The Merchant's Yield

by Lorri Dudley

  Lottie stepped back from the bars and harrumphed. Turned out she had a lot of her mother in her.

  Nathan fought to keep his face pleasant, despite the unpleasant sound coming from the chair across from him.

  “I sailed the Atlantic to see my daughter, but you have yet to produce her.” Lady Etheridge’s lips thinned into a straight line as she sat in the parlor. Her assessing eyes slid over the contents of the room.

  Thankfully, Lottie had already added some feminine touches to make the salon more presentable. A planter sat on the end table with a delicate orchid in bloom, and some of his mother’s china had replaced his rolls of maps in the casement, making for a much more appropriate display.

  He’d spent the last three hours inundated with Lady Etheridge’s demands. He’d shown her the house and pulled workers out of the fields to make her accommodations presentable. The staff bumped into one another, rushing to do her bidding. He offered to pay for a room at the Cockleshell Inn, but she refused. She demanded to see up close how her daughter was faring and under what conditions.

  “I knew I should have come sooner.” She pursed her lips. “I can see this place is in desperate need of renovations. The kitchen isn’t even attached to the house.”

  Nathan exhaled slowly to calm his temper. “The kitchens are built separate to keep the heat away and to reduce the chance of fire spreading to the living areas.”

  “Well, Charlotte is too delicate to live so”—her eyes drifted around the room—“simply.”

  A muscle in his jaw twitched. “You daughter is stronger than you think.”

  “Charlotte may not have the boldness to say it, but if you cannot provide for my daughter, then I shall insist you take the money I offered, or else return to London. You can run your merchant business from there.”

  He spoke through clenched teeth. “I never wanted, nor will I take your money, and an annulment of our marriage is out of the question.”

  “That’s the response I had hoped to hear.” Lady Etheridge smiled. “It’s the reason why I implemented such a preposterous plan.”

  “What?” His eyes shot open. “Are you saying you never expected me to keep my hands off your daughter?” Nathan rose from his chair. “Are you denying you wanted to keep Lottie as your personal servant so badly you offered to annul our marriage?”

  Adana passed by the doorway and eyed him.

  Splendid. He’d shouted it loudly enough for all the staff to be in the know. He lowered his voice, but his tone turned deadly. “Lottie deserves better than what you would offer her. She deserves better than you, and she deserves better than me.” He closed his eyes, and silence fell over the room.

  “Indeed.”

  A tremor ran through him. He opened his eyes and glared. “Madame, I do not care for your sarcasm.”

  Lady Etheridge’s eyes issued him a challenge. “I’m not being sarcastic. I’m in wholehearted agreement. I understand full well the wonderful qualities my daughter holds, and I’m glad to hear you’ve discovered them as well.”

  He rubbed his temples. He must be losing his mind. If it wasn’t him, then Lady Etheridge was certainly a madwoman.

  “When you first met Lottie, she’d been going through a rebellious phase.” She sighed and glanced heavenward. “Most wouldn’t have thought much of it, but I know my daughter very well. I spent day and night for months on end by her side. I’m sure she told you what a sickly thing she was when she was younger.”

  He found himself nodding, despite the ridiculousness of the moment.

  “Her expressive face also gives away her every emotion.”

  He grunted his agreement.

  “I recognized the signs well before Charlotte did.”

  Where was she going with this?

  Lady Etheridge’s lips curved into a reminiscent smile. “It started when I instructed her to wear the lavender gown. Instead, she donned the pale green. I’d find her embroidery stitched in the opposite corner from where I told her to place it.” She crossed her arms with a haughty air. “And then, she stopped powdering her hair.”

  Nathan’s patience ran out. “What are you trying to say?”

  “Whatever I told my daughter not to do, she was going to do it, merely to spite me.” Lady Etheridge raised her chin a notch. “If I’d had told her to love and obey you, she would have given you the dickens. So instead, I made her believe I didn’t want the two of you together.”

  Her lips pinched into a smug expression. “I saw the way you eyed each other. It was the same way Lord Etheridge and I gazed at each other in our prime.” She rested back in her chair, as if finished. “I long for grandchildren. My reckless son will take years to settle down.”

