The Captain's Revenge

by Nadine Millard

  Lucas muttered an oath. She was so innocent of the ways of the world.

  “They beat me to a pulp,” he told her brusquely, his tone flat, “and kindly escorted me to the docks to become a member of His Majesty’s Navy. Of course, I had to wait for the breaks to heal first.”

  Anna clasped her hands over her mouth, and he felt like a heel for upsetting her so.

  But he would rather her be hurt by the actions of her father, than the idea that he didn’t love her. Or want to fight for her.

  “I’m so, so sorry,” she choked out, and he watched helplessly as tears fell from her eyes.

  “You don’t have anything to be sorry for, my darling,” he said grasping her shoulders. “I have treated you abominably, and all this time—”

  A sudden fury ploughed into him, and Lucas had to grit his jaw to try and keep it in check.

  For who was there to rail against now? Who was there to seek revenge on?

  He had wanted to have his vengeance by mistreating the beautiful woman standing before him, but she was a victim as much as he, probably more so.

  His injuries had healed, and he’d built a good, if lonely, life. She had been trapped in a marriage with that animal, all the while not knowing that he would have come rushing to her aid, if he’d only known…

  The people he wanted to punish for this were both dead.

  At the thought of Anna’s late husband, Lucas’ stomach lurched.

  God, what did she endure while I was sailing the seas, hating her for crimes that weren’t her own?

  “I want you to tell me about your marriage, Anna. About everything that happened to you since that night.”

  Anna gazed at him for a moment, unspeaking.

  Finally, she shook her head. “No,” she said firmly. “I will not tell you.”

  He began to argue, but she pushed away from him and held up a hand.

  “If you care for me as you claim to, it will only hurt you. I’ve never told anyone. Not Evelyn. Certainly not Jonathan. And I will not tell you.”

  “I don’t care for you, Anna. I love you with every fibre of my being. And since the bastard is already dead, what do you have to fear?”

  “It would upset you,” she warned mutinously.

  “I have to know,” he countered softly. And it was true. Though he had no idea why, he had a perverse need to know how she’d suffered. The guilt he would feel would be punishment for his treatment of her over the years.

  After a pause, Anna relented, shrugging her shoulders as if to say it was his own fault. Without a word, she moved and sat on the bench beneath the porthole, and Lucas moved to sit beside her, taking her tiny, delicate hand in one of his own.

  To think, all these years we could have been together.

  She hadn’t rejected him.

  She had loved him.

  But now was not the time to stew in grief and regrets. They needed to purge the past once and for all so that, hopefully, they could move to a brighter future.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  ANNA HAD TALKED herself hoarse.

  The light was fading, and the room was heavy with feelings of regret and remorse by the time she quietened.

  She didn’t want Lucas to feel guilty, to feel bad.

  Lord knew, it wasn’t his fault.

  The idea that he had believed she had not only cruelly rejected him, but sent her father and whom he thought had been her betrothed to tell him — then half kill him — caused her physical pain.

  Looking at his face now, the set of his jaw, the storm in his navy-blue eyes, she knew that he was suffering vastly for what she’d lived through.

  Peter had given her a hellish life, and Lucas was now the only other person who knew so.

  Her late husband had used her body, beaten her when his temper flared, called her all sorts of names, shouted and screamed whenever the mood took him, and then flaunted his mistresses as though she was bothered by it.

  It had been horrid, no doubt. But it was done now. She had healed from her past. And she wanted Lucas to heal from his.

  “You are quiet,” she spoke timidly after what felt like eons of oppressive silence.

  “If I could dig him up and kill him all over again, I’d do it,” Lucas growled, and Anna shivered at the tone of his voice.

  It wasn’t aimed at her, but she could see why he was considered a formidable enemy to have. She certainly wouldn’t like to cross him.

  Breathing a sigh of relief that he had at least spoken, Anna glanced longingly at the tea things, now stone-cold, on the table.

  She wasn’t hungry, but her throat ached from hours of talking, from the strain of holding back tears.

  She felt at once elated and exhausted.

  Purging her soul had been draining but, well, Lucas loved her. Though she could hardly believe it was true, her heart’s dearest wishes were coming true.

  He loved her. And the new life she’d dreamed of would be better still because she would share it with him.

  “I’m sorry,” he said simply, but a wealth of feeling abounded in those two words.

  Anna turned to him, squeezing the hand that still held her own.

  “We have nothing to be sorry for. We did no wrong. Wrong — terrible wrong — was done to us. But we can be truly free from it now, Lucas.”

  He stared at their intertwined hands before looking into her eyes and smiling gently.

  “You have a heart of gold, sweetheart,” he said quietly, brushing a stray lock from her face and caressing her cheek.

  Anna felt that same cheek flush, along with the other one.

  “You must be starving,” Lucas continued, but she wasn’t hungry in the slightest.

  In fact, right at that moment, the molten heat that was unfurling in her belly was distracting her from all else.

  Lucas must have seen something shift in her expression for his own went from tender to wolfish in the blink of an eye.

  “You shouldn’t look at me like that, Anna,” he said hoarsely.

