“There be many caves in Ireland and Scotland, lad. When the son of one of the three Sisters of Danu hid the treasure, it is said to have been sealed and that only the god Lugh can reveal it to the true ancestor of Danu. I ken we are descendants of the legendary Sisters, but with fifteen centuries between us, how can we be certain ye are the one meant to find it?”
“We cannae know until we try. As I offered, ye lend me a ship and crew, and I will seek the treasure. If I find it, all I ask is to keep the ship and crew to continue a life on the sea. I do not think I will be welcomed back to England after all that has transpired. No doubt Captain William is there now, prepared to tell whatever tale he has contrived to make me look like a traitor, and he not a coward. I will give the treasure over to ye, after I take a portion to reward the crew, of course. Ye can use the treasure to help the people. If it is as grand as I believe, it will feed them for years.”
His grandmother sighed and put her whiskey down, tapping her foot on the stone floors. “Done. I can have a ship and crew ready for ye in two days’ time.”
Thomas felt lighter than he had in a long time. This was it. It was the culmination of years of dreaming about this treasure, feeling the call of Lugh and Danu in his sleep. He knew he was meant to find the treasure. Why else would he repeatedly see a row of caverns high up on a mountain when he closed his eyes? He could not be sure where they were, or which cavern the treasure was kept in, but he would not stop until he found it.
“Thank ye.” He stood up quickly and kissed his grandmother’s cheek. “Ye are not such an awful Pirate Queen,” he winked.
Scowling, she waved him off. “’Tis only because ye are my grandson and I trust ye. I did not at first, ye ken. And make nay mistake, I would have fed ye to the fish had I believed ye were the Queen’s man. But nay, I saw it in yer eyes the moment ye arrived back in Ireland, lad. Ye care about this land and its people. I may stalk the waters, terrorizing merchants and enemy nations alike, and I may keep a fair share for me and me crew, but we always give back, ye ken.”
“Aye. I ken.”
“Tell anyone I’ve gone soft in me old age and I will cut off yer bollocks,” she nodded.
He did not doubt she would for even a moment. But he needed those bollocks to exact his revenge on Bingham. Though the thought of seeing Katherine again made his stomach churn with an array of emotions, ranging from lust to disgust, he knew the best way to destroy Bingham was to ruin his daughter. He would steal her away, take her innocence, and give her back to the man, ruined beyond repair. It was the price they would both pay for betraying the O’Malleys. Though he never thought he could stomach the thought of bedding one of Richard’s daughters, after flipping through that erotic book repeatedly for the past three days, the one that had the word “Kamasutra” embossed in fancy gold writing on the inside of the leather-bound cover, the one filled with men and women in provocative positions, he found himself primed and ready to plunder the only treasure that his enemy could never steal back.
If Katherine had found this book intriguing before, she was going to get a few hands-on lessons from him, and he would make certain she enjoyed every moment of it. He grew hard just thinking about it, forgetting the pain throbbing in his arm. It was nothing compared to the pain throbbing in his breeches.
Leaving his grandmother’s house and looking up at the night sky, stars twinkling high above as if winking at him and encouraging his mission, he sighed and slapped Juan on the back. “Ye ready for the next part of the plan?”
The man nodded. “I am ready, Capt’n.”
He liked the sound of being called Captain. With a smirk, he mounted his horse and headed over to New Castle Manor. Tonight, Katherine was his, but just long enough to ruin her.
Approaching the three-story manor house, its clean white-washed walls shown in a blue haze from the dim glow of the moon. Richard Bingham’s house was not far from their pirate stronghold, and it was a wonder it had remained secure up to now. Thomas looked up at the vines climbing the otherwise smooth facade. It disgusted Thomas that Richard could slaughter the locals yet live so lavishly.
He had no idea which room Katherine’s was, but he was certain she would be home unless the wild woman had not learned her lesson about skulking around at night. Small trees grew against the side of the house, concealing many of the top windows from his view.
Dismounting from his horse, he nodded to Juan, who nodded back. If there was any activity or sign of life, Juan would give him a signal. Patting the inside of his cloak, Thomas made certain his note was still within. He wanted that bastard to know exactly who had taken his daughter and exactly what he meant to do with her. He bit back a grin. Aye, he was acting without honor, but honor had no place in revenge. If the queen would not take Richard Bingham in hand, Thomas would do so himself. He would steal the lass, keep her as a hostage aboard his ship, and show her the many delights that could be shared, even if it meant feigning love for the lass to get her to willingly spread for him. Then he would seek his treasure and toss her back to her father once he was well and done with her.
Slowly stalking the perimeter of the house, Thomas focused so much on the windows above and how to climb up, that he did not notice the flicker of candlelight coming from one of the larger windows on the bottom floor until just then. Silently gliding over, he was pleased to see the heavy damask curtain was pulled back slightly, affording him a slim, yet helpful view of the inside. It appeared to be the library. Heavy, dark-wood shelves lined the wall across from him, filled from ceiling to floor with leather-bound tomes. Was Richard in there right now, writing missives to his queen about all the foul actions of her knight? Thomas scoffed. Somehow, he could not find it in himself to care. He valued his queen’s opinion of him, but he had done nothing but show his honor and loyalty, yet he knew that one missive from this man could make his queen turn away from him. So be it. He had other plans for his present, and as for his future, he would worry about that later.
