“Of course, Cap’n.” That was Ramsey. Always trying to smooth things over. It was his way after serving for so long in a grand house back in England. “We’ll be back onboard The Darkness within the hour. The crew is ready to sail. Just waitn’ on us to return.”
The captain nodded briskly, his fears not allayed in the slightest. “Let us hope so, Mr. Ramsey. Let us hope so.”
Growing anxious but not wishing to show fear in front of his crew, the captain grabbed an oar as well and began rowing on the same side as Davis in an attempt to make the less muscular man’s strokes match that of the cook’s. The sooner they reached his ship, the better. He could fight from there, if necessary. More to the point, he could better protect Katherine from there.
After all of this time, she was finally his. He was not about to give her up easily. Not without a fight to the death certainly.
Chapter Three
When Katherine finally awoke, it was dark. She was also on a ship, not to mention lying on a bed. She could tell that much even with her eyes still closed. Though beyond that, she had no idea where she was or when it was. The last she remembered, she had been walking on a stretch of beach, arguing with Lizzy. Or had the argument ended? She wasn’t certain. Rather, she had vague, hazy memories of her cousin’s angry face, harsh words, and Katherine admitting that she was planning to return to England.
She also had a memory of a man’s face, just a glimpse of something she had seen while…falling? Had she fallen? Was that why she was here? Wherever here was. Had she injured herself and was being tended to by Dr. Parsons, the island’s kindly physician?
But no. The face she remembered was darker with dark eyes and dark hair. The face of a ghost. Which couldn’t be because ghosts weren’t real. A figment of her imagination then. But why? And why was she on a ship? If she was even on a ship at all.
With a groan, Katherine attempted to sit up, well aware that there was a gentle rocking motion as she did so, though from the pounding in her head or being onboard an actual ship – which really made no sense at all – she couldn’t say. All she knew was that she would feel better when the floor was firmly beneath her feet. Except that when she attempted to move her right arm so that she might push herself upright, she couldn’t. It was as if her arm was pinned above her head. Was this worse than she had thought? Had she broken her arm? Which might indicate that she had fallen, might it not?
“Ah. The duchess finally awakes.”
Katherine turned her head sharply towards the sound of the deep male voice and immediately regretted it, the room starting to spin unmercifully.
“Careful, Duchess. The drug you inhaled was quite powerful, and you were out for a very long time.”
The male voice again. This had to be a dream for it sounded like the same voice that had been carried on the wind as she had walked along the beach. But if this was a dream, why did her head hurt so much? And why did the bed she was lying on suddenly dip as if another body was present? Ghosts and dreams had no weight.
“Drink this, my dear. You need it.”
A glass of water was held to her lips and Katherine took a grateful drink, though she was still too weak to do more than take a tiny sip. Her eyes were also still tightly closed but she felt a strong, firm arm slide beneath her back and prop her up so that she might drink more easily. So she was ill, then, if she needed assistance in sitting up.
“You also might wish to open your eyes, Katherine. It will help you regain your balance.”
Suddenly, that didn’t seem like a very good idea and the dream world she had been floating in rather peacefully became a lot less comfortable. Dr. Parsons would never be so familiar as to call her by her Christian name. Her uncle would, but the silken voice next to her ear didn’t belong to her uncle. It also didn’t belong to Richard Wilds, the only other man so presumptuous as to call her Katherine. But it wasn’t his voice, either. So if not any of those men, then who?
Slowly and despite her better judgement, Katherine opened her eyes.
And then rather wished she hadn’t.
Looming over her, his big, strong body nearly covering hers as he supported her weight was a man she knew all too well. Though not from acquaintance but rather by reputation and the tell-tell silk headscarf that immediately drew her gaze.
“Midnight Jack.” Katherine just barely managed to croak those two words, her lips still feeling cracked and parched. She should have resisted when he offered her another drink, but the cool water was too tempting for her to resist him, especially in what would have been nothing more than a fit of temper. Had she even been able to manage that, which was doubtful.
The notorious pirate inclined his head in her direction. “At your service, my lady. I take it you’ve heard of me?”
“Who in the West Indies has not?” Katherine licked her still-cracked lips and he silently offered her another sip of water. She was still very well aware that he was holding her up, his strong warm wrapped inappropriately around her so that his hand grazed her breast. However, considering that she felt as if her bones had been replaced by cotton, she wasn’t about to argue that point either, no matter how improper their current position was.
She should also be afraid. Or, more accurately, terrified right down to the tips of her toes. Strangely enough, she wasn’t. She’d felt more fear in the garden with Lord Wilds last night than she did lying on this bed with a notorious pirate looming over her.
Maybe she had fallen and hit her head. Maybe this was a dream. Or, given the way she watched Midnight Jack’s chest rise and fall beneath this shirt that bared a good deal of his muscular chest to her gaze, perhaps not.
“There are a few, I would think, who have not. Gently bred, proper young ladies among them.” His dark eyes were teasing and they twinkled in a way that made something inside of her ache with sadness for a long-lost past. However, she didn’t look away from his gaze either. Focusing on the pirate’s eyes was the only thing preventing her from casting up her accounts.
