Leon gave a spine shuddering laugh. “You are in no position to make threats, LaFleur. Now, I’ll have your answer.”
“I don’t make threats, Leon. Ye know that. ‘Tis but a warning, and ye get but one of those. Just ask those that witnessed your double-crossing brother groveling on his knees, pleading for his life before I buried my blade in and gave it a long, slow churn.”
Leon winced. After a long thoughtful pause, he said in a curt tone, “Very well. I think I shall rather enjoy looking for the diamond on such an equally refined gem. Especially if she’s as shapely as ‘tis rumored!” With that, Leon thundered from the room, laughing at Jacque’s violent protest until his voice had faded to memory.
Some time later, Keats reappeared to inform him that Esa was being kept in another room, waiting to be searched.
“No!” was all Jacque could muster, helpless to stop whatever these monsters decided to do with his beloved Esa. He wretched his arms against the metal cuffs above his head, but they were already so tight they had cut into his inflamed wrists.
“Ready to talk now, LaFleur?” he sneered.
“Leave her out of this Leon! She knows nothing. She cannot help you!”
“Oh? I’m quite certain she could help me in a number a ways,” he purred. Cold, calculating beads of gray steel frowned at him. Something in his demeanor caused Jacque to wonder if he were being truthful.
The chains rattled fervently as he struggled to free himself once more. For all his effort, the shackles remained connected to the wall, though the nails had weakened under the stress and jarred loose…
“She is a beauty. Nice round breasts, soft hips, flowing hair the color of a midnight sky. Mmmm. Tell me, is she as eager to please as your lovely wife?”
“Ye son of a bitch!” His savage attempts to reach the troubling fiend edged the nails loosen a bit more.
Leon mocked his efforts with vicious laughter. “I’ll take that as a yes, but I shall reserve my opinion until I’m finished with her.”
More violent rattling. “You’re a dead man Keats!”
“Tell me where the diamond is and she will go unharmed!” Keats bellowed.
Berserk rage took hold of Jacque in that instant. One second he was on the wall and the next he had Leon in a chokehold, the chains squeezing his neck as he gasped for his last breath.
Something inside him rose up and screamed for him to stop just when he would have snapped the spineless bastard’s neck. If he quenched his bloodlust and ended the man’s troublesome life, Esa would never be born.
He met with the king’s men the moment he left Leon’s shackled body. His single thought had been on finding Esa, until the frigid steel of a blade kissed his throat.
“The king’s been waiting for you, LaFleur. It would be in your best interest to come along peacefully,” the brawny guard cautioned. “Your peculiar paramour keeps His Majesty company while he awaits your tardy arrival.”
Damnation! He couldn’t see the king now. He had to rescue Esa and find the diamond before he faced His Royal Majesty. The guard’s words sent bells ringing in his head. Peculiar paramour? What paramour? Surely he wasn’t talking about Esa? She was here—wasn’t she?
“If you’ll allow me a moment to check the area for my, er, personal belongings, I’d be more than happy to join you gentlemen.”
“If you’ve lost the King’s treasure, may the good Lord have mercy on your soul LaFleur.” The somber guard crossed himself.
“It wasn’t through any fault of mine, I assure ye. It must be around here somewhere, help me look for it will you?” he beseeched his old comrade. For a fleeting instant, he’d tried his hand at being part of His Majesty’s Royal Guard, though it didn’t take long for him to realize he’d never be able to take orders from anyone, much less a self-serving macaroni of a king.
The guard shook his head. “I hope to hell I don’t live to regret this, Cherif. What does it look like?”
Jacque described the exquisite stone to the king’s men. They searched every inch of the abandoned building only to come up empty handed.
And, there was no sign of Esa.
They passed Leon’s accomplices on the upper level on their way out. Jacque cocked his head to one side and stated, “We haven’t checked these men yet.”
The men were ordered to remove their clothing, but no stone was turned up.
“Where’s the woman?” Jacque asked.
“What woman?” Light dawned on the man’s sinister features. “The one Keats wanted me to retrieve? She was climbing inside a carriage by the time I arrived.”
