“Come, my dear.” His voice was loud and carried across the deck. “We shall spend some time together below deck before we get underway.” Heat ran up her neck as ribald laughter and comments drifted down from the sailors in the rigging once more. Madeleine held herself steady and regarded him. Despite knowing what he was, she could not reconcile the man in front of her with a black-hearted pirate.
Sébastien took her hand and pulled her to her feet. Jake averted his gaze as her chemise slipped even lower. She grabbed for it and a rude retort hovered on her lips; her intention must have been apparent to Sébastien. Before she could speak, his lips descended swiftly on hers and he murmured against her mouth.
“Keep calm. You have done well so far. But I want you below decks now.”
She gazed up at him, as tingles ran through the nerve endings in her lips, but Sébastien raised his head and looked over her shoulder. “My dear brother is following the provision boat in his own flat boat and I would prefer he not see you when he comes aboard. He would insist on taking you to shore due to the…er…delicate nature of our voyage ahead.”
For a moment, Madeleine considered perhaps going ashore would be in her best interests than heading out into the wide ocean with a buccaneer who was intent on purloining a cargo. “Could he get me back to New Orleans?”
Sébastien’s gaze was hard. “My dear, one look at you in your current attire and you would not get out of his bedroom for a week. Then he would probably sell you to the highest bidder.” He tugged at her arm. “Come quickly, his boat is almost upon us.”
“And you won’t sell me to the highest bidder?”
Sébastien grabbed her arm impatiently, led her around the wheelhouse and they remained out of view of the approaching boats as they climbed through the hatch to the ladder and below deck. He did not respond to her question.
As the cabin door closed behind them, Madeleine exhaled a heavy sigh and flopped onto the bed more like the way she was sure Sébastien would expect the cabin boy to act.
“You did well.” He stood in the doorway and regarded her intently but he did not smile and a shiver ran down her back. “Now I suggest you get some rest and stay quietly down here. I will come back and let you know when we are about to get underway. I hope you will not be seasick as it is going to be a very rough passage when we leave the Bay. There is a storm coming from the east.” As if to reinforce his words, a gust of wind snapped the sails above as the squall approached.
Madeleine sat on the bed and watched as the door closed behind Sébastien. For the first time, she heard the slide of a bolt as he locked her in his cabin. Another shiver ran down her back and she rubbed her arms to quell the goose bumps that arose. For the first time since he had discovered her in his cabin, there was fear mixed in with the unbidden desire she felt for this pirate.
Chapter Eleven
Jean-Luc, Sébastien’s less than honest half-brother, came across from the outpost on the provision boat and Sébastien was not pleased to see him. Jean-Luc turned as a sailor called down from the rigging and his eyes narrowed as he stared at the bow of the vessel where the Africans were sitting. His voice was as hard as steel and his eyes like flint as he turned back to Sébastien. “Slaves, brother? That is most unlike you. I thought you abhorred slavery or were they just pretty words to seek favor with your government friends?”
“Don’t pretend to know me. I am aware that you have little care for what I do.” Sébastien curled his fingers into fists and fought the desire to wipe the sneer from Jean-Luc’s face with one well-placed punch. “Just be content with the work I do for you.”
“Now, now, there is no need to feel under-valued. You are my brother, after all.” He slapped Sébastien on the shoulder and Sébastien’s mouth dried as Jean-Luc turned to the hatch.
“You can surely share a brandy with me before you go? I am sure you have a fine bottle or two down in my old cabin.”
Sébastien returned his half-brother’s curious gaze and for a moment he wondered if Jean–Luc had seen Madeleine on deck, but he quickly dismissed that thought. There was no way he could have seen her and the new crewmen who had gone ashore were not aware she was onboard, so they would not have mentioned her presence on the Maiden. No, he was up to something and Sébastien wanted no part of it. As soon as they returned to New Orleans and he reported to Carondelet, he would leave the Maiden at the quay, and tell Mr. Abrahams to let Jean-Luc know he had gone. Then he would be on the first passage he could book to the Hawaiian Islands.
