Marianne listened to the cheers and howls blaring down from above as the men manning the gun congratulated themselves on their good aim.
Holding her breath, she searched the waves. No, Lord, no. Her heart felt as though it would explode in her chest. She squinted into the darkness, refusing to tear her gaze away, refusing to admit they were gone. Then slowly, one by one, three heads surfaced, barely discernable in the darkness. She released a heavy breath. They were alive!
But the boat was gone. Obliterated.
Her only way to be rescued swallowed up by the ravenous waves.
Did the crew above see that Noah and his men had survived? She listened for their excited chatter and for the sounds of the gun being reloaded, but only the slosh of the sea against the hull and the pop of distant musket fire swept past her ears.
She leaned her head against the stern. It was cold and wet against her cheek. Her lungs filled with the smell of wood and tar. It was over. Noah had tried.
She would forever be grateful to him for that.
Anguish squeezed every nerve and fiber, threatening to crush her heart. Perhaps getting off this ship was not part of her destiny. Oh Lord, I don’t think I can bear it. She would miss Noah terribly. And what would become of her mother and sister? Tears barely left her eyes before the breeze batted them away. The cruel wind allowed her no time to mourn.
Yet hadn’t she surrendered all to God, no matter His will?
Or was it only when things happened the way she desired that she would give herself freely to Him?
I am sorry, Lord. If I am to stay on this ship, then I will stay.
Her hands burned against the rope’s rough fibers.
Bracing her feet on the hull, she slowly pulled herself up. Better to face whatever punishment the captain would wield upon her for breaking his window than drown all alone. That was, if he didn’t also discover she’d cut the tiller. Who knew what hideous fate awaited her then.
One final glance over the sea told her Noah and his men must have swum back to the Fortune. Good. They were safe.
Then a faint splashing from below caressed her ears. Looking down, she squinted. Tingles ran across her arms. Noah’s head popped from beneath the choppy waves. He reached the tip of the lame rudder and gazed up.
“Go back, you fool!” she shouted.
He snapped wet strands of his hair from his face and grinned. “I come to rescue you and you call me a fool?”
Marianne inched down the rope closer to him. “Yes! When that is how you are behaving. What do you think you are doing?”
“I have already told you.”
“Are you mad?”
“Definitely.” He smiled again.
Marianne huffed. Part of her screamed in fear for Noah’s life while another part of her screamed in ecstasy at his chivalrous action.
“Go away before they see you!” She waved him off.
A swell splashed over him and he shook the water from his face. “I’m not leaving without you.”
“You have no boat.”
“I have my back.”
Marianne’s fingers grew numb. They slipped on the rope. “Are you daft? I can’t come down there.”
“Yes you can.”
“You know we are both already dead.”
“Probably.”
His nonchalant tone jarred Marianne. She searched for a glimpse of his expression, to know if he smiled or if fear tightened his features, but the descending shadows stole his visage from her.
“Jump, Marianne. If we are to die, I would rather die in your arms.”
Her heart melted as tears filled her eyes. “Don’t be such a romantic goose.”
A sound came from the captain’s cabin. Marianne’s mouth went dry. “Leave! I beg you before they discover you.” Her voice broke in a sob. “I will not have your death on my hands.”
“I will not leave you.”
“But I’m asking you to. Please? For me?”
Marianne glanced toward the Fortune, but the ship had moved. A nebulous shadow skating on an eerie mist drifted toward them.
“It’s time, princess. Jump!”
She shook her head. Her blood turned to ice. “I can’t. You know I cant.”
“Ah, but you can. You have only to trust me.” He clung to the rudder chain with one hand as he held up the other. “I’ll catch you, and you can hold onto my back while I swim.”
“We’ll sink.” Pictures of her father’s bloated white body swelled in her vision. She gazed down. Below the surface of the murky sea, nothing but cold and dark extended to a bottomless pit.
“We won’t sink. I’m a strong swimmer.” Noah’s confident tone held a hint of panic.
Terror clogged in her throat. She couldn’t speak.
“Trust me.” He waved her on with his hand. “Come, we haven’t much time.”
Trust. She’d sworn never to trust anyone again.
“Marianne, I promise I’ll catch you.” Urgency and conviction fired from his voice.
“Trust Me.” The words rose from deep within her, strong and convicting and filled with promise.
“Lord, You want me to jump?” she whispered.
“Yes. Trust Me, beloved. I’ll always be there to catch you.” Marianne’s eyes burned with tears. The rope tugged in her hand.
“Ah, here you are.” A familiar voice dribbled down upon her.
Marianne slowly raised her gaze to the stern windows where the dark barrel of a pistol hovered over her forehead.
