Something caught her attention, it sounded like an irritated male.
Jacque?
She lifted her head and squealed, a joyous smile exploding on her face as she watched him hoist himself over the top of the cliff in all his alpha-naked glory. “Jacque!” He was alive!
She didn’t know whether she wanted to kiss him, or kick him for giving her such a scare.
~ * ~
What the hell was she doing on this side of the lagoon? Jacque grimaced. He was the only one the creature permitted across, wasn’t he? How had the stubborn wench managed to escape the monster’s wrath when every man he’d ever heard tale of attempting to cross the testy waters had failed to make it to the other side?
Had the creature died since he’d last stepped foot on the Island? That must be it.
At any rate, hadn’t he told her to stay put? Damn the hard-headed woman! By God’s thunder, why was he so bloody woeful about their parting? He’d be far better off without her contrary ways.
Where the devil were her clothes? He should give her a good tongue thrashing for her disobedience. Perhaps if he’d answered her question and told her the truth about the lagoon, she may have cooled her heels and waited beneath the palms until his return.
Water dripped from her hair onto her grimy breast harness, she resembled a dog left out in the rain too long. He stormed toward her only to stop again. Something was wrong. The lass was crying. Was she hurt? Had they been followed? Did the creature live, had it harmed her during her foolish trek across the water? His fists clenched and unclenched. After he was done giving Esa a good portion of what reminded of his mind, he’d kill the miserable beast with his bare hands!
But wait, she wasn’t crying, she was…laughing?
By the saints! He’d never figure a woman out if he lived five thousand centuries. He unleashed his frustration on her. “What are ye doing here lass? Did I not tell you to stay put? How the devil did you get across the lagoon?”
She flinched as though he’d struck her, and a pang of guilt shot through him. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I’m a pretty good swimmer myself, Jacque. What? Is that why you didn’t want me to follow you? Did you think I’d drown? Or get eaten by that monstrous snake?”
“Blimey! You saw the serpent? Did it attack you?” He stopped long enough to rest his fears. She was in one piece, for now. “Why the hell didn’t ye stay put? What if…” he trailed off, not having the heart to lend voice to his unspoken trepidation.
“What if what?”
“Forget it.”
Her nostrils flared as that endearing wrinkle materialized on her nose. “No, I won’t forget it. What if what?”
Jacque stepped so close to her their noses touched. “What if I wouldn’t have returned? You can’t follow me everywhere Esa. Sooner or later, time will realize its mistake and send me back. We both know it; it’s no use pretending either of us can alter our destinies.”
There, he’d said it.
“Oh,” was her only reply. And then the cascade of tears came. “I-I saw you fall out of the tree…how did you survive?’
He blinked. She thought to rescue him?
His heart swelled with gratitude. She wasn’t being defiant, but had acted out of fear. “Ye thought I plunged to me death? And ye were coming to my aid?” He couldn’t help but chuckle in his delight and pulled her into his embrace, feathering kisses all over her soiled head. He couldn’t love her any deeper than at that very moment.
It broke his bent spirit to think it wouldn’t last.
“Well it’s not like there was anyone else around. Besides, you should have told me what to expect. I don’t recall Lola mentioning anything about a damned freefall—or a snake from the land of Godzilla.”
He laughed out loud. “Ye talk too much.” His mouth closed over hers, putting her tongue to far better use. He wanted to remember this moment. When she looked on him with love in her eyes. All too soon, when he told her he’d failed in his quest, it would end.
“Did you find your treasure?” Her eyes sparkled with admiration.
Dread closed over his heart like a cold fist. He dropped his arms and turned away from her. He couldn’t look at her, couldn’t see her face when he broke the disturbing news. Clenching his jaw against the sting of tears, he said in a low tone, “Sorry to disappoint ye lass. It wasn’t there.”
“What?”
Her voice sent a shiver down his spine. This was it.
“It wasn’t there. Somehow, someone must have discovered it.”
“Are you sure you looked in the right place?”
