The Marquess Who Adored Me

by Rachelle Stevensen

  Lily looked over at her. “You just said it was hopeless. How can you change your mind?”

  Eden shook her head, “I know. I am sorry. I was just frustrated. We can figure this out. I just know it. We have each other, and between the three of us, we can think of something. We can’t just sit around and wait for our future. We have to take charge.”

  Persephone wiped her hand under her eyes and nodded. “All right, I am in. We can do this.”

  Lily looked skeptical. But she bit her lip and nodded. “I am in as well.”

  The three women scooted up on the bed and got to work on a plan. They whispered, so as to not let anyone know the plans they were making.

  And over the next few days, they slowly put their plan into action. They wouldn’t be sold to any man, and this would prove that.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Cole

  Somewhere in the Ocean, Nov 1812

  Cabe knocked on Cole’s door early one morning. “You need to see something. The man in the lookout spotted the other ship in the distance.”

  Cole sprang to his feet, and pulled one boot on, and then hopped as he half pulled the other on and tried to walk out the door.

  He fell as he did this, and quickly pulled his other boot on. Aidan followed behind, and they rushed up on deck.

  Cabe had a spyglass in his hands and gave it to Cole. Cole looked through the small eyepiece and saw the ship.

  He could see men on the deck and on the rigging, but no women.

  He gave the glass to Aidan and turned to Cabe. “Are you certain that’s them? I don’t see the women at all.”

  Cabe nodded, “Aye, that’s my ship all right. If you look at the flag, it bears my crest on it. Blake knows what he is doing. We are exactly where Blake said they would be. The woman's crew must be dumber than we think. Having no sense of direction like Blake said. Otherwise, they would know we are nowhere near the actual destination they actually had in mind.”

  Cole rubbed a hand over his jaw. “I just didn’t hope. At all. I knew your captain said he would do just this, but I didn’t want to believe it.”

  Cabe laughed, and Cole smiled. “Blake is one of the best men I have in my employ. He would never hurt innocents, no matter the consequences.”

  Cole nodded, “All right, so do we go there now? What are we waiting for?”

  Cabe shook his head, “No, we keep them in our sights, but we don’t want to get too close. We can’t give our position away. I don’t want them to be aware or alert.”

  Cole nodded, “All right.”

  Cabe turned to the brothers, “Do either of you know how to fight? To use a blade or a gun?”

  Cole looked at Aidan and they both grinned, and Cabe’s eyebrows drew down, “What?”

  Aidan gestured to his face, “How do you think I got this? It wasn’t from a kitchen accident.”

  Cole snorted and before Cabe could respond, Burk and Brooks walked up to them.

  Cabe let them know about the ship and asked them if they knew how to fight. The two looked at each other, and once again, the men around Cabe burst out laughing.

  Cabe crossed his arms over his chest and raised one eyebrow. “It was an innocent question. One I need the answer to, if you don’t mind.”

  The men laughed harder, laughing until tears ran down their faces. It took a minute to sober, and Cole blew out a breath, “Yes, Cabe. We can fight. I would have thought after hearing about our past you would have known?”

  Cabe shook his head, “I was pretty certain, but one can never assume. I have lost good men that way. They signed up thinking it would be an adventure, and at the first fight, they died because they didn’t have the knowledge, or know anything about fighting. So, I never assume.”

  Aidan cleared his throat, “We apologize, Cabe. But, yes. I am an accomplished fighter. I can fight just as well with a sword, as I can with a gun. I also know a bit about knife throwing.”

  Cole smirked at his brother. “He indeed knows about all of that. I do as well. We know all about sword fighting, and I know how to shoot a gun.”

  Cabe turned to Burk, who smirked. “I know how to wield a sword, as well as shoot a gun. But my fists speak for me, so if it comes down to it, hand to hand combat is my specialty.”

  Brooks laughed, “Mine as well. But I can use a sword and a gun. You have to know when you live on the streets of Whitechapel.”

