The Pirate's Willing Captive (16 page)

‘What do you mean he has given me to you? I was to marry your cousin.’

Samuel Hynes looked at her triumphantly. ‘Sadly, news reached us that my cousin is dead. All that he once owned is mine—and that includes you. I knew that he might not live to see his wedding day. Why else do you imagine I agreed to fetch you? I wanted to make sure I had you fast before the news of his death reached your father.’

‘I shall never marry you. Never! I would rather die.’

‘You speak wildly, Madonna.’ His mouth hardened. ‘Have I said that I wished to wed you? I might simply use you for my pleasure.’

‘I shall fight you. You may force me, but you will never truly have me.’

‘I think you will learn to obey me in time,’ Hynes said. ‘You are too proud. I shall enjoy teaching you your manners, Maribel. However, it will suit me better to have you as a wife. Your father thinks to cheat us both of your fortune, but he has met his match in me. I shall have you and then I shall claim what belongs to me.’

Maribel stared at him, feeling sick and miserable. ‘I wish that Pablo had never left me his fortune,’ she said.
‘It seems that no one cares what I want. No one cares for me. You all want my husband’s estates.’

‘Beautiful women are easy to find,’ Hynes told her with a sneer. ‘However, a beautiful rich woman is another matter. I shall leave you to rest and think carefully, Maribel. We could be married almost immediately on board ship and I should treat you fairly—but defy me and you will learn to regret it at your leisure.’

Maribel lay back against the pillows as he left her. Her head was aching and her heart felt as if it had been torn apart. Tears trickled down her cheeks. She had not known how fortunate she was when Justin took her captive. She had called him a pirate and accused him of being a rogue, but he was a true gentleman—and she loved him. The time spent at the island had taught her many lessons and she knew that she had been offered something true and special.

The tears fell faster as she realised that she would probably never see him again. She was now at the mercy of a ruthless devil; if she lived, her life would be unbearable.

* * *

‘Do you know where Maribel is?’ Justin demanded of Anna when he realised that she had gone that morning. ‘Has she taken anything with her?’

‘Only the gown she meant to wear today.’ Anna looked at him tearfully. ‘Surely she would not run away? She had nowhere to go.’

‘She must be somewhere.’

Justin strode into Maribel’s room, looking for
evidence that she had taken something with her. Her combs and perfume bottles were still there, as were her jewels. He whirled round as he heard a step behind him.

‘Maribel…’ Seeing Higgins, he frowned. ‘What is it? Have you found her?’

‘I have found signs of a struggle. What looks like the marks of several pairs of boots in the dust outside the house—and I have heard that a strange ship was seen at anchor outside the reef.’

‘You think someone snatched her last night?’

‘I’ve never trusted Hendry,’ Higgins said sourly. ‘Did you not wonder why Sabatini let him return? Or why he bothered to come back at all? He already had the ship. Why should he have come back to the island merely to bring you another message?’

‘You believe Hendry brought Sabatini’s ships here in return for his freedom? That the intention was to snatch Maribel all the time?’ Justin frowned. ‘There was a map that showed the way to some silver mines…I destroyed it because a man like that should not be allowed to have such power. He is evil.’

‘You destroyed a map showing the location of silver mines?’ Higgins looked at him intently. ‘Those mines are worth a king’s ransom.’

‘I considered trying to find the mine, but decided it was cursed.’

‘Sabatini must think you still have the map. Do you think that is why he has snatched her?’

‘If it is, then I am at fault,’ Justin said. ‘I do not
know where they are taking her—but we must try to find them. I shall go to her father. He may hate me and he may take my life, but, it is the risk I must take.’

‘Do you think that is wise?’

‘I do not care whether or not it is wise,’ Justin replied. ‘I shall not ask anyone else to risk their life for me. You will drop me on shore and then go back to sea. I will meet you on the beach at midnight. If I am not there, come again the next night, but after that you must go and leave me to my fate.’

‘Let me go in your stead?’

‘No. You have been a good friend to me, but if I do not come the second night leave me and seek your own fortune.’

* * *

‘Will you not take the air on deck, Madonna?’ Samuel Hynes looked at her, his eyes narrowed. ‘We are forced to put into port for repairs to the mainmast and it may be some weeks before we reach England.’

Maribel sighed. It was hot in the cabin and since the third night after leaving the island, when a storm had badly damaged their mainmast, they had been forced to drift aimlessly. Now that the ship had at last managed to limp to the nearest port, which was Gibraltar, the carpenters could make repairs while the stores were replenished. Under Moorish domination for many years, Gibraltar had briefly achieved independent status until the beginning of the century, when it was taken under Spanish rule. Although in no hurry to reach England, Maribel did not wish to spend more time than need be
on board ship with this man. The looks he gave her made her skin creep and the thought of being his wife filled her with revulsion. Perhaps if she reached England she might find a way to escape him.

