With reluctance, she stepped back, as it was evident how very important Wraith believed it was to share with her his past and his proof.
“I am Scottish borne, my father a powerful man in Scotland. But my mother was Irish. And when he married her, he inherited her father’s title upon his death. A title that now should be mine. My father was the late Earl of Drohgard—overlord of your father.”
Faryn gasped, her hand coming to her throat, and she stepped back, nearly tripping on the overflowing linens she still had wrapped about her. “Nay! Nay!” She shook her head, fear suddenly coming over her. He was more than a pirate. He was a cold-blooded murderer. Had she read him completely wrong?
She turned and raced for the door of the cabin, not caring that the ship’s crew would see her in such a state. She had to get away from him, for he could only wish to reveal himself, the heinous and satanic man that he was, in order to kill her too! Stories of the murders of his family from a few years ago came to mind. Her father’s description of the scene flashed before her eyes. So much blood. Severed limbs. Broken bodies. Even the children. All murdered. And the eldest son, she couldn’t remember his name, but nevertheless he was gone. Run away from his deeds. That was he, her Noir a murderer.
“Faryn!” he bellowed and then was on top of her, pinning her down.
She thrashed against him. “Nay! Dinna kill me. Please, I know nothing. I dinna know ye, ye can let me go. I swear I will tell no one. Please!”
“Faryn, listen! God, woman! Have ye no wits? I am innocent. Innocent. Someone has framed me.”
His frantic words struck a chord in her. Innocent? “Ye didna murder them?” she asked meekly.
“Never. I loved my family. I love them still. ’Tis why I must get back to Ireland. I must clear my name. I have proof.” He pointed at the velvet package again. “I was forced to leave. I became a pirate to support myself and my need for revenge. Joined the Devils of the Deep, a pirate brethren, and they became my new family. I searched all this time for evidence to clear my name. And now I’ve gathered enough. But the king will not just offer me an audience, despite his having known my father, I will have to bribe him to see me. I’ve amassed a small fortune but the bounty—the daughter of a lord is well worth her weight in gold. ‘Tis why I bargained for ye. Ye shall help me. And now that I know who your father is, he can help me, too, for he knows me. He knows I wouldna have killed my family. He can vouch for me.”
Faryn nodded, although she wasn’t sure that her father would do any such thing. In fact, the more she thought of it, the more she realized he’d probably written her off completely. Wasn’t that apparent in the fact that he had not accompanied Bréagadóir in the search to find her? Or perhaps he was covering the lands and Bréagadóir had agreed to scour the seas.
Aye, that must be it. Her father must be searching all of Ireland for her.
“Show me.” She pointed to the package and, taking her hand, Wraith led her to the table.
He squeezed her hand and then let it go, and while she was still scared, she felt the absence of his touch immensely.
With measured movements, he unwrapped the velvet, revealing a small pile of items and papers.
He first showed her a letter. “This is a letter one of my spies intercepted. It is from the murderer—although he hasna signed it—but he confesses to an accomplice of their deeds and how he plans to petition the king for the earldom—my father’s titles and estates—my rightful inheritance.”
“Did he ever gain such?” She couldn’t recall if there had been a new earl or not, though she had never really paid attention to those things, if she was privy to the information, which wasn’t very often. After she’d been sorely used and heartbroken, which was shortly before the murders, she kept to herself, and then she was betrothed to Bréagadóir and soon captured by Wraith.
“Not as of yet. The Lord Chancellor, Viscount Loftford, holds the estates in the name of the king, taking the money for himself. He says he holds it until I am found.” Wraith stopped talking for a short moment and stared off into the distance. “Loftford was a friend of a sort of my father’s. I think he doesna believe me capable of the heinous crimes I’ve been charged with, but so many have placed blame on me. I believe he waits for me to return to tell him myself what happened.”
“And now ye shall.”
He nodded and then picked up the next item, a jeweled belt. “This was my father’s. He had it on him when he was murdered, but when his body was found the belt was missing. The belt was being sold at a market, and when I questioned the man who sold it, he described the man who had sold it to him. A witness. Ye can still see the blood dried between the links here.” He pointed to a dark reddish-brown stain between several jeweled links.
Faryn nodded, feeling her stomach recoil.
“And this last bit is the piece de résistance.” He tapped another velvet-wrapped object. “But I canna show ye what it is.”
Faryn frowned. “Why ever not?”
“I have never shown anyone before. I am…” he trailed off, his face suddenly looking vulnerable. “Mayhap this is all too much for ye. Ye’ve already bared your soul to me.”
She squared her shoulders, and with as much strength as she could muster covered in only a linen sheet, she spoke. “Wraith, I am not a child. I have been through more than most women I know, and I’ve come out on top, and strong.” Now she told him, only because of what he’d said, and because she wanted him to think she could handle whatever it was that lay hidden beneath the fabric. “Show me. I will not shy away from it.”
He nodded, his mouth set in a grim line. “I took this myself from the scene, when I fought one of the attackers.” He unfolded the cloth carefully, revealing a gold ring with a large ruby. “I will have my vengeance on the man who did this.”
The way the ring sat on the linen, the crest faced away from her and she could not read the tiny inscription along its side.
“A ring,” she said, unable to state more than the obvious.
“Aye. The ring of the man who killed my father—I wrenched it from his finger as we fought.” With the tip of his finger, he rolled the ring so she could see the crest.
It was then Faryn lost her balance and her struggle to remain calm. She turned away quickly, gasping for air. But it was no use. She ran to the nearest chamber pot and vomited. Just when she thought her stomach was good and empty, she heaved again.
“I knew I shouldna have shared this with ye, it is too much after your confession,” Wraith muttered as he gently pulled her hair back and rubbed a wet cloth on her neck and face. “Forgive me.”
But she shook her head. It wasn’t that he’d shared the information with her that disturbed her, but the ring.
A ring she’d seen many times before and on a man she would never have guessed could be capable of murder. A man who in her turmoil over the last few years, she hadn’t noticed was missing his prized family heirloom.
Her father.
Chapter Ten