Blazing Lucifer! Couldn’t she just accept his word and leave it at that? “Aye, it was the right place.”
“I’m so sorry, Jacque,” her voice echoed her sorrow. Her arms circled his waist as she rested her head against his back. “You must be so disappointed.”
His blood raced with heat. She wasn’t upset? He didn’t move for her demeanor immobilized him. “Aye, ye might say that. I was so sure it would be there.”
“I know,” she said, her hand smoothing over his abdomen reassuringly.
He turned to face her. “I’m sorry I let ye down, lass.”
To his surprise, she smiled. “You couldn’t if you tried.” She beamed, then frowned as though reconsidering the statement. “Well, okay, I lied a little. You could, if you tried.” She chuckled.
He’d not expected this reaction. His heart threatened to rupture from the bounding love and admiration that filled it. “Are ye not disappointed?”
“Well, since you asked…” She paused, her laughter was like medicine to his soul. Her mirth faded, replaced by a more serious side of the brave woman. “I’m kind of glad you didn’t find it. I don’t think I could bear it if I lost you.”
“Shhh, I know my love. But in the event that it happens, you must go on. If there’s a way for me to come back, I swear I’ll find you.” He held her close for several moments, feeling guilty for the part of him that was also glad he hadn’t found the stone.
“I know you will,” she spoke into his chest. Lifting her head, she smiled at him and added, “Some lucky soul happened upon a stroke of luck when they toppled over the cliff, now didn’t they?”
“Indeed.” And some lucky soul surely had. But how could someone just happen to fall off the cliff and seemingly know to look for his treasure? Godsteeth! He’d been had. Someone knew his secret. But who?
“Jacque? Are you all right?”
“Bah, I’m fine my love. Perhaps I was wrong about the stone. Perhaps I’m here for a different kind of treasure.” He hugged her close and kissed her forehead. “Perhaps this is where I was supposed to be all along. With you, a treasure amongst treasures. And worth far more to me than that miserable stone.”
“Awww, get over here you big silver tongued swindler!” She took his head between her palms and kissed him. “I love you, Jacque. With or without that dumb ol’ treasure, you’ll always be my cuddly Corsair.”
~ * ~
“So, tell me about this stone, who do you suppose could have known about it?” Esa asked, settling in the familiar crook of Jacque’s arm after a satisfying evening spent in the throes of passion.
Jacque groaned. She felt his body stiffen beside her. A muscle twitched beneath his jaw. “I don’t rightly know, but I have a few prospects. ‘Twas a stone amongst stones, worth more than a hundred fleet of merchant ships.”
“Just one?”
“Aye. Just one lass.” His hand traced the curve of her arm.
“Bigger than the ruby? What’d it look like? What color was it?”
He snickered. “Aye, far bigger than the measly ruby. 67.8 karats of flawless blue diamond. “Twas reported to be over a billion years old, and worth far more than that in gold. The Stone of Sita, often referred to as the Hope Diamond, as all hoped to lay claim to it.”
His words had a strangling effect on her airway. She couldn’t breathe. Had she not been lying down, she would have surely fainted.
Was this the reason Jacque had fallen into her lap?
“J-Jacque,” she started. Her skin tingled as the blood began to circulate once again.
He must have sensed her distress for he turned to meet her troubled stare. “Lass? Have ye taken ill? Ye look a might peaked.”
She made a feeble attempt at a smile. “I-I’m fine, I…” she paused to take a breath, adding, “I think I know where your treasure is.”
Fourteen
“I’ll see you in a few days, Larisa. Take care, darling,” Esa said, flicking the cover closed on her cell phone and turning to meet Jacque’s questioning glare. “All set. We should be in Baton Rouge in a few days. My cousin is expecting us.”
Jacque took a long pause from his relentless pacing and threw up his hands. “Why didn’t ye ask her about the stone?”
“Let’s sit down.” She motioned toward the table, grabbing her glass of tea before following him. He was making her nervous with his worrying. If he didn’t sit down soon, he’d surely wear a hole in the deck.