‘You do not answer.’ His face clouded with anger. ‘Your father warned me of your pride and stubbornness, lady.’ He moved closer, menacing, angry. ‘He told me you are mine, and I would have you as my wife, but I have a mind not to wait. You are here and there is nothing to stop me taking my pleasure of you.’

‘If you touch me, I shall kill myself.’

‘Damn you!’ He struck her once across the face and she fell backwards against a table, hurting her back, but she gave no sign of her pain. Lifting her head, she looked at him defiantly.

‘If you force me, I shall never reach England alive.’

Samuel looked at her and hesitated. He wanted the girl, had wanted her since the first time he saw her. But he wanted the money as much or more. His cousin’s estate was heavily encumbered, leaving him little but an empty house. He needed a fortune to restore it to the great house it had once been, and this girl was his means of achieving his aim. Her threat to take her own life had given him pause for thought. If he forced her to yield, she might find a way to kill herself and he would lose the rich prize that could be his for the taking.

He must be patient and wait a little longer. A shipboard marriage might be contested. It would be better to wait until they were in England and he could be certain of her. Once the repairs were made, the ship
would get under way once more and he could be sure that that damned pirate was not lurking somewhere in these waters!

J
ustin was in his cabin, lying on his bed, when Higgins knocked at the door and then entered. He rubbed at his shoulder, which was still sore, looking at his friend with raised brows; it was less than an hour since he had left the bridge to take a muchneeded rest.

‘Is something wrong?’

‘Look-out has just spotted a ship not far ahead of us. It is the
Mistress Susanna
—Samuel Hynes’s ship. Shall we go after it or let it be?’

‘The
Mistress Susanna
was one of the ships that attacked the island. We cannot let this chance for retribution pass.’ Justin frowned. ‘My meeting with Sabatini will keep another day for if she is not there…’

His words died away unspoken, because he would not let himself think of what might happen to Maribel if she was not at her father’s house. Samuel Hynes was no better than his cousin had been and would treat her badly.

He would find her even if he had to follow her to England!

‘We shall take the ship. We need to replace the
Siren Eater
and the men must be itching for a fight. It might be better if Hynes resists.’

‘After what happened on the island you will need to crack the whip, Cap’n, for the men’s blood is up. And you cannot blame them.’

‘We will have no brutality, no wanton killing. Tell the men to chase and attack Hynes’s ship, but when we board her any man caught using unnecessary violence will answer to me.’

* * *

Maribel turned as her cabin door opened. They had left Gibraltar that morning and were once more under sail. She was expecting the cabin boy with food and water. He was a Spanish lad named Pedro. He had helped her after she was hurt by Captain Hynes and treated her with respect, but instead of the friendly boy, she saw the man she both feared and hated. Her heart sank; he had a purposeful gleam in his eyes and she knew why he had come.

‘Stay away from me!’ she warned, brandishing her dagger. ‘Come near me and I shall slash my wrists. I would rather die than be your whore.’

‘I thought I had taught you a lesson?’ Samuel moved nearer, watching her warily. ‘If you take your own life, you will burn in hell—is that not your belief?’

‘I do not care!’

‘Oh, but I think you do.’ He took another step closer.
Maribel held out her left arm, placing the blade against her white skin. Samuel halted. ‘Do it, then,’ he challenged. ‘Kill yourself.’

‘Do not think I should hesitate…’ She touched the knife to her breast as he moved towards her, then a booming sound from above made him halt. He looked round as the cabin door was flung back and the cabin boy entered.

‘We are being attacked,’ he said, looking frightened. ‘I was sent to fetch you.’

‘Curses! Out of my way, imbecile,’ Samuel growled and pushed past the lad, who looked at Maribel with scared eyes.

‘Is it pirates?’ Maribel asked, her heart thumping. She had prayed that Justin would come after her, but had not believed it would happen ‘Did you see the name of the ship?’

‘I could not see, but the look-out said it was named the
Defiance.
I was told that we were forced to surrender to these pirates before. The men are nervous and talking of surrender; they fear what may happen if they resist after what was done at the island.’

Maribel’s heart raced as the lad went away. She felt the shudder as the two ships came together and heard the shouting and noise on deck as the pirates boarded. However, she could not hear sounds of fighting and she realised that the crew must have surrendered immediately, hoping that they would be allowed to go free, as they had been once before. She did not know if there was a cargo on board—she had remained in her cabin
while they were in port and had no idea what had been loaded in the holds.

