by Merry Farmer
They found the missing horse tethered to a fence post outside The Anchor and Crown. But Barnaby Lucas was nowhere to be found. Calliope and Uncle Theo waited in the virtually empty taproom of the inn while Jonathon spoke to the harbor master. He returned within half an hour with the news that a Mr. Barnaby Lucas had departed on the schooner, the Delphine, at six o’clock that morning.
And the ship’s owner was none other than the merchant, Alain Dupont.
Calliope blinked in surprise. “Alain Dupont? The man you wanted to speak with last night?”
Jonathon stacked his arms on the back of the chair he was straddling. “Yes,” he said, his expression grim. “And I did talk to him in this very taproom just after midnight. Only he denied knowing Flint or anything about his illicit activities, despite the whispered rumors. But I don’t believe him.” A muscle flickered in his lean jaw. “According to the harbor master, Dupont was on the Delphine too. Apparently, it’s bound for Saint-Denis on the Isle of Bourbon. One of the naval patrols also sighted the Orpheus at a distance late yesterday, heading in the direction of Bourbon too. They gave chase but yet again, Flint outran them. My crew is preparing the Andromeda as we speak.”
Calliope stood. “When do we sail?”
Jonathon’s brows plunged into a scowl as he leaped to his feet, towering over her. “What do you mean, when do we sail? You’re not going anywhere.”
But Calliope wouldn’t be cowed. She narrowed her gaze and lifted her chin. “Of course, I am. Uncle Theo too. Mr. Lucas stole our most precious things. We have to come.”
The muscle in Jonathon’s jaw was pulsing again. Calliope was certain he was grinding his teeth. “And I want to protect that which is most precious to me,” he all but growled. “And that’s you, you infuriating, wilful, thoroughly gorgeous chit. What if we do end up crossing paths with the Orpheus? I won’t risk your safety.”
“I’m… I’m precious to you?” Had Calliope really just heard Jonathon correctly? He’d also called her infuriating and wilful and a chit. And gorgeous. But ‘precious’ was the most precious word of all. ‘Precious’ meant he cared…
“Of course, you are,” he said, his gaze softening. “You’re immeasurably precious to me, Lady Calliope Banks… because I love you.”
“By Jupiter! I knew it!” Uncle Theo jumped to his feet too. “I knew you were falling in love with my niece, Captain Townsend.”
Jonathon turned his gaze on her uncle. “If you wouldn’t mind making yourself scarce for a moment, old chap, I’d appreciate a minute or two alone with her.”
“Of course. Of course. I’ll wait outside with the horses.” Uncle Theo gave Calliope’s arm a quick squeeze. “I’m so happy for you, Peewee.”
As soon as the door to the taproom shut, Jonathon pushed his chair out of the way with his booted foot and gathered Calliope into his arms.
“Do you really mean it, Jonathon?” she whispered, searching his gaze. “Because if you don’t love me, if you’re just teasing me again, I don’t think I could bear it.”
“Of course, I mean it.” He lifted a hand and brushed a heavy lock of hair away from her flushed cheek. “I would never joke about something so profoundly important. And if we had all the time in the world right now, I would show you exactly how much you mean to me by making slow sweet love to you. But unfortunately, we don’t, so I’ll simply say what I need to, in the hope my words alone will convince you.” His wide chest expanded as he drew a deep breath and he clasped her hands in his. “I love you, Calliope Banks, with my entire, imperfect, yet thoroughly earnest heart. But…” The expression in his eyes grew solemn. “I’m not going to propose to you just yet. Not until this business with Flint is resolved. It’s not fair to ask you to wait. As you know, I asked the same of someone before and I’ll not do it again.”
“I… I understand, Jonathon. I do. But I will wait for you.” She reached up and touched his strong jaw. Her mouth curved in a smile. “Not because you’ve asked me to but because I want to. I love you, too.”
“You do?” His eyes gleamed with an emotion Calliope thought might be joy.
“Yes, my stubborn, arrogant, ruggedly handsome, gentleman privateer, I do.” Her vision misted with tears of happiness. “Lord knows why, but I do.” And then she stood on her tiptoes, slid her hands about Jonathon’s neck, and kissed him.
