Pearls of Fire, page 16
She turned to face him, her expression one of surprise. “How did your brother die? Is it too painful to discuss?”
“No, my sweet. We were never that close. He was much older and had little use for me. We were as opposite as two brothers could be. I was adventurous, and he was… in truth, he was a righteous prig. He died of a lung infection that he’d caught while riding in the rain on the way home from church one Sunday. It started as a fever that attacked his lungs. That’s what killed him. Somehow, his wife blamed me. My brother, she claimed, had gone to church to pray for my wicked soul. I had gained a reputation as a bit of a rake. He was worried that I’d never mend my wastrel ways. But I knew that I would. There just wasn’t any reason to reform until I met you.”
Her expression turned thoughtful.
“Leland died childless. His grieving widow was given a tidy settlement and I went on to become the new viscount. I will assume my father’s earldom upon his death, assuming it hasn’t been forfeited to the Crown by then.”
“I have connections to the royal family. I’ll–”
“I don’t want you involved, Emma. It is a nasty business.”
“I’m sorry you lost your brother. It tore my heart to pieces when I lost mine.” She placed a hand on his shoulder and absently caressed him.
He placed a hand over hers and squeezed lightly. “I know how hard it’s been for you, my sweet. I’m sorry for my sister, as well. She was too young to remember Leland. As I said, he and I were never all that close. But he would have gotten on quite well with Lara. She’s a little angel. Everyone adores her.” He grunted. “Last I heard, she was in London fighting this sentence on my behalf. It is a thankless task. I’d rather she not think of me or try to save me. I want her to go on with her life, whatever she can salvage of it. But I worry for her. No little girl should grow up with her father under house arrest and her only surviving brother condemned as a pirate and destined to be hanged.”
“I’ll visit her when I return to London. I’ll tell her all about you. She’s your sister and won’t want to forget you. I’ll tell her the good and the bad. She deserves to know the truth, your strengths and your foibles.”
He grunted again. “I’d rather she remember the good, what little of it there is.”
“I won’t disparage you to your family. I’ll give an honest account. You’re a natural leader, Hugh. You inspire confidence and respect among your crew. Your men were sincerely distressed when they thought you might die. Jacob loves you as though you were his own son.” She sighed. “I know you have fine qualities. But you will stop at nothing to possess the Pearls of Fire. You can lie to yourself and convince yourself that you must have them to protect your family, but those pearls will put all of you in greater danger.”
He resumed brushing her hair.
The pearls were not what stood between him and Emma. None of it mattered unless she learned to trust him. Jacob had seen her with the natives and knew something was going on that she wasn’t telling any of them.
“Speaking of Jacob, you two are an odd pair. How did you come to be such good friends? He’s a cranky Scot, closer to your father in age and you’re an English viscount.”
They hadn’t been speaking of Jacob, but he did not mind her curiosity. Perhaps she needed to know more about him before she would allow herself to trust him. “We were drawn together by our love of the sea. We learned to respect each other’s opinions. He’s a man of integrity. So is my father. The two are very much alike.”
She cleared her throat. “Do you miss him? I mean your father.”
“Very much,” Hugh admitted, allowing memories of home to rush to the fore. Curiously, only the good ones came to mind. He supposed it was for the best. In any event, there were far more good times than bad ones. “I miss him and my sister. My mother died when Lara was two years old.”
She nodded. “We’ve both lost a mother and a brother. But you still have a lovely, little sister. I never thought of you having a family, much less a loving one. You’ve told me about Leland and Lara. Do you have any other siblings?”
“No.”
She tipped her head up to look at him. “Were you and your brother ever alike? You described him earlier as stodgy, but was he always that way?”
“Yes, always. He liked to think of himself as honorable and respectable. He married a very respectable woman. Apparently, dull and condescending appealed to him. There was no joy in her heart nor in his. They set up a cold and austere household before he passed away.”
“All the more reason why I must visit your family. They must be longing to hear news about you. Your sister will be aching to see you again.”
“Visit them if you wish, but I think it will make their sadness more acute. The less they think of me, the better. I’ll return home once this mess is cleared up, but I don’t know when that will be or how long I will stay. Are you through asking your questions?”
“I’ve only just begun. I’m not very good at companionable silence, am I? Do you mind?”
“No, my sweet.”
She squirmed contentedly against him. He supposed he’d allow her anything just to stay close to her. Was he truly that far gone over her? He didn’t like to think anyone had that much control over his heart.
“Is The Persephone yours, or do you sail her for another?”
“She’s all mine.” He tamped down the swell of pride, but it was a hard thing to do. Acquiring that ship had been one of the finest days in his life.
Emma cast him a knowing smile. “How long have you owned her?”
“About eight years. You ask a lot of questions for a young lady who guards her own privacy so scrupulously.” She leaned back and rested her head against his chest so that he felt her nod against his steadily pounding heart. He liked the silky feel of her body pressed to his.
Her eyes fluttered closed and she pointed her face toward the sun. Her cheeks were a lovely shade of rose. “You claim to know all my secrets. It’s only right that I should learn some of yours.”
