The young captain’s eyes flicked restlessly in the direction of the lighter and Bronwyn drew the hood of her cloak forward to conceal her face.
“You there!” he bellowed at the sailor pulling the oars. “What the devil has kept you so long? Hawkins has not got numbers enough to crew the Black never mind tolerate your lollygagging. Every man Jack of us is needed to pull double his weight. Get that lot loaded! We sail with the tide.”
“Aye, aye Captain!” James pulled harder on the oars. “God help us. There’s no hope for you now, my lady. No man will risk Jon Stag’s anger to row you back.”
“That will not be necessary. I shall row myself back if need be.” She peered cautiously at the man pacing the deck above. “Help me to board and I’ll deal with your captain.”
James shook his head, silently voicing his doubt, but he drew up alongside the ship. A wooden ladder was lowered to the lighter boat and he helped Bronwyn clamber up. “I must leave you here to deliver my cargo, Lady Gage. The tide will be with us shortly and Stag will have my guts for garters if I disobey his direct order. Good luck to you.”
“And you, James.” Bronwyn watched the young sailor push off and move out of sight alongside the Black.
Climbing the ladder was difficult in the velvet gown while carrying the valise and she almost lost her balance. Bronwyn boarded the ship some distance away from where Jonathon Stag was positioned. He did not see her.
The dawn was eerie with thick fog that muffled the sounds of activity from the crew. She scanned their faces for Roddy’s and listened for his voice. Her heart pounded. There must be a means to get below to search him out. If she could slip away without being seen, she could recover him and be back in the lighter before she was caught.
“Who the hell are you?”
Chapter Four
A DEEP voice cut through the fog at the far end of the deck. Her blood froze for an instant and then she remembered her persona—the one that had intimidated the stevedores on the wharf and had forced James to do her bidding. She was Lady Gage and she knew how to deal with her inferiors.
“My name is Lady Bronwyn Gage. I have heard you are the captain of this scow, Captain Jonathon Stag?”
“That depends. Do I owe you money?”
“You owe me a servant. I am here to collect a boy in my service that your thugs stole off the street and pressed aboard this vessel. His name is Roddy and I demand to have him brought to me this instant.”
“Do you now. That is interesting.” Jon Stag grinned insolently and came slowly toward her through the fog. “If the boy is aboard my ship, he belongs to me. I have paid for him.”
“You stole him because you cannot induce or bribe a man to serve you freely.”
“If the seamen of Penzance are too cowardly to sail under me, then I do not need them. One man who sails under Jon Stag is worth three who do not.”
He was near enough now for Bronwyn to see his face in depth. Gray serious eyes, dark lashes and a full generous mouth. Jonathon Stag’s physical attractions only improved on closer inspection, which only increased her nervousness. He was so very tall....
“I haven’t the time or patience for your tomfoolery,” she blustered. “I was meant to board the Dauntless and could not due to this wretched business. I have been searching high and low for my servant only to discover that you have abducted him! Oh, I have heard all about your tactics, Captain Stag—and your reputation.”
Jonathon Stag straightened. “The Dauntless is bound for America.”
“I am aware,” she said haughtily. “I booked passage and thanks to you, I’ve missed the sailing.” Bronwyn cleared her throat. “My father is waiting for me in Boston. He is the Military Governor of Massachusetts.”
“England is at war with the American Colonies.”
“My, my, you are a fountain of well-digested information! Do you mean to quiz me until the sun is standing in the sky? Send the boy out to me and I shall be on my way.”
“You have missed the sailing, my lady, and there will not be another to America for weeks. In the meantime, I have need of the boy. In times of war, we must all make sacrifices. For all I know, you could be a spy for the Whigs. Your father could be in communication with the radicals in Lexington. Stories are already surfacing of Paul Revere and a midnight ride that warned the militia of the coming British invasion. Spies are everywhere. One cannot be too careful in these turbulent times.”
“A privateer is worried about spies?” Bronwyn’s mouth twisted. “Do you mean to impress me with your loyalty, sir? Impress me instead by delivering the boy to me and I will see to it that you are well-compensated for his loss. My father is very rich.”
