Chapter 4 #2
He had no need to say more. A white pallor touched her cheeks and she dropped her sheet to scramble hurriedly for her clothing.
Sloan paused for a second as he watched her, his eyes narrowing.
She was, indeed, a beautiful woman. So young and slender, and yet rounded with enticing perfection.
She was as fresh and lovely as the coming of the dawn, as ripe for the taking.
Watching her slip into her shift and dress and stockings caused his flesh to burn with hunger all over again, despite the circumstances.
He pushed these thoughts from his mind and pulled on his second boot. “Come on,” he urged her, slipping into his greatcoat and returning the cutlass to the scabbard at his side. “Let’s go.”
Brianna hastily finished lacing her left shoe and hopped to her feet, then paused.
“Go where?” she demanded curtly.
“To my ship, of course.”
“No—I’ll not go to your ship. If I can just—”
“You will go to my ship, you idiot! Don’t you understand—”
“Don’t you ever listen? I have family in England. All I’ve got to do is get to the forest, and from there—”
“You’ll never get anywhere. Matthews will have you by midnight.”
“I’m not going with you.”
“And I’m not going through life with your death on my conscience.”
“Treveryan, we part ways right here,” Brianna cried out determinedly.
“The hell we do!”
“You got your money’s worth. I’ve my life!”
He laughed dryly. “I’m not so sure about my money’s worth, and your life will be worthless if you don’t listen to me. Oh, the hell with it—there’s no time left to argue.”
Brianna backed quickly away from him, her eyes warily upon him as he came to her with determined strides.
“No, Treveryan,” she warned him, but her words were useless.
He caught her outstretched hand and ducked low, heaving her over his shoulder while she cursed away at him and furiously pounded against his back.
“Let me down. I despise you, I’ve no wish to go with you—”
“Stop pounding on me and shut your mouth, or I’ll knock your head into the wall!” he warned her in a deathly rage.
“You will not.”
“Don’t test me!”
Where would he take her? Oh, God, she would never get to her family!
“Let me go!” she cried again, slamming a fist hard against his shoulder.
He grunted and she felt his palm crack full force against her buttocks, causing a stinging pain.
Salt tears of fury and humiliation stung her eyes; she blinked them away, stunned and seething with rage.
“You—” she began.
“Shut up!” he finished, swinging about so that she flounced hard against him and totally lost her breath.
With her as his burden he threw open the door and hurried down the stairs. Liam stood at the landing. “I’ve a horse ready outside, Cap’n. Godspeed, m’lord.”
Sloan nodded his thanks. “Take heed, Liam.”
He carried Brianna through the tavern and out into the cool night—oblivious to her muffled curses.
A tavern youth held the reins of a handsome bay gelding. Thrown roughly over the saddle, belly down, Brianna once again found herself breathless and unable to curse him any longer. With an agile leap he mounted behind her, tossing coins to the boy, and smacking his mount soundly upon the rump.
The horse broke into a gallop. She could do nothing but cling to the gelding and feel the coolness of the night sea breeze as it whipped against her face.
The clip-clop of the horse’s hooves against the cobblestones was like the hard and trembling beat of her heart.
Tossed about by the horse’s gait, she barely noticed the shops that they passed and the few stragglers still walking the streets.
She was aware only of the strong muscles of the horse bunching beneath her as they reached the docks and veered northward along the berths.
Darkness had descended. The glow of the moon and the oil lamps from the various tall ships that lined the harbor lit their way.
Before one of these ships their wild ride through the night suddenly ended.
Sloan reined in and leapt from his horse in one fluid movement, then reached for Brianna and swept her to the ground without ceremony.
The second his arms released her, she turned to run.
“Get back here!” he exploded. “I swear to God you’re the most stubborn creature I’ve ever met!”
She cried out as his fingers tore into her hair, pulling her back hard against his chest. She saw pure fury in his eyes as they met hers for an instant—and then she was gasping again because he was tossing her over his shoulder and wearing viciously as he hurried along.
“Paddy!” he shouted loudly, his strides long as he carried Brianna along with him to a broad gangplank.
“Who goes there? Cap’n? Is that you?”