“I think you will find that I am not exactly a gently bred or proper lady. And I am hardly young.” Why she felt compelled to add that last part, Katherine couldn’t say. She could only ascribe her loose tongue, not to mention her complete lack of fear, to the after-effects of whatever drug he had given her.
For a long moment, the notorious pirate didn’t say anything. Instead, he studied her silently and strangely, she felt herself begin to blush. Katherine did not blush. Not in a good number of years anyway. At her age, there was little reason to do so.
“You are younger than you realize, Duchess.” He cocked his head to the side again. “At six and twenty, you are hardly ancient.”
“How do you know my age?” Lud, her head was beginning to pound and she wished to go back to sleep. If she did, then perhaps she would discover that this was only a nightmare and that she was not really a captive of the notorious Midnight Jack.
The pirate chuckled and once more, Katherine felt the strangest sensation as the sound went right to her toes – and other places she dared not think about too much. “You will find that I know a great deal about you, Lady Katherine Anne Sedgewick.”
This was wrong. This was all wrong. She had to get out of here. Katherine’s head continued to spin wildly but she could not stay here. Not with this pirate whom her mind refused to fear and not on a ship going God-only-knew where. She had to run.
Except that, as before, she could not make her right arm move. And she tried. Repeatedly.
Glancing up, she discovered the reason why almost instantly. A length of red silk, the same color as the flash of red she’d seen on the beach, bound her wrist to the bedpost. She had enough slack to move about a bit, but she could not sit upright on her own. Not could she leave. Even if she could run, her legs still felt like cotton and she doubted they would support her.
She also didn’t know exactly where the door was, either. The entire room was bathed in soft light from a series of oil lamps spread about the room. While the ligh
t from the lamps made everything appear soft, from the dark wood to the gleaming brass that seemed to be everywhere, it also made navigating the room almost impossible. Especially as she still could not see clearly.
Her eyes also refused to focus on anything beyond this man’s face. She could see dark shapes in the room beyond, but could not quite make out what they were. A table. Perhaps a desk or a chair. They were all dark and hazy with bright, jewel-toned splashes of color here and there, her eyes still not focusing as well as they should.
Then there was the matter of the pirate himself. He was big, muscular, and, for the most part, all that she could see. He also, inexplicably, made her heart race wildly, though again, she supposed that could be blamed on whatever drug he had given her. Though to this extreme extent? To the extent that he also made her blood run hot in her veins and her body awaken in a way that it had not in six long years? Unlikely.
So best not to think about that. Rather, it would be best to concentrate on getting out of here. If that was even possible. Which it probably wasn’t given the current state of affairs. And what with being on a pirate ship and all.
As if somehow knowing the thoughts that were crossing Katherine’s mind, Midnight Jack smiled. It was a nice smile, she supposed, though it hinted at a wicked darkness that she did her best to ignore. “Oh, you’re not going anywhere, Duchess. You shall remain right here on The Darkness with me.”
“You can’t keep me.” Which, of course, was a stupid thing to say because really, it was quite obvious that she was his prisoner. On a ship, no less. Therefore, he could do whatever he liked with her.
“I think you find that I can.” He was still smiling which was a bit disconcerting, as if he had female prisoners in his bed every day. Which he very well might have for all she knew. “In fact, I think you’ll find I can do pretty much whatever I like.”
“But you won’t.” Or rather she hoped he wouldn’t. Oh, how she wished she could see his face, in particular his eyes, so that she could read his intentions better!
This time when he smiled, it was nothing more than a promise of wicked sin to come and she felt her toes curl in reaction, much to her dismay.
“I wouldn’t bet on that, Duchess.” He ran a finger down the length of her arm and she shivered in response. Not in fear but rather in desire. Lud, she was hopeless! And she still could not read his intentions the way she could with most people – by looking into their eyes.
Now that Katherine had managed to get a bit more of her wits about her, she could see that the length of silk he wore covered a large portion of his face, save for his mouth, which looked rather…inviting. Not that she should be noticing his mouth, of course. His eyes were still half-shadowed by the damnable cloth and she could not quite tell what color they were. Nor was his hair truly visible, save for a few loose strands in the back that made her think they might be a darkish color rather than blonde.
“My uncle,” she began but Midnight Jack shook his head, so she fell silent, not wishing to anger the man that logic dictated held her life in his hands.
“Your uncle could not have protected you from the dangerous fate awaiting you, Duchess. I, however, can. And I have. I will continue to do so, as well. You really should be thanking me.” As he spoke, Midnight Jack began loosening the bit of silk that bound her wrist and readjusting it so that, while Katherine was not free, she could move about a bit more easily.
Katherine pushed herself up on the bed a bit more, the loss of his arm at her back leaving her feeling a bit empty, which she tried not to think about too much. Midnight Jack was a handsome man. There was no denying it. She was also still under the effects of a drug that muddled her mind. And she had been a bit melancholy as of late. That was all there was to the matter and her strange behavior.
