Read Romancing the Pirate 01.5 - Beneath The Water's Edge Online
Authors: Jennifer Bray-Weber
“Yes.” She met Mac as he came from the water, grabbed his hands, and gave a tight squeeze. “Thanks to you.
“Kipp,” she joined the first mate. “Bran is hurt.”
Kipp cast nothing more than a glance to Rathbone as he passed by his lifeless body.
“Just need a shot of rum, is all,” Bran said.
Kipp crinkled his brow, giving Bran’s wound a once over. “Like hell, mate. That’s a nasty notch ya got there. We need to get it dressed ’fore ya bleed yourself dry.”
“He could die?”
God, no. Won’t this nightmare end?
“Doncha worry none, lass. Death don’t want Blackthorn. He’s too much trouble.”
Bran chuckled, though his smile was forced. It was too much for him. She was not fooled. He was in a lot of pain.
Bran cupped her chin, his eyes diving deep into her soul. “I’ll be fine. I promise.” He lied. She saw it in the twinge of his lids.
He kissed her on her forehead and turned to Kipp. “Let’s go finish this,” he said, jerking his head toward the men descending back down the other side of the ridge.
“Finish what? You need a doctor,” she insisted.
Bran swooped her up and carried her out into the water.
“Please, Bran. You’ll hurt yourself further.” His face drew tight with the strain of carrying her. Elyssa tried not to move, tried to will herself to be lighter. “Kipp. Tell him to put me down.”
Kipp just shook his head, swiped up his captain’s belongings, and followed after them.
Bran set her feet onto the rocks. Thankful to no longer be a burden, she climbed over to the other side. The officer, the gentleman, and several soldiers were waiting.
Soldiers? Needles of suspicion pricked at the recess of her mind. Something wasn’t right. Were they there to arrest a pirate captain? Bran was close behind her, climbing down, telling her to watch her step. He was quite unconcerned by the soldiers. Perhaps, they were there to pay her ransom?
She should run.
And she might have if she could have stopped staring at the foppishly dressed man. Why was he so familiar? It hit her then. She twirled around to Bran joining her. Could it be? Bran and this man had the same dark eyes, same nose, same strong jaw. Why, they even shared the same smug smile. With the exception the man was slighter of build and perhaps a little older, and that ridiculously exaggerated wig, he looked nearly identical to Bran. So much so, they had to be brothers.
Bran addressed the men. “Governor Flynn. Commodore Christensen. May I present Mrs. Elyssa Calhoun Montgomery?”
Governor? This doesn’t make sense. Bran is ransoming me to a governor?
The governor grazed her with a contemptible scowl and curled his lips as if she were nothing more than street rubbish.
Commodore Christensen offered her a bow of his head. “A pleasure, Mrs. Montgomery.” He smiled and slid a glimpse to Bran.
What the devil was going on?
CHAPTER 9
“Seize the girl,” Governor Flynn ordered.
Me?
Did she hear him correctly?
“You’ll do no such thing.” Bran blocked anyone from coming near. “She stays with me.” Kipp and Mac crowded in behind them.
“I’ll go with no one.” Her statement fell on deaf ears
“You’re in no position to bargain with me, Blackthorn. Your cavalier design failed.”
Kipp handed Bran his tunic. “Nay, Flynn,” he said, shrugging back into his shirt. “You know well enough that when adversity lies off your ship’s bow, you change course. I’ve always got another plan.”
“I’ll not be a part of your parlor games.” Still no one paid Elyssa heed. Infuriating!
“Like after you shamed Father and were removed from the Royal Navy?” Governor Flynn challenged Blackthorn with a raised eyebrow.
So they
were
brothers.
Bran tilted his head passively. “More like when I overtook the Spanish galleon you’d laid claim to. I should never have told you about her. But then you always were trying to out best me.”
The governor once was a pirate, too? Egads, things had gotten thorny. What spider’s web had she become entangled in?
Governor Flynn’s glare could pierce armor. “Best a gallows bird? Not likely.”
“Oh, I disagree. It ate you up inside knowing our father had any amount of pride for me.”
“Until you turned rogue.”
“How long did you chase her?” Bran continued, ignoring Flynn’s jab. “Eight days? Ho, ho! Your persistence and my patience paid off. I’m still toasting to you, from my golden chalice pilfered from the ship, of course, for such an easy quarry.”
