The Pirate Lord

by Vanda Vadas

  ‘And did you?’

  Zach looked at her as though she’d fired the fatal shot. ‘No! None of it was true, and yet Gareth has the uncanny knack of staring a person in the eye and having them believe whatever he tells them.’

  Eloise had no argument with that.

  ‘What people don’t see is the evil behind the light in his eyes. Father and I saw it and yet neither of us could have predicted the extent of his corrupt mind.’

  Eloise pressed him further. ‘Why did you return the morning after the argument?’

  ‘After confiding in my own father, I decided to speak with your father. He used to ride every day in the morning. I set out before dawn to meet him in private. My intention was to tell him about Gareth’s shortcomings. Since no groom was in sight I stabled my horse, hoping to catch your father there. The last thing I heard before being struck from behind was Gareth’s sardonic laugh.

  ‘When I came to, the stables were engulfed in flames. Smoke made it difficult to see. With all the commotion I managed to drag myself to safety.’

  Eloise turned her back on him and stared out to sea. In her mind’s eye she relived that fateful day. It was impossible to shut out the terrifying, vivid scenes, or to pretend she couldn’t hear the blood-curdling screams of those doomed horses. She remembered the raging inferno, her parents’ vain attempt to save their bloodstock, and the smell of burning horse flesh.

  Cinnamon. Her stomach convulsed.

  The image of Julian’s inert body being dragged from the fire had forever haunted her. Her head throbbed. She rounded on Zach, directing her anger and accusations at him. ‘Why didn’t you help my parents? Why didn’t you go back in to save them instead of leaving them to die?’

  Like the release of a tightly wound spring, she lunged at him. Ten years’ worth of grief gave power to her thrashing limbs. His arms locked about her, weathering her anger until she stood limp in his embrace, deplete of tears.

  He pressed his lips to the crown of her head. ‘I swear! If I could have saved your parents, I would have. Even now, I’d lay down my life for theirs. When I came to, the stables were collapsing. You must believe me.’

  His hand stroked the small of her back. ‘I’d inhaled so much smoke that I only just managed to crawl and hide a safe distance from the fire. I thought I was alone in the stables. I didn’t know your parents and Julian had come in while I was unconscious. Who else would have started the fire if not Gareth, otherwise what business did he have with your father at dawn?’

  Eloise stepped out of his embrace. ‘He told Julian he’d come to warn my father of your need for revenge and retaliation.’

  ‘That’s a damn lie! He somehow learned of my intentions and ambushed me. He set me up.’

  Zach cupped his hand beneath her chin. ‘Don’t you think it odd that my horse was the only animal to escape the fire?’

  Eloise had never given it thought, and yet he had a point. ‘Your horse. It galloped towards Gareth and me and reared over us. I was so terrified. Gareth protected me.’

  ‘It’s more likely he used you to protect himself. My horse would have harmed him if not for you. Animals are like humans. Their trust must be earned.’

  Thinking about it now, her mare, Charity, had been skittish whenever in Gareth’s proximity. Eloise identified with the feeling of unease. She’d been on edge in the ducal carriage when Gareth had accompanied her and Maisy on their journey to Hanslow. Even so, she found it difficult to accept that Gareth had masterminded such an elaborate betrayal.

  Zach’s hand slid from her chin to her shoulder. ‘I saw my horse bolt off across the fields. I may never have escaped if it hadn’t recognised my call, and returned to me.’

  ‘Where did you go?’

  ‘Home. To my father. I explained what had happened and bid him farewell.’

  Had Zach not been supporting her, Eloise would have fallen where she stood. She struggled to cope with these latest revelations and yet she couldn’t think of any reason not to believe him.

  If not for the urgent honesty in his eyes and voice she’d deem his story implausible. How had he coped knowing his father lived, that they’d been forced to say their goodbyes, never to know when, or if they might meet again? Had Zach secretly visited his father before the old man passed away?

  She and Zach had both borne needless loss that night. ‘Why didn’t you stay and plead your innocence? Your father would have vouched for you.’

  Zach shook his head. ‘Even so, my horse was at the scene of the crime. Gareth and his mother despised me enough to speak against me. In short, I’d been framed for murder. My only option was to flee. I swore I would one day have my revenge.’

