“Yes, Daisy, who was it?”
“Miss Pierce, Miss,” Daisy said.
Adele dropped the book on the floor and jumped to her feet. “Miss Pierce?” she said, her face white with shock. “Where?”
“She is waiting in the salon, Miss. Shall I bring in tea?”
She watched as Adele gathered her wits.
Now this is strange. Why is a houseguest we’ve had for a full week suddenly causing such ado?
“What? Yes. No, wait.”
“Yes, Miss?”
She could see Adele was thinking hard. Her eyes were darting about the room as if she were looking for something.
To imagine that my Georgie might need to die so that this calculating wretch could continue on!
Adele walked over to Daisy and grabbed her arm. Daisy gasped in surprise.
“I’m afraid, Daisy,” Adele hissed, “that I’ve discovered a fairly serious crime has been committed in the house and all evidence points to you.”
Daisy’s mouth fell open.
“Yes, and as you know, what with this being the household of a Federal Judge, you wouldn’t be able to expect any leniency, which is why I’m frankly astounded you would have the nerve to steal from me.”
“Steal from…” Daisy looked at her employer as if it might be possible the woman had gone mad before her eyes. “You are accusing me of—”
“I have proof, Daisy, that you stole a diamond bracelet from my jewelry box.”
Daisy put a hand out to touch the wall to try to steady herself. The room felt like it was shimmering.
Could this be happening?
“I’m afraid,” Adele continued, “that I’ll have to contact the police immediately and you’ll be imprisoned, probably for the rest of your life. Unless…”
Daisy’s head snapped back to look at Adele. Her eyes searched the young woman’s face.
Of course.
She cleared her throat. “Unless, Miss?”
“You will take Miss Pierce to the wharf. You will see to it that she doesn’t come back—that she never comes back.” Adele stared at her, her eyes dark and unreadable. “Can you do that, Daisy?”
“You want me to…to kill her.”
“I don’t care who does it. I’m doing this for your sake, Daisy. Of course, if you tell anyone, I’ll deny it and you will go to prison. You don’t doubt that, do you?” Adele patted her coif in place, her eye now on the door. “Get your hat and meet Miss Pierce in the foyer in ten minutes.”
As Adele swept from the room, rudely brushing Daisy’s shoulder as she left, a wave of euphoria engulfed Daisy that at first she didn’t understand until she stood in the library alone for several moments more.
And then it came to her.
It was twenty minutes until two o’clock. She was going to be at the corner of Whitehead and Fleming with a young woman.
Georgie wasn’t going to die. And she wasn’t going to prison.
***
Ella had never heard the Morton house so quiet but for that she was glad. Although she wouldn’t mind giving Lawrence a piece of her mind, all she really wanted to do was grab the derringer, reassure everyone that she was alive, and get back to Rowan.
She knew she was going to have to tell Rowan about Lawrence, but she had enough on her plate at the moment without worrying about the assault charge that would surely follow when Rowan throttled Lawrence within an inch of his life.
There was plenty of time to tell him later.
Much later.
She looked out the salon window that faced Main Street and saw that the storm was definitely building up outside. She had never seen so many dark roiling clouds in the sky since she landed in Key West.
“Ella! You’re back!”
Ella turned to see Adele rushing into the room, her face flushed bright with color.
“Hey, Adele. Sorry about leaving so suddenly.”
“Not at all. I’m just glad you’re safe. You won’t be surprised to know Lawrence was very worried.”
“Yeah, right. Listen. There’s a thing or two I left upstairs that I’d like to retrieve.”
“You’re not leaving us?”
“Actually, I am. I’m…taking a room at a hotel. So that’s where I’ll be.”
“I see.”
“So, can I go up to my old room and get my stuff?”
“Ella, as I understand it, Lawrence has all your belongings with him. He…I heard him say he was going to put them some place safe.”
“You’re talking about my jewels?”
