Lost Honor

by Loreen Augeri

One of the pirates grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved him toward the door. “Everyone on deck. Now.” He glanced at Andrew. “What’s wrong with him?”

  “He’s unconscious,” the surgeon replied.

  “Well, wake him up. Everyone on this ship is to be on deck immediately. Shark’s orders.”

  The other man clamped onto Arianna’s upper arm and dragged her after him. “Move it, boy.”

  “I can’t wake him up,” Doctor Stevens told him.

  “You sure he won’t wake up? I think he’s faking.” He punched Andrew in the arm.

  “Leave him alone,” Arianna cried. She broke free and inserted herself between Andrew and his attacker.

  He laughed. “You think you’re going to protect him.” He flung her out of his way with a beefy arm and slammed his fist into Andrew’s leg.

  Andrew didn’t respond.

  “Stop it,” Arianna screamed and rushed at the man with nails barred and started kicking.

  He tossed her from him as if she were no more than an annoying fly. She smashed against the wall and crumbled to the floor. Her head spun as she fought to breathe.

  “You.” He pointed at the surgeon. “Carry the man.”

  “He shouldn’t be moved. It could kill him.”

  “I’ll kill him if you don’t. Now, do it,” he shouted. “And you.” He stalked toward Arianna and hauled her up by the collar of her shirt. “Get moving.” He threw her forward. She managed to catch herself before she collapsed, again.

  Doctor Stevens draped Andrew over his shoulder and straightened with a grunt. “Are you hurt?” he whispered as he walked behind her.

  “I’m fine.” Throbbing aches pulsed through her and black spots danced before her eyes, but she would survive.

  She climbed the ladder, and when she stepped on deck, she spied the crew grouped together, guarded by sword-wielding, menacing pirates.

  ****

  Standing before his crew, Morgan shifted his legs farther apart, bracing against the swells and breathed a sigh of relief as he spied Arianna joining the rest of his men. He snared her gaze when she anxiously looked his way and dove deep inside to determine if she had been harmed. She appeared whole and uninjured, and her eyes told him not to worry about her. But he did. There was no way to prevent it.

  “The crew is all accounted for, Cap’n,” one of the pirates informed Shark, who lounged beside Morgan.

  Would they think Arianna was a boy? His hands clasped together behind him tightened when he noticed her hair. What had she done? He hadn’t ordered her to cut the long, luxurious mass, only to stuff it under her cap. Of course, when did she ever listen? He grudgingly had to admit it might help. But bloody hell, no matter what she did, Arianna didn’t resemble a boy.

  “No one will be hurt as long as you cooperate,” Shark told Morgan’s crew. “All we want is the cargo.”

  Morgan scanned the men who hauled items from the hold and carried them to the other vessel. And then his gaze latched on to him. His brother. Dressed like the rest of the pirates, he looked tanned, healthy, and alive.

  “Didn’t anyone tell you the war is over, Turnbull?”

  “Ah, so you do know me?” Shark smiled with a full set of white teeth.

  “Of course. You were a privateer for England in the war.”

  Shark laughed, and his thin, dark mustache danced. “This way of life suits me, and it is very profitable.” He lifted his sword and pointed the tip at Morgan’s neck.

  Morgan didn’t flinch.

  Arianna gasped, and he prayed she’d stay where she was.

  “And I happen to love the danger.”

  Morgan had never faced him in the war but learned from seamen who had that he was ruthless in battle.

  “You are a brave man, Captain Danvers and also a rich one.” Shark flicked his sword away from Morgan’s neck. “What I said is true. No one will be harmed. I will not take your ship since it is useless to me in this condition, and I will not burn it because it can’t follow me without a mainmast. But you are coming with me.”

  His heart pounded faster, but he allowed no emotion to show on his face. This might be the way to rescue his brother. Although he wasn’t sure how, yet. He only knew they couldn’t be separated again. “Why?”

  “Because I am going to ransom you. Think of my amazement and delight when I find you, the owner of this shipping line, the captain of this vessel. Why is that? Are you searching for a little excitement of your own?”

  “Sitting in an office all day can be boring.”

  “Do you think your family will pay well to get you back?”

