“What’s this?” Drew wanted to know, the only one to see her heightened color.
“Nothing…a private joke,” she choked out, while her eyes beseeched James to keep his mouth shut for once.
Of course he wouldn’t. “A joke, George? Is that what you call—”
“I’m going to kill you, James Malory, I swear I am!”
“Not before you marry him, you’re not.”
“What?” she shrieked, and turned to stare incredulously at the brother who’d uttered those ridiculous words. “Clinton, you can’t be serious! You don’twanthim in the family, do you?”
“That’s beside the point. You chose him—”
“I did no such thing! And he won’t marry me—” She paused to glance back at James, a long pause, full of sudden hesitancy. “Will you?”
“Certainly not,” he replied testily, only to look a bit hesitant himself before asking, “Do youwantme to?”
“Certainly not.” Her pride forced the words out, well aware of his feelings on the subject. She turned back to her brothers. “I believe that settles it.”
“It was already settled, Georgie, while both you and the captain were unconscious,” Thomas told her. “You’ll be married tonight.”
“Youinstigated this, didn’t you?” she said accusingly, their conversation of this morning suddenly bright in her mind.
“We’re only doing what’s right for you.”
“But this isn’t right for me, Thomas. I won’t marry a man who doesn’t want me.”
“There was never any question about wanting you, brat,” James said, a distinct irritation in his tone now. “You’d make a fine mistress.”
Georgina just gasped. Her brothers were more vocal.
“You bastard!”
“You’ll marry her or—”
“Yes, I know,” James cut in before they got carried away again. “You’ll shoot me.”
“We’ll do better than that, man,” Warren growled. “We’ll fire your ship!”
James sat up at that, only to hear from Clinton, “Someone has already been dispatched to discover her location, since it’s obvious you didn’t sail her into port or we would have heard about it.”
James stood up at that, only to hear from Warren again, “They will also arrange for the detainment of your crew. Then the lot of you can be turned over to the governor for hanging.”
Into the charged silence following that announcement, Boyd asked reasonably, “Do you think we ought to hang him if he’s Georgie’s husband? It doesn’t seem right, hanging a brother-in-law.”
“Hanging!” Georgina exclaimed, having been unconscious during the previous mention of this option. “Have you all gone mad?”
“He confessed to piracy, Georgie, and I’m sure Skylark hasn’t been his only victim. In good conscience, that can’t be overlooked.”
“The devil it can’t. He’ll make restitution. Tell them you’ll make restitution, James.” But when she glanced at him for confirmation that might get him out of this, he was looking like hell warmed over, and four-fifths was pride, which kept his mouth firmly closed. “Thomas!” she wailed then, feeling very close to panic. “This is getting out of hand! We’re talking about crimes committed…years ago!”
“Seven or eight,” he replied with a careless shrug. “My memory seems to be quite faulty, though Captain Malory’s hostility does seem to jog it remarkably well.”
James laughed at that point, but it wasn’t a pleasant sound by any means. “Blackmail now, to go along with coercion? Threats of violence and mayhem? And you bloody colonials call me the pirate?”
“We only mean to turn you over for trial, but as Boyd and myself are the only witnesses against you…”
The rest was left unsaid, but even Georgina grasped what Thomas was implying. If James would cooperate, nothing would come of his so-called trial, for lack of positive testimony. She even started to relax, until another brother was heard from.