The sky darkened as a huge gust of wind buffeted the vessel and white horses began to whip up on the bay as the wind increased. The two boats were unloaded and Jean-Luc’s oarsman looked anxiously across the bay as a solid sheet of rain approached.
Sébastien held his half-brother’s gaze and lowered his voice. “I am sure you are after something more than the pleasure of my company, so I suggest you tell me now or you will have to wait until my return.”
And if all goes well, you will be waiting a very long time. Sébastien despised his half-brother and had kept his side of the river trade honest and free from corruption. That was more than could be said for Jean-Luc’s dealings. If there was gold to be had, honesty was not a consideration he ever took into account.
Jean-Luc lifted his head and stared toward the squall that was coming in rapidly. “I won’t ask where you are going, just ensure you are back in time to get the cargo delivered up river before the end of the month. There are many new river boats on the Mississippi and I would be most unhappy if we lost our market because you were off on some do-gooder mission. I know you too well, dear brother.” He turned away with a laugh and then threw a final, casual question at Sébastien. “Oh, and by the way, were you acquainted with Ivan Lutchenko?”
Sébastien wrinkled his brow. At last, the reason for Jean-Luc’s visit. “Lutchenko? The fur trader?”
“Yes. “ Jean-Luc grabbed for the side of the boat as it swayed in the rough waves. His oarsman gestured for him to jump into the smaller boat which was bobbing higher as the swell built. “I believe you took him upriver a few times?”
“I did. But that was more than five years ago.” There was no harm in sharing that information with Jean-Luc. “Why do you ask?”
“There has been some talk of a missing family heirloom that he gave to his mistress and I wondered if you knew who his paramour was?”
Sébastien shook his head. “I barely spoke to him. He took passage on the boat once or twice when he was trapping upriver. From memory, he was a sad and taciturn man. I cannot imagine that he had anything valuable to give to anyone, nor that he had a mistress.”
“No matter.” Jean-Luc shrugged. “Have a safe…shall I say journey…or mission?” His laugh sent a shiver down Sébastien’s back. “I will never understand you, my brother. You are a strange man.”
Sébastien watched his half-brother climb down the ladder to the waiting boat.
And I will never understand the greed that drives you. With any luck, that would be the last time he would ever see Jean-Luc and the last conversation they would have. Sébastien turned away thoughtfully, as he prepared to issue instructions to lift anchor and drop the sails. The sooner the boat got underway, the better. The provisions had been stored and he would risk the squall. They would ride into the weather and leave it behind them as it headed toward the swampy bayous of the Mississippi delta.
He though fleetingly of Josephine du Bois and wondered if anyone else knew she had been Ivan’s mistress. He let the thought go. It didn’t matter. Josephine had died when her house had burned to the ground in the great fire of 1794. She had been laid to rest in the cemetery close to where her house had been in Rue Toulouse. If anyone was looking for her, they wouldn’t have to look too hard. As for the heirloom, if there was one, it was long gone.
***
Madeleine lay on the bed in the cabin below deck as the timbers of the hull flexed and groaned. The wind roared and the waves crashed against the bow as the storm conti
nued. The vessel was pushing through a heavy sea and she had almost rolled from the bed a number of times. But she was not frightened. She was sure that Sébastien was an experienced mariner and his well-kept vessel was capable of staying afloat in these seas. As the roaring of the wind and the rocking of the boat lessened, she lay there and waited for him to come down to the cabin.
She knew she would have to share his bed but she was strangely calm. Her eyelids were heavy and Madeleine fought to stay awake, stifling a yawn as her head sank into the feather pillow. She had given much thought to his answer about where the vessel was going and had decided to ask more questions of him before she disclosed her reason for wanting to return to New Orleans. Finally she could fight her tiredness no longer and she allowed her eyes to close.
