Pearls of Fire, page 22
“Then let us have the ceremony here and now,” he intoned, motioning for his people and Hugh’s to gather around them.
Emma hardly had time to put herself together or think of her girlhood dreams. She’d spent so many nights as a girl awake in her bed, thinking of her perfect wedding. Her gown, she’d decided, would be of finest silk and lace. She’d have a strand of opalescent seed pearls threaded through her fashionably upswept hair. She was going to marry a prince or duke, it mattered little which, only that he would be one of the most important men in all of England and besotted with her. Their ceremony would be held in Westminster Abbey, a spectacle fit for a male of the royal blood.
It was going to be the finest wedding ever held in London, and perhaps afterward, after the pomp and tumult had quieted, they’d return to Langdon Heath to live with her parents. After all, she’d been a little girl with big dreams and had never considered that she’d live anywhere other than with her beloved family.
Not once in all her years of dreaming had she ever thought of marrying a pirate under a canopy of magnolia trees, a village chieftain to perform the ceremony, and a ragtag crowd of onlookers who meant more to her than the elegant ton friends she’d left behind.
The macaques swung closer, perching themselves on the overhead branches as Chief Tono began the wedding ceremony. They tossed seeds and magnolia blossoms onto her head, their aim irritatingly accurate, so that she had seeds – not seed pearls – threaded through her hair.
Hugh’s eyes twinkled.
His handsome pirate eyes actually twinkled as he glanced up at the overhanging branches and noticed the furry faces of her most ardent attendants.
He grinned at her and then took her hand in his to give it a light, comforting squeeze.
Chief Tono conducted the ceremony in his native dialect. Emma had to strain to make out all of what he was saying, but the solemn words were much the same as the words a minister would say in an English ceremony. At the chief’s prompt, Hugh turned to her and now took both of her hands in his. “Emma, I have no fancy tokens to give you, no bride gift or elegant wedding breakfast to offer you. All I can give you is my heart, and my promise to love and protect you always.”
She smiled up at Hugh. “I give you my heart in return, and my promise to love and protect you to the end of my days.”
He arched an eyebrow.
She knew that he did not want her to protect him. He wanted to keep her safe. He wanted to shelter her and make certain she never came to harm. Well, she intended to do the same for him whether he liked it or not. This is what marriage was about, wasn’t it? Each one caring for the other more than for themselves, sacrificing for the other, protecting the other.
She wasn’t afraid to fight for Hugh, just as she knew he’d fight for her. She’d sailed halfway around the world, had experienced stormy seas and pirate attacks. She wouldn’t back down from whatever new threats they faced.
The sun burst through an overhead cloud at the same moment Chief Tono pronounced them husband and wife. The chief smiled and declared it to be a blessed sign.
A soft breeze surrounded them.
Hugh lifted her into his arms and kissed her fiercely, passionately and with exquisite tenderness.
His crew cheered.
The village natives cheered.
The elephants they’d brought into the mountains to haul the trees noisily voiced their approval.
The macaques shrieked in delight as they pelted her with more seeds and blossoms.
Emma decided there was never a better wedding held than this one.
Hugh looked at the joy in Emma’s sparkling eyes and wished he could feel the same. She was his now, his to love and hold. His wife. The realization warmed his heart and soothed his barren soul, but neither could he hold back the dread that washed over him now that she was bound to him.
He did not care that evil men were after him.
But Emma was his weakness, his vulnerable spot, and he worried that they’d harm her to get at him. “Jacob, there’s a hidden cave not far from here. Take the women there,” he said, nodding toward Emma and Martine, “and keep them out of the way until I send word it is safe to bring them back to the village.”
Jacob’s face turned red and his bushy eyebrows knotted together as he furrowed his brow. He looked ready to explode in anger. “Laddie,” he said with barely leashed restraint, curling his hands into fists at his sides, “I canna do it. Who will have yer back if not me? I willna abandon ye to hide out with the women. Liam’s the better choice. He’s an able lad and clever.”