  Cabe’s eyebrow went up again. “I forgot about that, very well. I need all of you ready tonight. You will find guns, knives and swords in the room by my cabin. There is also extra ammunition and what you think you need.”

  Rose spoke up from behind the men. She and Rhia were standing on the deck and Aidan immediately crossed to his wife’s side, pulling her close to his chest. “I will be coming with you. And, I too know how to fight.”

  Cabe turned to her and shook his head, “Absolutely not. If one of us must worry over you, then we won’t fight like we should.”

  Rose crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin. “I can take care of myself. I know how to shoot a gun and can handle a sword. Aidan and Cole taught both Lily, and I.”

  Cabe shook his head again, “No, Rose. I won’t allow it.”

  Cole cleared his throat, wanting to speak up for Rose, and Cabe held his hand up. “No, Cole. She cannot come. I can’t have her there.”

  Rose let out a screech of frustration, “You are not my father, nor my brother. You don’t get to tell me if I can’t go! I can take care of myself! I don’t need some self-important Captain telling me what I can and cannot do!”

  Cabe reached out to Rose, his hands closing around her upper arms. “You won’t be going Rose, even if I have to tie you up to keep you here.”

  She gasped in shock and struggled to get out his arms. “Let go of me! Right now!”

  Cabe shook her a little, “No, I will not let you go. You will listen to me right now. Because I will not have you over there, I will worry about you the entire time, and won’t be at my best. Won’t be able to fight the way I need to. I don’t want to get hurt, and if I see you get hurt, I will kill every single person on that ship. Please, Rose.”

  He put his forehead to hers, and she went stock still in his arms. Before she could reply, he pressed a quick, soft kiss to her lips, and then released her.

  Rose put her hands to her lips and gaped at Cabe. He turned from her, “We need to prepare. Get everything you need, eat and drink before we go. You will need your strength.”

  And he strode away, his back ramrod straight. All the men gaped, Rhia smiled, and Rose stood stock still.

  Until Brooks spoke up, “Well, he certainly knows how to keep everyone of us on our toes. I guess he let us all know how he really feels huh?”

  Everyone looked at Brooks, who shrugged. “I would do the same with my girl. Whoever she is. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same.”

  With that, everyone broke out laughing again. Everyone except Rose, who had stared after Cabe, and watched him still. Rhia spoke up, “I will stay here, I am frightened though. You will come back to me unharmed do you hear me?” She pointed at Aidan, and he smiled and nodded. “Come, I want to speak with you.” Rhia nodded and Aidan led her away.

  Cabe was directing the men on his ship. Cole touched Rose’s arm, and she jumped.

  Looking up at him, her mouth was still gaping open. “Is he right?”

  Cole nodded, “I think so. We would all worry over you, and I know you are very capable, and can take care of yourself, but do this for him. He just wants your safety, and I do as well. Stay here with Rhia, protect her, and as soon as it’s safe, I will come for you.”

  Rose nodded, and Cole pulled her into his arms. He hugged her close, “We will get them back. Trust us.”

  Rose looked up at him again, and tears shimmered in her eyes. “I believe you will Cole, but I worry for you all. For Cabe, and Lily. For Burk and Brooks. You and Aidan. Eden. What if something happens to you and I wasn’t there to help?”


  Cole shook his head, “Nothing will happen. It will be fine. I promise.”

  She pushed out of his arms, “You don’t know that! You cannot know that!”

  She turned from him and ran to the cabin she was sleeping in, and slammed the door shut. Aidan had walked back out of the cabin moments before, and Rhia was standing in the doorway when Rose ran inside. She immediately turned and walked back in the cabin with Rose, making Aidan sigh. He came up beside Cole, “Should I go speak to her?”

  Cole shook his head. “No, I think she needs time. Come, we need to prepare. Practice with me?”

  Aidan grinned at him, “Anytime brother.”

  The rest of the day passed in a blur, as the men practiced with swords, and ate.

  Aidan did sneak off once to their cabin, with Rhia in tow. Cole chuckled and told everyone to give their cabin a wide berth.