  She sighed. “If I hadn’t intervened, I’d be an old woman, unable to bounce them on my knee, before I had any. Heaven knows, Lord Middleton certainly wasn’t going to come up to snuff, and I daresay, I wouldn’t want his weak-minded children tainting our bloodlines anyway.”

  “But you’d farm your daughter out to a complete stranger?”

  “You are not a stranger. Your mother was the sister of my brother-in-law. My sister married your uncle. I’ve known about you all your life. I know you were set down from Eton for jumping a horse over the headmaster’s table. I know you broke your left arm from an unsuccessful attempt to gather coconuts. And I know you devoted yourself to your family.” She arched a brow. “I’d ruled you out as my son-in-law merely due to your inconvenient location, but then my daughter had that foolish incident with the candle.”

  Nathan blinked, completely at a loss for words.

  “What I don’t understand is your ridiculous belief in a superstitious curse.”

  “You don’t know the things that have happened—” Wait a minute. He raked a hand though his hair. She knew his mother? She knew about the curse?

  The pounding of horse hooves dragged Nathan’s attention away from the tangle in his mind.

  Thank heaven, Lottie was back. He couldn’t bear another minute with his mother-in-law. She’d completely muddled him to the point that he wasn’t certain if up was down or down was up.

  “That’s probably Lottie now.” Nathan stood and bowed to his mother-in-law.

  “It’s about time she returned.” Lady Etheridge rose. “I was beginning to wonder if you were stalling.”

  Nathan excused himself and stepped outside. He raised his hand to shade his eyes from the glare and made out Charlie’s figure on horseback galloping, Franny clinging to the saddle for dear life in front of him.

  A jolt of fear shot through him. Franny and Lottie had ridden into town together.

  The strained look on Charlie’s face warned something must be wrong. Where was Lottie?

  Lord, please, no. Not Lottie!

  Nathan broke into a full sprint and skidded to a halt as Charlie slowed the horse and jumped down.

  “They’ve got her.” Charlie gasped for air. His hair was damp and so were his clothes. “They’re gonna sell her at auction.”

  “What? Who’s got whom?”

  The door slammed behind him. Charlie’s eyes darted to the woman descending the front porch stairs. Nathan grabbed Charlie’s soaked lapel, tempted to strangle him if he didn’t reveal what he knew faster.

  “Captain Fielding and Captain Phelps.” Charlie shoved his hair out of his face.

  “What about them? Someone’s got them? Where’s Lottie?”

  “No.” Charlie heaved another breath. “They’ve got Lottie.”

  He couldn't make sense of the words. Fielding was his friend. What would he do with Lottie? Charlie must be mistaken. “Are you certain?”

  Franny broke into sobs and lowered her head into the horse’s mane. Miraculously, Lady Etheridge remained silent behind him.

  Charlie held his hands up. “They’ve been using you. Sellin’ your goods and blaming it on pirates. Captain Fielding’s behind it all, and he’s got Lottie in the hold. I boarded the Amory and saw her locked up there myself. I couldn't get her free.�
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  Lady Etheridge gasped.

  Darkness encompassed Nathan’s periphery until his vision consisted of a narrow tunnel. At the far end, Franny wailed and Charlie awaited his next command. “It’s the curse.” Dazed, he staggered a few steps. “I told her to stay away from me. This is my fault.”

  “Yer not cursed.” Charlie grabbed his shoulders and shook him back into the light. “The Captain talked up the curse to scare you off so he could steal from you.” His grip tightened. “It was a lie, not a curse.” Charlie released Nathan’s arm and pressed his hands against the sides of his head. “They have her, and they’re getting away.”

  They have Lottie.

  His life leapt into focus. “Saddle my horse!”

  The stable boy ran to do his bidding.

  Nathan darted back toward the house, brushing past a stunned Lady Etheridge.

  “It’s too late,” Charlie yelled.

  Nathan skidded to a halt on the porch and pivoted back around.

  Charlie’s shoulders slumped. “They were already settin’ sail before I even got off the ship. What are we going to do?”