His strong arms immediately lashed her body to his and he kissed her back with an ardent ferocity that made her head spin and her body thrum with deep desire. But most of all, her elated heart sang over and over again… he loves me, he loves me, he loves me.
When they both came up for air, breathless and smiling, Calliope dared to venture another question. “So, do you honestly think I’m gorgeous, Captain Townsend?”
Jonathon’s chest vibrated with a deep chuckle. “From the top of your unruly red head, to the tips of your pretty pink toes.” He kissed her freckled nose. “Don’t think I didn’t notice them at the beach yesterday.” He slid a hand into the curls at her nape and dropped another kiss on her forehead. “But I’m afraid it’s time for me to go now, my love. There’s much to do before the Andromeda gets underway in a few hours.”
He began to step back but Calliope clutched at his arms. “Jonathon, please take me with you. Uncle Theo too. At least to Bourbon. It’s not so very far. I promise you, I’m not… I’m not a curse.”
Jonathon lifted her chin with gentle fingers and looked deeply into her eyes. “No, you’re not at all, my sweet Calliope. You’re a blessing.” Then a deep sigh escaped him. “All right, my lovely. I concede defeat. I can’t resist your beseeching blue eyes. You can sail with me as far as Bourbon. But,” his expression grew stern, “you must promise to do exactly as I say. At all times.”
She grinned. “Aye, aye, Captain.”
“Cheeky wench. I should punish such insubordination with another kiss.”
And he did. Needless to say, Calliope didn’t mind at all.
Chapter 12
Saint Denis, Bourbon
The winds were strong and the current on their side. Indeed, the Andromeda made such good time, she dropped anchor in Saint-Denis’s harbor close to midnight. As soon as they docked, Jonathon went below to his cabin where Calliope was ensconced with Nelson. Apparently, Uncle Theo had fallen asleep in Mr. Keats’s quarters.
“Where are you going?” she asked, trepidation tripping through her veins as she watched Jonathon don a greatcoat, beaver hat, and then withdraw a gleaming pistol from the drawer of his enormous desk. “Is the Delphine here?” She dared not ask if the Orpheus was.
Jonathon’s expression was grim as he checked the pistol then pushed it into a pocket inside his coat. “Yes, she is. I’m going to leave Mr. Keats in charge while I go on a scouting expedition.”
“On your own?”
He offered her a smile then. “I can look after myself, sweetheart. Do not fret.”
She nodded and pleated her fingers into the skirts of her riding habit to stop herself from reaching for him. He had a job to do and she wouldn’t get in his way. “I’ll try not to,” she said, with a weak smile.
“And you, my lady, must promise me that you will stay right here the whole time. It’s late and there’ll be nothing but drunk sailors and cutpurses wandering about the docks and local back alleys.”
“And you told me not to fret.”
He crossed the cabin in a handful of strides and gave her a swift kiss. “I’ll be back here before you know it. Hopefully with news of Barnaby Lucas’s whereabouts. Try to get some rest.”
She nodded obediently. Jonathon had offered to do the gentlemanly thing and would bunk in with the other officers tonight. “I will,” she said. But that was a lie.
After he departed, Calliope finished unpacking the few clothes she’d been able to collect from Belle Mer before they’d set sail. Then, unable to relax enough to read or even render a sketch or two, she summoned Tom the cabin boy and requested some supper; she wasn’t hungry at all, but she needed something to oc
cupy her time while Jonathon was away. As she poured herself a steaming cup of coffee and then selected a ginger biscuit, Nelson woke. He yawned widely, ruffled his feathers, then fluttered across the room to perch on the back of a chair at the mahogany dining table where Calliope sat. “I don’t mind if I do, my lady,” he said, cocking his head. “Give us a kiss.”
Calliope laughed. “The only one who will get a kiss from me is your master. But I’m sure some ginger biscuit will be adequate compensation.” She broke off a piece and Nelson gently took it from her with one of his claws.
“What about me? Would you give me a kiss? My lady…?”