  He was jealous of his brother, but he was just hours away from holding his own woman.

  The sun started to set, and Cabe made certain the men were all dressed in dark clothes. Cabe sailed close to the other ship.

  He knew Blake’s men wouldn’t alert anyone to their presence. In fact, when he positioned his ship alongside the other ship, the men from Blake’s crew helped them tie the ropes onto their boat, and walked away, none the wiser.

  With the boats tied together, Cole, Cabe, Aidan, Burk, Brooks and a few of the men from Cabe’s ship crossed over to the other ship.

  The men from Cabe’s crew pointed out which men belonged to Cabe, and which didn’t. The other men were drunk, were loud and sloppy, and had no idea what was going on until it was too late.

  They killed the few on the deck and threw them overboard. When they started to walk over to the steps going down to the cabins and the hold, a man came up from down below, and saw them. He let out a very loud bellow to alert the other men.

  Men came running, and unfortunately, they came armed. Cole stepped forward when the first man walked up to him.

  He brandished a huge curved sword, swinging it at him with his massive arms, and Cole had to duck out of the way, feeling the wind whistle through his hair with the missed swing. Grateful he still had his head.

  He brought his sword around and blocked the next blow. His sword and him now on guard, not wanting to miss a single opportunity to harm this man. He knew that he was most likely a top enforcer, and that made Cole even more mad.

  The sounds of fighting were loud in his ears, and he could only pray that no one would be injured.

  He focused on the man in front of him, and they fought like savages across the deck.

  He got in a few glancing blows, and the man swiped him a few times. Cole felt the blows but disregarded them. They were minor and didn’t bother him.

  He watched the man closely to see any weaknesses in him and knew that he relied on his huge sword to do all the work for him.

  He was unbalanced and had absolutely no skill with his huge blade. He just brought the sword down over and over, trying to get in any blow he could. Not even certain if he hit his intended target. Cole waited for the perfect moment, just blocking blow after blow, and saw it just seconds later.

  The man overextended himself, and Cole took the opportunity to drive his blade through the man’s stomach.

  The man let out a gurgle and dropped the blade to the deck. He grasped his stomach, and went down to one knee, and then fell flat on his face, unmoving.

  Cole moved on to the next man, killing him swiftly, as once again, the man was large and burly, but had no skill at fighting at all. And he fought his way toward the lower level. He made it down to the corridor and was faced with several different doors.

  He kicked in the first one, to find it empty, and the same with the next. When he made it to the third, a man was waiting inside for him, along with Katarina.

  Cole was so shocked to see his cousin in the room, that he barely had time to dive out of the way of the shot the man aimed in his direction.

  He could feel the bullet graze across his chest, and the burn it left in its wake made him pause.

  He took a deep breath, “I thought we told you that we didn’t want to see you again, Katarina. Aidan made that perfectly clear. You were the one who took the girls? How dare you?”

  Katarina laughed maniacally. “He did. But I was never one to take orders from men like you, or him. He humiliated me, and I needed to make you both pay for that. I can never show my face around polite society again! I was the laughingstock of the ton, and because of that, I took what you held most dear, since you did the same to me.”

  Cole huffed, “You shouldn’t be around polite society anyway, you fucking bitch. You took my woman! You are crazy. You seriously think taking my woman and my sister was the best way to get back at us?”

  Katarina laughed again, “I sure did. You and Aidan brought this on yourself. But since Aidan never leaves the country, I couldn’t take his wife. So, I took your sister instead. You should have known I wouldn’t just leave and never come back. No, I wasn’t going to let it stand. It was too much. And now? I will ruin your girl. She has given me nothing but problems from the start. Her and your sister.”

  Cole went still, just listening to Katarina rant, and saw Burk come up beside him. They stood on the outside of the door, and Cole yelled, “It’s over Katarina. Your men are all dead.”

  Katarina scoffed, “Obviously not all of them. I will never stop, and you will never get your girl. I have men in there that are guarding them, and they have strict instructions to kill the women if anyone opens the door but me.”

