by Ava Bradley
"You want all six stones."
"You could be lying about those."
She jerked the chain from around her neck and tossed it over. The guard eyed her warily before stooping to pick it up. Adriana watched his eyes flick over the six broken fastens that had secured each sapphire.
"You do not have a lot of time to decide," she said, fighting to keep her voice calm while her heart galloped. "If you do not let us go, Roche will surely take that from you."
That seemed to convince him. "Where are the other five?"
"Untie him."
After a second more hesitation, the guard pocketed the sapphire. He pulled a vicious knife from his belt and for a moment held it high in a threatening manner. Then, grumbling to himself, he cut the ropes. Christian sagged forward and collapsed on the floor.
"Pick him up." Adriana backed toward the door. "Leave that knife on the table. You shan't need it."
The guard eyed her warily before laying it on the narrow table against the wall. He hoisted Christian to his feet and pulled his arm over his shoulders.
They stepped into the damp jungle. She angled around to the man's right and snatched the gun from his holster. He sucked in a sharp breath as his eyes lit with panic. Adriana threw it into the bushes.
"Forgive me, but I do not trust you."
Hot anger replaced the fear in his face. "And I should trust you?"
"We both have something the other wants. To achieve our goals, we must negotiate. I would like you to dispose of that whistle, as well."
"I want another of those gems, first."
"There now, a suitable agreement. Around that bend."
She led the way as the man dragged Christian along.
"You know I could wind up an inmate here for this, instead of a guard," he muttered.
"I am confident you shall come up with a marvelous story to explain his escape. If you require it, I will be quite happy to crown you with a rock so that you bear convincing injuries."
Gray scowled. "I'm sure you would. Keep yer anger in check, colleen. It weren't me did this to him."
The rain had stopped but the sound of dripping water still filled the jungle as the trees shed their droplets. In the growing dawn, milky mist shrouded the island that grew thicker as they moved into a deep, meadow-like section of marsh grass.
Adriana stepped off the trail and retrieved the second sapphire from its hiding place beneath a cluster of lichen-covered rocks. When the guard reached for it, she jerked her hand back.
"The whistle, if you please."
"You drive a bargain as hard as any man." He laughed, his eyes bright with happiness at the sight of the second gem.
At least now he knows I am not lying, Adriana thought. Still, would the man double-cross her?
When he jerked the cord holding the whistle from around his neck and tossed it into the grass, she allowed herself a tiny sigh of relief.
She smiled in return and handed over the gem.
Christian's head lolled and he moaned. She resisted the urge to reach out and touch his bruised face, careful not to show any emotion to the guard who was still his captor. She must not suggest any weakness he might use to swindle her.
"Let us hurry on. Dawn nears." She led the way onto the well-worn path and turned east.
"I'm curious," the guard said, now short of breath. "Who is it you come to get? You landed here to steal someone out, ain't you?"
She veered to the left as the path forked. "This way."
"Wait now, I'm tired," the guard complained.
"You are to be paid well for your efforts. Do not stop." Adriana realized there was nothing to make the man continue obeying her but his own greed. Thankfully, it proved a strong motivator.
"I'm coming, I'm coming. It ain't exactly a bouquet of flowers I'm carrying here."
The path led through a grove of mango trees. "Stop here. Mr. Gray, is it?"
"Not sure I like you knowing that," he said with uneasiness gleaming in his eyes.
Adriana retrieved the third stone from the crook in one of the trees. "Do you have a family, Mr. Gray?"
He grimaced, pausing. "A wife and three boys," he finally admitted.
She smiled and handed over the sapphire. "Imagine all the wonderful things you can buy for them."
"I'm imagining me head in a noose."
They trudged on through waist-deep mist. She recognized a brambly bush with delicate red flowers where the narrow path had turned inland. Her boat sat tied to the south. She peered over the edge. In the mist, she couldn't see if it was still there. Her next move was a gamble that could cost both their lives, but Adriana didn't know what else to do.
