Chapter 4 #2
As a murmur of shock passed through the Chastity’s crew and the women moved back from her as if to distance themselves from their mad companion, Sara cursed her quick tongue.
Oh, but she was done for now. She might as well have begged him to slice her in two with that wicked saber.
This was no civilized lord or blustering sea captain whom she could lecture with impunity.
This man had no morals, no scruples, no hint of mercy about him.
And he had now turned his complete attention on her.
She held her breath as he cast an insulting glance over her, seeming to take in every inch of her somber attire, from her lacy mob cap to the tips of her scuffed kid slippers.
Then, to her great shock, he let out a mirthless laugh.
“Pillage, thievery, and rape? And who might you be, my brave little woman, to speak to me so?”
Her stomach lurched. Fear made her want to beg his pardon, to protest she was naught but a fool. But pride overrode that. He hadn’t killed her yet, and perhaps that meant he was amenable to reason. “I am Miss Sara Willis, sir, instructor and protector for these women.”
The wind lifted his raven hair, exposing the small gold hoop he wore in one ear. With a nonchalant air, he leaned back against the bow. “I see. You intend to protect them from our ‘pillage, thievery, and rape,’ do you?”
When a rumble of laughter erupted from the pirates, she colored.
“You know quite well I can do no such thing. I have neither a sword nor the strength to wield it.” She couldn’t help adding with a trace of irony in her tone, “Perhaps that’s why I don’t find the situation as amusing as you and your bloodthirsty companions. ”
The humor in his face faded abruptly. “Then it should please you to hear, Miss Willis, that my men and I aren’t here for that.
Thievery would be useless, since I doubt there’s so much as an ounce of gold or jewels on this ship.
As for pillage, that’s an occupation I find pointless and wasteful, don’t you? ”
When he paused, a knot of fear formed in her belly. “That only leaves rape, doesn’t it? A ship full of women … a ship full of pirates—”
“We’re not here for that either.” He pushed away from the bow looking unaccountably angry. “What we have to offer your ‘pupils’ is anything but that.”
“Offer?”
Striding up to her, he planted his hands on his hips. “Yes. We’re here to offer these women rescue. Freedom.”
He was close enough she could see the color of his eyes, a vivid blue-green that mirrored the tropical sea. It was far too attractive a color for a murderous pirate.
“And you offer this without expecting anything in return,” she remarked coldly.
A hint of a smile tipped up his mouth. “I didn’t say that.”
Her heart plummeted. “Of course not. Pirates aren’t known for their altruism, are they?” She didn’t know what possessed her to speak to him so boldly. Perhaps fear had driven her insane. But if he was going to kill her anyway, she might as well make her death count for something.
“Then what do you want?” she went on. “A few nights of pleasure before you dump them on the coast of Africa to fend for themselves? You want to use them as whores, but pay them in dubious freedom instead of in coin?”
“Nay.” He leveled on her a thunderous scowl. “’Tisn’t whores we want, Miss Willis. We want wives.”
Sara gaped at him. A confused murmur rose up from the women behind her, but all she could do was stare at him, trying to fathom what he was saying. She glanced around at the pirates’ faces, surprised to see the truth of Captain Horn’s words mirrored in their expressions.
“But you’re … you’re pirates! What would you want with wives?”
His expression grew shuttered. “That’s no longer your concern, Miss Willis. We’re taking these women whether you approve or not.” He scoured her with an insultingly impudent gaze. “Don’t worry. We’re not taking you along. The last thing we need is a tight-lipped spinster giving us trouble.”
With that final insult hanging in the air, he ordered a few of his men to escort the women and children aboard the Satyr. He commanded the others to confiscate the Chastity’s stores.
She watched in disbelief as the men scurried to do his bidding, and the Chastity’s crew glumly stood by. How could they? This wretched scoundrel was kidnapping a shipload of women for his own nefarious purposes, and the crew intended to let him!
“You can’t do this!” she told the pirate captain. “This is unconscionable!”
Ignoring her, he turned to Captain Rogers.
“I’m leaving you no water or food. Your only choice is to return to the port at Santiago.
From there, I don’t give a damn what you do, as long as you don’t try coming after us.
When we sail away, if you so much as attempt to follow, I swear I’ll blow you out of the water. ”
When he pivoted and started to brush past her, she caught his arm. “I won’t let you do this!”
He cast her a mocking grin. “As you said before, you can’t stop me.”
The futility of it all enraged her. She’d worked so hard to help these women to a better life, to see that they found the good within themselves. And now he planned to wreck it all in one fell swoop.
Well, if he wouldn’t listen to Miss Sara Willis, then perhaps he’d listen to someone of higher station. “No, but my brother can,” she said with as haughty a tone as she could muster. “I’ll make sure he searches you and your men out, if it takes every breath in my body!”
He shrugged off her hand with a laugh. “And who might your brother be that he’d take on a pirate? Some merchant’s son? A clergyman perhaps?”
“The Earl of Blackmore.” She wielded the title like a weapon. “He’ll come after you if I ask him to.”
There was a chorus of groans from the crew and captain of the Chastity, though why they were so dismayed by her revelation now, when it no longer mattered, she couldn’t imagine.
Unfortunately, the pirate captain’s reaction was more alarming. Instead of the fear she had hoped for, a cold light glittered in his eyes as he clutched her arm in a painful grip, then fixed Captain Rogers with a fierce look. “Is this chit telling the truth? Her brother is an English earl?”
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Petey Hargraves flashing her a dire look of warning, but she ignored it. If revealing her true identity might save the women, then surely she must.
Captain Rogers had gone pale as death. “Not that I ever heard, sir. If her brother’s an earl, ’tis news to me.”
“The woman’s crazy,” Petey called out. “Got grand ideas about her position and all. She ain’t no earl’s sister, Cap’n Horn, you can depend on it.”
How dared Petey lie! Didn’t he see how important this was? “I most certainly am the Earl of Blackmore’s sister!” she protested. “I’ve been traveling incognito, to report to the authorities in London about the treatment of convict women aboard these ships!”
Wrenching free of the pirate, she fumbled in the pocket of her apron until she found her journal, which she kept with her at all times. She slipped a fine sheet of vellum from between the pages, then handed it to Captain Horn.
Jordan had insisted she carry some identification with her for emergencies.
He’d written a letter proclaiming Sara to be his sister and had pressed the Blackmore seal at the bottom.
Thankfully, he hadn’t called her his “stepsister.” Jordan had meant her to use the letter if she couldn’t gain passage home once she reached New South Wales, but this seemed a far better use for it.
The pirate captain scanned the letter, his expression darkening as he read the signature and saw the seal.
“If you insist on taking these women,” she told him in her loftiest tone, “I’ll make sure my brother does all in his power to thwart you. I won’t rest until he sends ships to search the seas for you and your men. I’ll—”
“Enough.” After folding the letter and tucking it in his belt, he cast her an unnerving smile. “You’ve made your point, Miss Willis … Lady Sara. This changes matters entirely.”
A wave of relief swept over her. Her bluff had worked. He would let the women go and find someone else to torment.
But his next words utterly shattered her assurance. “It seems, my lady, that you’ll be going with us after all.”