by Raven, Sandy
She was beyond thankful for that. If she or her daughter had become ill because of the filth in the cell, they likely never would have survived. Lucky would not have had a reason to return. Smiling down at Lucy, she wondered yet again what his plan was to free them. Lia told her to trust her brother and Ian, and though she was having a difficult time doing so, she'd told the duchess she would.
That morning when the constable arrived to question Lucky as to his whereabouts the night before, he'd said he was with his brother-in-law, the Earl Mackeever, formerly a resident of Indian Point, in his room at the Park's Inn, discussing his new wife's case. Without the earl to provide his alibi, the constable took Lucky into custody, saying a witness saw him at Barlowe Marine the previous night. The man claimed to have heard Lucky and the security chief for Barlowe Marine, Mr. Nelson Potts, arguing over the widow Watkins. The witness said he watched from behind the shed as Lucky fired the pistol that killed Potts.
Mary-Michael saw Marcus shift in agitation, wanting to speak and defend his uncle, but he was quickly stopped by his mother's hand on his arm. Mary-Michael heard Lia whisper to her son to let her brother handle this.
Mary-Michael immediately asked the constable who this witness was that says he saw her new husband kill Mr. Potts and the constable would not give the man's name. She wondered if Barlowe was claiming to be the witness.
Even though she worried about Lucky, she had to trust in their plan. Without complete faith in him, they would not survive this—and she wanted to. She wanted to live now more than ever, as she realized her captain did love her as much as she loved him. She wanted a future with Lucky and Lucy, and wanted to return to Indian Point to raise their daughter and other children if they were so blessed.
A soft rap on the door sounded, and Mary-Michael froze with fear in her rocker, which then caused her daughter to stir. Surely it was too early for Lia's dinner to be over. The visitor rapped again, this time a little louder. Mary-Michael called for the visitor to enter and the guard unlocked her door.
Lia, Ian, and Michael, all entered her tiny cell. The duchess came to her with her arms outstretched. Mary-Michael stood and gave the babe to her new sister-in-law who took over rocking Lucy. Mary-Michael asked the guard to give their family privacy. Reluctantly, he stepped out of the dormitory cell, and locked the door behind him.
"How is my husband?" Mary-Michael asked, hoping he hadn't found the jail as coffin-like as she had. Like a caged lion, he'd lash out—which would only serve him worse in the long run.
"He is well and in good spirits, Mary," Ian said, his expression steady. "You do know this was all part of the plan?"
She nodded. "I figured that out when he didn't retaliate at being led away in handcuffs."
The barrister-earl, Michael, sat next to Mary-Michael on the cot, and Ian came forward and knelt on the hard wooden floor on the other side of her. Lia was close, rocking Lucy in the chair just feet from where Mary-Michael sat.
"We have a plan, Mary," Ian said. Then, over the next few minutes, in hushed tones and low whispers, Mary listened as the two men explained to her and Lia their plans.
"Michael and I will remain behind, while Ren and Lucky will take you ladies, Marcus and Lucy back to England," Ian said. When Mary-Michael wanted to protest, he stopped her. "Barlowe obviously has many people doing his bidding. He's had people killed for your shipyard, Mary. The one my father helped to found. I would have it remain in your hands and never fall into Barlowe's."
"I'm remaining behind to study your case," Michael added, "and with my friend the ambassador's help, will find the best representation for you—again. I am sorry about your friend Baxter."
She thanked him for his concern and offer to help her, and told him how much she appreciated his efforts on her behalf. "But Lucky will also be a fugitive from the law, wouldn't he?" Mary-Michael asked.
"Yes, he will." Michael replied truthfully. "But I have signed depositions from Marcus and Ian, witnessed by the ambassador, myself and Ren. I want to see Barlowe brought to justice. Not just for the men he's killed, but for you, Mary. He would have had you killed—whether by the hangman's noose or other method—to obtain your shipyard. That's why it is imperative that we get you and Lucy away from here until it is safe for you to return." Perhaps he sensed her trepidation, because he added, "It's only for a short while, Mary. Lucky wants you safe from Barlowe's reach. When we discussed this, Lucky mentioned that you have a farm in the mountains. But I'm afraid that is still too close."
