Who were these men?
Why had they kidnapped her?
She glimpsed her attackers just before they threw a sack over her head.They tied her hands, and then one of the men pitched her over his shoulder.She tried to kick but the man just tightened his hold on her legs.
Dressed in dark navy, they had looked like seamen, but they could have been anyone.Their voices were British, yet she was British, so why did they want her?Did they think her a spy?
The next thing Elizabeth knew she had been placed face down on something hard and rocking.She smelled the salt air and knew it had to be a small boat because her feet could touch both sides.She rocked against the rough wood planking as the men shoved away from the dock.Droplets of water hit her arms as the oars lashed through the water.And the faint sounds of men bustling around the dock grew faint as they rowed away from shore.
“Wh-where are you taking me?”she demanded from her awkward position.They didn’t bother to answer her.
Soon the little boat bumped the hull of a larger ship.Once again she was being hefted over someone’s shoulder, and they were moving again, this time up and over.
After they boarded, she was taken to a small cabin where they set her on her feet and removed the blindfold.She tried to see who they were, but they deliberately kept out of sight.Her gaze darted around the ship’s cabin, searching for a clue as to her whereabouts, but all she saw were the backs of the men as they left.
She knew the ship wasn’t one of Adam’s because she didn’t recognize anything.The room contained a bed, a small desk with a chair, and an unlit kerosene lamp suspended from the ceiling.The room smelled damp and musty.It was dark and unclean.
Her first thoughts were of escape, and she began to struggle with the ropes that bound her hands.
The bindings seemed to grow tighter as she struggled to twist her hands loose.Unfortunately, they hadn’t tied her hands in front or she could have used her teeth.
Elizabeth tried to see by the flickering light coming through the single porthole.She had no earthly idea how or why they had brought her here.The panic she’d tried so desperately to keep in check began to engulf her.Her heart raced.Chills crept up and down her spine.What was she going to do?
A squeaking sound caught her attention and she jerked her head toward the cabin door just as it swung open.A lone man strode through, kicking the door shut behind him.
She stared at the British officer before her, but had no memory of ever seeinghimbefore.He stood tall and broad-shouldered and would have been considered handsome if not for an ugly, jagged scar that ran from his ear to the corner of his mouth.
He did not speak, but peered at her from hooded eyes.All the while, his finger absently traced the purplish mark on his face.What little of his eyes she could see in the dim light shone cold.And hard.Something about him made her think of death.
She shuddered with revulsion.
“What do you want from me?”she asked, dismayed at the quaking fear in her voice.
“I can think of a few things,” the man said.His stern voice held no vestige of sympathy.“Sit down.”
She didn’t like the coldness in his voice and she dared not disobey.She backed up to the chair, thankful to put some distance between them, making sure she didn’t take her eyes off him.“I am not a spy!I’m British.”
He grinned, but it was not a comforting sight.“Just like myself.”
“Then why have you kidnapped me?I don’t understand.I don’t know you.”
The man’s scowl was hot enough to burn leather, then he sneered, “But your brother and sister-in-law do.I am Captain Lee.”
Elizabeth became more uncomfortable by the minute.“Jewel knows you?”
“That’s right,” he acknowledged with a nod.He jerked his hand to his face and pointed a slender finger.“She’s responsible for this!Ugly, isn’t it?”
“Sh—she did that?”
Instead of answering, he pulled out a knife and ran his finger over the edge, testing it for sharpness, then lifted his gaze back to hers.
He smirked at her discomfort, then slowly moved behind her.Elizabeth felt his warm breath on her neck, chilling her to the bone.She gasped.But instead of cutting her as she had anticipated, he sliced the ropes, freeing her hands.
“Yes, Jewel did this.And with this very knife,” he said from behind her as she rubbed her wrists with numb fingers.She had no desire to turn and look at him.
Without warning, Lee jerked her head back and rubbed the blade up and down her throat.“You can rest assured that your precious sister-in-law will pay for her deeds, one way or the other.Then we’ll see how much your brother thinks his Jewel is worth.”
Elizabeth tried to contain the whimper that escaped her lips.She trembled with horror.She had no doubt Lee would cut her throat.She hated knives.She always had.Would this be the end?
