mortal.
“You have received an answer from the king. You have permission to leave Spain when you so wish.”
…
Voices floated into her mind. Colette tried to hear, but everything sounded muffled and far away. Her body ached everywhere, and when she tried to move she heard her own stifled groan.
“Colette?” A man’s voice, but he sounded so distant.
She thought she answered, but her lips did not move. Trying to arouse her body, she drew a sharp breath, but felt underwater and cold.
“Colette?”
The man’s voice seemed to float through her mind, washing through her memories. Moisture filled her eyes and she choked on a sob.
“Colette?”
A strong hand took hers and stroked her fingers. A soothing, heated touch that seemed familiar, but she knew not why. She tried to speak, but her lips would not move. Images flitted about in her mind. She remembered being with the grandee on a ride through the countryside, but nothing more. Her temples pounded, and the front of her forehead ached.
She pushed her arm outward and tried to move her aching body until strong hands shifted her and placed something soft behind her back. She thought she could feel his presence, but wasn’t sure. Pictures of things swirled about in her mind, and she found herself seeing Jordan and Loul, Jordan’s darling daughter, Maisie, and his wife, Aurélie with their new son. Suddenly she was lost in time, hiding in the closet, frightened and alone until Jordan held her in his arms.
“Jordan,” she whispered.
The hands that helped make her comfortable stopped.
“No, Colette, it is Donato.”
“Maman awake!”
“Hush, hombrecito, she is trying to wake. Let us not scare her.”
The words were clearer now; she could make out every one and…a child. There was a child’s voice. Her heart started to pound, pushing a flush of energy through her limbs until she felt the pulsation at her fingertips and a smile on her lips, knowing the sweet little face that went with it. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open.
She focused her eyes with a couple of blinks, feeling groggy and lethargic.
Donato sat on the edge of the bed, and in his straddled legs stood Enio.
“Colette, how do you feel?”
“My two men. My two favorite men.”
Donato smiled in response. His mouth stretched across his wide face and hitched up to his high cheekbones. Tiny droplets of tears laced the beautiful thick lashes of his eyes.
She reached up with her hand and stroked the side of his face, stubby and unkempt. “I make you cry. I do not mean to.”
He took her hand in his and kissed her fingers. “You can do no wrong, mi vida, no wrong. It is I who does not deserve you.”
“I do not know what happened. We are in Spain?”
“Si, but we will leave the moment you are up to the travel. I have arrangements made to take you home.”
“And you with me?”
“Si.”
Now her eyes filled with tears of joy. “Oh, merci, Donato, I am most anxious to go home.”
Enio was pushing his way in between the two of them. He crawled up on the bed and gave Colette a kiss.
“Oh, a most beautiful welcome, Enio.”
Someone knocked on the door.
“Adelante,” Donato answered.
A servant pushed through the door holding a large tray of preparations, but halted the moment she saw Colette awake. Colette smiled, knowing her surprise.
“Oh, Marchioness is awake! Oh praise God!”
Within minutes the entire House of Roche was in a uproar, echoing throughout the house that she was awake. Donato frowned from the intrusion. He arranged the tray next to the bed.
“This will wake up the house,” he complained as he started to arrange her bedding around her. “Will you try to eat something?”
“Tea, only tea, I will try.”
He poured a cup of tea and placed his hand to the back of her shoulders to help her rise.
“Tomad, hermosa. Os hará bien.”
“Here, beautiful, good for you,” she repeated his words in English. “I have heard you say something similar to me once before. When were you taking care of me like this?”
Donato offered her a sip of tea, then placed the cup on the tray next to her. “Colette, there is a confession I must make.”
She noted the seriousness of his expression, and for some reason, she wanted no confession right now, only his gentle touch and care, to luxuriate in the attention of the man who had her heart. “I am tired, Donato, can I not rest more?”
“Of course.”
“And more tea perhaps.”
He smiled. “Perhaps.”
He had just raised the cup to her lips when a large entourage of people burst into the room.
The grandee reached her bed first. “Ah, my beautiful Colette. How do you feel?”
Colette was surprised by the excitement she had created, for she remembered nothing of what had happened that had left her in such a deep sleep. She laughed with the excitement she saw on all the faces staring down at her, surrounding the bed. “Merci, to all of you. I will be fine, much exhausted, but I’m awake.”