  Cole looked at Burk, who glared. Burk pulled a pistol from his pants, and slowly brought the hammer back.

  When it was cocked, he nodded at Cole. Cole also got his gun from the back of his pants and drew the hammer back.

  Burk peeked around the corner and signaled to Cole where the man with the gun was.

  He pointed to himself, and then to Cole. Cole nodded, “You need to come out Katarina. This isn’t going to end well for you. I guarantee that. You will never see the light of day again after this. Aidan will bury you if I don’t get the chance first. He is more lenient than I.”

  Katarina gave a screech. “I will not! You ruined everything. Took it all from me, and I want to see you SUFFER!!”

  Burk gave the signal, and they moved simultaneously. The man in the room fired wildly and missed both of them.

  Burk aimed and shot the man square between the eyes. He dropped like a stone. Cole rushed Katarina, catching her off guard, and held her at gunpoint.

  She screeched and tried to lash out at him, but he was good and done with her and her evil ways, so he tackled her to the ground, and with Burk holding her still, Cole tied her up, and gagged her.

  Lifting her to her feet, he sat her on a chair and bound her to it. He was taking no chances.

  He looked to Burk, and the man said, “If someone has harmed Lily, I will kill them. Just like I did him. I have no regrets and will have none in the morning either. We need to find her Cole.”

  Cole nodded, needing to find Eden. “What if what Katarina said was true? What if someone is in with the girls, and is going to hurt them?”

  Burk shook his head. “I don’t know. I just want to get my girl. We will need to be careful though, because I won’t guarantee that I won’t tear someone apart for laying a finger on her. I am on edge Cole.”

  Cole and Burk went deeper into the ship and listened at every door. They heard movement in the last one and saw a lock on the outside.

  Cole whispered, “This has to be it. Is there a key?”

  Burk shook his head, he cocked his gun and aimed, but Cole pulled his arm down. “No, we have to do this smart. You know this Burk. We can’t go in guns blazing. Not if they have a chance of being in harm’s way. I will not let anyone hurt the girls. I will go look for a key.”

  Burk’s eyes were wild, “Hurry, Cole. I don’t like the sounds in that room.”

  Cole heard a scream, and a scuffle and
turned to Burk. “Fucking hell. Just do it.”

  Burk aimed his gun, and shot the lock popping it off the door. Then Burk kicked the door open, and he and Cole rushed in the room, making them see red. Cole saw a man trying to climb on top of Lily.

  She was kicking and screaming, fighting tooth and nail to not let him touch her, to pull her skirts to her waist. She thrashed and bucked, fighting so hard to get free, screaming her anger. Eden was struggling in a man’s arms, she kept trying to throw her head back, trying to kick his legs, which she did, but he never released his hold. He pulled her tight to his body and with one hand, he ran it over her waist and up to her breasts, where he squeezed one.

  Burk let out a roar, the sound primal and full of hateful intent, and Cole shivered. With two giant steps, Burk ripped the man off Lily, and threw him hard against the farthest wall.

  He hit with a thud, and a sickening crunch. He slid to the floor and didn’t move again.

  Cole rushed to aid Eden, but she threw her head back, and the man didn’t get the chance to move his face this time. Her head hit the man right in the nose.

  Cole heard it break, and it gushed blood. The man dropped Eden to the floor, grabbing his broken nose, and groaning against the pain and Cole rushed over to them, shooting the man in his chest before dropping to his knees beside her. “Eden! Are you all right?”

  She leapt into his arms and nodded. “I am all right. Help Persephone!”

  Cole noticed a third man, held a woman in front of him. He didn’t grope or fondle, but calmly held a pistol to her temple. “Move any closer and I pull this trigger.”

  Cole held his hands up and pushed Eden behind him. With Burk doing the same with Lily. “It’s over now. Everyone on your crew is dead. Just put her down, and we will let you live.”

  Cole could see the woman shaking in the man’s arms, and tears streaking down her pale cheeks.