Liam began to object, obviously wanting to be in the thick of the battle if there was to be one. But Hugh turned a deaf ear to Liam’s objections. He turned a deaf ear to Jacob’s protest. He turned a deaf ear to Emma’s protests that she was not be left behind. Hadn’t she just vowed to honor and obey him?
He ought to have known that would never happen. She was too headstrong and she loved him. Lord, how could she possibly love him? Not just love him, but love him with the fierceness of an island goddess, with all of her compassionate heart and gentle soul.
She was determined to risk her own life to save him.
He’d die a thousand deaths and rot in hell before he allowed that.
He’d never allow that.
He was the bloody pirate captain.
He was the one to be obeyed.
“Quiet!” he roared, the one word laced with enough menacing anger and authority to turn them all mute. Even the elephants and macaques quieted. Not a single starling flying overhead chirped. “Liam, stay with the women. I’ll stuff your bollocks down your throat if either of them is harmed.”
Liam nodded grudgingly. “Aye, captain. I won’t fail you.”
He gave a curt nod in response and turned to glower at Jacob.
The old Scot’s scowl faded. “Glad ye came to yer senses, laddie. If there’s a fight to be had, I’ll be protecting yer back, as always. Those heathen scum won’t lay a hand on ye, not while there’s breath left in me.”
“Same here,” Lucifer said, coming to stand by Jacob’s side. “I owe my life to you. I mean to repay that favor.”
Emma stepped forward to stand beside Jacob and Lucifer. “Nor will I abandon you. Don’t think to leave me behind. I may not have your brawn or fighting skills, but I am cousin to the queen. If harm befalls me, it is the Lord Governor who will have to answer for it. I don’t care how many witnesses he brings forward to proclaim his innocence. She will have him dismissed from office in disgrace. She will see him ruined. He will have nothing. No governorship. No acceptance into Society. No earldom that he thinks to steal from you and your father. No Pearls of Fire.”
She tipped her chin up and met his steady gaze. “Don’t think to bind and gag me and toss me in the cave. I will escape. You cannot leave me behind, Hugh. I am your wife. I belong at your side for always.”
“And how long do you think ‘always’ will be if I’m too worried about protecting you to think about protecting myself?” His heart was a roiling ache, for he loved Emma’s courage, but there would be no containing the beast within him if any harm came to her. He’d rip Montvey to pieces. He’d kill every one of Montvey’s soldiers. He’d kill Nikko if that bastard was still alive.
He’d kill everyone who got in his way.
There was a gleam in his eyes that must have frightened her. She paled, but to her credit, she refused to take a step back. Then Chief Tono came to stand by her side. “Lady Emma is right. Accept her help. She is your wife. She is melo-melo, the goddess who will protect you.”
And with that quiet pronouncement, Chief Tono knelt before her.
His villagers quickly followed, falling to their knees and bowing their heads.
Martine did the same.
His men looked as though they were about to follow, but one glower from Hugh stopped them. He saw the fear and indecision in their eyes, for seamen were superstitious. Perhaps more so than these villagers.
Hugh felt as though his heart had been ripped from his chest and was now being hacked and pounded to pieces.
Emma, as though reading his thoughts, put her hand over his heart. “Be at peace, my love. My captain. My soul. As you have asked me to trust you throughout this journey, so must you trust me now.”
Emma’s touch always turned his blood hot and lusting. But the warmth that spread through his body now was different from anything he’d ever felt before. This was a transporting warmth, a healing warmth. Was it possible she held powers beyond those of mortals? Was she a goddess who carried within her the spirit of this fabled sea snail called melo-melo?
She smiled at him, once more reading his thoughts. “No, Hugh,” she said in whisper. “How can you think I am saintly or angelic after what we did last night?”
He lifted her hand from his chest and kissed her open palm. “Emma, don’t do this. Let me keep you safe.”
“You will, my love. But not by keeping us apart. Trust me, Hugh.”
He closed his eyes and stifled a shudder.
He wanted to say no.
He wanted to haul Tono and his villagers to their feet and order them to stop worshiping Emma.
He wanted to bind her and gag her and put her back in the cave with his best men to protect her.