“Yes, but he also admitted that he made a terrible mistake and he wishes to return the gems to you as, if you are sincere in your desire to break the engagement, they, of course, rightfully belong to you.”
“That would definitely make life a whole lot easier. When is he coming back?”
“Well,” Adele said, as the maid Daisy came to stand in the door. “As it happens, my maid is running an errand for me in town. I’ve arranged to have her take you to where Lawrence is spending the afternoon—at an attorney’s office, I believe. He’ll be able to return your things to you there.”
“Okay,” Ella said slowly. She needed the derringer, too and she was pretty sure Lawrence hadn’t discovered it under the mattress. But the maid looked like she was in a hurry and the jewels were more important. If she and Rowan could have even a little money it would make all the difference in their being able to live comfortably in Key West until it was time for them to leave. Even better, it meant they could actually buy Rowan’s lighter back from the pirate captain. The gun wasn’t going anywhere. She’d get it another time.
She stuck her hand out. “Thank you for all that you’ve done for me, Adele,” she said. “You were a big help.”
“Not at all, Ella,” Adele said, shaking her hand. “I was glad to help.” An undecipherable look came over Adele’s face. If Ella didn’t know better, she’d say it was a look of guilt.
“I see you’ve lost your bonnet,” Adele said, jumping up and going to the coat hook outside the salon door. “It’s a hot day. I insist you take one of mine.”
“I couldn’t possibly.”
“I know you don’t care, but proper ladies don’t go out in public without a hat. Please. Do it for me.”
Ella shrugged and took the bonnet. It was the new brown silk one that Adele had bought the day before. “Sure, Adele. Thanks. It will help against the sun.” She pulled it on and tied the ribbons under her chin. “Now what’s the address that Lawrence—”
“Daisy knows it. Don’t you, Daisy?”
“Yes, Miss.”
“Great. Okay,” Ella said. “See you later, then.”
As they left the house, it was all Ella could do not to shout with the pleasure of how things had turned out. She couldn’t wait to tell Rowan that she’d gotten the jewels back. She glanced at the Cuban maid, but as usual the woman was not inviting conversation. Her face looked like a grim mask. That suited Ella.
The storm was definitely building and the humidity in the air was frizzing even the fake hair extensions in Ella’s coif. When the maid picked up her pace, Ella was happy to match it. Maybe she could get the jewels and book a room at a hotel before the rain started.
One thing is for sure, you want to be some place nice and dry when this one hits. It looks ugly from the ground up.
“Is it by the wharf then?” Ella asked as Daisy turned down Fleming Street.
“No, Miss. Not that far. Just at the end of this street.”
As the two hurried down the boardwalk, Ella could already see some shops had wood nailed to the glass fronts. No one had any idea what was coming, but clearly it was better to expect the worst than be surprised.
When they reached the corner, Ella noticed there were fewer people on the street. She also noticed that Daisy had stopped walking.
“Which office is it?” Ella asked. She squinted down the street. She could see the harbor from here and several boats already rocking in the water as the wind pi
cked up.
When Daisy didn’t answer, Ella turned to look at her she saw that the woman had dropped her handbag and was bending over to pick it up.
The next thing Ella felt was the shock of hard hands grabbing her from behind as a large burlap sack was yanked over her face. She struggled but her arms were pinned to her sides, and when she sucked in a full breath to scream, her nostrils, mouth and lungs were choked with a sweet, cloying odor that made her gag until darkness claimed her.
23
It was like something out of a movie.
A very old movie.
Ella opened just her eyes for fear of bringing attention to herself—or activating what felt like a nascent but powerful headache rampaging in her skull. She found herself lying on a narrow bed; the linens smelled male but not unpleasant. If not exactly clean, they were at least not malodorant. As she looked around the room, no bigger than a medium-sized walk-in closet from any tract housing development in Atlanta, she could see she was alone. This particular walk-in closet, however, was moving.
Her eyes flicked to the single porthole. She could see only gray sky and black clouds but it was clear the ship was underway.