The captain drew nearer still and lifted the hood from her face in a most insolent manner. “I daresay you are very dear to him. It was a foolhardy impulse that led you to board the Black. The tide is with us and I mean to weigh anchor, Lady Gage.”
“It will not take long to fetch the boy. Oh, never mind! I shall do it myself! Direct me to the lower decks.” She snatched up the valise and pushed past him impatiently.
Stag spun on his heel. “Hawkins! Where is the bloody man?”
A sailor appeared out of the fog. “Sir, Mr. Hawkins is below overseeing the storage of the gunpowder. Mr. Frame sends me to tell you that a fair wind is come up from the west. Orders to set sail, sir?”
“Damn your eyes! Fetch me Hawkins. Tell him I have the solution to our problem in my grasp. This woman here is going to be our leverage to board the Dauntless.”
Bronwyn had taken advantage of the distraction, and the fog, to dart to the hatch—a large door cut in the deck from which the sailor emerged. She heard the puzzled man ask his captain “What woman?” before she dropped out of sight.
She almost tripped on the cloak on the way down the ladder that connected the top deck to the lower. Balance restored, she drew herself up haughtily as befitting the manner of a lady and immediately banged her head on the low timbers. Every man was ducked in a half-crouch to move around. She was not tall but Bronwyn was forced into the awkward half-crouch to make her way through the rows of swinging hammocks.
“You there!” She caught the arm of a scruffy boy. “I am looking for a boy named Roddy. He is wearing a blue jacket and has dark hair. Fetch him to me and there is a shilling in it for you.”
“There’s a lad by that description, my lady. Don’t know his name. Pale-face boy with a wheezing cough? He’s in with the cook, peeling ‘taters, ma’am. I’ll fetch him out to you. Don’t go nowhere—a shilling you said?”
“Two if you manage to bring him here in under a minute.” Her heart galloped at her throat.
The boy darted out of sight. Bronwyn pressed her palms together and brought her cold fingers to her lips, waiting in suspended agony for Roddy to appear.
There was a sudden lurch of movement that almost threw her off her feet. She dropped to a squat and placed her hands on the thick oak board. They were moving! The Black Adder was under sail! If her brother wasn’t aboard this vessel—if it had all been a terrible mistake—!
A small voice followed by a pale anxious face emerged from behind a low door. “Winnie? Have you come for me? Winnie?”
Bronwyn fell on him, weeping and wiping her eyes as fast as the tears fell. “Oh thank God, thank God you are safe! Yes, I have come for you. You must hold fast to me, dearest. We are going to get off this blasted vessel even if we have to swim to shore!”
§
JON STOOD with feet braced apart at the helm, his eyes on the horizon as the Black picked up speed in a freshening wind. They were sailing for open sea, hot on the heels of the Dauntless. Billy Hawkins joined him and Jon started speaking before the old seaman could object.
“This is the break I’ve been looking for, Billy. Lady Gage will get us close to the Dauntless without raising their suspicions. She booked passage on that ship so she’s our reason for making the approach. No cannon fire, no musket rounds, no loss of life or damage to the Black.”
“What the hell are ye on about? Treacher isn’t going to just hand ye the gold without a fight. Assuming there is gold,” he added darkly.
“There is. The Dauntless is heavily armed with munitions and gunpowder, yes? Even if we manage to overtake her, we haven’t the manpower to crew her. I’ve been looking for another way to go about this, and here it is: We offer General Gage’s daughter in exchange for the gold.” Stag glanced at his first mate. “Gage is the key man in the war with the colonies. They’ll pay the ransom or we kill her.”
“A good plan if she is who she says she is.” Clearly, Hawkins did not think so.
“What woman knows anything about politics, the colonies or the name of the military governor of Massachusetts? Her story is strange, I will grant you that, but if she is lying, I’ll make her walk the plank in the middle of the Atlantic and we’ll be no worse off. The Dauntless is carrying something of value—my gut tells me it is gold. It’s not like Treacher to be closed-mouthed about his cargo. I need this, Hawkins.”