But even his own instincts betrayed him now.
Every beat of his heart, every throbbing pulse, even the rivers of blood coursing through his veins, told him she was right.
Trust her.
Trust her.
He groaned. “Very well. I won’t leave you behind.”
Had he just made the biggest mistake of his life?
Chapter Twenty-One
Hugh announced his return to Wamsisi by blowing up Montvey’s ship in the dead of night. Flames shot off the furled sails as they lay wrapped around the sinking ship’s masts, illuminating the inky night like so many glowing candles upon an elegant dining table. Montvey’s soldiers were decamped in the village, leaving only a handful on board to guard the vessel and its massive stock of weapons and artillery stored in the hold.
Those few men on board jumped into the water at the first, fiery blast, abandoning ship and swimming to shore like the water rats they were. Hugh ordered a handful of his own men to hastily round them up as they struggled onto the sand, then turned his thoughts to capturing Montvey, whose soldiers were now spilling haphazardly out of their tents, confused by the roar of exploding gunpowder and the scent of acrid smoke filling the air.
Hugh battled his way to the governmental manor house, arriving just as Montvey ran out. His feet were bare, his shirt open, and his pants half unbuttoned. “What the hell is–”
“Good evening, Edward,” Hugh said, putting a pistol to his head. “It’s time we had a little chat.”
His cousin’s eyes almost rolled back in his wine-sotted head. “What the devil? How are you still alive?”
Hugh said nothing, continuing to hold his pistol to his cousin’s head as the last of his soldiers were subdued. Most had been caught in the haze of sleep or had imbibed too much the night before and were struggling to shake off their drunkenness. Hugh’s men and the villagers disarmed them with hardly a shot fired.
It had all been too easy, Hugh thought in frustration. He’d wanted a fight. He’d wanted to slam his fist into Montvey’s face, wanted to bloody him and beat the truth out of the wretched cur. There was no satisfaction to be had in an easy battle, one that was over before it had truly begun. Even the night watch assigned to protect the government house had posed no problem. Hugh and his men had come upon them quietly, knocking out the sentries before they’d had the chance to sound the alarm.
Within the hour, his cousin’s soldiers were gathered in a cattle holding pen, held under guard by Lucifer and a dozen other of Hugh’s best men. They weren’t to be harmed, merely contained until The Persephone was seaworthy once more. Once Hugh sailed away, with Montvey as his prisoner, the soldiers would be set free.
“I’ll see you hanged, Brixham,” Hugh’s cousin spat out, calling him by his title. It felt odd to Hugh, for out here he was Captain Le Brecque and he far preferred it.
Hugh, still holding the pistol to Montvey’s head, shoved him back inside the manor house. “You’ve tried that already. As you can see, you’ve failed.”
“The British fleet will come after you. They’ll rescue me. I’ll command them to kill Chief Tono and every man, woman, and child in this rebel village.”
“Stop talking. You’re just giving me one more reason to kill you before I leave,” Hugh said, pushing him into the study and ordering him to sit in one of the chairs.
Jacob quickly bound his hands and feet. “Give me the word, Captain. I’ll gladly shoot him right now.”
Montvey paled. “You wouldn’t dare. I’m the Lord Governor.”
Hugh growled low in his throat. “You’ve already given me a thousand reasons to kill you. Shut up. My patience is about to snap and I will do it.” He understood he was walking a fine line. A dangerous line, for he’d just captured soldiers of the Crown and destroyed their ship. Surprisingly, the Lord Governor’s ship wasn’t a British naval vessel. Hugh found that curious, but knew he would still have to answer for attacking it. Likely, it would cost his family dearly, perhaps cost him the earldom he had been fighting to hold.
Hugh also had the villagers of Wamsisi to worry about. Who would protect them when the British fleet arrived to quell the supposed native uprising? As his cousin had blurted, he was still Lord Governor, and although Hugh had no intention of setting him free, the early arrival of even one British naval vessel might take that decision out of his hands.
His biggest problem remained Emma.