She pointed into the jungle. "Do you see that tree?"
"I see a lot of trees."
"You shall find the fourth stone hanging from one of its branches. It shan't be hard to locate. The fifth is hidden below, buried in the tree litter. That one might cause you a bit of trouble, but I do need time to get away now, don't I?"
"Hey now, what's this?" he narrowed his eyes. "You promised me six stones."
"And you shall have them, but first, you must help me lower him to the water."
"I can't carry him down there! I'll fall and break me neck."
"You have six good reasons not to do that."
The man grudgingly agreed. Adriana followed as he carefully picked his way down. For one frightening moment, the guard lost his footing on a jutting rock and slipped. Christian came awake with a start and cried out as he and the guard crashed against the jagged face. A tumble of rocks broke free and rained onto the plateau below. A few loud splashes told her the tide was rising. Is the boat still close enough to climb into?
Finally the guard arrived on the crusty outcropping at the water's edge. The ocean was growing angrier, buffeting the narrow shelf of rocks ferociously. Frothy waves tossed the jolly boat then pulled at it, trying to drag it out to sea.
"Set him in and push us off."
"Oh, I'm surely going to regret doing this." He dropped Christian into the open section of the stern and Adriana climbed in and sat while keeping her eye on him. She handed over the last stone. He took it, eyed her, and finally grinned as he gave the jolly a strong shove.
"Goodbye, Mr. Gray. Good luck with your excuse!"
Adriana could hardly believe they had escaped. We haven't, yet, she told herself as she fought hard against the thrashing waves tossing the boat in all directions.
The mist cloaking the island proved to be a stroke of luck, preventing anyone from seeing them. If Mr. Gray still possessed a weapon, he could only fire it blindly over the water.
Christian lay motionless in the bottom of the jolly for the second time on his ill-plagued voyage. Her heart ached for him. She fought every instinct to drop the oars and take him in her arms. Above the love she felt and now freely admitted to herself, fear reigned supreme. Surely those guards would know by now what had happened and were launching their own boats.
Once out on the water the mist thinned enough for her to see clearly. Devil's Island sat shrouded in a milky haze, drawing further away with each cut of the oar.
"Adriana." Christian's lids fluttered.
"I'm here," she said.
"I love you, mon beauté."
She gasped. "I love you, too, my darling."
Christian's eyes drifted shut almost immediately and she wondered if he'd heard.
Adriana smiled to herself. It didn't matter. She would tell him again after he'd been nursed, and make certain he understood. She would say it a hundred times if she had to.
Pale pink light like a blossoming rose grew in the sky as the dawn broke on the most wonderful day of her life. A knifing of orange appeared on the horizon and the sun revealed itself, warming her back with its heavenly rays.
Adriana twisted around. Tall masts reaching toward the sky, Lady Luck perched on the horizon, the most glorious vision she'd ever seen.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
"By the mercy of Saint Pete
r, it is really you, my son." Gilbert rushed to his Christian's side Henri and Ollie lifted him out of the boat.
"Father." He collapsed to his knees and Gilbert sank to the deck with him, clasping Christian's face in his hands. "You look exactly as I remember."
"Ah, my dear boy, the years have not been kind, but now I am blessed. This seems all a wonderful dream, too good to be true."
"Believe it, Father. You are free now, and I'll never let anyone take you back to that place." He winced in pain as Gilbert hugged him. Adriana couldn't be sure, but she thought she saw a secret tear glistening in Christian's eye.
The men pulled him to his feet and urged him to the bench amidships.
Gilbert turned to her and captured her hand. "Dear child, I do not know how you did this. You must be some sort of angel."
"She certainly is. But watch her, she has a streak of the devil as well." Christian dropped his gaze on her, his eyes shining with a deep appreciation that could never be put into words.