Calliope jumped so hard, she knocked her coffee cup over; the hot liquid spread across the table and scalded her hand. But she hardly noticed because all her attention was fixed on the man who’d just spoken. A tall, attractive, well-dressed man she didn’t recognize at all. He lounged in the doorway of the cabin—one wide shoulder propped against the doorframe, the folds of his great coat flowing about his long legs—as though he belonged there. But the most terrifying thing of all was, he held a pistol in his gloved hand. And the weapon was trained on her.
Even though her throat was suddenly tight with terror, Calliope forced her voice to work. “Who… who are you? How did you get in here? What do you want?”
He removed his hat, revealing a head of thick tawny hair. “So many questions, love,” he said, his mouth quirking with an insolent smirk. “But I’ll answer the one that’s of most interest to me.” The expression in his dark brown eyes hardened. “I’m looking for Jonathon Townsend.”
“He’s… he’s not here.” Oh God, why did she just say that? She’d just admitted she was all alone in the captain’s quarters. And where was Tom? He’d only just departed a few minutes ago. She prayed he was all right. “The Andromeda is swarming with crew,” she said, somehow summoning a voice that only quavered a little. “You should leave before you get caught.” Every fiber of her being was telling her to scream or to run or to throw something at the stranger—the silver coffee pot would do—but she dared not, not while a pistol was pointed straight at her.
The man laughed, tucked his hat beneath one arm and sauntered closer. The pistol’s muzzle didn’t waver at all.
Snagging a biscuit from the plate on the dining table, he took a large bite. “They’re good aren’t they, Nelson?”
The parrot bobbed up and down. “Shiver me timbers. Dead men tell no tales.”
Calliope’s jaw dropped open. “You know Nelson?”
That horrible smirk again. “You might say we’re old shipmates.”
And then it dawned on Calliope who this man was. “You’re Michael Flint,” she breathed. Ice cold terror gripped her heart. Squeezed her lungs. She clutched the raised edge of the table lest she faint.
The pirate affected a mocking bow. “The very same.”
“You should go.”
He took another biscuit. “Yes, I suppose I should. But before I do, I don’t suppose you have any more jewels lying about, do you? The ones your friend Mr. Lucas bartered off to secure a place on my ship are pretty enough, but I was rather hoping you had more.”
So Barnaby Lucas had stolen her parure to purchase his passage home. The thieving, sniveling…
Anger lent Calliope the strength she needed to look Michael Flint in the eye. “No. That’s all I have… Had.” She lifted her chin. “They belonged to my mother and mean a great deal to me.”
But Michael Flint clearly didn’t care. He brushed a few biscuit crumbs off his lapels then sniffed. “You’re boring me, Lady Calliope. And if I had enough time and the inclination, I might be tempted to kidnap you and hold you to ransom. Or sell you to the highest bidder at an African slave market. I’m sure your pretty arse would fetch me a pretty penny.” He flashed a grin then. “But it’s your lucky day that I don’t. Just tell Townsend that he should back off. Let bygones be bygones. I’ve had enough of this cat and mouse chase across the seven seas. It’s bad for business.” Leaning forward he added, “This is my first and final warning.”
And with that, he quit the cabin.
Calliope was glad she was sitting down as her whole body was shaking. Her knees felt as insubstantial as water.
But she needed to raise an alarm. Check that Tom was indeed all right.
Nelson jumped onto the table and strutted over to the biscuit plate. He looked up at her with his beady eyes and blinked. “How do you do, my lady?”
Calliope dashed several tears away from her cheeks with trembling fingers. “I’m still here and still alive, my feathered friend, so I suppose that’s all that matters,” she whispered.
Nelson gave a quick bob. “Aye, aye, my lady. Tally ho and stay the course.”
Somewhere in the Indian Ocean…
One day later…
Dark, bruise-like clouds were gathering on the horizon above the choppy, gun-metal gray sea when the lookout in the Andromeda’s crow’s nest cried out, “Sail ho! Unidentified vessel port side!”
Mr. Keats handed Jonathon his spyglass. “There is indeed, sir. From what I can make out, it’s a schooner and it bears no colors. I do believe it’s the Orpheus.”
