Robert Small felt an eerie sense of premonition creep over him.
“We had almost reached our destination when we were attacked by pirates. In the last moments of the battle one of those devils kidnaped my lady.”
Robert Small felt a trickle of nervous sweat roll down his back. His stomach, full with a rich dinner and stout English ale, began to roll. Dear Christ, what was Lord Burke after? “What is it you want of me, my lord?” he asked abruptly.
“The truth, Captain. You brought to England a woman known as Señora Goya del Fuentes, the widow of your dead partner, allegedly raised in a convent in Algiers. I might have accepted thatstory except that the lady is the identical twin of my lost betrothed. Identical! Yet when I questioned her she seemed honestly to have no knowledge of Ireland or the O’Malley family.” He paused. “At the bedding of the Earl and Countess of Lynmouth, Lady Southwood’s gown slipped and I saw a tiny mole at the crest of her right breast. The possibility of two women who look so alike and bear the same name, I must reluctantly accept. But that two unrelated, coincidentally identical women should have the same mole I do not think possible. I believe the Countess of Lynmouth is the lost Skye O’Malley, and I think you know the truth of this matter. Why will she not acknowledge me or her past?”
“Because, my lord, she has no memory of anything prior to Algiers,” said Robert Small calmly. “The only thing she was ever able to tell us was her name. Later on, she realized she was able to speak, read, and write in several languages. She had a strong sense of values, acquired somehow, but who she was and where she came from is all unknown, though I, of course, recognized her accent as Irish.
“The doctors explained that she suffered a shock, something so painful that her mind chose to blot everything out rather than face the terrible event—whatever that was.”
“My God,” Niall Burke was white-faced. “Tell me, Captain, was she truly married to a Spanish merchant, or is her child the result of rape?”
Robert Small hid a smile. North Africa was hardly a safe world, especially for women, but it wasn’t much different here. Why did all Christian Europeans think of Moslems as sex-crazed fiends? “Willow is the result of a great love,” he said. “Skye was indeed wed to my Algerian business partner. His name was Khalid el Bey, and it was he who rescued Skye. He adored her and she him. When he was murdered it almost destroyed her, and I brought her to England to escape the advances of the Turkish governor who was behind Khalid’s death. She met Lord Southwood, and they fell in love.
“Now, my lord Burke, I have told you all I know, and I would appreciate it if you would return the favor. Who is she? Where is her home? You say she bore her first husband children? Are they living?”
“Her name is Skye O’Malley. Her first husband, may his soul burn for all eternity, was Dom O’Flaherty. He gave her two sons, both living. Her father was Dubhdara O’Malley.” Here Robert Small whistled softly through his teeth, for what seaman had not heard of the great Irish pirate-merchant, Dubhdara O’Malley? “On his death,” finished Niall, “she was made the O’Malley of Innisfana, pending the majority and aptitude of one of her half-brothers.”
“How have they fared without her?” asked Robert Small.
“Her uncle, the Bishop of Connaught, has taken charge—much to my father’s annoyance,” smiled Niall. “When Skye disappeared the MacWilliam, my father, thought to avail himself of the O’Malley interests. But the O’Malleys have always been independent, for all they do owe us fealty.”
The two men sat in companionable silence for a few moments, then Robert Small sighed, “Well, my lord Burke, what do you intend to do with this knowledge? I must warn you that Skye should have no shocks now. She is with child.”
“But she’s just wed …!” Then Niall Burke flushed and finished weakly, “Oh.”
Robbie chuckled softly. “She’s a beautiful woman.”
“What am I to do now, sir? I can hardly tell the Countess that she is my lost betrothed wife.”
“Why not tell Southwood about her background, my lord? Leaving out, of course, your personal involvement with her,” suggested Robert Small. “Geoffrey should know. Then write to the Countess’s uncle and explain the situation. It is only decent that her family know she is alive. Geoffrey Southwood loves Skye dearly, and after their child is born I am sure he’ll want her to know of her past. Perhaps knowledge of it will bring her memory back.”
Niall Burke was thoughtful, then said, “Be there, Robert. Help me tell him. I’m in a difficult position.”
“I understand.” Robert Small debated with himself for a moment, then asked, “Tell me, my lord Burke, do you love her still?”
“Yes,” said Niall Burke without hesitation, “I still love her. I have never stopped loving her, though God knows I have tried. The memory of her has haunted my every hour, waking and sleeping.”
“And your wife?”
“Constanza is my wife, Robert. I may have done her a great disservice by marrying her, but until death parts us she is my wife, as Skye is Lord Southwood’s.”
“I am relieved to know that you are a sensible man, my lord. You see, Skye is the child that neither my sister nor I ever had. We love her dearly, and would not see her hurt. She remembers nothing before she awoke in Khalid’s house, and she obviously does not remember you. I will arrange for us to see the Earl immediately, for the repairs to my fleet will be completed soon and I must sail when they are. This storm has delayed me long enough.”
Robert Small was as good as his word. Within the hour he sent a note to the Earl of Lynmouth that read, “Imperative I see youalone, without Skye’s knowledge, immediately. Meet me aboard my ship tonight at ten.”
Geoffrey Southwood, raising an elegant blond eyebrow at the cryptic message, made an excuse to his bride and rode off, promising a swift return. Arriving at the docks, he was escorted aboard theMermaidto the captain’s cabin, where he was surprised to find the Irishman, Burke, waiting with Robert Small.
Geoffrey flung his cloak to the little cabin boy and, nodding to both men, sprawled his long frame into a chair. “Well, Robbie, what’s so important that you would take me from my bride on my honeymoon?”
“Have some wine, my lord,” said Robbie. “You know Lord Burke?”
“We’ve met. The Burgundy, Robbie.”
Robert Small poured wine for himself and his guests, and when the cabin boy had served the goblets, Robbie instructed him, “Stand watch outside, my lad. We’re not to be disturbed unless the ship is sinking. Do you ken?”
The boy grinned. “Aye, sir!” he said, and closed the door behind him.
