Pirate Hunter's Mistress (The Virginia Brides)

by Vinet, Lynette

  CHAPTER

  SIXTEEN

  Marlee walked the distance to the Swan Inn by way of the beach. She didn’t use Governor Rogers’s driver because she hated Beatrix to know where she was headed. The simple fact was that she didn’t wish anyone to know her destination in the event that Sloane was unable to help her. She didn’t know if he would help her, but she prayed he’d understand her situation and offer to assist her.

  “You be wantin’ to see Captain Mason?” the innkeeper asked her and eyed her suspiciously when she was standing inside the inn.

  “That’s what I said, sir,” she answered with a dignified air. “I want to speak to Captain Mason. Is he in?”

  “Aye. Room three at the top o’ the stairs. You ain’t like his other women,” the man noted and raked Marlee’s petite frame with lecherous eyes.

  Goodness! The crude man thought she was one of Sloane Mason’s doxies. A flush highlighted her complexion for him to think such a thing though she’d worn a simple blue gown with a modest neckline. “What you think isn’t my concern,” she replied in a tone which would freeze water. “Please tell Captain Mason that I wish to see him.”

  The innkeeper was clearly taken aback by her haughtiness. “Tell him yourself, my fine lady! I ain’t no lackey. Room three, I told you.” In a huff he turned his back on her and left Marlee standing in full view of the diners in the tap room. Some of the men, clearly disreputable-looking creatures, watched her with lecherous eyes. She couldn’t stand here all day like she was on exhibit, but she’d never gone to a man’s room by herself. However, when one of the men made a motion as if to rise from his chair and come toward her, Marlee scampered up the nearby stairs to seek out Sloane Mason in the belief that he was the lesser of two evils.

  Finding Sloane’s room, she timidly knocked upon the door. Now that she was finally here she was uncertain that Sloane would help her. She’d been quite rude to him, and he and Lark weren’t what one could term “close.”

  “Who is it?” came Sloane’s deep masculine voice when she knocked harder upon the door.

  “It’s Lady Arden. I must speak to you.”

  At least a minute passed before he opened the door. When he did she saw that his shirt was opened and he was hastily buttoning his trousers. “Come in, your ladyship,” he cordially invited. “It’s a rare honor to have you seek me out.” Opening the door wider, he gestured her inside.

  Marlee hesitated for a moment but went into the room, totally unprepared for the sight of a blond-haired woman who was hurriedly pulling a dress over her voluptuous figure. The true situation of what Sloane and this woman had been doing when she’d interrupted them was clarified by the sight of the rumpled bed sheets. Marlee felt so embarrassed that she immediately put her hands over her blushing cheeks. “Oh, I’m sorry. Forgive me for intruding. I had no idea you had—company—I shall leave at once.” She started for the door but Sloane stopped her with a hand on her wrist.

  “Addie was just leaving, don’t worry about it.” Sloane grinned lopsidedly and pulled a gold coin from his trousers pocket and tossed it at Addie. “For services rendered,” he told her.

  Addie caught the coin and bit down upon it. “Aye, ‘tis real.”

  “Isn’t it always?” Sloane winked at her and almost pushed her out of the door.

  Addie nodded in Marlee’s direction. “Do you want me to come back after she leaves?”

  “No, we’ve finished our transaction for the day.”

  “What? What you talkin’ about?” Addie asked, clearly baffled. “I hate those big words you use sometimes.”

  “Then maybe I’ll have to give you some lessons in proper speech sometime soon,” Sloane suggested and began to close the door before Addie was even out of the room.

  Addie giggled. “Aye, I like what you teach me.”

  “Goodbye, pet.” Sloane rudely shut the door in Addie’s face.

  Marlee nervously fiddled with the strings on her silk reticule. “You didn’t have to send—your friend—away like that. I could have come back later, Captain Mason.”

  He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “No need to do that, Lady Arden. Addie isn’t anyone important to me, whereas you are.”

  “I don’t understand. We barely know one another,” Marlee reminded Sloane.