  “The Katherine is still under repairs.” Nathan raked a shaky hand through his hair and fought the panic seizing his brain. “It’s in no condition to sail, and even if I recruited twenty men, we’d be delayed at least a week. Lottie could be as far as Santa Domingo by then.”

  “I know of a ship we might borrow,” Lady Etheridge said.

  Charlie and Nathan rounded on her. Even Franny stopped sobbing and straightened.

  Charlie tipped his head toward Lady Etheridge and mouthed, Who is she?

  “You may refer to me as Lady Etheridge.” She peered down her nose at him.

  “Winthrop’s mother-in-law.”

  Charlie paled, and his Adam’s apple bobbed.

  How the woman heard Charlie’s silent question, Nathan didn’t have time to fathom, nor did he have the time for introductions. “What ship?”

  “I do believe Captain Anthony Middleton’s ship is in port.”

  “A British frigate?” Charlie’s mouth dropped open. “The British navy isn’t going to loan out a warship.”

  “Then we’ll board it.” Nathan set his jaw.

  Charlie pushed his hair out of his eyes. “We’re gonna steal a warship?”

  “Borrow.” Lady Etheridge arched a single brow. “And don’t think for a minute you will do this without me. She’s my daughter. I’m going with you.”

  Nathan didn’t have time to argue and, judging by the determined set of her jaw, it would have been fruitless anyway. “Charlie, have a carriage brought around for Lady Etheridge and Franny, then meet me at the docks and help me gather those I know we can trust. Only crewmen who’ve been with me from the start—Cobble, Salt, Baby, Tucker, and the like. I’ll be right back.”

  He burst into the house and bounded up the stairs two at a time. In his room, he removed a key from his dresser drawer and slid a box out from under the bed. He jabbed the key in the lock, turned it, and lifted the lid. The deed to Calico Manor and its lands lay neatly folded among the contents. It was his only bargaining chip. He knew where Fielding would take her. There was no doubt in his mind. Fielding had slipped Lafitte’s name into too many conversations for him not to be smuggling goods to Grand Terre, but would this absurd plan work?

  His hands shook as he removed the deed and returned the box under the bed. He’d entrusted Lottie to God, and now she’d been kidnapped by someone he’d believed to be his friend. He wanted to blame the curse, but the curse was a farce.

  What would Lottie do in this situation?

  She’d pray.

  The answer filled his mind without any hesitation. Nathan tipped his face up to the ceiling. “Lord, protect Lottie. Don’t let a hair on her head be damaged. Make a way for this plan to work and help us be swift in our rescue. Amen.”

  He jumped to his feet and scrambled back down the stairs. As he exited the house, the stable boy steadied the horse out front. Nathan mounted it. The horse sensed his urgency and danced underneath him. With a click of his heels, the mare broke into a full gallop. Nathan’s fingers dug into the leather of the reins. Despite the heat, a cold sweat broke over his body. His blood pounded in his ears, and every square inch of him screamed faster! His heart continued to cry out to heaven.

  Help us, Lord. We must reach Lottie in time… Oh, God, please…

  Chapter 32

  Men, I am in need of your services in this dark hour. The voyage may be perilous and I cannot ensure your safety.

  ~ From Winthrop to specific members of the crew of the Katherine

  Nathan crept over the rail and snuck up behind Anthony Middleton. Middleton had left his crew and now relieved himself over the rail of the ship. The loyal crewmen of the Katherine clung to grappling ropes over the sides of the British frigate, just out of sight of Middleton. Charlie swung to the right just in time to miss the stream.

  Lady Etheridge gasped, but Baby elbowed her as a reminder to keep quiet. At first, she’d balked at the indecency of climbing on a man’s back, but after learning it was the only way she’d be coming along, she begrudgingly accepted her fate. If Nathan hadn’t been so worried for Lottie, he might have savored the moment.

  His men followed Nathan’s lead, boarding the ship with the same stealth. He signaled for them to spread out.

  Middleton staggered back toward his British naval men, who were all gathered on the main deck. Loud peals of laughter filled the air as someone won a hand of cards. Bottles clanked, followed by silence as they each imbibed, only to resume their gaiety. Nathan skulked closely behind Middleton. The man reeked of rum and stumbled twice, but caught the rail for balance. Nathan laid a hand on his shoulder before he reached full-view of his sailors.