She’d made this voyage to find her father, but Hugh would not be able to search for him while hunted by the British navy. He had yet to figure out how to break the news to her, when Emma arrived at the manor house with Ranji and Lagop following closely at her heels.
She entered the study and stopped short with a gasp. “Hugh, why didn’t you tell me?” She walked to his side and stared first at his cousin and then at him. “You and Lord Montvey are two peas out of the same pod. Even a blind man would find the similarity striking.”
Perhaps this was what Hugh detested most about his cousin. Although they resembled each other in outward appearance, they were nothing alike in character. Edward Montvey was a sniveling cur who lacked all sense of honor. And yet, he was Lord Governor while Hugh was a condemned pirate who’d bribed his way out of prison.
Truly ironic.
Montvey’s eyes turned dark and predatory, much like those of a cobra about to strike its prey. “Lady Emma Langdon, I presume.”
She tipped her chin up in the air. “Lord Montvey, I’ll see you hanged for your crimes.”
“My crimes?” He threw back his head and laughed. “No, you’ll have my pirate cousin free me at once.”
“And why would I do that?”
“Because I know where your father is and I am the only one who can take you to him.”
Hugh felt as though he’d been punched in the stomach. “Emma, don’t believe a word this bastard says.”
She stumbled back, her hand trembling over her heart. “Oh, Hugh,” she said in a ragged whisper.
This was his cousin’s talent, to sense the pain in someone’s soul and squeeze that sore spot until it burst. It had taken the cur less than a minute to demolish Emma’s resolve.
“What do you say, Lady Emma?”
Ranji and Lagop eyed her with as much worry as Hugh felt but would never express. “Don’t trust him, Laddie Emma. He no good,” Ranji said, his voice shaking with fear. “He bring bad laleo.”
Lagop nodded. “Very bad laleo.”
Montvey laughed at the boys, a devil’s menacing laugh that scared the wits out of them. They’d been raised in innocence and were noticeably quaking. Hugh thought them all the more brave, for instead of running away, they stepped in front of Emma as though to form a protective barrier between her and Montvey.
“Dirty, little beggars, always underfoot.” Montvey looked over their heads to address Emma. “Get them out of here and I’ll negotiate terms with you. You want your father, don’t you?”
Hugh struck him with the butt of his pistol and knocked him unconscious. He was angry with himself for not doing it sooner. Ranji and Lagop emitted deep sighs of relief. Emma did not appear to be breathing at all. “Emma, if you speak to my bastard cousin again… so help me, I will shoot him dead.”
“No, Hugh. I won’t speak to him. I won’t ever believe a word he says.”
Hugh nodded, but he saw the pain in her eyes and the tension in her body. Not only did she believe his lying cousin, he now had to worry that she might free him. “Emma–”
“I don’t believe him, Hugh.”
If only he could believe her.
Emma remained in the study and was standing beside Hugh when Lord Montvey revived. The fiend shot daggers at Hugh for keeping him bound and was now sporting a lump the size of a goose egg on his forehead. “I’ll make a deal with you, cousin. Keep my men confined for now. I don’t need them. But you and I must talk.” He glanced at Emma. “Lady Emma, too. Why not? We’re all here at the government house.”
Hugh snorted. “What do you propose? That we have tea and reminisce about old times?”
“We may want to see each other dead, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be gentlemen about it. Besides, I’m thirsty, although my tastes run to ale or brandy rather than tea.”
To Emma’s surprise, Hugh agreed. She wasn’t certain why he had, because his cousin was ruthless. More important, as Lord Governor under the protection of the Crown, he was almost untouchable.
Almost, and that was very important.
In truth, it was the only reason she and Hugh were married now. Since she was cousin to the queen, Hugh was now cousin to the queen as well, albeit by marriage. That gave him some power, hopefully enough to make a British naval officer or local government official think twice before ordering him hanged.
She considered telling Montvey that she was Lady Brixham now, but since Hugh had not seen fit to mention it, she held back. In any event, their marriage might not be recognized as valid in England since it had been conducted by a village chieftain outside of a church.