Ian moved closer. "Mary, tonight we have the perfect opportunity to get out of the bay and have a solid head start if anyone were to chase us," Ian whispered. "We have a high tide, fog, and an almost full moon. The constable has not yet sent for help from the military, something he might do as a preventive measure. We can't have that, or we will never escape. We have this one narrow window of opportunity, and the time for action is now."
"How will you get Lucky?" she asked, knowing there was always a guard in the building when there was a prisoner in the cell.
"He worried about getting you out," Ian said, "and you're worried about him... Mary, I promise you will not leave without him. We had this plan worked out earlier today. Now, we must go. Please, do as I ask, because we would not be able to do it without the help of the many others who have put their lives on the line as well. If we delay any longer, the danger will be all the greater to our friends."
Mary didn't have to think. "I'll do anything," she said.
"Good girl, Mary," the attorney replied.
For the next few minutes, they discussed how they were going to get Mary-Michael out of the children's home with her babe. She wasn't completely certain it would work, but she had to have faith in Lucky, Ian, and the rest of this family that was now hers.
When the time came, Lia left with Michael, saying for the benefit of the guard that she wished to spend some time with her husband and son, and would return in the morning. Almost exactly as they'd planned, when the outside guard went to take a break to relieve himself, Ian came around to her only window and she'd handed her precious Lucy through the vertical bars and into her brother-in-law's arms.
"Would that I could fit through as well," she whispered.
"I wouldn't be here if you could, would I?" He chuckled softly as he moved the child into a comfortable position, nestled in the crook of his arm.
"Do you have her securely? She wiggles—" Mary-Michael kissed her fingertips and pressed them to her daughter's cheek in a whisper-soft caress. She hoped the babe slept until he reached Lia at the inn where she waited. She didn't want her daughter's cries to ruin their plan and get them all thrown into the prison at the fort.
He gave her a rakish grin, his green eyes almost clear in the dim light of the candle in her room. "I have two of my own now, Contessa."
She gave him a curious look, wondering why he would address her as such as he'd not done that before now.
"Get used to it, my lady. It's who you are now."
She gave his words great thought while she was waited for the appointed hour, and she resolved that she would not be frightened of the future ahead. Lucky was right. This was about more than being vindicated. She wanted to live. Mr. Watkins had wanted her to experience life, not death. It was why he'd wanted her have her darling babe, and wanted her to marry again one day because he knew she was too young to live as a widow for the rest of her years.
A few hours after Ian left with Lucy, there was a shuffling outside the door, where the guard had likely had his pint of doctored ale and fallen asleep. Someone unlocked the solid wooden door and Sister Elizabeth, her dear friend since their girlhood days swept into the room with a change of clothing for her. Her friend helped her into the habit, and as she changed outfits, she said, "You are doing the right thing, Mary. If learning that he killed his own relative wasn't enough, knowing he had Mr. Baxter killed is! Poor Mrs. Baxter, however will she manage?"
"Please see to it that she wants for nothing until I return. T
ell the two earls I said this," Mary-Michael whispered, not wanting to alert the guard outside to what the two women were doing in her cell. "When I return, I will settle a nice pension on her for her husband's loyalty to Mr. Watkins."
"I will not be able to go to the docks as Becky and Cadence will undoubtedly do," Sister Elizabeth whispered, her blue-gray eyes filling with tears. "So I shall say goodbye here."
"I will be back, Sister. I will. Watkins Shipbuilding is mine, entrusted to me by a very special man," Mary-Michael began to cry also. "And... until I return, Ian Ross is here. The captain has just as much interest in protecting the shipyard as I. Remember, he was born here and his father was one the founders, along with Mr. Watkins and Father Douglas."
