Miss Minerva's Pirate Mishap

by Maggie Dallen

  He made a hmph noise that made her laugh. He did not, however, try to warn her off. He didn’t say a word about how she ought not to have come out here or how she would be better off inside.

  Oddly enough, that warmed her more thoroughly than any cloak ever could.

  He trusted her to be her own person, to make her choices, and even if she chose danger, he did not try to stop her.

  She drew in a deep breath, the sea air tasting of open spaces. This man’s affectionate gaze felt like a whole different kind of freedom. “Shall we find ourselves a smuggler?” he asked, offering an arm as though he were going to lead her onto the dance floor.

  She took it with equal dignity. “We shall.”

  Chapter 11

  Truth be told, all Marcus truly wished to do was sweep this young lady off her feet once more and carry her off to his ship.

  But he’d meant what he’d said. He wasn’t giving up on her. On them. Not yet.

  But first thing’s first. He led her down to the shore where the cave’s entrance in the distance remained deserted.

  Caleb, he knew, was perched near the overhang of the cliff, ready to pounce upon their prey as soon as he revealed himself.

  Eddleston, no doubt. Poor chap likely got in over his head with the wrong crowd. But if he was smart enough to spill the real smuggler’s secrets then he’d walk away unscathed, Marcus would make sure of that.

  He glanced down at the little warrior on his arm, so dignified and graceful as she traipsed along beside him in search of a smuggler. His chest did something odd. It seemed to tighten and expand at once from seeing her here at his side...from imagining what it would be like to have her at his side always.

  “Min—” He stopped short when a sound along the cliffside above cut through the wind and the waves.

  “Was that...?” Minerva turned her face up to his, her eyes alight with excitement.

  Not fear, he noted with some amusement.

  He nodded to confirm he’d heard it, too. As one, they stopped and waited.

  There it was again. Just above them on the cliffside. A rustling sound and a voice, little more than a murmur. The thrill he always got before a confrontation had him tensing, bracing for impact as if someone would break out of the shrubbery above and leap down to tackle him.

  He tipped his head toward the place where they’d heard the motion, and Minerva nodded.

  A lady who not only lit up in the face of danger, but who seemed able to read his mind. Marcus stole a moment to grin down at her. Surely this was a woman after his own heart.

  In fact, he was certain she was the woman of his heart.

  He glanced up as the noise continued.

  But there’d be time enough to convince her of that after this was done. Right now, he had a smuggler to apprehend and question. Glancing back down at Minerva, he arched a brow. “Are you coming?”

  Her scoff was adorable as she lifted her skirts and led the way. Her slippers were soundless as she headed back up the way she’d come down, slipping off the stone staircase and onto a narrow dirt path that led along the cliff’s edge near the top of the stairs.

  She paused to ascertain he’d kept up with her brisk pace—he had—and the two of them moved silently until they reached the area where the bushes rustled and low, indecipherable noises sporadically sounded.

  She paused beside it and gave him a nod, a silent order if he’d ever seen one.

  His little warrior was a commander in her own right. He smirked to himself. He’d been the captain of his own ship for more years than he could count, but he had no qualms at all about sharing that power so long as his co-captain was a brilliant spitfire with nerves of steel.

  Which she was.

  This much was obvious when she braced herself right beside him as he tore aside the brush that covered their culprit and...his lass.

  A boy of no more than fifteen, if that. And the girl, who looked to be a serving wench, was just as young, her eyes wide with horror at having been caught.

  Minerva gasped. “Eddleston?”

  The boy blinked, his cheeks growing mottled and red as he gallantly shifted to hide the young lady he’d clearly been kissing. “Yes, miss.” His chin was held high and it took everything in Marcus not to laugh at the poor boy who was no doubt shaking in his boots at having been caught in the midst of a dalliance by his commanding officer’s daughter.

  He glanced over at Minerva whose look of shock had faded into a frown. “So this was why you snuck out of the party.”

  The boy’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “Yes, miss.”