  She shivered in response.

  “I don’t want to—” he started, before cursing softly. “After what you told me, what you went through, I—”

  “It’s done,” Anna said firmly. “And being with you has only ever made me feel happier than I ever thought possible. I want this,” she said decisively, and when it looked as though he might argue, she leaned up and pressed her lips against his.

  And it was all the encouragement he needed.

  Lucas pulled her into his lap and then stood and carried her to the bunk as though she weighed nothing at all.

  A desperation in his kiss fed her own, and Anna felt near frantic with need.

  This was no slow, steady seduction.

  A primal need had apparently taken over them both, and within minutes, Lucas had disposed of her clothing and his own.

  He gazed down at her on the bunk, his elbows taking his weight, his eyes glittering with promise and barely concealed lust.

  “I love you,” he whispered, and Anna once again felt tears prick her eyes. But they were tears of unspeakable joy.

  He would never make her cry unhappy tears again; she was sure of it.

  “I love you, too,” she whispered back, and then she was one with him.

  The storm that had been building between them raged through her until she forgot the past, the future, everything but him and this precious moment.

  ANNA WAS AWAKENED, she didn’t know how much later, by a hammering on the door.

  “Captain, you must come quickly.”

  Bryant’s voice sounded urgent, and Anna sat up. To her surprise, Lucas was fully dressed and making his way to the door.

  He opened it a fraction.

  “I know,” he said, his tone serious. “Go back upstairs. I shall be there directly. I assume you have everything in place?”

  Anna reached for her discarded gown and pulled it over her head then scrambled from the bed, her heart hammering at the strain in Lucas’ tone. She stepped onto the fl
oor and immediately lurched forward as the boat listed violently.

  Lucas turned and caught her to him before she was sure to tumble to the floor.

  “Are you all right?” he asked, his tone grim.

  “Y-yes, I’m fine.”

  Anna looked out the porthole and was shocked to see the sky looking angry and dark, the clouds flying, sheets of rain lashing against the small pane.

  The boat lurched again, and Anna was glad of Lucas’ arms firmly holding her.

  “The storm is building,” he said, peering out the same window. “I wasn’t expecting it to hit so soon. I don’t want to leave you alone but—”

  “Go,” Anna said immediately, knowing he wouldn’t leave the crew to deal with a crisis alone.

  “It’s safest for you in here,” he said, his voice sounding tortured. “The heavy furniture is nailed down. But I don’t want you by yourself.”

  “Lucas, I shall be fine,” Anna said, though her stomach roiled with fear even as the sea roiled beneath them.

  “Sit on the bunk with your back pressed against the wall,” Lucas directly firmly. “I am going to check that the men have things under control, and then I will be straight back.”

  “You have a duty to your crew, Lucas,” she argued.

  “Your safety is more important,” he argued in return, and Anna felt a glow of happiness at his words.

  She could see how torn he was about leaving her, so she gave him a firm push toward the door then moved to sit back on the bunk.

  “You see,” she said with a calmness that she didn’t feel. “I am fine.”

  Lucas stared at her for a moment before sighing and turning for the door.

  “I will be back as soon as I can,” he promised. Then he was gone.

  The ship rocked and swayed alarmingly, and only Anna’s grip on the frame of the bunk kept her from tumbling to the floor.

  Her knuckles where white as she clung with all her might.

  Lucas’ belongings slid from his desk and smashed to the floor. Cushions and pillows fell to the rug below, and the mattress underneath Anna slipped and slid alarmingly.

  It was getting worse, and she was terrified.

  It seemed as though Lucas had been gone an age. She couldn’t help but wish desperately that he was with her, even as she knew he needed to attend to his ship.

  The rain lashed heavier than before, battering the side of the boat. The waves were so high she sometimes felt as though they would capsize, and her stomach roiled fiercely.

  Thank goodness, they didn’t have long left until docked. Lucas had said they should reach harbour before nightfall tomorrow. And Anna, for one, could not wait to set her feet on dry land.

  Though she had enjoyed her adventure immensely, right now she did not feel as though she belonged on the water.

  They had been lucky with the weather, since this was their first storm, and she thanked the Lord it would also be their last.

  A flash of lightning illuminated the sky, casting a bright white glow around the room for a second, quickly followed by a deafening roll of thunder.

  The sky seemed to grow darker still, and Anna, though it was silly and childish, became fearful of the oppressive dark.

  She decided to light a lantern, which she would have to keep hold of, and hoped that the flame wouldn’t flicker out.

  She rose from the bunk, keeping her hand braced on the wall as she tried to steady herself on the constantly shifting floor. Her stomach roiled and dove with the waves, and she had to concentrate on her breathing so that she didn’t cast up her accounts.

  After gingerly making her way to the desk, Anna gripped the side of it and reached for the only remaining lantern atop. The others had fallen and smashed on the floor.

  Just as her fingers gripped the light, however, a wave surged and sent her flying backwards with a cry. She landed with a thump on her backside, the wind knocked from her.

  Perhaps the lantern hadn’t been such a good idea.

