Love Me With Fury

by Janelle Taylor

  Stunned by his casual attitude about sex and marriage, she stared at him. “I would never carry on like that!” she informed him when she found her voice. “What an evil rogue you are, Steele. Besides, where would I find time to fit you in if he keeps me occupied all the time?” she challenged.

  “I would find some way to distract him if you gave the word,” he calmly informed her. “I could be enticed to make you a wealthy widow for the right price,” he devilishly hinted.

  “Pay you to murder my husband?” she asked incredulously.

  “With the same terms as this present bargain, why not? To have you waiting for me is a mighty big temptation.”

  “If you find me so appealing, why not have me waiting for you all the time?” she seductively entreated him, then couldn’t believe she had actually said that.

  “I’m not the marrying kind, Angel. I like my freedom too much. A wife and home demand too many strings.” He negligently leaned against the bedpost, relishing this unusual conversation and the intoxicating view of her lush body.

  “I wouldn’t. I would demand only your real name and freedom from my father’s wishes,” she tartly offered.

  “No female alive is worth my freedom, love.”

  “What price does your freedom carry, Joshua?”

  “Can you afford to even ask?” he teased.

  “Can I afford not to?” she fenced. “You’re certainly better than any man my father’s brought home so far. It could be a marriage in name only. You could loan me the use of your name for whatever price you set. After a while when my father’s temper has cooled and his urgent need to see me wed is sated, I could quietly divorce you and we would both be free and happy. You wouldn’t have to ever see me again,” she suggested with a bewitching smile. “Name your price,” she encouraged him, thinking this only some amusing game.

  “With my name in your possession, you could recover any expense by profitably betraying me to your countrymen.”

  “I swear I would never reveal who you are, with or without any bargain. I don’t need or want a husband, only a name upon a paper to satisfy my father. Besides, how could I explain marrying Joshua Steele?” she debated cheerfully.

  “You could always say you learned the truth after the marriage, giving you an undebatable reason to divorce me.”

  “Surely the use of your name for a few months and my eternal silence has some price, Joshua?” she scoffed.

  He studied her for a time, smoldering eyes travelling up and down her body several times. “Ten thousand English pounds,” he declared to her surprise.

  Observing him for the same length of time, she smiled provocatively. He actually looked serious. Such an amount would require less than two pieces of her jewelry! She called his bluff, “In gold, jewels, or money?”

  Astonished, Spencer asked, “Are you serious? Where would a peasant girl get that much money?”

  At calling her a country lass once more, Alex smiled and shrugged. “If you’re serious, then I positively am. Since you’re a man of your word, give it to me in exchange for the money. We can be married in the first port we make, then you can take me home…all the way to my front door. We’ll break the news to my father, show him the license, then you can leave. Naturally when you never return, I’ll pine for a spell, then divorce you,” she delivered her ploy with great ease and confidence.

  “Come here and sit down. This sounds most intriguing. I’ve never been so enchantingly propositioned before.”

  She hurried over to sit down beside him, disregarding her state of undress. This sport was fun, but it could become more than a joke with a little effort and cunning! “Well? Do you honestly want to earn an easy ten thousand pounds?” she challenged.

  “Ten for the marriage, ten for the divorce,” he slyly altered his demand. “Payment before the marriage and definitely not in name only. It wouldn’t be legal if we didn’t consummate it. You remain my wife until I divorce you.”

  She pondered his added stipulations. The money was no problem, neither was making love to this virile man who made her pulse race. But why would he want the divorce option in his control? “Are you serious, Joshua? You aren’t just playing games with me?”

  “I’m deadly serious, Angel. Meet my terms and you have a bargain.”

  “Your word of honor?” she insisted.

  “My word of honor,” he promised, knowing she couldn’t meet those terms.

  “I accept your terms,” she promptly agreed before he could add more conditions. “Where is my baggage?”

  “Your baggage?” he echoed, baffled by her change of topic.

  “You said pay now and marry at first port, so I will. The money is hidden in my baggage. Your name in exchange for twenty thousand pounds. The date of our divorce is up to you.”

  “You have twenty thousand pounds in your baggage?” he stormed in disbelief.

  “I have jewels which will more than cover that amount,” she calmly announced. “You can select whichever pieces you want.”

  “I don’t believe you,” he argued, dismayed by the serious look in her eyes. If she could meet his terms, how would he extract himself from this absurd trap? He laughed at his foolishness. There was no way this country lass had that much money!

  “Have someone bring the baggage here and I’ll show you,” she challenged. “You did give your word of honor, Josh. Are you backing out so soon?”

  “This is only a trick to get your clothes, isn’t it?” he charged.

  “Since I’ll be your wife soon, I won’t have need of any. You did say my husband would keep me occupied,” she saucily retorted. “Since we won’t have time for a honeymoon afterwards, why not share one before?”

  He ran his fingers through his sable mane as he studied her. There was only one way to halt this game now. “Stay right here,” he ordered, pulling on his pants and leaving.