  She glanced at Marcus askance and he shrugged. “You could not have known.”

  She gave a little huff, her lower lip slipping forward in a pout that made him want to kiss her just as thoroughly as poor Eddleston here had been kissing this still-mute girl.

  “Ah well,” he said, placing a hand on Minerva’s arm. “We shall still find our man—”

  “But the other night,” Minerva interrupted, speaking more to herself, it seemed, than anyone else. “It fit perfectly.”

  Eddleston and the girl peering over his shoulder behind him glanced at Marcus as if he might be able to explain.

  He could not.

  “What do you mean, Min?”

  She planted her hands on her hips. “You were the one to see me go into the caves,” she said to Eddleston. “You sounded the alarm.” Suspicion was clear in her expression. “I suppose you were out here cavorting that night as well, hmm? Abandoning your watch to meet with a girl, were you?”

  Eddleston shook his head quickly, his eyes so wide and panicked Marcus almost pitied the fellow.

  Minerva sounded like a commander, and the thought had pride stirring in his chest, though it surely wasn’t his right. She was her own person and no one else could take the credit for her confidence and bearing. Not even her father.

  He tilted his head as he studied her profile. There it was again. That nagging sense that she reminded him of someone. Before he could take the thought any further, Eddleston finally spoke up for himself. “N-no, ma’am,” he said, his hands clenching together beseechingly. “I didn’t abandon my watch, I swear it. Please don’t tell your father that, miss.”

  Marcus winced. The boy was mistaken if he feared the captain more than the captain’s daughter. But he’d let the boy figure that out.

  “I didn’t even see you that night, miss,” Eddleston continued. “I wasn’t the one who raised the alarm.”

  Minerva didn’t so much as blink, but he felt her tense beside him. This was what she’d been after, he realized. Clever girl; she knew how to get the information she wanted. “It wasn’t you who spotted me?” she asked, her voice taut and her body too still beside him.

  He shook his head quickly again. “No, ma’am.”

  Marcus brought a hand to her back, a silent support as she asked her next question. “Then who raised the alarm, Officer?”

  Eddleston blinked. “Why, Lieutenant Wessex, of course.”

  “Roger.” The name slipped out on her exhale, and Marcus and the two young ones watched her closely. When it became clear that he’d lost her to her racing thoughts, he waved a hand toward the others. “Begone with you. And don’t tell anyone what you saw out here.”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Eddleston grabbed his young lady’s hand and tugged her behind him back toward the main road.

  He swung back to Minerva whose lips were pinched, her gaze distant as she asked, “Why would he lie?”

  “Who?” Marcus stepped in front of her to take her cold hands in his. “Eddleston? I don’t believe he was lying, if that’s any help—”

  “No, no,” she interrupted. “Not Eddleston. Roger.” She leaned in toward him and the sweet floral scent of her had him frowning as he attempted to focus. “Lieutenant Wessex,” she clarified. “He was the first one who arrived, and he walked me home that night.”

  Marcus drew in a deep breath as he filled in the missing pieces. “And it was he
who told you that Eddleston had spotted you. That Eddleston had raised the alarm.”

  She nodded quickly, a flurry of emotions chasing across her face more quickly then he could read them.

  “And this Roger fellow,” he said slowly. “Where is he now?”

  Her gaze lifted to meet his and her eyes widened with more fear than he’d ever seen there before. “With Abigail.”

  He moved forward, a surge of fear gripping his chest as she reached out to him, her fingers grasping at his arms as she battled terror.

  “He’s with my sister. She was to keep him distracted for me, but if he’s the culprit—”

  “Let’s go,” he said, already turning back to the cave. She gave a short nod, and he could all but see her tamping down her fears for her sister as she raced alongside him. They had taken no more than a few steps in the direction of the cave before they heard someone cry out from that direction.

  It was a woman’s shout.

  Minerva faltered beside him for a heartbeat and then they were both running, sprinting along the steep cliffside until they reached a narrow trail down to the cave. “Caleb is there,” he told her as they scrambled toward the noise. “He will make sure your sister comes to no harm.”