Her anxiety ratcheted up at the thought of once more moving away from Rowan and she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Her head protested with a loud throbbing accompanied by a clanging she was sure was audible only to her. She put a hand to her head and squeezed her eyes shut against the pain.
She’d been drugged, and in 1825 it was anybody’s guess with what.
“You are alive, I see.”
Ella snapped her head in the direction of the voice and gasped. He’d been sitting there all along, but with his dark clothes had blended in with the dark wood of the room’s walls. He sat with complete composure, one ankle resting on his knee, a hand dangling confidently from the armrest of the chair where he lounged. Even in the gloom of the lightless room, she could detect his certainty and poise.
And why not? This was his room, his ship. And she was his captive.
He smiled and she was astonished to discover he had a pleasant face, even handsome. His hair was jet-black and hung to his collar. He wore a deep burgundy silk headscarf that accentuated his black eyebrows and the afternoon beard that daily shaves clearly couldn’t keep up with.
When he smiled, his teeth were white and straight.
Unusual for this time.
“Who are you?” she croaked, her hand dropping from her head to her blouse. Someone had unbuttoned it, but it appeared to be more to make her comfortable than to explore her person.
“I am Captain Erik Sully of the Die Hard, Miss Morton,” the pirate said, continuing to grin. “At your service.”
This is Sully? This is the pirate who kidnapped Rowan? Without meaning to, Ella turned to scan the furniture in the room. That meant the lighter might be here somewhere! If she could only find it and get away…
“If that’s so,” she said, forcing herself to look back at the pirate, “then you can let me go at once and I’ll think about not reporting you to Commodore Porter.”
His eyebrows shot up as if she had something interesting and she watched him narrow his eyes at her. His smile never left his lips. “My fullest admiration for Commodore Porter not withstanding,” he said getting up from his chair, “I’m afraid that’s not possible. You see, I have a meeting later today with your father and it is rather important that you be in my custody until it is concluded.”
Ella scooted across the cot until her back was against the wooden slats of the cabin wall. “You’d better not do anything you’ll regret,” she said, her heart pounding in her throat as he loomed over her.
“You mean something which might get me hanged?” Sully laughed as he sat on the bed next to her. In one smooth motion he pulled her onto his lap, pinning her arms at her sides. Ella struggled and twisted her head away. When she did, the remaining buttons of her bodice popped open exposing her left breast.
“Why, Miss Morton,” Sully said, licking his lips lasciviously. “All you needed to do was ask.”
“You bastard!” Ella cried as he released one hand to take her breast and gently tuck it back inside her blouse. Shocked by the civil gesture, she wasn’t prepared when he suddenly leaned over and placed his mouth over hers, his tongue probing past her teeth but darting away before she could clamp down on it.
When he pulled back, he looked at her quizzically, his dark eyebrows pushed together to form a frown as if confused about something.
“I know you,” he said softly. For the span of those three words, Ella had an unassailable sense that all guile had dropped away. It was as if he had uttered the words involuntarily.
“I can’t imagine how,” she gasped, squirming out of his grasp and pulling her knees up to form a barrier between them. “I don’t hang out with pond scum as a general rule.”
He continued to look at her as if confused. His eyes dropped to her breasts, covered now but clearly defined by her thin blouse. “It’s the way you speak,” he said slowly. His eyes darted up to capture hers. “You’re a traveler.”
Oh, my God. Rowan was right. Sully is a time traveler too!
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, trying to sound scoffing. “I traveled to get to Key West like everybody else did.”
“Except ‘everybody else’ doesn’t know it as Key West.” He gave her an unreadable look and stood up. “Yet.”
Ella said nothing. She hadn’t meant to reveal so much. She wasn’t sure it was a good thing for him to know she was also a time traveler. It was clear he thought she was Adele for purposes of threatening or extorting the judge. What wasn’t clear was what he would do when he found out she wasn’t Adele. She imagined her worth to him would plummet significantly.
