The Captain's Revenge

by Nadine Millard

  Lucas couldn’t have planned a babe, but then, he hadn’t exactly been careful not to produce one, had he? She knew men had their ways.

  He wouldn’t want this, would he? He wouldn’t think the ultimate revenge would be to leave her not only alone but alone with child?

  No, she couldn’t believe it of him.

  But then, do I even really know him?

  Anna stumbled back to the cabin.

  Lord, it is difficult to know what to do, what to think.

  Like a small child, Anna suddenly wished for her brother, someone to take care of her. Because Lucas wouldn’t.

  And she wanted to be the type of woman that didn’t need taking care of, but she wasn’t sure she had it in her.

  One thing was certain, however, she needed to get out of there and away from Lucas. It would be far, far too difficult to stay with him now.

  He didn’t want a settled, quiet, traditional life with her. He had said himself he abhorred tradition.

  Moving to an exotic land was proof positive of that. And she had followed him like a lovesick puppy.

  She believed that he had changed his mind about ruining her for revenge. But if the alternative was that he would feel duty bound to wed her, that would be no better.

  Well, she wouldn’t be accused of forcing his hand. The best thing she could do now was prove that she was an independent woman who didn’t expect a proposal from him. Entering the cabin, her mind made up at least on this, Anna grabbed her valise and began to pack her meagre belongings. She had no idea where she was going, but all she needed was to find somewhere safe so she could get word to her family back home.

  She had enough blunt with her to ensure that happened.

  Anna reached for the small satchel bag that contained her documents, money, jewellery she hadn’t sold, and, here her heart thumped painfully, the wooden wedding ring from Lucas that she’d kept with her all this time.

  It was time to let it go for good.

  Anna placed it on his desk, then without a backwards glance, she raced from the cabin.

  Nobody batted an eyelid at her as she made her way round the ship, in fact, they all greeted her fondly, and Anna realised with a pang that she’d made some good friends on board this boat. Friends she would never again see.

  She would miss a lot of the crew, especially Frank and Sanderson. But she couldn’t risk saying goodbye. She needed to leave without seeing Lucas again, so she could forge a plan and not be distracted by him.

  She’d snuck on board, and now she needed to sneak back off.

  Anna was just wondering how she would manage it, when a hand reached out and grasped her arm.

  She spun round, gasping in fright.

  The sailor Doyle stood behind her, grinning in that unnerving way of his.

  “Miss Spencer,” His tone always seemed so insolent, the wrong side of respectful. “Going somewhere?”

  Well, she wasn’t about to tell him anything.

  “That’s none of your business.” She sniffed before turning away, intending to make her way to the top deck.

  “Well, now, I don’t think that’s quite true,” he said casually. “Seems to me you want off this ship, and my guess is you don’t want your captain knowing about it.”

  Anna stopped and turned slowly to face him once more. “What makes you say that?” she hedged.

  Doyle’s grin widened. “I’ve escaped enough ships to recognise the intention in another, Miss Spencer.” He cackled. “And I can help you do it.”

  “You?” she scoffed. “Why should you help me? Why should I let you?”

  “I don’t think your captain likes me overly much. It would give me great satisfaction to give him the run around. Just for a little while.”

  Anna frowned at him, not fully understanding why he was doing this.

  “I would like him distracted, shall we say?” he continued with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “He’s an intelligent man, and only a fool would underestimate such a man. And I am no fool.”

  Anna didn’t like the way this odious creature was speaking about Lucas, which was ironic really, since she was planning on running away from him.

  “He’s your captain, too,” she replied imperiously.

  “We’ve docked, Miss Spencer. He’s not my captain no more. And if he keeps up his damnable snooping, he’ll have quite the quarrel with me soon, I’d imagine.”

  Lord, but he is a horrid creature. She didn’t know what he was going on about, but she couldn’t imagine it was anything good.

  “Now, shall I help you, Anna? I may call you Anna?”