“Claim? I do know all your secrets. It’s taken me a little while, but I think I’ve solved the mystery of Emma Langdon.”
Since she was leaning against him, he felt the sudden coil of tension in her body. “You haven’t the slightest inkling.”
“Is that a dare?” He was pushing her, forcing her to trust him, and knew it was a risk. She’d pull out of his arms and bolt, and it would be his own fault. He did know her secrets and they were safe with him. How was he ever to convince her of it? “Enough for now. Join me for supper tonight. A quiet meal, just you and me.”
“Do you intend to ply me with wine and then pry secrets out of me?”
He rolled his eyes. “Emma, if I am so fortunate as to get you alone with me and drunk enough to lose your inhibitions, the last thing I wish to do with you is talk.”
Chapter Fifteen
Emma entered Hugh’s hut the following day only to find him gone. She searched the village and was about to give up when she spotted Ranji and his older cousin, Lagop, at the water’s edge about to push off in a canoe, their only cargo being Hugh.
“Stop!” she shouted, running as fast as she could along the sand toward them. She reached the canoe and began to berate Hugh. “Have you lost your senses?”
He cast her a scathing glower. “You didn’t join me last night.”
“In your hut? So you could get me drunk and…” She rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re truly disappointed. Even if you are, that doesn’t excuse your lunatic decision to go fishing with the boys. What if the boat capsizes? You’ll sink like a stone.”
“We’re not going fishing,” Ranji said. “We’re taking Captain Hugh to his ship.”
She inhaled sharply. “That’s even worse. You’re going all the way out to the reef?”
Hugh ignored her. “Let’s go, Ranji. We’re only wasting time here.”
“I will not be referred to as a waste of time.” She quickly unlaced her shoes, kicked them off, then took off her stockings.
Hugh’s lips began to twitch and the hint of a smile soon appeared on his lips. “What are you doing?”
“Exactly what it looks like.” She hitched her skirts up to her thighs, and waded into the water to grab the stern of the canoe. “Help me up, Lagop!”
“Don’t you dare,” Hugh commanded.
Lagop ignored him, as Emma knew he would. The poor boy believed she was a spirit of the water, and one did not anger the spirits, even the good ones. “We must take Laddie Emma,” Lagop explained to a glowering Hugh, “or the laleo will come after us.”
Ranji quickly hushed his cousin. “Lagop no speak English good. He mean we want to take her with us. We like Laddie Emma. She lotta fun.”
“Bollocks,” he muttered, but allowed the boys to lift her into the canoe.
She settled beside him.
He frowned at her. “You shouldn’t have come. We’ll be out here for hours. I mean to take my time inspecting my ship.”
She tapped the corner of her oversized straw hat. “I have protection from the sun.”
“Where’s your parasol, the pink one you always carry around?”
“You mean the one that was my mother’s? I loaned it to Chief Tono. He’ll take good care of it. Shouldn’t we start for the ship?” She brushed a loose, golden curl off her face. “Fortunately, we have the wind with us and with a little luck we’ll have the afternoon breezes to speed our return.”
The boys smiled at her as if thanking her for the position of the wind.
“I suppose you’re going to tell me the laleo – the bad spirit – has no power over us while you’re in the boat,” he whispered in her ear.
She stiffened ever so slightly. “I wouldn’t dream of saying anything so ridiculous.”
“But the boys believe it.”
“Would you like a piece of sago palm? I believe there’s some in Ranji’s basket.”
The Persephone was a magnificent three-masted schooner, designed for speed and power, Emma realized as they drew near. She hadn’t paid attention to that fact before, perhaps because she’d just considered the vessel a reliable means of transportation and had never appreciated her true beauty. But seeing her lying crippled on the reef, and noting the flicker of sadness in Hugh’s eyes, made her wish very hard that The Persephone would be restored to her earlier majesty.
Another, less noble thought, crossed her mind. That Hugh owned it, meant he’d possessed considerable wealth years before he became Viscount Brixham. Had his father given him the funds to purchase the ship? She doubted it. Hugh was not the sort to accept anyone’s largesse. He was stubborn and prideful. He’d probably gained much of his fortune in pirate raids. Of course, back then he was sailing for the Crown and called a privateer.
In any event, Hugh was not a merciless cutthroat. How had he acquired his wealth if not through cruelty or ruthlessness? She’d wasted too much time closing herself off from him, angry with him for wanting the pearls, and had never bothered to learn more about him.
He certainly was an unusual man. The books he’d carried with him on the journey, the ones Jacob had unloaded and placed in his hut claiming Hugh would want to read them when he felt better, spoke of a man who respected education. The books had been delivered to his hut even before Hugh’s clothes.
She had never heard of a pirate maintaining a library on board ship, certainly not one as impressive as his. Anyone who loved books as much as he did, could not be a vile murderer.
“She’s a beauty,” Emma remarked, unable to contain her smile.
Hugh stared at The Persephone as though she were his long lost love. “Aye, she is that.”
He motioned for the boys to draw close and secure the canoe, then stood up as if intending to climb aboard. “Ranji, there’s a rope ladder on deck. Climb up and toss it down to me.”