  Revenge. Eloise gasped. ‘Dear Lord, your shoulder!’ She turned towards the water basin. Zach tugged her back into his arms. His gaze searched her face, yet he said not a word. ‘Zach?’

  ‘Julian and I were once close friends. He, and you, deserve the truth of the matter.’

  Eloise recognised grief in the lines around Zach’s eyes, in his furrowed brow and the grim set of his mouth. She suspected he’d quietly owned that grief all his life, and she couldn’t begin to imagine what it must be like to have never known one’s mother. To be deprived of her love, her gentle hand and kind words, only to then have shame and dishonour thrust upon his father for something Zach had played no hand in.

  What other traumas had scarred his body and soul? She believed his rational explanation, and sensed his need to have her say it to his face. Did he so value her opinion of him that it could possibly make a difference to his life?

  If only she affected him in the same way he’d touched her heart. She feared he was too proud and full of hate, that despite his need for absolution, reprisal outweighed any declaration of his feelings for her.

  She laid her palm against his cheek. ‘So this is the truth of it?’

  His hand covered hers. ‘Nothing but.’ He watched her, waiting.

  ‘Then, I believe you.’

  His lids closed on a sigh. ‘Thank you.’ He turned his mouth into her hand and pressed warm lips against her palm.

  She understood Zach’s need to seek revenge on Gareth. He sought to salvage and restore his good name. His means and method of retribution concerned her; something she’d later broach. Her gaze fell to his shoulder. ‘I’m sorry I shot you.’

  ‘Considering what I’ve put you through … Thank God you saw fit to divert your aim. You are indeed your father’s daughter and I remember well his skill with pistol and sword. Should you ever challenge me to a duel, I’ll insist upon naming the weapon. Or did Julian relieve you of lessons in needlepoint and oversee your instruction with a sword as well?’

  Eloise laughed at his compliment, leaving him to draw his own conclusions as to the extent of her skills beyond the drawing room. ‘Come. Take a seat on the bed.’

  She tore a clean strip from the sheet, stood in front of him, and removed his makeshift bandage. Cleansing the wound should have been a simple enough task. Instead, she suffered an acute awareness of Zach watching her. His gaze, level with her breasts, started a slow burn in her stomach. With each rise and fall of his broad, bare chest, the fire within her spread, seeping into the intimately receptive parts of her body. A sudden need flared, a longing for him to touch her, to repeat what they’d shared last night.

  If he wanted to bed her, she’d let him initiate it. ‘I suggest the ship’s doctor examine this. The wound will need several stitches.’

  He caught her arm and pulled her down to sit beside him. ‘Eloise, I swear I didn’t know your identity the night you confronted me on the balcony. I hardly remember you as a child, and so didn’t recognise the woman you’d become. I thought you no more than a meddling guest who’d inconveniently interfered with my plans.’

  ‘Then why did you abduct me?’

  ‘I discovered you were engaged to Gareth, and –’

  ‘Engaged? We’re not engaged!’

  ‘When I intercepted his carriage, he refer
red to you as his betrothed.’

  ‘Why would he say such a thing?’ No sooner did she ask the question than she recalled Zach’s words. Then save your neophyte fondling for your betrothed. At the time, she’d no idea what he was talking about.

  ‘Is it true?’

  She once again observed the way his lips pressed together, the worry lines around his eyes. His fingers pressed a little deeper into her skin. What did it matter to Zach if she was engaged to Gareth, or any other man for that matter? Did Zach care for her beyond a sense of duty? A rash thought. He cared enough to see justice done.

  ‘No,’ said Eloise. Zach’s fingers relaxed around her slender arms. ‘Though he would wish it, and my brother encourages it, Gareth and I are not officially betrothed.’

  Zach pushed his shoulders back, muscles flexing as if he’d shrugged off the weight of ten men.

  Her honesty and trust in him deserved the confession that followed. She showed him due consideration as he divulged the details and strategy of his long pursuit of revenge against his half-brother.

  She paled in disbelief when he informed her that Gareth had frittered away the family fortune. ‘It was another reason I couldn’t allow him to marry you. He’d have used your dowry as down payment towards his debts. Once married into your family, there’s no telling how he might try to access Julian’s fortune.’