“My father won’t negotiate with you,” she said, bluffing with all her heart.
Sully walked to the door, obviously intent on leaving, but she could see he was still troubled. He turned to look at her. “He’s already agreed to it. You’re just the insurance to make sure he doesn’t change his mind.”
Without another word, he exited the cabin and she heard a bolt slam down from the outside. She hopped off the bed and ran to the porthole. Outside was nothing but water as far as she could see. She couldn’t tell if it was the Gulf side or the Atlantic, but one thing was certain…Key West was nowhere in sight. The rain had started and the wind had picked up too. She watched the large ominous clouds as they blew across the sky. A storm was coming. A bad one, by the looks of it.
She returned to the cot and tried to take stock. Who knew she was missing? Adele’s maid did, but there was every reason to believe she was in on the kidnapping. Rowan will have figured out by now that she hadn’t returned to the pub room. But will he know where to go to look for her? Now she wished she’d told him about Lawrence and the Mortons. Without that piece of the puzzle, he’ll have no way of knowing when or where she disappeared. Will he even think to come to the ship? Why would he?
She gnawed on a ragged cuticle and listened to the sounds of the sailors—pirates, she supposed—going about the business of sailing the ship. Her eyes glanced around the room. Then she went to the small built-in desk and yanked open the single drawer.
There, nestled among a handful of gold doubloons, snuffboxes and gambling dice was Rowan’s lighter.
Ella snatched it up and felt a rush of joy. Step one, Rowan! We’ve got your ticket out of here and that’s one step closer than we were.
She turned the lighter to reread the inscription she had engraved on it three years ago and felt her euphoria drain away. One step closer if you don’t count the fact I’m a prisoner on a pirate ship heading to God knows where.
Ella pocketed the lighter. When she thought of the arrogance, the self-absorbed conceit that made someone think they could take valuables from another person, it made her want to take a musket to the captain.
Ella sat back down on the bed and fingered the smooth, heavy shape of Rowan�
��s lighter in her pocket. Who in the world was this Captain Sully? If Rowan was right, he wasn’t from this time—even though he fit in perfectly. Was he evil, as Rowan said?
But he could have attacked her just now and didn’t. And what was all that about helping her cover herself? What sense did that make? He was almost…nice.
Why didn’t he take advantage of the situation? He clearly looked if not about to rape her to at least strongly seduce her—but in the end he didn’t.
Why not?
Once he concludes his business with the judge will he her let go?
Ella drew in a long breath. Clearly, she was trapped in this room with no chance of escape until someone came for her. Might as well stay calm and try to come up with a plan of some kind.
God knows what the next several hours might hold for her.
As she leaned back into the rough pillow on the bed, her eyes fell on the spine of a leather book standing by itself on Sully’s desk. At first when she saw it, the glittering gold of the graphic as it danced vertically down the narrow cover, she didn’t recognize what she was seeing. Suddenly, she bolted from the bed and grabbed up the book.
On the cover was the distinct insignia of two hearts joined with the large letter V intersecting them. Her hands began to shake. It was the unique marking that she had seen all her life on the tiny gold locket that she wore around her neck even at this moment.
***
Rowan held the hard, twisting lines of the tackle in his hands and looked out over the rail lines of the Die Hard. When they lifted anchor a few hours ago he was surprised, but he could hardly jump ship now. He hated making Ella worry but it couldn’t be helped. This was his one chance to get that damn lighter back.
They were only going as far as the Dry Tortugas, he reasoned. Toad assured the crew they’d be back whoring and drinking in Cayo Hueso within twenty-four hours.
As for the quartermaster himself, he had been shocked and not necessarily pleased to see Rowan again. But he’d taken him on. Whether for the exceptional strength that Rowan’s size brought to the crew or the prospect of future opportunities to maim and humiliate him was, at this point, unknowable.
Race to World's End (Rowan and Ella Book 3) Page 21