Each time the ship came down hard on the back of a wave, she jerked awake before falling back into a light doze. Her dreams were filled with Sébastien and pirates with cutlasses, and an emerald necklace dangling just out of her reach on the mast. She rolled over and plumped out the feather pillow before settling back into a fitful sleep.
Hours passed and there was still no Sébastien. Dreams of home replaced her fragmented dreams of Sébastien and the boat.
When Madeleine came fully awake, it was pitch dark. The boat rocked from side to side, reminding her where she was. A sob caught in her chest—the dreams of home had been so real she had expected to wake up in her own bed at Bellerose Hall. Father would be so proud of her when she returned triumphantly with the necklace. She was sure he was watching down on her and he would know what she had done. Perhaps by now the Hall staff had managed to find work elsewhere. In one way, she hoped that they had, so they would not be hungry or without a roof over their heads. In another way, she yearned for everything to be the same when she came home with the necklace, and she could restore their positions. She reached out tentatively but the bed beside her was still empty.
For the first time since they had sailed from Bristol, doubt filled her thoughts and a cold feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. What if Uncle Titus had been right? Perhaps she should have listened to him and not been so determined that he was wrong. She sat up with a start and shook her head, sternly reprimanding herself.
I will not think that. I am right. Somehow she would find the necklace and find her way home.
All would be well.
Slipping from the bed, she crossed to the narrow opening in the hull, and her stomach grumbled as she peered out. It was still dark outside; Madeleine shivered and rubbed her arms. The temperature had dropped and it was chilly standing on the wooden floor when she stepped off the square of carpet. A flash of lightning lit the cabin and a resounding boom in the far distance made her scurry back to the bed. She pulled the covers up to her bare shoulders; although it did sound as though the storm was easing and moving farther away.
Madeleine let a grim smile cross her face. She could face a wicked pirate any day and keep her wits about her, but a storm could bring her undone. The next boom of thunder was even farther away and she prayed it would stop soon as she pulled the covers over her head. She had been alone for too long and her fears were finally taking over.
There was a slight noise at the door and she slowly lowered her hands, and dropped the cover from over her face and waited, hoping it was Sébastien.
Tap. Tap.
She waited for a moment more and when the tap sounded for the third time she climbed off the bed and walked quietly over to the door, pressing her ear to the timber. It was quiet.
“Who…who’s there?” The storm had shaken her and she tried to keep her voice steady. She didn’t know who would be knocking at the door, but she had to remember it was locked from the outside and not her side, and anyone who wished to enter could get in without much ado.
“Miss Madeleine, it’s me, Jake.”
Madeleine relaxed her shoulders and let out her breath. “What is it?”
“Cap’n sent me down to check you were all right.” Jake sounded full of self importance that he had been given a mission. “He said to tell you we have almost ridden the storm out and that Cook will bring you something to eat shortly.”
“Thank you.” Madeleine was surprised that Sébastien had even given her a passing thought as he had steered though the storm. “And Jake?”
“Yes?” His voice was muffled by a renewed groaning of the timber as the vessel rolled into a big wave.
“Thank the captain for his concern.”
Chapter Twelve
Several hours passed before the ship’s cook tapped at the door and slid open the bolt before passing in a tray with a bowl of broth and some biscuits. It must have been after midnight by that time, and Madeleine ate every morsel on the tray before climbing back into the bed and falling into a deep sleep.
Now, she opened her eyes and watched the shards of sunlight play across the timbered walls. The groaning and the rocking of the boat had eased and it appeared to be slicing smoothly through the sea.
The storm had passed and Sébastien had not yet come back to the cabin. She was sure he would not have bunked in the crew’s quarters as that would have appeared strange considering the crew knew he had a woman waiting in his own bed. Pushing back the covers, her bare feet touched the floor and she crossed to the narrow aperture in the hull. Blue sky and shining, flat silvery water filled her vision. After visiting the curtained area, and having a wash, Madeleine crossed back to the bed and sat looking around the cabin which was now lit with bright light through the apertures in the hull. She hadn’t noticed there were so many. Even though she enjoyed her own company, this lonely confinement was unsettling her.
