Nathan nodded. That was what worried him. Rory would not give in to the pirate, no matter what he did to her. That thought had haunted him since he had rushed back to La Casa de las Flores to find that Rory had vanished. The warning that Yellow Hal Warwick had been seen in Havana had come too late. He should not have dismissed her fear as simple sun sickness.
When he discovered that Guillermo was missing as well, he and Ernest had gone to the harbor. It had been a shock when de Palma had met them there.
“Get out of my way!” Nathan had snarled at the harbormaster.
“Captain Lawler, I have a warning for you.”
“I have no time to listen.”
De Palma reached out to halt them but paused when Ernest pulled his pistol. “You will listen. Warwick has her.”
“I know.”
“He is headed east along the coast.”
With a laugh, Nathan said, “That I know, too.”
De Palma called after him, “He is hoping you’ll follow. He plans to trap you. I can tell you his plans.”
“Why are you betraying him?”
“I have my reasons.”
“Such as?” he pressed.
The harbormaster’s mouth curled into a grin. “Warwick refused me a share of the Raven’s gold, giving me only a pittance. Do you want his route, Lawler?”
He glanced at Ernest. They had no choice. They had to find Rory if they hoped to find the gold. “How much?”
“There are three of us here. A third would be fair.”
Ernest exploded. “A third? Why, de Palma, you—”
“Enough,” warned Nathan.
“Listen to your captain, Dawes.” A snide smile oozed across his face. “I can help you. A third.”
“All right. You will get a third of what we recover.”
“Cap’n!”
“You’ve said enough, Mr. Dawes.” He had glared at his first mate. He had thought that Ernest realized the chance for finding Rory and the gold was worth trading away a third of it. “Now, de Palma, what about that information?”
As he scanned the decks of the Scourge, he hoped de Palma had not betrayed him. No, the fact that Warwick’s ship had been sailing slowly, waiting for him to arrive, told him that his suspicions were true. Rory would not cooperate with the pirate.
The crew on the Scourge, which was far enough away so they could not board the Vengeance, began milling about the stern of the ship. Motioning to Ernest, Nathan pushed away from the rail and jumped down to a lower deck. There, they would not be such easy targets.
Ernest put a hand on his arm as Warwick strode across the deck of the Scourge. Hanging limply over his shoulder was Rory. “She can’t be dead, Cap’n. He wouldn’t be that foolish.”
“I hope you’re right.” He gritted his teeth as Warwick paused by the rail and propped Rory in front of him. When Warwick laughed and slapped her, he reached for his pistol.
“No, Cap’n!” whispered Ernest. “He wants to make you so angry you’ll do something stupid.”
Nathan swore as he crossed his arms in front of him. Raising his voice, he called, “So this is where you’ve run off to, Rory.”
“Nathan?” She lifted her face, and he could see the scarlet mark left by Warwick’s hand even through the rain. “Help me! Please help me!”
He heard Ernest curse vehemently, but he swaggered toward the lower rail. His men fell back so he could face his rival for the Raven’s gold.
“You have Rory,” he shouted, paying no attention to the rain coursing down his face. “Has she told you where the gold is?”
“Does she look as if she has been cooperating? The wench claims she doesn’t know a thing. Did she give you the map?”
“No. Do you think I would be here if I knew where the gold was?” He heard Ernest’s sharp intake of breath. Had Rory solved the final line of the poem? Warwick must believe she had.
He stepped forward again and rested his arms on the rail. A single glance at Rory told him that she was shocked he was talking only about the gold. What did she expect him to do when he faced Warwick, who had been searching for the treasure even longer than he had?
Warwick shoved Rory toward one of his crew. “Put her in my cabin. Herrera y Fallas, you go, too.”
Ernest swore again. “Why hasn’t he gotten rid of Herrera y Fallas yet?”
Waving him to silence, Nathan waited for Warwick to turn back toward him. “Be reasonable, Warwick!” he shouted. “Alone, neither of us is going to find the Raven and her treasure. Together, we might.”