Jacque cursed, it was true then. He could hardly breathe. She was truly in the company of a royal madman. Merde! Better she’d been held by Keats and his thugs. His heart felt as though a hundred horses trampled over it.
Without the diamond, not only was his life and that of his family at stake, but he’d play hell getting Esa away from the perverted royal bastard!
~ * ~
“What took you so long, Jacque? I was beginning to think you ran off with my treasure.” Louis sneered. “You do have it?”
“Your Majesty, as ye are aware, I was detained by Keats and his ruffian. The diamond was in my pocket—”
“Was?” The king leaned forward in his chair, brows raised in query.
“Aye, Your Majesty. I was knocked unconscious and when I came to, Keats informed me he was unable to find it.”
Louis rose from his throne. “Need I remind you of the consequences of returning without my diamond, LaFleur?”
Jacque fought hard to maintain his composure. It would do neither of them any good if he were to be locked in the dungeon before he had a chance to uncover her whereabouts. Jaw tightly clenched, he forced a civil tongue, “Of course not, Your Majesty. If ye will allow me to retrace my steps?”
“I’ve never known you to play the fool, LaFleur. Don’t do it now. If you’ve lost the diamond somewhere in between, surely someone has discovered it by now. You’ve left me no choice than to hold to our agreement.”
Jacque watched the ornate man pace before his Royal throne. White fear blazed through his veins. Did he come this far only to lose the diamond now? No, it must be on his ship. “If you’ll just allow me to search my ship?”
Louis grumbled, taking his time in coming to a decision. “I will allow my men to escort you from your ship to the old wine distillery where you were taken. If you return with it, all the better for you and your family. Should you not, well, let me just say I had harbored great hope for your services LaFleur. Either way, I shall keep your comely companion as my new paramour. Her beauty is exquisite.”
“No!”
Louis tilted his head in surprise. “You dare speak out again and I’ll send my men alone, while you tangle with the hangman! Now, be gone with you.”
Jacque clenched and unclenched his fists and battled hard to reign in his fury. Arguing with Louis would get him nowhere. But come hell or high water, he would not stand while Esa became an erotic pastime for the womanizing ruler.
~ * ~
Esa was escorted to a private compartment where she was bathed in rose milk before the king’s servants dressed her in a deep crimson chiffon gown. As if stripping her down to nothing in the presence of strangers wasn’t enough, she felt naked as half her breasts spilled over the form-fitting bodice.
Try as she might, the king’s loyal servants wouldn’t share the tiniest detail with her as to why she was being given the royal treatment. She only hoped her instincts were wrong. She’d rather take her own life than be forced to become a sex toy to the ruthless king.
Nor did anyone seem to know where Jacque was. Perhaps he’d found the diamond and given it to Louis, and this was the king’s way of showing his gratitude.
Where had he been? Her chest heaved with inner ferocity, certain that Jacque, the lying cad, had been with his wife for the past few days.
Rosa thought he would be on his ship, but the king disputed that theory. And he wasn’t at his
father’s house.
That left only one other possible place. Sophia’s.
If Jacque was on his way, would she arrive at his side? The supportive wife, ready to plead her husband’s case before the Royal court?
Her bitterness expressed itself in the flushed heat of her skin. She fought back the sting of tears and swallowed the lump in her throat. Praying to whatever force that had dumped her in the 18th century, and begging to be returned to her own time. Immediately.
She’d much rather live in a hell that didn’t include Jacque than she would in one where he was in love with another…his wife, in every sense of the word.
~ * ~
The Royal Guard escorted Jacque from the warehouse to his ship. So far, they’d turned up nothing but a bunch of weeds. His heart raced spastically. How could this be happening?
The Sainte-Anne was his only hope.
If the diamond weren’t there…
He sent up a pleading prayer as he made his way up the gangway and checked each plank of wood thoroughly on his way to the far side of the ship where he’d been standing before Keats’ men had happened upon him.
Nothing. Damn!