  Morgan shrugged. “Probably not. If I die, they split my fortune.”

  Shark’s smile turned to a snarl. “For your sake, you better hope that is not true.” He called to two of his men. “Take the captain aboard our ship and slap him in irons.”

  He wanted to be placed aboard the ship to get to his brother, but he didn’t want Turnbull to know. He struggled against the men until a knife nicked his throat.

  “Stop it. Don’t hurt him.” Arianna raced past the men guarding the crew.

  Bloody hell. Did she want to get herself killed or raped? Her disguise wasn’t as good as she thought. And he had heard Turnbull had an eye for and a way with the ladies. With his black hair tied back and his face a series of hard angles, Morgan would call him handsome in a rough way.

  One of the pirates grabbed Arianna’s arm before she reached Turnbull. Swinging her around, he thrust back his arm to slap her. Turnbull raised his hand to stop the man.

  Morgan glared at her from where he stood with a knife to his neck, warning her of the danger these men poised and ordering her without words to return to the crew, but she would not meet his eyes.

  “This one is trouble, Cap’n. He fought me when I tried to wake this man up.” He pointed to Andrew lying on the deck at Doctor Stevens’s feet.

  “What is your name, boy?” Shark’s eyes roved over Arianna.

  She raised her chin a notch. “Stephen.”

  “Stephen what?”

  “Stephen Marks.”

  “What is your job on this ship, Stephen?”

  “I am Captain Morgan’s cabin boy.”

  Shark frowned as his gray eyes the color of storm clouds continued to regard Arianna.

  Was Turnbull suspicious? At least she had lowered her voice a notch, and her breasts weren’t visible. She had done a good job of binding them.

  “How old are you, Stephen?”

  “Fourteen.”

  Shark nodded. “Do you have a problem with me taking your captain aboard my ship?”

  “Yes, sir. We need him here.”

  “Well, I am sorry to disappoint you.”

  “But—”

  “Quiet, Marks. I am thinking.” He tapped a long finger against his thin lips. “If you will miss him so much, you can join us. I am in need of a cabin boy.”

  “Leave him here, Turnbull. He is of no use to you.” The knife pierced his skin, and a warm drop slid down his throat.

  “You hurt him. He’s bleeding.” Arianna wrenched her arm from the pirate’s hold and rushed forward.

  Shark grabbed her. “He will be fine if he behaves.”

  A ball of fury exploded within Morgan. “Let him go, Turnbull.”

  Worry and concern crossed Arianna’s face along with a determination he didn’t like.

  Shark glared at the two men holding him. “Why isn’t he on the ship, yet?”

  ****

  Arianna stood straight and tall, trying to make the most of her five feet as Morgan was hauled away.

  Did this pirate really mean to take her with them? She feared him and his intentions, but she might be able to free Morgan if she joined him. She didn’t want Morgan to face these men alone. As Shark’s gaze roamed over her, she had been terrified he would discover her true identity, but he now seemed satisfied she was who she said she was.

  “Would anyone else like to join us? You’ll make more money for less wo
rk than on this brig.”

  A sea of faces stared at him with a mixture of emotions, but no one took him up on his offer.

  “Then I bid you good day.” He waved one hand and jerked Arianna forward with the other. “Come along, Stephen.”

  Swallowing the lump clogging her dry throat and stilling the tremors rocking the pit of her stomach, she shuffled toward the ship. The rest of his men followed, walking backward with their swords and pistols pointed at the crew of the Sea Dragon, scanning them for threatening moves. The two ships held together with grappling hooks, she jumped from the Sea Dragon to Shark’s schooner.

  When all his men were on board, Shark issued orders, and as soon as they were unfastened from the brig, they raised the sails. She turned and spied the Sea Dragon fading in the distance. Her heart twisted and terror rose. Her breath came fast and hard.

  With Shark’s hand still clamped around her arm, he dragged her below. “We’ll have to fatten you up. You’re a scrawny lad.” He opened a door at the stern and flung her inside. “I’m sure you’ll like it here. I’m not a hard master as long as you do as you’re told.” His words were amicable, but the tone lying beneath hinted he meted out harsh punishments for the merest infraction.