“Why should I work with you? I have Powell’s daughter. Eventually, she will tell me what I need to know.”
Nathan laughed, knowing it would further vex Warwick. “What have you gotten from her? Nothing! Give her to me. I’ll get the truth from her.” He let an insolent tone slip into his voice. “I thought you might have learned long ago that you can’t woo anything you want from a woman with a beating.”
Rory heard no more as she was sent stumbling into the cabin. She dropped to her knees by the bed and leaned her head on it. Every part of her ached, but no part more than her heart. The Blindman was dead, and Nathan had just admitted that he was only using her. For so long, she had believed her father had used her mother and abandoned her for this gold. He had not, so it was even more ironic that his daughter had fallen in love with a man who was as heartless as she had thought Stuart Powell was. When a hand settled on her shoulder, she screamed and tried to scurry away.
“Mi querida, are you all right?”
She looked at the multitude of Guillermos above her. She blinked, but they all remained. “How are your fingers? I’m so sorry, Guillermo.”
He started at her words, then murmured, “Mi querida, don’t think of me. How are you?”
“I’ll be fine.” It was not quite a lie. These aches would heal. Her heart.… She was not so sure it would.
She choked back her fear as the door opened. Scrambling to her feet, she tried not to sway as she faced Yellow Hal.
He pushed past Guillermo, whose face lost all color. He grasped her torn dress and smiled. “Come with me, my girl. You’re going to be leaving us for a while.”
“Leaving you?” She stared at him. Unless he planned to throw her overboard, and he would not until he found the map, he must be sending her to.… She did not dare even think it.
“Lawler has missed you, Rory, my girl. He wants you enough to let you lead both of us to the treasure your fool of a father thought he could keep from me.” He herded her back out onto the deck.
She saw Guillermo’s shock before the door slammed. It could not be more than hers. Why had Yellow Hal agreed to something so ridiculous? Why had Nathan?
With each step, she staggered. Malicious laughter clanged in her ears. “Come along, Rory, my girl. I haven’t hurt you that badly … yet.”
In her mind, she spat curses at him, but she had no strength to speak them. Rory looked at the Vengeance. On her deck, Nathan stood, his arms crossed over his chest. How had he convinced Yellow Hal to relinquish her? Pain struck her like the pirate’s fist. Nathan probably had persuaded him with the same lies he had used to beguile her into falling in love with him.
He did not move as Yellow Hal lifted her into the Scourge’s small boat. A package wrapped in cloth was dropped into her hands, but she did not look at it.
Seven men clambered in before the boat was lowered to the sea. It took only a few pulls on the oars before they bumped against the Vengeance, where the rope ladder was dropped to them.
Rory was held back as five of Warwick’s men went up the side of the ship. They stood with their guns drawn and aimed at the crew. Realizing Yellow Hal had sent her things with her, she tied the cloth around her neck so she could climb. One man remained in the boat and rowed it back.
Ernest stepped forward. Putting his hand on Rory’s shoulder, he whispered, “Welcome aboard, Miss Rory.” He scowled past her at Yellow Hal’s men.
Rory smiled at him and squeezed his arm. Then she took
one step toward Nathan. Why didn’t he speak? She saw that his gaze was locked with Yellow Hal’s. She wanted to shout to raise the sails and abandon the Scourge to the wide seas.
Suddenly Nathan surged forward, grasped her arm, and spun her against him. He curled his arm around her shoulders and captured her lips. Tears burst from her as her fingers clenched his drenched shirt. She had thought she would never see him again. As he sprinkled kisses across her face, his lips brushed her ear.
“Trust me,” he whispered.
She looked at him, wondering what he had planned. He kissed her again. Hearing Yellow Hal’s men jeering, she grasped his face and pulled it back to hers. Against his lips, she whispered, “I have the map to the Raven. It’s hidden in my right shoe.” She did not pause before adding, “Nathan, I love you.”
He flinched. “Not now, Rory.” He looked past her.
“Yes, now!” She would not allow another minute to pass without being honest with him.