  Congratulating herself for solving her problem with her father, Alex envisioned his face as she plotted her impending tale of love and marriage to an overpowering American. She could say he swept her off her feet. He would be impressed by Stephen Whatever before he was supposedly forced to leave on business, never to return. Free…Later, she could feign a broken heart as a reason to stall another marriage until she found a man who suited her. If Stephen never returned and she discovered another man like him, she could always divorce him on grounds of desertion or presumed death…the plan was perfect!

  Spencer stuck his dark head in the door and commanded her to cover up. When she had done so, her baggage was brought into the room by two husky men and deposited in the middle of the floor. Once the men had departed, he turned and challenged, “Hand over the money, love. If you can’t, these trunks go over the side and you will pay dearly.”

  She smiled as she rushed forward to open one of the trunks. “Thanks for bringing them along. I would hate to think of them at the bottom of the ocean.”

  She withdrew all her clothes and piled them neatly upon the floor. Spencer noted the elegance and expense of the fine wardrobe within the trunk. Was this innocent in fact a thief? Whose possessions were these? Had she stolen them from some wealthy mistress?

  Alex glanced up at him, her smug expression fading to one of confusion. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “I was just wondering how you came in possession of such clothes.”

  “They’re mine! If you doubt me, check the sizes.” She took a small bejeweled dagger and pried open a secret compartment on the lower left side of the trunk. “Thackery didn’t have time to rob me. He was too busy trying to rape me. No doubt he would have gotten around to it later!”

  She held up a box and taunted, “See, I can hold up my end of the bargain.” She stood up and opened the box to reveal a collection of very expensive jewelry. “Any piece is valued at half your asking price. Which ones do you want?”

  He took the box and walked to the table to remove them and to inspect the costly collection. Without a doubt, they were real. “Where did you
get these?” he demanded harshly.

  “From my father, mother, and my grandparents,” she answered, puzzled by his anger.

  He glared at her, his skepticism vivid. “We have a deal, Joshua. I’ve kept my part. What about you?”

  “What if I demand the entire collection?” he tested her.

  Dismayed by his apparent greed, she still relented, “It isn’t fair, but I agree. I’ll tell my father they were stolen and he’ll buy me more.”

  “What’s your name, Angel? How does your father earn this kind of money?”

  “I’ll answer any question you have…after we’re married,” she stubbornly declared, feeling he might trick her after all.

  “How do you expect to marry me without a name?”

  “You can find out at the ceremony,” she rebuffed his ploy.

  “You want me this badly?” he asked.

  “Your name and my freedom, yes. Consider those a wedding gift, my dowry.”

  Desperately seeking a way to end this farce, he stood up and paced in deep concentration. He couldn’t marry anyone, especially not a mere country lass. No doubt her family was involved in some profitable and illegal activities. Had this been her intention all along, to snag a wealthy and prestigious husband to better her station in life? But why him? Why was she travelling alone? Why had she been by the pond? Too many suspicious questions without logical answers…

  “Why would you want to marry a stranger? Particularly me?”

  “I told you I don’t want to marry anyone at all, but my father will arrange a marriage if I come home single,” she stated in exasperation. “Since you can’t make any demands upon me and you’ll be gone soon, you’re the perfect solution to my problem. You promised, Joshua.” “That was before I knew you could meet my terms!” he blurted.

  “Then you were teasing me!” she hotly charged. “Well, that doesn’t matter. You gave me your word!” she defiantly reminded him.

  Spencer went back to the table and sat down. Once she discovered they were heading back to America on top of his refusal to comply with their silly deal, she would be furious.

  As she impatiently awaited his next words, her eyes found the petticoat upon the floor: the one with the messages from her uncle to her father. She tensed in panic. If Joshua saw it, there was no telling what he might do with that information. He was most assuredly not beyond blackmail! He could ruin both her uncle and father with the coded messages there. He could take her jewels and her body and refuse to meet his part of their bargain. How to get rid of it?

  She recalled Henry’s caution about disposing of it. She glanced at the porthole, then at the man whose attention was upon her jewelry. She leaned over and picked it up, pretending to toy with it. She nervously rolled it into a tight bundle and began to aimlessly, but purposefully, head toward the porthole. Standing before it, she pretended to gaze out at the moon’s reflection upon the indigo water. She dared to glance at him again, but he seemed preoccupied by the fortune in his hands.

  She tightly clutched the treacherous material and began to ease her hands upwards to stuff it through the porthole. Just as it was halfway out, a hand snaked out and seized it. She began to struggle with him over its possession. It was imperative to throw it out.

  “Let it go!” she yelled at him. “It’s mine; I can throw it away if I wish!”

  Spencer shoved her backwards to the bed and pinned her down with the weight of his powerful body. He snatched the garment from her tight grip and glared at her through stormy eyes. “You seem mighty anxious to toss this outside, love. Why?”

  He got up and started to unroll the petticoat. She jumped up and grabbed for it. Another fight ensued. Within minutes, he was sitting on top of her, her arms imprisoned beneath his knees. “Now, let’s have a closer look at this,” he breathlessly stated.

  “No!” she shrieked in dismay, fearful of the unknown stitches there. Why had she forgotten about this dangerous evidence? Why hadn’t she gotten rid of it before? She trembled in alarm as she watched him.