“Aye, Paddy, ’tis me. Rouse the crew and make way to sail.”
“Now? Damn, Cap’n, but we weren’t due to sail—”
“Now, Paddy. I’ve a feeling in my bones we’ll be contested if we don’t leave port with all haste.”
Brianna finally saw the man called Paddy as Sloan jumped to the deck and swung around. He was tall and slender, and a cap covered the shock of snow-white hair upon his head. His face was weathered by wind and sea, but his eyes were a young and brilliant snapping blue.
“Did ye get yerself in trouble, then, Lord Treveryan?”
“Aye, and ‘trouble’ is with me!” Sloan replied irritably. Brianna struggled to sink her teeth into his back. He cried out sharply, slapping her rear soundly once again. “More trouble than she’s worth!” Sloan muttered, further irritated by Paddy’s laughter.
“She seems to be quite a woman,” Paddy observed with amusement.
“I’m glad you approve,” Sloan said with a scowl. “Now, Paddy, cease your prattle and rally the crew. I’ll be topside as soon as I’ve secured Brianna within quarters.”
“Quarters!” Brianna cried, trying desperately to dislodge herself from Sloan’s hold. “Sir!” she called out, trying to gain Paddy’s attention. “This man is abducting me! I don’t wish to come aboard this ship! Sir, I’ve a family! I need help. I—”
“Talkative, isn’t she?” Sloan groaned.
Paddy laughed and Brianna realized she would have no assistance from Sloan Treveryan’s man.
She groaned furiously as Sloan spun about again—knocking her cheek hard against his rigid back.
Paddy shouted, and the silent ship came alive.
Brianna instantly saw ghost shapes hurrying along as Sloan carried her along the deck, nodding briefly to the men who saluted him curiously.
She tried to twist from his grasp to survey the massive ship, to no avail.
Near the aft he stopped before a door and shoved it open with his boot.
He set her roughly on her feet, catching her for only a second as she staggered, then releasing her quickly.
Brianna found her balance, then raged after him almost insanely, thrashing out at his chest with flailing fists.
“You imperious, insolent, arrogant—rogue! I can’t go on this ship! I’ve got to get to my family. Please!”
“Leave off!” Sloan grated out like a whiplash, catching her wrists, then pushing her from him. “Girl, I am trying to keep you alive!”
Brianna paused, gasping for breath, staring at him incredulously. She just couldn’t make him understand, and there seemed to be no way to fight his strength.
Seeing her breasts heave as she struggled to breathe, he bowed mockingly. “Sleep well, mistress!”
“I will not be your prisoner, Lord Treveryan,” she raged, stamping a foot in her impotent fury.
“Really?” He cocked a rakishly angled brow with amusement, took a long step toward her, and reached out a finger to tilt her chin.
“ ’Tis a far better thing to be at the moment than a ‘witch’!
And”—his voice deepened slightly to that soft but husky tone she was coming to know as dangerous—“for that matter, ’tis preferable, I would think, to be my prisoner than a lady of the streets.
Of course, you would be going out with more experience now. ”
Brianna jerked from his touch. How grating he was against her fully ignited temper—and her raw misery, and all the horror the day had wrought.
It was true that she had no wish to burn, but how she hated him now!
He was taking her from her only salvation—the dream of reaching her family, the Powells.
She would get away from him; and tightening her lips in white rage, she raised a hand to strike him.
She never got the chance. He bowed again, and withdrew. The door closed upon her uplifted arm. She heard his husky laughter. “Perhaps you should spend the time meditating upon your temper, my love.”
The door shuddered as she struck wildly against it, and the next spate of curses he received would have brought a blush to Paddy’s face. “Treveryan, you have the sense and manners of an ass! Do you hear me? Open this door!”
“I haven’t the time, lass. But it is flattering to know how eager you are to see me! I shan’t be a minute longer than necessary.”
“Damn you, Treveryan! Open this door!”
There was no answer—except that of his footsteps receding along the planking.
She pulled at the doorknob, twisting and jerking, but to no avail. “Treveryan!” she screamed with rising anger. How dare he make her a prisoner! “Treveryan!” Her fists pounded furiously against wood, but the action was an exercise in futility.