  Zach’s chest tightened with the burden of making Eloise face reality. She looked so vulnerable, so out of her depth. She’d asked for the truth. He’d delivered it. ‘Nothing will bring back my father, yet years of intercepting and stealing the cargo from Gareth’s ships has been my way of recovering the inheritance my brother denied me.’

  She fell momentarily silent, processing all he’d disclosed. ‘Why do we sail to the Caribbean?’

  ‘I have one more prize to capture there. I’ve been informed that his last ship’s hold will be laden with so rich a cargo that, without the profits, Gareth is finished. Then we return to England. You will be free to return to your family.’

  Her gaze fell to her lap. ‘And you?’

  ‘I’ll see justice served.’

  She jerked her head up. Hope flared in her eyes. ‘You’ve discovered a way to prove yourself innocent?’

  A mocking laugh escaped Zach. ‘Yes. It’s simple really. Gareth must sign a statement confessing his guilt.’

  Eloise looked incredulous. ‘That will be like asking the king to become a pauper!’

  ‘Exactly.’

  ‘But you will demand it of him. Won’t you?’

  Damn but she made it difficult to speak the truth to her face. ‘Gareth will confess to the murder of your parents or I’ll …’

  A thread of fear crept into her eyes. ‘You’ll what?’

  ‘I’ll kill him.’

  Eloise surged to her feet. ‘And prove yourself to be the murderer people already believe you to be? What’s the point in doing that?’

  Zach stood slowly, his body unfolding to tower over her. ‘My point, Eloise, is revenge. I’ll ensure there are no witnesses if I’m forced to take his life. No one will know.’

  She shook her head and retreated a step. Distress darkened her eyes. ‘I will know. There are other ways to see justice served without putting your own neck in a noose.’

  Zach stepped towards her. ‘You were prepared to kill me in cold blood in reprisal for allegedly murdering your parents. I saw bloodlust in your eyes, Eloise.’ Her gaze shifted, suddenly unable to look at him. ‘Your breathing quickened. The pulse at your throat raced. Were you even aware of licking your lips as if you were about to take a bite of the sweetest cherry?’

  Her gaze snapped back to his. Colour heightened her cheeks, eyes ablaze. ‘Revenge is cold and tasteless!’

  ‘Mightily satisfying, nonetheless.’

  ‘No. Hollow, like betrayal.’ Her hands clenched at her sides. ‘You lied to me. You treated me with insensitive disregard to trick me into believing you guilty. Why?’

  His hand closed about her upper arm. ‘It was the only way to make you understand my desperate hunger for revenge. To put you in my shoes.’

  She shrugged out of his hold. ‘And if I’d mistakenly killed you?’

  ‘You wouldn’t have.’

  ‘What makes you so sure about that?’

  ‘You said it yourself. That you trust me. With your body and life. Besides, even if you had aimed to kill, I would have had time to dodge the shot. We both know these weapons are unreliable and slow to react.’

  His fingers lightly skimmed her left temple. He hated that she flinched at his touch. ‘I saw how much you wanted me dead, even if it was only for a moment. Your brush with vengeance affords you insight into why I must kill Gareth if he doesn’t confess.’

  ‘Killing him wouldn’t make things right.’

  He looked at her askance. ‘You would stand by him? Save his life?’

  ‘No. I would save yours.’ She reached out and gripped his arms. ‘I beg you. Don’t do this. Don’t take matters into your own hands. There must be a means of securing his confession without resorting to violence. We’ll seek out a man of the law and –’

  ‘Eloise. I am an heir to a dukedom turned pirate. Add highwayman and kidnapper to that. Do you honestly think the law will believe me over Gareth?’

  Her fingers dug into his skin. ‘You are not the law. Explain things to Julian as you have to me. He and my uncle have connections. They will –’

  ‘Do nothing! This is my concern.’

  Eloise went suddenly pale and swung away from him to take a seat at the table. ‘The night we met on the balcony, I accused you of thieving our horses.’ Her gaze lifted to meet his. ‘Is that Gareth’s doing also?’