A small movement caught his attention from the left of the room and he shifted his body so he could see better. With the pitch black of darkness working in his favor, he knew he could see in far better than anyone could see out.
A flutter of movement caught his gaze once more and he finally saw someone sitting on the other side of a sofa, elaborately upholstered in blue and silver damask fabric to match the curtains. He could see the candles placed carefully upon a table reflected on the top of a head with golden-blonde hair. Katherine. It had to be her. Of course, the curious lass would not simply go to bed as a typical lady would do. Well, he would give her curious mind some new skills to learn very soon.
Now that he knew where she was in the house, he needed to find his way inside. If he broke the window, she would likely scream and alert her father or the servants of his presence before he could reach her. He wished to have her well and far away before her father found the note.
His heart thudded with anticipation. He had never kidnapped a lass, but he found the idea of his revenge incredibly thrilling. As a knight, he should feel shameful for his plans with the lass, but he knew he could get her to beg for him. He would not need to force her. And she deserved to be ruined for all the harm she had caused. He needed to remind himself of this repeatedly, fight that side of him that grew soft where she was concerned.
He moved to a window on another side of the house, and he saw it was pitch black inside, yet the curtains were also cracked open. Cupping his eyes and leaning against the glass, he could not see much but had to hope it was empty. After all, servants slept below stairs and Richard would sleep above. These first floor rooms usually held a library, study, or dining area which would likely be vacant at this time of night. Looking up, he gauged the time based on the stars. It was about an hour after midnight. Any decent lass would be abed, but Katherine was no decent lass.
Wrapping his hand in his thick wool cloak, Thomas punched through the glass, knocking the remaining shards away before silently lifting himself into th
e darkened room. Pausing for a moment, he heard not a single sound. He had made certain this room was far enough away from the library as to not startle Katherine with the sounds of glass breaking.
Feeling his way through the room, he bumped into a table and knocked something over, cringing when the object shattered beneath his feet. He murmured a curse and stood still, but he heard nothing. The door was open to this room, so he crept toward it, the candles from the library across the way affording him some light and guiding his moves.
His heart pounded in overtime and he had to focus on his breathing as he stepped into the library and saw her. Golden waves floated around her face as she lay with her back propped up on the arm of the sofa. A thin blanket was draped over her legs, but he could not help but notice she wore naught but her night shift beneath it. A book was held loosely in her hands, but by the upward tilt of her face turned away from him and the book, he was sure she was sleeping.
Creeping closer, he steeled himself for what he must do next. Placing his palm over her mouth, her body jumped in fright and she let out a wail just as her brilliant blue eyes popped open in fear and locked onto his. Her scream died down when she recognized him, but he dared not remove his hand.
“Ye are coming with me,” he whispered. “Keep yer mouth shut or there will be the devil to pay.” She nodded in understanding beneath his palm and, as he slowly released her, he was shocked to see her smile.
“Thomas!” she whispered. “I thought ye had died!” She went to embrace him but pulled back with a wince. His brow furrowed when he realized the mark under her right eye that he had assumed was a shadow, was a nasty bruise, black with purple around the edge.
He wanted to roar his anger, slaughter whoever had hurt her, but he steeled himself against speaking further. Mayhap she fell during one of her mischievous plots. He grunted, and without warning, swooped down to lift her up, discarding the wool blanket on the couch and placing the note from within his cloak on top.
Katherine winced again as he cradled her and frowned. “What are ye doing? What is that note?” He ignored her and left the room, heading toward the broken window on the other side of the house. “Thomas! Put me down! What are ye doing?” she cried. “My papa will kill ye if he finds ye here.” She looked at the broken glass and gasped just as he passed her through the window, Juan grabbing her from the other side.
Panicking in earnest, she screamed, but Thomas slapped his hand over her mouth to stifle her, baring his teeth. “I told ye to be quiet! I will gut yer father for what he has done to my crew. Scream again and yer father is dead.
She pursed her mouth shut and shivered as the cold night air wrapped around her body. With a curse, he yanked off his cloak. “Put her down… gently,” he ordered Juan who did as he commanded. She hobbled and cried out when her feet touched the ground.
Wrapping the cloak around her, he lifted her up onto his horse, mounting behind her. “Ye are injured.”
“Aye,” she whispered.
“How?”
“I would rather not say…”
“Good. I would rather not know.” He would get answers later. If a man had hurt her, he was dead, but Thomas could do nothing about it for now and it was likely the lass only feigned injury so he would not hurt her. He would never do so, but the more she suspected he would, the better. He found it curious how happy she had been to see him, and how little a fight she had given. Thomas had expected more from the wee hellion.
Kicking his horse into a gallop, he hoped she would be equally willing when it was time for him to take her to his bed.
Chapter Seven
What in all the world had just happened? Her entire body ached from the jolting of the horse against her injuries, but Katherine gritted her teeth against the pain. Thomas did not seem at all concerned with her injuries, which made her want to slam the back of her head into his face, but that would likely only hurt her further. The man’s body felt like a wall of stone against hers as they approached the Clew Bay inn.