  He swept his arm around the filthy cabin, a direct opposite of the neat room Morgan insisted on. “You will clean my cabin. As you can see, it hasn’t been done in a while.” His dangerous eyes bored into her. “My last boy didn’t know how to follow orders, and he wasn’t strong enough to withstand being keelhauled.” He paused to allow his meaning to sink in.

  Terrified already, Arianna didn’t need the added threat, but she wasn’t sorry he forced her aboard this ship. Somehow, she would help Morgan, and they’d escape together. She only hoped she could restrain herself from attacking this villain, or speaking out until the time was right. Her plans didn’t include dying, and she didn’t think she was brave enough to withstand Shark’s brutality.

  Shark smiled. “But I’m sure you will obey my every command. Am I right?”

  She nodded, not wanting him to hear the betraying quiver that would rock her voice.

  “Good. Now, besides cleaning my room, you will fetch all I need. Are my orders clear?”

  She dipped her head again.

  He ruffled her ragged hair with a powerful hand. “I have to leave now.” He glared at her with a stern eye. “And I expect a clean cabin and you to be here when I return.” He laughed, an evil sound that rattled her nerves. “Of course, where would you go?”

  He strode from the room, and she collapsed onto a chair, narrowly missing an empty bottle. Clutching her cold hands together, she breathed deeply to calm her nerves until the fetid air assaulted her nose. Rotted food and chicken bones littered the red and gold carpet along with other matter she couldn’t identify. Rumpled sheets and blankets hung from his berth onto the floor. Torn maps and scattered papers filled the top of a scarred, oak desk. Where to begin? Straightening and cleaning wasn’t something she excelled at.

  First, before she began, she needed to find a weapon. A knife of any size would do. And after she set his cabin to rights, which would take some time, she needed to discover which pirate was Morgan’s brother. Would he help them or had he traded his loyalty to these cutthroats?

  Where had Shark imprisoned Morgan, and how was he? Had they hurt him?

  What about Andrew? Had the move to the upper deck sealed his fate?

  Chapter Thirteen

  Morgan yanked at the irons that bound his ankles together and his wrists to the wall, even though he knew the act would not gain him his freedom. Arianna raced through his mind as he sat in the dank hold. Where was she? Where had they taken her? Had they seen through her disguise? Why hadn’t she stayed with the crew and let him deal with the pirates? This business didn’t concern her. Now her life was also in danger. Morgan tugged on the chains again in frustration. He wanted to wrap his stiff fingers around her throat and throttle her for her interference.

  “Morgan?” A whispered voice carried through the dark.

  He stilled. “Harry, is that you?”

  “Yes. What are you doing here?” His brother materialized.

  He blinked as the light from the lantern pierced the darkness. “Rescuing you. What fool notion prompted you to join a ship full of pirates? Don’t you have any sense in that head of yours?”

  Harry huffed as he dropped to his haunches before Morgan. “Always criticizing. If you must know, I was trying to help you. I figured if I could discover what their plans were and where they stayed, I could somehow get a message to you and we could capture them. But as always, I see you have taken it upon yourself.” Harry rattled the chains. “But you haven’t done such a good job. Maybe this time you will appreciate my help.”

  Morgan’s simmering anger grew to a blaze. He hated being helpless and beholden to anyone. Even his brother. “Do you have the key to unlock these blasted chains?”

  “Not yet.”

  His rage flared. “Bloody hell!”

  “But I will.” He paused. “Morgan…”

  Morgan waited for Harry to finish what he had to say.

  “I am glad you came for me. I could use the help.”

  His brother had only attempted to do what he thought best. He couldn’t fault him for that. “I couldn’t let you have all the fun.” He paused. “Harry, how are you? Have they hurt you?”

  “No, I’m fine. I went with them willingly, and they think I’m an ordinary seaman joining them for wealth beyond my dreams.”

  Now his brother was safe, he latched on to helping Arianna, desperation squeezing his chest. “Harry, they took a cabin boy off my ship. Have you seen him? Did they hurt him?”

  “Shark took him down to his cabin.”

  Fear for Arianna gripped his muscles, and he yanked on the chains again.