  “No, you may not,” she exclaimed. The audacity of the man. “And I do not want nor require your assistance.”

  Anna turned her back once more and was about to hurry off when she felt the press of something in her lower back and heard a distinctive click.

  Doyle heaved a sigh behind her. “I was hoping you’d cooperate,” he said, his tone still casual. “But now, I’m going to have to insist that you come with me. Silently.”

  Anna’s heart pounded at the unmistakable press of a pistol in her back. A sudden fear threatened to overwhelm her completely.

  “Why are you doing this?” Anna asked, hating the quiver in her voice.

  “He’s a clever man, that captain of yours,” he responded. “I don’t think it will be long before he discovers certain aspects of my character that I’d rather remained undiscovered.”

  He nudged her with the pistol he had pressed against her back, and she had no choice but to comply.

  “I have a feeling I’m going to need leverage with this one. And it seems as though the Fates have intervened to deliver you. So move.”

  “You really think you’ll get away with this?” Anna asked, her mind racing as she thought of ways to get out of this. “How do you suppose you’ll manage to get me off a ship filled with people, with a gun at my back?”

  “I don’t think we’ll have a problem,” he answered smoothly.

  “I’ll scream,” Anna warned.

  “And I’ll shoot,” he warned right back.

  Damn it all.

  I can’t risk it.

  Anna had no idea what Doyle suspected Lucas of, but whatever it was, it was enough to spook the man.

  She only hoped that Lucas was as formidable as this man thought him, and that he’d be able to get her out of this mess she’d landed in.

  She’d been so envious of the adventures and escapades her family was involved in. But now, she thought miserably, she wasn’t that fond of them after all.

  “WELL, ASK AROUND and report back to me immediately.”

  Lucas was just finishing up his brief meeting with Hastings and Bryant.

  “One more thing,” he added as the men made to leave. “Let’s look a little further into the background of this Doyle character. There’s something about him I’m not comfortable with.”

  “Are we expecting a problem?” Hastings asked.

  Lucas knew he was referring to interference with the goods on board the ship, or something that would affect the shipping business. Lucas wasn’t even sure if that was what made him suspicious of the man.

  “Just a feeling,” Lucas confirmed. “I’d rather not leave any stones unturned.”

  The gentlemen were just shaking hands and arranging plans for dinner so that Ambrose could meet Anna, when Sanderson burst into the room, not even knocking.

  “Sanderson, what the—”

  “It’s Miss Anna, Captain,” Sanderson spluttered, and Lucas was alarmed to see that he was pale and worried-looking.

  “Where is she?” Lucas asked, rushing for the door.

  “She’s gone, Captain,” Sanderson said, stopping Lucas in his tracks.

  He spun back around.

  “What do you mean, gone?” he demanded.

  “I saw her leave the ship, Captain. And—”

  “Impossible,” Lucas interrupted, his fear growing. “She wouldn’t just wander off alone.”


  “She wasn’t alone,” Sanderson said.

  The room went completely silent as three pairs of eyes gazed at Lucas.

  “Who was she with?” he asked quietly.

  “She was with that new sailor. That Doyle. I watched them as long as I could, but they disappeared. I didn’t have time to get off the ship and get to them. But—”

  Lucas’ mind was racing.

  It didn’t make sense.

  Why would she leave with Doyle, of all people? Anna had confessed that the man made her uncomfortable.

  “They left together?” he interrupted again, his tone a lot calmer than he felt.

  “I’m not so sure Miss Anna left willingly, Captain,” Sanderson said imploringly. “She looked scared. I called out to her, but they didn’t even look back. I’ve sent men after them. But—”

  He didn’t get a chance to finish as Lucas pushed past him and raced out the door, a look of cold fury on his face.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  “I DON’T CARE if you’ve looked a thousand times. Look. Again.”

  Lucas cursed the retreating backs of the men he’d had out searching for traces of Anna.