The first mate nodded and grunted. “Aye, you need this and the men need this, but we could be sailing into a trap. Suddenly this girl appears out of nowhere, claiming to be the daughter the very man who will receive the shipment of gold in Boston. ‘Tis a fantastic coincidence if ever I heard one. Everyone in town knew you were after the Dauntless.”
“What is your point? Spit it out, man.”
“She wanted aboard this ship and now she is. We’ve no proof she is who she claims to be—the lady could be a spy for all we know. You’d best not put a foot wrong or she’ll have your neck in a noose. What reason did she give for missing the sailing?”
“Chasing after her servant—a boy your gang grabbed off the street.”
Hawkins grunted. “Is she pretty?”
Jon rolled his eyes. “You know me better than that. Since when do I concern myself with a woman’s appearance when there is treasure to be had? Lady Gage has the manner and appeal of most young ladies of her class. Pampered, coiffed, well-shod and she thinks too highly of herself to excite my interest.”
“Ah, well-acquainted with ladies of the aristocracy, are you? I wasn’t aware female nobility could be found in the brothels of London.” Hawkins wheezed with laughter. “You wouldn’t know a lady if you fell over one, lad.”
Jon held his tongue on the subject and turned his attention to steering into the wind, a course correction that would lead them into the aggressive waters of the Atlantic. “If she’s a spy, I’ll hand her over to that lot below to use for their personal pleasure. I’ll even let you watch.”
“‘Tis a generous offer but I still don’t like it. A woman aboard the Black....” His first mate rubbed his nose pensively. “A female aboard ship is a Jonah. You and I both know it. Break with tradition and you break with the sea. You have a list of marks against you, Jonny. You’ve been lucky so far but I fear your luck is about to run out with this young miss aboard. She’ll bring us nothing but trouble. I feel it in my bones. She’s a jinx.”
“She’s a hostage, a pawn. We’ll be rid of the lady before we reach the open ocean.”
Jon was annoyed but he could not disagree with the old sailor. He had felt it too from the moment Bronwyn Gage set foot on board. A distinct change in the atmosphere. An ill wind.
Stag’s attention was drawn to a female voice rising up from the deck below.
“Get me off this blasted scow this instant!”
“You ought not to be here, miss! Captain Stag does not permit women on board the Black,” a bewildered seaman replied, as though he too wondered what the hell was going on.
“Dolt, I am aboard this vessel whether your precious captain permits it or not! What is your name and rank, sir? I shall see to it that you are discharged from your duties. If you cannot help me, make yourself useful and conduct me to someone who can! And when you do, you can assure your captain that you have lost him a fine reward. There was a great deal of money in my safe transport. Row us back this instant and there’s a crown in it for you.”
She jangled a velvet bag hanging from her wrists and the fool removed his cap and stepped aside to allow the woman to approach.
Stag smothered a laugh. He had to admire her audacity. Young ladies of her station were usually brave only when surrounded by servants and daddy’s guards. This one was standing her ground in the company of rough seamen without a single soul to back her up.
He leaned over the railing to get a better look at Lady Gage as she stomped toward the helm. She was younger than he first thought when she came out of the fog. Her dress was fine but her appearance was somewhat wild. Her hair had come out of its comb and hung in damp tendrils about her neck. A green feather drooped despondently in her eyes.
She lifted her chin, revealing a creamy expanse of bosom under her cloak. “Captain Stag, you have deliberately set sail knowing I was still aboard. I demand to be returned to shore. I shall reimburse you for the trouble, of course. Direct me to a lighter boat and I shall depart.”
“The fault is your own, my lady. You ran off in search of your servant after I warned you I was weighing anchor. Going back to Penzance now is out of the question. You’ll remain here as my guest until we catch up to the Dauntless, at which point we will transfer you to that vessel—free of charge,” he added with a grin.
The girl visibly paled and she looked as though she might faint. The servant boy, a lad of about eight or nine years, tugged on her skirts. Lady Gage rested her hand on his shoulder as though to comfort him. Odd behavior for an aristocrat, thought Jon. She was clutching a valise that had seen better days and he noticed for the first time that she was not wearing gloves.