His face became blank. To hide his reaction from Yellow Hal’s men or from her? Holding her by the arm, he yelled across the water, “Rory and I are going to have a little talk. I will leave the cabin door open, so your men can see that I’m not betraying you.” He tilted Rory’s head back as he snarled, “You will tell me where to go, won’t you, my love?”
In his eyes, she saw his apology for treating her so roughly. He wanted Yellow Hal to think he cared only for the gold. Did he? She was no longer sure of anything, except that she loved him and she did not want Yellow Hal to have her father’s gold.
“I’ll tell you where to go!” She pulled away from him and raised her chin, paying no attention to the rain. “You and your friend Yellow Hal can go straight to—”
He silenced her with another kiss. Wanting to soften in his arms, she could not. She must look hurt and angry.
“You’ll do as I want,” he shouted.
Shoving him away, she cried, “Nathan! You care only for the gold.”
His laugh was borrowed from Yellow Hal. “Aurora Raven Mullins, do you think you’re worth more than a ship full of Spanish gold? It’s time you paid for your keep.”
As he tugged her toward his quarters, he surreptitiously put his arm around her waist to keep her on her feet. Yellow Hal’s men shouted more insults. She ignored them as she leaned more heavily on him with every step.
She sighed as they stepped out of the rain. Edging toward the bed, where she would be half-hidden from the deck, she slipped off her shoe and took out the two pages. She lowered her voice so the men from the Scourge could not hear and explained how she had solved the last line of the riddle.
His hand slipped through her wet hair as he whispered, “How badly did he hurt you?”
“Just what you see. My brain is a bit rattled, but—”
“He did no more than hit you?”
She stroked his chest. “He did not rape me.” Her breath caught. “Nathan, he murdered the Blindman.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it. With a sigh, he shook his head. “I should have listened to you and checked on him before we left Port Royal.”
“If you had, we might both be dead while Yellow Hal discovered my father’s gold.”
“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry.”
She smiled sadly. “As you said, Nathan, not now.”
Impatient growls came from the deck. As she opened the map, he put his hand over hers. “No, Rory. I know only one way to keep Warwick from murdering us, too. Memorize the map, then destroy it.”
“Destroy it?”
“Remember Warwick’s watchdogs are on deck. Memorize it, then rip it to shreds.”
“And throw them over the side?”
He smiled. “Nice touch. But make sure it’s the side away from the Scourge. I’ll chase you to try to get it back. Can you go fast enough to make it look real?”
“I will have to, but don’t be too fast.”
“It’s not me, but Warwick’s men I’m worried about.”
“They won’t stop me. I won’t let Yellow Hal have my father’s gold.”
His voice grew hard as it rose. “Come on, woman! I’ve had enough of your whining. Where is the map?”
She stabbed her finger at him. “I will give it to you, but don’t expect me to sleep with you any longer!”
“I told you that you’d give me what I wanted.” He dragged her into his arms, but left her enough space to read the map. Turning so he blocked anyone on deck from seeing her, he continued his tirade at her ingratitude to the man who had rescued her from Port Royal. After one especially sharp insult, she cocked an eyebrow at him. He grinned but did not pause.
She shredded the map and then the letter she wished she could have kept as a remembrance of the father who loved her. But to keep it might guarantee their deaths. “It’s destroyed,” she whispered.
He stepped toward her and shouted, “Give me the map!”
She backed through the door. Listening to the pirates’ laughter, she guessed none of them stood between her and the far rail. “It’s mine! My father gave it to me!”
“What would an urchin like you do with that gold? Give me the map, Rory, or I will show you some tricks Captain Warwick has not learned yet.”
“I won’t ever give it to you.” She ran and tossed the pieces over the rail. They were swallowed by the waves. “Thank you, Father,” she whispered. Taking a steadying breath, she turned and shouted, “No one knows where the Raven’s treasure is but me!”
A roar came from the Scourge. “Lawler, you let her cheat us out of all that gold! Stand by to be boarded. By God, she’ll tell me where it is!”