Adriana laughed and wrapped her arms around herself as she finally broke down, letting her terror rush out as hot tears. Christian tried to push upright. "I am fine, stop fussing," he complained.
"You no argue," Mrs. Ling scolded as she tended the cut above his eyebrow.
"Well I certainly shan't argue with the woman who has saved my life once already." He flashed that famous, devilish grin that always managed to turn Adriana's insides to jelly.
"I see she has fixed you up as well," Adriana said to Henri. She wiped her cheeks dry. "Let us raise the sails and get far away from here."
"Now that is the best suggestion I have heard all year," the old sea captain agreed.
Gilbert sat by Christian's side at the bench as Henri, Ollie and Adriana brought Lady Luck underway. They turned the ship around and let the trade winds whisk them on a north-easterly trek back toward home. The sun rose and dried away all traces of the ominous weather that had followed them to Devil's Island, as if the whole thing had indeed only been a fable. But Adriana had only to look at Christian with his father to be reminded how very real it was.
When Henri took the helm and Adriana found a moment to rest, Gilbert approached her.
"My dear, I still cannot believe it is true. I will never know how you achieved this."
"Nor shall I," Christian said from the bench. His earnest smile, delivered privately to her, warmed her insides from head to toe.
Mrs. Bailey stepped protectively between them. "She is an exceptional young lady. Commoners–common thieves–cannot understand the superiority of the upper classes."
"Mrs. Bailey!" Adriana softened her reprimand with a smile. "That is not nice."
"I am at the end of my patience. I have obliged this folly long enough. It is time to put an end to it, once and for all."
"We are going home," Henri grumbled. "That should make you happy, you old bat."
Adriana realized she had faced a stronghold of French guards with more courage than she found with her own chaperone. It was time to confess, and declare her independence. Why did that make her feel sick to her stomach?
She went to Christian and he swung his legs over the side of the bench. He placed a hand on her shoulder to steady himself as he stood, and Adriana took him around the waist.
"About what you said last night," she said softly. "I was wrong. I realize now I must choose my own path."
His eyes flashed with magic light. "And what path might that be?"
She smiled. Wrapping her arms around him was the best feeling she'd ever known. She never wanted it to end.
His gaze slipped past her and his smile vanished. "There is a ship coming."
Adriana whirled around. In the far-off distance, three masts blended into one as a ship arced toward them. She prayed its familiar lines were only imagined.
"Henri?"
He already stood at the rail, peering through the spyglass. Without a word he turned and looked at her.
She crossed the deck to take the looking glass. It couldn't be!
Windfall.
"Your father," Henri said, as if he already knew.
"No." A portly figure moved across the rail, peering back at her through his own looking glass. "It is Preston Weiss."
"What?" Henri and Mrs. Bailey said in unison.
She looked again, afraid to believe it was truly him. "How would they have known we were here?"
"Your father must have told them," Henri said.
Adriana faced him. "And how would my father have known?"
"Oui, Henri," Christian interjected. "How would Edmund have known?"
"I suppose now it is as good a time as any to tell you." His eyes clouded over with regret. "Edmund knew about the trip before we started. He knew about the letter. I told him."
Christian's shoulders tensed and he opened his mouth. Henri held up a hand. "I had to. Don't be angry with me, boy. There is much you don't know."
She went to his side and Christian's expression softened.
"Edmund agreed to finance the voyage and provide whatever you needed," Henri explained. "He instructed me to let you to steal Lady Luck because he knew you would never willingly accept his help."
"Why would he do that? He betrayed my father and took India's Midnight for himself. Did his guilt get the better of him?"
"No," Gilbert spoke up. "He did not betray me. I gave myself up for him because I thought it was best for everyone. I was a foolish young man, I did not know any better."
Christian turned from one to the other. "Edmund left you to die."
His father shook his head. "You don't know it all. Christian, you must believe what I tell you. Your mother claimed you were her lover's son. She wanted to leave me, and I thought what I was doing was the best for you. I didn't have time to think it through. I realize now, she lied."
