“I will wait as long as it takes, even if that means forever, my love.” Bringing his lips to mine, we kissed passionately.
“I don’t believe it will be nearly that long, my love.”
A Preview
Isabella’s Heart:
The Sequel and Continuing Saga of Angelina’s Secret
IVING CALEB PERMISSION TO ATTACK first, I gestured with a wave of my hand. Daughtery attacked and I easily parried, then countered back, with an attack of my own, forcing him to retreat several steps. Jabbing Caleb in the chest area with the dulled end of my rapier, I hit my mark. The crew standing around on deck, jeered, calling into question the first mates manhood. He took it all in good fun, but attacked with more zeal and vigor the next round.
Resetting, we began again trading attacks and parries back and forth for about twenty minutes. We began to perspire with all the physical activity, so Mr. Daughtery decided to call for a small break. Slipping his coat off, Caleb deposited the garment with a crew member.
I removed my coat as well and wiped my forehead with the sleeve, before depositing the coat on a pile of ropes. Noticing that the rowdy crowd of men had suddenly gone silent, I looked up to see what had caused it.
That’s when I came face to face with the unsmiling, yet ever handsome, brooding Captain Townsend.
“How about we engage in a real dual, my dear?” the captain challenged, his voice seductively deceiving as he broke the tension between us by giving me a half smile. His blue eyes seemed to spark like the sky during a thunderstorm, causing my breath to catch.
Dumbfounded for a moment, as my mind scurried to assimilate and assess the situation, I asked for the only thing that came to mind, “May I please have a drink of water first?” I queried, locking eyes with him.
“Since you asked so nicely,” Captain Townsend said, with a sardonic smile. “Rogers, fetch Lady Isabella some water,” he bellowed in my face while maintaining direct eye contact.
Mr. Rogers ran to do the captain’s bidding, bringing me a ladle full of fresh water. He handed it to me, and I gratefully sipped it slowly trying to buy time.
Realizing what his friend had in mind, Caleb stepped forward. “Aiden, I must protest. What you are proposing is wrong,” he said sternly, as the casual exhibition turned serious and the crew of rugged mercenaries looked on in disbelief.
“Anyone can have a leisurely game of back and forth exchanges for fun or even show, but your enemy is not going to follow the rules, nor will they give you a chance to catch your breath between bouts,” the captain said, putting his hand up to stem the flow of any further protests from Caleb.
Turning his back on Caleb so he could focus his full attention back to me, Townsend continued to speak, but this time he was playing to the crowd, who had gathered for the show.
“Although you and my first mate here seem to know your way around a rapier, we are going in with swords, Lady Isabella. Of course, if you would prefer not to continue because you are too tired. . .” Townsend said, leaving the question open ended as he gave me a patronizing smile. Then turning his back to me, Townsend faced his crowd, as they began to jeer and yell loudly.
Paralyzed by indecision, and the dangerous glint I witnessed in Townsend’s eyes, I chewed on my bottom lip, still trying to think clearly.
Turning about in a circle, while shrugging his shoulders, the captain truly was a showman, as he expertly worked the crowd of men up into a frenzy. As if to say the show was over, the captain looked at me and smirked, then shrugged his shoulders as he turned his back to me again. “Well, lads, I do not think the lady is truly up to the challenge. I would suggest you all return to work.” Some light laughter erupted as the men slapped the captain and first mate on the shoulder and turned to resume their duties.
I picked up the two sabers and weighed them both in my hands, then choosing the one in my left hand, I threw the other at the captain’s feet. The blade landed with a loud clank and skidded to a halt against his shiny leather boots.
Turning around, Captain Townsend’s jovial smile quickly faded as he noticed the sword in my hand. Then slowly looking down, he scoffed, and bent down to retrieve the sword at his feet.
“It seems I was wrong, lads,” Townsend announced loudly between clenched teeth. “It would seem the Lady has a backbone after all.”
The thought flashed through my mind that these blades had very sharp edges and were void of guarded tips for safety purposes. I quickly pushed the thought from my mind and remembered that I truly had a reason for being here my brother and I would never turn tail and run from anyone, especially someone as smug and self righteous as Captain Aiden Townsend.
We walked in a circle like two wild beasts at the ready, each taking the measure of the other. The tension was thick as everyone on deck fell silent again.