“Kill him.” Venom spurt from the governor’s angry demand. Red splotchy patches appeared on his face.
Kipp and Mac went for their pistols prompting the soldiers to do the same.
Commodore Christensen raised his hand to stay his men. “I can’t do that without a reason, sir,” he said to Governor Flynn.
“He’s a pirate.”
“With respect, Your Honor, I’ve no proof of that. It is hearsay.”
“Right, that,” Kipp piped up. “Just as ’tis hearsay you were once a pirate, eh, Gov’ner?”
Kipp could have benefited from a shield. Surely Flynn meant to destroy him with his raging eyes alone. “I was a privateer, cretin.”
A sour smirk spread across Bran’s lips. “Privateer, pirate, one and the same in the eyes of many. And depending on his mood, including the crown.”
The governor snarled at the commodore. “Arrest him for murder. You
can
do that, can’t you, Commodore? Is a dead body proof enough for you?”
“You can’t!” Elyssa
would
be heard. She anchored herself in the middle of the confrontation. “He was only protecting me. You can’t arrest him.”
“I can and I will.”
Determined, she crossed her arms. These men would damn well know she meant business. “I won’t let you.”
“Oh? Is that a threat?”
“Elyssa.” There was a rough edge in Bran’s voice. And like any headstrong girl who’d been wronged, she disregarded him.
“Quite possibly.”
“For such a pretty little tart, you don’t know your place. One more word from you and I’ll have you arrested for interfering.”
“You crowing, pompous poppycock.” Uh-oh. What had she done? Her father would be disappointed to hear her disrespect a man of authority. Or any man, for that matter. So be it. She had enough of being treated like a paltry trifle. She would be a man again and take responsibility for her actions. And
then
send word to Lord Montgomery to beg for her release from prison.
“Step back
now
, Elyssa.” Bran nabbed her arm, nearly causing her to lose her balance, and yanked her behind him.
“Hear me, Flynn. I’ve got an offer you will find most satisfactory.” Bran shot her a warning look to not interfere. One she would heed lest she burst into flames.
“For a complete pardon of the
Sanctum
and a promise to leave Mrs. Montgomery’s freedom in tact, I will give you the one thing you’ve always wanted.”
“Oh? What could you possibly have that I would want?”
“My head.”
Kipp uncrossed his arms, shocked by his captain’s declaration. Mac’s mouth fell open. Commodore Christensen let out a heavy sigh and bowed his head. Panic tightened in her chest at the men’s reactions. She eased up beside him. “Bran, what are you saying?”
The governor’s hearty laugh frightened her. This couldn’t be. Bran didn’t mean it. Surely this was a diversion for another plan.
“A martyr,” Governor Flynn said. “How noble. You can’t even die without being gallant.”
“I knew you’d never give me a pardon, Flynn. Your hate for me is thick in your blood. And you’d deny the
Sanctum
purely out of spite.”
“Capt’n?” Kipp’s eyebrows gathered, grappling to understand. “You planned this?”
Bran cut his eyes to his first mate. “’Twas the only way to give you and the boys a chance at a reprieve. The ransom for Mrs. Montgomery was merely false colors to guarantee my real design.” He looked down to Elyssa. “That’s why when you landed in my lap, I saw an opportunity I couldn’t overlook.”
She couldn’t blame him. He was protecting not himself, but his entire crew. With many lives at stake, she’d be selfish to hold a grudge against Bran. Staring into his sincere eyes was more than she could handle. But Bran caught her chin with his fingertips and tilted her head up.
“You will never know, little one, how very difficult it was to see this through. I never meant to hurt you. You must believe that.”
She didn’t think it was possible, yet she was more heartbroken than before.
He squared his shoulders, raising to full height, and faced the governor again. “Do we have an accord, Flynn?”
“Oh yes, Blackthorn. To be free of you? We have an accord. You will hang by sunset.”
“Understood.”
“No!” She latched onto Bran. Her lungs constricted. She couldn’t swallow enough air—’twas thick with hysterics and closing in. Her mind clouded in a fog of turmoil. Bran would willingly hang? ’Twas insane.
Insane!
She couldn’t lose him now
.
Commodore Christensen took Bran by the other arm.
“No. You can’t take him!”
“Elyssa.”
“No, Bran! No placating me.”