Chapter Five
“HOW LONG will that take?” Lady Gage asked in obvious distress.
“A week or more if the wind is against us. Less, if it is not. It all depends on the wind, my lady. You had best get comfortable. Mr. Hawkins will show you to your quarters. Don’t expect much in the way of amenities. The Black has never taken on passengers before this.”
“Where am I to put her?” hissed Bill who was clearly unhappy with the whole business.
“Put her in the cabin next to mine.”
“That’s not a cabin—that’s a storage cupboard what’s got our maps and rum in it!”
“Then move them,” Jon hissed back. “If she’s a spy, I don’t want her out of my sight. And if she isn’t, it will go better for us if Treacher believes we are only trying to help a damsel in distress.”
Hawkins pointed to the boy. “What about him? I paid for him fair and square.”
Lady Bronwyn raised her voice imperiously. “I need a cabin boy to assist me with fetching clean water and bringing me my meals on a tray. I shall not be dining with the crew or the officers.” She gave the first mate a smile of thinly veiled contempt.
“Each boy has his duty and the Black is short-handed as it is,” Hawkins whined.
“One boy will not make or break you, sir. Or do you mean for me to traipse about your ship in search of refreshment and hot water?”
Jon flashed a smile at Lady Gage that was as insolent as he could make it. “If you have money enough to reimburse me for the boy, you may have him back. If not, he had best get back to the galley where he belongs before Mr. Hawkins beats him for neglecting his duties.”
Her confidence seemed to falter. “Of course I have money. Only I object to paying to retrieve my property. Exactly how much are you asking?”
“Exactly how much do you have?” Jon was enjoying himself.
She opened her little velvet bag. “Three shillings and four pence.”
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “What do you say Hawkins? What is the boy worth?”
“A damn sight more than that!” Hawkins huffed. “Cook needs a galley mate and the boy is best suited. God knows there’s little else we can give him to do. He’d keel over in a stiff wind.”
“There you have it, my lady. The boy is ours.”
He walked away, putt
ing the peculiar young lady out of his mind. Her father’s reward was of no consequence as he would not be in a position to claim it. Once they had the gold, the lady could go to hell for all Jon Stag cared.
He had bigger problems to occupy him at the moment, such as training the raw and untried crew under his command. Small wonder Hawkins was worried about engaging the Dauntless in battle; the Black was ill-prepared, but damned if he would walk away now.
The Dauntless was indisputably carrying precious cargo bound for America and the Black was in sore need of a prize. That it was a British ship and not French made the mark all the more enticing. His father would feel the blow even buried in the American countryside where Lord Stagholt sat in acrimonious judgment on all those who had the misfortune to be born without a title.
“I have not finished with you, sir!” Lady Gage’s voice sang like the crack of a whip through the air, halting every man at his work and Jon in his step. “The boy is mine, Captain, and what is more—you owe me for his lost wage. I was without his service for a day and grossly inconvenienced. You will reimburse me or I shall refuse to leave this ship when you catch up to Dauntless. Do you hear? I shall refuse!”
Jon spun on his heel and stormed at the girl. His mind raced between throwing her overboard and throttling her, but he was stopped short by the look in her eyes. Young Lady Bronwyn was prepared to fight. That was surprising. A governor’s daughter prepared to do battle for a scruffy cabin boy? Jon was acquainted with ladies of the realm. Their priorities did not lie with protecting their servants over their own skin.
Noble as that may be, the firebrand could not be permitted to win. The men would lose confidence in a captain who did not know how to control a woman aboard his ship. They were already gossiping in the corners about the danger he had put them in by more or less kidnapping her. Lady Gage had to be dispensed with as soon as possible or he’d have a mutiny on his hands.
“You have caught me at a disadvantage. I cannot win against a lady,” Jon said with crisp authority. “The lad will have a full day in your service and the debt will be squared. After that, Mr. Hawkins will find a position for him on my crew.”
The Pirate Lord: Aristocrat. Rogue. Spy. Page 3