A woman who faced fear and uncertainty every day with a stoic verve.
A lass who had the mettle to not only be brave, but to be vulnerable. Jamie—for all that he loved her—had never allowed herself to be vulnerable.
As Eilidh spilled her grief onto his chest, a new truth flooded Kieran’s heart—
He had loved Jamie with every sliver of his soul.
But he saw with abrupt clarity that Miss Eilidh Fyffe threatened to own depths of him that even Jamie had not reached.
Heaven help him.
What if he came to love this new version of Jamie even more than the old?
26
March 1816
Terror pounded through Kieran’s blood.
He parried a midshipman’s knife with his rapier, kicking the man in the stomach and sending him sprawling. At Kieran’s side, Jamie sliced through another man’s arm.
Around them both, island villagers pummeled the crew with staffs, spears, and wickedly-curved knives.
Kieran grunted, looking for Cuthie but not seeing him in the mayhem.
Bloody hell, how had they come to this?
Cuthie had a plan, all right, the bastard.
The Brotherhood had spent the last month blissfully thinking that Cuthie would be bringing sandalwood aboard ship for their return voyage.
That had been a lie.
Instead, before leaving Britain, Cuthie had struck a deal with Andrew’s financial backers to capture some of the villagers and sell them into slavery in South America.
The sheer barbarity of the plan still rendered Kieran nauseous. The Slave Trade Act had banned the practice in the Atlantic Ocean, but unfortunately, not in the Pacific. A loophole Cuthie had been eager to exploit.
Cuthie had waited until Kieran was off the ship, visiting the villagers with Ewan and Alex, before informing Andrew of his plans. Kieran supposed the captain had thought to bully Andrew into submission without the support of his friends nearby. Andrew, not the sort to be intimidated, adamantly refused. Rafe was aboard and added his voice to the mix, supporting Andrew in denouncing Cuthie’s plans.
Cuthie, incensed by the insubordination, had Andrew and Rafe taken up in chains. Jamie, bless her, had slipped off the ship to warn Kieran and the others.
Kieran and Jamie had organized a rescue party that included all the capable warriors from the village.
So while Cuthie had assembled the crew on the deck ofThe Minervaand had them watch as both Andrew and Rafe were beaten nigh to death, a group of warriors, led by Kieran and Jamie, had stolen aboard the ship.
Now they fought the crew, hand-to-hand, desperate to rescue Andrew and Rafe still lashed to the main mast. Kieran parried another attacker and saw, out of the corner of his eye, that Ewan, Alex, and two burly villagers had reached Andrew and Rafe, cutting them free.
Hallelujah!
Kieran jerked his chin at Jamie, indicating that they should fight their way toward the ship’s railing. She nodded and disarmed her attacker.
As they pressed forward, Kieran finally caught sight of Cuthie fighting near the forecastle. The captain looked at him, eyes wide and desperate.
Kieran read the man’s expression clearly. Cuthie had miscalculated and made an enemy of Kieran. The problem, of course, was that Kieran was the entire crew’s passage home. The captain didn’t care what happened to the rest of the Brotherhood, but his sailing masterhadto remain. Kieran was the only one who knew how to navigateThe Minervathrough the enormous reefs that abound in this part of the world. After all, Kieran had prepared and studied maps for a solid year. Cuthie was rightly concerned that the ship might flounder.
At the moment, Kieran didn’t care. He simply wanted his friends to be safe.
He parried another sailor’s attack. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted Ewan hefting Andrew’s body over his shoulder. Rafe staggered with help from Alex. The village men cleared a path to the ship’s railing.