Nathan paid no attention to Yellow Hal’s threats as he advanced on her. His face distorted with anger. She cowered against the rail. When he raised his hand, she hid her face behind her arm.
“Stop, Cap’n!” Ernest shouted.
She peeked over her elbow to see him holding Nathan’s arm behind his back and his own arm around Nathan’s throat. Ernest winked, and, biting her lip, she lowered her face to conceal her smile.
Nathan ordered, “Release me if you don’t want to spend the rest of this voyage in chains.”
“Don’t hurt her, Cap’n,” he pleaded as he stepped back.
“Shut up, Dawes!” Nathan took her chin in his hand. “Help us, Rory, or you’ll go over the side now.”
She tried to slap his face, but he caught her wrist and laughed. Closing her eyes, she sagged in what she knew would look like resignation. She had to put an end to this charade, or she doubted if she could stay on her feet. Her head ached, her face hurt, her stomach cramped with fear. “All right, Nathan. I’ll tell you.”
Putting his arm under her knees, he lifted her up against his chest. “Warwick!” he called. “Prepare to sail.”
“Give me the directions!” came back the shout.
He faced the pirate, but she kept her face against his shirt, not wanting to see Yellow Hal’s fury again. “Follow us, Warwick. Your ship has more sail, and we don’t intend to be left behind. We will have to be traveling companions until we get to our destination.”
In a whisper, Ernest added, “And then, may God have mercy on our souls.”
Fourteen
“Sleeping like babes in their mothers’ arms,” Ernest said with a chuckle as he crossed the heaving deck to where Nathan was lowering the glass. “Any chance we’ve lost Warwick in this storm?”
He wiped water from the glass. “The Scourge is keeping close.” Putting the glass in its case, he smiled. “So Warwick’s men are asleep?”
“Thanks to Alfred’s addition to their supper. They’re all secured in the forward hold.” He frowned. “Warwick would have killed our men.”
“I’m not Warwick.” Pushing his soaked hair back out of his face, he sighed.
Ernest frowned. “How is Miss Rory?”
“She’ll be all right. I suspect Warwick didn’t want to hurt her too much before he could bed her.”
“So why are you up here instead of with
her?”
“She’s asleep.”
Ernest stepped in front of him before he could walk away. “Why aren’t you sitting there and keeping an eye on her then?”
“I’m needed—”
“Cap’n, Miss Rory needs you now. As soon as she helped you chart the way to the gold, you hied it out of the cabin so fast I would have thought the hangman was on your heels.”
Nathan turned to look across the Vengeance’s rocking decks. Waves sprang up over the bow, setting the lower decks awash. Rain coursed through the sheets and struck the sails. His men scrambled to anticipate every whim of the sea and the storm.
“Ernest, she told me she loves me.”
“And that was a surprise to you?” His first mate guffawed.
“Once we get the Raven’s gold, our lives will be different.” He leaned back against the rail as the ship followed the next wave.
Ernest frowned. “Of course they will. We’ll each be as rich as a Spanish don. Even with the share you offered de Palma and Warwick taking half, there should be enough to set us up for the rest of our days back home.”
“Back home.” He sighed. “Back in our conservative village on the Chesapeake.”
“I don’t believe it!”
He looked through the rain that was pelting the deck to see Ernest’s scowl. “Don’t believe what?”
“You don’t want to take Miss Rory back to Maryland! Why? Because she worked in a taproom?”
“It’s not that.” He clasped his hands behind his back and adjusted his feet as the deck shifted. “Would she be happy there?”
“With you, yes.”
“She’s used to Port Royal—”
“Which she hated.”
“And the freedom she had there.”
Ernest grabbed Nathan’s sleeves and thrust his chin out. “She adjusted to Havana, which is much more stringent than Maryland would ever be. I don’t think you’re worried as much about her as you are about yourself. You never imagined a woman like Rory Mullins when you set out to find the Raven. You had your life all mapped out as clearly as you wished the route to the gold had been. First you’d find the treasure; then, returning home, you’d marry some boring planter’s boring daughter and raise a household of boring children who would waste your fortune.”
Raven Quest Page 13