CHAPTER 30
Lieutenant Reed.” All hope fled Marianne, turning her muscles into mush.
He leaned over the window frame, a pistol in one hand, a knife in the other. “Look what I found lying beside the slashed tiller ropes.”
Marianne’s head grew light. Her fingers slipped on the rough hemp.
“Come up here, Miss Denton at once, or I’ll be forced to shoot you.”
She studied his face, but it was too dark to see his expression. “Please, Mr. Reed, let us go.”
“Lieutenant, I beg you!” Noah shouted from below.
“Beg all you want, Mr. Brenin.” Mr. Reed’s voice held the pompous ring of the London ton. “But you and this lady are enemies of England. Together you have disabled a British frigate, and you must pay the consequences.”
“Take me instead!” Noah yelled.
“No, Noah!” The ship hefted over a swell, sending the rope swinging. Marianne’s stomach tightened. Her fingers ached. Pain burned across her palms. Bracing her feet on the stern, she settled the line.
“Let her go and take me,” Noah shouted louder this time. “She’s a lady and should not be entangled in the wars of men.”
“Very heroic, Mr. Brenin.” Mr. Reed’s voice carried none of the expected sarcasm. “But my life and my career are on the line. I’ve too much at risk to care about the lives of two Yankee rebels.”
A heaviness settled on Marianne. All was lost. With one last glance at Noah, she inched her way up the rope. “Go back, Noah. He can’t shoot us both.”
“I told you, I’m not leaving you.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks, cooled by the night breeze. “Noah, please.” She continued climbing. Nearly at the ledge, she halted and glanced up. The knife in Mr. Reed’s hand blurred into a silver streak. The knife. Of course. “Mr. Reed, if memory serves me well, it was you who allowed me to keep that knife.” Threads of strength wove through her trembling voice.
“For protection only.”
“But you did allow me to keep it.”
“Yes.”
“And I did slash the tiller ropes with it.”
Nothing but the creak of the ship responded.
Marianne gathered her resolve and said a silent prayer. “If I stay on this ship, I will inform the captain of such. And from what little I know of your precious Articles of War, I would say that information will not bode well for your naval career.”
The shadow that was Mr. Reed remained frozen in place.
&
nbsp; “However, if you grant Noah and me our freedom, Captain Milford need never find out.”
Voices barreled down from above. “There’s a man on our rudder chain!”
Mr. Reed withdrew the pistol. She heard him sigh. His shadow shifted. Boot steps thundered.
Reed gazed down at her. “Jump and be quick about it.”
Marianne glanced at the dark water gurgling beneath her feet.
More boot steps. More voices shouting.
“Do it now!” Mr. Reed hissed, then he disappeared from the window.
“Trust me, Marianne.” Noah’s voice of assurance wrapped around her from below.
But she couldn’t see him in the darkness. Would he catch her?
A light appeared in the captain’s cabin, spilling over the ledge like a glittering waterfall.
“Trust Me.”
“There’s a woman out here!”
Words from the book of Esther drifted through Marianne’s mind—words Esther said after she had decided to follow God and trust Him.
“If I perish, I perish.”
Marianne let go of the rope.
If not for Marianne’s scream and the shadow of her falling body blocking the light streaming from the stern windows, Noah wouldn’t have been ready to catch her. But catch her, he did.
She barely hit the surface of the sea before he reached out and grabbed her waist. Together they plunged under the water.
Zip zip. Bullets sped by his ears. Grabbing the thrashing woman, Noah dove deeper into the cold, wet void. Darkness surrounded him. The sounds of shouting and the tap of musket fire combined in a muted undersea chorus.
Lord, please save us.
His lungs ached. He dragged a squirming Marianne to the surface.
With effort, he held her face above water. She heaved and spewed up the sea, then screamed.
He covered her mouth and dove again just as the air filled with musket shot.
She writhed in his grasp, kicking her legs. She struck him in the groin. Agony burned down his thighs. He surfaced, biting back a wail of pain. The sea slapped his face. Marianne gasped for air.
One glance over the choppy black waves told him Matthew had not obeyed his last command. The Defender slid through the ebony waters just twenty yards away and began to slow.
Too close. The Undefeatable could reach his ship with their swivel guns.
“It will be all right, Marianne.” He whispered between breaths what he no longer believed then wiped a strand of hair from her eyes. “Hang onto my back and hold your breath.”
She nodded. A burst of light came from the Undefeatable‘s stern, highlighting the terror on her face.
Boom! He pushed her below the surface then dove beside her. The shot struck only a few feet to their right. A wall of water crashed into them, shoving them through the sea.