  “Then perhaps we should remedy that right now.” He escorted her to a chair near a small table and sat opposite her. His heated gaze never left her face and Marlee feared he might be getting the wrong idea about her when his eyes suddenly roamed over the rumpled bed.

  “I—I’m here to see you about a business arrangement, Captain Mason.”

  He leaned closer to her. “Call me Sloane. I insist upon it.”

  “All right—Sloane. I need to borrow your ship and hope you can help me.” Marlee felt incredibly inept. She’d never approached a man of such a dubious reputation, but she realized it was his very penchant for intrigue which might save Lark and their love.

  His fingers lightly stroked her hand. “I had hoped you had other things on your mind, my lady.”

  The suggestive quality of his voice wasn’t lost on Marlee.

  “I’m here only to ask your help, sir, and will pay your worth. That is all,” she snapped and then clamped her mouth closed, wondering if he’d show her the door, too.

  Sloane leaned back in his chair and poured a shot of rum for himself. He watched her in speculation. “You have my interest, my lady. What is it you need?”

  Marlee took a deep breath, realizing that he wasn’t going to send her on her way. “I must have your help in locating Manuel Silva. I’ve been told that you know a great many things about this area. I hoped you’d be able to tell me where Silva is hiding.

  If Sloane was surprised by Marlee’s request, he didn’t act it. Swallowing the rum, he then smiled. “My sources tell me that Lark has already sailed away in search of Silva.”

  “Will Lark find him?”

  “No, my lady, he won’t.”

  “Do you know where Silva is?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then why didn’t you tell Lark? He offered three hundred pounds for the information.”

  “I don’t need my brother’s money.”

  Marlee suddenly understood the enmity between them. “So, you allowed Lark to go on a wild-goose chase, knowing all of the time he’d never find Silva. That’s horrible of you.”

  Sloane poured another rum. “Is it? Lark didn’t ask me directly if I knew of Silva’s whereabouts, so I saw no reason to tell him. And as I recall, he wasn’t too nice to me the last time we met.”

  “Will you take me to Silva? I have to see him.”

  Sloane held his glass in midair, clearly shocked by Marlee’s request but he said smoothly, “Depends, my lady, on what you’ll pay me.”

  Marlee opened her reticule and took out the diamond ring she’d found in the sea chest. She placed it on the table before Sloane. “This ring is all I have to offer you at the moment, and I’d bet if you have it appraised it will be worth much more than three hundred pounds.”

  Picking it up, Sloane held it to the light and carefully examined it. “Aye, I’d say it’s worth a pretty penny. Where did you get it?”

  “It doesn’t matter where I got it. Will you accept it in payment for taking me to Silva?”

  “Why do you want to go? Silva isn’t the nicest of men.”

  “I must try to help Lark get his friend released. If the poor man is freed, then Lark and I can have a life together.”

  Sloane looked at the innocent Marlee as if she were addled, then he roared with laughter. She thought Silva’s prisoner was a man. “That is rich, my lady! You rushing to Manuel Silva to plead the release of a captive—”

  “How dare you laugh at me!” she berated him and suddenly rose to her feet and snatched the ring from him. “I shall not stay here and be treated like an imbecile. I’ll find someone else to help me, someone more appreciative of what I offer. I’ve begun to doubt that you know where Silva
is at all, that you even know the man.”

  “Hold on, Lady Arden.” Sloane pulled her down into her chair. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t help you. And, yes, I do know where Silva is and, believe it or not, I know the scoundrel quite well.”

  Hope welled within Marlee, brightening her face. “You’ll take me to him?”

  Sloane considered the pretty, young woman for a long moment. Should he help her? Common sense told him that sailing to Silva’s home on St. Augustine was probably foolhardy on his part. He and Silva weren’t the best of friends but they respected each other as only two of a kind could. Perhaps Silva had forgotten how he’d left Silva’s pirate crew and joined with the English forces to clean up New Providence. After all, years had passed since Sloane had sailed with Silva but he’d not lost track of the pirate. Certain sources had confided to Sloane that Silva was now headquartered on St. Augustine, supposedly living the life of a Spanish gentleman. And if the information was correct, Silva also lived with a beautiful and enchanting English woman, a woman, it was claimed who had been taken from Lark Arden’s ship last year—a woman whom Lark Arden planned to marry.