She nodded. "I will love you always and pray for your family daily. When I have time I will write."
"Please do," Mary-Michael said, adjusting the wimple. "I'll do the same. Give all the children and Rachel my love as well, and thank Sister Euphrenia for the potion."
Sister Elizabeth nodded. "That wimple is perfect. No one can tell you're a red-head."
Mary-Michael kissed her friend's cheeks. "Please ask George to forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye, but tell him I promise to return soon—as soon as possible." She wiped her hands down the front of her frock and smoothed out the fold. "I guess it's time," Mary-Michael said.
The nun nodded. "Keep your head down as you leave the room," her friend whispered. "The hall is dark. Should the guard inside stir, he'll not know the difference. Sister Anne is in the kitchen waiting to help you leave since the constable now has all the doors and your window guarded. She'll give you some of your husband's favorite pie that was left from last night and tell the guard that you are bringing food to the rectory kitchen for the priests' breakfast." They squeezed hands. "Remember not to stop until you reach the rectory. Your captain's nephew is waiting there with another change of clothing for you. He will escort you safely through the village to the docks." The young nun kissed Mary-Michael on the cheeks. "Whatever you do, do not stop, do not turn back."
As Mary-Michael stepped over the sleeping guard's legs on her way to the kitchens, she remembered how much she loved this place. It had been her home as a young girl, and the girls she'd grown up with were her family, no matter the chosen paths they'd taken. She loved this home, and the people inside. As she walked toward the rectory, she prayed that God would keep them all safe until she returned.
Lucky paced the inside of the tiny cell inside the village's jail. Three steps. That was all it took to go from the iron-barred window, facing the back side of the brick courthouse to the iron-barred door. There was no bed, only a pile of straw and blankets in the corner of the room that he wouldn't lay his head on if his life depended on it. The earthen floor muffled the sound of his steps as the nearly full moon through the fog-shrouded night cast an eerie blue light outside the bars.
The entire jail had the noxious odor of damp, moldy straw and wet dirt. He was thankful that Mary's attorney and priest had the forethought to move her from here before their daughter was born. The smell alone was enough to make him ill. Then he remembered Mary saying she'd had spent several days here before they allowed her to go to the children's home. For that alone, he could kill Barlowe.
He reached for his pocket watch, and realized yet again he didn't have it on him, the constable had taken it when he'd been arrested. But even without it, Lucky knew it wouldn't be much longer. He scanned the courtyard, as he did with each lap of the tiny cell. This time he thought he saw something move in the shadows near the building across the way. He squinted, trying to make out what it was through the fog. He recognized the dark blond hair when it crossed close to a lamp in the glowing fog and knew. It was time.
He smiled in the dark cell, an undercurrent of excitement coursing through him making him eager to be gone from here and with the woman he'd fallen in love with over the past two years. Mary. In less than one hour, he would have her in his arms again. In less than two hours they would be hanging every sail his Lady M had and as the sun rose, he hoped to be past Sparrow's Point and in the bay. From there, another ten hours and they would reach open ocean.
Only then would he relax, for he knew no one could catch them. They just had to make it past the mouth of the Chesapeake.
Minutes after Lucky saw movement in the shadows, Ren came through the front door to the jail-house, Ian behind him. There was a momentary scuffle as the guard tried to reach for a weapon. With one swing of his meaty fist, Ian rendered the man unconscious. Ren took the keys off the guard, as Ian lifted the man over his shoulder.
"The door Your Grace," Ian said.
When the iron-barred door swung open, Lucky walked out and Ian went in, dropping his baggage on the pile of filth in the corner.
"Thank you, gentlemen," he whispered to his two brothers-in-law, men he couldn't love and respect more.
