“Five years.”He slammed the bottle down and kicked out the chair, leaping to his feet.“Five years of hell.”
“But you paid the price and were set free.”
He spun to face her, chuckling.“Nay, my love.I escaped.”
Again, this man shocked her.Escaping from a Barbados prison was no easy task.“And you became a pirate.”
“Not just any pirate, Lady Fox.One of the best who e’er sailed the Caribbean.”He crossed arms over his chest and raised his chin.The bombastic stance, however, immediately faded as the deck tilted, and he stumbled to the side.
She smiled.He’d said a woman betrayed him, but what did that have to do with Allard?“So, ’twas Allard who falsely accused you.’Tis why you hate him so.”
“He and my…” He halted and the muscles in his jaw bunched as the all-familiar loathing knotted his face.
“My?”But she already guessed the answer.Hadn’t Allard mentioned the captain’s wife in their exchange on the island?Something about leaving her bed?She’d forgotten that until now.Forgotten he was married.
Fingering his clipped earlobe once again, a fieriness rose up in him that defied his inebriated state, and picking up a bottle, he threw it across the cabin.It crashed onto the bulkhead and shattered onto the deck.
Gabrielle’s heart lurched into her throat, and she pressed a hand to her chest.She’d been at the brunt end of Damien’s temper, and she’d rather die than be at the brunt end of this man’s.Best to either stop speaking or change the subject.
Or wait until he fell to the deck, unconscious.
For now, she waited for his temper to cool, studying him as he stood, arms fisted at his waist, staring at the mess he’d made.Or mayhap not staring at anything in particular as memories of his past further inflamed him.
Gabrielle glanced at the door.Could she slip out without his notice?
Nay.He faced her, his chest rising and falling, his hair dangling about his face.“She was highborn, a proper lady like you.”He spat the wordsproper ladywith such contempt Gabrielle could almost touch the hate floating in a dark cloud her way.So, that was the reason he loathed her so.’Twas her voice, words, and mannerisms that gave away her status.If the man knew she was the daughter of an earl, he may have no qualms about tossing her and her babe overboard on the spot.
Rubbing his forehead, he seemed to regret revealing that fact as he made his way to a chair, plopped into it, and dropped his head into his hands.
Best to shift his thoughts from the cause of his fury.“May I ask where we are going, Captain?”
He huffed but did not look up.“To Nevis for supplies and a clue.”
A clue to what?His elusive treasure no doubt.
“I implore you, Captain.Leave me ashore.As I said, Allard has no interest in me or his child.”
He sat back, a grin on his face as he eyed her up and down a bit too freely.“You think your lover will give up?Nay.Not when he knows I have you and his babe.”
Gabrielle straightened her spine and tightened her tone.“He is not my lover.And ’twas obvious to even an ant on that island that Damien cared not a whit for me or his child.”
His lips slanted.“Mayhap not, Lady Fox.But he cares a great deal that ’tisIwho have you both and not him.You must consider the male pride.”
“I consider the whole lot of you buffoons.”
A deep chuckle bubbled up from his chest as he struggled to rise and stumbled to the table for another sip of rum.“I ought to flog you for your sharp tongue, my lady.”
From the slur of his words and the clumsiness of his motion, Gabrielle knew ’twas the best time to make her exit.Surely in his condition, he’d be unable to stop her.
Pushing against the chair with one hand and with the other holding her belly, she rose as gracefully as she could and began inching her way toward the door.
Grabbing a bottle, he hoisted it to his lips, but then lowered it back to the table before he took a sip.
Gabrielle took another step, keeping her eyes upon him.
Even in his condition, he was like a panther ready to strike.Standing to his full height, he snapped back his hair and seemed to be having trouble keeping his balance on the tilting deck.
Gabrielle moved closer to the door.