She sat on the edge of her bed and waited, and after a little while Pedro came to her. He grinned at her and she realised that he was no longer frightened.

‘Is all well?’ she asked.

‘I was asked if a lady was on board and told to fetch you. The pirates have given quarter to all who surrender and will sail with them; the captain and those who refuse are to be put into a boat with food and water for six days and set adrift. If they return to Gibraltar, they will make land soon enough.’

‘So the ship is not to be returned to its master?’

‘Not this time. It has been taken as a prize and all those who sail with Captain Sylvester will receive their share.’

Maribel nodded. The crew set adrift in a longboat should make shore within the day, for they were not many hours out of Gibraltar. She followed the cabin boy on deck and discovered that some trunks were being taken aboard the
Defiance,
though it seemed there was no cargo, which was perhaps why the ship was being kept as their prize. She could see no sign of Justin or Captain Hynes, but Higgins was directing the transfer of trunks and men. He smiled as he saw her and came towards her.

‘We were on our way to look for you at Don Sabatini’s house, lady. It was touch and go whether we attacked the ship. I think Providence must have been watching over us.’

‘Yes, I believe you are right.’ Maribel felt her eyes sting with tears. ‘Thank you for rescuing me once more. I am truly grateful—and I am sorry if I have caused you more trouble.’

‘The captain will be glad to get you back,’ Higgins told her with a gentle smile. ‘Just don’t expect him to admit it. He thought you might have run away.’

‘With Captain Hynes?’ Maribel shuddered. ‘I would rather die than live as that man’s whore!’

‘Go below to your own cabin, lady. Anna is waiting for you. She has been worried sick.’

* * *

‘Welcome back, lady,’ Anna said as Maribel went to her cabin. ‘I was worried about you. Captain Sylvester was so angry. He thought that you had run away, until Higgins told him you had been kidnapped. I told him you would not run away, but he would not listen to me.’

‘It was so hot in my room and I was restless. I could not sleep and I went outside to get some air. Someone—I think there was more than one—crept up behind me and threw a blanket over me. I struggled and tried to escape, but they were too strong for me.’

‘Have you been harmed?’ Anna looked at her oddly. ‘You were taken captive some days ago…’

‘If you are asking if I was raped, the answer is that Hynes had it in mind to force me, but I defended myself with the knife Peg gave me. I have a bruise on my back where he hit me and I fell.’

‘Let me see. Take off that gown. You will need to wash and change into fresh clothes. I shall—’ She broke
off, giving a cry of distress as she saw the bruise on Maribel’s back. ‘Oh, my lady, that looks so sore. That brute deserves to hang for what he has done to you! If Captain Sylvester knew…’

‘You will please not tell him,’ Maribel said. ‘I do not want Hynes’s death on my conscience.’ She saw Anna’s face pale and reached out to her. ‘I did not mean to remind you, my good friend. I shall never forget what you did for me on the island.’

‘I shall fetch you some water,’ Anna said. ‘It may be best to use salt water for that will ease the sting from your bruises.’

Maribel sighed as Anna went away. She felt tired and anxious and her eyes were gritty with the tears she was trying not to shed.

* * *

After she had washed all over in the salty water, Maribel rubbed a little of the salve into her back. Her cheek felt tender where Hynes had struck her when she fell and Anna had told her she had a bruise there as well.

She was still in her shift when the cabin door opened abruptly. Giving a little cry, she grabbed her shawl and held it against her as the man came in.

‘Oh…it is you…’ She stared at Justin, feeling vulnerable and unsure of him. She had been told he was very angry with her. ‘I was just about to dress.’

‘Your pardon, Madonna.’ Justin’s eyes were on her bare arms. Her soft olive-toned flesh was firm and sweet, her hair loose on her shoulders. He felt a rush of desire and it took all his strength of will not to grab
her and take her to the bed. ‘I did not think…forgive me. I shall turn my back while you put on your gown.’

‘Thank you.’ Maribel reached for a loose wrapping gown, tying the sash about her waist. Her heart was racing wildly, her head raised proudly. ‘I am decent now, sir.’

Justin turned and looked at her. ‘I came to see if you had all you needed. We have a long voyage ahead of us. I believe all your things were brought across from the island, but you must tell me if something is missing—it may be in the hold.’

‘I have not looked, but I believe I have all I need, thank you,’ Maribel said. She frowned. ‘You took the ship captive this time and set her captain adrift?’

‘The ship is the price for the crew’s freedom, lady. My men were angry because of what happened on the island. I persuaded them to let Hynes and his officers go, but it went against the grain with some of them. I have given Hynes a message for your father.’