Everyone laughed, heads moving as they all glanced about the group.
“Do you remember what happened?” the grandee asked.
“I do not, only a ride, non?”
“We were on the docks and you said—”
“Father—Your Most Excellency, all of you.” Donato stood up and motioned toward the door.
“She will receive visitors later. Allow my wife time to recover.”
“Perdón, perdón, we have lost our manners in the excitement.” The grandee ushered the others to the door. Many wished her well, others bowed, and others were beaming with smiles. It was a strange sight for Colette, unaware she had won so many hearts.
Donato had someone take Enio for a meal, leaving her alone with her husband.
“I think you have kind people in your world, too, n’est-ce pas?”
“They care for you, Colette.”
“And Enio.”
“Enio wins hearts with just a smile.”
She laughed, how true. “His father’s.”
Donato smiled with her comment. She reached up and ran the tips of her fingers along the seam of his mouth. “One I do not see often.”
His smile faded, and he drew in a deep breath. Something was troubling him, but her head pounded and she desperately needed to get out of the bed. It would have to wait.
“Will you help me get up and dress?”
He cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. “Now why would I want to help you get dressed?”
“For shame. Aren’t you a knight or something, to help damsels in distress?”
“Well, cariño, I am no knight, and you are no damsel in distress.”
“Then pray tell, what am I?”
“Desirable. Beautiful. My wife.”
“So you’re the man I give myself to.” She lifted her arms for him to join her.
“I am the only man you give yourself to.” He slid his body over hers, the weight sinking her into the soft bedclothes around her. He brushed his lips across hers, reminding her of what it felt like to be alive and with a man who could stir her passion to the surface with merely a touch.
He raised up and looked at her. “You are smiling, Colette. You wake up from days-long illness happy?”
“I was lost, Donato, in a tomb that I thought I’d never escape. I made a pact with myself that if I were to break away from the darkness that held me prisoner, I would tell you that I loved you. That I wouldn’t protect myself from hurt, because it meant to protect myself from living. And I awoke, and here you are and my son. I could not wish for more. The two loves of my life.”
Donato didn’t move, his body still atop hers. But moisture in his eyes reflected the morning sun that filtered through the curtains of the window. “There is much about me you don’t know.”
“I know enough to know that I love you and that you love me. What else could there be?”
Chapter Twenty
With much fanfare, they finally pulled out of the port of Cádiz. The entire town showed up for the send-off of the viceroy of New Spain. Most likely they had to, since the king was in the area. Cádiz was an area steaming with revolt. Donato didn’t care how or why the send-off, he was just relieved they were on their way home.
He assumed home meant his island, but he did understand Colette would need contact with her family, and perhaps another home on the coast of America would be an option since he’d have to travel more. Either way, they had made it through the crisis, and united together as a family, they were leaving.
Before they left port, there was one more package Donato had delivered and kept in the hull. It wasn’t long before everyone knew what had been smuggled aboard. When asked about it, he’d just smile.
The sky was blue with few clouds and the waters calm as the sails picked up the wind and took them out of the coastal waters of Spain and into the open sea.
Donato didn’t mind leaving the cramped clipper behind when he found himself captaining a new schooner for his return journey, a ship that was heavily armed and took the concern out of their safety.
Going across the ocean left any ship in danger of becoming prey, but sailing with ten thirty-two pounders along each side gave him a broadside weight of three hundred and twenty pounds, with two long guns as bow chasers. He felt well-armed. He sailed with his men only and did not take any additional personnel except an emissary of his father’s. But there was one change he did make: his ship now flew the royal flag of Spain.
Colette had recovered rapidly when she learned their return journey rested on her health. She had been up within three days of regaining consciousness. Adding Enio to the mix made ship life more interesting with an element of humor stirred into each day.
The men on the ship loved the little boy, and he would often race around the main deck and shout out orders as if he were his father, in spite of the fact that no one could understand him. Though they were revolutionaries, the loyal crew would laugh and try to do as he said.
“Yes, Your Excellency,” they’d say, claiming Enio was a marquis-in-training.
“I never thought I would be so happy to be back on a ship.” Colette joined Donato on the bridge of the forecastle. “I don’t mean to be disrespectful. I liked your father, and, well, I liked your father.”
