“And I was already going to deal with Pierre.”
“To be fair, he obviously didn’t know that. He got stuck with the pirate’s men this trip, so he had to pretend he was still following the same orders, when he wasn’t—well, he says he wasn’t. I’m not sure what to believe when he never gave any reasons for his own involvement in any of this—though I assume he won’t be so reticent with you. But then the damned pirates aboard wanted Jack for themselves and were making attempts to get at her. The captain was fighting them off, but it was getting close to a mutiny, so he asked for my help in dealing with them.”
“So it was just a temporary truce?”
“To last until you say otherwise.”
James nodded. “Take your sister to The Maiden George. You’re both done with this ship. And try to ignore Tony. He’s been an utter pain in the arse this week since he joined me.”
Jeremy grinned. “I was wondering why he didn’t row over with you.”
“And now you know why I didn’t let him. I know he’s just worried about Judy, but he’s dealing with it by provoking me. Good God, I’m never going through that with Jack.”
“I don’t see how you can avoid—”
“By bloody well denying my blessing to all of her suitors, that’s how.”
Jeremy laughed. “Jack will probably have something to say about that, but at least you won’t find out until next year what a colossal pain in the arse she can be.” Then Jeremy went over to his sister. “Let’s go, Jack.”
She stood up, but reminded him, “I have trunks here that will need to be—”
James cut in, “You packed for your own abduction?”
She swung around to her father. “Of course not. Damon supplied me with clothes and other amenities. He prepared ahead. We didn’t prepare enough. But we’re allies now and—”
“Not anymore.”
She gasped. “Jeremy gave his word!”
“That it would last until I arrived.”
“No, that it would last until Damon gets to talk to you, and then you decide. And not the damned talking you already did with your fists.”
James lifted her chin. “Is this gratitude because he protected you from the pirates on his ship—or more?”
She gave her brother a hard look before she said, “I hated him. I even tried to kill him. But that was before we found out he didn’t really mean us harm. He was just trying to lure you into helping him dispose of Lacross. He didn’t think simply asking you to help would work. Aren’t you the least bit curious why?”
“He’s twice abducted you, poppet. No, there’s nothing he can say to absolve himself of that.”
Despite the endearment, her father’s tone was utterly unrelenting. Even Jacqueline knew not to argue when her father was like this. Yet she still said, “You’ve met him before.”
James glanced down at the unconscious man. “If I have, it wasn’t remarkable enough to remember.”
“It was for him. ‘For reasons better left buried, I don’t like your father.’ That statement of his clearly implies you’ve met before, but he wouldn’t say how he knew you, or from where or when. Yet whatever occurred between you, it affected his decisions in this long chain of events. And as the pawn that was used as the lure, I still want to know why, whether you do or not.” She marched to the railing, climbed over it, and yelled before she disappeared down the ladder, “Don’t hurt his face!”
James tsked before he turned his full attention to Mortimer. “Your captain doesn’t look familiar, but you, on the other hand . . .”
Chapter Forty-Two
DAMON AWOKE BEHIND A wall of iron bars. He pushed himself off the floor where he’d been dumped. The small cell had two benches, a chamber pot, and nothing else. There wasn’t even enough room for him to stretch out. He definitely wasn’t on his ship, but this one was actually moving. The wind that had pushed Malory’s fleet into the calm before changing directions must have veered back and filled the sails. Or had several days passed since the cannon was fired at Damon’s ship? He couldn’t tell how long he’d been unconscious, though his jaw hurt like hell.
Trying the cell door to see if it was locked, he saw two guards blocking the entrance to the little corridor outside the cell. “What’s going on? I demand to be released!” he shouted. “It’s imperative that you fetch Lord Malory!” Neither guard answered his questions or fetched Malory for him, even though he bothered them about it for quite a while. Frankly, he was surprised the man wasn’t there demanding answers of his own, but with the ship so quiet, he guessed it was the middle of the night.
Hours passed and the only sounds he heard were the creaking of the ship and an occasional cough from one of the guards. He wasn’t tired, but he did bend his knees to lie back on one of the benches and must have fallen asleep. Metal clanking against an iron bar woke him, and he shot immediately to his feet when he saw who was making the racket with a dagger.
“Where’s my first mate?” Damon demanded.
“That’s your first question? Really?” But then James answered, “Mr. Bower is still on your ship. Very uncooperative fellow, wouldn’t answer a single question. I got his name from one of your sailors. At least they were cooperative, though they had nothing pertinent to say.”
“Did you hurt him?”
“No, I didn’t see the point—when I have you. However, I left him in command of your ship with the request that he follow us. Quite a slippery fellow. He got away from me once before when he stowed away on my ship on my last voyage to Bridgeport. If he takes the opportunity to sail away now, I won’t stop him.”
“He won’t. Now tell me the point of posting guards here when the door is locked? Surely you don’t think I’m strong enough to bend bars?”
James’s brow went up. “No, but all I hear is yet another question that doesn’t address your own circumstances. Surely you aren’t afraid to ask what I’m going to do with you?”
“Why ask what I already know? I’ve been assured by your children and their friend that this would be a meeting I wouldn’t survive.”
“And yet you forced the meeting anyway.”
“To be honest, I expected to have leverage to discuss the matter with you, but I got on good terms with your children instead.”
“Which sacrificed your leverage. A pity—for you. But one fair answer deserves another. The guards weren’t for you, they were to keep my daughter away from you, of course. Like you, she seems to think your truce has made you friends of a sort, and because of it, she doesn’t want you hurt yet. But since she isn’t going to see you again, she won’t know whether you get hurt. Come out of there.” One of the guards leapt forward to open the door. “This reminds me too much of the time I put my nephew-by-marriage behind those bars.”
“You lock up your own family?”
“He wasn’t family yet. He’d been accused of stealing jewels, falsely as it turned out. You’re accused of stealing my children, which has been proven beyond a doubt.”
“There was a reason.”