Caleb again tried to protest, but Captain Townsend gave him a look that silenced him at once. I felt like I vibrated with the silent tension that existed on deck as I prepared my strategy.
I made the first move while Townsend still looked at Caleb. Thrusting my sword, I caught the captain off guard by cutting the button from his woolen coat.
Lifting his eyebrows in a manner that could have suggested either a question or a challenge, Townsend licked his lips and gave me a smile. It was not a pleasant smile, in fact it wasn’t a smile at all, but a grimace meant to warn me of the impending danger ahead.
The crew suddenly went crazy. They shouted and jeered again as I heard money called out and odds exchanged. The captain lunged forward, and I deflected the attack with my sword, easily stepping to the side and swinging. We exchanged thrusts and parried back and forth, moving around in our tight little circle for several minutes. I refused to back down or give an inch as he pressed his advantage of height and strength, pushing me back against the masthead.
I sidestepped him as he swung his sword, and then pulled up short at the same time as I ducked. I figured it was his way of giving me a warning. But I didn’t need a warning because I was playing for all the marbles in my brother Charlie’s bag.
Knocking Townsend in the stomach with the hilt of my sword, I stepped to his right and repositioned myself to the ready. The sardonic smirk was back as he lunged at me, taking several heavy swings with his sword, and nearly knocking me over. We locked swords, and he came in close, growling under his breath. “Do you concede?” he asked, holding tightly to my free hand, keeping me momentarily still.
“No!” I said, that one word dripped with derision from my lips.
Not giving him a chance to reset, I pushed off from him and swung hard, forcing him back. The surprise I saw in his eyes was gratifying, if only for a split second, before regaining his composure and retaliating in kind.
He forced me back as he went on the attack, and I caused several crew members to scramble for safety, as I beat a hasty retreat.
A low animalistic growl escaped my lips as I attacked in frustration. My muscles were beginning to burn in my right arm, and I let my guard down for just a second. That was all it took. The captain’s sword inflicted a nasty gash on my left arm, several inches below the shoulder.
A small cry escaped my mouth. Captain Townsend froze in mid swing, and then lowered his weapon. The smugness instantly drained from his face, replaced with concern.
Maria made her way to the deck, drawn by all the commotion and noise. I heard her gasp and I looked at her for a split second, but I didn’t really see her. My mind was already going through the evasive moves I had been taught. Maria closed her eyes and began to pray, as the entire crew on deck fell silent.
Then I remembered the reason I was there, on that deck, in the first place. Looking down at my arm, I could see the cut was deep and the blood had begun to flow from the gash. This was no time to wallow in my pain. Moving my arm to make sure it was still of use to me, I blocked out the pain, and concentrated instead on the moves I intended to make.
I turned my full attention back to the captain and gave him a murder
ous stare. I felt something snap inside of me. Like the floodgates being opened, all I could see was Townsend. Everything and everyone else faded away.
The captain wore the strangest look on his face as I raised my sword above my head and set myself to the ready.
Narrowing my eyes at Townsend, I prepared myself to fight, as if it were a matter of life or death.
I was fighting for my brother’s life!
“I think it is time for you to concede,” Captain Townsend stammered as he lowered his guard. “Look, your arm is hurt and —” the captain said, pointing at my arm with his free hand.
Cutting him off, I lunged at him, and he deflected my blade, but stumbled backward several steps, while still attempting to reason with me. I refused to hear him out. I was now focused on the task at hand.
“I thought you said you knew how to fight,” I taunted, causing the crew to go crazy again. “Or perhaps you would like to concede?” I jeered.
Aiden lunged and half heartedly swung his sword, which I easily blocked. Lunging back in turn, I managed to put the captain on the defensive. Seeing a moment of hesitation from him, I delivered a kick to his lower left leg, throwing him off balance. He grunted and fell to the deck onto one knee.
I circled around behind him as my breath seemed to come in harsh, angry gasps. Giving an extra push with my booted foot in the middle of his back, I managed to knock him down on all fours.
The captain snorted in frustration and pounded a fist into the deck in a show of anger of his own. Then slowly rising to his feet, he looked over his shoulder at me, and I saw something in his eyes besides surprise at my underhanded tactics it was determination.
Growling somewhere deep in his throat, Captain Aiden Townsend looked like an angry bull preparing to charge. Turning towards me he lunged, slashing with his sword, a move I had anticipated and easily sidestepped, deflecting his emotionally fueled advances.