About bloody time. Jonathon’s jaw clenched as he confirmed the ship in his sights was indeed the one captained by his nemesis. After he’d learned Flint had somehow snuck onto the Andromeda in Saint-Denis last night and had mercilessly tormented Calliope with obscene threats, Jonathon had vowed he’d bring the filthy dog to justice if it was the last thing he did.
And if keelhauling was involved before he clapped him in irons, all the better.
Fortunately, Alain Dupont had been most accommodating when Jonathon had at last caught up with the sewer rat in an alleyway behind a dockside tavern. A few short sharp punches to certain areas had provided him with the information he sought. Unable to secure passage on any other vessel leaving Bourbon, Barnaby Lucas—apparently in a fit of panic—had bribed his way onto Flint’s ship using Calliope’s jewels as payment. The Orpheus, containing a hold full of the explosive saltpeter, as well as sugar and coffee rather than slaves for once, was reportedly headed for Morocco and then France.
The chase was on.
“Let’s get this bastard,” Jonathon ground out. “After we’ve caught the wind and picked up speed, summon the bosun and the gunner. The sea’s rough and I don’t know if we can catch up to Flint, but we’re sure as hell going to give it our damnedest shot.”
Keats grinned. “Aye, aye, Captain.” Then he turned and shouted directions to the crew from the quarterdeck. “All hands on deck! Turn about port side! Make all sail!
The well-trained crew sprang into action. Within minutes, an additional sail had been set, the helmsman had set a new course, the gunner was heading below to make sure the guns—all eighteen cannon—were ready to be run out when the time came, and the Andromeda was ploughing through the heavy swell in hot pursuit of the Orpheus.
Jonathon handed over to Keats before he headed to his quarters to arm himself and make sure Calliope and her uncle stayed below decks during the fray. If there was hand-to-hand fighting, no doubt things would get particularly nasty.
While there was still breath in Jonathon’s body, and fire in his soul, he’d keep Calliope from harm.
She rose to her feet as soon as he entered. “What’s happening, Jonathon?” Her blue eyes were wide with worry. “I felt the ship change course. And I can hear shouting. You’ve spotted the Orpheus, haven’t you?”
Jonathon gave a swift nod and headed straight to his desk to retrieve his pistols. “I have. The ship is some distance away, but we’ve managed to catch the wind and are making good time despite the less than ideal sea state.”
Calliope gripped the edge of the dining room table as the Andromeda pitched and rolled. “I suspect you’d like us to stay down here,” she said.
He gave her a reassuring smile. “You guessed correctly, my sweet. It would ease my mind greatly. I want you as far away from the fighting as possible
.”
Her face blanched, her freckles standing out starkly against her pale-as-milk skin. “Fighting?” she said faintly. “This suddenly seems all too real, Jonathon. If something should happen to you. If you get hurt…”
Jonathon pushed one pistol into his coat pocket and the other into the waistband of his breeches. He’d take his saber and a knife too. “Trust me, I know how to fight, Calliope. And I’ll be able to concentrate that much better if I know you are safe. But it’s my hope that hand-to-hand combat can be avoided altogether.”
Dr. Bell got to his feet also, swaying a little with the movement of the ship. “I say, you don’t plan to sink the Orpheus do you, Captain? Barnaby Lucas can go hang for all I care, but those dodo remains and Peewee’s jewels are on that ship.”
Jonathon met the man’s gaze directly. “It’s not my preferred plan. But in the end, if it means less risk to everyone on board the Andromeda, I might just have to. Bird bones and jewels can be replaced.” His eyes sought Calliope’s. “But friends and loved ones can’t.”
“We understand,” she said softly. “And you’re right, Jonathon. We’ll do as you ask.” She reached out and touched her uncle’s arm. “Won’t we, Uncle Theo?”
The older man frowned but then nodded. “Yes. We will.”
Jonathon tilted his head. “Thank you.”
When he was as armed as he could be, Jonathon crossed the cabin and pulled Calliope into his arms. Ignoring the presence of her uncle, he gave her a brief but fervent kiss that he hoped would convey not only his ardor, but his determination to succeed. He refused to give her a tender, goodbye kiss.