  It had been two weeks, an entire fortnight since she’d gone.

  And he didn’t know if she was alive or dead.

  His fear was like a live beast, clawing at him during his waking hours, terrorising him during the few brief hours of sleep he’d snatched when his body had been close to giving out. He felt on a knife edge, as though any moment, his grief would send him tumbling into madness.

  Lucas ran a hand through his hair, pouring over the documents in front of him.

  He’d been a damned fool.

  It should have been obvious to him that Doyle was the nefarious sailor the Home Office was hunting. He’d appeared from nowhere, Lucas hadn’t liked him — and he’d learned years ago to trust his gut — and the man’s record was so exemplary it should have drawn his suspicions. No man of the sea had a past that clean, not even Lucas.

  But Lucas had been so distracted by Anna that he’d gotten sloppy, and now she was gone.

  The now-familiar pain in his chest grew worse still.

  He’d made the governor aware of the situation, and the man had offered any and all help.

  But an army of men at his disposal was no good when he hadn’t a bloody clue where to take them.

  He’d sent word to the Home Office, but it would be months before it arrived.

  That was time he didn’t have.

  If he was too late—

  But, no. He couldn’t think that way.

  He would find her.

  Even though he’d combed the island a thousand times and now had men doing the same thing and hadn’t found a trace of her, he’d find her.

  This Doyle had no idea of the mistake he’d made in taking Anna, but he would learn it. Because when Lucas found him, he would tear him apart with his bare hands.

  Anna was his. And his vengeance would be fierce.

  Lucas picked up the wooden ring that Anna had left in his cabin on that fateful day.

  He’d been clasping it for weeks now, using it as a sort of talisman against his darkest thoughts and fears.

  “Captain,” Sanderson spoke in that annoying, sombre tone he’d recently adopted. As though this were a household in mourning.

  “What?” Lucas spat, his mood as foul as it had been since she’d gone missing.

  “You have visitors.”

  “Do I look as though I am of a mind to entertain, Sanderson?” he sneered.

  “Do I look as though I give a damn whether you want to entertain or not?” came a voice behind Sanderson.

  Lucas looked up in time to see Sanderson scarper like a scared pup.

  And in the doorway stood Jonathan Spencer, his face stamped with unchecked fury.

  He walked into Lucas’ study, followed by an equally furious-looking Andrew, and Gabrielle, who smiled and waved, as though this was a casual visit.

  Lucas stood slowly, facing the two men who matched him in size and height. Not many could make the same claim.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked without preamble.

  “I came to bring my sister home where she belongs,” Jonathan growled, his fists clenched by his sides. “Now if you value your life, you’ll fetch her at once.”

  Lucas would have laughed if the situation weren’t so dire. He would gladly hand Anna over if it meant she would be safe.

  “She’s not here,” he admitted, the familiar sinking feeling hitting him.

  “See? She’s not even here. They aren’t living together in sin, as our saintly friend suspected,” Gabby said with a smile and a look at Andrew.

  Andrew’s expression didn’t change; he continued to glower at Lucas, as did Jonathan.

  Lucas stared right back searching for the words to say.

  “Some insane pirate has your sister. Oh, and I slept with her. Loads.”

  Somehow, he didn’t think that conversation would go well.

  Gabby looked between them all then subtly stepped around Jonathan so she was standing between him and Lucas.

  That was probably wise.

  Jonathan wouldn’t hurt his wife. He probably wouldn’t be able to, in any case.

  “Stand down, boys,” she said evenly. “I am sure that Anna wouldn’t want blood spilled. And if Evelyn finds out there was a fight and she missed it, she won’t be pleased.”

  Gabby turned to Lucas.

  “Delicate state.” She winked “Otherwise, she wouldn’t have missed this for the world.”

  She looked at him expectantly, clearly wanting a response of sorts, but Lucas couldn’t get a word past his lips.