‘Yes, of course. I understand. What happened on the island was wicked and unpardonable. I regret that I was the cause of so much pain and suffering.’

‘It was not your fault, Maribel. I told you of the treasure map?’ She nodded, looking at him enquiringly. ‘I have destroyed it. Hynes told me that your father threatened to hang Hendry unless he led your father’s ships to the island. But the
Defiance
was not there and he thought I was with the ship, so he destroyed what he could in revenge for what I had stolen from him.’

‘Then it was for the map. Do you think it was the only one in existence?’

‘I thought at first that there must be other copies. However, when we were at Mallorca, your father sent word that he would trade for the map…’ Justin frowned. ‘Hendry did not know where I intended to go next. He thought I might head for Cyprus. When I told him to rendezvous at the island I gave away my plans…and that was what your father wanted all the time…the map and revenge.’

‘Yes, he wanted revenge.’ Maribel shuddered, her throat tight. ‘I know now that he never cared what became of me. He told Captain Hynes he could have me and do as he would with me. I think he hoped for my death, but…Hynes wanted to marry me for my fortune. He…would have raped me, but I managed to stop him…’ She caught back a sob.

‘The brute. Had I known, I would have hanged him from the yard-arm!’ He moved towards her, stopping as she flinched. ‘What did he do to you? You did not leave with him willingly?’

‘No! How could you even think it?’ Maribel hesitated, then untied her wrap and drew it back, lifting her bodice to show him the purple bruise on her back. ‘This is what he did to me when I refused him; there are other smaller bruises on my arms.’

‘And on your cheek, I think…’ Justin took her chin in his hand, turning her face to look at the swelling that had begun to turn dark red. ‘Had I known of this, I should not have been so lenient with him. Next time we meet he will not fare so well!’ His eyes dwelled on her, hungry and yet oddly tender.
‘Cover yourself, Madonna. I am sorry you have been treated so ill.’

‘It was not your fault. You warned me not to venture outside at night alone and I ignored your advice.’ She caught back the sob that almost broke her. ‘Forgive me. When we first met, I called you such terrible names and you never treated me ill.’

‘You must not cry.’ Justin smiled at her. ‘You are safe now. I shall not let harm come to you again. Very soon now you will be in England with your mother’s family. You will be a lady again, living as you ought—I believe your uncle is a good man.’

‘No, I shall not cry,’ Maribel said, blinking back her tears. ‘I am being foolish. I am safe now and, as you say, I shall soon be with my mother’s family.’

In a few short weeks she would be in England. Perhaps then all the nightmares of the past months would be forgotten. She could return to being the lady she had been before she left Spain for the first time. It was what she had wanted from the start—to be with her mother’s family. So why did she feel that her heart was breaking?

* * *

‘Captain Sylvester says we are sailing under a fair wind and you may come on deck whenever you wish,’ Anna said as she entered the cabin the next morning. ‘If the weather continues to be good, you will be in England within a week or two.’

‘Yes, I expect so.’ Maribel got to her feet. She draped a lace shawl about her shoulders and went on deck. Her gown was one of the lightweight ones that Justin had
given her. The heavy, elaborate gowns her father had sent as her trousseau lay unused in the chests in which they had been packed. Maribel preferred the simpler style of gown she had become used to on the island. Her Spanish clothes seemed outdated and ugly and she did not enjoy wearing them, though she might have to when she reached England—she had been told it was much colder than Spain.

What would her mother’s family be like? Would they welcome her to their home? Justin had given her letters from her uncle to her mother. He spoke in fond terms and asked if she were well many times. It seemed that he had received no answer to his letters, though he had continued to write until her mother’s death.

She pushed the fears and doubts concerning her relatives to the back of her mind. In a few days she would part from Justin, never to see him again—and it was breaking her heart. She did not want to leave him, nor did she wish to become a fine lady again; all that had changed on the island and she knew she could never be as she had been before her capture. If her mother’s family took her in, she would be forced to live as they directed, behaving as a high-born lady and never knowing the freedom she had tasted on the island. She would never see Justin again. How could she bear it?

Was there any way she could change her destiny? Maribel’s thoughts had been going round and round in her mind ever since she had been rescued for the second time. She was no longer the proud and sometimes cold lady she had been when she first sailed for England. Her
life had changed the day she was taken captive the first time, and her experiences on the island had moulded her into a different woman. The fear and revulsion she had experienced at Captain Hynes’s hands had made her realise how fortunate she had been to be taken captive by a man like Justin. She had called him a pirate, but he was a truly generous and gentle man despite his harsh looks when he was angry. When she had thought she might never see him again she had realised just how much he had come to mean to her. She loved him with all her heart, her mind and body. How could she bear it when the time came to part for ever?