  Recently word had circulated that this woman had died, but Sloane knew better. Lark’s fiancée was well and very much alive, if Sloane could believe all he’d heard about the auburn-haired vixen.

  And now Marlee Arden wanted to beg for the woman’s release. The situation would have been highly amusing if not for the fact that Sloane didn’t wish to see Marlee hurt. But his desire to see Lark suffer overrode his good judgment. Sloane hated his half-brother and anything he could do to add to his suffering was fine with him. He realized that Lark loved the beautiful and innocent Lady Marlee Arden. What better way to gain vengeance upon Lark than through Marlee’s discovery of the truth about Silva’s captured mistress.

  “Will you help me, Captain Mason? Please help me,” came Marlee’s breathy voice filled with such childish hope that Sloane shivered to think of the dismay she’d feel once she learned the truth.

  But anything was worth his brother’s suffering. Anything.

  “I’ll help you,” he found himself saying and took the ring back to place on his little finger. “Can you be ready to set sail tonight?”

  Marlee quickly nodded. “Thank you for helping me. I appreciate it. I think deep down that you must be a very kind man.”

  “Ah, my lady, how gullible you are, but if that’s what you wish to think then I won’t say differently.” He shook his diamond-clad finger at her. “I have a reputation of doing anything for the right price.”

  ~

  By flickering candlelight, Marlee penned a note to Beatrix and Governor Rogers, thanking them for their hospitality. She hoped they wouldn’t be upset by her sudden disappearance. Absent from her note was the fact that she was sailing away with Sloane Mason, but she assured her hosts that she was in capable hands and not to worry.

  Marlee wasn’t the least bit worried. Somehow she knew that she’d see Manuel Silva and would talk him into releasing Lark’s friend. The pirate had to listen to her. Her future with Lark depended upon it.

  Placing the white parchment atop the bureau drawer in her room, Marlee quietly took two dresses and undergarments from the sea chest and packed them in a small valise. For some odd reason she placed the golden locket with the auburn-haired woman’s miniature around her neck, concealing it beneath her bodice. When she was certain she was ready, she blew out the candle and sneaked away from the house. Nearing the beach, she stopped short as a tall, dark figure approached her. For a second she thought the man was Lark, and her heart began an erratic beat as her feet propelled her closer. But when she was within a few yards she slowed her pace. The man was Sloane.

  He flashed her a smile that was as bright as the moonlight beaming down upon them. “I decided to escort you to my ship,” he told her and took her hand to lead her down the beach. “The crew is on board and all is in readiness.”

  Suddenly doubt assailed Marlee. Was she doing the right thing by rushing away into the night with a man who was virtually a stranger to her? She could almost hear Clementina’s shrill voice, telling her that she had little sense, that Sloane Mason was of dubious reputation.

  But so was Lark, the man whom she loved.

  “Where are we going?” she asked, hoping that once she knew their destination, she’d stop feeling uneasy.

  “Saint Augustine,” Sloane unhesitatingly told her. “But you must promise me something.”

  “What?”

  “Don’t tell anyone afterward where Silva is hiding.”

  “I should tell Lark.”

  “Especially not Lark.” Sloane stopped walking and looked directly at her. “Promise me this, otherwise, I won’t take you to Silva.”

  “Are you and Silva friends?”

  “Let’s just say that we have an agreement of sorts. I respect his privacy and he respects mine.”

  “Doesn’t your crew know our destination? Won’t they say anything? What about Lark’s friend? He’ll undoubtedly tell Lark where Silva has been hiding—”

  “Marlee, my crew doesn’t divulge what I do or they suffer the consequences. As for Lark’s— friend—well, I have a feeling that this friend may not be too quick to leave Saint Augustine.”

  “I don’t understand,” Marlee protested but Sloane placed a finger on her lips.

  “Just do as I ask, my lady.”

  Marlee understood there would be no bargaining’ with Sloane over this, so she nodded. “I promise but I don’t care for all this secrecy.”