This caused another loud outburst of laughter from the crew.
We circled each other again, both of us taut and on edge as we lunged at one another, simultaneously locking blades. Aiden’s left arm snaked out and grabbed a hold of my waist.
Pinning me tightly against his larger frame, our swords rested between us. “You need to concede, and I will allow you to save face,” Townsend said between clenched teeth. His rage was clearly manifested by his ragged breathing as he leaned in even closer to my face, to emphasize his displeasure.
“Your hubris is astounding, sir, or is it that you are worried that you might be bested by a woman!” I sweetly asked, just before stomping on the instep of his foot with the heel of my boot.
“Ouch!” he yelled. “Why you little—” he began to say, before letting out another growl of displeasure.
I pushed off from him when he was momentarily surprised by my move, and my blade caught the back of his hand, when we came out of the clench. Looking down, he couldn’t believe what he saw. The back of his right hand was bleeding from a two inch gash.
I didn’t give him time to ponder whether I had done it on purpose. I immediately lunged at him, and our swords clashed back and forth as we took turns attacking one another.
I was physically tired and backed up, trying to step out of his reach, but he was relentless. Stepping back several more feet, I soon realized my mistake when I came up against the masthead once again.
Quickly dropping his blade to block me, I found myself trapped as I quickly shifted, attempting to turn to my left.
Raising my arm high above my head to strike back at the captain’s trap, he gave my blade a mighty blow, knocking it easily from my tired hand. Moving quickly, he pinned my right arm above my head, with his left hand, trapping my body between himself and the masthead.
I found it difficult to breathe as he pressed his hips against mine in a show of superiority. The crude shouts of encouragement from his crew made my cheeks turn crimson. He leaned his face down close to mine as if we were merely lovers exchanging lurid thoughts of what we might do to one another later.
He smiled seductively and I could see he felt self assured of his manly prowess. “Do you concede now?” he purred in my ear. His mouth was now so close to mine, I thought he meant to kiss me.
“Are you truly so sure that you have the upper hand?” I said, tilting my face up just a touch more toward his, just to show that I was not intimidated by him.
“If this had been a real fight, my lady, you would be walking through those pearly gates to greet Saint Peter, by now,” he retorted with a smug smirk and a small chuckle to top it off.
“Oh,” I said, feigning surprise and shock. “Then this must be when I shout out loud and clear so everyone can hear me say that I concede,” I continued, attempting to play coy, as I dropped my eyes downward.
“That would be the customary thing to do,” he said, as his continued smugness radiated from every pore.
Looking down to where his hips connected with mine, I made a slow but assessing trail back up to the captain’s eyes. Giving him a shy smile I sweetly asked, “I was wondering if you could point that thing in a different direction. I hear they can be dangerous.”
“Only when placed in the hands of amateurs,” the captain purred seductively again.
“And what if I said I had a little surprise of my own, just for you?” I sweetly retorted, pressing my chest into his as I seductively smiled up at him.
He chuckled again, and moved his face to my ear as he inhaled deeply of my scent. “Mmm... What a delicious and unexpected occurrence. Perhaps we could discuss the matter over dinner tonight in my private quarters,” Aiden purred again. Locking eyes with the rakishly handsome captain, I raised my eyebrows. Then giving the captain a seductive smile, I chuckled in response. “Oh Captain Townsend, I find men as a whole an easy lot to manipulate,” I retorted. “And if this had been a real fight, you too would be walking through those pearly gates to greet Saint Peter himself, having been unmanned by a woman,” I said, pressing the tip of my dagger into the delicate fleshy parts of his crotch, for emphasis.
“Ouch!” he growled, squeezing my pinned wrist tighter, as he backed his hips up a couple of inches to avoid another nasty poke from my dagger. “You don’t fight fair,” his angry tone told me he was not pleased by my unorthodox tactics.
“And neither will the enemy. I believe those were your words, were they not, Captain?” I said smugly. “So I have only one question for you, Aiden, are you ready to concede?” I asked, giving him a wicked smile.
Authors Note
Thank you so much for reading my book. If you enjoyed it please consider posting an honest review on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/Diane-Merrill-Wigginton/e/B00MS5NV38) and Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34318579). Please feel free to visit jeweleddaggerpublishing.com to sign up for new book releases or to contact me. It would really mean a lot to me. Thank you.
Diane Merrill Wigginton
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