He was doomed, as was Esa and his entire family. He swallowed and fell back against the sterns side. At least they wouldn’t think him a coldhearted deserter. Well, Esa might.
Where the bloody hell was it?
“Well LaFleur, looks like the diamond sprouted a pair of legs, eh?”
“Sever ye tongue, Lawrence.”
In that moment, something jolted his memory and hope filled the hollow in his heart as he made a mad dash for his cabin.
“Halt LaFleur!” The guard yelled, but he didn’t heed the order and continued in his quest.
Throwing open the door, Jacque scanned the room. “Dingo?” he called and the little monkey sprang from beneath the desk.
“Where is it?” he asked, patting his empty shirt pocket and holding his hand out. The monkey shook his head in defiance. “Dingo,” Jacque said a bit more sternly.
The tailless critter disappeared into the trunk of scattered clothing. He resurfaced a minute later and vaulted onto Jacque’s shoulder where he deposited a small object into his pocket.
Jacque released the breath he’d been holding and the nervous tension began to drain from his body. “Good boy!” he said as kissed the coveted stone when he pulled it from his pocket. Had it not been for his itchy fingered friend, Leon would have regained the diamond and left him for dead.
The guard’s rushed into the cabin. “Have you found it then?”
Jacque turned sorrowful eyes on the men. “Er, no, I’m afraid the king’s diamond is truly lost gentlemen. I just came to say farewell to my pet.”
Twenty Three
“My, what a beautiful lady you are,” Louis purred, circling her like a vulture. The hungry stare emitting from his eyes made her knees shake. She was going to be sick.
“Where’s Jacque?” she asked, wringing her hands, unable to keep her voice from cracking.
“There’s no need to worry your pretty little head over him, my sweet. I’ll be looking after you from now on.” He removed his hat to settle it on the polished bureau and sauntered toward her in a menacing fashion. Unbuttoning his velvet overcoat, he added, “Besides, LaFleur has a wife to look after, or have you forgotten?” He proceeded to remove the jabot and thick waterfall of white ruffles beneath.
Forgotten? Forgotten! That had been her only thought since the woman paraded into the LaFleur’s home and declared her ties to the deceitful pirate! Something else held her attention captive at the moment, however.
“What do you mean, you’ll take care of me?”
His belly shook as he chuckled. He stopped in front of her, less than an arm’s length away. “You’ll be honored to know that I’ve decided to keep you on as my personal paramour, ma belle femme.”
Esa froze. Personal paramour? If the depraved man so much as touched a stubby finger to her, she would surely shatter into a bazillion pieces! “But—”
“Hush now,” he said, placing that stubby digit on her lips. To her horror, she remained in one piece. She battled the urge to bite him.
The arrogant pig smelled surprisingly of peppermint. “I think you will please me. Even now my body grows eager with the nearness of your delectable fruits. Indeed mademoiselle, such healthy curves are rare for a commoner.” He paused to look at her face. “Are you a commoner?”
She didn’t answer.
“Wherever did LaFleur find you? You’re not a native to France, don’t think to deny it else I’ll have that lovely tongue cut out when I’m through. Your speech carries a lilt I’m not familiar with. What is your given name?” His suspicious gaze raked her face, struck a cord of fear in her, but she remained silent. If she were stupid enough to fabricate some outlandish tale, it would surely come back to bite her in the ass.
“I have ways to make you talk, Cherie.” He half coughed, half snickered, adding, “But there will be plenty of time for talk, eh, ma belle? Just now, I’m anxious to see the ripe swell of your bosom without the burdensome garments.”
His ham-like hand traced her cheek, traveled her chin, down her neck. “Should you fail to please me, our liaisons will be rough and agonizing for you. And never again will you please another.”
A knock at the door saw the king cursing the saints in heaven. “This had best be a matter of life or death!” he rumbled as he thundered to the door.
The servant paled upon seeing the half naked and highly irritated king. “Begging your pardon, Your Majesty,” the lowly man bowed, adding, “He has arrived.”
He? As in Jacque?