  “Keeping secrets makes life all the more interesting, my lady. Didn’t you know that?” He smiled roguishly at her and she followed after him until they came to the docks where Sloane stopped before a midsized ship that bobbed gently in the waves beside a larger one. Sloane bowed lowly. “May I present The Merry Bandit, my lady. I hope your trip shall be comfortable.”

  What an odd name for a ship, Marlee mused and couldn’t help thinking that the name suited its captain perfectly. Taking her arm to escort her up the boarding plank, Marlee’s face was highlighted by a lantern that hung nearby on a post. They were stalled from going further when a voice called Marlee’s name from the deck of the larger ship. Immediately Marlee stiffened and pointed her gaze in the caller’s direction. It was Captain Lundstrum.

  “Lady Arden! Lady Arden, is that you?”

  She looked helplessly at Sloane and then at Lundstrum, realizing that the man had recognized her. “Yes, Captain,” she said lowly.

  “Wait just a minute, my lady. I wish to speak with you.” Captain Lundstrum hurried from the quarterdeck of his ship.

  “God, help us, that gossipy Dutchman will have the news of your leaving all over the island within hours,” groused Sloane.

  Before Marlee was able to reply, Lundstrum came up beside her with a worried and speculative expression. “My lady, I hadn’t anticipated seeing you so soon. We’re not due to sail until the morrow. And The Merry Bandit isn’t my ship.”

  “I—I’ve changed my plans, Captain. I shall be sailing with Captain Mason.”

  “For England?” Lundstrum probed and cast a wary eye over Marlee and Sloane.

  Marlee was never very good at lying and she could barely drag a “yes” from her lips, however, she was saved from replying when Sloane intervened. “Certainly for England. Where else would Lady Arden be headed?”

  “With you captaining the ship, Mason, it could be headed for hell,” Lundstrum wryly observed and puffed on his pipe. “Tell me, your ladyship, is Captain Arden aware of your change in plans?”

  Marlee shook her head. “Er, no, he isn’t.”

  “Well, I think you should wait here until Lark returns.”

  “Heaven’s sakes, man, Arden doesn’t own her!” Sloane scornfully exclaimed. “No one’s forcing her to sail with me.”

  Lundstrum could see the truth of that statement. Lady Arden was clutching a small valise which meant that she’d packed and was ready to sail away with Mason. It di
dn’t appear that she was doing anything under duress. But Lundstrum didn’t trust Sloane Mason. He’d heard too many unsavory things concerning the man’s overall reputation, including his reputation with women. He’d have sworn that Lady Arden was in love with Lark, and he with her. Lark was so worried over her safe return to England, and there was just something about the way she’d looked at Lark on the day he’d gone to Governor Rogers’s home to meet the pretty young woman. He’d have sworn the two people were in love. But apparently not. Lundstrum sensed there was something going on between Lady Arden and Sloane Mason, just what he didn’t know. However, something wasn’t right.

  “You are happy to be sailing with Mason?” Lundstrum asked her and gauged her response.

  “Of course, sir. I’m sorry I didn’t inform you about my change in plans. That was very rude of me. Please forgive me.” Marlee spoke in a rush, the words tumbling out of her mouth. She must assure Lundstrum she was all right, otherwise, he might stop her from leaving with Sloane. And nothing was more important to her than finding Manuel Silva.

  Lundstrum’s gaze moved slowly over them, and, finally, he bowed. “I wish you a fair weather voyage, my lady.”

  “Thank you, Captain.”

  “Now that Arden’s watchdog is satisfied,” Sloane whispered and hurried Marlee up the boarding plank and away from Lundstrum’s watchful gaze, “let me show you to your cabin. I think you’ll be pleased with it.”

  At that moment, Marlee didn’t care about her cabin. She was worried about what was going to happen once they reached St. Augustine. Everything must be all right, she decided. Nothing was more important than convincing Silva to release Lark’s friend. Nothing was more important than proving to Lark that she’d braved a notorious pirate to prove how much she loved him. And once he knew the depths of her feelings for him, then he’d have to marry her. He loved her, he’d told her that. Soon there would be nothing to keep them apart.