  “Bloody—" He whirled around and would have fallen if Nathan hadn’t steadied him.

  “Winthrop! You blackguard. What are you doing here? Remove yourself before I arrest you and lock you in our gallows.”

  “I’m in need of your ship. Mine has been rendered unseaworthy.”

  Middleton burst out laughing. “You jest.” He leaned his hand on the sidewall of the quarterdeck. “This isn’t a fishing boat. You don’t borrow a British frigate.”

  “Lottie has been captured by pirates. I need your ship to bring her home.”

  Middleton’s laughter dwindled.

  Behind Middleton, the frigate’s crew crowded around a sailor dealing out cards. The men each scooped up their stacks and squinted over their cards at their opponents faces. No one noticed the additional pairs of eyes creeping up behind them.

  “’Tis a pity, but I have my orders to follow.” He turned to walk away. “For what it’s worth, I hope you find a ship and see her returned.” He waved a dismissive hand. “See yourself out the way you came.”

  “I’d hoped to do this with your consent.”

  Middleton froze and slowly swiveled back around. A haughty smile curled his lips, and he snorted. “You’re more of a fool than I thought.”

  Nathan unsheathed his cutlass and pointed it at Middleton’s throat. “That may be, but either way, I’m taking your ship to save Lottie. With or without your consent.”

  “My men will hang you for treason.” His Adam’s apple bobbed.

  “Not if you tell them about your new set of orders.” At the edge of Nathan’s vision, the British sailors raised their bottles in a toast. “Look past your men, and you’ll see you’re under siege. We have you surrounded, but my men won’t act unless I give the signal. I’d hate for this to come to blows, especially when your men are at a disadvantage, being so fuddled on island rum.”

  Middleton’s face noticeably paled, even in the moonlight. “You’ll pay for this, Winthrop.” A muscle twitched in his jaw. “With your head.”

  Nathan held Middleton’s gaze. “I’d give that and more to see Lottie safe.”

  Lottie landed on her hands and knees at the booted feet of Captain Fielding. His younger version, Captai
n Phelps, dusted off his hands. “The hold’s a mess. At least three of the crates are ruined, covered in vomit. And yer not gonna get the pretty penny yer wantin’ with her lookin’ like a slattern and smellin’ like a rotting corpse.”

  She removed a splinter of wood embedded in her palm. She didn’t doubt she looked a fright. The intermittent bits of sleep she’d received in the last week had been in a seated position, perched up on top of a stack of crates with her head resting against the hull of the ship. The first night, the crates shifted as the ship crested a big wave and toppled her chamber pot. Its sickly contents seeped back and forth along the floorboard beneath her.

  “We don’t have time to give her a proper cleanin’.” Captain Fielding puffed out a sigh. “Have yer man do what he can to get her presentable before they board.” He stared at her with menacing eyes. “Yer marriage came as a surprise and a boon.” He jabbed a finger in her direction. “You were supposed to keep Nathan at home in yer bed, but you couldn’t even do that right. Yer not worth the trouble you make. I’ll be glad to be done with ya.”

  A hand clamped around her arm and yanked her to her feet. A burly man with a jagged scar across his face hauled her up two flights of steps to the main deck. She squinted against the bright sun, but couldn’t resist lifting her face to its warm rays. She hadn’t seen daylight in seven days. The sails snapped in the wind. A flash of red and blue waved above. A French flag? Was Captain Fielding sailing for France?

  Men scurried about, and she peered into each of their faces. Had Charlie made it off the ship, or was he hidden among the ship’s crew, or worse, locked up below in another hold? Please, God, let him be with Nathan.

  “Bring to!” Captain Phelps commanded his men to slow the ship to a stop.

  The burly man with the scar released her, and she rubbed her upper arm.

  Off the port bow, another ship neared to almost within boarding distance.

  A crewman with a faded scarf tied over his balding head belayed a nearby line.

  Lottie stepped toward him. “Please, help me. I’m being held captive. I’m Lady Win—”