  Finally, she sighed in defeat.

  “Well, it seems none of you is going to be civil. So, Lucas, why not tell us where Anna is, and we can speak directly to her.”

  At Gabby’s words, something broke inside him. Lucas nearly doubled over from the pain that shot through him.

  God. Where is she?

  “She’s gone,” he managed to rasp. “She was taken. And I can’t find her.”

  THE HEAT WAS unbearable.

  Anna wiped the perspiration from her brow as she leaned her head against the straw behind her.

  It was no use.

  She would never get out of here. Never.

  She had no idea of the time, or even the day.

  At night, when it grew cooler, she would lie down and think of Lucas. She never should have left the boat that day. One scream would have alerted someone, anyone to her predicament. Lucas would have come to her aid, and she could be with him now.

  Or, she’d have been shot. Even that would have been preferable to her current predicament. Because if this separation had taught her anything, it was that she was ready to forgive Lucas. More than ready. She wanted nothing more than to be held in his arms and to live a long and happy life together.

  Anna could easily find a way not to be a hindrance to Lucas, she’d decided. To make him not regret having her stay here with him. He may even begin to enjoy a life of traditional, quiet, wedded bliss.

  She could do that here, or England — or on the moon if that’s what it took to be with him. And she would tell him so.

  But first she had to get out of here.

  She would be allowed to bathe in the sea later, she knew.

  The woman who watched her would enter this little shack she’d been deposited in, and pick up the rope that Anna was tied to like a dog, and they would walk to the sea, where Anna would paddle and bathe and feel cool and fresh for a brief, wonderful moment.

  But as soon as her skin dried in the harsh, unforgiving sun, she would be miserable and hot again.

  It went like this every day.

  Doyle had deposited her here with warnings of dire consequences, should she try to escape, and the next person she’d seen was this woman who didn’t speak a word of English.

  Anna had tried to plead, reason, even demand that she be released. Nothing
worked.

  And of course she had tried to free herself from the rope around her ankle, pulling and dragging at it until she bled. But it was no use. There was no moving it. Doyle was a sailor, after all. If anyone could tie an inescapable knot, it would be a sailor.

  She was given water and bread twice a day. The woman would come and place a cup and plate in front of her, watch closely as she ate, then take them back and leave again.

  Every single day.

  Anna had no idea why she was being kept for as long as she was.

  But she did know that she couldn’t bear it for much longer.

  Suddenly, the distinctive sound of male voices came from outside, and Anna scrambled to her feet.

  “Find out where the hell he is, and bring him to me. Now.”

  A moment later, the door opened and Doyle stepped in, accompanied by two huge, thuggish-looking men she’d never seen before.

  “Ah, my dear Anna.” Doyle smiled. “You look well. The heat agrees with you.”

  Anna knew very well how awful she must look. But she kept her expression blank and unmoved.

  “You’ll be glad to know that you are getting out of here,” Doyle continued, and Anna’s heart raced at the news. Still she remained stoically unmoved, on the outside at least.

  “You don’t care?” he continued, his brow raised. “I would have thought you would enjoy another adventure on the seas.”

  At that, Anna started.

  “What do you mean?” she asked, proud that her tone sounded even, if a little hoarse from lack of use and lack of hydration.

  “I believe your captain is hot on my trail. My sources tell me he’s like a man possessed hunting for you. Terribly romantic, I’m sure, but hardly good for business. And now,” he continued casually as though they were discussing the weather, although she noticed a tightening of his jaw, “one of my men has disappeared, and I have a sneaky suspicion your captain is behind that. I could have just killed you, of course, but I can only imagine I’d never get rid of him then. Big on revenge, I believe.”

  Anna’s heart soared momentarily at this news.

  Lucas was searching for her? Maybe even close to finding her?

  “So, the only thing I can think of is to keep you with me,” Doyle continued. “Then, should he happen to catch up with me, I can trade you for my freedom.”