So I Married a Sorcerer (The Embraced #2)

She groaned. What choice did she have? She took the gold and clothing back to her cabin.

The woolen breeches were far too loose around her waist and felt strange and itchy against her bare legs. She stuffed the bottom of her shift into the breeches, then used her own belt to gather up the waist so they wouldn’t fall off. Before fastening the belt, she attached the bag of gold to it. The breeches were also too long, so she rolled up the hems to mid-calf. The white shirt was loose, but she was grateful the long length hid her hips and bottom. She buttoned it up to her chin, then rolled the sleeves up to her elbows.

What else would she need? She stuffed her slippers into the pockets of the breeches, along with a dinner knife Sister Fallyn had confiscated the night before.

Once she made it ashore, she would seek out the mayor of the village and beg him to contact the Eberoni army. There were always some troops patrolling the shoreline, searching for pirates. Once she was with the army, they could give her safe passage to Ebton Palace.

She eased up the stairs and peered out the doorway. The crewmen had their backs to her as they used Rupert’s pulley machine to unload supplies. She darted behind the barrels and took a look over the portside railing.

Tucker was climbing up the rope ladder as the last box was being lifted. Once he landed on deck, he ordered some of the crew to put the machine away and others to follow him belowdecks. Brigitta assumed they were going to be stashing away the supplies. The only other seamen were far to the front of the ship, where they were busily repairing some sails, so focused on their task that they never looked her way.

Her gaze drifted back to the empty dinghy. Did she dare? She’d never rowed a boat before, but how hard could it be? It was definitely a better option than swimming.

As Sister Fallyn headed toward the stairs, Brigitta slipped out and grabbed her.

“What—” The nun’s eyes widened as she looked Brigitta over. “What are ye doing?”

Brigitta put a finger to her lips to signal quiet, then whispered, “We’re leaving now.”

“What? Why are ye dressed like that?”

Brigitta dragged her toward the railing. “If we hurry, we can take the dinghy.” She hefted herself over the railing onto the wooden ladder. Goodness, this was so much easier without a long skirt!

Sister Fallyn gasped. “Have ye lost yer mind?”

Brigitta descended a few steps on the ladder. “Quickly! Afore someone sees us.”

The nun glanced frantically about. “We can’t—”

“Aye, we can. Hurry!”

Sister Fallyn eyed the ladder, and tears filled her eyes. “I-I don’t think I can do it.”

Brigitta paused. “I can’t leave without you.”

A tear rolled down the nun’s face, then she nodded. “Aye, ye can. Ye must.”

“Sister—?” Tucker’s voice sounded on deck. “Who are you talking to?”

Sister Fallyn quickly wiped her face and turned toward him. “Oh, those pesky seagulls. They’re always begging for food. Could ye show me where the galley is? Perhaps I could find some stale bread for them.”

“Oh, all right,” Tucker replied. “This way.”

Sister Fallyn waved a hand at Brigitta, a shooing gesture, before she followed the young officer.

Brigitta closed her eyes briefly as tears threatened. Would Sister Fallyn be in trouble for aiding her escape? How could she leave her behind?

But if she did escape, there was a chance that the pirates would simply let Sister Fallyn go. After all, they couldn’t earn a ransom with a nun. And if they didn’t release the sister, Brigitta would do her best to rescue her.

Aye, she had to do this. She hurried down the ladder to the dinghy and untied the ropes. As the small boat drifted away from the ship, she spent a few awkward moments figuring out how to slip the oars through the rings. Then she realized she was facing the wrong way. It would be easier to row with her back to the shore. As she pivoted around on the bench, she lost her grip on an oar, and it started to slide into the water.

She lurched to the side to grab it and gasped as the boat nearly tipped over. Good goddesses, she needed to be more careful or she would be swimming ashore. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, then started to row.

Her heart pounded in her chest. She was doing it! She was making her escape.

*

After another few minutes of discussion, Rupert had finally convinced Stefan and Ansel to stick to the Official Plan and leave Brigitta out of it. She would be allowed to decide her own fate.

Now, with all their decisions made and a few additional supplies bought, they were walking toward the pier. While Stefan and Ansel talked about some needed ship repairs, Rupert’s mind wandered back to Brigitta. How was he going to tell her about Gunther’s plans? No doubt it would upset her. Perhaps even make her cry, and he hated to see her cry.

Dammit, he did care. A little. Shouldn’t any decent man hate to make a woman cry? That was all it was. His sympathy was a natural by-product of his own sense of honor and decency.

And lust, a nagging inner voice reminded him. So what? he countered. Any normal man occasionally felt some lust. It was healthy, dammit.

But he hadn’t lusted for the women on the pier.

So what? That just proved he had good taste. Not only was Brigitta beautiful, but she was much more clever than any of those other women. She’d seen through his hat of fake hair. And she’d been bold enough to rip it off. Bold, beautiful, and clever.

Dammit. He would never admit to caring about her. No matter how much Ansel and Stefan might try to badger him into a confession. He could never say it. Not out loud. How could he care for the daughter of the man who had destroyed his family?

He would champion her right to control her own destiny because it was the honorable thing to do. Nothing more.

His grip tightened on the package he was carrying. If she decided to side with her brother, Gunther, then she would go down with the bastard. For nothing would stop him from getting his revenge.

The sudden shrill of a whistle jerked him out of his thoughts. One of the ships had sounded an alarm. He broke into a run with Stefan and Ansel right behind him. As he dashed onto the pier, he quickly scanned the horizon. All ten ships were anchored in the bay, their sails furled. Dinghies were traveling back and forth transporting supplies. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

The whistle blared once again. One long blast, then one short burst. That meant the Golden Star. But he couldn’t spot anything wrong with the ship, other than Tucker and some crewmen yelling at something. The dinghy?

His eyes narrowed. Whoever was rowing, his handling of the oars was awkward. He’d passed the bow of the ship and seemed headed for the shore instead of the pier. Was that a long blond braid down his back?

“Holy crap!” Rupert dropped his package on the pier and leaped into the nearest dinghy. “It’s Brigitta!” What the hell did she think she was doing?

Stefan tossed him the tether line. “Hurry.”