“You’re going up there?” Emma asked in amazement.
“What did you expect?”
“But your ankle! You can’t stand on it without wincing. You’ll never make it up the ladder. I thought you just wanted to have a look.”
“And then we’d turn back? Without so much as an inspection of her hull or rigging?”
“Well, obviously I wasn’t thinking clearly,” she grumbled, realizing that a mere sprained ankle or badly bruised ribs would not stop him from clambering about his beloved vessel. She decided it was safer to give in to his whim than to resist and risk capsizing the canoe. “Here, let me help you.”
“Thank you, Emma.” He cast her a smile, seductive in its simplicity, devastating in its effect.
The rope ladder almost landed on her head. “Ow!”
“Careful, my sweet.” Hugh deftly steadied her as she fell into his arms.
“You go first,” she said once he’d righted her.
“No, ladies first. I know what you’re thinking and I thank you for it, but I’m too big to catch if I fall. I certainly wouldn’t want to fall atop you.”
Climbing aboard proved to be the easier part of the venture, for The Persephone had a pronounced starboard list. Moving across the decks was as challenging as climbing a palm tree. Hugh managed it, though the effort caused him significant discomfort. He tried to hide his pain, but Emma knew better, and insisted on remaining by his side. He would need her.
Which he did, a time or two, though he continued to deny it. “Stop shadowing me, Emma. I’m perfectly capable of making my own way about.”
“Of course you are.” But she refused to budge.
He gave in with a shrug. “I suppose it’s safer to keep you close. Wouldn’t want you falling overboard.”
“Hah! You’re the only one likely to end up in the water.”
“Hmm,” he said, his attention now taken up by the gaping hole just above the ship’s water line. “We’ll have to patch the hull before we move her. Water’s building up in the hold. We’ll have to pump it out before rot sets in. We’d better start tomorrow.”
She frowned. “We? Tomorrow? It isn’t safe to do this until the end of the month. There are rip tides that–”
“Sorry, Emma. We can’t wait that long. I’ll send the boys into the mountains to fetch a few of my crewmen. We can start pumping out the water while the others cut the trees for planking. Five men should be sufficient for the task.”
Emma turned to Ranji and Lagop. “Bring back six men.”
The boys nodded, staring at her as though her every word was a celestial pronouncement.
“Hugh, you’ll have them in two days’ time. Promise me you won’t come out here on your own until the men arrive. You’re not fully healed. If you fall into the water, the tide will pull you under.”
“You don’t understand.”
“No, you don’t seem to grasp the seriousness of your injuries. Your ribs are of greatest concern. They need more time to heal. You can’t lift your arms over your head without wincing. So, will you promise me?”
He frowned at her.
She returned his frown with one of her own, looking him straight in the eye. “Say you will or I’ll slip you a potion so strong you won’t be able to move for weeks.”
“Bollocks, you’re a wicked lass. You’d do it, too,” he said with a deep, rumbling laugh.
She placed her hands on her hips and shook her head. “Yes, with deep regret and only as a last resort.”
“I’ll think about it, Emma. That’s the best you’ll get out of me.”
A short while later, the wind picked up and began to howl across the deck. “Hugh?”
“I know. Time to head back.”
Emma knew he was reluctant to cut short the inspection of his beloved vessel.
“The wind is with us, just as Laddie Emma said,” Lagop remarked in awe.
Emma tried to explain that it was a natural occurrence and had nothing to do with her supposed powers, but her assurance fell upon deaf ears. The boys would not be swayed by logic.
She gave up trying to convince them that she was no one special, and settled back to enjoy the ride.
They returned to shore in half the time it took to sail out to the vessel.
Hugh’s face looked gaunt. Their little adventure had obviously tired him out, but he would never admit it. The stubborn dolt had ignored the pain to his ribs and climbed the rigging.
“I’ll help you back to your quarters,” she offered, watching Hugh limp off the canoe.
“The boys will do it.” He brushed a stray lock of hair off her brow. “Get some rest, Emma. I have plans for us tonight.”
“You do?” She eyed him warily. “What do you have in mind?”
“Join me for supper. I’d like it very much if you did.” He did not press her further. Instead, he turned back to the water and staring longingly across the waves to his distant, listing ship.
Emma sighed. She was no match for either of his loves, The Persephone or the Pearls of Fire.
Emma knew she was mad to consider joining Hugh for supper, but she was going to do it. Oh, the rogue had more in mind than sharing a simple meal, but she was a grown woman and her heart ached so badly for him.
This quiet day in Hugh’s company had been bliss for her and she longed to extend their time together into the evening. Perhaps it was the tropic air, the wafting scent of hibiscus, and the natural beauty of their surroundings all conspiring to loosen her inhibitions. Whatever the reason, she hoped the night would end with her in his bed, wrapped in his strong, protective arms.
She stifled a sigh.
Goodness, Nandy and the other village girls were a bad influence on her. When had she started to think like them? She was giving in to her wanton desires. All her years of breeding, all those warnings to keep herself pure, were no longer important to her. Who was she saving herself for?