Noah broke through the waves again. “Hold on.” He placed her hands on his shoulders then plunged through the frothing waves. She groped frantically at his shirt, her legs flailing. She clutched his neck. Pain shot through his shoulders. His throat constricted. But she held on.
Tap tap tap. More musket fire sped around them, peppering the sea.
Every muscle in Noah’s body screamed in agony. His lungs throbbed. Marianne’s weight felt like an anchor on his back, threatening to sink them both.
Lord, help.
Noah’s head grew light. He began to sink.
Cold water closed in on him from all around. His mind went numb. It was all over. He had failed.
A strong hand grabbed his arm.
His head popped above the surface. He heaved for air, but Marianne’s tight grip on his throat barely allowed a breath to enter his lungs.
“Hold on to me.” Blackthorn’s voice, thick with effort and concern, sounded like heavenly music in Noah’s ears.
Behind him, Marianne gasped. Her hot breath fanned his shoulder.
He felt himself being dragged through the water.
The smell of wood filled his nose. His hand struck the moist hull. His ship.
Blackthorn placed Noah’s hand on the rope ladder. “Can you climb?”
Unable to speak, Noah nodded. Grabbing the rope with one hand, he tried to pry Marianne’s hands off of his neck with the other.
Her firm grip told him she was alive. But he needed to see her. To make sure she wasn’t injured.
Blackthorn assisted him in loosening her grip.
Gulping air, Noah swung around. He couldn’t make out her face in the darkness. “Are you all right?”
She leaned on his shoulder, her chest heaving.
Grasping her waist, Noah tightened his grip on the rope and glanced aloft.
“Ahoy up,” he commanded as loud as he dared. Groans filtered down as the ladder rose along the side of the hull. Or what remained of the hull still above water.
Matthew clutched Noah’s arm and helped him and Marianne over the bulwarks. Blackthorn thumped onto the deck behind them.
Marianne’s brown hair hung to her waist in saturated strands. She let out a shuttering sob and started to topple. Noah grabbed her and drew her close. Her cold, wet body trembled against his.
“You came for me,” she whispered, her voice raspy and filled with wonder.
Noah embraced her and kissed her forehead as the shadows of his crew surrounded them, muttering congratulations and patting him on the back.
“I can’t believe you did that, Cap’n,” Mr. Rupert exclaimed.
“Ain’t never seen anything like it,” another sailor added.
“We thought you was sunk for sure.” Mr. Boone chortled.
In the distance, the stern lights of the Undefeatable winked at them as the mighty frigate drifted listlessly out of sight.
And out of gun range.
Huzzahs rang from his crew.
Emerging from the shadows, Daniel dashed to Marianne’s side. “I told you God had a plan.”
“Yes, you did.” She pressed the boy close. “Yes, you did.”
Noah still clung to Marianne, refusing to release her, too afraid she’d disappear. Her face was just inches from his. Her sweet breath wafted over him. He peered through the darkness for a glimpse into those lustrous brown eyes where he hoped to find appreciation, admiration, and perhaps even—love.
But they were lost to him in the shadows.
Agnes dashed toward Marianne. “Oh, you poor dear.”
Reluctantly releasing her to the older woman, Noah gazed in the distance where he could still make out the lights from the Constitution.
“All hands aloft! Unfurl all sail!” He faced the helm. “Head for the Constitution, Mr. Pike.”
“Aye, aye, Cap’n.” Yet absent was the usual confidence in the helmsman’s voice.
Luke brayed the orders, sending the men aloft, then took his spot beside Noah. He huffed and shifted his stance.
But Noah knew what troubled the man before he opened his mouth. He knew because as the sails filled with wind, the ship barely moved. Hull down, she slogged forward like an anchor dragging over the bottom of the sea.
“We will sink before we reach them. If we reach them.” Luke’s words of defeat landed like grapeshot on Noah’s open wounds.
But he could not accept them. Not after all he’d endured.
Noah paced across the deck. “Light every lantern, Mr. Weller. Light every candle, every wick. And load one gun for a signal shot!” He glanced aloft where the American flag flapped from their foremast. Surely, with all lanterns blazing, the Constitution would spot the ensign and come to their rescue.
Oh Lord, open their eyes.
They had to see it. He stopped and clenched his fists. He had not risked his life and the lives of his entire crew just to see them all drowned.
Marianne could not stop trembling. And not because her gown was wet. They were sinking. And once again she would be thrust into the merciless sea.
Blackthorn called for Daniel. The lad squeezed her hand then darted to his father.
“Co
me below, dear. Let’s get you into some dry attire.” Agnes tugged on her wet sleeve but Marianne remained firm.
“Please, I don’t want to go below if we are to sink.” Her lips quivered making her words come out harsh.
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