  Anna rose to make her way back to the bunk then stopped as she spied a collection of leather-bound books that had fallen from somewhere near the desk.

  They weren’t novels, and they weren’t in print. One of them had flapped open, and she spied that it was definitely handwriting, and by the bold strokes, male handwriting.

  Perhaps diaries of some sort?

  They were sure to be ruined amongst the broken rubble of Lucas’ belongings.

  Besides, she could do with something to read.

  She knew that captain’s logs were often just about the workings of the ship, so unless they were very private, Lucas wouldn’t mind her reading them to distract herself from the storm raging outside.

  Anna crawled carefully to the pile of books, plucking up the one already opened.

  A couple of sentences in, she realised that these weren’t ships logs but Lucas’ private thoughts, and tempting as it was to delve into them, she would never betray his trust like that.

  She was about to put the journal back when she spotted her name.

  And though it was terribly intrusive, the temptation was just too much to resist. Asking God for forgiveness, she raked her eyes greedily over the passage.

  Anna’s heart froze in her chest.

  Well, she had been looking for a distraction from the storm, and she’d found one.

  I will seduce her, then leave her. Make her love me as much as I used to think I loved her, then when I have her trust, I will walk away from her. Abandon her to her own devices in the land she does not know. Let her feel what I felt. Let her hurt as I hurt…

  Anna’s hands shook as her eyes read that passage over and over again.

  Dear God, what a fool I have been.

  She had believed him. Believed everything he had told her. She’d been blinded by him, by what he did to her, by what he made her feel.

  And all along, he had been using her in the most abominable fashion.

  The pain threatened to overwhelm her, but Anna ruthlessly pushed it away. For her anger was growing by the second, and anger was an emotion that would give her strength.

  There would be plenty of time for pain later.

  Well, he would be happy to know that he had achieved his goal. For she did love him, had always loved him.

  And now she felt the most unspeakable hurt imaginable.

  A loud crack of thunder brought Anna back to her senses, and she climbed to her feet, clutching the journal to her chest.

  She planned to confront Lucas as soon as he returned, storm be damned.

  She would tell him that he had succeeded in his dastardly plot, for she felt no shame in admitting she loved him.

  Love was a good thing; healthy and pure.

  His vengeance was dark and ugly, and he was welcome to it.

  And when they docked mere hours from now, she would find passage straight back home.

  For Anna realised now, running from her life hadn’t been her goal. Being with — or at the very least near — Lucas Townsend had.

  Oh, she’d dressed it up as a plan for a new life, a new world where she could start afresh. But she could have done that anywhere. Instead she had chosen him and his ship. And she knew, deep down, that had been because she couldn’t bear a life without him in it, in some capacity, pathetic as that made her.

  And now she wanted nothing more than to be far, far away from him.

  Her mind made up, she was free to sit on the bunk and cry her eyes out until the cad returned.

  Just as she reached the bunk, however, the boat heaved again and threw her from her feet. Anna felt a searing pain as her head cracked against the side of the desk.

  But before she could even begin to worry about it, everything went dark, and she slipped into oblivion.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  LUCAS WAS FREEZING and soaked to the bone.

  His muscles were screaming in protest with every movement. He had worked himself to exhaustion, helping the men get them through this storm.

  Thank
fully, now they were out of danger.

  However, he’d left Anna alone for far longer than he’d wanted.

  She would likely be terrified.

  Lucas was looking forward to a hot bath and then a night of bliss with his future wife.

  He hadn’t asked her, of course. But he was sure that she would marry him.

  He still couldn’t quite believe it. After all these years, after misunderstandings and efforts to keep them apart, Anna was his.

  Lucas couldn’t keep the grin from his face as he hurried toward his cabin.

  Anna might be furious that he’d left her alone for so long, which actually suited him quite well for he would so enjoy making things up to her.

  The silly grin was in full force when he finally flung open the door to the cabin.

  He looked straight to the bunk and frowned as he noticed it empty.

  Whipping round to face the rest of the room, Lucas’ heart dropped to his stomach.

  No!

  “Anna!” he yelled as he dropped to his knees beside her prone body.

  She was lying perfectly still, deathly white, and he saw to his horror there was a dark red stain seeping into the rug below her head.

  “Anna,” he called again, more gently this time. He brushed hair from her cold, pale skin. “Please, please wake up,” he whispered frantically.

  Why is she off the bunk?

  His eyes moved to the journal on the floor beside her.

  His heart thudded painfully as he recognised it.

  It couldn’t be…

  He snatched it from the floor and let his eyes rake over it before they closed in horror.

  She’d read what he’d said.

  Damn it to hell.

  Well, now was not the time to worry about that.

  He was panicking; he could sense it in himself. Usually Lucas was completely calm in the face of any crisis, but this was too much.

  Shall I lift her? Shall I shake her?

  “Anna, please—” he begged again, though she remained unmoving.

  “Captain, your ba— Oh my God.”

  The sound of Sanderson’s voice reached Lucas and pulled him to his senses.

  “Sanderson, quick. Help. She’s—” Lucas was rambling, and he knew it.