  To a man with Spencer’s experience, the irregular stitches stood out as clearly as a black storm cloud. He studied them for a time, then more closely as he held the fabric up to the light. Amazed to find an obvious code sewn there, he glanced down at the helpless girl beneath him. “What does it say, Angel?” he asked in a deceptively calm tone.

  She belligerently returned his stare. “I don’t know what you mean,” she lied noticeably.

  Who was this bewitching girl with expensive clothes and jewels who had mysteriously entered his life on two critical occasions? “The code’s as clear as the nose on my face, love. What does it say?” he harshly demanded.

  “What code?” she sweetly inquired, failing to disarm him.

  “Come now, Angel, I’m no fool. What does it say?”

  “What would I know about such things? And better yet, what would you know about such things? You’re a pirate, or so you claim,” she sneered with bravado.

  “Who’s sending this message and to whom? How are you involved, my beautiful English spy.”

  “Spy?” she incredulously echoed. “Me? If there’s some message there, I know nothing about it.”

  “Then why were you trying to discard it?” he demanded, his eyes narrowing at his apparent misjudgment of this girl.

  She turned her face from his piercing eyes and sighed as if unconcerned. “I don’t know anything about it. Someone must have put it there. Perhaps that was what Thackery really wanted. How should I know?”

  Spencer got up and stared down at the rebellious girl. “You won’t leave this ship until you decipher this code,” he suddenly warned.

  She jerked upwards. “But we have a deal! You promised!”

  “Is that what you’re after, love? My name for your superiors? That’s where the gowns and jewels came from, isn’t it? How long did you and Thackery hang around hoping I would attack and ‘rescue’ you? You almost had me fooled, Angel,” he angrily admitted aloud.

  “What are you talking about?” she cried in dismay. “You sound as if you honestly think I’m some scheming spy!”

  “Aren’t you? Wasn’t this some trick to worm your way into my confidence? Trouble was, you didn’t expect the man by the pond, did you? It looks as if the joke’s on you this time, Angelique.”

  “You’re crazy! I’ve told you the truth, Stephen. I’m English, but not a spy!”

  “Then tell me what message is on this petticoat!” he growled.

  “I don’t know! My uncle is sending it to my father. It’s nothing to concern you; I swear it!” she vowed, her apprehension rising.

  “Who are your father and uncle?” he instantly inquired.

  “I can’t tell you. I won’t allow you to blackmail them! Why are you so eager to know what’s written there? You sound more like a spy than I do!” she screamed at him.

  To make light of her charge, he laughed heartily. “If the message wasn’t critical, love, it wouldn’t be in code. I find this most intriguing. You’ll remain here until I know its contents.”

  “Damn you, Stephen! I don’t know what it says!”

  “Maybe that’s true and maybe it isn’t. But for certain you know who’s involved. Tell me if you desire freedom and home again. Your little ruse about marriage doesn’t fool me an instant.”

  “I was serious! There might be something there that could endanger my father’s life. I honestly don’t know what it says, but it isn’t important to you! Keep the jewels, just take me home.”

  “We’re heading for an American port at first light. You can either trust me with the information, or I’ll turn you over to some American officers to extract it. I owe several of them favors. Handing them a beautiful and devious spy should repay them,” he coldly threatened.

  “You can’t do that. I’m not a spy. You must take me home. Please, Stephen. My father will pay you any ransom you name.”

  “Your father or your employers? I doubt a cunning witch like you even has a father. During w
ar, there are ways of dealing with crafty spies,” he threatened. “The price of freedom is high this time, love. You can either give me their names or the contents of this message. You have my word I’ll release you.”

  “Your word is as fake as your name, Steele!” This man could not be trusted, she decided. If he did take her back to America and leave her, she could claim innocence. Her uncle was one of them; he would come to her aid. She would tell Joshua Steele nothing!

  Reading her look of defiance, he came forward and halted before her. “Do you have any idea what prison is like, love? Do you realize what they’ll do to get the truth from you?”

  “I’m innocent. They’ll believe me,” she bravely declared.

  “When I hand them this petticoat, they won’t.”

  “It’s your word against mine. Who would aecept the word of Joshua Steele over…mine? If you take me there, I’ll tell them who you really are,” she issued a threat of her own. She was alert to catch the concern in his eyes before he shielded them against her probing gaze.

  “I would strangle you first,” he sneered arrogantly.

  “How can they extract information from a dead woman?” she scoffed. “You turn me in, and I’ll blow your cover so fast you won’t be able to leave the port before they blast you from the water!”

  Spencer couldn’t afford for anyone to learn his secret just yet. But the information on this petticoat could be vital. That would explain her actions: the panic to discard it, her sudden flight home, her presence here and in England, and her possession of such wealth. Had he simply blundered into her current mission? Had Thackery been a part of it or not? Was she reckless enough to want to add his capture to her list of daring and successful exploits?

  “I think it’s past time we have a serious talk, love. There are things I must know and now,” he icily informed her.

  Confused, frightened, and angered, she sneered, “Talk about what, Captain Steele? Your kidnapping? Your seductions? Your lies and tricks?”