Suddenly the great ship pitched, and she fell awkwardly to her knees.
She scrambled back to her feet, but since she had never sailed before, she found even the slightest rocking of the ship difficult to handle.
She finally discovered that she could stand and sway with the movement of the ship, and Brianna hung on, listening to the shouts in the night and the pounding of feet along the decks.
How many minutes passed as she clung to the door? she wondered. She wasn’t sure, but finally the pitching ship seemed to steady, and she was finally able to survey her surroundings.
It was, most obviously, the captain’s cabin.
A broad bunk was fitted into the far left corner, with cabinets above and below.
A large wardrobe was built into the opposite corner, and a huge desk stood prominently to the right.
The cabin was compact, and yet it held all the amenities.
A rich Oriental carpet covered the floor, and the teakwood that made up the few furnishings was sleek and simply carved.
A large bird in flight was the emblem on the footboard of the bunk and the huge desk.
Upon careful examination Brianna noted that the bird was a seahawk.
“Treveryan!” she murmured dryly to herself. He had saved her life, that much she had to admit. But though “Lord” might be his title, the man was no gentleman. He seemed to be an adventurer—fond of action. He didn’t own her, though, and he had no right to hold her against her will.
The ship rolled again suddenly and she grasped at the desk for balance. It occurred to her then that they had actually set sail, and her eyes moved instinctively to the bunk and the shuttered porthole above it.
She moved quickly to the bunk, mindless of the neatly folded comforter. The window glass was fogged, and she quickly ran her fingers over it.
Already the coastline was growing dim. The buildings of Glasgow were fading into the glow of darkness, becoming like little miniatures in a shop window. The other ships at dock appeared as nothing more than toys.
A haze was over the city. It joined with the misted light and orange color of distant lamps and reminded her of the fire that had burned earlier the same day. It reminded her that Pegeen was dead.
The pain was like the honed edge of a blade, twisting deeply within her, cutting away a piece of her heart, of her very existence.
Would she ever see Scotland again, her homeland?
The heathered hills where she had grown, the slopes and valleys that had embraced her and all the dreams of innocence?
Tears filled her eyes and she fought hard not to cry.
Yes! Yes! She promised herself. She would escape Treveryan, and she would get to the Powells!
It was a promise she made to herself, a vow.
It was all she could do to hang on to the shreds of her pride—and her life—and to still the misery in her heart.
And so she continued to stare as the distance and night swallowed the shore.
The pain of her heart began to fade like the shoreline, dimmed by the succor of exhaustion.
It was impossible that one day had held so much.
Impossible that Pegeen was dead, impossible that her fate was in the hands of an arrogant Welsh lord—whom she had come to know far too well.
But he didn’t own her! And if he thought she would be waiting for him, that she would ever allow him to touch her again—he was crazy!
A gentle shudder touched her, warm and aching.
In all her dreams the man to have claimed her, loved her, would have been of a gentler sort—more determined to woo and please.
But he might have stood as tall as Sloan, and he might have had his muscled, agile form.
His eyes would have had such a touch of steel—or of fire that made her tremble at their gaze, too weak and stunned to do other than relish his touch.
She smiled, bitterly, sadly. The girl she had been was gone. Her world of independence had crumbled. But she would have it again, she promised herself. She would have it again.…
All she had to do was escape Sloan Treveryan. When and where, she couldn’t know yet, but she would use her time wisely and well.
Brianna stared out the window again. There seemed to be nothing but clouds, obscuring all vision of land, even all vision of the seemingly endless sea.
Scotland was gone, but maybe not forever.
But Pegeen was dead.
Brianna took a deep, shuddering breath. Tears fell from her eyes in a sudden cascade of loss and misery. They fell, and fell, and fell, and she could not control them. She shuddered and gave up. Perhaps they could cleanse her soul and take away the terrible edge of pain.
I will cry tonight, she promised herself, and then I will cry no more.
She realized that she wasn’t afraid anymore. Not of the sea, not of fire, not of anything. She was just weary. Numbness and exhaustion at last took their toll upon her. She slipped out of consciousness rather than into sleep.