  She did not answer, her expression taut with fear and something else. Something that made him want to reach out and hold her close. He wished he could stop and reassure her, but now was not the time. There’d be time to talk when this was through.

  Another shout came from the cave and a second later they were there. He skidded to a stop in the rocks and sand that lined the entrance to the cave. Minerva came to a halt just as quickly beside him.

  They both froze in horror at the sight before them. The tall, handsome officer who’d taken Minerva away from him the other night was holding Minerva’s sister before him, a knife pressed to her ribcage and a sneer on his lips as he faced off with Caleb, who was growling and poised to attack.

  “Roger!” Minerva’s voice cut through the silence and everyone turned to face his warrior.

  At this particular moment, ‘warrior’ didn’t seem to cut it. She was one of the furies come back to wreak vengeance.

  Even Roger’s sneer faltered in the face of her rage.

  “How dare you?” she hissed.

  Her sister paled, and her eyes widened. “I’m sorry, Min. He tried to slip away and so I followed and...” She ended with a squeak as Roger tightened his grip on her, turning them both so she was a shield between him and the rest of them.

  Minerva ignored her sister. “How dare you?” she said again, stepping toward Roger. “You coward. You snake.”

  Roger’s brows shot up. “Is that any way to speak to the man who would court you, Minnie?”

  A growl sounded and it was a full moment before Marcus realized it had escaped from him and not Caleb this time.

  Court her? He shot a quick glance to see Minerva glaring at the man. “Let her go, you coward.”

  “It’s not my fault she followed me out here,” Roger said, his tone peevish as he glanced down at the blonde in his arms. “I could have been in and out if it weren’t for her.”

  His grip tightened, and Abigail’s eyes widened. Marcus was aware of Caleb tensing further, coiling and ready for attack. He just needed a distraction. Before he could step forward, Minerva beat him to it. “Let. Her. Go.”

  Roger’s lip curled up in a sneer. “Or what?”

  Minerva’s eyes narrowed. “Or I will kill you.”

  Chapter 12

  It wasn’t every day that Minerva threatened murder, but it slipped out of her mouth with surprising ease and, she found, she meant it.

  Fear for Abigail had shaken her to her core, but anger...

  This she could do.

  Her hands clenched at her sides, and though her heart still raced in her chest, her mind was once more working. The first realization? Between Marcus’s tensed form beside her blocking the cave’s mouth and Caleb, who was a large and terrifying looming shadow across from him, Roger was woefully outnumbered. Which, of course, was why he was clutching Abigail to him like a child would a raggedy doll.

  She took a deep breath and straightened just as Roger let out a bitter laugh. “You’d murder me, eh? I’m sure your father would love to hear that.”

  “Yes, just as I’m certain he’ll be quite interested to hear how his second-in-command was manipulated into working for a band of thieves and pirates.”

  “What other choice did I have? I’m stuck here. No future to speak of. No one to speak for me and help me rise in the ranks.” Roger’s eyes grew wild as he defended himself, and Minerva cursed herself for pushing him. The last thing she wanted was for him to be so emotional that he did something stupid.

  No, she had to calm him down. “Fortunately for us both, I am sure we can clear this up without Father’s involvement.”

  He blinked at her. Abigail’s eyes widened as she stared at Minerva, and she could feel both Marcus and Caleb shifting their attention to her as well.

  “How?” Roger bit out. “You already ruined everything when you came down here the other night, Minnie.”

  He sounded so accusatory, she almost wished she could laugh. She might have if there was not a knife pressed to her sister’s heart. “I assure you, it was not my intention to get involved.”

  Roger huffed. “This was to be my last shipment. After that I could have started over. I could have had any lady I wished, not settled for a plain, boring thing like you.”

  She blinked, his words bouncing off her. Though she was heartened by the growl coming from the brute beside her. That growl and whatever expression Marcus wore were enough to make the color drain from Roger’s face.