“Elyssa, my sweet. I meant every word I said to you up on the hilltop last night. You are a burning star in my dark night. You are worth more to me than all the treasure in the Spanish Main. Please, little one. Take comfort in knowing that I have given you my heart.” He swiped at the tears streaming down her face with the pad of his thumb. And leaning a little too much on her, kissed the crown of her head.
Bran righted himself. “Mister Kipp,” he said. “’Tis been a pleasure commanding the
Sanctum
with you. A word of advice, my friend. Stay away from those fluttering, squawking Frenchwomen, lest you swallow an anchor and get married.”
Kipp chuckled, staring at the ground.
“I have one last order for you.” Bran clapped Kipp’s shoulder.
“Anything, mate.”
“Take Elyssa away. Do what you have to, but take her away.”
“No. I won’t leave you.”
Bran peeled her off, winching from the pain in his effort. Fresh blood seeped from his wound. The pain he suffered was the only reason she allowed Kipp to drag her back. She crumpled into his chest, digging her fingers in tight fists on his vest. Her sobs echoed in the hollowed chambers of her soul. Elyssa was losing Bran. She was losing the man she loved.
No! I won’t let him hang.
She had to pull herself together, to stop crying. She had to
do
something.
Oh God, give me strength!
“Shut that girl up, labberneck.” Flynn could have swallowed a fly by the looks of his disgusted frown. He rolled his eyes and mumbled. “If I wanted all this mawkish yammering, I’d go have tea with my wife.”
Bran nodded he was ready to Christensen. He took two steps and stumbled. Christensen caught him before his knees hit the sand. A lump lodged in Elyssa’s throat. She reached for him, but Kipp held her fast.
Flynn cursed. “You!” he pointed to Mac. “Fetch ahead for your ship’s surgeon. Bring him to the courthouse. I don’t want Blackthorn to die before I can kill him.”
“I like your thinking, lass.” Kipp retrieved another bottle of rum from a trunk in the corner of Bran’s quarters and sat down across from her.
The cabin smelled of the captain, a titillating scent of brine and musk. She had grown to adore his spice while nuzzling into his neck as he made her scream—right where Kipp sat. Heat flushed her cheeks. Thankfully, Kipp didn’t notice.
“Blackthorn would be proud of ya. But we’ve little time to gather the brethren for a rebellion.”
Kipp was right. Even if they could round up enough men, they didn’t have a plan well executed.
Execute.
A tremor of despair shook through her.
The metal tankard cooled Elyssa’s palms. She stared at what was left of the amber liquor. ’Twas her second cup. She swallowed the rest in one quick gulp.
“B’sides, an uprising would revoke any pardon given, Mrs. Montgomery. His sacrifice would be for naught.”
Mac knocked and stuck his head through the door. “May I enter?”
“Yes, of course,” Kipp said. “Tell what’s chanced the captain. What does our man Stumps have to say?” He retrieved an extra cup, filled it, and handed it to Mac.
“Stumps said the capt’n lost some blood. He’s just needin’ ta rest and he’ll live. At least till his neck snaps.”
Elyssa winced.
“’Pologies, Miss Elysen.” Mac sheepishly looked to the floorboards and drank his rum. Wiping his mouth on his sleeve, he frowned. “The commodore said somethin’ strange to me ’fore sending me on my way. Said tarried responses yields enemy gains. What do you suppose he meant by that?”
Kipp shook his head. “Don’t know, mate.”
“I’m guessin’ he means we’re runnin’ out of time,” Mac said.
“Maybe.” Kipp scratched his blonde whiskered chin. “Might mean Commodore Christensen meant he’d
give
us time. Aw blast it, I don’t know if I trust ’im.” He groaned. “Blackthorn does. But I ain’t convinced. He’s a pirate’s enemy.”
To Elyssa, it sounded as if they were giving up. “Are you men going to just let him die?” Didn’t pirates have a code against letting their captain hang?
“Blazes, no.” The corner of Kipp’s lip coiled up. “We gotta try to do this right.”
Mister Kipp was a cunning man, not given to rash judgments. Elyssa saw why he was Bran’s second-in-command. She would take his lead and find another way to free Bran. Maybe with some careful planning…
“I could talk with Lord Montgomery’s officer. Surely he could help.”
“But would he?” Kipp retorted. “Can’t imagine he’d want to want to cast his lot with a horde of pirates.”
“He might feel threatened,” Mac added.
An idea niggled in the back of her mind. She wasn’t sure what it was or even if it was possible. Giddy excitement bubbled forth.