  “Morgan, stop.” Harry laid a hand on his arm. “You’ll only hurt yourself. I’ll get you free soon enough. He won’t hurt the boy, unless he gives him a reason to.”

  That was what he was afraid of. Arianna was not an obedient woman. “Harry, I need to tell you something, and you cannot tell anyone or let it slip.”

  “What is so important?”

  Morgan hesitated. His brother would never intentionally betray him, but sometimes he didn’t think before… He had no choice. Morgan had to trust him to do what he could not, which was hard for him. Harry would have to be his eyes, ears, and body. “Come closer,” Morgan told him. If anyone hovered close enough to learn the truth, Arianna would be at risk. “The cabin boy is a woman,” he whispered.

  “What?” The shocked word shattered the silence surrounding them.

  “Quiet. Someone will hear you.” He searched the darkness beyond the light but could see no one.

  “How? Why? Did you bring a woman on your ship? That wasn’t wise.”

  Morgan clenched his teeth as he fought to restrain the rebuke that rose to his lips. “If you will listen, I’ll tell you. She stowed away on the Sea Dragon, and I didn’t find her until after we left England. I refused to turn back because it was crucial I find you. But that decision may cost her life.” Self-loathing and bitter despair landed with a thump in the pit of his stomach. He leaned as close to his brother as the manacles allowed. “You have to watch over her. She is impulsive, and if those cutthroats discover she’s a woman, they will rape her without remorse.”

  “This gets more complicated by the minute.” Harry patted his brother’s knee. “I will do my best.”

  “You must do better than that. Her life is at stake.”

  Harry rose. “I will, but I have to get back before they come looking for me.” He lowered his voice again. “What is her name?”

  “Arianna.” The word was like a soft caress dropped into the turbulent storm of his emotions. He prayed as he never had before that because of her position, invisibility would cloak her, and they would only see what they believed her to be.

  ****

  The door crashed open. Arianna
jumped and whirled. Shark stood on the threshold, his gaze sweeping the cabin. The cold metal sitting in the scabbard strapped to her calf beneath her pant leg reassured her. She had unearthed the dagger beneath the layers of filth in Shark’s cabin. He would never miss it. He probably didn’t even know it existed.

  “You did a good job, my boy. You deserve a reward. Come with me.” He swung his arm around her shoulders and led her out the door. “We are celebrating our victory over your puny brig, even though there wasn’t a fight. Your captain surrendered easily. Stay with us, and we’ll make you wealthy before you’re sixteen. You’ll have your pick of women.”

  He led her up the ladder to the main deck where the crew passed around bottles of rum and sang bawdy songs off-key. Arianna was glad she had heard most of them before, otherwise she would have blushed a bright red, betraying her sex. Shark strode into the midst of the pirates and swiped a bottle out of a man’s hand. He swallowed long and deeply and then shoved it at her. “Here you go, my boy.”

  “I-I don’t think I should.” She tried to hand it back.

  Shark slapped her on the back, and she stumbled forward, dropping the bottle as she fought to catch herself. Her eyes widened as she stared at the shards of glass. Would they flog her for the mishap? She spun around, fearing his rage. Instead, he sauntered to the nearest man and plucked the bottle from his fingers as he leaned back his head to drink. Shark kicked the broken glass from his path with a booted foot as he crossed to her and offered her the rum.

  “I guess I don’t know my own strength. Drink up.”

  She never had spirits before. Her papa never allowed her to touch it, and only on rare occasions did he permit it on his ships, but she knew its effects. Her gaze darted to his dark eyes. She had no choice but to obey. Taking it from him, she laid the rim to her lips and tilted the bottle slightly. A short, disgusting trickle flowed into her mouth. She grimaced and coughed as the liquid slid down her throat. She held it out to Shark. A drunken pirate stumbling by grabbed it from her hand, and she sighed in relief.

  Shark snatched it back and shoved him on his way. “You need more than that, Stephen. That little swallow will do you no good. I’ll teach you how to drink like a man. Take a good long swig.” Shark once again savored the drink, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Just like that, Stephen, my boy,” he said when he finally lowered it.