  Zach gestured ignorance with his hands. ‘It wouldn’t surprise me. Each horse would fetch a princely sum. Perhaps he put the money towards his debts.’

  ‘He needn’t steal ours when he has his own stable of thoroughbreds.’

  ‘Why sell his own horses and arouse suspicion when he can successfully steal and sell someone else’s? If Gareth were to admit to a dwindling fortune, creditors would swoop like vultures. He’d be forced to sell everything to clear all debts.’

  Zach took a seat opposite Eloise at the table. ‘Don’t you see it? He’s so thoroughly insinuated himself into your family’s life that under the cover of night even your horses would be led by his hand without so much as a snort of protest.’

  Her eyes flashed with defiance. ‘Except Charity.’

  ‘Charity?’

  ‘My mare. She fought off would-be-thieves the night before you abducted me.’

  ‘Then she is just as tenacious as her mistress.’ Zach lightly brushed her cheek, pleased she didn’t shy away this time.

  ‘Yes, well,’ she sniffed. ‘Perhaps cleverer in that she eluded abduction, while her mistress did not.’

  ‘Speaking of abduction …’ Zach made his way to the desk, opened a drawer and rummaged inside. ‘I have something of yours.’ He returned to her and held out his hand.

  ‘My necklace!’

  ‘Take it.’ He dropped it onto her open palm.

  She eyed the locket as if viewing it for the first time. Her gaze lifted to his. There, in her eyes, Zach saw just how much the piece of jewellery meant to her. It pleased him to bring a smile to her face.

  ‘Thank you. It’s my most precious possession.’

  As you are mine. The unbidden thought winded him. She wasn’t his to keep. ‘Shall I?’

  ‘Please.’ She scooped the hair clear from her nape so he could clasp the necklace around her neck.

  Her scent, her skin, knowing she sat naked beneath his linen shirt, lured Zach. He bent to kiss her neck and stopped at the last moment. Desire mocked his iron will.

  He held each end of the necklace and brought it over her head. Just as well she couldn’t see his fingers tremble. If she had, she’d see his weakness for her. With the clasp secured, he let go. ‘There.’

  She swivelled around in the seat. Hi
s gaze fixed on the exquisite piece, satisfied it now hung in its rightful place. ‘I’ll arrange hot water for you to bathe. If it pleases you, you’ll be given a tour of the ship. The Justice will be your home for the next four weeks.’

  Her silent acquiescence unnerved him. Did she trust him implicitly to safeguard her life and deliver her home safely, or did words fail her because she knew she had no say in her, or his, immediate future? Damn these growing feelings for her! He turned on his heel and walked towards the door.

  ‘Zach. Do you enjoy your life and the unlawful rewards of being a pirate? Does Gareth have any idea who is pirating his ships?’

  Her questions, open and frank, brought him to a blistering halt. It was the condemnatory tone of her voice that brought them to an impasse.

  How simple it would be to plunder ships, be they French, Spanish or his own countrymen. To enjoy easy pickings and live a life as rich as his heritage. Never mind that he pursued only Gareth’s ships.

  Damn the truth of it! He was a pirate, though not a common thief who, in her eyes, viewed the ocean as his exclusive slaying and pillaging playground. Her words were a stark reminder that he was no longer of her ilk. That he remained an outlaw; a fugitive from England.

  Their worlds were poles apart.

  Last night, their coupling had been borne of need, of mutual desire and lust. Nothing more.

  He glanced at her over his shoulder. ‘This is not the life I chose. As for Gareth? He knows nothing of me. I’m just another marauding cutthroat making his life hell.’ His hands clenched at his sides. ‘The brethren call me Captain Heartless. Interpret that any way you wish.’

  The cabin door closed firmly behind him, leaving Eloise to ponder his dark alias.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Eloise pushed wide the cabin door. She squinted, shielding her eyes until they grew accustomed to the sunlight. The wind whipped at her skirts and tugged the leather thong binding her long braid.

  Daily life on the ship’s sprawling deck appeared as busy as the streets of London. The mode of fashion took some getting used to, leaving her in a quandary. Barefooted, the crew either dressed in trousers and jerkins, or were semi-clad in dark clothing.