"Leave my mother out of this."
"It is true," Henri said softly. "For twenty years Edmund provided a handsome allowance she kept to herself."
Christian's brow furrowed. Adriana listened along, too stunned to speak. Her father had orchestrated the rescue?
"We all believed Gilbert had perished on Devil's Island until his letter came. Edmund knew you would want to rescue our father but that you would never willingly accept his help. He told me to let you have the ship, to let you believe you'd stolen it." Henri turned and gazed across the water. "But he didn't expect Adriana to be aboard when you did. That must be why he's come after us."
"Because the one thing that hasn't changed is my betrothal to Preston Weiss."
All eyes fell on Adriana. She gazed over each of their desperate faces. Gilbert had gone through so much, only to risk his fragile future again. If they were discovered, not only he, but Christian as well, would be sent to prison. Henri too.
"Henri, drop the jolly boat," she said with a quaking voice. In the distance Windfall grew larger. She was closing fast.
Christian took her by the arms. "What are you planning?"
She looked up at him and her resolve wavered. She took a deep breath and forced herself to say what she knew she must. "Christian, take your father below. It is me they want. You cannot risk their coming aboard."
His hold on her arms relaxed, but he didn't let go. His brows knit as if he sought an argument, but couldn't find one. She realized she wasn't the only one dying inside; he truly did love her.
"Adriana, don't do this."
"I must." A part of her soul turned as brittle as glass and felt as though it were about to shatter. She should never have believed she could change her fate. "Preston will do whatever he must to see our wedding goes through. He doesn't care about any of this. If I go with them, they will forget about you."
He pulled her into his arms. "I won't let you."
She looked into his pale eyes. They were so consumed with misery her resolve began to crumble. She pulled away. "Henri, quickly. Before it is too late."
After a moment's hesitation, Henri went to the starboard side and readied the winch. Adriana
reached into her pocket for the last remaining sapphire and pressed it into his palm. It was the centermost and largest gem from the necklace. "It is all that is left, but I want you to have it." She glanced at Gilbert. "Take care of your father."
Christian grabbed her and hauled her against his chest. "Wait."
"No." She pulled away. "You knew we could never be."
He jerked away as if she'd burned him. "We can be what you want us to be."
Adriana's eyes drifted closed as she warred with herself. Leaving him was the hardest thing she had ever tried to do, but she had no choice. When she opened her eyes again, the bruises the guards had inflicted on him made her wince. She had to protect him.
"Au revoir, Christian."
The shock slowly faded from his face and his expression hardened to granite. He turned away. "Goodbye, Miss Montague."
She felt as though she'd been stabbed with a glowing hot blade.
Mrs. Bailey shuffled over to Henri. "Help me, you old fool. You know I don't do well climbing about in these little boats."
Adriana walked to the hoist on leaden feet. "Mrs. Bailey, you must stay here."
Her chaperone turned around, eyes wide with surprise. "You can't mean..."
Something in Mrs. Bailey's eyes made her uncomfortable. She didn't trust the woman not to let the secret slip.
"I do." Adriana gently embraced her. "I won't need a chaperone. I'm to be married, remember?" She smiled and swiped at her eye, fearing a tear might fall. "Your place is with Henri. Father will reward you well. Both of you."
"I must be with you. I wish to see you married."
She fought to stay rigid as a wave of dizziness rushed through her. "You do not want to see the future in store for me." Adriana turned away to hide the tears welling in her eyes and climbed into the boat. "Mr. Dupree, it has been a pleasure."
He kissed her hand. "Until we meet again."
Ollie ran to the railing. "Adriana, don't go. I'll miss you."
She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "You will see me again, soon. I promise."
Adriana never knew heavier misery as the jolly boat touched the ocean and drifted away from Lady Luck. She put the oars in the water and somehow mustered the strength to row.