Donato chuckled at her attempt to be gracious. “I understand.”
Colette glanced up at him. “You can’t keep her there for the entire journey.”
“I can for a while. Rayna needs a little lesson in humility, don’t you think? She took my son, Colette. I warned her I would retaliate.”
“But the hull?”
“I know.” Donato pushed the keel ever so slightly, keeping on course. “But this was an adventure I could have missed without a tear.”
“But it brought us together.”
“It did.” He glanced down at Colette. “I will allow her to roam the ship after dinner.”
“And then your plans?”
“I have special plans for her, after I make her fret a little.”
“And your father knew you were taking her?”
“He did, but not the reason. He thought it would be an education for her. And it will be.”
“Donato, you promised me we would not go to South America.”
“No, I promised we would not move there. I will send missives and emissaries most of the time, but I will have to be seen there. The idea of Spain recovering the colonies is lost. Things will change rapidly, and when I go back to Spain, I will say I gave it my most gallant effort but was unable to turn the tide of freedom.”
“And then what will happen?”
“I’ll be rewarded with monies and land for my valiant endeavors.”
She smiled, wrapping her fingers around the crook of his arm. “I pray you are right. Not for the money, but for your safety.”
“I am right. What do you think the old viceroy did? I hope to manage a relationship between the colonies and Spain. I will do my best for a harmonious break. That is the most I can do.”
“Donato?” She angled her body to face him. “Why is it that you never married?”
“I didn’t want to. I had seen a loveless marriage and wanted no part of it. Another level of control I didn’t want, nor did Rayna. She says she won’t marry, much to my father’s displeasure.”
“You are both very much alike, both rebels at heart.”
“We are cut from the same cloth. You never asked why I accepted the appointment.”
“I expected you to tell me. If I must ask, then I do.”
“It was something that my father said, about being part of the solution rather than the problem. He said his years of service for the Crown has been to effect change he believed in. Whether we agree on the politics or not, it was the idea of having the ear of the king and to present information that is truthful and direct. I think I can have more influence by doing this than if I were to remain a revolutionist on the outside. My position gives me power that I otherwise would not have.”
“It puts you in a place of danger, Donato, but I am glad you and your father were able to reconcile your differences.”
“It will be somewhat dangerous, but life is, or we are not living.” He hadn’t thought of their working together as a reconciliation, but in truth it was. Donato’s persona as a revolutionist had evolved into a man with the power to creat
e change. That wouldn’t have happened had it not been for his father. “My father said he would direct me with his expertise of how the majesty thinks and will keep me informed of how things are being perceived in Spain. I am grateful for his insight.”
“You never asked about my husband.”
“I know why you married him. He was in need of you, and he died.” Donato hesitated. “Is there something I should know?”
“You never asked me if I loved him.”
“It did not matter to me. He is not a part of your life now. Whether you loved him or not. Did you?”
“I did not. I now know that. I never knew what it felt like to love a man until you.”
He drew a tight breath, hoping she’d not take notice. What was her capacity for forgiveness, for once she learned the truth, her love might die with it? He didn’t regret taking the Loirie, but he regretted whom he had partnered with and the chaos that had followed. But he had done right for Colette, then and now. Would she agree? “That is quite a testimonial, Colette. Would you love me unconditionally, no matter what was in my past?”
Colette squinted up at him, the sun streaking through her honey-colored hair that fluttered unhindered in the wind. She was wearing the Tourmaline necklace and earrings he had sent her the first night in Spain. A necklace worn often by his mother, the gems had never sparkled on her like they did on Colette. Would she forgive him? “What is it that you allude to that I don’t understand about you? I think it time you tell me.”
“It will be difficult to tell you—”
“Sail! Sail! Starboard quarter!”
Donato picked up his binoculars and scanned the horizon. A large schooner broke the waterline with a box hauling course set to intersect his ship. Atop the main mast flew the flag of the Lady Tempest. The moment she was spotted, another flag ran up her mast. A black one.
Ramón appeared on the bridge. “They cannot know who we are, or they would not think to attack.”
Donato raked their deck with his binoculars, bow to stern. They had their guns run out, and from what he could figure, they were clearing decks, and he hadn’t missed the flash or two of swords and grappling hooks.