Though time eluded her, it had to be the dead of night, for not a soul was within the main area of the tavern when he carried her in his arms. How was she in Thomas’s arms? And why? She thought he had died, and though she was happy to see his face again and had so many things she wished to say, she could not begin to understand why he had broken into her home to steal her away, or why she was not the least bit afraid of him.
He hated her, she knew this much. He was also an honorable knight who had whisked her away. Nothing made sense. After all she had learned about her father’s awful treatment of people, knowing he killed dozens of innocent men on that ship, the revelation that she had a family in England he never spoke of, and then his treatment of her at the inn, she still felt safer with Thomas, despite his obvious disgust of her.
He must have already arranged a room ahead of time, for without a word to the innkeeper, Thomas carried her up the stairs of the inn, kicked open a door, and closed it behind him just before placing her carefully on the bed… the only bed in the room.
“What are ye doing, Thomas?” She felt much too weak. She would have fought him until she had answers if her entire body did not ache.
“Is it not obvious, love?” he growled without facing her. He poured two glasses of some brown liquid and handed her a glass, still without eye contact. She stared at it, frowning at what she was certain was whiskey, though she had never tasted the stuff.
“Nay. Nothing about this is obvious,” she whispered, and cringed as she tried to adjust her body on the bed. She was not certain, but she thought her father may have broken one of her ribs.
“I am desperately in love with ye, lass. I cannae live without ye, so I stole ye away.”
His words made her jaw drop and all the blood drain from her face. “Are ye serious, Thomas?” Tears almost pricked her eyes at his honest confession. It was much too soon to determine if she loved the man, but she was certainly drawn to him and would rather be with him than her awful father who clearly had no honor.
A horrid laugh filled the room and his usually handsome face twisted up with scorn as he bore down on her. His green eyes, once beautiful, now looked like they belonged to the devil himself. Real tears streamed down her face as she realized he mocked her. She had never asked for his love, nor had she asked him to steal her away. How dare he humiliate her? Swallowing hard, she looked away so he would not witness her tears of shame. Mayhap she deserved his scorn for all she had done, but all she had ever meant to do was help. It was not her fault that her father was cruel.
“Look at ye. Ye disgust me. The blood running through yer veins disgusts me. Because of ye and yer father, my family… my people… my crew, have all suffered!” He roared, and she felt his breath against her ear as she curled into a ball to avoid him. How many men must shout at her for simply caring about the people? The venom he spewed was breaking her heart, and her ribs pulsed with pain crushed beneath his weight on her side.
“Why did ye do this, if ye hate me so?” she croaked, wiping a tear away.
“To get my revenge on yer father for all he has done! It is obvious he values ye above all else. Let us see how he values ye after ye have been ruined by an O’Malley!”
A hurt deeper than she ever imagined clutched at her chest, more painful than the splintering pain in her body. He thought she was foul and loathsome, yet he would punish her by ruining her.
“Have ye not seen my face? My father values me so much he beat me after I was returned to him! I have received my punishment from him for trying to serve Ireland and failing. Now I shall receive my punishment from ye?” Katherine could not hold back her tears any longer. Curse her and her weakness, she was only human and now everyone hated her. She was better off dead at this point. Would Thomas, her honorable knight, truly ruin her? She was already ruined, even if he never laid a hand on her.
“What did he do to ye?” Thomas’s voice sounded tight, as if he struggled to control some pent-up rage. For the first time, she truly did beli
eve he meant to harm her.
Slowly turning in the bed, she cried out as her ribs shifted. Determined to stop her tears, she looked Thomas straight in the eye and refused to look away when he began his string of curses.
“Devil’s bollocks! He did that to ye?” His hand came up to gently touch her swollen cheek and bruised eye, but she cringed and jerked away. The crack in her lip still stung.
“How could ye not have noticed the condition of my face? Were ye so angry that ye were blinded?”
“I… I… thought ye must have fallen,” he whispered, his green eyes scanning her body. In nothing but her chemise, she attempted to cover her chest with her arms but winced at the pain. “Are ye hurt elsewhere?”
“Everywhere, Thomas. I am broken, inside and out.” Closing her eyes and pursing her lips, she felt a tear slip down her cheek just before she felt his finger wipe it away tenderly.
“What did he do to ye? Show me.”
Popping her eyes open, she shook her head. “He beat me with a piece of wood. I am injured in my arm and my thigh, but the worst is here,” and she pointed to her abdomen.
“Show me,” he whispered.
“Nay! I cannae! Not without removing my clothing!”
“Ye need to be tended, lass.”
“Not from ye!” she cried. “Find a serving lass to tend me! I’ll not disrobe for ye.”
He puffed out a sigh of frustration and ran a hand through his hair. “This is not how it was meant to go,” he murmured.
“Och, well I am sorry my injuries ruin yer plans to… to…” her lip quivered. How could her heart ache so deeply because this man, whom she hardly knew, despised her so much? Why did she long for his affection?
Pirates of Britannia Box Set Page 53