Throughout the next hour she moved from the bed to peer out through the narrow gaps, and then completed a circuit of the cabin. Eventually the small space became too confining and she crossed to the door. Sébastien had said that she had to follow his instructions to the letter, but surely she could go above deck for some fresh air?
If she had to stay down here alone any longer, she would lose her sanity.
Madeleine stood beside the door and considered her options. At best, the Captain…the pirate…Sébastien would ignore her. She didn’t even know what to call him in her mind. She could sit behind the wheelhouse again, take in some fresh air and have some of Jake’s company. At worst, Sébastien would be furious at her for venturing out—she knew the door was unlocked because she had waited for the bolt to slide back when the cook had left but she had not heard it click in. She glanced over; the tray was still on the table where she had left it after finishing her meal.
Madeleine stared at the wooden handle and slowly reached her hand toward it, before snatching her hand back and folding her arms across her chest. It was cold down here; the sun would warm her, and if he asked she would explain that was why she had gone above deck.
Not because she was lonely… Why am I so intimidated by the man? It had nothing to do with being scared of him or the fact that he was a pirate, it had more to do with the fact that he had asked her to do as he said. She crossed back to the bed and sat, becoming more impatient as each long minute ticked over. There was no way she could stay down here for the whole voyage.
But did he tell me to stay here? The little voice of reason nagged at her conscience.
Not in so many words. He had said he would come back and see her when they were about to get underway.
But he didn’t. So he had broken his word and she had not given her word that she would stay here. Not in so many words. She had promised to obey him. She had not promised to stay below deck.
Maybe Sébastien had forgotten she was down here?
But he did send Jake to check I was all right? And he did send the cook with food.
Madeleine stood and walked slowly to the door and stared at the handle again. She ignored it and pressed her ear to the door to listen. There was no sound to be heard; even the hull had stopped creaking. Tentatively, she reached her hand out and was about to touch the wooden handle when it lo
wered of its own accord and the door opened in front of her. She jumped back, letting out a small shriek at the sight of Sébastien filling the doorway. His black hair was disheveled, and deep, dark shadows circled his eyes. For a moment, Madeleine was tempted to reach up and smooth the frown line that was between his brows, but instead she squeezed her hands together tightly in front of her chest.
“You were waiting for me to return? I hope you haven’t been standing by the door all night?” The lines disappeared and a smile tugged at his lips. Madeleine dropped her gaze from his, to stop the usual warmth flooding her.
But too late. A bronze-skinned, bare chest filled her vision. Her eyes remained fixed on that chest, slowly rising and falling with each breath that he took. The muscles across his broad chest rippled when he raised his hand to take her chin in his fingers. Madeleine’s mouth dried and she wet her lips.
“I…I was waiting.” The words were slow to come. “I am tired of being cabin bound. I was worried for my sanity.”
A low chuckle came up from his chest as his dark eyes held hers. “You may go above deck now while I rest. I have asked Jake to wait for you and keep you company. He has had some sleep through the night. Did the storm keep you awake?”
She nodded. “For a while. I have had some sleep, thank you.” Why did she feel as though he was treating her like a child?
Almost telling me to go and play on the deck, like a good little girl. She lifted her chin, determined to have the last word. “And when you are rested, we shall discuss this voyage and my return to New Orleans, Captain.”
His teeth flashed in his tanned face. “That we shall, Madeleine. Now run along like a good girl. Jake is waiting for you.”
###
Madeleine tried to adjust her scanty clothing as best she could before she climbed the ladder but it made little difference to the amount of her bare skin on display. She swallowed, climbed the final rungs and inhaled with pleasure as the fresh salt air brushed her face. She walked quickly across to the wheelhouse, nevertheless attempting to add a confident swagger to her gait. A couple of curious glances were thrown her way but most of the crew above deck were focused on their tasks.
Capturing the Pirate's Heart (The Emerald Quest Book 1) Page 10