“Look darling, I didn’t tell her about it because I’m not so sure she knows where it is.”
“What?” He looked stunned.
“For centuries, my family has handed down tales of the fearsome diamond. And while my relatives have always believed in the curse, I thought it was just another foolish tale. At least until you described your treasure. You may know it as the Hope Diamond, Sita’s Stone or what have you, but the Keats bloodline refers to it by another name. The Devil’s Diamond. Hell, for all we know, it may not even be the same—”
“Avast lass, ‘tis the same. If ‘tis as ye say, there’s not another like it in all the world. ‘Twas stolen from the sculpted idol of a Hindu goddess, Sita. ‘Tis her revenge ye speak of, to be sure.”
“Well, if that’s true why would anyone want it? Why do you want it? It’s hardly worth your life.”
“Why? Aside from the fact the bloody stone cost my entire family their lives you mean?”
Esa winced. “Sorry, but that’s just the point Jacque, don’t you see? You attempted to possess the stone when you buried it, and look what happened to your family.” She sipped her tea, taking the straw and swirling the ice around the wedge of lemon, adding with a thoughtful shrug, “As I said, it’s hardly worth one’s life, no matter how valuable it might be. What good is having such wealth if you’re not around to enjoy it?”
“Many have speculated that by possessing the sacred stone, they’d been granted Sita’s divine gifts.”
“Divine gifts? Forgive my ignorance, Jacque. I’ve seen many a picture of Hindu God’s but never personally studied the religion. Care to summarize?”
“Sita was believed to be the incarnation of the Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth, wisdom, light, fortune, the lotus flower, beauty, courage and fertility. The epitome of virtue.”
“Ah, so by possessing the stone, one was destined to prosper, at least that was the idea. So where did the curse come about? Do you believe it?”
“Aye lass, I do now. Every heart that thought to claim the stone died a horrible death. Hence, ye death diamond. Tell me something, do ye believe in the symmetry of life?”
“Balance? Of course. It’s all around us, rain/sun, man/woman. Why?”
Jacque grinned, his gaze momentarily elsewhere, another time, another place perhaps, before it settled once again on her. “My mother was a firm believer of the do unto others rule. She always said what one yields at the harvest what they plant in the spring.”
“Smart woman.” She smiled, taking another sip of her tea.
“Indeed. You’d have liked her, and she you.” Sorrow flashed across his eyes and he got up to refill his empty glass. “Her philosophy of life reminds me in some ways of Hinduism. They believe that through creations many diversities, there is a constant essence that connects everything, weaving all life into a unified whole.”
“Isn’t there?”
He snorted having returned with the entire bottle of rum and filled his glass midway. He swallowed its entire contents before settling the glass casually back on the table.
She turned her nose up when he tilted the bottle in her direction. Brows raised, he inquired, “Care for a shot mademoiselle?”
“Not at the moment, thank you. You were saying?”
“Like many religions, the Hindus believe in an all prevailing spirit of beings, of the past, present and future that governs the Universe and everything therein.”
“Sounds familiar. What does it have to do with your treasure?”
“Perhaps if used for the right reasons, for good and not greed, the stone yields life and not death.”
~ * ~
The diamond commanded most of Esa’s thoughts over the next few days. What if Jacque was right? Could the Hindus have fallen upon some shred of truth with their Goddess? Was this Goddess responsible for Jacque’s spiral through time?
Jacque returned to the cabin carrying a tray full of goodies. Fruit, chocolates, cookies, everything she’d requested. Why couldn’t she have been one of those people that developed a lack of appetite under stress? If she wasn’t careful, Jacque wouldn’t be the only one with a new wardrobe when they returned. And that was one shopping spree she’d sooner not indulge in.
“Can I get ye anything else mademoiselle? Coffee, tea…me?” Dark brows wiggled mischievously.
She chuckled. “Oh Jacque, that joke must be older than you.”
