Cloud thanked him and left. When he had gone, Jean turned to his brother. “You will stay with me during the conference.”
“If that is what you want. Do you expect trouble from Travers?”
The pirate looked surprised. “From Travers?Non.You will be there to make sure I do not kill the man myself.” He rose abruptly and turned on his heels sharply, leaving Pierre alone to wonder what sort of woman this Captain Danty was that she could command men even from the grave.
While Cloud was hurrying toward theDark Lady,Alexis was calmly observing the features of the man not five feet away from her. At the same time, he was making a critical appraisal of her. Neither had spoken since he’d entered Smith’s quarters but only he found the silence oppressive. Alexis let him suffer a while longer, enjoying his discomfort, and kept her narrowed eyes trained on the chiseled, obscenely arrogant face in front of her. Now that he had recovered from the shock of seeing her it did not seem her presence bothered him overly much. She supposed he saw her as a minor problem, a temporary inconvenience, to be disposed of without a second thought or a backward glance. It would not be that easy, she wanted to say to him, if you knew who I really was—if you knew I was Captain Alex Danty. Instead she said, “I am surprised you remembered me, Captain Travers. After all, it has been some time since I last saw you. I would not have suspected you thought much about me in that time.”
“You flatter yourself. I have never thought about you. I just have a good memory for faces. Yours is one a man would not likely forget—even when it is dredged up in the middle of the Gulf.”
Alexis shuddered involuntarily at the sound of his voice. Memories, unbidden, came flooding back. “Why did you forbid your men to talk with me?” Was that her voice? she wondered. So cold, aloof, edged with ice. And yet she knew it was only a covering for the fear that was gripping every muscle, every nerve. Did he suspect? She could not let him know she was afraid. But why was she afraid at all? Cloud. It was not Travers she feared but never seeing Cloud if she failed. She straightened her shoulders slightly and pressed the side of her calf against the blade in her boot. Her mind was made up. She would not fail.
“You should be able to understand that for yourself.”
“I suppose it would not do for me to explain how you killed my mother, my father, and my friend. You would not want your crew to know how you brought down your whip on a woman, would you? They might think you less of a man…Or me more of a woman for surviving.”
“Be quiet,” he growled. He leaned against the desk behind him, casually crossing his feet at the ankles and folding his arms across his chest. He had been truthful with her when he’d said he had not thought of her until she had appeared from nowhere. Even now the recollection of that particular day was hazy in his mind, but one memory stood out—the memory of her defiance. The strange amber eyes glistened now with the same look. Travers vowed to crush it once and for all.
“Be quiet?” she asked coolly. “How long do you expect me to remain silent about what you did?” What am I waiting for? she asked herself. Just reach in the boot. Reach in the boot and be done with it. Something stopped her. She could not do it.
“Actually, I am surprised you remained silent this long. You had plenty of opportunity to discuss your troubles with the doctor or Smith. It is a pity you didn’t because I assure you, you will not get another chance. I have already decided what I am going to do with you. The Admiralty would not think very well of me if word of what happened on Tortola got back to them.”
“I had no intention of taking my grievances against you to the Admiralty.” She did not add that she thought he was wrong. He would probably be given only a reprimand, not the loss of commission he deserved.
“I suppose you didn’t. Otherwise you would have done it long ago. Tell me, how is it that you came to be in a position to be rescued by my ship?”
“That is no concern of yours.”
“I think you’re wrong. It very well could be my concern. The vessel you were on? Was it destroyed by the storm?”
“I have no way of knowing.”
“Brothers? Family? A husband on board?”
“I have no brothers. You killed my family. I am not married.”
“Then it is still Miss Quinton. I’ll assume the vessel you were on was one of your merchants and even if it did survive the storm, I am sure your friends do not think you did.”
“Even if they did…you have nothing to fear from them.”
“Meaning I have something to fear from you? I doubt that, Miss Quinton. You are hardly in a position to carry out your veiled threats aboard this vessel.” He regarded her thoughtfully. “Your skin, it’s rather darker than is the fashion. Do you spend a great deal of time out of doors?”
Alexis was too startled by his line of questioning to answer him. He went on.
“The marks from the whip? Have they healed?”
Her eyebrows drew together. Why was he asking her these things? “They have healed. Your work is still visible, if that’s what you meant.”
“That is exactly what I meant. They fit into my plan for you very nicely.”
“What are you talking about?”
“In a few hours we will be reaching our destination. I propose to leave you there.”
“Where?”
“It doesn’t matter. You have no choice in what will happen.” He smiled mysteriously. “Slaves never do.”
As he turned to leave, his words penetrated Alexis’s senses. Slave! He meant to pass her off as a slave. She needed no other thought to guide her next actions. She reached for her dagger and held it lightly in her hand. Poised, she called to his retreating figure.