“Thanking you?” she asked when she was more comfortably situated against a stack of pillows. Plush ones. Indicating that she was likely in the captain’s room as she had first guessed. Which, of course, would be the case, wouldn’t it? If she were valuable to this man in any way, he would not want her to come to harm by placing her in with the rest of his roughened crew. “When you have kidnapped me? Stolen me away from my home?” She looked at her still-bound wrist. “Though I suppose I should thank you for adjusting my bonds. There is that. So…thank you.”
This time when the pirate captain laughed, it was loud and long, his gleaming white teeth flashing in the lamplight. “Ah, ever proper, aren’t you, Duchess?”
“Don’t call me that!” she snapped angrily. I am no one duchess!”
Then she winced, knowing that she was not exactly in a good position to be arguing with this man or giving orders as if she was safely back on Barbados. Not that she thought he would hurt her. She didn’t think he would. She trusted him, even though she knew she should not. He could harm her if he wished, but both her mind and her heart whispered that, oddly enough, she was safe with him.
Nor should she like this man quite so much. However, just then, she both liked and trusted him a great deal, which made her nothing less than a hen-witted fool. What on earth was wrong with her?
It was his scent, she supposed. Midnight Jack smelled like Daniel. Or rather like Daniel’s soap. Her long-gone friend had been so much in the forefront of her mind as of late that she must be associating his comforting memory with this blackguard to prevent her from giving in to shock and fear. It was the only possible explanation.
Scowling at the pirate, Katherine willed her mind to clear and her usually clever brain to engage in some degree of rational thought. Why was she sitting here conversing with a notorious pirate as if they were having tea in a drawing room? She should be scared witless! So why wasn’t she?
Likely because, when it came right down to things, Midnight Jack had made no move to hurt her, she supposed. In fact, if one looked at the scene with an objective eye, one might even think he’d gone out of his way to be kind. More likely, she was simply in shock and unable to process everything, but still, there was an underlying element of kindness to him. He also didn’t seem inclined to rape her right away, as most pirates likely would. That was something else to cling to for hope, she supposed.
“You should be a duchess,” Jack whispered as he leaned in closer to her, far closer than was proper. Then again, this man was a pirate. What did he care for proper? “What you should not be is some man’s whore.” His words, heavily laced with anger, surprised her. So much so that Katherine reared back, though she could not go far. “I see I’ve shocked you, Duchess, so I doubt you had any idea that was to be your fate.”
Her mind spinning, Katherine latched on to the only thing that made sense. Some man’s whore. There could only be one. “Lord Wilds.”
Midnight Jack smiled at her, though it was not an evil smile. One more of appreciation than anything, she supposed. “Clever girl.”
“What…what was he planning?” she croaked again, fear now flowing through her veins wildly. Not fear of this man, but of Wilds. She was safe here and there was little doubt this man would tell her everything if she asked. He seemed to be enjoying himself far too much to do otherwise.
Suddenly, though, the pirate pulled back, as if he had decided he was far too close to her to be proper. Yet he was still not far enough away from her either. Then again, as she couldn’t leave the bed, it wasn’t as if she had much of a choice in the matter. How close they were or were not was all up to Jack, and just then, it seemed as if he needed a bit of distance.
“It seems your cousin’s beloved had a price on your pretty head, my dear duchess.” Midnight Jack shook his head when she frowned at him. “Do not misunderstand, Katherine. He planned to marry your cousin, but he also planned to have some of my more…disreputable associates kidnap you and then deliver you to him so that he might keep you for himself. Locked away from everyone and everything that you knew. So that you would learn to serve only him.”
“No.” Katherine didn’t want to believe Lord Wilds could be so despicable, but then,
Midnight Jack had no reason to lie. He had nothing to gain by it. “He wouldn’t.” She paused. “Would he?”
The pirate shrugged and reach toward what she now saw to be a desk. “I can show you the notice of intent, if you like. He was very explicit about his expectations for the kidnapping, not to mention the instructions as to how it would be carried out and what came after you were taken.”
Katherine knew she must have looked sick just then because once more, Jack reached for her and this time, she moved closer of her own volition. “He…he did that?”
Jack nodded though he did not release her. “He desired you for his mistress and you would not agree. However, Wilds is not a man accustomed to being denied anything he desires, so he took the matter into his own hands and placed a bounty on your head. The first pirate to bring you to him would collect a very handsome reward, indeed. That way, you could be his and your disappearance could be blamed on the evil, nasty pirates. He would not be implicated at all, unless someone were to talk, which is, I admit, unlikely. Men like me are notoriously tight-lipped, after all. All very neat and tidy you see.”
So. That was how Lord Wilds had planned to get what he wanted even though she had denied him. Why was she not entirely surprised?
“And when I eventually returned to Society?” she finally asked, surprised to see pity in Midnight Jack’s eyes.
“You never would have, Duchess.” He sighed and she had the impression he truly felt wretched about her predicament. “In time, I shall tell you all that I know. But not now. Now is not the time. Now you must rest.”
The pirate rose and immediately, Katherine missed the heat of his body next to hers. She hadn’t even realized she had been cold – which, given the oppressive heat outside, she shouldn’t have been. But she was.
The Pirate's Heart Page 4