Louis turned apologetic eyes on her. “I will return when time permits, ma belle.” He collected the white willowy shirt and returned to the door. Looking over his shoulder, he scanned the length of her gown, coming to rest on the full mounds perched firm and proud at her bodice. Then he was gone, as if he’d never been.
She breathed easily when the door closed. What was that, a key? After the assertive chauvinist had ample time to get away, she ran to it and jiggled the handle. Just as she’d feared, it was locked. Damn the beastly man!
She had to find a way out of here before the repulsive sex fiend returned.
~ * ~
Jacque’s entire body stiffened at the frazzled sight of the king as he rushed into the court, attempting to button his coat while making his way to the throne. Jacque’s heart crashed into his stomach.
Dear God, was he too late? His pulse thundered in his ears, a muscle twitched beneath his jaw. He’d rip the bastard’s heart out if he’d dared to lay a ruthless hand on his woman!
“I hope your mission was fruitful for you sake, LaFleur.” Thick brows were arched in great interest. Louis seemed to take note of his distress and chuckled knowingly. He could feel the lack of color, the worry lines staggered across his own battered face.
“Where is she?” Jacque made no attempt to hide his biting rage.
He looked down his crooked nose, ignoring the question. “You try my patience LaFleur. Perhaps you didn’t hear me the first time, where…is…my…diamond?”
“The woman first.”
Waves of shock and wonder moved over Louis’s pinched expression. He nodded and one of the guards stepped in front of Jacque and punched him in the stomach. “You have grown bolder than I remember. I find it hard to imagine a ruffian such as yourself; one who enjoyed many a plunder into the soft folds of a woman’s flesh, could give a fig for such a common whore. Don’t worry LaFleur, I’ll take good care of her when you’re gone.”
A sly grin crept onto Jacque’s lips as he stared down the man that had the power to order his death any moment. He didn’t care. Louis’s arrogance made him all the more glad he’d left the diamond in the safety of his cabin. “I know you’ve already signed the order for my demise. Do you think me a fool? Why would I hand over the stone so you can carry out your bloody massacre?” He was taking a huge risk by quartering with
the king, but given the circumstances, what choice did he have?
“You dare much, great fool! Search the treacherous thief!” Louis bellowed.
Jacque grinned mischievously and the look on the king’s face spoke volumes. He seemed to realize in that instant that he spoke the truth. He didn’t have the diamond. Not with him, anyway.
He eyed Jacque suspiciously, adding, “Why I ever thought I could trust the likes of a pirate eludes me. This is your final warning, LaFleur. Tell me where the diamond is and I may consider sparing your rebellious life.”
Jacque heard the smugness shine through his tone, “Ye trust me because you know I’m a hunter by trade. If ‘tis a prize worthwhile, death is the only thing that could make me abandon the chase.” He sent Louis a dangerous glare, one that had caused many a men to shrink away in fear. It wasn’t treasure underlying his words, but a raven-haired angel, quite possibly tucked away in the king’s quarters, if the guard spoke the truth.
“Release the woman and I’ll consider handing over your diamond.”
“The devil be damned LaFleur! I’ll keep the woman for my troubles.”
“Then you may as well have your goons drive a musket through my head now, for as long as I’ve a breath left in me, you’ll not put your grubby paws on my woman.” He snarled in silent rage.
“You’ve just sealed your own fate, you yellow-bellied coward. And, you’re too late. I’ve already had my fill of the lovely courtesan. Why, the lady anxiously awaits our next liaison as we speak.”
Jacque smiled. Louis was lying. He could read it in his body language. The frenzied fool hadn’t touched her, yet. Of that, he was certain. The man was too tense, too eager…as anxious as any man in need of releasing his carnal desires.
“The ball is in your court, Your Majesty.” He mocked with a low bow. He’d found the cliché quite amusing when he’d heard it on a late night television show. King Louis quirked a brow at the odd remark.
“Should I actually consider your outrageous demands, LaFleur, how do you know I won’t have you killed and take the woman after I have possession of the diamond anyway?”
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