As quietly as he was able, Ren locked the door and pocketed the keys. Lucky led the way through the village, as he, Ren and Ian clung to the alleyways behind the businesses in Indian Point, heading toward the dock where a boat waited to take them out to the Lady M.
Once they were away from the center of the village, and safely on Watkins property, Lucky asked, "Were you able to get a crew of men to tow us out?" During the past week, he'd been a frequent visitor to the offices, and had messages for Mary-Michael from her employees. The men who made Watkins Shipyard wanted her safe return to Indian Point, and he was charged with getting this message to her. It was something he looked forward to sharing with her.
Ian nodded. "Becky and David gathered men who were sympathetic to Mary's cause, most of whom are her employees," he whispered. "We have two tow boats from the shipyard, and strong, loyal friends of Mary's."
"Is Mary on the M yet?" Lucky asked the question uppermost in his mind.
"She and Marcus should be at the dock waiting for us," Ren said. "We had to time this so no one had to stand about waiting."
At the dock, the trio met Michael, Marcus and a trouser-clad Mary, her hair piled under a boy's cap. This was the first time he'd seen her in her trousers since the year before. Her lean frame was more womanly now that she'd had a child. Their child. In the glow of a nearly full moon, she was the most beautiful woman in the world to him—and she was his. He knew he was mostly to blame for the trouble she'd been in the past few months, and as he'd told Father Douglas earlier that day, he would happily spend the rest of his life showing her how much he loved her, and apologizing for what had happened. But first he had to get her on the M, and get the ship out of the smaller Curtis Bay and into the Chesapeake.
Lucky could make out the form of two other women next to her, likely her friends. When she spied him headed her way, she ran into his arms and he held her as though his own life depended on her next breath. He lifted her off her feet and swung her to and fro before remembering they had company and setting her down.
Her smile, more brilliant than the stars on cloudless ocean, shined up at him and he kissed her repeatedly. "I told you I was not leaving here without you," he said between kisses. "Do you believe me now?"
She nodded into his shoulder, and it was then he realized she was crying. She pulled away from him and pointed to the two longboats below, filled with men who'd once worked for her and Spenser Watkins. "Look," she said through her tears. "They all came to help."
Lucky took the hat from her head and her braid fell down her back. She had to know there were hundreds of people in her little village of Indian Point who loved her, who would help her, and who wanted her to return. But, for some reason, she was still the little girl trying to keep her world from falling apart when she felt abandoned. She had such a difficult time with trusting others to care, and Lucky knew that the situation with Potts and Barlowe was likely not the first time.
He would have to prove to her that not everyone left forever. Sometimes people leave and return.
"Mary-Michael, don't forget your pies." Becky handed her two
linen-wrapped bundles.
Looking up at him, Mary said, "One is from Sister Anne, the other is from Becky."
Cady shot a cautious look toward her husband, deep in conversation with David and Ian, then turned to Lucky and whispered, "My husband doesn't know it, but I buy my pies from Becky. With five children, I don't have time to bake."
"I have a favor to ask you both," Mary addressed her friends. "Please have the house here opened for Captain Ross-Mackeever and Lord Camden since they are staying. Send for Sally, Victor and Ezra to tend the gentlemen, and provide them with whatever they need for the time they remain here."
"Keep an accounting and we will repay you upon our return," Lucky told the two women who were his wife's best friends.
"I would never, Captain. You don't understand..." The dark-haired Becky Parks' voice cracked with emotion.
Cady Humphries took up where her friend left off. "Captain, there are so many of us here who are thankful that you arrived when you did and saved Mary-Michael from Barlowe's reach. We will do everything in our power to see to it that your kinfolk are taken care of until they can return to their families."
Lucky reached for her hand and pulled her close to his side. "My wife and I will return as soon as we are able." He kissed the top of her head. "My home is with Mary, and her home is here." Next to him, Mary began to tremble just as Ian called for them to climb down into the long boats. She hugged her friends a last time, and Lucky led her to the bulkhead where steps led down to the boats.