“Oh!” His hands covered his heart and he staggered back a few paces as though she’d wounded him. “Elizabeth, I’m comin’ to join ye honey.”
Esa burst out laughing. The best Sanford & Son she’d heard in a long while, with an 18th century twist, heavy accent and all! “Better leave the comedy act here when you return home, LaFleur.”
She laughed, then froze, feeling the brunt of her words. It made her chest feel tight, heavy, and she could see by looking at him, Jacque felt the rippling effect of her statement as well.
From the moment she’d realized the stone might well be in her family’s possession, it had started all over again. The heart-stopping fear of losing him. How long did they have before her heart was ripped from her chest?
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“No lass. It’s been heavy upon my heart as well. Indeed. I was sent here for a purpose. The only reasonable cause for my arrival would be the stone. I think we need to face the fact that we don’t have much time, and make every moment count. And, if by some chance we’re wrong, and I’m meant to stay in the future, then our time together is surely not wasted, eh?”
Esa leapt from her seat and practically fell into inviting arms. He held her tightly, as though afraid she might slip through his embrace. She couldn’t stop the tears from falling, and didn’t try. “Oh Jacque, I can’t lose you. I don’t think I could bear it.”
“I want ye to know, should I be uprooted without warning, me time spent with ye has been the happiest, sweetest days of my wretched life.” He kissed a tear from her cheek.
Her stomach burned, bile stung the back of her throat and she was dizzy with grief. “Please stop. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
“Shhh, it’ll be all right love.” His voice was soothing, if laced with regret. “We’ll find a way to be together, I promise.”
Esa burrowed as close as she could get to him. How could he make such a promise? With unknown, unseen forces pulling their strings, how could they possible seize control of their Fate?
Perhaps if she held him tightly enough...
~ * ~
“Esa!” The pretty blonde squealed as she opened the door. The old French Creole estate was like something straight out of a Better Homes & Gardens magazine. “How are you?”
Freshly painted a soft lemon chiffon, the wide two story home was trimmed in white and held an array of French doors and lofty banisters. Giant ferns lined both levels of the balcony and wrapped around the deep-set
porch. A set of white rockers decorated either side of the front doors invited one to sit a spell and enjoy the surrounding beauty of the winding cypress trees.
“I’m doing all right, considering. Thanks for putting us up on such short notice.” Esa hugged her cousin. “This is Jacque.” She paused, her eyes darting between her lofty relative and her loving pirate. “Jacque, this is my cousin, Larisa.”
Jacque lifted Larisa’s hand and bowed over it, settling a soft kiss upon the back before straightening again. “‘Tis a pleasure, mademoiselle. It’s plain to see beauty runs in your family.’
Larisa rounded approving eyes on Esa. With her hand fluffing the soft pale hairs resting just above her neckline, she spoke with a cool southern draw, “The pleasure is all mine. Welcome, Jacque. Our home is your home. Won’t you come in?”
“Indeed, thank you.” Jacque nodded and collected the bags from the porch before motioning for Esa to precede him.
“I’ll get the door,” Larisa offered, beaming as her cousin passed by and adding in a low tone so only she could hear, “My, my, that’s eye candy if ever there was any. And a far cry from Sid! You and I have some catching up to do, dearie.”
Esa chuckled, and then winced at the mention of Sid. He’d been with her at the funeral just a few weeks ago. Her fiancé. And now here she was, showing up at her door with another man. She could only imagine what it must look like. “You can say that again—got a decade to spare?”
~ * ~
Having settled into the generous guest quarters, Esa and Jacque joined Larisa and Rick, her husband, for dinner. The inside of the home was as elegant as the outside. Each towering room possessed a low ceiling fan. The plush furniture looked as though it’d never been used, as did the china—though it too had been a family heirloom. Esa owned a few pieces of the extensive collection herself.
The meticulous woodwork denoted great wealth at the time the estate was built several centuries before. Yet another recycled family possession.
Corsair Cove Page 22