  Easy, she thought to herself. We must handle him gently.

  “You should be so fortunate as to marry a woman like Minerva.” Abigail’s sweet voice cut through the tension and everyone, including Minerva, blinked at her in shock. Abigail’s fear seemed to have faded in the face of her irritation.

  A family trait, perhaps. Courage. The one gift their mother had given them all.

  Minerva felt an unexpected surge of laughter at the thought. Hysteria, no doubt.

  “Thank you, Abigail,” Minerva said evenly. “But I assure you, nothing this man says could ever hurt my feelings.”

  “This man?” Roger repeated with a cynical mutter. “What does that mean?”

  “It means that you’re a coward, Roger,” she said slowly. “You could not even face your threats like a man, but you hide behind a young, defenseless lady instead.”

  His cheeks grew red, redder still, thanks to the flickering firelight coming from the back of the cave. He eyed Abigail in his arms as if debating the merit of Minerva’s insult.

  Abigail smirked. “Coward is right.” Her words ended in a squeak that had Minerva tensing as Roger tightened his grip and the knife dug into the fabric of her gown.

  Minerva’s heart raced wildly, but she would not panic. She glanced over at Marcus who seemed to be having some sort of silent communication going on with Caleb.

  No doubt they were planning something. To take him down when he was distracted.

  She spoke quickly, needing to keep his attention on her and Abigail, and give the two men a chance to attack. “I can’t understand why though, Roger,” she said, imbuing her words with maternal concern. The kind of tone Roger had always softened to. He liked his ladies gentle and kind, and so that was what she would be. Her brows drew together as if she were truly concerned for him. “Why would you put yourself in such danger by working with pirates?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” he shot back. “The money, you stupid girl. Do you know how humiliating it was to be sent here to this forgotten miserable excuse of a naval operation? I was at sea, you know. I was a hero in the war with France and then it all ended, and I was sent here to rot. All those years of service and dedication, and for what?”

  She ignored his hypothetical question to ask her own. “Who are you working for th
en?”

  He stared at her for a moment before letting out a bark of a laugh. “If you don’t already know then I won’t be the one to tell you.”

  Something about the dark humor in his gaze unsettled her. “Roger, please. I don’t wish to see you hurt. Perhaps if you let Abigail go—”

  “You honestly think it’s these men I fear?” He nodded toward Marcus, not seeming to notice that Caleb was creeping forward so slowly and stealthily he was gaining ground without Roger realizing. “If they stole from my contact, then they’re the ones who ought to be afraid.”

  “Why, Lieutenant, are you concerned for our welfare?” Marcus’s tone was light and jovial and Minerva almost grinned at his showmanship when he clasped a hand to his heart. “I am touched by your concern, Roger. Truly, I am.”

  Roger sneered and then Abigail...giggled.

  Her giggle seemed to set everything into action. Roger’s eyes flared with anger. “How dare you laugh at me?” he snarled. As he lifted his knife, moving it from her ribcage to her neck, everyone else flew into action.

  Marcus rushed him, Minerva reached for Abigail, and Caleb grabbed the knife.

  Without even flinching, the large brute of a man tore the knife from Roger’s grip by the sharp edge and sent it clattering to the ground.

  “Why you—” Roger never did manage to finish the thought before Marcus landed atop him and Abigail went sprawling in the opposite direction.

  Minerva gathered her sister close. “I’m so sorry, Abigail,” she whispered as she held her sister in her arms. “You’re all right now.”

  She was too quick to speak, however. Roger was scrambling between the men, and he drew another dagger from his boot before anyone could stop him.

  The world seemed to slow, time nearly stopping as she watched Roger’s crazed eyes fix on her and Abigail before he lunged.

  Caleb moved so quickly that Minerva barely knew what had happened until it was over, and Caleb was groaning with a knife sticking out of his thigh. Abigail was half crushed beneath his monstrous weight, but if Caleb hadn’t shielded her with his body...